Moly Mines in $51m Qld takeover
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One-time WA iron ore miner Moly Mines, which was delisted from the ASX early this year with nearly 4,000 shareholders and $63 million in the bank, has struck a deal to buy copper stock Queensland Mining Corporation.
QMC’s directors have unanimously recommended its shareholders accept the cash offer.
It comes two months after Moly reached an agreement to buy QMC’s White Range copper project near Cloncurry for $45 million in cash plus $8 million in convertible notes.
The two companies subsequently negotiated the agreement announced today, which QMC’s directors said was simpler to execute and provided a quick and secure return to its shareholders.
Moly’s shares were delisted in April after they had been suspended from trading for the previous three years while the company tried to find a new line of business.
Another factor in the delisting was the presence of Moly’s 53.8 per cent shareholder, Chinese group Hanlong Mining.
Former Hanlong boss Hui Xiao was handed an eight-year prison sentence by a Sydney court early this year for insider trading with regards to Perth companies Sundance Resources and Bannerman Resources.
Documents released today show Moly, which was based in West Perth but is now headquartered in Sydney, still has 3,959 shareholders.
The company’s main asset (other than cash) is the Spinifex Ridge molybdenum project in the Pilbara, which has been on care and maintenance since 2008.
It also operated the Spinifex Ridge iron ore mine, prior to completing a mine gate sale agreement with Mineral Resources in mid 2013.
Moly disclosed today it had been in a dispute with Mineral Resources over the final payment due under the sale agreement.
Moly said a final award was determined in its favour in August, resulting in a payment of $4.2 million.
Its directors include chairman Nelson Chen, who is a director of Hanlong (Australia) Resources, and Gou Qing Lou, the managing director of Hanlong Group.
The ultimate parent of the various Hanlong entities is private Chinese company Sichuan Hanlong Group.