TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Canada-based uranium project developer U3O8 Corp on Thursday received the shareholder approval from junior Calypso Uranium to proceed with its friendly all-script takeover of the company.
Despite the transaction still being subject to final regulatory and court approvals, the deal would expand U3O8 Corp's strategic land position around the State-owned Cerro Solo and Sierra Pintada uranium deposits, in Argentina, and add about $3.3-million in cash.
Under the terms of the agreement, the deal would add about $3.3-million in cash in exchange for 20.25-million common shares of U3O8, resulting in Calypso shareholders holding a 13% interest in the company.
U3O8 would issue 20.25-million common shares in exchange for all of the 50.63-million issued and outstanding common shares of Calypso, on the basis of 0.40 of one U3O8 share for each whole Calypso share. Calypso stock options would be converted to U3O8 options on the same basis as the common shares.
Calypso's exploration tenements would extend U3O8's strategic property holdings in the vicinity of the Cerro Solo deposit, in Chubut, which is currently being drilled by the Argentine State.
U3O8 said it believed the Cerro Solo deposit to be part of a larger uranium district, recently demonstrated by Canadian miner Cameco's commitment to a 30 000 m drill programme under way with its joint venture partner in the area.
Calypso's exploration concessions in the Sierra Pintada uranium district, in Mendoza, dovetail with U3O8's already dominant land-holdings, and the combined entity would control the property extensions to Argentina's largest and highest-grade uranium deposit.
Argentina is seeking domestic uranium supply to fuel its expanding nuclear generating capacity. When Argentina's third reactor comes on stream this year, 9% of the country's electricity would be derived from nuclear – and construction of a fourth reactor is out for tender.
Merger and acquisition activity in the mining industry is expected to increase over the coming year as junior companies consolidate their positions. In the uranium sector specifically, new midtier companies are expected to emerge as Uranium One was recently taken private and as catalysts drive a market turnaround.
A recent preliminary economic assessment pointed to U3O8's flagship Berlin deposit, in Colombia, being a zero cash-cost uranium producer owing to by-product revenues. U3O8 was also busy with exploration on the near-surface Laguna Salada uranium/vanadium deposit, in Chubut province, Argentina, which could employ low-cost continuous mining techniques.
U3O8 said the combined companies would have a cash balance of about $4.5-million to fund exploration and corporate activities.