Myriad Uranium sells New Mexico project to tech venture for 6X return

Myriad Uranium (CSE: M) plans to sell its Red Basin project in New Mexico to a new mining tech venture and partner with it on other uranium opportunities.

In a statement Thursday, the Canadian uranium explorer said it will sell all claims comprising the property to Subatomic Industries, which is backed by 8VC and Overmatch Ventures, for $2.5 million cash and retain a 10% free-carried interest on the project.

The parties will also form a strategic alliance respecting exploration and development of other projects beyond Red Basin, Myriad said.

Shares of Myriad Uranium fell 15% amid a broader market rout, taking its market capitalization down to C$44.1 million ($32 million).

6X return

Myriad’s CEO Thomas Lamb calls the sale “a wonderful return on capital,” given the company acquired the Red Basin project for just C$525,000 a year ago. The transaction would represent an over 6X return on invested capital, excluding the carried interest.

On the partnership with Subatomic, Lamb said the company will provide more details in due course. “What is already clear, however, is that the potential for nuclear energy to provide uninterruptible, clean power solutions for the technology sector is attracting a new class of investors into uranium,” he said.

Red Basin is one of two uranium projects held by Myriad in the US. The property is situated within a district that had minor production in the 1950s. The potential mineral endowment of the district is believed to be up to 45 million lb., according to the New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources.

A sale would allow Myriad to focus on its flagship Copper Mountain project in Wyoming, another site with historical resources. The company said it could be “one of the largest uranium projects in the US” after recently doubling the project’s size. The company currently holds a 75% interest in Copper Mountain, earned through an option agreement with Rush Rare Metals.