False hopes: EUU investors already immune, FTE ones not yetQuite funny how some people started rather madly buying the Forte Energy shares on the 23-Dec FTE news promising a "Kuriskova resource upgrade" in January. Obviously they're not familiar at all with what's currently going on here in Slovakia and what is expected to happen in 2015. Here's a short outlook for you:
1. The geological exploration licence that EUU and FTE possess through their Slovak subsidiary (named Ludovika Energy) will expire in April 2015. The licence - having been awarded to Ludovika back in 2005 for 4 years and already extended twice (in 2009 and 2013, respectively) - cannot be extended anymore. The Slovak geological law - under normal conditions - simply doesn't allow that.
2. Despite the above, Ludovika in early December announced the intention to extend the licence for another 10 years (masking it with the intention to explore "rare earth elements" - naturally, the current uranium price (about $40) is way too low now for uranium mining to be economically feasible). However, the spokesman of the Slovak Ministry of Environment (that shall make a decision once Ludovika's extension application arrives) has already told local media that the ministry considers the 2005-2015 10 years period long enough and is not likely to extend it any further. Hence Ludovika (and its owners EUU and FTE) are likely to lose practically all the rights they have to the Jahodna-Kuriskova uranium deposit.
3. FTE's news release in which they announced a "resource upgrade" is apparently not based on any real data. There's been no drilling made in the area since at least mid-2013 (I myself can't remember any Ludovika workers in the Jahodna area even since 2012). Some more info here: https://uranium-kosice.webnode.sk/news/australian-santa/
Happy New Year 2015 and better try finding your luck somewhere else - in Slovakia uranium diggers are (has always been and will always be) unwelcome!