Australian uranium development company Bannerman Energy is set to acquire stake in Namibia Critical Metals (NMI).
This follows an ink deal which will see Bannerman acquiring 41.8% stake in the NMI. Under the agreement, Bannerman will buy 82,290,680 common shares in NMI from PhilCo 192 and Adventure Resources.
The deal consideration includes A$7.24m in cash and the issuance of 8,463,367 Bannerman fully paid ordinary shares. NMI’s core asset is the 95%-owned advanced and fully permitted Lofdal Heavy Rare Earths Project in Namibia. The remaining 5% stake in the project is held for the benefit of historically disadvantaged Namibians. The dysprosium-terbium project is subject of an earn-in agreement with Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC).
Alignment and synergies
“The Lofdal Project is on a path to produce dysprosium and terbium, two of the most strategically important metals on the planet. Our exposure to this future production, through a strategic shareholding in Namibia Critical Metals, is therefore a strong fit with Bannerman’s Etango Project, a near-term supplier of uranium at a globally significant scale,” said Bannerman managing director and CEO Brandon Munro.
Bannerman expects the acquisition to provide significant alignment and synergies with its advanced-stage Etango tantalum-niobium-uranium project in Namibia. The transaction also complies with Bannerman’s objective of ‘social leadership in the supply of raw materials for emissions-free power’.
“I expect that Bannerman’s development experience, plus downstream industry and broader marketing experience, will be highly advantageous as we progress Lofdal towards being a globally significant supplier of dysprosium and terbium to the burgeoning permanent magnets sector,” Namibia Critical Metals president and CEO Darrin Campbell said.
