RECENTLY-LISTED local mining junior Bannerman Resources has entered into an agreement to acquire the majority rights to a uranium exploration portfolio situated in the southern African nation of Namibia in an area close to the world’s largest open pit uranium mines. The agreement gives the company exclusive rights to acquire 80 per cent in a privately held Namibian company, Turgi Investments, whose prime assets comprise eight mineral licence applications covering over 570,000 hectares in the central Swakopmund district of Namibia. The region hosts the world’s largest open cut uranium mine at Rössing, majority owned by Rio Tinto, and Paladin Resources’ Langer Heinrich uranium deposit. Under the agreement, Banner-man will issue 3.5 million fully paid ordinary shares to Turgi along with various tranches of unlisted options. The applications cover three areas within the central zone of the Damara Orogen, which hosts several uranium deposits. All applications contain known occurrences of uranium in geological environments and styles of mineralisation similar to both the Rössing and Langer Heinrich deposits, Bannerman said. Of the eight applications, six have competing applications over them, however two, at the time of application, were the only licences covering the ground, the junior said. In Namibia, applications are not necessarily granted solely based upon the time of application. The applications cover the right to explore for uranium, however the granting process may take up to five months, the company said. Due to the uncertainty surrounding the six competing applications, only details of the two priority applications, called Welwitschia and Onaries, have been disclosed to the market. A company consultant said that drilling had not been done in the area for approximately 20 years, but it had indicated significant mineralisation. The outlook for uranium continues to be optimistic with prices moving significantly to $ US 26.25 per pound this month. According to analysts, demand is being driven by end users in the power generation market, which is urgently trying to secure supply into the future with demand forecast to outstrip supply for at least the next 10 years. Bannerman listed on the ASX late last month at 20 cents, closing at a 12.5 per cent premium on its first day of trading. The company was joined by three other Western Australian mining companies to list on the ASX last month.
