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Valor Resources Limited (Valor or the Company) (ASX: VAL) is pleased to advise that it has executed a binding terms sheet (Terms Sheet) with Firetail Resources Limited( ASX: FTL) (Firetail) under which Firetail can acquire up to an 80% interest in its Picha Copper-Silver Project and Charaque Copper Project in southern Peru.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Binding Terms Sheet executed with ASX-listed Firetail Resources (ASX: FTL) for the divestment of up to an 80% interest in Valor’s Picha and Charaque Copper Projects in Peru to Firetail.
- Proposed Transaction follows the recently announced Earn-in Agreement with leading global gold and copper producer Barrick Gold Corporation covering the Charaque Project (see ASX announcement, 26th June 2023).
- $200,000 exclusivity fee paid to Valor in consideration of Firetail being provided an exclusive 90- day due diligence period.
- Consideration comprises $550,000 in cash and, subject to Firetail shareholder approval, 15 million Firetail shares and 20 million performance rights subject to certain vesting conditions. The equity consideration is equivalent to a 20.58% shareholding in Firetail on a fully-diluted basis.
- Valor also retains exposure to future exploration upside in Peru via a retained 20% project interest.
- Valor Executive Chairman George Bauk to be appointed to the Firetail board as a Director.
- The proposed divestment will streamline Valor’s portfolio, crystallising value from its Peruvian assets while allowing it to focus on its highly prospective, drill-ready uranium projects in Canada’s Athabasca Basin at a time of rising uranium prices and surging investor interest in the sector.
Figure 1: Picha and Charaque Copper Projects in Peru.
Under the Terms Sheet, Firetail proposes to acquire up to 80% of the issued share capital of Kiwanda S.A.C. (Kiwanda), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Valor which holds the mining concessions that make up the Picha and Charaque Projects (Proposed Transaction).
Firetail is a diversified ASX-listed exploration company with a portfolio of battery metal assets across Western Australia and Queensland, including the Yalgoo and Dalgaranga Lithium Projects in WA, the Mt Slopeaway Nickel-Copper-Manganese Project in Queensland and the Paterson Copper-Gold Project in WA.
As part of the Proposed Transaction, Firetail will inherit Valor’s experienced in-country management and technical team as well as the recently announced Earn-in Agreement with leading global gold and copper producer Barrick Gold Corporation covering the Charaque Project (see ASX announcement, 26th June 2023).
Drill permitting is well advanced at the Picha Project, with multiple high-priority targets identified by Valor over the past two years.
Once completed, the Proposed Transaction will simplify Valor’s global exploration portfolio, with the Peru assets to be housed in a focused ASX-listed explorer with the resources and financial capability to execute drilling programs and unlock the significant potential of these assets.
Valor will retain significant exposure to the upside potential of these assets via a 20.58% shareholding in Firetail on a fully-diluted basis as well as a retained 20% project-level interest.
Valor Executive Chairman, George Bauk, will join the Firetail Board as a Director following completion of the Proposed Transaction.
At the same time, the Proposed Transaction will allow Valor to focus on the substantial potential of its portfolio of high-grade uranium and rare earth assets in the Athabasca Basin in Canada at a very favourable time in the market cycle for these commodities.
The Athabasca Basin is the world’s highest-grade source of uranium, with an average grade of ~2% U3O8 across the basin, approximately 10-20 times the global average. Despite this, the area has only seen sporadic modern exploration over the past 40 years.
Valor holds four strategic projects within the Athabasca Basin, with a series of established drill-ready targets planned for testing in 2023/4.
The uranium market has experienced strong demand in recent years in response to growing recognition of its important role in achieving global decarbonisation, with spot prices doubling since mid-2019.
Valor’s Executive Chairman, George Bauk, commented:
“For some time, Valor has been distinguished by having an extraordinarily asset-rich portfolio which includes high-potential mineral assets in Canada’s Athabasca Basin and southern Peru. The Proposed Transaction delivers a necessary portfolio simplification that we believe will unlock significant value for our shareholders.
“Having identified significant potential across both the Picha and Charaque Copper Projects over the past few years, we believe that the best way to move these assets forward is via the divestments to Barrick and Firetail.
“Thiswillallowustofocusonourhigh-potentialCanadianuraniumportfoliowhileretainingexposure to the upside in Peru via a free-carried interest in these assets. We believe that this structures the Company appropriately for the future while crystallising value for shareholders from our efforts in Peru over the past few years.
“Uraniumisanessentialpartoftheenergybalance moving forward if the world is going to get anywhere near meeting its net-zero ambitions. The recent increases in the uranium spot price are indicative of the excitement that is rapidly building in the uranium sector globally.
“We are very excited about the opportunity to focus our full efforts on these outstanding assets and accelerate exploration activities at a time when investor interest in potential new uranium discoveries and resources has never been stronger. The future for Valor is very bright and I am looking forward to concluding this transaction and advancing the Company to the next level.”
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This article includes content from Valor Resources, 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.
