The Conversation (0)
In other uranium news, India and Australia signed a uranium agreement this week, as did China and Argentina.
There’s been much exciting uranium news this past week, including the completion of a bilateral nuclear cooperation agreement between India and Australia.
On Tuesday, Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Malcolm Turnbull announced that the procedures for the deal, including administrative arrangements, have been completed. The agreement was signed in September 2014 during former Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s visit to India.
Earlier this year, the agreement received conditional approval from the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties. A set of conditions that came with that approval, including the establishment of an independent nuclear regulator in India, the separation of Delhi’s civil and military nuclear facilities and the allowance of safety inspections.
Interestingly, that’s not the only significant uranium deal signed this week — over the weekend, Argentina signed an agreement with China for the construction of the South American country’s fourth and fifth nuclear power plants. China will contribute 85 percent of the required financing for the $15-billion project and China National Nuclear is expected to advance negotiations with Chinese financial institutions to conclude financing for it. The agreement requires that over 70 percent of the components of the plant be supplied by Argentine companies.
Uranium news: Fission shareholder proxy fight
Fission Uranium (TSX:FCU) retail shareholder group FCU OverSight said Monday that it is going ahead with a proxy fight against Fission in an attempt to have board members replaced.
The group announced plans to launch the fight late last month, and Fission reacted by amending its by-laws and adopting an advance-notice provision to force shareholders to give 30 days’ notice to name new directors at its annual general meeting, scheduled for December 15. The shareholder group did not fold under the time constraint, and has nominated five new directors to replace Fission’s current board.
Fission sent out a letter and its management information circular to all shareholders on Monday, including the list of nominees put forth by FCU OverSight founder James Gifford. “It is unfortunate that Mr. Gifford has chosen to initiate a proxy fight that will unnecessarily force Fission to waste time and spend shareholder resources that would be better spent on advancing the PLS project,” Fission CEO Dev Randhawa states in the press release.
Uranium news: Toro’s Wiluna project expansion
Monday also saw Toro Energy (ASX:TOE) release a public environmental review (PER) for the expansion of its Wiluna uranium project in Western Australia. The company has already secured major environmental approvals from both the Western Australian and federal governments to establish a processing facility at the project and commence mining two of its deposits, Centipede and Lake Way.
“Today’s release of the PER is a further opportunity for the public to engage in the assessment process and for Toro to explain how development of the Millipede and Lake Maitland deposits can be undertaken while protecting the environment and providing community benefits,” Toro’s managing director, Dr. Vanessa Guthrie, said in a press release.
Public submissions on the PER will close on February 8, 2016 after a 12-week public review period.
Uranium news: Mulga Rock PFS
On Tuesday, Vimy Resources (ASX:VMY) announced the completion of a prefeasibility study (PFS) for its Mulga Rock uranium project in Australia. The PFS reveals a total resource estimate of 65.6 million tonnes at 520 ppm U3O8 for a contained 75 million pounds of U3O8. Estimated total production is 50.4 million pounds U3O8 over a 17-year mine life.
The study also shows a robust pre-tax net present value of AU$431 million, a 25-percent internal rate of return and a 3.9-year payback at US$65 per pound U3O8.
Securities Disclosure: I, Kristen Moran, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
Related reading:
How Will India’s Nuclear Growth Affect Uranium Demand?
Australia-India Uranium Deal Receives Conditional Approval
Uranium News: China and France Strengthen Nuclear Partnership
Uranium News: Fission Retail Shareholder Group Prepares for Proxy Fight
FCU:CA
