Impact: Positive
Paladin Energy Ltd. (ASX:PDN, Not Rated) announced that it has received Canadian Competition Act clearance to acquire 100% interest in Fission Uranium (read note). The acquisition proposal now needs Fission shareholder and court approval, including approval from at least 66% of votes cast and a simple majority of the votes cast by minority shareholders in the Fission meeting. The deal is expected to close in Q3/24. We view this development positively because the Canadian Government has recently been cracking down on foreign ownership or acquisition of critical mineral projects in Canada. However, in this case, we had expected Paladin to clear this hurdle given that it had been down this road before with its acquisition of its Michelin project in Labrador. While Fission’s underground expertise could help Paladin in developing the Triple R deposit, we believe Paladin should continue to focus on its restart at Langer Heinrich mine in Namibia, before developing Triple R, assuming the deal goes through.
