Australian explorer Connected Minerals has put further spending on its Namibian uranium projects under review and written A$3.14 million off its book value as it shifts its immediate exploration focus and funding to a niobium and rare earths project in Angola.
The decision does not mean Connected has abandoned its Namibian projects or concluded that they have no uranium potential. The company retains its interests in Etango North-East and Swakopmund, but has stopped fieldwork for now and has not committed money to another exploration programme.
The shift comes despite Connected reporting uranium mineralisation from more than 80% of the holes drilled during two campaigns at its Etango North-East project, where it says the mineralised system remains open along strike and at depth.
Connected’s 2026 annual report says its board impaired the carrying value of the Namibian exploration assets at 30 June because the company’s exploration priorities had shifted to its newly acquired Bailundo Carbonatite Project in Angola.
“The Board determined to impair the carrying value of the Namibian exploration assets at 30 June 2026. This accounting treatment reflects the company’s current exploration priorities towards Bailundo. The company retains its interests in the Namibian projects, with the nature and timing of any future exploration activities remaining under review,” Connected said.
In practical terms, the impairment means Connected no longer carries the A$3.14 million spent on the Namibian projects as an asset on its balance sheet, although it continues to hold its interests in the underlying exploration licences.
The decision marks a major shift in how the company directs its exploration spending. During the financial year ended 30 June 2026, Connected’s principal activity was uranium exploration at Etango North-East and Swakopmund in Namibia.
Connected recorded an after-tax loss of A$5.66 million for the year, compared with A$2.23 million the previous year. The result included a total A$3.40 million write-off of the carrying value of its Namibian and Western Australian exploration projects.
About A$3.14 million of that impairment related to the Namibian projects, while approximately A$267,000 related to Western Australia.
Connected holds an 80% interest in the Etango North-East project, about 35km east of Swakopmund, and an 80% interest in the Swakopmund project in the Erongo Region.
Etango North-East, under EPL 6933, covers approximately 30 km² and lies along strike from Bannerman Energy’s Etango uranium project.
Connected completed its first drilling programme at the Ondapanda prospect in May 2025, drilling 15 reverse-circulation holes for 2,688 metres. Fourteen of the 15 holes returned what the company classified as significant equivalent uranium oxide grades.
Those results led to a second drilling programme beginning in August 2025. Originally planned for about 18 holes and 2,800 metres, the campaign expanded to 23 holes totalling 3,134 metres.
Seventeen of the 23 Phase 2 holes returned significant uranium grades and, when combined with the first campaign, Connected said its drilling success rate at the project exceeded 80%.
Among the results was an intersection of 18 metres at 209 parts per million equivalent uranium oxide from a depth of one metre, which the company described as its widest intersection at the project.
Other results included four metres at 456ppm from 36 metres, including one metre at 716ppm, and two metres at 467ppm from 14 metres, including one metre at 635ppm.
Connected said the drilling demonstrated that uranium mineralisation at Ondapanda remained open along strike and at depth, while work in the western portion of the prospect identified further mineralisation that could warrant follow-up exploration.
However, Connected undertook no field activities at Etango North-East during the second half of the financial year, and it had not committed to another drilling programme by the end of June.
“At year end, the nature and timing of any further programmes remained under review as part of the Company’s broader assessment of exploration priorities and capital allocation,” it said.
Connected has also stopped fieldwork for now at its Swakopmund uranium project, where EPL 9162 covers approximately 125 km² along a trend from Orano’s Trekkopje and Klein Trekkopje uranium deposits.
The company continued assessing results from its maiden reverse-circulation drilling programme during the financial year but undertook no further field exploration.
The slowdown came despite stronger uranium prices during the year. Connected said the spot uranium price began the financial year at approximately US$78 per pound, rose above US$100 in January 2026 and ended June at about US$85 per pound.
The long-term uranium price reached US$94 per pound at the end of June, which the company said was its highest level in 18 years.
Connected has not attributed the impairment to disappointing geology at its Namibian projects. Instead, it says the accounting decision reflects its decision to prioritise Bailundo, while leaving open the possibility of returning to exploration in Namibia.
Connected’s change in direction follows its move into the Bailundo Carbonatite Project in Angola’s Huambo Province.
The company agreed in May to acquire Frontier Group CRM Pty Ltd, giving it an indirect 80% interest in Bailundo. Shareholders approved the transaction on 28 July, and the acquisition was completed on 7 August, establishing Bailundo as Connected’s flagship project and principal exploration focus.
Bailundo contains a carbonatite complex about seven kilometres in diameter within a 2,054 km² exploration licence, where Connected is targeting niobium and rare earth elements. The company says historical exploration and more recent validation work have identified surface mineralisation.
Connected has backed that shift with fresh money, completing a A$4.5 million placement at A$0.165 per share to finance work at Bailundo.
About 6,000 metres of reverse-circulation and diamond drilling has been contracted at the Angolan project, with the programme intended to establish the continuity, geometry and grade of the mineralisation and provide data towards a maiden JORC Mineral Resource Estimate targeted for around mid-2027, subject to drilling results and supporting technical studies.
