Alara signs offtake agreement for Oman copper concentrate

Alara Resources Limited has announced that its local subsidiary, Alara Oman Operations Pty Ltd, has signed an off-take agreement for the supply of copper concentrate from the Al Hadeetha Project, Washihi Reserve.

The deal marks a further step-up for the Australian based mineral exploration and development company as it prepares to kick off mining operations in the Sultanate, once a mining licence is issued by the Public Authority for Mining (PAM).

“After considering offtake proposals from several competing companies, the Company entered an agreement with Statdrome PTE Ltd, who have over 15 years’ experience in non-ferrous concentrates trading, including copper sales in and out of Oman,” said Alara in a press statement.

“Under the agreement, annual concentrate production of approximately 35,000 wmt (wet metric tonnes) will be shipped at regular intervals from the Sohar port. There also exists the possibility of supplying the material to the Omani smelter in case it restarts. However, the project financial model allows for sea freight and other charges associated with the sale of concentrate from the port at Sohar,” it stated.

According to Alara, the agreement also includes a pre-payment of $6 million to assist in funding project construction costs and mine start up, and will be drawn down in instalments during the project construction phase, starting once the mining licence is issued.

The agreement forms an important part in financing and development of the mine and processing plant at Washihi, and has been completed in discussion with bank representatives, the company further noted.