Just reviewed ALZ.V, Aldershot Resources, and agree it is a worthwhile speculation.
The reason it is so cheap (alz.v c30 1/2 cents, alztf.pk u.s. 28 cents) is that Australia has a strong anti-nuclear lobby that is now acting as the rear guard to prevent the nation and its provinces from dismantling some old very limiting rules on how many uranium mines can be mined at one time in the whole country.
Since the Aussie national government's recent accord to supply uranium to China, I think it is fair to say that you're buying Aldershot in part on spec that the rules will be relaxed. The federal government has already taken control of the Northwest Territories uranium licensing by telling the territory govt. they had abdicated their responsibility in that regard.
So there is a lot going on down under that could blow the lid off the uranium stocks that are active there. ALZ is one of those that is nudging the envelope; In West Australia, the company has obtained a fresh drilling permit for its potentially company-making uranium deposit, called Turee Creek. This is the site that is now surrounded by Cameco claims, according to Aldershot. Have not been able to confirm or dispute this claim.
One more thought. I have learned that this junior has a more of an Aussie pedigree than I knew before.
Phil Crabb, a large investor in Aldershot, is related to Paladin Resources chairman Rick Crabb, Paladin being a larger market cap uranium explorer.
The Perth newspaper The West Australian quoted Phil Crabb in this Jan. 2005 article on uranium in the west.
HEAD: Uranium mine inevitable, says stakeholder
BYLINE: RUTH WILLIAMS
Uranium mining in WA was inevitable and opposition to the industry was waning, the company that controls one of the State's most viable uranium deposits claimed yesterday.
With uranium prices surging to 20-year highs and demand for the resource increasing, John Borshoff, managing director of uranium producer Paladin Resources, waded into the debate on whether the industry should be allowed to operate in WA.
Mr Borshoff, whose company owns the lease to the Manyingee deposit in the Carnarvon Basin, claimed there was hardly any opposition left to nuclear power as an alternative to "dirty" coal and WA should accept that demand for uranium would only increase.
His comments came in the wake of this week's war of words between Labor, the coalition and the Greens on the long-running and controversial issue.
Greens MLC Robin Chapple labelled the industry insidious, highlighting the wastes that nuclear power produced and the risks posed by terrorists.
"It is something that this State and its population have fought against long and hard," he said. "It is not the way to go for the future because it is merely creating another hazardous waste."
The coalition, while still to complete its resources policy before the election, has said it will examine proposals for uranium mining on merit with regard to the views of the WA public.
The Gallop Government banned new uranium mining in WA in June 2002. All mining leases issued since have specifically excluded uranium from the list of minerals that can be mined.
But mining companies Rio Tinto and WMC Resources - which both hold uranium deposits in WA - said they would hold on to their WA uranium deposits and would consider developing them in the future.
WMC spokesman Troy Hey estimated the company's deposit at Yeelirrie near Leonora, which was closed and rehabilitated last year after the termination of a State agreement between the State Government and WMC, was worth more than $2 billion over what was expected to be a 22-year life for the mine.
"From a financial perspective the recent rise in the uranium price increases the viability of any uranium deposit," Mr Hey said. "If the policy of the WA Government changed, we would be in a position where we would have a look at it again."
A Rio Tinto spokesman said redevelopment of the Kintyre project, discovered south of Telfer in 1985, remained an option but was not being considered while Labor was in power. "It is a viable uranium resource that is capable of being developed at some point in time," the spokesman said.
WA mining veteran Phil Crabb, the major shareholder of uranium explorer Aldershot Resources, said the WA public needed to debate the issue. "I'm not saying the Government is right or wrong but they shouldn't close their eyes to uranium mining," he said.
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I have been in and out of Aldershot. It is kind of boring to sit there and watch it be a thirty to forty cent stock. But I bought it back today and have sworn to stay the course.
Regards to all, Michael in Saraosta |
