Canadian-listed company Vatic Ventures Corp. is moving into Namibia’s uranium exploration sector after securing conditional approval from the TSX Venture Exchange to acquire rights to earn majority interests in two uranium-exclusive prospecting licences in the Erongo Region, placing the company in one of the country’s most prolific uranium corridors.
The transaction gives Vatic the right to acquire interests in EPL 8289 and EPL 8735, two licences covering a combined 132 square kilometres within Namibia’s uranium-rich Alaskite Alley, a geological corridor that hosts some of the world’s largest uranium deposits, including the Rössing Uranium Mine and Husab Mine operations.
The company is acquiring the assets through a deal with the private company Velvet Clean Energy Corp, under which Vatic will issue 7.5 million shares in exchange for Velvet’s rights to earn up to a 90% interest in both licences.
Trading in Vatic shares resumed on the TSX Venture Exchange on 16 June following conditional acceptance of the transaction.
The move comes as global uranium markets continue to benefit from renewed investment in nuclear energy, with explorers increasingly targeting Namibia, the world’s fourth-largest uranium producer and one of Africa’s most established uranium mining jurisdictions.
The Erongo uranium province has produced more than 350 million pounds of uranium oxide over the past 48 years.
According to the company, both licences are located less than 50 kilometres from Swakopmund and have access to key infrastructure, including power from the NamPower grid, water supplied through Orano’s desalination plant, and export facilities at the Port of Walvis Bay.
Vatic chief executive officer Loren Currie said the licences occupy a strategic position along strike from two of the world’s largest uranium deposits.
“These uranium exploration assets are contiguous and on strike with some of the largest uranium mines in the world, Husab the third and Rossing the seventh largest uranium deposit worldwide,” Currie said.
He said the company believes growing global demand for nuclear power and persistent supply constraints could create favourable conditions for new uranium discoveries.
Under the terms of the EPL 8289 agreement, Vatic can earn an initial 80% interest by making cash payments totalling US$1.1 million, issuing US$400,000 in shares, and funding up to US$2 million in exploration expenditure.
The company can increase its stake to 90% by completing a feasibility study and making an additional payment of between US$8 million and US$20 million, depending on the project’s economics.
For EPL 8735, Vatic can earn an initial 80% interest through cash payments and share issuances, with the option to increase its stake to 90% through further development work and payments linked to the size of any eventual uranium resource.
The acquisition adds uranium exposure in Namibia to Vatic’s existing portfolio, which includes lithium assets in Brazil and a gold project in Quebec.
Company management said the Namibian transaction represents a significant step in expanding its mineral exploration portfolio and strengthening its position in commodities linked to the global energy transition.
