Africa-Press – Namibia. CANADIAN mining company Madison Metals has bought more land in the Erongo region for its uranium mining activities.
Lazarus Amukeshe and Regina Murphy
CANADIAN mining company Madison Metals has bought more land in the Erongo region for its uranium mining activities.
The upstream mining and exploration company on Monday announced it had agreed to acquire 90% of the mining licence 86A and exclusive prospecting licence 8905.
A Ministry of Mines and Energy list of mining licences and exclusive prospecting licences shows that mining licence 86A was owned 100% by Khan Mining Ltd, while the exclusive prospecting licence 8905 belonged to Hasine Investment CC.
Mining licence 86A measures 142ha, and exclusive prospecting licence 8905 measures 64ha.
The list of applications for exclusive prospecting licences released on 12 July shows that 8 905 was still at the application stage.
Madison Metals already owns exclusive prospecting licence 7011 and has an agreement to acquire a 24% direct interest in mining licence 121.
The latest land acquisition comes after the company’s announcement on 19 September this year that it had acquired an 85% interest in Otjiwa Mining and Prospecting CC’s exclusive prospecting licences 8 531 and 8 115 in the Erongo region.
Exclusive prospecting licence 8 115 is 42km east of Swakopmund and spans an area of approximately 61 km2.
The other exclusive prospecting licence, 8 115, is 18km south-west of the Rössing Uranium Mine and west of the Husab Mine. It lies within a relatively under-explored area.
The company is consolidating this land under Madison North and Madison West. Exclusive prospecting licences 7 011 and 8 531, previously known as Rössing North, will become Madison North.
Exclusive prospecting licence 8 115 and mining licence 121, previously Rössing West, will be consolidated under Madison West.
The land under mining licence 86A and exclusive prospecting licence 8 905 connects Madison North and Madison West.
With this transaction, Madison Metals executive chairperson Duane Parnham says the company continues to expand its land holdings around producing uranium mines in the Erongo region.
“The acquisition of these licences is a core part of our strategy to build a regional-scale portfolio focused on the highly prospective uranium province. It also increases the company’s and its shareholders’ exposure to uranium,” Parnham says.
The Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism awarded Madison Metals Inc an environmental clearance certificate for exclusive prospecting licences 8 531 and 8 115 last week.
The environmental clearance certificate that expires in October 2025 allows them to start drilling early next year.
In October, Madison announced it had earned US$5,12 million (N$92 million) in 13 days from a deal to create a cryptocurrency backed by uranium mined in Namibia.
The uranium Madison used was from the mining activities on mining licence 121, where it has a 24% interest licence.
Madison is in partnership with the Namibia Nuclear Corporation.
Madison signed a historic and first-of-its-kind uranium forward sales agreement with the Isle of Man-registered fintech company Lux Partners Ltd on 30 September.
According to the five-year forward sales agreement that started on 15 October, Madison Metals is expected to deliver about 20 million pounds (nine million kilograms) of triuranium octoxide (U308) from its mining projects in Namibia.
MARKET OUTLOOK
According to a Sprott Insights analysis released this week, analysts believe that physical uranium and uranium miners are well positioned to take share within the energy sector as energy security and decarbonisation increase in importance.
“With the number of nuclear reactors planned to increase by 35%, governments are signalling the need to embrace the reliable, efficient, clean and safe energy produced by nuclear power to meet ambitious decarbonisation goals. At the same time, a uranium supply deficit remains entrenched and uranium miners may be the recipients of increased investment, which may in turn bring the market back into balance”, said Jacob White, a senior analyst at Sprott Asset Management LP.
Over the long term, White said increased demand in the face of an uncertain uranium supply may likely support a sustained bull market.
He also added some concern that despite there being an unprecedented number of announcements for nuclear power plant restarts, life extensions and new builds that are all creating incremental demand for uranium, the current uranium price remains below incentive levels to restart tier 2 production and greenfield development.
The U3O8 uranium spot price climbed 8,32% in October, rising from US$48,25 to US$52,27 per pound.
By comparison, the broader commodity markets gained just 1,67%.
Furthermore, the International Energy Agency has increased its forecasts of nuclear power, reporting that it expects nuclear energy generation to grow 53% from 2021 to 2050 based on current stated government policies in place, 84% based on announced government targets and 109% on its net zero emissions by 2050 scenario.
