The High Court of South Africa on Tuesday today approved the acquisition of Aflease Gold and Uranium Resources by Canadian-listed Southern Cross Resources.
Southern Cross is acquiring all the issued shares of Aflease through a scheme of arrangement.
The High Court approval follows near-unanimous support for the transaction at meetings last month of shareholders of Aflease and of Southern Cross.
Southern Cross shareholders also voted in favour of changing the company’s name to “sxr Uranium One”.
Sxr Uranium One Inc now holds gold and uranium assets in South Africa, Canada, and Australia, including the Australian uranium project, Honeymoon — one of the few fully-permitted uranium projects in the Western World.
Sxr Uranium One will have its primary listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange and a secondary listing on the JSE.
Aflease shares will be suspended from trading on the JSE at the commencement of trade on 19th December, and shares in sxr Uranium One will be listed on the JSE and will trade for the first time at commencement of trade on the same day.
Aflease CEO Neal Froneman, who will be the CEO and President of sxr Uranium One, said: “I am encouraged both by today’s approval by the High Court for this transaction, and by the terrific backing which the transaction has received from both Aflease and Southern Cross shareholders.
“We will enter 2006 with a global uranium company, with great assets in South Africa, Canada and Australia, and I am heartened that we have the backing of shareholders for the decision to create sxr Uranium One.
“This is a significant milestone for Aflease, and the birth of sxr Uranium One signals our arrival on the world stage.
“Our strategy remains to bring the Dominion Reefs mine near Klerksdorp, South Africa, into production in 2007, and to continue with exploration, to prepare for the development of our other properties.
“The uranium and gold markets are very robust, and I am convinced we have a number of very attractive assets, and that we are becoming a force to be reckoned with on the global mining scene,” concluded Froneman. – I-Net Bridge