Posts on this website are general "tips" and nothing more than that and should never be used to make an investment or trading decision. All information should be carefully cross-checked against official sources for accuracy.
Greenland Energy and Minerals (ASX code: GGG) “Highlighting the exploration upside and sheer scale of GGG’s project, the new Zone 3 resource increases the global metal inventory at the project to a 575 million pounds of uranium, 10.3 million tonnes of TREO, and 2.24 million tonnes of zinc.”
The rare earth resource inventory includes 370,000 tonnes of heavy REO, and 840,000 tonnes of Y2O3.
Read about maiden JORC Resource for Zone 3 pdf
Image shows world’s largest undeveloped uranium resources.
Today’s announcement by Aura Energy has been summarized by www.miningnews.net and I will reproduce their opening statement:
“AURA Energy is looking for a partner to develop what may emerge as one of the world’s largest and lowest cost uranium mines at its Häggån project in Sweden following a revised and independent scoping study.”
In essence AEE has one of the world’s largest uranium resources in Sweden a mining friendly, low sovereign risk country. And at the moment with a market cap of ~$22m it is a bargain. The recent sales of uranium projects, with viable resources have been around $8 – $10 per pound. AEE’s Haggan project is viable, the mineralology and processing flow sheet has been defined and consequently AEE is absurdly under-priced.
Aura Appoints Corporate Advisory Firm
Aura Energy (Aura, ASX: AEE) has appointed leading independent Australian investment and advisory
house Gresham Advisory Partners Limited (Gresham) as a corporate advisor to the company.
The recent release of Scoping Study outcomes for the Häggån Project in Sweden has led to an increase in
expressions of interest in the Project from a number of significant participants in the uranium sector.
In light of these developments the company has decided it prudent to enlist the support of a leading
independent corporate advisory firm to assist in the consideration of opportunities to maximise
shareholder value.
Gresham has extensive experience in and an understanding of the uranium sector locally and
internationally. Its mandate extends to review a number of alternative development and funding
strategies for Häggån.
Under the terms of the appointment, Gresham is to be granted 1,000,000, three-year unlisted options
over new shares in Aura at a strike price of $0.20.
The company will advise the market of relevant developments in relation to the funding of Häggån in due
course. In the meantime, Aura remains focused on advancing its suite of uranium assets in Sweden,
Mauritania and Australia. Ends
As I have been predicting it seems that Australia may well lose one of the world’s largest uranium deposits and even at 20c per share it will still be one of the world’s cheapest in terms of EV/Resource.
Two ASX listed “Uranium” companies released their quarterly reports today. Both have good mineralogy and processing flow sheets.
BMN is a “pure” play Namibian Uranium explorer and GGG is a multi-metal Greenland Uranium, REE and Zinc explorer. Both have some similarities as they will be both able to produce large amounts of Uranium for many decades.
BMN: Proved and Probable Ore Reserves totaling 279.6 million tonnes at an average grade of 194ppm U3O8 for 119.3 Mlbs of contained U3O8; Market Cap AUD$60m (30/4/2012)
GGG: Project global resource base expanded to 861 Mt, containing 512 Mlbs U3O8, 340,000 t heavy REO, 750,000 t yttrium oxide, 4.4 Blbs zinc; Market Cap AUD$208m (30/4/2012)
Both have some country risk but an optimist would probably be comfortable with both. But it would seem that with GGG you get the world’s largest REE resource plus 4.4Blbs zinc for free.
And if you have no interest in REEs but would like the ASX’s largest uranium explorer, by resource, with a very low country risk and a minimalist market cap of AUD$22m then you’d probably like to have a very close look at AEE.
I hold GGG and AEE
The Häggån Project covers 110 square kilometers of the Storsjön District in Sweden
and forms part of an enormous uranium field, where the uranium occurs in black
shales, and currently holds a JORC inferred resource of 631 million pounds uranium.
There is potential for further large increases in resources with thick near-surface
mineralisation
But what excites me as an investor is the tank bio-leach process that has a very fast turnaround and high rates of extraction plus one of the lowest enterprise values/resource ratios of any uranium JORC deposit.
