Nasdaq-listed highly enriched isotopes company ASP Isotopes (ASPI) has opened a secondary inward listing of its common stock on the main board of the JSE.

The board of directors of JSE-listed helium and domestic natural gas producer Renergen has accepted a firm offer from ASPI to acquire all the shares from Renergen shareholders. The secondary listing is in anticipation of this scheme becoming unconditional and the use of listed ASPI common stock to settle the scheme consideration.

If the scheme becomes unconditional and is implemented, subject to provisions, ASPI will acquire all of the scheme shares for a scheme consideration of 0.09196 ASPI common stock for each Renergen share held by a participating shareholder.

ASPI will also hold all of the issued Renergen shares and Renergen will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of ASPI, while the shareholders that participate in the scheme will become ASPI shareholders.

Afterwards, Renergen’s shares will be delisted from the JSE, the A2X and the ASX, ASPI says.

Further, the listing is not conditional upon the scheme being implemented and will occur regardless of whether or not the scheme becomes unconditional.

However, prospective investors should note that until such time as the scheme is implemented, ASPI expects trading in its shares on the JSE to be limited.

The JSE has approved the listing of ASPI on the main board of the JSE under the abbreviated name ASPI.

HALEU FUEL
ASPI is pursuing an initiative to apply its enrichment technologies to the enrichment of Uranium-235 (U-235) in South Africa.

“We believe the U-235 we may produce using quantum enrichment technology may be commercialised as a nuclear fuel component for use in the new generation of high-assay low-enriched uranium- (HALEU-) fuelled small modular reactors that are now under development for commercial and government uses.”

In furtherance of this uranium enrichment initiative, in May, ASPI entered into a loan agreement with US nuclear energy company TerraPower.

The loan provides conditional commitments from TerraPower to ASPI for a multiple advance term loan of up to $22-million to partially finance a proposed new uranium enrichment facility at Pelindaba, South Africa, which is designed to produce commercial quantities of HALEU.

SUPPLY AGREEMENT
Further, concurrently with the TerraPower loan agreement, ASPI and TerraPower have entered into two supply agreements for the HALEU expected to be produced at the ASPI's initial uranium enrichment facility in Pelindaba.

The initial core supply agreement is intended to support the supply of the required first fuel cores for the initial loading of TerraPower's Natrium project, in Wyoming, in the US, during 2027/28.

The initial core supply agreement is currently valued at up to approximately $375-million over an 18-month timeframe, primarily dependent on the quantity of HALEU to be supplied and the firm fixed price for the HALEU set forth in the related purchase order, ASPI says.

The long-term supply agreement is a 10-year supply agreement of up to a total of 150 metric tons of HALEU, commencing in 2028 through end of 2037 currently valued at up to approximately $3.75 -billion, primarily dependent on the total quantity of HALEU to be supplied over the ten-year period and the base price of HALEU under the long-term supply agreement.

Additionally, in November 2024, ASPI entered into a memorandum of understanding with the State-owned South African Nuclear Energy Corporation to collaborate on the research, development and ultimately the commercial production of advanced nuclear fuels.

Subject to the receipt of funding and all required permits and licences to begin enrichment of U-235 in South Africa, it is anticipated that the research, development and ultimate construction of a HALEU production facility will take place at South Africa's main nuclear research centre at Pelindaba.