American investment bank JPMorgan Chase has increased its stake in Lotus Resources (ASX:LOT) just days after the Africa-focused uranium developer locked in its first two offtake deals.
JPMorgan is the largest bank in the US and the world’s largest by market capitalisation in 2023, currently sitting at US$616.86 billion ($925.66 billion).
The investment bank now owns 6.48% — up from 5.37% previously — of Lotus after adding a further 20.4 million shares to its portfolio.
Shares advanced 9.3% to an intra-morning high of $0.235 today (10 September).
Lotus is advancing the Kayelekera Uranium Project in Malawi towards a restart.
The project was operational between 2009 and 2014, producing around 11 million pounds of uranium equivalent before being mothballed as a result of the continued low uranium price.
In July 2024, Lotus and the Government of Malawi signed a Mine Development Agreement that guarantees a stability period of 10 years during which the project will not be subject to any detrimental changes to the fiscal regime.
The government holds a 15% interest in the Kayelekera Project.
Then in September, Lotus inked two uranium offtake arrangements to supply 1.5-1.8 million pounds of uranium from 2026 through until the end of 2032, at an “escalated fixed price”, which Lotus says is the result of “competitive discussions and secured to deliver strong margins”.
The uranium price is sitting around US$79.95 a pound, down from a peak of US$106 a pound in January 2024, according to Trading Economics data.
Lotus signed the offtake agreements with PSEG, a subsidiary of Public Sector Enterprise Group – a diversified energy company based in New Jersey, and Curzon Uranium.
The company also locked in a US$15 million unsecured loan facility from Curzon Uranium to cover part of the overall funding needed for the Kayelekera restart.
Lotus says a 2022 Definitive Feasibility Study confirms Kayelekera as one of the lowest capital cost uranium projects globally, with an initial capital cost of US$88 million.
Meanwhile, Lotus reports today that it has intersected the thickest continuous zones of uranium mineralisation at its Letlhakane Uranium Project in Botswana
Top hits include 26.1m at 265 parts per million (ppm) uranium equivalent from 30.2m and 24.9m at 180ppm uranium equivalent from 8.2m.
Letlhakane has an existing resource of 155.3 million tonnes at 345ppm for 118.2 million pounds of uranium.
Write to Angela East at Mining.com.au
Images: Lotus Resources
