Askari Metals has reappointed company founder and major shareholder Gino D’Anna as executive director to drive the company’s transition towards a greater focus on its African assets.
The transition combines Askari’s growing African emphasis with its strategic shift towards battery metals and clean energy commodities, which will include developing projects such as its Namibian Uis lithium project and its Matemanga and Eyasi uranium projects in Tanzania.
D’Anna’s re-appointment enables Askari to focus on and advance its 2025 corporate objective to get the best value from the company’s existing portfolio and ensure further growth through strategic acquisitions suited to its commodity emphasis and specialisation.
D’Anna has significant experience in managing and advising junior mining exploration companies and more than 15 years of experience in the sector, combined with significant primary and secondary capital markets experience.
His professional background includes resource exploration, public company operations, administration and financial management, including mining sector work with the Canadian government and First Nations communities.
It also has a broad international flavour, including in Australia, Botswana, Namibia and Canada, where D’Anna was involved in exploring and developing many projects, including some recent discoveries.
Askari also last week appointed resource industry professional Tim Morrison to its board as a non-executive director to strengthen the company’s corporate expertise as it realigns its focus towards Africa and clean-energy commodities.
Morrison has more than 20 years of experience in senior roles developing early-stage resource companies and has been involved in raising significant capital for resource projects across various exchanges.
The re-appointment of Mr D’Anna comes at a time when the company requires strategic oversight in managing the delivery of our African exploration strategy. Our recent appointment of Tim Morrison and the streamlining of the board structure means that we are well placed to execute this strategy.
Downey said Askari has some highly prospective and advanced projects across Africa, where its strength and experience would allow the company to leverage a first mover advantage.
In addition to its Uis lithium project, Askari has assembled an attractive portfolio of lithium, rare earth elements and copper-gold projects in Western Australia, the Northern Territory and New South Wales.
The company recently acquired the Matemanga and Eyasi projects in Tanzania’s southern and northern regions, respectively, through a direct application process.
Matemanga is geologically well-situated due to its potentially significant continuity with the world-class Nyota uranium mine, about 70 kilometres north.
Matemanga and Nyota both lie within the Karoo Basin, which includes sandstone sequences known to host uranium. A 2006 exploration program at Matemanga by former US-based explorer Uranerz Energy identified a big radiometric anomaly over a 10km x 6km area that indicates potential uranium mineralisation.
Uranerz had other exploration priorities at the time and did not follow up the Matemanga anomalism.
The Nyota uranium project, with its substantial resource estimate of 124.6 million pounds of contained uranium oxide at 306 parts per million uranium oxide, serves as a powerful indication of the region’s potential for big uranium deposits and provides a strong incentive for new explorers.
Nyota is owned by the Russian state-owned company, Rosatom, through its subsidiary Atomredmetzoloto (ARMZ). The project was previously owned by Mantra Resources and was acquired by Rosatom in 2011 for $1.2 billion. Uranium One is also a subsidiary of ARMZ and is the project operator in Tanzania.
Askari’s re-processing of airborne geophysical data at its Eyasi project has identified two discrete, 1km-wide linear radiometric anomalies along a 30km trend, which it interprets as part of a fluvial channel system draining primary basement granitic rocks.
Askari is also undertaking due diligence assessments towards the likely acquisition of other uranium projects to assemble a district-scale uranium portfolio in southern Tanzania.
Askari has also appointed specialist advisor CPS Capital Group to help it implement a capital markets strategy over the next 12 months by working with existing shareholders and new investors.
CPS Capital has extensive experience in the global mineral resources sector and has successfully led financings for several mining, exploration and development companies with Australian and international assets.
Askari will issue CPS Capital or its nominee $90,000 in ordinary shares in the company at a deemed issue price of 1.3 cents per share, equalling 6,923,077 shares, under Askari’s existing ASX LR 7.1 placement capacity.
D’Anna said the strategic alliance with CPS Capital would help Askari leverage its strength and experience to extend its corporate reach.
Askari also executed a binding subscription agreement in January with Celtic Finance Corporation, a single high-net-worth sophisticated investor, to raise a further $350,000 before costs at an average issue price of 1.35c per share.
The placement was completed when Askari issued 10,937,500 shares at 1.6c per share with shareholder approval and a further 15,909,091 shares at 1.1c per share under its ASX LR 7.1 capacity.
Askari will use the placement to support its growth plans, as working capital to advance its Tanzanian uranium strategy and to help access a broader funding network.
The company is continuing due diligence to acquire further uranium projects in the emerging tier-1 uranium province in southern Tanzania.
Askari is also working on a divestment strategy for its Australian exploration portfolio, which contains prospective gold, copper, rare earths and lithium projects.
The company’s strategic objectives will now be built on exploiting its considerable African expertise, coupled with its desire to become a disciplined African explorer and developer.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@wanews.com.au
