Multi-mine uranium producer Boss Energy (ASX:BOE,OTCQX:BQSSF) has agreed to acquire approximately 9 percent of the issued shares of Laramide Resources (ASX:LAM,TSX:LAM,OTCQX:LMRXF).
In a Thursday (March 13) release, Boss states that it will purchase 23.5 million Laramide shares in total, valued at C$0.60 each. In total Boss will pay AU$15.5 million, providing Laramide with approximately AU$3.9 million in cash; the remaining AU$11.7 million will be in Boss scrip, with the company issuing about 5.2 million new fully paid ordinary shares.
Boss clarified in the announcement that while this purchase increases its interest in Laramide to around 18.4 percent, it currently has no intention of making a takeover offer for Laramide.
“This investment represents an attractive opportunity to secure exposure to the significant exploration and development upside at Westmoreland for a relatively small cost,” said Boss Managing Director Duncan Craib.
The Westmoreland uranium project is Laramide’s fully owned flagship asset. It is located in Queensland, a jurisdiction that currently holds a moratorium on uranium mining.
“We believe the state will inevitably lift this (moratorium),” Boss said, adding that it is keen to apply its knowledge, experience and financial strength to Westmoreland for the benefit of Queensland and other stakeholders.
Laramide released an updated mineral resource estimate for Westmoreland at the end of February, consolidating drilling results from 2012, 2023 and 2024. The total indicated resource for the property now stands at 48.1 million pounds of U3O8 at an average grade of 770 parts per million, accounting for 70 percent of the total resource.
Increases of 34 and 11 percent were seen in the project’s indicated and inferred resource categories, respectively.
Boss’ flagship Honeymoon uranium project in South Australia achieved commercial production in January. The company said it is on track to meet its 2025 production guidance of 850,000 pounds of U3O8.
This past October, Boss launched its Alta Mesa uranium plant with joint venture partner enCore Energy (TSXV:EU,NASDAQ:EU). enCore holds 70 percent in the joint venture, while Boss owns the remaining 30 percent.
The plant is targeting full operational capacity by 2026 following a phased ramp up.
Boss said that the acquisition and issuance of shares for its deal with Laramide are targeted for completion within five business days. Shares of Boss rose 4.52 percent following the news, closing at AU$2.31 on Friday (March 14).
Laramide saw a 1.72 percent rise on the TSX, closing at C$0.59 that day.
Securities Disclosure: I, Gabrielle de la Cruz, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
