23rd Apr 2015 07:45
LONDON (Alliance News) - Xtract Resources PLC on Thursday said it has signed a heads of agreement with South Africa-based copper producer Shirley Hayes IPK Pty Ltd to evaluate the Concordia project copper dumps.
The Concordia dumps, owned by Shirley Hayes IPK, comprise 182,000 tonnes of copper oxide material, Xtract said. The oxide material is on the surface, and Shirley Hayes has estimated an average copper grade of 0.54%.
Under the agreement, Xtract will be granted a six-month exclusivity period to conduct due diligence on the oxide material, in exchange for it issuing 3 million Xtract shares to Shirley Hayes upon signing a formal deal. Xtract shares were up 1.7% to 0.234 pence on Thursday morning, giving the share issue a value of GBP7,020 at current prices.
Xtract will be entitled to 75% of the gross revenues generated from the heap leach operation, with Shirley Hayes entitled to the remaining 25%. Xtract will assume all environmental responsibility for the heap leaching throughout the period of operations.
"Similar heap leach operations in the area yield recoveries of over 75%, and the capex required to build such an operation should not exceed USD500,000. With expected low running costs, this project could therefore add significantly to the cash generating capacity at the Chepica mine and the management team is actively pursuing opportunities to acquire more material of this nature," said Jan Nelson, Xtract's chief executive.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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