PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Uranium miner Paladin has to repay $277-million in debt within the next 30 days, after the company failed to provide sufficient security to offtake partner Électricité de France (EDF) under a long-term supply contract (LTSC)
Paladin previously proposed additional security for the LTSC, signed in 2012, and had appointed an independent expert to opine on whether the value of the additional security offered was sufficient.
The expert has now delivered its final report confirming that the value of the additional security was insufficient.
Under the terms of the LTSC, Paladin has 30 days in which to repay the outstanding amount.
The company told shareholders on Tuesday that it had proposed a standstill of payment obligations to EDF, the terms of which the French company was now reviewing.
The LTSC consisted of a six-year offtake agreement, under which Paladin was contracted to deliver a total of 13.73-million pounds of uranium oxide between 2019 and 2024, in return for a cash prepayment of $200-million.
However, with the company pondering a sale of a stake in its Langer Heinrich mine, in Namibia, and with the close of the Kayelekera operation, in Malawi, concerns have been raised about Paladin’s ability to meet the supply contract, prompting EDF to request additional security for the prepayment, which was made in 2012.