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Toro Energy Limited (Toro or the Company) is pleased to announce that it has secured firm commitments for a A$12.3 million placement (before costs) comprising the issue of approximately 23 million new fully-paid ordinary shares in the capital of the Company (Placement). The Placement was well supported by new and existing institutional, sophisticated and professional investors.
- Toro has received firm commitments to raise A$12.3 million at $0.52 per share
- Strong support from offshore and domestic institutional investors
- Use of funds include pilot plant development and associated works and drilling at the Company’s Wiluna Uranium Project
- In addition to the Placement, the Company announces that it will offer eligible shareholders the opportunity to apply for new Toro shares under a Share Purchase Plan to raise up to at least A$2 million at the same price as the Placement
The Placement funds will primarily support further development of the Wiluna Uranium Project and provide working capital for the Company. Specifically, proceeds will be used to fund the following:
- Pilot plant program as part of the Lake Maitland pre-feasibility study and to test samples across the Company’s entire Wiluna Uranium Project;
- Drilling for additional samples at Lake Maitland, Lake Way and Centipede-Millipede for further metallurgical test work to inform an improved processing flowsheet;
- Additional exploration and evaluation activities to maintain tenements in good standing; and
- General working capital and costs of the Placement.
Commenting on the capital raise, Executive Chairman, Richard Homsany said:
“Toro is extremely pleased with the outcome of this capital raising and is delighted to welcome new highly reputable investors to its register together with the increased investment from existing shareholders. On behalf of the Board, we would like to thank the joint lead managers and all investors who supported the transaction which further strengthens Toro’s register. The Board is grateful for the continued support of our existing shareholders and will offer eligible shareholders the opportunity to apply for new Toro shares under a Share Purchase Plan.
As global uranium markets continue to strengthen and public sentiment and government support align, Toro remains committed to developing the Wiluna Uranium Project to maximise its value. With further work, Toro is confident its assets will emerge as attractive stand-alone mining projects and we very much look forward to the year ahead.”
Canaccord Genuity (Australia) Limited and Euroz Hartleys Limited acted as Joint Lead Managers and Bookrunners to the Placement.
Placement
Toro received strong support from a number of high-quality institutional investors both domestically and internationally for the Placement.
Under the Placement, the Company will issue new fully-paid ordinary shares (Placement Shares) at $0.52 per Placement Share. The Placement offer price represents a 13.3% discount to the last-close on 17 January 2024 ($0.60 per share) and a 13.2% discount to the 5-day VWAP ($0.599 per share).
The Placement Shares will be issued within the Company’s existing placement capacity under ASX Listing Rules 7.1 and 7.1A. Settlement of the Placement Shares is expected to occur on Thursday, 25 January 2024. All Placement Shares will rank equally with the Company’s existing shares on issue.
Key Dates
The Placement timetable is indicative only and subject to variation. The Company reserves the right to alter the timetable at its discretion and without notice, subject to the ASX Listing Rules and the Corporations Act (Cth).
Uranium Market Update
Global uranium markets continue to strengthen and fundamentals remain strong. There has been significant sector momentum with spot uranium prices recently breaking through US$100/lb, the second highest level in history as price action continues to reconcile with supply tightness as evidenced by unfilled RFPs over recent months. Contracting volumes are at decade long highs with UxC estimating that utilities have contracted more than 160Mlb in 2023, compared to a total of 125Mlbs in 2022. Nuclear power sentiment is improving and gathering momentum, with the US and 20 other countries announcing that their nuclear power will be tripled by 2050. Security of supply remains critical, with the potential US ban on Russian LEU imports, which the Senate is expected to vote in favour of in the coming weeks.
Click here for the full ASX Release
This article includes content from Toro Energy, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
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Toro Energy
Investor Insight
Toro Energy’s significant uranium resource in a tier 1 jurisdiction places the company in a compelling position to leverage a bullish uranium market and the mineral’s strategic role in global decarbonization.
Overview
Australia is the world’s third-largest uranium producer (12 percent) next to Kazakhstan (43 percent) and Canada (13 percent). It is home to the Wiluna Uranium Project, the flagship asset of Toro Energy (ASX:TOE), a uranium exploration and development company also exploring value in other commodities.
The 100-percent-owned Wiluna uranium project includes three key deposits – Lake Maitland, Centipede-Millipede and Lake Way – and offers significant uranium exposure of 87.8 million tons (Mt) at 381 ppm for 73.6 Mlbs U3O8 at 100 ppm cut-off (JORC 2012). It is located only 30 kilometers southeast of Wiluna in Central Western Australia.
