In a major step forward for Guyana’s emerging clean energy strategy, Canadian uranium developer U92 Energy Corp. has announced a $5 million exploration investment this year through its fully-owned local subsidiary Lia (Guyana), as the company works to confirm sufficient reserves to justify a $150 million processing plant development. The project, which targets expanded uranium deposits in the Kurupung region of Guyana, already holds 20 million pounds of proven reserves, and company representatives say they are confident they will uncover at least another 30 million pounds of additional reserves within an 18-month exploration window to reach the 50 million pound threshold required for commercial viability.
Richard Spencer, an exploration geologist working with U92 Energy, noted that the company sees strong upside for expanding the known resource. He pointed to past exploration missteps that left half the potential deposit untapped, explaining that a revised drilling approach focused on a slightly different geological angle is expected to unlock the remaining unproven reserves. “I think it’s a very good chance that it will be an economic deposit of significant size,” Spencer said, adding that he expects to exceed the 50 million pound target well within the 18-month exploration timeline.
The exploration concession, previously held by French energy firm Cogema and Canadian junior explorer U308 Energy, already received $35 million in prior exploration investment from U308 between 2007 and 2012. After the 18-month exploration phase concludes, U92 will conduct a 12-month economic feasibility study to finalize a decision on whether to move forward with the $150 million processing plant construction. If developed, the mine would operate for 25 years, with uranium output targeted for markets in the United States, Canada, and Europe.
Beyond export opportunities, U92 Energy frames the project as a key contributor to Guyana’s growing clean energy ambitions, amid the country’s rapid oil and gas-driven economic expansion. The company says local uranium production could support the deployment of small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) across Guyana, providing low-carbon power to remote communities that are not connected to the country’s main regional grid. SMRs sited in these off-grid locations would only require refueling every three to seven years, offering a reliable, long-term clean energy solution.
Spencer also moved to address public concerns over potential environmental harm from the project, emphasizing that both mining operations and SMR deployment carry a minimal environmental footprint. He noted that naturally occurring radioactivity at the site drops to extremely low levels once topsoil is removed, and modern small reactors do not produce significant adverse ecological impacts. “What is crucially important about these things is that the environmental footprint is minimal and you can have them anywhere in the country; anywhere where power is required,” Spencer added.
The project is not without geopolitical uncertainty, however. The concession lies in Guyana’s Essequibo region, which has been the subject of a long-standing territorial dispute between Guyana and neighboring Venezuela. For decades, Venezuela has formally opposed all natural resource development, both onshore and offshore, in the contested Essequibo region. When asked about U92’s risk analysis related to potential Venezuelan objections, Lia (Guyana) in-house financial expert Gavin Singh declined to comment on the matter, saying “We won’t comment on that at this point in time.”