Lotus plans placement to restart uranium production at Malawi's Kayelekera


Lotus Resources Ltd (ASX:LOT) has launched a two-tranche placement valued at A$110 million to fund its planned restart of the Kayelekera Uranium Project in Malawi and facilitate the company’s status as the ‘next global uranium producer.’

Lotus is aiming for this placement to begin by the third quarter of 2025.

Under the conditions of the placement, shares will be priced at 25 cents, with the first tranche expected to bring in around A$66.9 million. The second tranche – subject to shareholder approval – should yield A$43.1 million.

Institutional investors both in Australia and overseas have expressed interest in the placement, whose funds will go towards capita; investment and working capital required for the project restart.

A non-underwritten Share Purchase Plan (SPP) – in which shares are also valued at 25 cents – has been organised for eligible shareholders and will raise an additional A$15 million.

The share price chosen for both the SPP and Placement is a 20.6% discount to the last closing share price, as well as being a 15.7% discount to the five-day Volume Weighted Average Price (VWAP).

Between 2009 and 2014, Kayelekera produced approximately 11 million pounds (MIbs) of triuranium oxide (U3O8) equivalent, before the project closed down due to a consistently low uranium price.

CEO Greg Bittar said the capital raising work would be an important step for Lotus to realise its plans to get this project online again.

“We are seeing terrific overseas institutional interest in Lotus and our plans to be the next global uranium producer with the accelerated restart plan for the Kayelekera Uranium Project and development plans for our larger Letlhakane Uranium Project in Botswana,” Mr Bittar said.

“This interest coupled with the significant activity in the global renewables and power
industries involving uranium, presents the ideal time to secure the funding to see Lotus through to production in Q3 2025.

“The SPP provides existing investors the opportunity to participate on the same terms as the institutional and sophisticated investors.”

Lotus has been trading flat at 31.5 cents.

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