The Wiluna uranium project has received state and federal approval (subject to required amendments) and has been granted mining leases.
Considerable research over recent years has identified processing redesign opportunities from unique geological attributes within the uranium deposits, but particularly at Lake Maitland, as well as the ability to extract the inherent vanadium held within the uranium ‘ore’ for a vanadium by-product.
Within the uranium mineralization envelope, the Wiluna project is estimated to contain 141.8 Mt vanadium oxide (V2O5) at 286 ppm for 89.3 Mlbs of V2O5 at 100 ppm V2O5 cut-off (JORC 2012), as of September 24, 2024.
The scoping study for the stand-alone Lake Maitland uranium-vanadium operation option shows potential for exceptional financial returns with a pre-tax NPV of AU$832.8 million, a short payback period of 2.5 years, 48 percent internal rate of return, and low capex of AU$291 million (US$203 million), based on price assumption of US$85/lb U3O8, US$5.67/lb V2O5 and a 70 cents US$:AU$ exchange rate.
In September 2024, the Lake Maitland deposit has been re-estimated using a resource envelope more in line with the other Wiluna uranium deposits; allowed the lowering of the cut-off grade to 100ppm U3O8, expanding Lake Maitland resources by 12 percent and that of the entire Wiluna project by 17 percent (when the expansions at Lake Way and Centipede-Millipede are also included).
The design phase of Toro Energy’s beneficiation and hydrometallurgical pilot plant is on track and in line with plans to finalise construction. The pilot plant will test the improved beneficiation and hydrometallurgical circuit developed by Toro from bench scale research at a closer-to-production scale and as single streams. It will also test potential ore from the three uranium-vanadium deposits that Toro believes will make up an extended Lake Maitland operation – these include Lake Maitland, Lake Way and Centipede-Millipede.
The Lake Maitland deposit is part of a joint venture partnership with two reputable Japanese corporations, Japan Australia Uranium Resource Development. (JAURD) and Itochu.
Toro has been actively evaluating the prospectivity of its Wiluna asset portfolio for minerals other than uranium, including nickel and gold.
The Lake Maitland mining pit re-optimization which incorporated the latest resource estimates and updated financial data has been completed. Mine scheduling is currently underway in preparation for the upcoming scoping study update.
Toro’s Dusty nickel project is located on the northern, eastern and southern shores of Lake Maitland and the Lake Maitland uranium deposit and is focused on two main target areas: Dusty and Yandal One. These properties will be the subject of a proposed demerger, following Toro’s recent strategic review of its non-core assets and future plans to solely focus on its uranium development opportunities and its flagship Wiluna project.
Toro Energy’s management team and board of directors have extensive experience in the mining industry, with combined expertise that includes working at major mining houses, exploration companies, uranium mining operations, corporate financing and government and community relations.
Company Highlights
- Toro Energy is a well-established uranium exploration and development company based in Western Australia, with a strong focus on unlocking value from additional commodities within its highly prospective landholdings.
- The company holds JORC-compliant uranium resources totaling 112.7 million pounds (Mlbs) of uranium oxide (U₃O₈) across its Western Australian projects.
- Toro’s 100%-owned flagship Wiluna Uranium Project, located 30 km southeast of Wiluna in Central Western Australia, hosts a total resource of 87.8 million tonnes (Mt) at 331 ppm for 73.6 Mlbs U₃O₈ at a 100 ppm cut-off. The project encompasses three key deposits: Lake Maitland, Centipede-Millipede, and Lake Way.
- Within the uranium mineralization envelope, Toro has also defined a maiden vanadium resource of 89.3 Mlbs V₂O₅ at a 100 ppm cut-off. A scoping study for a stand-alone Lake Maitland uranium-vanadium operation indicates the potential for exceptional financial returns.
- Beyond uranium, strategic exploration within the Lake Maitland tenure has led to the discovery of massive nickel sulphide and vein-hosted gold deposits, including the Dusty Nickel Project and the Yandal Gold Project.
- Following a recent strategic review, Toro is evaluating a renewed focus on uranium development and is considering the demerger of non-core assets, including its nickel, gold, and base metal projects in Western Australia.
- Toro is led by a highly experienced management team and board of directors, with deep expertise in uranium exploration, mining, and base metal exploration.
