Sichuan Hanlong bids for resources group

SYDNEY - China's Sichuan Hanlong Group has made a A$144 million ($154.9 million) "highly conditional" bid for Australia's Bannerman Resources Ltd, eyeing the group's uranium project in Namibia near key mines.

The bid at A$0.612 a share represents a 59 percent premium to Bannerman's close on Friday, but Bannerman said privately owned Sichuan Hanlong was trying to take advantage of recent share price weakness in the wake of Japan's Fukushima nuclear crisis.

"The board of Bannerman believes that Hanlong recognizes the strategic significance of controlling Bannerman's large-scale and low technical risk Etango Uranium Project in Namibia," the company said.