TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Cameco Corp, the world’s biggest uranium miner, has extended its C$3.75-a-share hostile bid for junior Hathor Exploration to November 14, it said on Monday.

TSX-quoted Hathor rejected the August 26 offer, opting instead for a friendly deal with global mining giant Rio Tinto, which offered the company C$4.15 a share – an 11% increase on Cameco’s bid.

The uranium giant said subsequently it was considering its options following Rio Tinto’s emergence as a rival bidder.

Shares in Hathor, which owns the high-grade Roughrider uranium deposit in northern Saskatchewan, were changing hands at C$4.53 apiece in early Monday trading, well above both the Cameco and Rio Tinto offers, indicating the market expected a bidding war would ensue.

Earlier in October, Versant Partners analyst Rob Chang suggested Rio Tinto and Cameco might make a joint bid for Hathor.

Cameco’s bid was to have expired on Monday, while Rio Tinto’s is open for “not less than 35 days”.
 

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