Laramide Resources to pursue large greenfield exploration opportunity in Kazakhstan: Acquires option on 6,000 km² land position in prolific Chu-Sarysu Basin
Laramide Resources to pursue large
greenfield exploration opportunity in
Kazakhstan: Acquires option on 6,000 km²
land position in prolific Chu-Sarysu Basin
Highlights:
22 subsoil use license applications for approximately 6,000 km
2
comprising the Chu-Sarysu
Project (as defined below) located in the Suzak District of the South Kazakhstan Oblast,
Republic of
Kazakhstan
.
Proximal to some of Kazatomprom largest uranium deposits and operational mines such as
Inkai, Budenovskoye and Muyunkum-Tortkuduk.
The Chu-Sarysu Project area includes a number of mapped, paleo-channel roll-fronts,
associated with uranium deposits and amenable to ISR mining.
Laramide to operate and fund exploration program towards discovery of a viable uranium
resource.
TORONTO
,
Sept. 5, 2024
/CNW/ -
Laramide Resources Ltd
. ("
Laramide
" or the "
Company
")
(TSX: LAM) (ASX: LAM) (OTCQX: LMRXF) is pleased to announce that it has entered into a three-
year option agreement (the "
Option Agreement
"), with an option to extend for an additional year,
with Aral Resources Ltd. ("
Aral
"), a Kazakh company registered with the Astana International
Financial Center and the shareholders of Aral (the "
Optionors
"). Aral has secured 17 mineral
licenses, with an additional 5 licenses pending approval, covering nearly 6,000 square kilometers of
the Chu-Sarysu sedimentary basin of
Kazakhstan
(collectively, the "
Chu-Sarysu Project
").
Under the terms of the Option Agreement, Laramide has the right (the "
Option
") to acquire all
outstanding shares of Aral at any time during the option period, thereby obtaining full ownership of
the Chu-Sarysu Project. Throughout the option period, Laramide will serve as the exclusive operator,
assuming responsibility for all operational and exploration expenses.
The mineral licenses included in the option agreement cover nearly 6,000 square kilometres and
represent a unique greenfield exploration opportunity. Each license has an initial term of up to six
years, with the option for a one-time renewal for an additional five years.
The Option Agreement remains subject to the approval of the Toronto Stock Exchange (the "
TSX
").
"The opportunity to explore in one of the world's most prolific and prospective uranium basins
appears to us to be a very compelling and overlooked opportunity,"
says
Marc Henderson
,
President and CEO Laramide,
"particularly within an industry dynamic where the uranium supply
deficit is now consensus thinking, and where nuclear power's global growth ambitions will
absolutely require greenfield discovery of new deposits.
"In spite of its proximity to world class ore bodies like Inkai and Budenovskoye, the large area
represented in this Option has had very limited exploration in the post-Soviet era, and with
Kazakhstan
now actively encouraging foreign investment, we have secured an early advantage
and are looking forward to getting started."
Option Agreement Highlights:
Following the definitive grant to Aral of all license applications related to the Chu-Sarysu Project
and approval from the TSX, Laramide will make a one-time payment of
US$450,000
in cash and
shares to the Optionors and annual payments of
US$150,000
payable in cash on each
anniversary of the Option Agreement, commencing on the first anniversary.
The Option is exercisable for a term of three years and may be extended for an additional one-
year term with a one-time payment of
US$400,000
in cash and shares.
The Option can be exercised by Laramide at any time during the term of the agreement through
a one-time payment of
US$14,000,000
in cash and shares.
The Option Agreement also contemplates and allows for an alternative mechanism to develop
this opportunity by way of a spin-off transaction.
With the exception of the annual payments, all payments outlined above are payable as follows: (i)
50% in
United States
dollars; and (ii) 50% in common shares in the capital of the Company
("
Laramide Shares
"), the value of which shall be determined in accordance with the 20-day volume-
weighted average sale price per share of the Laramide Shares on the TSX as of the date prior to
the relevant date of each of the payments as described above.
During the term of the Option Agreement, Laramide will be the operator of the Property and will
exercise exclusive supervision, direction and control over any and all operations, programs and
budgets relating to the Property. Laramide will provide funding to Aral for the purposes of satisfying
and fulfilling minimum economic commitments and expenditures in relation to each license comprising
the Property, as required under
Kazakhstan's
mining regulations.
In connection with the Option Agreement, and in order to ensure Aral's compliance with the bonding
requirements of
Kazakhstan's
mining regulations for the licenses comprising the Property, Laramide
agreed to provide funding to Aral in an amount of up to
US$1,450,000
in the form of interest-free
loans pursuant to the terms and conditions of a grid promissory note and credit facility agreement
dated as of
June 24, 2024
(the "
Promissory Note
") issued by Aral for the benefit of Laramide.
Laramide loaned Aral an aggregate amount of
US$900,000
in connection with the Promissory Note
and Aral has successfully obtained appropriate bonding for the 17 licenses issued to date and for 2
license applications which are awaiting final sign off from the Ministry of Industry and Construction.
The funds loaned under the Promissory Note are repayable by Aral to Laramide in the event
Laramide does not exercise the Option, or the Option Agreement is terminated for any reason, or in
part if a license is terminated or withdrawn.
The Optionors will retain a 1% net smelter royalty which is subject to a buy down provision where
Laramide may, at is discretion, repurchase 25% at a price to be agreed among the parties or by an
independent third-party appraiser. In addition, Laramide holds a right of first offer regarding the sale,
transfer or assignment of any portion of the net smelter royalty.