Key Projects
Wiluna Uranium Project
Location of the Lake Maitland Uranium and Vanadium Deposit within Toro’s portfolio of Uranium-Vanadium Deposits that make up the company’s Wiluna Uranium-Vanadium Project
Toro Energy’s flagship asset is located only 30 kilometers from the town of Wiluna in the northern goldfields region within central Western Australia. The Wiluna project contains 87.8 Mt at 381 ppm for 73.6 Mlbs U 3O8 at 100 ppm cut-off over three deposits: Centipede-Millipede, Lake Way and Lake Maitland. The asset has been de-risked and optimized to improve yield and has successfully incorporated the processing of a vanadium resource as a by-product. A scoping study was completed for a stand-alone Lake Maitland uranium-vanadium operation.
Project Highlights:
- De-risked Uranium Project: Toro Energy has de-risked the Wiluna uranium asset by securing state and federal approvals, mining leases, and a simplified mining process. Further approvals are needed due to project enhancements. Extensive lab testing has also validated an efficient beneficiation and processing technique, enabling vanadium extraction as a valuable by-product.
- Uranium Exploration assets: Toro also owns 100 percent of three other exploration projects in Western Australia that have a total uranium resource of 39.1 Mlbs Nowthanna (200ppm U3O8 cut-off), Dawson Hinkler (100ppm U3O8 cut-off) and Theseus (200ppm U3O8 cut-off).
- Lake Maitland Pit Expansion: A 2022 pit expansion for a stand-alone Lake Maitland mining and processing operation, based on an updated uranium price, the inclusion of vanadium as a by-product, revised OPEX based on a the new beneficiation and processing flow sheet, increased the potential volume of uranium ore
- Initial Scoping study at proposed Lake Maitland Uranium-Vanadium Operation: Initial scoping study results following the 2022 pit expansion highlight the project’s potential for robust financial returns, increasing the asset to US$608 million in potential gross product value (assumes a US$70/lb U3O8, US$5.67/lb V2O5 price and a US$: AU$0.70 exchange rate).
- 2024 Scoping Study Financial Metrics Update: A refresh of the scoping study on the stand-alone Lake Maitland operation which incorporates current financial metrics and improved uranium pricing has been recently completed resulting an increase in pre-tax NPV to $832.8 million and 48 percent IRR (assumes a US$85/lb U3O8, US$5.67/lb V2O5 price and a US$: AU$0.70 exchange rate).
- Expanded Resource: Reducing the U₃O₈ and V₂O₅ cut-off grade to 100 ppm has significantly expanded resources across all three uranium-vanadium deposits:
- Lake Maitland:
- U₃O₈: +12 percent (3.2 Mlbs) to 29.6 Mlbs, average grade 403 ppm
- V₂O₅: +74 percent (13.4 Mlbs) to 31.4 Mlbs, average grade 285 ppm
- Centipede-Millipede:
- U₃O₈: +25 percent (5.98 Mlbs) to 29.95 Mlbs, average grade 351 ppm
- V₂O₅: +17% (6.6 Mlbs) to 45.2 Mlbs, average grade 281 ppm
- Lake Way:
- U₃O₈: +15 percent (1.79 Mlbs) to 14.12 Mlbs, average grade 406 ppm
- V₂O₅: +9.5 percent (1.1 Mlbs) to 12.7 Mlbs, average grade 307 ppm
- Lake Maitland:
- Pilot Plant Design Commissioned: A detailed pilot plant design is being undertaken to further assess the new processing flowsheet for Lake Maitland at a closer to ‘operational’ scale. The pilot plant design is on track incorporating all aspects of both uranium and vanadium production. A sonic core drilling program will commence to deliver potential ore to the pilot plant currently in design for Wiluna.
- Robust Local Infrastructure: The assets are within an established mining center, which means much of the required infrastructure is readily available. The project has access to power and water, which reduces initial development costs.
- Joint Venture Partnership: Toro Energy has entered into a joint venture partnership with JAURD and Itochu for its Lake Maitland deposit. Both corporations have the right, but not the obligation, to earn a combined 35 percent interest in the project upon contributing US$39.6 million, and an additional proportionate share of expenditure thereafter, once a positive final investment decision has been made based on a definitive feasibility study.
The Dusty Nickel Project – Discoveries of Massive Nickel Sulphide
Toro’s Lake Maitland tenure is located in the Yandal Greenstone Belt within the Yilgarn Craton of Western Australia, a gold district within a world-class gold and nickel province. With little exploration for non-uranium minerals ever conducted on the properties, Toro considers the project area highly prospective for nickel, gold and base metals.
Exploration and diamond drilling have identified four massive/semi-massive nickel sulphide zones within just 4.5 km of a 7.5 km komatiite magnetic trend. Limited testing has been conducted across a 15 km strike of known komatiite-ultramafic target rock. With minimal drilling at Lake Maitland, the full extent of prospective nickel sulphide mineralization remains unknown.
