Mineral Commodities has announced more than $100 million in acquisitions it says will elevate it to become Australia’s second largest titanium and zircon mineral sands producer.
The mineral sands miner said late yesterday it had entered into an agreement with the Australian subsidiary of Saudi Arabia-based Cristal to purchase 100 per cent of Cable Sands for $96 million.
As part of the acquisition, Mineral Commodities entered into a toll processing agreement with Cristal to process at least 248,000 tonnes of Cristal’s non-magnetic mineral concentrate this year.
Mineral Commodities will also be required to pay Cristal a further $5 million if zircon prices reach $US2,700 per tonne before the end of 2013.
The Cable Sands acquisition adds existing production of more than 100,000 tonnes per annum of zircon, ilmenite and leucoxene mineral sands, and Mineral Commodities said it planned to expand production to more than 320,000tpa through a two mine strategy.
Cable Sands also owns and operates the Bunbury Mineral Separation plant, which will provide Mineral Commodities with the capability to process mineral sands from its South Africa-based projects.
Mineral Commodities also entered into a right of first refusal to purchase all or a substantial part of Cristal’s Murray Basin mineral assets, including the Ginkgo and Snapper mines and the Broken Hill processing plant.
Finally, Mineral Commodities said it had entered a heads of agreement to acquire a 100 per cent interest in Simto Resources, a company associated with directors Joseph and Mark Caruso.
Simto holds highly prospective mineral sands tenements in close proximity to Cable Sands’ existing operations and infrastructure in the South West.
Total JORC compliant measured, indicated and inferred resources are estimated to exceed 2.4 million tonnes of heavy minerals, including zircon, ilmenite and rutile.
“The acquisition of Cable Sands represents a step-change for MRC”, Mineral Commodities managing director Mark Caruso said.
“It maximises the potential of our existing South African assets by quickly adding processing capacity at an attractive cost, and it expands and diversifies our overall position in the mineral sands sector.
“As a result, the company and our shareholders will be able to take greater advantage of the prevailing favourable price dynamics in the mineral sands sector.”
