Weekly Nugget

NexGen Secures $150 million for “World-Class” Uranium Deposit, Athabasca, Canada

NexGen Resources (TSX-V: NXE) announced the closing of a financing for CDN$150 million, led by Canaccord Genuity.


The proceeds of the offering will be used for the continued development of the Arrow uranium deposit and general working capital.

This financing comes on the back of the release of the feasibility report for the Arrow uranium deposit in the Athabasca Basin of Northern Saskatchewan, Canada.  According to the study, the Arrow deposit contains reserves of 239.6 million lbs. U3O8.

Compared to the 2018 reserves estimate, the volume of contained U3O8 increased by 5.5 million lbs., the U3O8 grade declined from 3.09% to 2.37%.

The Arrow mine should be able to produce 21.7 million lbs of uranium per year on average, over a 10.7-year mine life. The OPEX is estimated around $5.69/lb and the AISC around $6.86/lb uranium. First production is not expected until 2025 or 2026.

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Ford Urges Domestic EV Battery Production

Ford CEO, Jim Farley, stated that  the U.S. must begin building batteries for the coming production of electric vehicles in order to avoid supply disruptions like the semiconductor shortage now shutting American auto factories.

“We need to bring large-scale battery production to the U.S., and we’ll be talking to the government about it.”

Ford’s battery supplier for its upcoming electric F-150 pickup, SK Innovation of South Korea, recently lost an intellectual-property case with industry rival LG Chem of South Korea.

The International Trade Commission banned SK Innovation from importing batteries to the US for 10 years, but allowed the company to import components for the next four years for the batteries that will power the Ford F-150 coming in 2022.

Farley wants both companies to negotiate a settlement. But he also believes the U.S. needs to in-source battery production to resolve supply and labor issues that could disrupt the industry’s large rollout of electric vehicles over the next decade. Ford has said it will spend $22 billion on EVs through 2025.

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SPAC to Focus on ‘well-trodden’ African Gold-Mining Countries

A Special Purpose Acquisition Company “SPAC”, African Gold Acquisition Corp., is targeting gold assets on the African continent. The company filed a preliminary prospectus with the hope to raise $300 million through a listing in New York. 

The founder Rob Hersov is the son of Basil Hersov, who ran AngloVaal Mining Ltd., the company founded by his father and once one of South Africa’s biggest mining companies. Chris Chadwick, a former director of Sibanye Stillwater Ltd., is the chief executive officer.  

Quoted in a Bloomberg article, Hersov said that they will likely buy a mining company and possibly add others.

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Freeport to Expand US Copper Operations

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE: FCX) is set to approve expansions at several of its US copper mines to meet the surging demand for copper as President Joe Biden moves to electrify the nation’s automobiles, Chief Executive Richard Adkerson told Reuters.

Just a year ago, the company worried about its ability to continue operating due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to the CEO. With copper prices hovering near $2 a pound last April, the company was forced to make budget and dividend cuts.

Phoenix-based Freeport produces more than 1 billion pounds of copper each year in the United States, of which little is exported. While the company opened a new US mine last year in Arizona, it could soon move forward on expansions at three mines in the US Southwest, adding more than 250 billion pounds of copper each year to US output, according to Adkerson. 

Phoenix-based Freeport already produces more than 1 billion pounds of copper each year in the United States, little of which is exported. 

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