Consolidated Uranium Inc. (the "Company", “CUR” or
“Consolidated Uranium”) (TSXV: CUR) (OTCQB: CURUF) is
pleased to share an open letter from Chairman and Chief Executive
Officer, Philip Williams, to shareholders of the Company.
Dear Fellow Shareholders:
As we end 2021, I wanted to take a moment to
reflect on our Company’s achievements over the past year and set
out our objectives for the upcoming year and beyond.
Continued Uranium Market
Resurgence
Looking back at our letter from last year, we
noted that uranium prices had increased from the low of US$20.00
per lb in early 2020 to close that year at approximately US$30.00
per lb. At that time, we expected prices, both spot and long term,
to continue to climb and we were not disappointed. As of writing
this letter, according to TradeTech, the weekly spot price
indicator sits at US$43.25 per lb with the long-term price
indicator at US$45.00 per lb. This impressive 42% increase in the
spot price year-over-year tells only part of the story. The spot
price peaked at just over US$50 per lb in September on the back of
aggressive spot market purchases from the Sprott Physical Uranium
Trust, which now holds 41.3 m lbs of U3O8 up from just 18.1 m lbs
at the beginning of the year.
As expected, this continued upward strength in
the uranium price has had a positive impact on share prices for
uranium equites. The best way to see this is by looking at the
performance of North Shore Global Uranium Mining ETF (URNM), which
is now up 82% year-to-date despite correcting 20% from its high of
early November.
Notwithstanding this tremendous performance for
the sector, our view at Consolidated Uranium remains the same as
last year. We continue to expect uranium prices, both spot and long
term, will continue to rise due to the inherent disconnect between
the current price and the required price level that existing supply
can be maintained profitably and new supply can be incentivized to
come online. The disconnect exists for the current level of demand
however, we of course believe the future for nuclear power looks
very bright and any increase in demand could serve to drive prices
even higher. To give readers a sense for where demand might go, we
reference the International Atomic Energy Agency (the “IAEA”)
projections for Nuclear Power Growth published in September 2021.
Under the high case scenario of its new outlook, the IAEA expects
world nuclear capacity could double by 2050. This is the scenario
we are preparing for at Consolidated Uranium.
Evolving the Business Model
Last year we stated that our business model was
“to acquire uranium projects around the globe”, and while that
remains true, we have now added “and develop” to the model. This
distinction is important as we have now reached the point in the
uranium cycle, in our opinion, where value can be created not only
by identifying and acquiring new projects but also by advancing
those projects. To be clear, CUR intends to continue to be an
aggressive, yet judicious, acquirer of assets under the right
circumstances with a view to building out the portfolio and
providing our shareholders with continued diversified exposure to
the sector. However, we expect that 2022 will be characterized as
much by our project-level activities as by new M&A activity.
Read on to find out about the important additions we made to our
board of directors and team to execute these project-level programs
and for more details on the plans for our key projects.
Bolstered Management and
Board
The year 2021 saw the continued build out of the
leadership team at Consolidated Uranium with two key additions. The
first is the appointment of Mark Chalmers to the board of
directors. Mark is a familiar name in the uranium sector in his
role as the CEO of Energy Fuels Inc. (NYSE American: UUUU) (TSX:
EFR), a leading U.S.-based uranium mining company, and CUR’s
largest shareholder. As a mining engineer with decades of
experience in the uranium sector, his wealth of knowledge will be
invaluable to CUR as it builds out and advances its portfolio. The
second and most recent is the appointment of Marty Tunney as
President and Chief Executive Officer. Marty is also a mining
engineer by background, with diverse experience in mine permitting
and development, investment banking and leading public mining
companies. In his dual roles, Marty will be responsible for helping
shape the direction of the Company, with a particular focus on
project advancement and development. In addition, during the past
year, the Company has continued to add to its technical and
operational teams on the ground in its key jurisdictions. Local
expertise is particularly critical for the Company given the global
nature of the portfolio and continued challenges with global
travel.
Growing and Advancing the
Portfolio
To say that 2021 was an active year on the
project acquisition front would be an understatement. We ended last
year with four option agreements signed. During this year, we
closed two of those acquisitions, announced and closed two
additional acquisitions and announced an additional acquisition.
Our global portfolio, including 100% owned projects and projects
under options, now consists of 13 “projects” in four countries,
Australia, Canada, the US and Argentina, with historic uranium and
vanadium resources. Importantly, through the transformational
acquisition and strategic alliance with Energy Fuels, we now own
three past producing uranium and vanadium mines in the US with
potential for near term production as market conditions continue to
improve. In Canada, we added the high grade Matoush project with
strong exploration upside potential. Most recently, we closed the
acquisition of the Laguna Salada uranium and vanadium project in
Argentina. These three projects will see the bulk of our project
level expenditures for the year.
We would be remiss not to mention the exciting
developments surrounding our Moran Lake project in Labrador and the
creation of Labrador Uranium (“LUR”). In a natural extension of our
business model, we determined that to maximize the value of Moran
Lake it made sense to combine it with other projects in the
province owned by Altius Minerals and Mega Uranium and form a new
company with a separate and dedicated management team to focus on
exploration and potential resource expansion. This concept was met
with strong enthusiasm from the investment community securing C$8
million in financing with a listing expected in Q1 2022.
Importantly, CUR shareholders will gain direct exposure to this
exciting new uranium vehicle by receiving LUR shares on a pro rata
basis based on the number of CUR shares held at the time of
completion of the spin-out transaction.
