Carley Bore joins Paladin portfolio
01 June 2015
Paladin Energy is to acquire the Carley Bore uranium project from Energia Minerals, strengthening the company's foothold in Western Australia's Carnarvon Basin uranium province.
Subject to approvals, Paladin will pay AUD1.6 million ($1.2 million) in cash plus 40 million Paladin shares for two tenements which include the Carley Bore uranium deposit. A second tranche of 5 million Paladin shares will be issued to Energia for a further tenement. The total transaction is worth AUD15.8 million ($12.1 million), according to Energia.
Carley Bore contains JORC-compliant indicated mineral resources of 5 million pounds U3O8 (1923 tU) and inferred resources of 10.6 million pounds U3O8 (4077 tU). The deposit has not been fully explored, and Paladin says it believes that there is "excellent potential" to increase the resource base by "at least" 15 to 25 million pounds U3O8 (5770 to 9616 tU).
The Carley Bore tenements are 100 km from Manyingee, where Paladin is carrying out preparatory work for an in situ leach (ISL) field trial. Carley Bore could therefore become a satellite operation to a main processing hub at Manyingee. Such an operating pattern for ISL operations, with a central plant supported by satellite deposits, makes for lower capital costs and more efficient development.
Paladin CEO John Borshoff described the acquisition as a "game changer" for the company's Australian projects. "With this land package, we have cornered a significant portion of the emerging Carnarvon Basin uranium province. This acquisition has the clear potential to improve the economics of a key development project by delivering valuable synergies in regional infrastructure," he said.
Scoping studies have already shown that a 2 million pound U3O8 per year, 10-year ISL operation at Manyingee is both technically and economically feasible at current uranium prices. The Carley Bore acquisition could potentially more than double mine life, but Paladin maintains that it will not develop any new projects before it is confident of a sustainable uranium price above $70 per pound. The company says that exploration work in 2016 will focus on extending the Carley Bore resource as well as regional exploration for further potential uranium deposits.
Energia Minerals intends to use the proceeds from the transaction to fund its zinc operations in northern Italy.
Researched and written
by World Nuclear News