Australia-headquartered uranium miner Paladin Energy is set on transforming itself from a single-asset entity into a "serious global producer with scale and upside potential", said COO Paul Hemburrow.

Speaking at the Diggers and Dealers forum, in Kalgoorlie, this week, he expressed enthusiasm about the proposed acquisition of Fission Uranium, a deal valued at C$1.14-billion.

“The Athabasca region in the Saskatchewan province in Canada is to uranium what the Pilbara is to iron-ore – a really big resource. We are excited about having a presence in that region,” said Hemburrow.

The driving force behind the Fission transaction is the Patterson Lake South (PLS) project. This 130-million-pound resource, at a grade of 1.78%, represents a significant addition to Paladin’s growth pipeline.

The company already has a presence in Canada. It owns the 127.7-million-pound Michelin exploration project, in the Central Mineral Belt of Labrador.

The takeover of Fission is expected to conclude in the current quarter, Hemburrow affirmed. At closing, Paladin will be listing on the TSX.

The transaction will make Paladin the third-biggest publicly traded uranium producer. When combining the output of Paladin’s resurrected Langer Heinrich mine, in Namibia, with Fission’s PLS project when complete, the group is expected to produce about 10% of global uranium supply.

Meanwhile, Hemburrow highlighted the progress Paladin has made since emerging from care and maintenance at Langer Heinrich, with first production achieved in March and its first customer shipment in July.

“Very few mining projects complete on time and within budget and then get their first shipment away so quickly. It is an impressive fact that we were able to do that, but more importantly, it enables Paladin to participate and take advantage of the strong uranium market.”

Hemburrow said the timing of bringing Langer Heinrich back into production was ideal. “We are now able to take advantage of the current price environment.”

With Langer Heinrich back online, Paladin is already eyeing future prospects at the mine. Currently in a stockpile reclaim phase, the mine is slated to begin full-scale mining operations at the start of the 2026 financial year.

Paladin is actively seeking opportunities to extract additional tons from the existing footprint to capitalise on the favourable price environment.