It has been quite a year for Fission Uranium CEO Dev Rhandahwa.
A year ago his stock wasn't performing and he was getting beat up on the internet.
Then, in classic mineral exploration fashion, Rhandawa's fate changed. Lukas Lundin's Denison Mines paid approx. $70m for Fission's Eastern Athabasca Basin assets, leaving the spinout company to keep the projects on the western side, including a 50% interest in the Patterson Lake South property. PLS has yielded the most significant Canadian mineral discovery of 2012/2013.
Now Rhandahwa's got one of the stocks of the year, and the smile on television to prove it.
Rhandhawa wants to consolidate ownership of the PLS Deposit by taking over 50% partner Alpha Minerals in exchange for Fission shares which value Alpha at roughly $7.26 per share (Fission News Release).
Fission has a valid argument for consolidating the deposit. The combined entity will reduce overhead costs, focus the market, and make for a cleaner takeover candidate.
"Sooner or later the two would have to become one," said Rhandawa on BNN television earlier.
Rhandawa claims that Alpha's investors approached Fission, but Rhandawa's a promoter and I suspect he's just making noise. Alpha's shareholders are extremely loyal to CEO Ben Ainsworth and Chairman Mike Gunning, both giants in Canada's uranium exploration industry.
Ben's son Garrett Ainsworth, VP of Exploration at Alpha Minerals, is credited with making the discovery at PLS, only a few months after his father had to lend the company money to keep it afloat.
Father and son were rewarded with a 35x+ increase in their share price and I hope they receive the PDAC's Prospector of the Year award for their perseverance.
Rhandawa would be wise to keep the Alpha men around.
In fact I have a proposed management structure for the combined Fission Uranium and Alpha Minerals:
- Lets have Mike Gunning as CEO. Gunning sold Hathor and both bankers and bureaucrats respect him. He is young enough and is a juggernaut in Saskatchewan's uranium industry.
- Ben Ainsworth can be Chairman.
- Garret can join Fission President Ross McElroy on the exploration team (Garrett can figure out the dynamics, he's a great guy).
- Dev Randhawa can be the IR (call him "President" if he insists).
It's the best of both worlds.
Watch Fission Uranium CEO Dev Rhandawa on BNN earlier.
Disclaimer: I own AMW. Do your own due diligence.
Interesting article. I should point out, however, that It was Ross McElroy and Fission’s technical team that made the discovery. If you look at the press releases and which company was the Operator at the relevant time it was actually Fission.
Thanks for your comment. You’re right- technically operatorship of PLS reverts every year but Alpha’s Garrett was following that lead for the previous 2 years. http://CEO.ca/alpha-minerals