Canadian Uranium Miner Raises Dasa Cost Estimate to US$777 Million After U.S. Financing Approval

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Global Atomic Corporation has cleared one of the biggest financing hurdles facing its Dasa uranium project in Niger, only to reveal that the price of completing the mine has climbed sharply. The Toronto-based miner now estimates total project costs at roughly US$777 million, compared with substantially lower assumptions underpinning its earlier development plans. The update arrived just two days after the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation approved up to US$414.2 million in financing for Dasa.

The combination is significant: Dasa has gained powerful U.S. government-backed financial support at a moment when Washington is searching for additional uranium supply, but the project still faces a large equity requirement, logistical conditions and a construction timetable that has slipped into 2028. Rising uranium prices provide a more favourable backdrop, yet they do not eliminate the financial and geopolitical challenges still standing between Dasa and commercial production.

The Cost of Building Dasa Has Changed Dramatically

Global Atomic’s September 18 update puts the total cost of Dasa at approximately US$777 million once construction, working capital, corporate spending and financing costs are included. There is a small discrepancy inside the company’s own release: its headline summary states US$777.2 million, while the detailed cost table adds to US$777.6 million. Either figure represents a major increase from the spending assumptions that framed the project only a few years ago. Direct project costs alone are now forecast at US$653 million, up from US$375.6 million in the 2024 feasibility study — an increase of roughly 74%.

Several individual categories have moved even faster. Construction is now expected to cost US$119.6 million, compared with US$26.5 million in the feasibility estimate, a 352% increase. Equipment and infrastructure have risen from US$140.8 million to US$224.9 million, while site and Niamey costs have climbed from US$39.2 million to US$92.3 million. Those increases illustrate how a delayed mining project can become more expensive even before production begins, as labour, logistics, equipment and indirect expenses continue accumulating.

Years of Delay Help Explain the Increase

The higher estimate is not simply the result of one unexpectedly expensive piece of machinery. Global Atomic says the longer development schedule exposed Dasa to additional inflation, extended pre-production costs and pushed spending that previously would have occurred later in the mine’s life into the up-front development period. Financing costs are now projected at US$69.4 million, while working-capital and corporate requirements contribute another US$55.2 million to the overall total.

The difference becomes easier to understand when the development schedule is considered. The 2024 feasibility study assumed construction could be completed by the end of 2025 if financing was secured and work proceeded as planned. Instead, changes in Niger’s political environment complicated the financing process, while some procurement and construction activities were postponed. Global Atomic’s earlier disclosures also cited logistics costs, inflation and the passage of time as factors affecting Dasa. Mining projects with long construction periods can be particularly sensitive to delays because equipment orders, contractor mobilization, accommodation, engineering and site administration continue to generate costs well before the first pound of uranium is sold.

The US$414.2 Million U.S. Approval Is Significant — But Conditional

The DFC board approved financing of as much as US$414.2 million for Dasa on September 16. The package is structured as a term-loan facility of up to US$397.4 million plus a US$16.8-million cost-overrun facility. DFC is the U.S. government’s international development finance institution, and its participation gives the project a level of government-backed financial support that few junior mining developers can obtain. Reuters described the decision as both a commercial and diplomatic breakthrough for Washington in Niger.

Board approval, however, is not the same as money being immediately deposited into Global Atomic’s accounts. The company says several material conditions must still be addressed before the facility can close and funds can be disbursed. These include securing an acceptable route for exporting yellowcake, extending the mining convention and permit on terms compatible with the loan, obtaining government assurances related to loan repayments and negotiating a direct agreement with Niger’s government. Definitive loan documentation must also be completed. DFC is additionally expected to receive common-share purchase warrants, with their final terms to be determined before closing.

Global Atomic Still Has to Supply a Large Amount of Equity

The financing structure makes Global Atomic’s remaining funding challenge particularly important. The company estimates that US$550.1 million of project costs remained as of June 30, 2026. Its US$397.4-million DFC term loan is expected to become available only after Global Atomic has funded the remaining US$152.7 million of required equity spending. Those two amounts add almost exactly to the projected US$550.1-million remaining cost, before considering the separate cost-overrun facility.

That means the U.S. approval substantially improves Dasa’s financing picture without eliminating the company’s need to find additional capital. Global Atomic said it was reviewing financing alternatives to cover the remaining expenditures, and management has previously considered equity financing, strategic investment and potential joint-venture structures. The company already raised C$72.5 million early in 2026, but the latest estimate demonstrates how quickly funding requirements can shift when a project’s timetable lengthens. For shareholders, the unanswered question is therefore not only whether the DFC facility closes, but also how Global Atomic satisfies the equity requirement needed before the main loan can be drawn.

