The company shipped uranium in the form of 10 ton of ammonium diuranate (ADU) which will be calcined to form uranium oxide or uranium ore concentrates.
By the end of 2016, Sibanye’s Ezulwini plant is expected to produce approximately 600,000 pounds of uranium oxide per annum.
Sibanye CEO Neal Froneman said the revenue derived from this uranium by-product will be offset against costs, lowering the total cost of producing gold from the Cooke Operation.
"As both gold and uranium production rises in the next 18 months, we anticipate a decrease in costs and increase in profitability at the Cooke Operation," Froneman added.
"Sibanye remains positive on the longer term outlook for the uranium price and is currently exploring ways to secure more attractively priced longer term uranium contracts in order to limit its exposure to the weak prevailing spot uranium market."
The Ezulwini plant features a gold and uranium plant with a combined milling and gold leaching capacity of 200,000 tons per month and a modularized uranium plant with a capacity of 100,000 tons per month.
