Uranium money

Three Japanese companies will make a substantial joint investment in Uranium One, a major Canadian producer and marketer of uranium.

The Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), Toshiba and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) have agreed to subscribe to a new share issue in the company for about £150m.

The full share issue will be taken up by Japan Uranium Management Incorporated (JUMI), a special purpose entity established by the three Japanese companies in British Columbia, Canada.

Once JUMI completes the transaction, JUMI will have a holding of about 19.95 per cent in Uranium One. 

TEPCO and Toshiba will each hold 40 per cent of JUMI's shares and JBIC will hold 20 per cent.

Uranium One has also entered into a long-term offtake agreement and a strategic relationship agreement with the Japanese consortium, both of which will become effective upon closing of the private placement.

The offtake agreement provides the consortium with an option to purchase, on industry-standard terms, up to 20 per cent of Uranium One’s available production.

Uranium One has a 70 per cent interest in a joint venture in Kazakhstan that owns the Akdala Uranium Mine, which is currently in operation, and the South Inkai Uranium Project, which commenced pre-commercial production in 2007.

The company also has a 30 per cent interest in a joint venture in Kazakhstan that is developing the Kharasan Uranium Project.

In the US, it has applied for a licence to construct and operate a uranium in situ recovery (ISR) facility at Moore Ranch in the Powder River Basin and at JAB/Antelope in the Great Divide Basin of Wyoming.

In addition, it owns the Dominion Uranium Project in South Africa and the Hobson – La Palangana ISR project in Texas.