Noronex launches radiation survey in hunt for Namibian uranium
ASX-listed Noronex has fired the starter's gun on a six-week radioactive spectrometry survey across 17.9 square kilometres of the company's Etango North uranium project in Namibia.
The survey is designed to hunt for high-grade hard rock uranium, known as alaskite, in one of the world's most fertile uranium neighbourhoods.
The company's grounds sit just 3 kilometres north of Bannerman Energy's giant 225-million-pound Etango deposit and immediately south of major operations, such as the Rossing and Husab mines.
The 244-line kilometre survey, with 80-metre line spacing, is being carried out by Terratec Geophysical Services. Survey data will be analysed to pick out anomalies that could shine a light on uranium-rich deposits.
Under the terms of an agreement inked last year, Noronex bought the project from a local owner in exchange for an initial payment of $200,000 in cash and shares. To earn a 51 per cent interest, the company has the option to pay a further $61,000 in cash and $61,000 in shares to the vendor by February 2026.
Noronex can then earn an additional 29 per cent in 2027 - taking its interest to 80 per cent - by paying $162,000 in cash and the same amount in shares. At that stage, Noronex may choose to enter a joint venture (JV) with the seller - which is free-carried to that point - to further develop the project.
Noronex says previous exploration on its grounds has been sparse, with only a dozen shallow air core holes poked into a target in the southwest of the licence area by Bannerman 10 years ago. A further 100 holes were drilled outside of Noronex's boundary.
However, all the geological ingredients for a big discovery are plain to see and mapping, geochemistry and radon gas studies already hint at alaskites.
This type of hard rock mineralisation is the dominant host rock for most of the area's major mines and tends to be more prevalent at the boundary of the Khan-Rossing formations, which are the dominant structures of the area. Alaskites have also been picked up where the Rossing layer is missing, between the Khan and Chuos or Khan and Arandis formations.
The uranium-rich rocks also tend to form along cracks and changes in rock movement, where soft rock turns hard. The best spots for uranium appear to form in folded rocks where pressure creates natural traps.
Noronex has also completed an artificial intelligence review over the area, training the networks on known uranium zones to sniff out potential new ones. The AI model highlighted favourable domal zones, which are prime real estate for flat-lying alaskite bodies that could host thick uranium mineralisation.
Namibia has a strong uranium mining history. The northwest zone - where Noronex's project is located - is rich in high-grade uranium deposits. Not surprisingly, the region has attracted significant renewed interest from the nuclear energy sector as the world scrambles for yellow cake to feed zero-carbon baseload power production.
Etango North is especially compelling given Bannerman's success at the neighbouring Etango mine, where development is well underway on the globally significant deposit.
While pushing out the boats for its hunt for uranium, the company has also been busy exploring for copper across a vast 10,000 square kilometre stretch of the Kalahari Copper Belt, aiming to grow its existing 10 million tonne resource at Witvlei grading 1.3 per cent copper.
About 130km north of Witvlei, Noronex has also inked a strategic alliance and earn-in agreement with ASX giant South32. The deal gives South32 the option to earn up to 60 per cent of Noronex's Humpback and Damara projects by spending $15 million on exploration over five years. In exchange, Noronex gets strong technical backing and funding to fast-track new discoveries.
The highly prospective belt is already home to heavyweights, such as Chinese-backed MMG's 7Mt Cupric copper project and Sandfire Resources' Motheo mine, which hosts 700,000t of contained copper.
