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- Minerals explorer Lotus Resources (LOT) has restructured its board and executive, adding significant uranium experience to the team
- The board restructure follows the acquisition of the Keyelekera uranium mine, and is aimed at shifting focus from a corporate mode to one of development and production
- The three new board members are James Eggins, Andrew Mirco and Grant Davey, who bring with them a wealth of experience in uranium mining, engineering and financing
- Recent exploration work by Lotus revealed substantial rare earth oxides and a 31 per cent increase to the total mineral resource at the site
- With the new upgrade in the board’s uranium experience, it looks like Keyelekera could be up and running before you know it
- Lotus Resources is trading 18.5 per cent higher today, with shares priced at 7.7 cents each
Minerals explorer Lotus Resources (LOT) has restructured its board and executive, adding significant uranium experience to the team.
A new deal
The board restructure follows from the acquisition of the Keyelekera uranium mine, and is aimed at refocusing from a corporate mode to one of development and production.
The originator of the Keyelekera deal, Lotus Non-Executive Director Tim Kestell, will resign his position on the board at the end of May to ensure the handover is managed in an orderly fashion.
Current Managing Director Simon Andrew will also resign and instead take up the role of CEO.
Given there are three incoming new board members, the resignations will ensure the size of the board reflects the size of the company and its financial capabilities and requirements.
The three new board members are James Eggins, appointed as Non-Executive Chairman, and Andrew Mirco and Grant Davey, both appointed as Non-Executive Directors.
James Eggins brings with him wide experience in the uranium industry, having held senior uranium-related roles at Queensland Mines, CRA, WMC and Paladin Energy since 1981.
He has also been a Director and Chair of the Uranium Information Centre and served on the board of the World Nuclear Association.
Andrew Mirco is a former Paladin senior executive, having served as the General Manager Corporate Development and Investor Relations.
Andrew was responsible for implementing the project financing to construct the Kayelekera Mine, and has a strong background in financing, commercial negotiations, deal structuring and risk management, and has a sound understanding of the regulatory landscape in Malawi.
Grant Davey is a mining engineer with over 25 years of senior management and operational experience in the construction and operation of gold, platinum and coal mines across the globe.
Most recently, he has played key roles in developing the Panda Hill niobium project and the Honeymoon uranium project.
This new mix of engineering, financing and management experience will hopefully bring Lotus into a new phase as a company as it seeks to revitalise the Keyelekera mine.
There have been considerable dealings in recent weeks between Mr Davey, Mr Kestell and their various interests which intersect at Keyelekera.
It seems a fair balance has been struck between the various parties to ensure the interests of Lotus and its shareholders are protected.
Next steps
Keyelekera has been in care and maintenance mode since 2014, when a downturn in uranium prices led to the mine’s shuttering.
The mine had reached record production levels in 2013, at over 2.9 million pounds (Mlb) of uranium, and produced 10.9Mlb from 2009 to 2014.
More recently, exploration work by Lotus revealed substantial rare earth oxides and a 31 per cent increase to the total mineral resource at the site – a considerable expansion to the already rich resource.
Kayelekera’s total JORC 2012 endowment now stands at 37.5 million pounds of U3O8.
With the new upgrade in the board’s uranium experience, it looks like Keyelekera will be up and running before you know it.
Lotus Resources is trading 20 per cent higher today, with shares priced at 7.8 cents each as at 3:15 pm AEST.
