www.kalahari-minerals.com
Kalahari Minerals plc is an AIM and NSX listed resource company with uranium, gold, copper and other base metal interests in Namibia. The Company’s key value drivers are its holding of approximately 40% in ASX, TSX and NSX listed Extract Resources Limited and its circa 45% interest in AIM listed North River Resources plc.
Kalahari Minerals says it is focused on “achieving value for all stakeholders”
Kalahari Minerals (LON:KAH) said this morning it is focused on “achieving value for all stakeholders” as preparations continue to bring the world class Husab uranium project into production.
Kalahari’s interest in Husab comes via a 42.7 per cent interest in Extract Resources, which is developing the Namibian deposit.
Kalahari said it expects a mining licence will be granted in the “coming months”.
After that it is estimated it will take 33 months from project approval to get Husab fully operational.
“It is currently envisaged that the advancement of Husab will be achieved through utilisation of a simplified development structure,” chairman Mark Hohnen said in a statement to investors accompanying interim results.
The statement charted a period of remarkable progress, and one in which the group was the target of a £756 million takeover bid, which was subsequently pulled in the wake of the Fukishima nuclear disaster.
Although Kalahari and would-be buyer China Guangdong Nuclear Power agreed a revised deal it was thwarted by the Takeover Panel.
However, the faint stirrings of interest in the uranium sector are starting to be detected in the wake of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami, which set the scene for the worst atomic disaster since Chernobyl.
Cameco Corp (TSE:CCO, NYSE:CCJ) has gone hostile with its US$530 million bid for Hathor Exploration (CVE:HAT), which owns the Roughrider uranium deposit in Canada’s Athabasca Basin.
Analysts reckon it may mark the start of a further round of consolidation.
Today Hohnen was keen to stress the strategic value of Husab as the supply of uranium becomes constrained.
“The board believes that these factors underpin the strong long term market fundamentals for uranium and make the significance of a project of Husab's quality and scale evident,” the Kalahari chairman added.
“We remain centred on realising the underlying value of Husab and are committed to the onward stewardship and cultivation of commercial discussions with all interested parties, in support of the Extract's partnership process with Rothschild, with which to achieve this goal.”
The financial results, which are largely irrelevant for a company at this stage of development, showed Kalahari posted a reduced operating loss of £4.3 million, down from £6.8 million previously.
More importantly, the group is in a very strong financial position with cash of £22.2 million.
