Perth-based minerals investment company Mineral Securities Ltd has increased its investment in copper producer CopperCo Ltd to 18.2 per cent, making it the company's largest shareholder.
MinSec is acquiring the stake from British company Scarborough Minerals in a complicated cash and scrip deal.
Subject to shareholder approval, Scarborough plans to convert a $3 million debt from Copperco to 7.5 million shares, and convert another $1m debt for 2.5 million shares subject to CopperCo executing final documents related to debt financing with Macquarie Bank.
After these deals are completed, Scarborough will initially exchange 25 million CopperCo shares for 7.7 million shares in MinSec. With shareholder approval, a further 15 million CopperCo shares will be transferred to MinSec, with a further 4.7 million MinSec shares going to Scarborough.
This will give Scarborough an 18.3 per cent shareholding in MinSec, and MinSec an 18.2 per cent shareholding in CopperCo.
CopperCo, which is also based in Perth, plans to commence development of its Lady Annie project, 137 km north of Mt Isa, by the second quarter of the 2007 calendar year.
In other news for MinSec, the company's Canada-incorporated subsidiary Platmin has successfully listed on the Toronto Stock Exhange and London's Alternative Investment Market.
MinSec holds an interest worth $72.1 million in Platmin, which is primarily focused on the mining of South African platinum deposits.
