Famous winemaker backs new WA uranium float

Wealthy winemaker John Casella, whose company owns the world-famous Yellow Tail brand, is among the high-profile backers of a new float focused on uranium exploration in the Northern Territory.

Kingsland Minerals is targeting $5.5 million in an initial public offering ahead of an expected listing on the ASX on May 30.

Mr Casella’s private exploration company Bacchus Resources will hold a 10.3 per cent stake in Kingsland after vending the company’s Allamber project, which is prospective for uranium and copper, into the float.

The company’s three other NT projects - Shoobridge, Woolgni and Mt Davis, which are prospective for uranium, gold and base metals - have been vended in by corporate finance specialist Bruno Seneque and geologist Nick Revell.

The pair’s privately owned Trafalgar Resources will emerge with a 5.1 per cent stake in Kingsland and join its board as non-executive directors.

The company has tapped former Rio Tinto executive and WA mining veteran Mal Randall as chairman while experienced geologist Richard Maddocks will lead the company as managing director.

Mr Randall was a director of the former Thundelarra Exploration, which held some of Kingsland’s NT tenements before surrendering them owing to the weak uranium price at the time.

Mr Randall said the resurgent price of yellowcake in recent times meant aggressively re-working the NT tenements, which had historically yielded high-grade uranium oxide hits, was a “no-brainer”.

The company will also house a small exploration tenement at Lake Johnston about 50km east of Norseman, where historic drilling by Western Areas had yielded nickel intersections of up to 0.6 per cent.

Kingsland will have a market capitalisation of $7.8 million based on a 20¢ issue price.

The float is being lead managed by Westar Capital.