2023-05-29
Paladin’s partner in Langer Heinrich is the China National Nuclear Corporation.
Husab and Rossing are also run by Chinese companies, the China General Nuclear Power Group and China National Uranium Corporation respectively.
ASX-listed Deep Yellow also has assets in Namibia and is run by former Paladin talisman John Borshoff; shares in Deep Yellow were more than 10 per cent lower in Tuesday trade. Paladin fell 20 per cent to 54¢.
Shares in Bannerman Energy, which has been trying to develop Namibia’s Etango uranium asset for more than a decade, also slumped by more than 2 per cent.
Namibia’s plan comes barely a month after Chilean president Gabriel Boric threatened to nationalise the lithium industry in the South American nation.
The Namibian nationalisation threat is a boost for uranium aspirants in other jurisdictions, such as Boss Energy which has vowed to resume uranium production at South Australia’s Honeymoon mine before the end of 2023.
Deep Yellow also has Australian uranium assets at Mulga Rock in WA and exploration ground in the Northern Territory it can fall back on, if sovereign risk in Namibia were to flare.
Shares in ASX-listed Berkeley Energia, whose Spanish uranium project has been tied up in a quagmire of government permitting challenges for years, surged by 20 per cent on Tuesday.