NexGen to list in Australia, shares rise
NexGen Energy Ltd. [NXE-TSX, NYSE] said Thursday it plans to list on the Australian Securities Exchange.
In connection with that goal, the company has filed a prospectus with the Australian Securities and Investment Commission, in connection with NexGen’s application for admission to the Australian Securities Exchange as a foreign exempt listing and quotation of its shares as chess depository instruments (CDIs) on July 2, 2021, under the code NXG.
“NexGen has grown a substantial investor following in Australia and the Asia-Pacific region since its founding in 2011,” said NexGen CEO Leigh Curyer. At present, approximately 30% of NexGen’s share capital is held by investors in the region,” he said.
News of the Australian listing comes after NexGen recently released positive results of an independent feasibility study on its 100%-owned Rook 1 uranium project, which is located in Saskatchewan’s Athabasca Basin.
“Given the stage of the company’s development, the exceptional economic strength of the Rook 1 project and the accelerating demand for responsible production of clean energy worldwide, it is time to broaden the exposure of NexGen through a dual listing on to the ASX,” Curyer said.
He said the ASX is a significant resource bourse and has substantial capital pools which are limited or restricted to only ASX-listed issuers. The ASX is complementary to NexGen’s current TSX and NYSE listings.
NexGen shares advanced on the news, rising 2.7% or 14 cents to $5.37 on active volume of 393,390. The shares are currently trading in a 52-week range of $6.08 and $1.68.
NexGen is developing one of the world’s largest uranium deposits on its Rook 1 property. The company is backed by one of Asia’s wealthiest investors Li-Ka-shing. In June, 2016, CEF Capital Markets Ltd., an affiliate of the Hong Kong based conglomerate CK Hutchison Group, which is chaired by Li Ka-shing, subscribed for US$60 million worth of convertible debentures in NexGen.
NexGen said results of the recent feasibility study include a mineral reserve and mineral resource update for the basement-hosted Arrow deposit, which is located on the Rook 1 project.
“The environmental and economic results from the Rook 1 Feasibility Study place the project as one of the leading global resource projects with an elite ESG profile,” Curyer has said.
Meanwhile, NexGen is in the final stages of preparing for a 2021 exploration program at Rook 1. This program will focus on known highly prospective targets, incorporating extensive geological data and surveys accumulated over the past 10 years.
The proposed exploration program is scheduled to begin in the coming months, incorporating and subject to the exploration, health and safety protocols administered by the provincial government and health authority.