Commercial Production Has Moved Into the Second Half of 2028

Dasa’s current schedule calls for construction to be completed during the first half of 2028, followed by commissioning in the second half. Global Atomic has also said commercial production and initial yellowcake shipments are expected in the second half of 2028, subject to financing. That represents a significant change from the timetable contemplated when the 2024 feasibility study was prepared and shows how closely Dasa’s construction schedule has become tied to access to capital.

Work on the physical mine has nevertheless continued. Underground development began in November 2022, and Global Atomic reported during 2026 that crews were advancing access beside the orebody, installing ventilation, electrical and water-management infrastructure and preparing additional mining levels. Engineering contractors have also continued detailed work and procurement for the processing plant. The company has accumulated mineralized development material at surface that is intended to be processed during commissioning. In other words, Dasa is not merely an undeveloped deposit waiting for a financing decision; substantial underground work has occurred. The challenge is completing the much more capital-intensive processing and surface infrastructure required to convert that development into commercial uranium production.

Dasa’s Grade and Mine Life Remain Central to the Investment Case

The reason Global Atomic continues committing capital to Dasa despite the cost escalation lies in the deposit’s scale and grade. The feasibility study filed in 2024 and revised in 2026 estimates probable mineral reserves of approximately 73 million pounds of U3O8. The mine plan contemplates producing about 68.1 million pounds over roughly 23 years, with an average reserve grade of 4,113 parts per million U3O8. Global Atomic describes Dasa as the highest-grade uranium deposit in Africa and says its grades rank behind only Canada’s Athabasca Basin among major uranium regions.

Ownership is also unusual for a Canadian-listed developer operating abroad. Global Atomic holds 80% of SOMIDA, the Niger-based company developing the mine, while Niger’s government owns the remaining 20%. The earlier feasibility model, using US$75 per pound uranium, calculated an after-tax net present value of US$917 million and a 57% after-tax internal rate of return. Those figures remain useful historical reference points, but they were calculated before the latest capital-cost increase. Global Atomic has not presented a fully refreshed project NPV and IRR incorporating the new approximately US$777-million cost estimate in its latest announcement.

Niger Remains Both a Strategic Opportunity and a Material Risk

Dasa’s location gives the project strategic importance while adding complications that would not exist at a mine in a more established Canadian or U.S. jurisdiction. Niger has produced uranium for decades, but the country’s 2023 change of government disrupted Western relationships and trade routes. U.S. forces subsequently left Niger in 2024. Against that background, Washington’s decision to support a Canadian-controlled uranium development with more than US$400 million in potential financing represents a notable change in the commercial relationship.

Transportation is one of the most practical challenges. Uranium from Niger has historically moved toward the port of Cotonou in Benin, but the Niger-Benin border closure disrupted that corridor. Global Atomic has since imported materials through alternative routes including Togo, Burkina Faso and Nigeria. The company has also discussed a possible northern corridor through Algeria, while Reuters reported that an Algerian route is among the export alternatives being explored. DFC has specifically made a viable yellowcake export route a financing condition. Separately, DFC’s environmental review classified Dasa as a Category A project because underground uranium mining and processing carry significant potential environmental and social impacts requiring extensive management.

Higher Uranium Prices Give Dasa a More Supportive Market

The project’s capital budget has deteriorated, but the uranium market has moved in the opposite direction. Global Atomic says the uranium term price reached US$97 per pound during 2026, about 29% above the US$75-per-pound assumption used in the Dasa technical report. Long-term prices matter particularly to developers because utilities commonly secure future reactor fuel through multiyear contracts rather than relying exclusively on spot purchases. Global Atomic says it has already signed uranium offtake agreements and reported in September that contracted volumes represented roughly 11% of the current mine plan.

The U.S. supply picture helps explain DFC’s interest. Energy Information Administration data show American civilian nuclear operators purchased 46.9 million pounds of uranium equivalent in 2025, while only 7% of deliveries were U.S.-origin. Canada was the largest source, accounting for 32%. Washington is simultaneously investing heavily in domestic conversion and enrichment capacity as it reduces dependence on Russian nuclear-fuel services. The Department of Energy awarded US$2.7 billion in enrichment task orders in January 2026. Dasa therefore sits at the intersection of two powerful trends: higher uranium demand and growing government concern about where nuclear fuel comes from. Neither guarantees the project will be completed, but both improve the strategic case for finding a way to finance it.

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