Australian uranium production company Paladin Energy has abandoned the sale of a minority stake in its flagship uranium mine in Africa, Langer Heinrich, as it did not receive an appropriate bid for the sale.
The company had been in negotiations with two nuclear power firms to sell 15-20% stake in the mine that is located in Namibia.
Based on UBS’ recent $1.1bn valuation of the mine, a successful sale can earn between $165m -$220m, reported AAP.
According to Paladin, the strategic value of the asset is not expected to reflect in the offer price due to the current low spot uranium price ($34.5/lb). The company instead will use a shareholder-diluting $88m capital raising to reduce about $670m debt.
The company said in a statement that it will resume the sale process after the rise in market price – at least $70/lb.
Langer Heinrich has a mine life of more than 20 years. It produced 5.3 million pounds, out of the company’s 8.26 million pounds of output in the year until 30 June.