Extract to Close Submissions for Uranium Partners on March 18
By Ron Derby
Jan. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Extract Resources Ltd., an Australian uranium explorer, is set to close submissions for companies proposing to partner its Rossing South project in Namibia on March 18.
We dont need partners right now, but we might need them in three years time depending on the uranium market, Chairman Steve Galloway said in an interview in Swakopmund, Namibia today.
Asian utilities have shown interest in the project, Galloway said, adding that it was not for sale.
Rossing South may be able to produce more than 15 million pounds of uranium oxide a year, Galloway said.
Some 440 commercial nuclear power reactors operate in 30 countries, with a further 30 under construction and another 90 planned, the World Nuclear Association said on its Web site.
Theres no question that we are going to develop this operation, Galloway said. An estimate of the development cost cant be given until the feasibility study has been completed, Galloway said.
By mid-March we will have decided whether to close the study or keep it going.
Extract, 15 percent owned by Rio Tinto Group, has more than quadrupled in the past 12 months as investors bet countries will turn increasingly to nuclear power, using fuel derived from uranium, in response to climate change.
The stock declined 1.7 percent to close at A$7.90 in Sydney yesterday, valuing the company at A$1.92 billion ($1.71 billion), compared with about A$311 million at the end of 2008.
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