Uranium miner Paladin Energy has set out to raise A$218.7-million to redeem outstanding senior secured notes and set it on a path to restart production at its Langer Heinrich mine, in Namibia.
The Australia-headquartered miner will raise the equity by way of a fully underwritten prorata accelerated nonrenounceable entitlement offer of A$90.2-million and an institutional placement of 347.3-million shares to raise A$128.5-million.
After redeeming outstanding senior secured notes, Paladin will be left with a net cash position of about $30-million, which will provide it with funding through to a Langer Heinrich restart decision.
“The equity raise represents the final step in a truly transformational ‘reset’ of the Paladin story with the upcoming full redemption of the legacy corporate debt on Paladin’s balance sheet,” says CEO Ian Purdy.
The equity raise and redemption process will also deliver optionality on future funding structures for the $81-million of capital required to restart the Namibian mine.
Langer Heinrich was placed on care and maintenance in May 2018, on the back of continued low uranium prices.
The restart plan, announced last year, confirmed a 17-year mine life, with peak production expected at 5.9-million pounds of uranium dioxide a year, from the seventh year of operation. Over the entire mine life, Langer Heinrich could produce up to 88.5-million pounds of uranium dioxide.