The Future is Bright
With a busy and successful year nearly complete
we now turn our attention to 2022 and we believe the future is
bright. Just over a month ago, we closed a financing for proceeds
of C$20 million, which provides for a very healthy balance sheet
entering 2022. As discussed above, these funds are expected to be
allocated toward project-level expenditures as well as pursuing new
project acquisition opportunities.
In closing, we believe our investment
case remains strong for existing and new shareholders:
- CUR is in the right sector at the
right time; uranium is currently in a bull trend and has the
potential to deliver robust returns for equity investors;
- CUR has the right team; which
together boasts decades of uranium, M&A, exploration and mine
development expertise;
- CUR has the right portfolio;
located in top tier mining and uranium jurisdictions with high
grades on a global scale with significant past expenditures and
near-term production potential; and
- CUR has a proven track record; in
less than two years, the Company has executed multiple M&A
transactions, secured multiple financings and has increased market
recognition as measured by share price and trading liquidity.
I would like to thank all of you for supporting
and joining us on this journey.
Yours truly,
Philip Williams, Chairman and Chief Executive
Officer
Grant of Compensation
Securities
Pursuant to CUR’s long term incentive plan, the
Company has granted certain officers, directors, employees and
consultants options to purchase an aggregate of 1,450,000 common
shares of the Company and an aggregate of 650,000 restricted share
units. The options are exercisable at a price of $2.79 per common
share for a period of five years and vest over three years as
follows: one-third vesting immediately, one-third vesting after one
year and one-third vesting after two years. The restricted share
units, each of which entitles the holder to receive one common
share of the Company, vest over three years as follows: one-third
vesting after one year, one-third vesting after two years and
one-third vesting after three years. The options and restricted
share units are subject to approval of the TSX Venture
Exchange.
About Consolidated Uranium
Consolidated Uranium Inc. (TSXV: CUR) (OTCQB:
CURUF) was created in early 2020 to capitalize on an anticipated
uranium market resurgence using the proven model of diversified
project consolidation. To date, the Company has acquired or has the
right to acquire uranium projects in Australia, Canada, Argentina,
and the United States each with significant past expenditures and
attractive characteristics for development. Most recently, the
Company completed a transformational strategic acquisition and
alliance with Energy Fuels Inc. (NYSE American: UUUU) (TSX: EFR), a
leading U.S.-based uranium mining company, and acquired a portfolio
of permitted, past-producing conventional uranium and vanadium
mines in Utah and Colorado. These mines are currently on stand-by,
ready for rapid restart as market conditions permit, positioning
CUR as a near-term uranium producer.For More Information,
Please Contact
Philip
WilliamsPresident and
CEOpwilliams@consolidateduranium.com
Mars Investor Relations +1 647
557 6640 cur@marsinvestorrelations.com
Twitter: @ConsolidatedUr
www.consolidateduranium.com
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulations
Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX
Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or
accuracy of this release.
Cautionary Statement Regarding
“Forward-Looking” Information
This news release contains "forward-looking
information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities
legislation. “Forward-looking information” includes, but is not
limited to, statements with respect to activities, events or
developments that the Company expects or anticipates will or may
occur in the future including expectations regarding Uranium prices
and the potential to deliver robust returns for equity investors,
expectations regarding world nuclear capacity, expectations
regarding potential value creation from project acquisitions and
advancement, expectations regarding project-level activities and
new M&A activity, expectations regarding the anticipated timing
for listing of LUR, the anticipated use of proceeds from recent
financings and the Company’s ongoing business plan. Generally, but
not always, forward-looking information and statements can be
identified by the use of words such as “plans”, “expects”, “is
expected”, “budget”, “scheduled”, “estimates”, “forecasts”,
“intends”, “anticipates”, or “believes” or the negative connotation
thereof or variations of such words and phrases or state that
certain actions, events or results “may”, “could”, “would”, “might”
or “will be taken”, “occur” or “be achieved” or the negative
connotation thereof. Such forward-looking information and
statements are based on numerous assumptions, including that
general business and economic conditions will not change in a
material adverse manner, that financing will be available if and
when needed and on reasonable terms, and that third party
contractors, equipment and supplies and governmental and other
approvals required to conduct the Company’s planned exploration and
development activities will be available on reasonable terms and in
a timely manner. Although the assumptions made by the Company in
providing forward-looking information or making forward-looking
statements are considered reasonable by management at the time,
there can be no assurance that such assumptions will prove to be
accurate.
Forward-looking information and statements also
involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other
factors, which may cause actual events or results in future periods
to differ materially from any projections of future events or
results expressed or implied by such forward-looking information or
statements, including, among others: negative operating cash flow
and dependence on third party financing, uncertainty of additional
financing, no current mineral reserves or resources, reliance on
key management and other personnel, potential downturns in economic
conditions, actual results of exploration activities being
different than anticipated, changes in exploration programs based
upon results, and risks generally associated with the mineral
exploration industry, environmental risks, changes in laws and
regulations, community relations and delays in obtaining
governmental or other approvals.
Although the Company has attempted to identify
important factors that could cause actual results to differ
materially from those contained in the forward-looking information
or implied by forward-looking information, there may be other
factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or
intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking
information and statements will prove to be accurate, as actual
results and future events could differ materially from those
anticipated, estimated or intended. Accordingly, readers should not
place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information.
The Company undertakes no obligation to update or reissue
forward-looking information as a result of new information or
events except as required by applicable securities laws.
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