Paladin Energy to acquire Fission Uranium

Australian uranium company Paladin Energy (ASX: PDN) will acquire 100% of Fission Uranium Corporation in a move to bring Fission’s Canadian uranium mine into production by 2029.

The transaction will create a globally significant uranium company listed on both the ASX and Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) worth $5.25b (US$3.5b).

The acquisition follows the restart of Paladin’s Langer Heinrich mine in Namibia as well as the release of Fission’s feasibility study for the Patterson Lake South (PLS) uranium mine in Canada’s Athabasca Basin region.

Paladin chief executive Ian Purdy says the acquisition is part of their strategy to diversify and grow into a global uranium leader across Canada, Namibia and Australia.

“Fission is a natural fit for our portfolio with the shallow high-grade PLS project located in Canada’s Athabasca Basin,” he said.

“The addition of PLS creates a leading Canadian development hub alongside Paladin’s Michelin project, with exploration upside across all Canadian properties.

“Both sets of shareholders are expected to benefit from the increased scale of the enlarged company, with a combined Mineral Resource representing one of the largest amongst pure-play uranium companies globally and a substantially increased international capital markets exposure.”

Multi-asset production is expected by the end of the decade. This is motivated by strong future demand for nuclear energy driven by global decarbonisation as well as an anticipated global uranium supply shortage driven by under-investment over the last decade.