Project Highlights:
- Four zones of massive nickel sulphide discovered: Toro has discovered four zones of massive and semi-massive nickel sulphides: Dusty, Houli Dooley, Jumping Jack and Dimma.
- Yandal OneTarget Area: The Yandal One Target Area is located some 17 kilometers south of the Dusty discoveries and with limited drilling, Toro has proven the existence of another komatiite with the potential to host massive nickel sulphide.
Toro Yandal Gold Project
The Lake Maitland tenure is located only 20 kilometers northeast of the world-class Bronzewing and Mt McClure gold mines within the same Greenstone Belt, the Yandal, within one of the most famous gold provinces in the world, the Yilgarn Craton.
Early exploration by Toro at the Golden Ways target area in the north of the project has uncovered surface rock chip samples of up to 70 g/t gold and significant drilling results, including:
- 5 meters at 4.4 g/t from 22 meters (TERC24)
- Including 2 meters at 9.93 g/t from 22 meters
- 4 meters at 3.3 g/t from 28 meters (TERC25)
- Including 1 meter at 10.9 g/t from 28 meters
- 2 meters at 3.79 g/t from 10 meters (TERC38)
- Including 1 meters at 7.33 g/t from 10 meters
- 3 meters at 1.41 g/t from 9 meters (TERC36)
- Including 1 meters at 2.76 g/t from 10 meters
Management Team
Richard Homsany - Executive Chairman
Richard Homsany has extensive experience in the resources industry, having been the executive vice-president for Australia of TSX-listed Mega Uranium since April 2010. He has worked for North Ltd, an ASX top 50-listed internationally diversified resources company in operations, risk management and corporate, before its takeover by Rio Tinto.
Homsany is an experienced corporate lawyer and certified practicing accountant (CPA) advising numerous clients in the energy and resources sector, including publicly listed companies. He was corporate partner at international law firm DLA Phillips Fox (now DLA Piper), where he advised clients on a range of transactions and matters including capital raising, IPOs, stock exchange listing, mergers and acquisitions, finance, joint ventures, divestments and governance.
Michel Marier - Non-executive Director
Michel Marier joined Sentient in 2009 as an investment manager. Before joining Sentient, Marier worked eight years in the private equity division of la Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec. Marier holds a master’s degree in finance from HEC Montreal and is a CFA charter holder.
Richard Patricio - Non-executive Director
Richard Patricio is the CEO and president of Mega Uranium, a uranium-focused investment and development company with assets in Canada and Australia. Patricio has built a number of mining companies with global operations. He holds senior officer and director positions in several junior mining companies listed on the TSX, TSX Venture, AIM and NASDAQ exchanges. He is currently also a director of NexGen Energy (TSE:NXE, Mkt Cap. C$2.7 billion). He previously practiced law at a top-tier law firm in Toronto and worked as an in-house general counsel for a senior TSX-listed company. He received his law degree from Osgoode Hall and was called to the Ontario bar in 2000.
Dr. Greg Shirtliff – Geology Manager
Dr. Greg Shirtliff, with a PhD in mine-related geology and geochemistry from ANU, has 20+ years of experience across environmental, mine geology, resource development, exploration, and management. His career includes roles at ERA-Rio Tinto’s Ranger Uranium Mine, Cameco Australasia, and currently as Lead Geologist & Technical Manager at Toro Energy. He oversees uranium and mineral resource development, directs exploration strategy, supports EPA approvals, and guides engineering and metallurgical assessments.
Katherine Garvey - Legal Counsel and Company Secretary
Katherine Garvey is a corporate lawyer who has significant experience in the resources sector. Garvey advises public (both listed and unlisted) and proprietary companies on a variety of corporate and commercial matters including capital raising, finance, acquisitions and disposals, Corporations Act and ASX Listing Rule compliance, corporate governance and company secretarial issues. She has extensive experience drafting and negotiating various corporate and commercial agreements including farm-in agreements, joint ventures, shareholders’ agreements, and business and share sale and purchase agreements.
Marc Boudames - Financial Controller
Marc Boudames is experienced in statutory financial reporting, taxation, ERP systems, business analytics, corporate transactions, due diligence, mergers & acquisitions, finance, joint ventures and divestments. He previously worked at RSM Bird Cameron, as general manager –finance & administration for ASX-listed Redport Ltd and Mega Uranium (Australia), a Canadian TSX-listed mining and equity investment company focused on global uranium properties and multi-mineral exploration. He has worked for multiple companies across various industries, including listed and public companies associated with the mining and oil and gas sectors, such as WesTrac, CB&I and Spotless Group.
Uranium development and exploration in Western Australia
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