Xtract Resources PLC announced on Wednesday its partnership with Oval Mining Ltd, in collaboration with mining consultant Cooperlemon Consultancy Ltd, to form a joint venture.
The venture is set on the Australian and Zambian-based mining company securing a 70% stake in the Silverking copper mine, along with its license, located in the Mumbwa district of Zambia.
This initiative follows previous geochemical surveys conducted by Glencore in 2012, which pinpointed several high-priority copper targets. Xtract plans to advance exploration efforts to investigate these findings further.
As per the joint venture agreement, Xtract will initially obtain a 51% interest in the mining license by investing USD500,000 in exploration activities over 18 months. The company can then increase its share to 70% by allocating an additional USD1.0 million towards exploration over the subsequent two years.
Should the copper discovery exceed 500,000 tonnes, earnings will be equally distributed among the partners. While Cooperlemon is exempt from exploration expenses, it will cover costs related to the disposal process, including local taxes and legal fees.
In scenarios where the project does not indicate a potential of 300,000 tonnes or more, a smaller-scale mining operation might be launched, with Xtract shouldering all associated costs without recourse to Cooperlemon for any expense sharing.
Colin Bird, Executive Chairman of Xtract, commented on the agreement, stating, “This deal aligns with our company’s goal to procure exploration assets that not only showcase significant copper deposits but also have a high potential for further discoveries, ideally situated near existing or future mining sites. Silverking meets all these requirements, and we are enthusiastic about the potential discoveries ahead.”
