Minerals exploration company Marathon Resources has turned its back on the uranium industry for good.
The company says its experience suggests the "risks were more likely to exceed rewards" in a sector hit by low ore prices.
"Both the political and regulatory regimes have deterred us permanently from the uranium industry," chairman Peter Williams told the company's annual meeting in Adelaide on Thursday.
Marathon previously has been involved in exploring a section of South Australia's Flinders Ranges with a view to developing a significant uranium deposit.
However, it fell foul of the South Australian government over the disposal of waste while the government eventually moved to ban all mining in the environmentally-sensitive area anyway.
Since then, the uranium industry has been hit by falling commodity prices which also has prompted mining giant BHP Billiton to mothball its plans for a $30 billion expansion of its Olympic Dam copper and gold operations.
Mr Williams said prices for uranium would improve but had fallen to such a level that large capital projects were unviable.
"That industry is presently witnessing that part of the cycle where the spot price for product has fallen dramatically below production costs sufficient to amortise large capital costs," he said.
"The cycle will inevitably change, demand will exceed supply and, therefore, uranium operations will become profitable again."
Mr Williams also re-affirmed the company's call for shareholders to reject a takeover bid from Bentley Capital Ltd which last month offered 2.5 cents a share in a bid to buy 100 per cent of Marathon's issued capital.
He said the offer was inadequate and opportunistic and did not recognise Marathon's prospects.
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