As the radiation detectors sweep the Namibian desert, Noronex will be hoping the spectrometry lights up more than just anomalies. It could mark the first steps towards Namibia's next big uranium discovery.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact:
matt.birney@wanews.com.au
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Age
an hour ago
- The Age
Mystery $50 billion Chinese medical fortune collapses in days
When Yat-Gai Au was worth $US33 billion ($50 billion) on paper, he wasn't in his Hong Kong office. One week later, when his net worth plunged to $US10.1 billion, he wasn't around either. Officers at the headquarters of Regencell Bioscience Holdings said both times that Au made only short visits there, before turning away reporters. The firm, a NASDAQ-listed, Cayman Islands-incorporated traditional Chinese medicine company, occupies the whole ninth floor of a tower in Hong Kong's bustling Causeway Bay, including a reception area with a large table tennis table. Little is still known about the tiny, money-losing company whose shares exploded 82,000 per cent higher and suddenly made Au, its chief executive officer with an 86 per cent stake, richer on paper than some of the city's tycoons like Li Ka-shing. The fleeting nature of its rip-roaring rally has captivated and mystified observers from the US to Hong Kong. Morning Brew, a popular business account on X, flagged its stock move and wondered: 'Is there something I'm missing?' Regulators in the US, which closely monitor wild swings in stock prices, might soon be asking the same question, according to experts. Loading The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the watchdog for broker-dealers, has repeatedly said small, cheap stocks are more susceptible to fraud. These companies can be targets for pump-and-dump schemes in which frauds inflate the stock price and quickly sell their shares. The US Securities and Exchange Commission, meanwhile, has been increasingly wary about companies listed on US exchanges that are based overseas, and Regencell checks both boxes. The regulator on June 4 called on the public to weigh in on whether the agency needed to amend the definition of what's called a foreign private issuer, potentially limiting the number of companies that qualify for special status that lets them avoid filing quarterly financial reports or disclosing when executives buy or sell company shares. 'This is an example of very unusual movements in share prices,' said Richard Harris, founder and chief executive of Port Shelter Investment Management in Hong Kong. 'These movements could certainly trigger interest by investigators.'
Sydney Morning Herald
an hour ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Mystery $50 billion Chinese medical fortune collapses in days
When Yat-Gai Au was worth $US33 billion ($50 billion) on paper, he wasn't in his Hong Kong office. One week later, when his net worth plunged to $US10.1 billion, he wasn't around either. Officers at the headquarters of Regencell Bioscience Holdings said both times that Au made only short visits there, before turning away reporters. The firm, a NASDAQ-listed, Cayman Islands-incorporated traditional Chinese medicine company, occupies the whole ninth floor of a tower in Hong Kong's bustling Causeway Bay, including a reception area with a large table tennis table. Little is still known about the tiny, money-losing company whose shares exploded 82,000 per cent higher and suddenly made Au, its chief executive officer with an 86 per cent stake, richer on paper than some of the city's tycoons like Li Ka-shing. The fleeting nature of its rip-roaring rally has captivated and mystified observers from the US to Hong Kong. Morning Brew, a popular business account on X, flagged its stock move and wondered: 'Is there something I'm missing?' Regulators in the US, which closely monitor wild swings in stock prices, might soon be asking the same question, according to experts. Loading The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the watchdog for broker-dealers, has repeatedly said small, cheap stocks are more susceptible to fraud. These companies can be targets for pump-and-dump schemes in which frauds inflate the stock price and quickly sell their shares. The US Securities and Exchange Commission, meanwhile, has been increasingly wary about companies listed on US exchanges that are based overseas, and Regencell checks both boxes. The regulator on June 4 called on the public to weigh in on whether the agency needed to amend the definition of what's called a foreign private issuer, potentially limiting the number of companies that qualify for special status that lets them avoid filing quarterly financial reports or disclosing when executives buy or sell company shares. 'This is an example of very unusual movements in share prices,' said Richard Harris, founder and chief executive of Port Shelter Investment Management in Hong Kong. 'These movements could certainly trigger interest by investigators.'
