THE AUSTRALIAN FEBRUARY 26, 2016 12:00AM BARRY FITZGERALD...

• THE AUSTRALIAN
• FEBRUARY 26, 2016 12:00AM
• BARRY FITZGERALD

Marenica Energy
It is rare for a junior resources company to have its foot on a processing technology that just might turn an industry on its head. But that is the chatter around a little uranium thing called Marenica Energy (MEY). As it has a tight capital base, yesterday’s 11c market price means its market cap is less than $2m.
Marenica has uranium interests in Africa, and when things got tough it decided to see if there was a technology solution that could change its world. It came up with a five-step patented process its calls U-pgrade, which rejects the non-uranium material before the leaching stage of liberating the uranium is reached. Information is tight but it apparently involves a physical, rather than chemical, shearing process within cyclones.
It can apparently achieve a 50-70 per cent reduction in processing costs and 30-50 per cent reduction in capital costs.
Lower-grade uranium deposits suddenly look more attractive, as the couple of other ASX uranium players interested in the technology have set out to prove on their deposits.
Early days, but one to watch, particularly as the once-dominant presence of China’s Hanlong Energy on the Marenica registry dissipates as planned.