Standard Uranium (STND.V) was on the ropes, I’m not gonna lie. They went all in on a prospect in the Athabasca Basin and gathered a strong crew and fought the cold and did the work and rolled the dice, but what happened on the end of all that is what often happens in the mining prospect game…
They missed.
Well, it’s not so much they missed, they just didn’t get deep enough. Harsh weather and shifting ice did what harsh weather and shifting ice will do, and as the Standard gang adapted and evolved and reworked, they just ran out of season.
Which means either you raisea bunch of money and get right back at it next season, all in, let’s go… or you evolve your model to reduce risk, extend capital runway, and give yourself more room to truly explore the project with the help of others.
In Standard’s case, they chose the path less risky and refined their existing exploration-only business model to a more expansive project generator model. This new approach will leverage the power of partnerships to increase capital efficiency and speed up the exploration projects far beyond what they could do by themselves. By forming joint ventures, the company can foster development on its land packages while still retaining significant potential gains from any discovered resources.
Too wordy for you, layman? They’re bringing in partners with money, contacts, knowledge, and heft.
Sure, Standard will lose some upside by sharing their projects, but they’ll continue to exist and use their knowledge of the area to bring more properties to bear. This shift spreads risk in return for lower upside, which is fair when you don’t want to dilute your existing shareholders.
With the addition of the newly acquired Rocas project, the company now has ownership interests in six projects in the area, totalling over 65,205 hectares across the uranium-rich Athabasca Basin.
Embracing this new model has extended the company’s portfolio, especially with the inclusion of Rocas, bringing its total ownership interest to over 65,205 hectares across the uranium-rich Athabasca basin.
Jon Bey, the CEO and director of Standard Uranium, emphasized the strategic nature of this decision. “We are an accomplished uranium exploration company situated in one of the most promising locations for high-grade uranium,” he stated. The exploration process for premium uranium deposits is a challenging and capital-intensive journey and Bey believes that forming joint ventures will enable their team to continue the exploration process while minimizing shareholder dilution.
The company currently boasts five projects that are drill-ready, fully permitted, and supported by agreements with First Nations.
As part of this strategic pivot, Standard Uranium burst out of the gates with the acquisition of the new Rocas project. This 3,152-hectare area is located in the southeastern Athabasca basin of Northern Saskatchewan, approximately 75 kilometres southwest of the Key Lake mine and mill facilities. Previous mining endeavours have unearthed mineralized outcrop grab samples, although none of these historical occurrences have been drill tested.
Yet.
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The acquisition of the Rocas project indicates the company’s focus on projects that promise high-grade uranium mineralization. Detailed data compilation by Standard has identified various target areas within metasedimentary and orthogneissic basement rocks. The company anticipates that additional surface sampling and geophysical surveys will assist in drill target vectoring. The company also highlights anomalous lakebed geochemical anomalies, ranking higher than the 95th percentile for uranium, cobalt, vanadium, and zinc along the conductor corridor. Plans for a prospecting, sampling, and mapping program in H2 2023 are currently underway, demonstrating the company’s dedication to efficient exploration and development.
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Mining prospecting is not an easy business, and even the best and brightest and most accomplished of crews will find their first forays are often ‘starter programs’, where you make mistakes, figure out the landscape, adjust and learn, and come back with more focus and intensity.
That’s where Standard is right now, but rather than risk it all on round two, they’re bringing in partners.
This, to be clear, is the right call. Being a hero and trying to move mountains (or lakes) by yourself does indeed bring you the biggest upside if you hit, but when you know you’re on top of something interesting, sometimes cutting a brother in makes the job of getting to production that much easier.
As an investor in Standard, I like this move. This is where the rubber hits the road, and at the current share price, there’s still a boatload of potential upside for shareholders.
Couch cushion stakes. Watchlist and get in if you see the train leaving the station.
— Chris Parry
FULL DISCLOSURE: Standard Uranium has been an Equity.Guru marketing client, and we continue to hold stock in the company.
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