Bannerman Energy Ltd, an Australian listed uranium development company focused on the flagship Etango Uranium project in Namibia, has raised A$124 million ($90 million) in an underwritten share sale to institutional investors, pocketing the final cash it needs to break ground on its flagship Etango uranium project in western Namibia.

The Perth-based developer priced the deal at A$4 ($2.9) a share, selling 31 million new shares to institutional buyers across Australia and overseas. The trade settles Sept. 15, and the new shares will begin regular trading on the Australian Securities Exchange the next morning. Normal trading in existing stock resumed Thursday following a pause ahead of the bookbuild.

Bannerman secures Etango project funding

The equity raise secures Bannerman’s share of early site work and initial building costs before its board signs off on a formal construction go-ahead later this year. Those proceeds will combine with existing treasury cash, upcoming capital injections, and cost-share checks from joint venture partner CNNC Overseas Ltd.

“We are delighted with the support from our existing and new shareholders,” Executive Chairman Brandon Munro said in a release. “The quality of the participating investors is a powerful endorsement of the Etango project and our corporate strategy.”

Munro added that the treasury now holds enough capital to greenlight earthmoving and long-lead engineering alongside its Chinese partner, after both parties cleared all local legal hurdles and regulatory filings tied to the venture.

Individual shareholders will get a shot at the same entry price next week. Bannerman plans to launch a retail share-purchase plan on Sept. 18 aiming to bring in an extra A$10 million ($7.2 million). Under the terms, registered investors in Australia and New Zealand can buy up to A$30,000 ($21,600) worth of stock at A$4 ($2.9) per share before the window shuts on Oct. 2.

Etango uranium project moves toward development

The funding round caps more than 15 years of test drilling and feasibility runs across the gravel plains of Namibia’s Erongo region. A 2022 engineering report showed an open-cast design processing 8 million metric tons of ore each year could produce 3.5 million pounds of yellowcake annually. An update in March 2024 outlined a low-cost path to push that volume to 6.7 million pounds a year if commercial buyers step up with long-term off-take commitments.

To de-risk the processing route, Bannerman ran an on-site pilot plant for years, validating that basic sulfuric acid heap-leaching would reliably recover metal from the hard-rock deposit. Namibian regulators cleared the operational path in December 2023 by granting a 20-year mining license, ending a comprehensive study of groundwater tables, drainage lines, and local desert wildlife.

Namibia has shipped yellowcake to foreign nuclear utilities for more than 40 years, giving the Etango project access to paved haul roads, deep-water port terminals, and regional power transmission lines that pare down upfront costs. Bannerman is counting on that local operating record to carry the mine into production just as utilities scour the globe to lock down nuclear fuel supplies for the next decade.