Paladin Energy (PDN) announces takeover of NGM Resources (NGM) on 21/07/2010.
Paladin Energy had participated in a couple of share placements in NGM Resources in the past so this was a move that has been on the cards for a while. The off market scrip takeover values NGM Reources at $27 million and the consideration under the Offer will comprise one fully paid ordinary Paladin share for every 23.9 fully paid ordinary NGM shares that Paladin does not already own (equivalent of $0.15 per share at closing price on 20/07/2010).
NGM Resources owns three uranium concessions in the highly prospective area of the Tim Mersoi Uranium Basin in Niger, West Africa. Niger has a history of being a high uranium producer and is now the world’s 4th largest. Areva is a French listed company and has been operating in Niger for over 40 years and has definitely had a stranglehold and good relationship with the government. The Niger government is wishing to encourage further uranium mining to assist the economy resulting in many more concessions being granted and global interest by uranium companies. Back to Areva, after signing an agreement with the Niger government the company intends to spend up to US $1.4 billion on developing its Imouren deposit. In order to give perspective, this Imouren deposit is only second to the size of Australia’s Olympic Dam and NGM Resources concessions lie just slightly south.
Another related company is Artemis Resources (ASX: ARV) who are currently focussing on gold projects in Western Australia, their Molybdenum project adjacent to Spinifex Ridge but also have two partly owned tenements in the Tim Mersoi Uranium Basin. The tenements referred to as ‘Tag 2’ and ‘Tag 4’ lie between the major Chinese National Nuclear Corporation deposit and a Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) deposit. I believe that Artemis Resources is a company that warrants further investigation for potential investment considering the takeover that has occurred for NGM Resources and the interest in this particular area.
For more information regarding the Tim Mersoi Uranium Basin and the companies operating in the region (including those in this article) I highly recommend the following link:
http://www.stratamodel.com/tim_mersoi.htm
I would also recommend looking at the exploration permit map for Niger link on the above website which gives a great indication of the locations of tenements. Please note that the NGM Resources tenements are shown under the company name ‘Indo Energy’, its wholly owned subsidiary.
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