Rio sweeps up Canadian uranium miner

On Sunday 8 January 2012, 16:24

Rio Tinto will compulsorily acquire the remaining shares in Canadian uranium company Hathor Exploration after increasing its stake to nearly 94 per cent.
The global mining giant had extended its $C654 million ($A623 million) offer for Hathor to last Friday, January 6, to allow remaining shareholders to sell their shares.
Rio Tinto is offering $C4.70 ($4.48) a share to take over Hathor and as of December 22 - when the offer was extended - owned 87.26 per cent of the outstanding Hathor common shares.
Hathor is based near western Canada's Athabasca Basin, supplying about a fifth of the world's uranium.
Hathor's board of directors recommended the bid after Rio Tinto trumped North American-focused uranium miner Cameco's $C4.50-a-share bid.
Rio said in a statement on the weekend it intended to acquire all outstanding Hathor common shares through a compulsory acquisition under the Canada Business Corporations Act.
The company said it had now taken up 119.5 million Hathor common shares, representing 93.76 per cent of Hathor shares.
Rio Tinto employs more than 13,000 people in Canada in alumina, aluminium, iron ore, diamond and titanium dioxide operations.
It declared force majeure - freedom from contractual liability - on aluminium output from two of its smelters in Canada last week following a union lockout that has left it operating at one-third capacity.

Saturday, 7 January 2012