PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Uranium developer Toro Energy on Monday announced that it had entered into a binding financing and asset acquisition agreement with resources investor The Sentient Group, which would deliver a A$10-million capital injection to the ASX-listed junior.

Sentient has agreed to subscribe for 125-million new fully paid Toro shares, at a price of 8c each, to total an investment of A$10-million.

In turn, Toro acquired a 19.8% interest in Canadian junior Strateco Resources, as well as a C$3-million senior secured loan receivable in Strateco, C$14.1-million junior secured convertible notes in Stateco, and certain other interests from Sentient in exchange for a further 236.5-million new shares.

The shares would be paid over in two tranches, with the first 177.4-million subject to Foreign Investment Review Board approval, and the remaining 59.1-million on agreed conditions being met and on any required shareholder approval.

“Toro is pleased to have secured Sentient’s funding commitment and to have expanded our global uranium portfolio. The transaction introduces a major new shareholder in Sentient,” Toro MD Vanessa Guthrie said on Monday.

She noted that the transaction would enable Toro to focus on bringing its Wiluna project, in Western Australia, into production into the expected emerging market supply gap, and would promote the potential of the Wiluna uranium province while building an initial global asset base that maximised the upside potential of an improving uranium price.

Meanwhile, an additional A$10-million project level investment was also being negotiated with Sentient, in the form of an unitisation agreement.

Under this agreement, Sentient would invest A$10-million into the Wiluna project to enhance and optimise the process design, project configuration and operating and capital cost structure for the project.

Sentient would also supply the technical skills of resources company Enirgi Group as part of the efforts to improve the Wiluna project.