Australia’s Recharge Metals (ASX: REC) has inked a definitive agreement to buy the Newnham Lake uranium project in the Athabasca basin of Canada, the world’s top source of high-grade uranium, responsible for about 20% of global production.
The battery metals-focused miner said the project is close to significant discoveries such as IsoEnergy’s Hurricane deposit, which has an indicated resource of 48.6-million pounds of uranium oxide (U3O8), based on 63,800 t grading 34.5% U3O8.
It also presents potential for “basement-hosted” mineralization, akin to the high-grade deposits found below the Athabasca Basin’s unconformity, such as NexGen’s Arrow deposit, Recharge said.
The company noted it had secured commitments for a A$1.44-million share placement to fund the acquisition and accelerate exploration activities at the asset. An additional A$50,000 will be placed to directors, subject to shareholder approval, Recharge said.
”The continued partnership between Recharge and DGRM, who sold our Express lithium project, has cultivated a robust working rapport over the past year,” managing director Felicity Repacholi said in the statement.
Interest in uranium assets has picked in the past year as prices for the radioactive material rally. The commodity has extended its gains in 2024 as Kazatomprom, world’s biggest producer of the metal used to produce nuclear fuel, owered its guidance for production for this year by 12% to 14%.
Shares in the company surged as much as 8.5% to A$0.077 on the announcement, their biggest intraday percentage gain since Feb. 16. The stock closed at A$0.072, leaving Recharge Metals with a market capitalization of A$8.1 million ($5.2m).
_________
RELATED: Uranium firms revive forgotten mines as price of nuclear fuel soars