Lincoln Minerals (ASX: LML) has put all funding options for its uranium assets in South Australia on the table – including an outright sale of the assets, a partial divestment, or investment into one or all of its projects – after fielding several informal approaches from interested business parties.
Management says a formal request for interest has now been actioned and it will entertain a full or partial sale of one or all assets for cash or shares. However, it is willing to also retain the assets due to their prospectivity.
The company says a planned near-term exploration program has the potential to add value to the uranium portfolio, with all projects sitting within SA’s Eyre Peninsula. It believes a third-party funding strategy is the optimal route to unlock value in what it says is an undervalued sector in its wider mineral portfolio.
Lincoln is aiming to rapidly progress its assets by either nailing down a funding partner, or from the growth expected to come as a result of the anticipated exploration program that has advanced drill targets across its multiple projects.
With confirmed uranium mineralisation on all of Lincoln’s ground, substantial data available from previous historic exploration and the identification of high-grade hits at its Eridani target, the company notes that it does not believe its share price is reflective of the true value of its uranium holdings.
Management is adamant its uranium assets sit among the most attractive of the several comparable projects in the region.
Much like our Green Iron Project, it is Lincoln’s view that within our current share price, very little value is ascribed to our uranium portfolio, despite its high-quality and potential. Recent informal approaches from parties wishing to discuss potential investment in or purchase of these uranium assets has led to the decision to explore the potential for third-party funding of the assets, which may also include a partial or full sale of the assets, if it is in the best interest of shareholders.
Lincoln Minerals CEO Jonathon Trewartha
In a bid to fast-track its funding partner potential, the company today released a comprehensive presentation to the market, highlighting the respective benefits of each of its three uranium projects – Yallunda, Jungle Dam and Eridani – in addition to details in relation to its recent and future exploration programs.
Management has established a detailed data room spanning information on all of its uranium projects, so it can be accessed by interested parties after they sign confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements.
Lincoln revealed earlier this week that it has kicked off exploration at its Yallunda uranium project by launching a comprehensive field reconnaissance and sampling program to focus on a 7km-long anomaly pinpointed from research into historic geophysical and geochemical datasets. The fieldwork will include soil, calcrete and rock-chip sampling, with results expected by late next month.
The company says the latest gravity and geological information it has sourced from SA Government data has been pivotal to improving its knowledge of the morphology of the basement ground in its project areas.
According to the World Nuclear Association website, Australia’s known uranium resources are the world’s biggest and comprise about 23 per cent of the global total.
Away from its uranium assets, Lincoln’s premier play is the Kookaburra graphite project that contains 12.8 million tonnes at 7.6 per cent total graphitic carbon (TGC) for a resource of 973,000 tonnes of contained graphite on an existing mining lease.
Management notes that any capital realised from discussions with third parties over its uranium portfolio will be applied to its flagship graphite assets, with an updated prefeasibility study (PFS) due later this month.
Now it remains to be seen if Lincoln’s aim to realise part or all of the latent value it believes exists within its uranium assets can come to fruition and deliver the funds it wants to drive its graphite project forward.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: office@bullsnbears.com.au