The Age
2 hours ago
- The Age
In a world of conflict, the spoils are rich from gold and guns
The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) estimated that global military expenditure hit a record $US2.7 trillion ($4.1 trillion) in 2024, an increase of 9.4 per cent in real terms from the previous year, and the steepest annual jump since the Cold War ended. 'If 5 per cent [of GDP] becomes baseline, defence stocks stop being cyclical – they become structural. And that changes everything.' Stephen Innes, SPI Asset Management SIPRI highlighted the 'guns or butter' cost to social programs from the rising spending on weaponry. 'As governments increasingly prioritise military security, often at the expense of other budget areas, the economic and social trade-offs could have significant effects on societies for years to come,' warned SIPRI researcher Xiao Liang. The big beneficiaries from this war trade are traditionally US defence giants, such as Northrop Grumman – maker of the B-2 stealth bombers and intercontinental ballistic missiles – which is now trading near multi-year highs. Virginia-based RTX, which makes the Javelin and Stinger missiles that were used heavily in the Ukraine war, has also hit record highs. But the changing nature of warfare, where computer-guided drones and new technology such as AI are coming to the fire, has thrown up some new winners. Shares of US tech group Palantir have soared more than 400 per cent in a year as the company cements its place in the US industrial military complex. And investors are also noticing the impact in Europe, where Germany's new government signalled a seismic shift in March, with plans to lift strict spending controls to create a €500 billion ($896 billion) fund for defence and security. It has had a massive impact on European stocks. Italy-based aerospace, defence and security firm Leonardo, German sensor technology company Hensoldt, and British aerospace and defence company Babcock International have seen their share prices more than double over the last year. Korea's Hanwha Aerospace is another EU beneficiary, and its share price has soared 200 per cent over the same period. Even Australia benefits, as shown by Hanwha recently acquiring a 9.9 per cent stake in local shipbuilder Austal, with plans to double its investment. Austal shares have tripled since last September, thanks to its contracts with the US Navy. ASX-listed DroneShield – a maker of anti-drone technology – has tripled since February. And right on cue, it announced a $61 million European military order on Wednesday for handheld detection and counter-drone systems. This one deal exceeds its entire revenue for 2024. Three ASX-listed defence ETFs (exchange-traded funds, which invest in defence stocks globally) from VanEck, Betashares and Global X are all up 50 per cent this year. 'Global defence has been one of the few equity segments that have outperformed the market this year. Flows into ASX-listed global defence ETFs have shot up since March,' VanEck's Jamie Hannah said. The surge in the performance of defence stocks has posed a conundrum for some ethical funds and investment mandates, which have generally precluded any military assets. But investors appear to be coming to the conclusion that Citi reached in 2022: 'Defence is likely to be increasingly seen as a necessity that facilitates ESG as an enterprise as well as maintaining peace, stability and other social goods.' In April, UBS Asset Management – which oversees $US1.8 trillion in investments – scrapped prohibitions that prevented its sustainable funds from investing in conventional military weapons manufacturers. Exclusions still apply to more controversial weaponry such as cluster munitions. Hannah says VanEck already screens out these more controversial manufacturers from its ETF. 'It's very much an area where you need to consider what you're investing in,' Hannah said. Meanwhile, the only controversy over the ultimate defensive asset, gold, is whether it has peaked after a spectacular run over the past year to a record high of $US3500 an ounce in April. This month, a European Central Bank report confirmed that its soaring price, along with bullion buying by central banks, means gold is currently the second-biggest reserve holding by central banks behind the US dollar. Citi highlighted the extraordinary rush to gold with a report saying 0.5 per cent of global GDP was being spent on gold – the most in 50 years of data. And central banks have not been the only buyers. This month, VanEck noted that Australia's most recent export figures included $11 billion in 'non-monetary' gold exports to the US – which is gold acquired by private buyers, not reserve banks, for their foreign exchange reserves. 'This volume of gold exports for the quarter is more than the total non-monetary gold we have shipped to the USA in the last four years, and we think this could reflect a massive increase in demand from investors due to a loss of faith in [the US dollar] and US Treasuries,' VanEck's Cameron McCormack said. While some are getting squeamish after this year's 27 per cent gain for the precious metal, others are expecting its golden run to continue. Wall Street giant Goldman Sachs predicts gold will climb to $US3700 a troy ounce by the end of the year, from about $US3330 currently, as central banks keep buying tonnes of it every month. It could rise even further if investors use bullion as a safe space ahead of interest rate cuts and amid rising recession concerns. 'In the event of a recession, Goldman Sachs Research forecasts that gold could rise to as much as $US3880 a troy ounce,' the investment bank says.
