With the US planning to up buying of domestic uranium, the timing seems perfect for Okapi to wrap up its acquisition of a 51% stake in the high-grade Hansen uranium deposit.

The acquisition increases uranium resources at Okapi Resources’ (ASX:OKR) Tallahassee project in Colorado by 81% in size and 10% in grade to 42Mt at 540 parts per million for 49.8Mlbs of U3O8.

Hansen is immediately south of and adjacent to Okapi’s wholly-owned Taylor and Boyer uranium deposits.

It comprises the Hansen and Picnic Tree uranium deposits which contain a total combined resource of 22.2Mlbs of U3O8 at 610ppm U3O8.

The news is significant for Okapi, which has a busy pipeline of planned work ahead while operating in a favourable geopolitical climate for domestic US uranium.

“The coming period is a very exciting time, with the company recently commencing diamond drilling at its 100% owned Enmore Gold Project in NSW, about to embark on an extensive summer field exploration program in the Athabasca Basin and we continue to advance our Tallahassee Uranium Project in the US which has significant strategic value given the recent geopolitical developments in the US uranium industry,” managing director Andrew Ferrier said.

“The announcements by the Biden Administration in early June 2022 marks a new beginning for the domestic US uranium industry.

“Citing Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, the Biden Administration is now proposing a plan whereby the Department of Energy is requesting Congress approval to purchase US$4.3 billion of enriched uranium directly off domestic producers, which is aimed at dramatically reducing America’s dependence on Russian imports of uranium.”

Further support comes from the EU narrowly voting to label nuclear as a sustainable source of energy, paving the way for such projects to benefit from hundreds of billions of euros in cheap loans and state subsidies.

Cashing up

With conditions ripe for a uranium renaissance, Okapi has raised an additional $2.5 million through an oversubscribed placement at 15c per share.

The placement was overseen by lead manager Cannaccord Genuity and will double the company’s cash balance as it stood at March 31 of this year.

The funds will be used to progress exploration at Okapi’s uranium projects in North America, as well as the Enmore gold project in NSW, provide funding optionality for further accretive M&A, and for general working capital.

“We thank existing shareholders for their ongoing support and welcome a number of new institutional and sophisticated investors to the company’s register,” Ferrier said.

“Okapi is now well positioned to maximise shareholder value through its exploration programs which are now underway.

“The current global energy crisis has highlighted the need for western countries to secure clean, reliable and carbon-free energy – nuclear power is going to play an important role in achieving net zero carbon.”

Tallahassee uranium project

The Tallahassee project is located in central Colorado about 140km southwest of Denver and 30km northwest of Canon City.

It covers leases over two private properties that provide a 100% interest in about 3000ha that encompass the Boyer, Noah and Northwest Taylor uranium deposits, eight Federal lode mining claims and a State of Colorado ease that cover a portion of the High Park uranium deposit, and the 51% stake in the Hansen uranium deposit.

Okapi is currently preparing to carry out a 60-hole program totalling about 18,200m to further the development of the Taylor-Boyer Prospect to a mining decision.

 

 

 

This article was developed in collaboration with Okapi Resources, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

 

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.