Perth company Arafura Resources NL is to spin-off its Northern Territory uranium projects into a new, as yet unnamed, company. The move will leave Arafura as a gold and rare earths company based on its substantial Nolans Bore rare earths, phosphate and uranium project near Alice Springs.
Arafura has several other low- to high-grade uranium projects within its 7,500 square kilometre holding, including Lagoon Creek and Lucy Creek.
Nolans Bore has a resource of 18.6 million tonnes, containing 577,000 tonnes of rare earths, 8.7 million pounds of uranium oxide and 2.6mt of phosphate pentoxide. The company said recovery test work would determine the nature of a possible off-take or other arrangement involving the Nolans Bore products and the new uranium company.
However, the major size and long life of the project, and successful indicators from initial metallurgical test work, had increased the company’s confidence that Nolans Bore would go into production, it said.
One listing option is to offer current shareholders an in-specie distribution of shares into the new entity with Arafura retaining a shareholding.
Details will be announced in the June quarter.
