In a recent interview with Proactive, Terra Uranium Ltd (ASX:T92) chair Andrew Vigar outlined the company's key achievements over the past year, revealing a fervent pace of progress.
Now marking its first year as a listed entity on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), Terra Uranium has significantly expanded its portfolio of targets and is in advanced discussions with potential large JV farm-in & joint development partners on its core projects to drill this winter.
T92’s core projects HawkRock, Pasfield and Parker, have advanced from conceptual to drill-ready targets and the company is aiming to test these tier-1 targets with partners, whilst continuously evaluating new opportunities.
“It has been an exciting year and we've been very, very busy,” Vigar told Proactive.
“We had everything in place to hit the ground running. We acquired our three major projects in the eastern Athabasca, which as you know by now is in a parallel trend just slightly to the west of the major producers. And our target is a tier-one style MacArthur or Cigar Lake deposit sitting at the unconformity or slightly above it.
“Over the last year, we've proven that the Cable Bay structure, which is what we're operating in, or Cable Bay shear zone, is a fertile structure for uranium. All the ground around us is now pegged.
"We were the market leaders. We were in there first. We picked out what we thought was the best ground and we took old exploration data which is of the order 20 to 40 years old and have reflowed all the geophysics, done the groundwork, done the Scout RC looking for Geochem and introduced ambient noise typography from Australia into the basin which is really doing well not just for us, but several other players that are picking that up.
"We've really shown that those targets are strong and we've moved from half a dozen targets to 24 now, which is a huge number.
"And for a company with a market cap of around 10 million, it became blindingly obvious that we either dilute all our shareholders to buggery, or we go out and look for partners. We've been doing that quietly in the background and we've had an enormous response.”
The need for partners
Addressing the JV model, Vigar stated that the company recognised the need for external partnerships, especially when the cost of exploratory drilling operations could be high.
“We were looking at very expensive drilling, not unlike oil and gas. We're looking at a short development time because this will be mined via ISR using the Dennison approach. It’s a very short development time, but again mining via drill holes.
"So, we are looking at the syndicate type of approach, which is well known and thought of in the industry where you have a number of people investing directly into that project rather than into our company.
“As a junior, obviously to raise money for $5 million to $10 million programs dilutes our shareholders enormously. So, we think the syndicate approach is a way of giving value to our shareholders, while at the same time getting the work done that really does need to be done to bring on a discovery."
Commitments for all three projects are funded through the end of 2025 or early 2026, providing ample time for negotiations with various parties.
Ahead of schedule
When the company listed on the ASX, it was expected to take two years to get to its current stage of progress.
T92 has achieved all it set out to do in that timeframe in just 12 months.
“I think that's a great achievement, especially at the moment,” Vigar says.
“I should point out that uranium is such a hot business. As you know, the markets just hit $70 a pound spot and it's going way north of that. And I've said this before, it's only a small part of the cost of a kilowatt of power out of a nuclear power station.
"So, the sky's the limit and I'd like to think it's our technical work, but we might just be in the right place at the right time. But as you know, the number one thing for major discoveries, and I've given lectures on this, is dollars.”
Future plans
When asked about the company's future plans, Vigar expressed that the focus for the next 6-12 months was to solidify partnerships and advance the company’s core projects.
"The next six to 12 months is very much to get these partnerships bedded down to drill our major Parker and Pasfield projects and advance HawkRock as well.
"We're also on the lookout for other projects that might complement what we're doing, particularly in the uranium space," he said. “I noticed note the other day, there's only two ASX companies with uranium in their name. And we're one of them.
The investment case
Vigar concluded that Terra Uranium's dedicated team and advantageous geographic location made it a compelling option for investors.
"We're positioned in the highest grade and most prospective province in the world, but also next to the US, a major producer. With supply disruptions, the focus is on Australia, Canada and the US, and we're right in the middle of it," he noted.