KYRGYZSTAN may be in one of the more unstable regions of the world but it has one big plus for any would-be uranium miner: no state Labor governments to block mine development.
This is clearly one of the attractions for recently listed Monaro Mining, which has locked up several uranium deposits abandoned by the Soviet Union in this central Asian republic 30 years ago. The market agreed, sending Monaro shares up 7c to 61c - already a substantial gain on the issue price of 20c last month.
Monaro chairman Warwick Grigor said it could take up to five years to get through state and federal approval processes in Australia for a new uranium mine but as little as two years to get a uranium mine in production in Kyrgyzstan.
"They treat uranium like any other metal," he said.
And Monaro is not worried about the political risk in a country that ousted its president this year after an uprising and shares borders with Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.
Mr Grigor takes comfort from the recent decision by Santos to commit $28 million to the country in a joint venture with Caspian Oil and Gas.
Mr Grigor, who also runs investment house Far East Capital and has been an enthusiast for uranium, decided on the move after his latest visit to Kyrgyzstan last month.
He saw that country delivering results more quickly than the NSW projects on which Monaro based its $3 million initial public offering - a mix of gold, tin, tungsten and base metals projects.
Known uranium in a country favourably disposed towards its exploitation - especially when that uranium is hosted in several different geological settings over a wide area - was more likely to propel the fledgling Monaro.
"The world's our oyster," Mr Grigor said.
Kyrgyzstan, also known as the Kyrgyz Republic, was part of the former Soviet Union and was the first source of uranium mined by communist authorities, starting in the 1930s and continuing until the 1970s.
These mines were abandoned when the Soviets discovered larger, more easily mined deposits in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.
The first task for the new owner of the Kyrgyz properties is to trawl through translated Russian records of the mining.
The sellers of the property will be the first people to get shares in Monaro for vending in properties.
Mr Grigor said he and other directors all paid the full 20c a share price for their stock - no one involved in the float got vendor shares or cheap ones in return for seed capital.
"I've got my shares because I paid cash for them," he said.
MRO Price at posting:
0.0¢ Sentiment: None Disclosure: Held
