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The goal of Deep Yellow's management is for the company to become a Tier I multi-jurisdictional uranium producer during the current uranium up-cycle. Management is pursuing activities that will support the completion of a DFS (Definitive Feasibility Study), including an objective of achieving a +20-year LOM operation, up from the 11 ½ years in the PFS.
The company has recently announced that the infill drilling at Tumas 3 has converted 117% of the existing Inferred Resource to the Indicated Resource category. In addition, Deep Yellow has submitted an EIA Scoping Report and filed a MLA (Mining License Application) with the Namibian Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME).
Several other highly significant milestones have been achieved over the last six months that support the EIA Scoping Report, MLA and the ongoing preparation of a DFS.
A multi-phase infill drilling program was completed over area of Tumas 3 (West, Central & East) which was comprised of a 17,679-meter campaign that consisted of 911 RC holes. The initial focus was on Tumas 3 East, and then the program moved to Tumas 3 Central & West. The infill drilling program targeted the lateral extensions of the Tumas 3 deposits. Drill holes were surveyed with down-hole radiometric gamma logging providing data to confirm grade continuity across the drilled areas, which is exemplified by the GT interval (grade x thickness) map below.
Estimated Mineral Resources of Tumas 3
The drilling program at Tumas 3 contributed to a significant upgrade of the company's estimated resources. The Tumas 3 deposit now has estimated Indicated & Inferred Resources of 59.9 million lbs. U308 grading at 308ppm uranium, of which 54.9 million lbs. is classified as Indicated at 320ppm uranium. The infill drilling program upgraded 117% of prior existing Inferred Resources to the Indicated category.
Estimated Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources of Tumas Project (1, 2 & 3)
Consequently, Total Measured and Indicated Resources for Tumas Project (Tumas 1, Tumas 2 & Tumas 3 deposits) have been upgraded in quality through the recent infill drilling program. The estimated Tumas resource base now estimated to be 79.1 million lbs. U308 at 271ppm, up 508% from the estimated Measured & Indicated Resources of 13.0 million lbs. U308 in October 2016 (when the current management took charge).
Total Estimated Mineral Resources of Tumas Project (1, 2 & 3)
The Tumas palaeo-channel system continues to be highly prospective and is management's major focus within the Reptile Project, along with the channel's continuation to the Tumas deposit and beyond to the west. Through exploration activities and drilling campaigns, the estimated total resources (Measured, Indicated and Inferred) at the Tumas 1, 2 and 3 deposits have increased 756% from 13.3 million lbs. U308 in 2016 (when the current management took charge) to 113.9 million lbs. U308 today.
Total Estimated Mineral Resources of Deep Yellow
Since 2016 (when current management took charge), the company's exploration campaigns have increased its estimated Total Resources (Measured, Indicated & Inferred) by 109% from 93.8 million lbs. U308 in 2016 to 195.8 million lbs. U308 in July 2021. Importantly, infill drilling programs have increased Indicated Resources by 196% through the discovery of additional Indicated Resources and the conversion of Inferred Resources to the Indicated category.
Only 60% of the known palaeochannel system has been drilled. An additional 50 kilometers remains to be tested. The expanded resource base is expected to help support management's 20-year LOM target.
Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS)
The DFS for the Tumas Project is progressing as work continues on the economic feasibility of mining the calcrete-associated palaeochannel uranium deposits, pit optimization studies and additional metallurgical optimization test work. Results of these trade-off and optimization studies are expected to be announced periodically during the second half of 2021.
Environmental Impact Assessment
Baseline studies on groundwater, radiological, air quality, and flora & fauna conditions were completed for the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) during the first half of 2021. Thereafter, the EIA Scoping Report for the Tumas Project was delivered to the relevant agencies of the Namibian Government on July 15, 2021. The submission (and approval) of an EIA is required before the Environmental Commissioner can issue an Environmental Clearance Certificate (ECC), which is a requirement for a Mining License.
Mining License
On July 21, 2021, Deep Yellow filed a Project Mining License Application with the Namibian Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME) for the Tumas Project area. As part of the process, the MME will require submission of the DFS on the Tumas Project, an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and an Environmental Management Plan (EMP). Once an Environmental Clearance Certificate (ECC) is granted by the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism, Mining License (MLA 237) can be granted by the MME. The process is expected to require 18 months to complete.
Effective May 27, 2021, Deep Yellow Limited was added to the MSCI (Morgan Stanley Capital International) Global Market Cap Index as part of MSCI's semi-annual rebalancing procedure. Consequently, Deep Yellow was also added to the Australia Micro-Cap Index. Many professional portfolio managers and mutual funds benchmark to these indices. 95 of the world's 100 largest money managers are clients of MSCI's indices database and analytics. Consequently, the shareholder base of Deep Yellow should broaden, and the stock should experience greater liquidity. In addition, the inclusion of the company's stock into these two indices should expand awareness of Deep Yellow among investors, both retail and institutional.
