Key Highlights

  • Blaze Minerals (ASX:BLZ) announced on 3 September 2026 a binding agreement to acquire up to a 90% interest in two tungsten projects in Uganda, the Bahati and Buyaga projects.
  • Due diligence channel samples at the historical Bahati mine returned 1.0m at 20.78% WO3 and 0.8m at 20.22% WO3, with a grab sample of 56.23% WO3.
  • The company also received firm commitments for a $2,250,000 placement of 4,500,000,000 shares at $0.0005 each, in two tranches.

Blaze Minerals Limited (ASX:BLZ) announced on 3 September 2026 that it had entered into a binding agreement to acquire up to a 90% interest in two projects in Uganda that include or adjoin several historical tungsten mines. The company also announced a capital raising of $2,250,000.

This article describes the company, the sector context, the acquisition and placement, and the factors that may influence the company.

About Blaze Minerals

Blaze Minerals Limited is an ASX-listed exploration company with a registered office in West Perth, Western Australia. The Uganda acquisition comprises the Bahati Project (EL00778), which includes the historical Bahati mine, and the Buyaga Project (EL00780), which surrounds the historical Buyaga mine. Terms of the acquisition and details of the licences are set out in Schedule 1 of the announcement.

Blaze does not report production revenue. The acquisition is described as providing direct exposure to an advanced exploration opportunity in Uganda.

Sector backdrop

Tungsten is used in hard alloys, cutting tools, electronics and defence applications, and is classed as a critical mineral by several governments. The announcement refers to a record price environment for tungsten, which is the company's description and can change.

The Karagwe-Ankole Belt in south-western Uganda is a tin-tungsten region that extends into Rwanda, where the announcement notes the Nyakabingo and Gifurwe projects. Nyakabingo is cited as one of the largest tungsten mines in Africa, with over 115,000 tons of recoverable tungsten, on information from third-party sources.

Historical production figures from older reports, such as the 1991 study cited in the announcement, are not JORC-compliant resources and are indicative only.

Acquisition and placement announced on 3 September 2026

Bahati Project

The Bahati Project is in the Karagwe-Ankole Belt and includes three historical producing tungsten mines: Bahati, Nyanga and Bulunga. The historical Bahati mine produced about 270 tons of wolfram at grades of 1.0% to 2.2% WO3, according to the 1991 report. Recent due diligence at the Bahati mine returned channel samples of 1.0 metre at 20.78% WO3 and 0.8 metres at 20.22% WO3, further channel samples of 2 metres at 3.03% WO3, 1.0 metre at 6.79% WO3 and 1.0 metre at 2.27% WO3, and a grab sample of 56.23% WO3. Two interpreted mineralised corridors have a strike length of about 600 metres and are open in both directions.

Buyaga Project

The Buyaga Project covers 250 square kilometres within the Buganda granitic suite, surrounding the historical Buyaga mine, which is excised from the licence. The company states that the area has never been the subject of modern exploration techniques.

Capital raising

Blaze received firm commitments from institutional, professional and sophisticated investors to raise $2,250,000 through the issue of 4,500,000,000 shares at $0.0005 each, in two tranches. Further details of the placement are set out in the announcement.

The announcement cites third-party information that the Nyakabingo mine in Rwanda contains over 115,000 tons of recoverable tungsten with monthly production of over 100 tons of wolframite, and that Gifurwe produced about 430 tons per year according to a 2011 USGS report. These are references to other projects in the same belt and do not indicate results at Bahati or Buyaga. The Buyaga Project is in central Uganda, and the Bahati Project includes two interpreted mineralised corridors of about 600 metres of strike that are open in both directions.

Core growth drivers and material operating risks

Core growth drivers

The items identified include completion of the acquisition, exploration of the two mineralised corridors at Bahati, first modern exploration at Buyaga and use of the placement proceeds.

Material operating risks

The company is acquiring up to 90%, so its final interest depends on the agreement terms. Channel and grab samples are selected samples and are not representative of average grade, and historical production figures are not resource estimates. Operating in Uganda involves licensing, community and logistical factors.

The placement involves a very large number of shares at a low price, which increases the shares on issue, and the funds raised are small relative to exploration needs.

The announcement lists the Bahati, Nyanga and Bulunga mines as historical producers within the Bahati Project, and the Buyaga mine as the historical producer that the Buyaga licence surrounds but excludes. The acquisition terms are in Schedule 1 of the announcement, and the placement is in two tranches, so completion of the second tranche and the acquisition would depend on the conditions set out there.