ASX-listed Boss Energy has entered into an agreement to acquire 23.5-million shares in TSX- and ASX-listed Laramide Resources, boosting its stake in the uranium developer to about 18.4% on an undiluted basis. The transaction is valued at about A$15.5-million, with a combination of cash and scrip as consideration.

The shares, which represent about 9% of Laramide’s issued capital, are priced at C$0.60 a share. Boss will pay about A$3.9-million in cash and issue 5.2-million new fully paid ordinary shares, equivalent to A$11.7-million in scrip.

The acquisition provides Boss with a deeper involvement in Laramide, a company that holds the Westmoreland uranium project in Queensland as its flagship asset. Westmoreland, a highly prospective uranium project, has an indicated resource of 27.8-million tonnes at 770 parts per million (ppm) uranium oxide (U₃O₈), containing an estimated 48.1-million pounds of U₃O₈. Further, Laramide’s Joint Ore Reserves Committee-compliant inferred resources stand at about 11.8-million tonnes at 680 ppm U₃O₈, containing 17.7-million pounds of U₃O₈.

Laramide also owns the Churchrock-Crownpoint uranium project in New Mexico, but Westmoreland has garnered particular attention owing to its location in Queensland, where a moratorium on uranium mining currently exists. Boss believes that this investment presents an opportunity to gain exposure to the project at a relatively low cost, particularly if the ban on uranium mining is lifted in the future.

“This investment represents an attractive opportunity to secure exposure to the significant exploration and development upside at Westmoreland for a relatively small cost," said Boss Energy MD Duncan Craib.

"While Queensland currently has a moratorium on uranium mining, we believe the state will enviably lift this. If the moratorium is overturned, Boss can apply its knowledge, experience, and financial strength to the Westmoreland project. This would be of significant benefit to the people of Queensland and all stakeholders.”

Boss has clarified that it is not currently in active discussions with Laramide, nor does it have any intention to pursue control or make a takeover offer for the company, provided there are no material changes in Laramide's shareholding or actions.

Boss remains focused on the continued ramp-up of its Honeymoon uranium project in South Australia, which achieved commercial production in January. The company is on track to meet its full-year production guidance of 850 000 lb of U₃O₈.