Resources Top 5: MinRes piles into lithium newcomer Kali, uranium enrichment stocks get $750m boost

Major MinRes (ASX:MIN) scoops up 9.97% of red hot lithium explorer Kali Metals
Kali 20.2% owned by parent company Kalamazoo
Uranium enrichment hopefuls Silex, Global Uranium gain on ~US$500m in US government funding for local supply of special nuclear fuel
Analysis of uranium samples too high grade for Gladiator’s equipment return hits up to 7139ppm

Here are the biggest resources winners in early trade, Wednesday January 10.

KALI METALS (ASX:KM1) & KALAMAZOO RESOURCES (ASX:KZR)

Acquisitive lithium major MinRes (ASX:MIN) has scooped up 9.97% of red hot explorer KM1, which is now +170% on its Monday listing price of 25c/sh.

MIN boss Chris Ellison was already a cornerstone investor in the IPO, a spinout of Kalamazoo Resources’ (ASX:KZR) lithium assets in NSW and WA.

In December, Jarden analyst Ben Lyons calculated that MIN had spent ~$840m in just five months hoovering up stakes in lithium projects.

This included $500m alone on minority interests in Azure Minerals (ASX:AZS), Wildcat Resources (ASX:WC8) and Delta Lithium (ASX:DLI).

KM1 also reported spodumene hits from soil sampling at Spargoville, one of eight projects in its Higginsville lithium district in WA. More assays are pending.

First ever lithium drilling at Spargoville is scheduled for the first half 2024.

Gold focused parent co KZR – whose 20.2% stake in KM1 is worth over $10m at current prices — was also up 17% in early trade.

KM1 and KZR share price charts

GLADIATOR RESOURCES (ASX:GLA)

GLA says analysis of uranium samples too high grade for its equipment has returned hits up to 7139ppm.

The results come from a trenching program at Southwest Corner (SWC), part of the Mkuju project in Tanzania.

The average grade of the exposed parts of the layers in the trenches range from 708 to 2563ppm U3O8, with the layers interpreted to be between 1m and over 6m thick.

The uranium is hosted in a coarse sandstone, like the 124.6 Mlbs Nyota deposit 50km to the north.

Drilling of the ~3km long North and South Limb zones at SWC will kick off in Q2. Mkuju already has two established resources at Mtonya (1.9Mlbs U3O8) and Likuyu North (4.6Mlbs U3O8).

The $20m capped stock is up over 50% in 2024.

GLA share price chart

GLOBAL URANIUM & ENRICHMENT (ASX:GUE) & SILEX SYSTEMS (ASX:SLX)

GUE, the explorer formerly known as Okapi, is making the ambitious leap into uranium enrichment via its investment in private Aussie firm Ubaryon.

According to the World Nuclear Council, most of the ~500 commercial nuclear power reactors operating or under construction in the world today require uranium ‘enriched’ in the U-235 isotope for their fuel.

It is a $US6bn industry, and Russia owns a big chunk of it. But it’s also a tough nut to crack, which is why Russia dominates.

In Australia the main player is $1bn capped R&D firm Silex, which owns 51% of the Silex Laser Enrichment Technology in JV with one of the world’s largest uranium producers, Cameco (NYSE:CCJ, TSX:CCO).

It is yet to be commercialised, but SLX put on almost 10% after releasing some good news today.

The US is seeking bids to help establish a domestic supply of a enriched uranium for use in a next generation of reactors, a fuel currently only available in commercial levels from Russia.

$SLX in the running to supply a big chunk of this US$700M of HALEU#Uranium pic.twitter.com/tUtj7SU9Lf

— Patrick Downes (@patrickadownes) January 9, 2024

This may go some way to explaining GUE’s gains. GUE also has a bunch of uranium exploration projects in the US and Canada.