Company will own advanced Patterson Lake South project in Canada
Australia’s Paladin Energy has received the final green light it needed from Canadian authorities to buy Canada-based Fission Uranium in a CAD1.14bn (€757m, $789m) deal that cements its position as a major global producer, it said on 19 December.
Paladin got the clearance under the Investment Canada Act on 18 December and said the deal under which it would acquire Fission’s advanced Patterson Lake South project in Saskatchewan was expected to be completed next month.
“All approvals have now been granted, and the acquisition of Fission by Paladin is expected to close by early January, 2025,” Paladin said in a statement.
In October the Canadian government stepped in to review the proposed tie-up on national security grounds, raising concerns it may be derailed by the county that has become increasingly sensitive towards strategic resource firms being taken over by overseas buyers.
Paladin has agreed to several conditions Canada has attached to the merger including not to use any China-sourced finance for funding Patterson Lake South, or to sell Patterson Lake South’s uranium directly or indirectly to any China customers beyond China General Nuclear Power Group, which has an existing offtake agreement, it said.
In July Canada cracked down on big mining takeovers, saying it would only approve foreign buyouts of large Canadian firms involved in critical minerals production “in the most exceptional of circumstances”.
Paladin said the acquisition means it has “a world-class production and growth pipeline” in the Patterson Lake South project, the Langer Heinrich mine in Namibia the and the Michelin project in Newfoundland, Canada.
