Cobre, an Australian mineral exploration company, is set to take full ownership of Kalahari Metals (KML) by acquiring the remaining 49% stake it didn’t own previously from Metal Tiger.
Kalahari Metals owns interests in 12 exploration licences in the Kalahari Copper Belt of Botswana, that span a total area of 8,595km2. Of these 6,650km2 is 100% owned, while 1,945 km2 is through participation in joint ventures.
The portfolio of Kalahari Metals is made up of two fully-owned exploration licences, five exploration licences that are conditional on a binding earn-in agreement with Triprop, and five exploration licences held by the former’s fully-owned subsidiary, Kitlanya.
Cobre executive chairman and managing director Martin Holland said: “This transaction represents a strategic step for Cobre to fully exploit the exploration potential of KML, which we believe will unlock considerable value for our shareholders.
“We plan to begin drilling immediately under the new ownership structure and believe this renewed focus on our project will provide clarity on delineating value for shareholders.
“In particular, the results received from our initial exploration program in Botswana have been very encouraging, and we look forward to updating shareholders on our ongoing exploration activities.”
As per the terms of the share purchase deed, initially, Cobre will buy 24.5% of Kalahari Metals’ shares from Metal Tiger for £750,000 in cash.
The remaining 24.5% stake will be bought by exercising a call option for the same amount in cash or equivalent quantity of Cobre shares, within 12 months of the closing of the initial acquisition.
Metal Tiger, which is a UK-based copper ores company, is already a significant stakeholder in the Australian mineral exploration company with a stake of around 21%.
The British firm has a 2% net smelter royalty over all the fully-owned seven licences of Kalahari Metals. The five exploration licences that are owned by Triprop are not part of the royalties.
Metal Tiger CEO Michael McNeilly said: “Whether or not Cobre elects to acquire the entirety of Metal Tiger’s KML shareholding this deal marks the end of Metal Tiger’s project investment division, and the company will no longer consider joint ventures as part of its strategy.
“By no longer needing to be committed to funding a project which requires monthly cash calls the company will free up resources to implement operational improvements to optimise the assessment and management of potential and existing investments.”
