GTR neighbour completes US$175M M&A deal
~US$3BN capped Uranium Energy Corp (UEC) just paid US$175M for a bunch of uranium projects in Wyoming, USA.
https://nextinvestors.com/admin/articles/companybigbet/
(Source)
It isn't the first time there has been M&A action amongst the Wyoming uranium players either…
Back in 2021 UEC were also responsible for the largest M&A deal in the US uranium sector in over a decade.
The acquisition spree is a part of UEC’s Hub and Spoke consolidation model which is to bring in small deposits and feed it through centralised processing facilities.
We think that as the uranium price goes higher, companies with “pounds in the ground” of uranium JORC resources will be the first to re-rate.
That’s why we are invested in GTi Energy (ASX: GTR).
GTR has three projects in Wyoming across which it has a current 7.67M lb uranium JORC resource.
GTR is planning an upgrade to this resource in Q4 of this year.
GTR’s assets sit within ~80km of five permitted uranium processing plants owned by majors like Uranium Energy Corp and Cameco.
Interestingly, the projects acquired by UEC from Rio sit right next to two of GTR’s three projects:
GTR close to drill permits on its exploration stage project
In an announcement earlier this week GTR mentioned that it had finalised a drill plan for its exploration stage project (Green Mountain).
GTR hasn't drilled Green Mountain yet, and now that UEC has shown a greater appetite for uranium in the region this drilling program just became a whole lot more interesting.
For context, the Green Mountain project sits right next door to ground acquired by UEC in its deal with Rio Tinto.
GTR confirmed that all drill permit conditions had been met and the company would make a final decision regarding the timing of the exploration program “in due course”.
We are looking forward to that drill program as it gives GTR blue sky exploration upside - where positive drill results could lead to step changes in GTR’s resource profile.
Here is where GTR’s Green Mountain sits relative to that ground acquired by UEC.
What’s next for GTR?
Resource upgrade at Lo Herma project 🔲
GTR expects the resource upgrade at Lo Herma to come in Q4-2024.
At Lo Herma GTR currently has a JORC resource of 5.71m lbs.
At the moment, GTR’s exploration target is for a JORC resource between 5.87m lbs and 10.26m lbs of uranium at Lo Herma.
We hope that GTR can increase its resources to something in the middle of that range. The closer it is to the 10.26m lbs maximum number, the better.
