Aust Gold explorer to acquire majority stake in Solomons nickel and bauxite

AN Australian Gold explorer, METMINCO Limited says it will acquire majority stake in nickel and bauxite projects in Solomon Islands.

METMINCO Ltd has told London-based Alliance News that it is intending to buy the entire share capital of Sunshine Minerals, which owns an 80-percent stake in each of the Jejevo Nickel Project in Isabel Province and the Tausere Bauxite Prospect on South Choiseul in Choiseul province.

The Australian Gold explorer, METMINCO Ltd says it will give Sunshine AUD1.5 million, about GBP 825, 165, and another AUD1.5 million in the form of 250.0 million METMINCO shares at a price of AUD0.006.

METMINCO Ltd says it will issue Sunshine a further 250.0 million shares when it generates what it calls a JORC compliant resource estimate for the Jejevo Nickel Project, of at least 125,000 tonnes of contained nickel metal at a cut-off grade of not less than 0.7 percent nickel.

It says it will then issue Sunshine a final 500.0 million shares upon receipt of a mining licence for the Jejevo Nickel Project from the Ministry of Mines, Energy and Rural Electrification in Honiara.

But METMINCO Ltd says the deal is conditional on it completing, an AUD 3.0 million raising and usual corporate due diligence.

The company says it has already received firm commitments for placement of 135.0 million shares at a price of AUD0.4 per share to raise AUD540,000.

The miner says it will also undertake a pro-rata renounceable rights issue to raise up to AUD2.5 million, which is expected to be underwritten by its lead manager, Patersons Securities Limited.

Meanwhile, METMINCO Ltd says it intends to cancel its London listing as only nine percent of the trading in its shares took place in London over the 12 months and currently less than 6-percent of total issued shares are listed in AIM.

It says however, it will continue to trade on the Australian Securities Exchange after the acquisition of Jejevo Nickel Project.

METMINCO Executive Chairman, Kevin Wilson says, “The acquisition of the Jejevo Nickel Project gives our company exposer to nickel at a time when the rising battery manufacture is expected to accelerate demand for the metal. We will start advancing Jejevo as soon as the acquisition completes.

“Together with our Quinchia Gold Project in Colombia, South America, we now have two advanced projects that we believe offer near term development potential.”

Meanwhile, Gunsynd Executive Chairman, Hamish Harris says, “The board is pleased to have conditional on completion, been able to once again swap its exposer from a private company to that of a listed company whilst at the same time enabling Sunshine to access funding and move the project towards mining.

“The transaction also removes the need for any potential future funding by Gunsynd. The company however, maintains its exposer to the upside potential of the project and now has the ability to realize investment at an appropriate time.”

Shares in Gunsynd were up on Wednesday September 18 at 0.025 pence each. METMINCO shares were untraded but last closed at 0.35p each.

Meanwhile, the Directors of Sunshine commend the Minister of Mines, Energy and Rural Electrification, Bradley Tovosia for his foresight on the development of the Jejevo Nickel Project.

A spokesman for the Directors says the issuance of a prospecting license to their company by Mr Tovosia means he understands the need to utilise the Jejevo Nickel resource to improve the resource owners’ earnings, that of the Isabel province and the country as a whole.

He adds nickel mining operation can also create jobs for thousands of school leavers and university graduates who presently are unable to find employment.

 

By George Atkin in Honiara

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