Feb 4 Uranium Stocks Update: First Uranium (TSE:FIU)

First Uranium, a new gold and uranium company spun off from parent Simmers & Jack in South Africa, recently announced that it would seek a secondary listing on the JSE during the first half of 2007, as well as provided updates on its two main South African projects..

EZULWINI PROJECT
FIU has initiated underground development two months ahead of schedule, although initial gold production has been shifted from Q2 to October of this year, eventually building towards 363,000 ounces/year by 2010; uranium production is expected from Ezulwini in June 2008.

BUFFELSFONTEIN PROJECT
Instead of atmospheric leaching, FIU is thinking of using pressure leaching, which could result “in an estimated 27% reduction in the uranium plant operating costs, more importantly, it increases the NPV of the project by 15% and reduces the uranium cash cost of production for the Buffels project by an estimated 9%”. The company also plans on completing a detailed feasibility study on Buffelsfontein in April of this year.

The stock has ran up slightly ever since its $7.00 initial IPO and is comfortably filling the niche of a mid-tier uranium junior, albeit with the added twist of being a significant potential gold producer. It is as yet relatively unknown, with no questions about this company from RoBTV viewers, very little commentary from uranium analysts, and a fairly quiet stock message board. I myself have accumulated a few shares and will be interested to see how the company executes on its plans in the upcoming months.