What today's news release is saying is that China Nuclear's mining team of engineers and consultants have picked over the massive amount of data in the Fission Data Centre, gone over the NI 43-101 Preliminary Economic Assessment line by line, done their due diligence and without a shred of doubt have said "PLS is a GO!"

This is the very first time that a Chinese company has made a direct investment in a Canadian Uranium exploration company... ( Perhaps KWG will soon be another company doing business with the Chinese) and such a move always comes with both political and financial risks. They've done their homework, assessed the risks and likelihood of success in moving Fission's PLS project towards production... and decided that the risks are low and the probability of success high... and moved forward with their strategic investment. For me, that is a very good sign that CGN sees no major hurdles on the horizon and that PLS will go ahead with further expansion, permitting, environmental assessments, and be a success.

I wonder if they gave Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall a call before signing... to ask him if his government will support the development of PLS into a producing mine? You have to think that politicians have been talking in the background when China comes looking to invest.

( Well at least Frank has made arrangements to contact both levels of Govt of his intentions )

And there are some great takeaway tidbits in the news release:

CGN has already made a non-refundable down payment of $3M to Fission. That immediately boosts the cash on hand in advance of the announcement of the Winter Drill Program, so I suspect we will see the budget for that program immediately grow to $10M or more, imho.

The Offtake Agreement has been agreed using Industry Standard terms... which signals that Fission has not set a new precedent by agreeing to pricing that is below industry standards. All Management's meetings and discussions with major producers on their road shows will have given them valuable connections to help in setting those terms. A producer coming to negotiate a takeover offer in the future will not be saddled with substandard terms in the agreement that they would inherit. That is an important factor in further derisking the project and making it more attractive to a buyer.

The anti-dilution clause is a new one since the LOI was announced. That is also a bonus for Fission in that if they do need to go seek more equity financing 3 or 4 years from now then they only need to go to the market for 80% of the funds. 20% will already be spoken for by CGN to retain their ownership percentage. That saves on fees and commissions so more cash ends up in the treasury.

This deal is a major step forward for PLS. In one fell swoop they have raised more funds in one transaction than the sum of all previous financings since the PLS discovery. Triple R and R600W can continue to expand while regional exploration can continue looking for new discoveries... the recommendations from RPA to complete a Pre-Feasibility Study can be acted on immediately to accelerate development... and the takeout value of PLS can rise so much higher without the threat of a hostile bid. Dev and Ross are now in the driver's seat... with a 9 member board, 5 of which will be independent, 2 Management and 2 CGN. They now have the money, time and opportunity to fully realize the potential of PLS.

I can't imagine both parties would have signed this agreement if they felt there was also a risk of it not meeting the closing conditions of approval by the various exchanges. Just a short wait now until the remaining funds arrive... and in the meantime the Winter Drill Program can get drills turning.

Good luck everyone and all the best to you!