Metals One (MET1) has agreed terms for an exclusive right to acquire 75% of two US companies with mineral claims in Colorado and Utah.
The claims, Vanadium Kings, Radium Mountain and Wedding Bell, all lie in the highly prospective Uravan mining belt on the border of Utah and Colorado, and host uranium and vanadium mineralisation.
The claims are proximal to Metals One's Uravan uranium-vanadium project, and further consolidate the company's growing landholding in the Western United States.
In addition, the claims are proximal to the White Mesa Mill, the only fully licensed and conventional uranium processing plant in the US.
Wedding Bell and Radium Mountain are situated in the centre of the Uravan mineral belt and comprise 199 mineral claims over areas of historical high-grade uranium and vanadium production. This area and the adjacent uranium-vanadium mining districts of the Colorado Plateau are reported to have produced over 85 million lbs of U3O8 and over 660 million lbs of V2O5 over the past 100 years.
The claims include historical mines which are reported to have operated during the First World War and again in the second half of the 20th century. Since acquiring the projects in 2020, Thor Energy, the vendor, has completed detailed geological reviews of the claims as well as an extensive field sampling programme.
Thor completed two drill campaigns in 2024 at Wedding Bell. Drilling in February 2024 returned strong results, including one hole which returned 4.9 metres at 1,199 parts per million U3O8 and 6,306 ppm V2O5 from depths of 82 metres.
Drilling in November 2024 was limited due to adverse weather conditions and less than half the planned programme was completed. Results of several step out holes were of excellent grade but narrow in extent, demonstrating localised pinching and swelling of the mineralised horizons.
Metals One will pay Thor Energy £100,000 to secure exclusive rights to proceed with the potential acquisition.
The consideration payable by Metals One is £1 million to be satisfied by the issue of new shares in Metals One.
Metals One intends to re-examine the historical and new drill data and potentially complete the remainder of the November 2024 drill programme.
The Vanadium King project, meanwhile, includes 100 claims in southeast Utah, approximately 40km north of the town of Moab. There is no evidence of historical mining activities, although there is some evidence of significant uranium and vanadium mineralised bodies identified in drilling activities by Hunt Oil, Mineral Division, in 1980 and 1981, as reported by Terra Ventures in 2007.
"It's encouraging to see Metals One's strategy gaining momentum, positioning itself as a leading Aim-listed play on early-stage uranium opportunities in the U.S. Uranium and vanadium are both central to the global energy transition,” said Craig Moulton, chair of Metals One.
“Uranium fuels zero-carbon nuclear power, while vanadium is increasingly vital for grid-scale battery storage. These new projects significantly strengthen Metals One's Western US exploration portfolio - across uranium, vanadium, and gold - at a time when securing domestic supply of critical minerals is rapidly becoming a national priority."
View from Vox
Metals One continues to build a presence in uranium, even as the uranium bulls are beginning to come out in force. If uranium does end up enjoying a sustained period of higher pricing, then Metals One will be one of the best positioned companies on Aim, especially since a significant portion of its portfolio will be inside any potential US tariff walls. Meanwhile, the coffers are being boosted by periodic exercising of warrants issued during the January fundraising.