Key Highlights

  • A new Mining convention signed on 23 September 2026 restored Atomic Eagle's 60% operating interest in the Madaouela uranium project in Niger, ending a 2024 expropriation.
  • The Madaouela resource stands at 116.5 million pounds of uranium oxide at 1,282ppm under NI 43-101, and a review is underway to assess a larger development scenario at current uranium prices around US$96.50/lb versus the 2022 feasibility study's US$55/lb optimisation price.
  • Cash was A$11.5 million at 30 September 2026, with A$10.9 million from option exercises adding post-quarter, partly offset by the first US$5 million payment to the Niger government.
  • The Muntanga project in Zambia holds a JORC resource of 58.8 million pounds of uranium oxide, with metallurgical testwork recovering 81–86% of uranium through bottle-roll and column leaching.

Atomic Eagle Ltd (ASX:AEU) is weighing a bigger Niger mine because a new mining convention, signed on 23 September 2026, restored the company's 60 per cent stake in the Madaouela uranium project and put a long-planned development back on the table. On 30 September 2026 it announced a review of whether the project could support a larger scale than earlier studies assumed.

What the company is

Atomic Eagle is an ASX-quoted uranium explorer and developer, listed as ordinary shares. It was formed in November 2025 through a Merger of GoviEx Uranium and Tombador Iron.

It holds two projects. Muntanga in Zambia is wholly owned and carries a JORC resource of 58.8 million pounds of uranium oxide at 309 parts per million.

The Niger turnaround

Madaouela was expropriated from GoviEx in 2024, and related international arbitration was paused in January 2025. Under the agreement announced on 24 August 2026, Atomic Eagle holds 60 per cent through a Nigerien subsidiary, with operational control, while the state holds 40 per cent.

That state share comprises a 15 per cent free-carried interest and a 25 per cent contributing interest. If the state does not fund its contributing share, it dilutes under an agreed formula.

The company agreed to pay US$5 million within 30 days of the permit and a further US$5 million at the start of construction. A US$40 million Credit applies against the government's future Equity contributions, and the company says that is not an additional upfront payment.

The exploitation permit has an initial ten-year term. The company has a two-year window to update feasibility and environmental studies and to secure financing.

Why a larger project is being studied

The project's resource is 116.5 million pounds at 1,282 parts per million, made up of 96.9 million pounds measured and indicated and 19.6 million pounds inferred. It is a foreign estimate under Canada's NI 43-101 standard and is not JORC-compliant.

The 2022 feasibility study, prepared by GoviEx, optimised the mine at US$55 per pound and left the inferred material out of the mine plan. The company cites a contract price of US$96.50 per pound at 31 August 2026.

That gap explains the review. Higher uranium prices can justify mining lower-grade material and adding underground workings. The company stresses it has not yet done that optimisation work, so any larger inventory is unproven.

Zambia and the balance sheet

At Muntanga East, Mintek tested two samples in South Africa. Bottle-roll leaching recovered 85.9 per cent and 81.9 per cent of the uranium using about 3 kilograms of acid per tonne. Column tests recovered about 81 per cent, though acid use there was 7.0 to 7.6 kilograms per tonne.

Cash at 30 September 2026 was A$11.5 million. Operating outflows were A$2.5 million for the quarter, and the company reported 4.5 quarters of funding on that basis.

After quarter end, Menel Energy and Resources exercised 35,149,113 Options at A$0.31, which the company said would bring in about A$10.9 million. The figure was excluded from the quarter-end cash. The first US$5 million payment to Niger was also made in October.

Risks and milestones

Conversion of the Niger estimate to JORC is not assured. Sovereign risk is real given the earlier expropriation, and offtake contracts need government approval, with the state able to claim up to half of offtake in total.

Both projects remain undeveloped, and construction funding has not been arranged. The company says it is preserving flexibility on development, Partnership and financing paths.

Dated targets include a JORC-converted Madaouela resource in the fourth quarter of 2026 and a scoping study in the first quarter of 2027. Muntanga North drilling is expected to finish in the fourth quarter of 2026, and 16.8 million remaining options expire on 5 May 2027.