Deep Yellow has achieved a series of highly significant milestones during calendar 2021.
1) In February 2021, a positive Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS) was completed on the Tumas Project, aka the Reptile Project, including a Maiden Reserve for the Project
2) Work on the Definitive Feasibility Study commenced in February 2021 with an expected completion date by the end of calendar 2022
a. A multi-phase drilling program is focused on
i. converting Inferred Resources to Indicated Resource JORC status
ii. defining the boundaries of the Tumas 3 deposit, a generally east-west trending, calcrete-type palaeochannel system
iii. expanding the Life of Mine (LOM) from 11.5 years (defined by the PFS) to at least 20 years in the upcoming DFS with an anticipated annual production rate of approximately 3.0 million pounds
b. 17,679-meter infill drilling program consisting of 911 RC holes at Tumas 3 completed
i. Phase 1: 6,987-meter infill drilling program consisting of 445 RC holes at Tumas 3 East was completed on April 28, 2021
ii. Phase 2a: 7,634-meter infill drilling program at Tumas 3 Central consisting of 359 RC holes was completed on May 27, 2021
iii. Phase 2b: 3.058-meter infill drilling program at Tumas 3 West consisting of 107 RC holes was completed on June 18, 2021
c. An intermediate, updated Mineral Resource Estimate for Tumas 3 was announced on July 29, 2021.
i. 2021 infill drilling program at Tumas 3 converted 117% of the existing Inferred Resource to the Indicated Resource category
ii. an additional 5.7 million pounds of Indicated Mineral Resources were identified from peripheral zones
iii. total Indicated Resource now estimated to be 54.9 million pounds eU3O8 (at 320 ppm) versus prior estimate of 28.4 million pounds (at 299ppm)
d. Currently, a RC drilling program at Tumas 1 East is in process
3) NOVA JV
a. 3,213-meter drilling campaign at the Barking Gecko Project completed on March 30, 2021
i. Two highly prospective zones identified
1. Barking Gecko North: 2 km by 1 km (open to the east, SE and at depth)
2. Barking Gecko South: 4 km by 0.5 km (open to the NW and SE)
b. Deep Yellow, JOGMEC and Toro agreed to a 12-month program with a budget of AUD$1.1 million.
i. Phase 1: 14-hole, 3,500-meter RC drilling program ($580,000) to follow up on the encouraging results above. Drilling commenced on July 12th and is expected to be completed in August.
4) Successful completion of financings to fund management's dual-pillar growth strategy, namely advancing the Tumas Project to production and becoming a multi-jurisdictional producer
a. The completion of a AUD$ 40.8 million private placement (62,768,803 ordinary shares at AUD$0.65 per share) in February 2021
b. An oversubscribed Share Purchase Plan was completed in late March 2021. Gross proceeds were approximately AUD$2.00 million
c. In June 2022, options exercisable at $0.50 expired. The exercise of some of these options provided approximately AUD$3.28 million
d. As of June 30, 2021, the company's cash balance was AUD52.4 million (US$ 38.5 million) compared to AUD$51.3 million as of March 31, 2021.
e. The net proceeds plus cash on hand will be utilized
i. to fund drilling programs
ii. to complete the DFS on the Tumas Project
iii. to pursue acquisitions/ mergers
We expect that management will deliver on its plan to become a tier-one uranium producer with an annual operating capacity of 5-to-10 million lbs. of U308, both through organic growth by means of developing its Namibian projects and through acquiring and developing additional uranium projects located in other jurisdictions.
Valuation
Broadly speaking, the public uranium companies can be grouped into three segments: producers, development companies and exploration companies. Producers are actively mining and generating revenues. Exploration companies are prospecting and/or drilling to establish mineral resources. In between these two segments are the development companies that already have established resources and are advancing through the process to bring a mine in operation, generally from the point of initiating a Pre-Feasibility Study to the actual construction of a mine. The comparable companies to Deep Yellow fall into this category.
Further, the comparable companies have been narrowed through quantitative factors, particularly those with a market capitalization over $100 million and trading above $0.30 per share. This process captures a range of well-funded junior uranium development companies. Currently, the P/B valuation range of these comparable companies is between 0.9 and 8.9. With the expectation that Deep Yellow's stock will attain a mid-second quartile P/B ratio of 6.09, our comparable analysis valuation price target is US$1.29.
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