About the Chu-Sarysu
Project
The Chu-Sarysu Project is located in the Suzak District of the South Kazakhstan Oblast, Republic of
Kazakhstan
.
In 2023 Kazakhstan accounted for over
43%
of global U
3
O
8
production. Of the five main producing
basins in the country the Chu-Sarysu and Syr Darya basins in the south of the country, account for
over 75% of national production. These basins host major deposits and operational in-situ recovery
("
ISR
") mines such as Inkai, Budenovskoye and Tortkuduk/Muyunkum, which are Joint Ventures
between Kazatomprom and Cameco, Uranium One and Orano respectively.
In an effort to promote foreign investment, in 2018 Kazakhstan revamped its Mining Code to follow
western standards which involved a revision of subsoil and subsoil use licencing and provisions.
Figure 1: Map of Kazakhstan, showing project location in the Chu-Sarysu Basin (CNW
Group/Laramide Resources Ltd.)
Figure 2: Location of Licenses in relation to identified Roll Fronts (IAEA Technical Meeting, Vienna
2012: S. Ivanov, A. Shurilov, V. Kondrashov, A.Glushkov) (CNW Group/Laramide Resources Ltd.)
Exploration Program
Following TSX approval, over the coming weeks initial work will focus on historical technical data
review including translation and target generation. Immediate focus will be to utilise airborne and
ground geophysics to validate known, mapped, roll fronts to generate near-term drilling targets and
potentially identify new high priority areas which remain underexplored within the basin.
Qualified/Competent Person
The information in this announcement relating to Exploration Results is based on information
compiled or reviewed by Mr.
Rhys Davies
, a contractor to the Company. Mr. Davies is a Member of
The Australasian Institute of Geoscientists and has sufficient experience which is relevant to the
style of mineralization and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity which he is
undertaking to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the JORC 2012 Edition of the
'Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves', and
is a "Qualified Person" as defined by National Instrument 43-101 –
Standards of Disclosure for
Mineral Projects
. Mr. Davies consents to the inclusion in this announcement of the matters based on
his information in the form and context in which it appears.
Follow us on Twitter @LaramideRes
About Laramide Resources Ltd.
Laramide is focused on exploring and developing high-quality uranium assets in Tier-1 uranium
Jurisdictions of
Australia
,
United States
and
Kazakhstan
. The company's portfolio comprises
predominantly advanced uranium projects in districts with historical production or superior geological
prospectivity. The assets have been carefully chosen for their size, production potential, and the two
large projects are considered to be late-stage, low-technical risk projects.
The
Westmoreland
project in
Queensland, Australia
, is one of the largest uranium development
assets held by a junior mining company. This project has Mineral Resource of 51.9 Mlbs contained
U
3
O
8
(Measured and Indicated 18.7 Mt @ 0.09% for 36 Mlbs U
3
O
8
and Inferred 9.0 Mt @ 0.08%
for 15.9 Mlbs U
3
O
8
) and a PEA that describes an economically robust, open-pit mining project with
a mine-life of 13 years. Additionally, the adjacent Murphy Project in the Northern Territory of
Australia
is a greenfield asset that Laramide strategically acquired to control the majority of the
mineralized system along the
Westmoreland
trend.
In
the United States
, Laramide's assets include the NRC licensed Crownpoint-Churchrock Uranium
Project with over 50 MLbs U
3
O
8
(Inferred 38.04 Mt @0.075% for 50.8 mLbs U
3
O
8
). An NI 43-101
PEA study completed in 2023 has described an ISR production methodology over a 31-year mine
life. The Company also owns the La Jara Mesa project in the historic Grants mining district of
New
Mexico
and an underground project, called La Sal, in Lisbon Valley, Utah.
In
Kazakhstan
the company is exploring over 6,000km
2
of the prolific Chu-Sarysu Basin for world
class roll-front deposits which are amenable to In-situ Recovery.
Forward-looking Statements and Cautionary Language
This release includes certain statements that may be deemed to be "forward-looking statements".
All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address events or
developments that management of the Company expect, are forward-looking statements. Forward-
looking statements are frequently, but not always, identified by words such as "expects",
"anticipates", "believes", "plans", "projects", "intends", "estimates", "envisages", "potential",
"possible", "strategy", "goals", "objectives", or variations thereof or stating that certain actions,
events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved, or the
negative of any of these terms and similar expressions. Actual results or developments may differ
materially from those in forward-looking statements. Laramide disclaims any intention or obligation
to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future
events or otherwise, save and except as may be required by applicable securities laws.
Since forward-looking information address future events and conditions, by their very nature they
involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those currently
anticipated due to a number of factors and risks. These include, but are not limited to, exploration
and production for uranium; delays or changes in plans with respect to exploration or development
projects or capital expenditures; the uncertainty of resource estimates; health, safety and
environmental risks; worldwide demand for uranium; uranium price and other commodity price and
exchange rate fluctuations; environmental risks; competition; incorrect assessment of the value of
acquisitions; ability to access sufficient capital from internal and external sources; and changes in
legislation, including but not limited to tax laws, royalties and environmental regulations.
SOURCE
Laramide Resources Ltd.
View original content to download multimedia:
http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/September2024/05/c2716.html
%SEDAR: 00003540E
For further information:
To learn more about Laramide, please visit the Company's website at
www.laramide.com or contact: Marc Henderson, President and CEO, Toronto, Canada
+1 (416)
599 7363; Ann Baines, Director, Investor Relations, Toronto, Canada
+1 (647) 832-9904
CO: Laramide Resources Ltd.
CNW 10:56e 05-SEP-24