The Australian Financial Review PRINT EDITION: 19 Nov 2011 Street Talk Edited by Sarah Thompson, Christine Lacy and Stephen Shore
There appears to be no end in sight to the bidding war between Rio Tinto and Cameco over Sasketchewan uranium developer Hathor Exploration.
The Anglo-Australian miner yesterday raised its bid to $C4.70 a share, topping Cameco's latest effort of $C4.50 a share and Rio's original offer of $C4.15 a share. Hathor shares last traded at $C4.84 as investors punt neither bidder is willing to give up just yet.
Cameco has been viewed as the natural owner of Hathor due to its dominance of the existing infrastructure in the region.
But Rio boss Tom Albanese this week painted a bright outlook for uranium post-2020, when the miner's ongoing production is not assured because the mining lease at Ranger expires in 2021. Its other asset, Rossing in Namibia, is already showing signs of its age and will be on its last legs post-2020 unless Rio can seal a processing deal with neighbouring Extract Resources.
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