JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Uranium miner Paladin Energy on Thursday reported a 20% increase in production to 8.255-million pounds for the year ended June, while the company’s total sales volume increased 23% year-on-year to 8.253-million pounds.

Higher sales volumes led to a 12% increase in sales revenue, up from $365.8-million in the 2012 financial year, to $408.4-million.

Paladin’s gross profit for the year increased by 5% to $25-million, owing to the 23% increase in sales volumes and a lower impairment of inventory at the company’s Kayalekera mine, in Malawi, which was partially offset by lower prices.

However, the company recorded a $335-million impairment for the period and posted an after-tax net loss of $420.9-million.

Production at Paladin’s Langer Heinrich mine, in Namibia, had increased by 20% year-on-year to 5.292-million pounds for the period, and the mine’s cost of production had fallen by 9% quarter-on-quarter.

“Further optimisation initiatives at the mine are under way, with the commissioning of the Hydrosort fluidised-bed separator unit expected in the September quarter of this year,” the company stated, adding that efforts to improve water efficiency at the mine were also ongoing.

Meanwhile, production at Paladin’s Kayelekera mine, in Malawi, also increased by 20% to 2.963-million pounds.

Production costs at Kayelekera decreased by 25% quarter-on-quarter to $39.2/lb in the three months ended June 2013.

“Following both operations reaching steady-state operation, the sites successfully completed their stated production and optimisation targets for the 2013 financial year, and this work to improve process recoveries and reduce unit operating costs will continue.

“Some elements of this work have the potential to better utilise the reserve base at Langer Heinrich by being able to use lower run-of-mine feed grades,” the company said.

Further, with the realisation of the company’s acid recycling and grid power initiatives at the Kayelekera mine, a reduction in production costs of between $4/lb and $6/lb was expected by the June 2014 quarter, Paladin added.