Newera acquires 80% rights in NT uranium tenements

Subiaco-based uranium explorer Newera Uranium Ltd has acquired an 80 per cent stake in the rights to two Northern Territory uranium tenements through a cash and scrip issue.

The company has acquired a three year option to acquire the rights from West Perth-based Fermi Pty Ltd for a fee $80,000, plus an issue of 300,000 shares, worth $90,000, and 160,000 options exerciseable at 35 cents.

On exercise of the option (at Newera's discretion), Newera would be required to pay $200,000 cash plus issue fully paid shares to the value of $800,000, plus 600,000 options exercisable at 50c, with three years to expiry from the date of grant.

In lieu of the issue of shares, Newera has the right to pay up to 60 per cent of the exercise price in cash, should it choose to do so.

The tenements cover 230 sqkm within the Harts Range province of the Northern Territory, and are within 25kms of Newera's existing Quartz Hill project.

The full text of a company announcement is pasted below

Newera Uranium Limited (ASX: NRU - "Newera") is pleased to announce that it has moved to secure a highly uranium and rare earth prospective ground package consisting of two (2) tenements covering 230 square kilometres within the Harts Range Province of the Northern Territory.

Newera has entered into a agreement with Fermi Pty Ltd ("Fermi"), giving it a three-year option to secure 80% of Fermi's rights to Northern Territory exploration licences EL25700 and EL25926.

The tenement package designated the "Brumby" project represents a highly prospective and significant uranium exploration opportunity and consolidates Newera's ground position within the Harts Range province. The Brumby tenements are within 25kms of Newera's existing Quartz Hill project.

Uranium mineralisation at the Brumby prospect is hosted by pegmatite dykes intruding gneisses and schists of the Illogwa Shear Zone. The pegmatites occur as a swarm radiating from the nearby Entia Dome, a granite intrusion 20km to the north east and are probably related to late stage granite emplacement. The pegmatites contain allanite, a common rare earth element (REE) and uranium bearing mineral typically occurring in pegmatites and some granites. This style of mineralisation is similar to that identified at Newera's Quartz Hill Project which hosts numerous pegmatite dykes, each typically 10m wide by several hundred metres long.
Within EL25926, the Blueys Folly prospect outcrops over an area of about 4km2 that consists predominantly of pegmatite and is estimated to contain several million tones grading in excess of 0.4% allanite (non - JORC compliant) (Murrell 1988).

The Fermi tenements (now optioned by Newera) are prospective for both Uranium and Rare Earth as indicated in table 1. below.

Commenting on the acquisition, Newera's Managing Director, Martin Blakeman, said: "This acquisition adds to Newera's developing position within the Harts Range province where Newera has targeted pegmatite hosted styles of uranium mineralisation and where historic exploration has clearly demonstrated the presence of strongly uraniferous pegmatite swarms.

Newera holds rights to the Quartz Hill project hosting uraniferous pegmatites and now has secured rights to a further two separate recognized uraniferous pegmatite prospects in Brumby and Blueys Folly, through rights to a majority interest in tenements that have excellent potential to host economic uranium mineralization."

"Our recent focus has been to continue assessing opportunities in the Northern Territory which currently provides the ability to explore for and develop uranium opportunities. This significant addition to our portfolio complements our existing projects and positions the Company as a serious explorer in the Northern Territory," Mr. Blakeman added.

The principle terms of the Option Agreement are:
A three (3) year option to acquire 80% of Fermi's rights to the exploration licence applications listed above, an option fee on signing of the agreements of $80,000 plus an issue of fully paid shares to the value of $90,000 (300,000 shares @ 30c fixed), plus 160,000 options exercisable at 35c with a three year expiry from the date of grant.

On exercise of the option (at Newera's discretion), Newera would be required to pay $200,000 cash plus issue fully paid shares to the value of $800,000 (at the volume weighted average share price for the last five days trading of Newera on ASX prior to the exercise date) plus 600,000 options exercisable at 50c, with three years to expiry from the date of grant. In lieu of the issue of shares, Newera has the right to pay up to 60% of the exercise price in cash, at Newera's election.