VAL:AU
Boss Set to Ship First U308 from Honeymoon
Highlights
- Startup production exceeding ramp-up schedule per the feasibility study (FS) estimates
- NIMCIX columns 2 and 3 on target for commissioning in Q3 and Q4, respectively in 2024
- Commissioning continues to advance, with key metrics remaining ahead of FS estimates:
- oWellfields continue to average 80 - 100mg/L vs FS estimate of 47mg/L (~100% uplift)
- oIon Exchange loaded resin recoverability remains at 100%
- oResin loading normalising at FS estimate of 27 g/L
- oElution performance exceeding FS estimate at 7 – 9 g/L
- First uranium sale to occur with revenue being received this quarter
- Boss remains highly leveraged to rising uranium price
Boss will now make its first delivery to European nuclear utilities under its existing sales contracts, with revenue to be received in the current quarter.
With NIMCIX Column 1 performing to expectations and construction of Columns 2 and 3 on track for completion in the September and December quarters, 2024 respectively, Boss expects production to total at least ~850,000lbs of U308 by June 30, 2025, in line with its Feasibility Study schedule1.
Boss Managing Director Duncan Craib said:“The start-up phase at Honeymoon is proceeding comfortably to plan, with all the key metrics running in line with, or exceeding, the forecasts contained in the Feasibility Study schedule.
“Construction of the second and third columns is also advancing well, ensuring we are on track to continue increasing our production rates. Total production in FY26 is set to meet or exceed our feasibility study forecasts at 1.63Mlb. The addition of columns 4, 5 and 6 are forecast to further increase the production rate to nameplate capacity of 2.45Mlb/annum by year three.”
Figure 1: Drummed uranium ready for first shipment
Figure 2: Construction of columns 2 and 3 nearing completion to increase Honeymoon's production profile
Production update
Operational focus over the coming months remains on optimisation of the ion exchange, elution, precipitation and drying and packing processes.
Wellfield performance continues to impress, with tenors from individual wellfields into the PLS averaging 80 - 100 mg/L. Honeymoon’s feasibility study assumed PLS grade of 47 mg/L based on results from the project’s previous operation. Boss is managing the grade of uranium being leached to maximise wellfield recoveries.
Consumption of reagents in the wellfields of sulphuric acid and ferric (pH and Eh) are normalising as per FS expectations. The lixiviant chemistry, as proved during the field leach trial, continues to demonstrate superior performance at commercial throughput rates. The increased leach efficiency leads to a more efficient loading on the ion exchange resin, effectively lowering operating costs as less reagents and power are required per drum of uranium.
Stripping of uranium from the loaded resin continues to be virtually 100%, also demonstrating that the ion exchange process is working as designed, resulting in a high-grade concentrated eluate greater than 7-9 g/L.
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This article includes content from Boss Energy Limited, 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.
Lo Herma ISR Uranium Project, Resource Drilling Funded
HIGHLIGHTS
- Upcoming Q3 resource drilling is fully funded
- Drilling will target expansion and upgrade of the current Inferred Mineral Resource Estimate of 5.71 Mlbs U3O8 at average 630ppm
- Drilling to commence in the coming weeks - starting late July or early August
- Planned rights entitlement offer to all shareholders on the same terms as the recent placement - details to be provided in due course
As previously advised on 2nd of May 2024, the planned 2024 drilling permit at Lo Herma allows for up to 76 drill hole locations including construction of up to 5 groundwater monitoring wells. This next phase of drilling will focus on expanding the resource areas and where possible, upgrading the current mineral resource classification (Table 1). Collection of important data including, hydrogeologic parameters of the mineralised aquifers and collection of rock core samples for metallurgical testing will be also prioritised. GTI intends to mobilise drilling rigs to Lo Herma as soon as the activity is fully permitted which is anticipated to be during late July or early August 2024.
Following completion of the 2024 drill program at Lo Herma, GTI intends to publish an updated mineral resource estimate and exploration target range for the project. The Company expects that the updated mineral resource estimate will support near-term development of a Scoping Study to demonstrate the economic potential of the project.
GTI Executive Director Bruce Lane commented, “We are pleased and excited to have received investor support and funding to continue moving forward with our planned resource expansion drilling at Lo Herma. Matt and the team in Wyoming have put us in a great position to complete the drilling program this quarter, with a revised mineral resource estimate to be rapidly advanced post-drilling. This work prepares GTI for a potential Lo Herma scoping study which we hope to commence later this year on the basis that we can significantly grow the uranium resource estimate to a similar scale to ISR uranium mines currently being constructed or planned in Wyoming at Ur-Energy’s Shirley Basin project & Encore’s Energy’s Gas Hills project.”
FIGURE 1. GTI WYOMING PROJECT LOCATIONS
LO HERMA GEOLOGIC SUMMARY
The Lo Herma project is located on the southern end of the west flank of the Powder River Basin (PRB), a regional asymmetric synclinal basin hosting a sedimentary rock sequence of about 15,000 feet in the deeper portions of the basin. The basin is bounded by the Bighorn Mountains on the west, the Black Hills to the east, and the Casper Arch, Laramie Mountains, and Hartville Uplift along the southern margin. Along the edges of the basin, progressively older sedimentary units outcrop at the surface as you move away from the synclinal axis of the basin.
The target host geology for Lo Herma project is located in and around the contact of the Eocene Wasatch Formation (Wasatch) and the Paleocene Fort Union Formation (Fort Union).
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This article includes content from GTI 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.
