ASX-listed Noronex Limited has exercised its option to acquire a 51% majority interest in the Etango North Uranium Project (EPL 6776), strengthening its position in one of Namibia’s most prospective uranium regions.
To secure the majority stake, Noronex completed a Stage One earn-in payment to the local vendor amounting to N$1.5 million (A$135,000), split equally between cash and company shares.
Noronex Managing Director and Chief Executive Victor Rajasooriar said the move to majority ownership was underpinned by a modern, data-driven exploration strategy.
The company has applied AI-assisted geological modelling and remote sensing techniques, including neural networks and Principal Component Analysis (PCA), to identify high-priority exploration targets.
According to Noronex, these methods enabled the identification of subtle radiometric anomalies and the mapping of alaskite extensions, the igneous rock formations that host the region’s major uranium deposits.
“Exercising the option to move to 51% ownership of Etango North marks a major step forward for Noronex,” Rajasooriar said.
“The technical work completed over the past year has consistently reinforced the quality of this project and its potential to host significant alaskite-hosted uranium mineralisation.”
He said a maiden reverse circulation drilling programme is already under way to test the AI-generated targets.
The initial drilling follows the receipt of Environmental Clearance Certificate approval and is focused on high-priority uranium and thorium anomalies, as well as domal alaskite structures that exhibit geological signatures comparable to nearby world-class operations.
The acquisition represents the first phase of Noronex’s longer-term strategy for the project. Under the current agreement, the company has the right to increase its interest to 80% by August 2027, subject to meeting further exploration milestones and making additional payments to the project vendors.
“We are now firmly positioned in the heart of one of the world’s most productive uranium districts, and we are excited to advance these targets with the commencement of drilling last week,” Rajasooriar said.
“Etango North complements our copper portfolio and strengthens our exposure to key commodities driving the global energy transition.”
The Etango North project is located in Namibia’s Erongo Region, a premier hard-rock uranium province that accounts for a significant share of global uranium supply.
The licence area lies immediately north of Bannerman Energy’s advanced Etango development and along the same geological strike as the Rössing Uranium and Husab Mine operations.
