Metals One (MET1) has completed the acquisition of an initial 10% interest in NovaCore Exploration Inc., a private U.S.-based company advancing the large-scale Red Basin uranium project in Catron County, New Mexico.
The company has also been granted warrants to increase its ownership to 30%.
This deal adds a third exploration-stage US asset to the company's growing portfolio, which includes the Squaw Creek project in Wyoming and the Uravan project in Colorado.
NovaCore holds around 15,000 acres in the Red Basin uranium district of New Mexico, where historical U.S. Department of Energy assessments and recent radiometric surveys suggest the potential for 40 million pounds of U₃O₈.
Metals One has acquired its 10% of NovaCore for US$300,000.
The plan is to drill by year-end 2025.
NovaCore's board of directors include Neil Herbert and Douglas Christopherson, both of whom played key roles in the management of Uramin Inc., which was sold for US$2.5 billion.
"This investment in NovaCore provides Metals One with access to one of the most prospective yet underexplored uranium districts in the western US,” said Craig Moulton, chairman of Metals One.
“Our technical team is impressed with the systematic approach NovaCore has taken in combining historical data with modern surveys to define large-scale, high-impact targets. We view this as a low-cost entry into a district that has the potential to host a future uranium resource of national importance.
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This transaction follows the company's recently announced progress at its Squaw Creek and Uravan projects and underscores Metals One's commitment to building a high-quality uranium portfolio focused on supply-constrained, energy-secure jurisdictions. Many industry participants, including famed investor Rick Rule, think that uranium is one of the metals of the moment. Metals One is now very well positioned to take advantage of any coming uranium boom, and ensconced firmly inside any tariff walls that may go up.