Askari Metals finalises strategic placement to advance Tanzanian uranium push

Askari Metals (ASX: AS2) has wrapped up a funding agreement with Celtic Finance Corporation for $350,000 to support the development of its Tanzanian uranium project.

Askari earlier this month revealed plans to ramp up its Tanzanian uranium strategy after attracting the support of a new high-net-worth sophisticated investor.

Celtic Finance will receive a 1-for-1 free-attaching option for the 26.8 million shares placed, exercisable at $0.022 and expiring on 31 December 2028, as well as 10 million subscriber options on the same terms, subject to shareholder approval.

African projects

The company will allocate funds raised from the placement towards its progressive expansion into uranium in Tanzania and continued exploration and development of the Uis lithium project in Namibia, as well as general working capital.

“We are pleased to have completed the strategic investment with Celtic Finance Corp and we welcome our new investor to our register,” director Gino D’Anna said.

“We continue to build our footprint in Tanzania as due diligence continues on several advanced uranium projects and […] will be actively seeking to secure experienced top-level management that will be able to take Askari to the next stage and develop our key projects.”

Tanzanian acquisition

The new funding deal follows Askari’s recent acquisition of the Matemanga and Eyasi uranium projects in Tanzania.

Previous work at Matemanga – strategically located less than 70 kilometres south of the world-class Nyota uranium mine – identified a significant radiometric anomaly spanning 10km by 6km.

While this survey underscored substantial potential for uranium mineralisation, the operator at the time prioritised other areas.

Elsewhere, reprocessing of airborne geophysical data at the Eyasi project has revealed two discrete, linear radiometric anomalies approximately 1km in width and totalling 30km of strike.

Due diligence underway

Askari is currently undertaking due diligence to acquire further uranium projects in the hope of building a district-scale uranium portfolio in southern Tanzania.

The company is also working towards developing an appropriate divestment strategy for its prospective Australian gold, copper, rare earth elements and lithium projects.

Askari has revealed that, in light of the placement’s completion, a proposed rights issue would no longer be going ahead.