LONDON, March 7 (Reuters) - Kalahari Minerals on Monday said it was in talks with an unnamed third party, which may lead to an offer being made for the company, sending its shares to an all time high.
Shares in the UK-listed miner, which holds around 43 percent of Extract Resources, soared as much as 13 percent to a highest ever 293.50 pence on the news, as it said discussions were ongoing and that a further announcement would be made when appropriate.
Kalahari said it was also in talks to simplify its shareholder structure with Extract in a bid to combine assets with Rio Tinto in Namibia.
The company wants to combine Extract's Husab Uranium project with the neighbouring Rossing Uranium mine owned by Rio Tinto. It added that there is no certainty the parties will reach any agreement.
Extract's chairman told Reuters in February that the company had no intention to sell its Husab uranium deposit, the largest of its kind in the world
Analysts have long said Extract could be an eventual target for Rio, whose Rossing mine is near Extract's Husab deposit. Speculation was renewed last month week when the two companies said they were in talks to combine their uranium projects.
Shares in Kalahari were up 10.47 percent at 11.06GMT, giving the company a total market value of 705.6 million pounds.
EXT Price at posting:
$9.26 Sentiment: LT Buy Disclosure: Held
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