By Divya Rajagopal and Melanie Burton
ATHABASCA BASIN, Saskatchewan/MELBOURNE, Aug 17 (Reuters) - Canadian uranium miner NexGen Energy is sharing information and "talking regularly" with mining giant BHP, about its Rook I mining project in Saskatchewan, CEO Leigh Curyer told Reuters when asked about a potential equity stake.
NexGen put the first shovel in the ground to kick off construction of what is slated to be one of the world's largest uranium mines on Thursday and will look to raise $1 billion
in capital in the next nine months. The miner is considering financing options of prepayment agreements with utility companies, debt finance and direct equity in the project.
Asked if the company was talking to BHP about a potential equity partnership, Curyer said in an interview NexGen has an open dialogue and noted BHP has purchased a large parcel of land near the Rook project in the Athabasca basin.
“We always speak to them. We have a very open dialogue in terms of technical information," Curyer told Reuters. He said BHP wants to put more weighting in their portfolio in politically stable countries. "Let's see where the future goes."
Under previous CEO Mike Henry, BHP's business development team ran the ruler over NexGen last year, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
BHP's incoming CEO Brandon Craig, who took the helm of the world's largest miner on July 1, also plans to take a "really good look" at uranium but acknowledged that "scale was hard," according to an investor who declined to be named due to company policy. BHP declined to comment.
Soaring demand for AI is driving a massive build-out of power-hungry data centres, in turn boosting the need for new generation capacity, including nuclear plants, while governments also look to diversify their energy sources in the wake of the Iran war.
BHP already produces around 5% of global uranium supply, as a byproduct at its Olympic Dam copper operations in South Australia, where it has previously ruled out further expansion. In the Athabasca region alone besides NexGen, at least two more miners such as Denison and Paladin are advancing their uranium mine construction.
BHP has a growing foothold in the region.
In Saskatchewan, BHP is building the world's largest potash mine.
Canada's Athabasca basin has the world's largest known deposit of uranium and of the highest grade, according to the country's natural resources ministry. It is home to companies such as Cameco and Orano Mining who make up the bulk of the uranium export.
NexGen's Rook mine is expected to come into production by 2030. Its market capitalisation has doubled to C$9.68 billion over the past year, which has led some investors to suggest it may now look too expensive for BHP.
Rook I, located deep inside Athabasca and surrounding the Patterson lake, is aiming to be one of the world's largest uranium producers. Canadian investor and actor Kevin O'Leary who MCd the ground-breaking ceremony on Thursday, called the project a "great energy story."
Broker Canaccord expects demand for uranium to triple by 2035 from 2025 levels, it said in a note in April.
(Divya Rajagopal in Athabasca, Saskatchewan, Melanie Burton in Australia. Editing by Caroline Stauffer and Chizu Nomiyama )
