Economy
Hungary to form JV with Wildhorse to restart uranium mining in Mecsek Hills
The JV was formed between Wildhorse Energy, state owned Mecsek-Öko (MÖ) and Mecsekérc (MÉ), and Hungarian Electricity Works (MVM) which is the owner of Paks Nuclear Power Plant.
WHE Managing Director Matt Swinney said the Mecsek Hills Uranium Project is a “highly important historically producing strategic asset, which is one of Europe’s largest uranium projects with a total Inferred Resource of 48.3 million tonnes at 0.072% uranium (U3O8) for 77Mlbs of U3O8."
“The Hungarian nuclear sector continues to grow as the country seeks the means to diversify its fuel generation capabilities and reduce its reliance on imported energy sources," he added.
WHE is an AIM and ASX listed company focussed on developing underground coal gasification (UCG) and uranium projects in Central and Eastern Europe.
Highlights
The Hungarian government’s resolution is “a major step in the development of this strategically important uranium deposit", which combines WHE’s 42.9 sq km Pécs-Abaliget uranium licence and MO’s adjoining 19.6 sq km MML-E uranium licence, WHE said.
The project has an exploration target of an additional 55-90 Mlbs of uranium with a grade range of 0.075-0.1%, which makes it one of the largest uranium deposits in Europe.
In December 2010, ME, MO and WHE signed a cooperation agreement, (which was re-signed in February 2012) where the parties agreed to develop cooperation for the preparatory, licensing and execution tasks related to the opening of the mine, with the purpose of restarting the uranium mining activity in the Mecsek Hills.The current deal is of “particular importance when considering its impact on the national economy, the potential to create employment and its favourable effect on the security of energy supply," WHE added.
The JV’s initial purpose will be to evaluate the necessary conditions to restart uranium mining in the Mecsek Hills with the ultimate aim of recommencing uranium mining at the Mecsek Hills Uranium Project in Hungary.
In the event of positive findings from the evaluation the parties shall negotiate comprehensive shareholder agreements and transfer WHE’s and MO’s Uranium Licences into the JV with the aim of recommencing uranium mining on the Licences.
Further detailed requirements regarding the project company shall be discussed with the Ministry of National Development in the forthcoming weeks.
“WHE’s immediate focus is to finalise the JV - following its completion, the Board will actively review all options with regards to developing the asset and to maximising the value for all stakeholders."
WHE Managing Director Matt Swinney said the Mecsek Hills Uranium Project is a “highly important historically producing strategic asset, which is one of Europe’s largest uranium projects with a total Inferred Resource of 48.3 million tonnes at 0.072% uranium (U3O8) for 77Mlbs of U3O8."
“The Hungarian nuclear sector continues to grow as the country seeks the means to diversify its fuel generation capabilities and reduce its reliance on imported energy sources," he added.
WHE is an AIM and ASX listed company focussed on developing underground coal gasification (UCG) and uranium projects in Central and Eastern Europe.
Highlights
The Hungarian government’s resolution is “a major step in the development of this strategically important uranium deposit", which combines WHE’s 42.9 sq km Pécs-Abaliget uranium licence and MO’s adjoining 19.6 sq km MML-E uranium licence, WHE said.
The project has an exploration target of an additional 55-90 Mlbs of uranium with a grade range of 0.075-0.1%, which makes it one of the largest uranium deposits in Europe.
In December 2010, ME, MO and WHE signed a cooperation agreement, (which was re-signed in February 2012) where the parties agreed to develop cooperation for the preparatory, licensing and execution tasks related to the opening of the mine, with the purpose of restarting the uranium mining activity in the Mecsek Hills.The current deal is of “particular importance when considering its impact on the national economy, the potential to create employment and its favourable effect on the security of energy supply," WHE added.
The JV’s initial purpose will be to evaluate the necessary conditions to restart uranium mining in the Mecsek Hills with the ultimate aim of recommencing uranium mining at the Mecsek Hills Uranium Project in Hungary.
In the event of positive findings from the evaluation the parties shall negotiate comprehensive shareholder agreements and transfer WHE’s and MO’s Uranium Licences into the JV with the aim of recommencing uranium mining on the Licences.
Further detailed requirements regarding the project company shall be discussed with the Ministry of National Development in the forthcoming weeks.
“WHE’s immediate focus is to finalise the JV - following its completion, the Board will actively review all options with regards to developing the asset and to maximising the value for all stakeholders."