With nuclear energy’s generation potential to double by 2050, the uranium sector is likely poised to benefit.
Email: [email protected]
The upstream mining and exploration company on Monday announced it had agreed to acquire 90% of the mining licence 86A and exclusive prospecting licence 8905.
A Ministry of Mines and Energy list of mining licences and exclusive prospecting licences shows that mining licence 86A was owned 100% by Khan Mining Ltd, while the exclusive prospecting licence 8905 belonged to Hasine Investment CC.
Mining licence 86A measures 142ha, and exclusive prospecting licence 8905 measures 64ha.
The list of applications for exclusive prospecting licences released on 12 July shows that 8 905 was still at the application stage.
Madison Metals already owns exclusive prospecting licence 7011 and has an agreement to acquire a 24% direct interest in mining licence 121.
The latest land acquisition comes after the company’s announcement on 19 September this year that it had acquired an 85% interest in Otjiwa Mining and Prospecting CC’s exclusive prospecting licences 8 531 and 8 115 in the Erongo region.
Exclusive prospecting licence 8 115 is 42km east of Swakopmund and spans an area of approximately 61 km2.
The other exclusive prospecting licence, 8 115, is 18km south-west of the Rössing Uranium Mine and west of the Husab Mine. It lies within a relatively under-explored area.
The company is consolidating this land under Madison North and Madison West. Exclusive prospecting licences 7 011 and 8 531, previously known as Rössing North, will become Madison North.
Exclusive prospecting licence 8 115 and mining licence 121, previously Rössing West, will be consolidated under Madison West.
The land under mining licence 86A and exclusive prospecting licence 8 905 connects Madison North and Madison West.
With this transaction, Madison Metals executive chairperson Duane Parnham says the company continues to expand its land holdings around producing uranium mines in the Erongo region.
“The acquisition of these licences is a core part of our strategy to build a regional-scale portfolio focused on the highly prospective uranium province. It also increases the company’s and its shareholders’ exposure to uranium,” Parnham says.
The Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism awarded Madison Metals Inc an environmental clearance certificate for exclusive prospecting licences 8 531 and 8 115 last week.
The environmental clearance certificate that expires in October 2025 allows them to start drilling early next year.
In October, Madison announced it had earned US$5,12 million (N$92 million) in 13 days from a deal to create a cryptocurrency backed by uranium mined in Namibia.
The uranium Madison used was from the mining activities on mining licence 121, where it has a 24% interest licence.
Madison is in partnership with the Namibia Nuclear Corporation.
Madison signed a historic and first-of-its-kind uranium forward sales agreement with the Isle of Man-registered fintech company Lux Partners Ltd on 30 September.
According to the five-year forward sales agreement that started on 15 October, Madison Metals is expected to deliver about 20 million pounds (nine million kilograms) of triuranium octoxide (U308) from its mining projects in Namibia.
MARKET OUTLOOK
According to a Sprott Insights analysis released this week, analysts believe that physical uranium and uranium miners are well positioned to take share within the energy sector as energy security and decarbonisation increase in importance.
“With the number of nuclear reactors planned to increase by 35%, governments are signalling the need to embrace the reliable, efficient, clean and safe energy produced by nuclear power to meet ambitious decarbonisation goals. At the same time, a uranium supply deficit remains entrenched and uranium miners may be the recipients of increased investment, which may in turn bring the market back into balance”, said Jacob White, a senior analyst at Sprott Asset Management LP.
Over the long term, White said increased demand in the face of an uncertain uranium supply may likely support a sustained bull market.
He also added some concern that despite there being an unprecedented number of announcements for nuclear power plant restarts, life extensions and new builds that are all creating incremental demand for uranium, the current uranium price remains below incentive levels to restart tier 2 production and greenfield development.
The U3O8 uranium spot price climbed 8,32% in October, rising from US$48,25 to US$52,27 per pound.
By comparison, the broader commodity markets gained just 1,67%.
Furthermore, the International Energy Agency has increased its forecasts of nuclear power, reporting that it expects nuclear energy generation to grow 53% from 2021 to 2050 based on current stated government policies in place, 84% based on announced government targets and 109% on its net zero emissions by 2050 scenario.
With nuclear energy’s generation potential to double by 2050, the uranium sector is likely poised to benefit.
For More News And Analysis About Namibia Follow Africa-Press
