Century in overseas mine deal
NORTH Queensland zinc producer New Century Resources has signalled plans to acquire the Goro nickel and cobalt mine in New Caledonia from Brazilian mining giant Vale.
New Century Resources, which operates the Century zinc mine northwest of Mount Isa by reprocessing tailings, has entered into a 60-day exclusivity period to complete due diligence and negotiate the acquisition of 95 per cent of the issued shares of Vale Nouvelle-caledonie SAS.
If the transaction proceeds, New Century Resources will become a major supplier of nickel cobalt for the electric vehicle industry.
New Century Resources managing director Patrick Walta said they were excited to work with Vale to complete due diligence and negotiate formal agreements.
“New Century has been impressed by the VNC site team and also the quality and scale of infrastructure at the Goro mine,” Mr Walta said.
“The current initiatives instituted by VNC to simplify the flow sheet provide strong potential to transform Goro into a sustainable long-life operation and a major global supplier of nickel and non-democratic Republic of Congo cobalt.”
The Goro operations include a world-class mine, processing plant and port facility.
Some $6 billion has been invested in developing the mine, which has been beset by delays, difficulties with landowners and technical problems.
Under plans already under way, Goro’s refinery is to be decommissioned. The operation is also seeking a licence to export saprolite ore.
Production at Goro commenced in 2011 with the processing plant designed to produce up to 57,000 tonnes per annum of nickel.
New Century’s proposed acquisition is subject to New Caledonian law, consideration terms and regulatory, financing and shareholder approvals. Vale has reported the sale would cost an additional impairment loss of around $A606 million.