PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Uranium hopeful Paladin Energy has raised A$15-million through a share purchase plan (SPP), which formed part of a greater A$215-million capital raise to restart operations at the Langer Heinrich uranium mine, in Namibia.
The ASX-listed company said on Tuesday that the SPP had been overwhelmingly supported by eligible shareholders, with the company receiving applications totalling over A$105-million.
The decision was taken to scale back the applications, and as such the board took the decision that no allocation would be made to directors or senior executives in the company.
Some 20.83-million new fully paid ordinary shares in Paladin will be issued under the SPP.
“The equity raise was an important catalyst for the company as it provides sufficient capital to restart the globally significant Langer Heinrich mine, as well as provide capital which will allow us to continue to advance our uranium marketing and exploration activities,” said Paladin CEO Ian Purdy.
“With the strength of the company’s existing uranium sales offtake with CNNC combined with the recent successful tender award and the continuing strong uranium market fundamentals, Paladin can now confidently work towards a formal commencement of the Langer Heinrich mine restart project.”
Restart costs for the Langer Heinrich operation have previously been estimated at $81-million, with the project’s life-of-mine production estimated at 77.4-million pounds over a 17-year mine life, at an estimated C1 cost of $27.40/lb.
Execution time for the restart project is 18 months from commencement to first production, with full production to be achieved within a further 15 months.