White Knight Rio Tinto buys uranium explorer for £362m

Rio Tinto has agreed to buy Hathor Exploration, the Canad- ian uranium explorer, for C$578m (£362m). The world's third largest miner is acting as the white knight, trumping a hostile offer for Hathor by Cameco, the Canadian uranium producer.

Hathor owns the Roughrider uranium deposit in Saskatch- ewan, and its acquisition will complement Rio's existing exploration business.

Doug Ritchie, Rio's chief executive, said: "[The] outlook for the uranium industry is positive, with uranium assuming a significant role in the world's primary energy needs."