Dev Randhawa is the CEO of Fission Energy (TSX: V.FIS, Stock Forum) – a successful uranium explorer with properties in Canada’s Athabasca Basin, Peru and Namibia. A high profile executive for many years, Dev Randhawa in fact had a successful career in finance before founding his first company in 1996.
Q: Why leave a successful business as an investment banker and financier to start up a publicly-traded company?
Dev Randhawa: I’m naturally very proactive so really the issue was I wanted to get out there and build something myself. When you’re an investment banker you spend every day pitching, positioning, raising money. It has a lot of upsides but it’s a different existence to running your own company. As a CEO in the resource exploration space I have a long-term view and for me that’s more satisfying.
Q: You’ve got a great deal of experience as a financier – what do you think bankers and institutional investors should be doing and thinking in these markets?
Dev Randhawa: More than ever you’ve got to train investors to think against the flows. When you’re in that role, you naturally end up building strong relationships with many of the companies you invest in, however, you have to remember that your client is the investor and you have to help them to track down the better stories. Uranium is the perfect example. There’s no love for uranium at the moment but if you take the time to examine the fundamentals of uranium, particularly the current and upcoming pressures on supply and demand, you’re going to understand the value and you have to help your clients to see the same thing.
Q: Tell us why you ultimately entered the resource sector?
Dev Randhawa: Every country needs to focus on what it’s good at. Canada is good at finding stuff in the ground and selling it. So, if you’ve grown up in Vancouver like I did, and you want to be in finance, then resources are the natural thing to get into. That’s the reason I believe in what I’m doing. Canada understands how to find and develop resources – we get it out of the ground and over to the factories – whether they’re in Asia, the U.S., Europe… wherever.
Q: You have an enviable track record as a CEO in the resource exploration space. What’s your secret?
Dev Randhawa: You need to have an eye for a good deal, that much is obvious. Pick up assets that are undervalued or that have been poorly managed and develop them properly. However, beyond any doubt the most important thing you have to do is build the right team. Your head geologist, technical team, IR execs, your EA – a company grows through the work of a team. You don’t get that right, you’re not going far.
Q: You’re well known for building successful companies in the energy sector – what is it about nuclear energy that interests you so much?
Dev Randhawa: To me it’s quite simple. The case for nuclear energy is really the case for keeping the lights on. Worldwide electricity demand is set to grow by around 76% by 2030, and at the same time we have to meet that demand we have to lower emissions. You’re not going to do that with wind, solar or tidal because they don’t have the high base load that national grids require and high capacity energy storage technologies are still unproven. That just leaves nuclear and what’s more, the governments throughout the world all know it. According to the WNA there are 232 reactors either already under construction or in the planning phase and a further 317 reactors that have been proposed.
So the fact is demand for nuclear energy is headed for sustained growth and it’s doing so at a time when uranium supply is headed for a crunch. The Megatons to Megawatts (aka HEU agreement) is set to end this year, which will remove around 25m lbs. of uranium from annual supply and on top of that a number of uranium projects have been halted for one reason or another. Rising demand, struggling supply… in my opinion that makes it a good time to be in the sector.
Q: You founded Fission Energy Corp - a uranium explorer that’s been receiving a great deal of attention recently. What’s happening at Fission?
Dev Randhawa: The short answer is a lot! We’re selling a large selection of our assets to Denison Mines (T.DML), including our flagship property and deposit at Waterbury Lake. Rio Tinto’s Roughrider deposit is immediately adjacent to our Waterbury Lake discovery and you may find it interesting to know that they’ve recently begun recruiting project staff for that property. Fission shareholders at the time of the deal’s closing will get 0.355 shares of Denison and 1 share of Fission Uranium Corp per share of Fission owned. Fission Uranium Corp is the NewCo that is being spun out of the deal.
Dev Randhawa: Here’s why this is a great deal for Fission shareholders. Denison is going to be in a very strong position as a result of this deal so that value is obvious. However, it’s the shares that FIS shareholders will own in Fission Uranium Corp that really puts things into overdrive because it will spin into existence with $15m in the bank, the same management team and head geo that founded and grew Fission and best of all, the rapidly growing discovery at PLS in the Western part of the Athabasca Basin. The company will also have some highly prospective properties elsewhere in the Western part of the Basin as well as Macusani in Peru but it’s PLS that’s the attention-grabber. If you check out our latest press releases or the CEO Corner blog that I write for Fission you’ll instantly see what I mean. Our drill program there, which is still ongoing, is showing high grade hit after high grade hit with plenty of off-scale mineralization – exciting times for our team and our shareholders.
Disclosure: Fission Energy is a Stockhouse client.