The uranium report just published by Martin Place Securities is one of the best I have read. It contains nearly all of the information you will require to make a decision about uranium shares. The MPS people put Australian ASX companies neatly into the world context. Download the MPS report (pdf)
STRONG POSITIVE ECONOMIC RESULTS CONFIRMED
FOR HÄGGÅN – MOVING TO PRE-FEASIBILITY
HIGHLIGHTS
Independent consultants have completed the first Scoping Study for the Häggån
Project:
Scoping study confirms economic viability for bioheap leach project
Net Present Value (NPV) – US$1,090M (pre-tax, 10% discount rate)
Internal Rate of Return (IRR) 47%
Total life of mine capital costs of US$769 million, including sustaining capital
Payback in approximately 4.3 years, or less than a fifth of current project life
Operating costs of US$36/lb uranium net of by-products
Low mining costs – strip ratio of 0.75:1
Nominal 30 Mtpa operation with a 25 year initial mine life – scope to expand
Target initial annual production of 6.6 Mlbs uranium, 14.8 Mlbs nickel and 3.6
Mlbs molybdenum; target would place Häggån in the top 10 uranium mining
operations
Sweden – excellent jurisdiction to develop a very long life mining operation
Similar-sized multi-metal bioheap leach operation in neighbouring Finland
Next-step: PRE-FEASIBILITY
“2016: We have to have supply in the market or the lights will gradually go out in the nuclear system,” said Thomas Drolet, the president of Drolet & Associates Energy Services, during a presentation at Cambridge House’s Vancouver Resource Investment conference on Monday.
A uranium supply crunch is widely anticipated to hit the nuclear industry starting next year as Cold War era sources of uranium dry up. To illustrate the severity of the shortage that the nuclear industry faces, Drolet highlighted 2010 uranium production from mining – 118 million pounds – versus consumption: 190 million pounds.
“You can do the delta difference yourself,” Drolet said, referring to how much of a supply gap miners will have to make up for in coming years.
That uranium is “going to have to come from somewhere,” he said.
The Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan, Drolet argued, only delayed the onset of the coming pinch on uranium supply. But even in his “downside” analysis the uranium deficit still comes by 2015. http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/view/mineweb/en/page72103?oid=143915&sn=Detail&pid=102055
We have updated our ASX listed companies sorted by resource size. There has been a fair amount of movement. One of the bigger surprises is one of our very small ($24m) by market cap companies moving into second position below BHP. This could be one of the world’s cheapest very large resources, in terms of market cap to resource size. It certainly is in an interesting position in regard to our ASX plays.
Note that the data is from 3Q 2011. Visit http://www.australianuranium.com.au/Australian-Uranium-Stocks-by-Resource.html to find out more
December 9, 2011: Extract Resources Ltd (ASX/TSX/NSX: EXT) (“Extract” or “the Company”) notes the announcement by Taurus Mineral Limited (“Taurus”), an entity
owned by CGNPC Uranium Resources Co., Ltd. (“CGNPC-URC”) and The China-Africa Development Fund (“CADFund”), of a recommended cash offer for Kalahari Minerals plc (“Kalahari”), Extract’s 42.74% shareholder, at a price of 243.55 pence per Kalahari share (the “Kalahari Offer”). The Taurus announcement includes a proposal to make a downstream cash offer to Extract shareholders of A$8.65 per Extract share (the “Extract Offer”), if Taurus receives acceptances of the Kalahari Offer in respect of more than 50% of the voting rights in Kalahari.
Update: 11/1/2012
Update Regarding Proposed Downstream Offer for Extract Resources
January 11, 2012: Extract Resources Ltd (ASX/TSX/NSX: EXT) (“Extract” or the
“Company”) has been informed that the Namibian Competition Commission (“NCC”) has
approved without conditions the possible acquisition of control of Extract by Taurus
Mineral Limited (“Taurus”), an entity owned by CGNPC Uranium Resources Co., Ltd.
(“CGNPC-URC”) and the China-Africa Development Fund (“CADFund”).
NCC consent to the possible change of control of Extract is a condition of the Taurus offer
to Kalahari shareholders (the “Kalahari Offer”), as set out in the offer document posted to
Kalahari shareholders on January 5, 2012.
Taurus has been granted relief by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission
(“ASIC”) to acquire an interest of more than 20% of Extract’s shares provided that, among
other conditions, Taurus makes a downstream offer for Extract (the “Proposed Extract
Offer”). Taurus is required to dispatch offer documentation to Extract shareholders within
four weeks of Taurus having received acceptances of the Kalahari Offer in respect of
more than 50% of the voting rights in Kalahari. The Proposed Extract Offer will only be
conditional upon Taurus becoming unconditionally entitled to shares carrying more than
50% of the voting rights in Kalahari, and standard prescribed occurrences as set out in the
Corporations Act not having occurred.
Extract’s Independent Directors are continuing to review all available opportunities to
maximise shareholder value, and intend to make a recommendation in relation to the
Proposed Extract Offer if and when such an offer is made.
