Prospect Resources has acquired an 85% interest in the Mumbezhi copper-cobalt project in Zambia for US$5.5m in cash
The project was previously explored by Orpheus Uranium (ASX:ORP) and contains numerous economic and near-surface drilling intercepts
With $21m in the bank, PSC is keen to hit the ground running at the site, which is surrounded by advanced players such as Barrick Gold and First Quantum Minerals
Special Report: Prospect continues to grow its battery minerals presence in sub-Saharan Africa by executing two separate sale and purchase agreements to acquire the Mumbezhi copper-cobalt project.
Mumbezhi is within the world-class Zambian copper belt in north-western Zambia, spanning an area of around 356km2 and prospective for large tonnage, low to mid-grade copper-cobalt deposits.
Although the project was acquired by Prospect Resources (ASX:PSC) from current owner, Global Development Cooperation Consulting Zambia (GDC), Mumbezhi was previously explored by Orpheus Uranium (ASX:ORP), whose work turned up impressive near-surface diamond drilling widths from the Nyungu deposits, including:
71.4m at 0.61% copper from 29.6m;
47m at 0.57% copper from 20m;
90m at 0.46% copper from 12m; and,
176m at 0.55% copper from 51m.
The project is surrounded by other world-class copper mines such as First Quantum Minerals’ Sentinel mine to the west and its Kansanshi project to the east.
Barrick’s (NYSE:GOLD) nearby 480Mt Lumwana mine runs at a similar grade to the drilled Nyungu intercepts and contains predominantly fresh copper sulphide mineralisation, successfully treated through a conventional sulphide flotation plant to produce a saleable copper concentrate.
Copper timing ‘ideal’ with quick resource potential
Prospect previously made a fortune drilling in southern Africa, distributing the wins from the nearly $400m sale of its Arcadia lithium project in Zimbabwe to shareholders.
Lithium prices have tanked in the past year, but the battery metals and electrification story for commodities is far from dead. Instead interest has shifted from the currently well-supplied metals that go into batteries themselves like lithium, nickel and graphite, to commodities used in the poles and wires supporting the roll out of EVs, renewables and electrification.
That means copper, with a big gulf between mine supply and Chinese refining capacity built to capitalise on growing current and future green demand sending prices above US$9000/t for the first time in over a year.
“The timing of this push into copper is ideal as markets for lithium remain subdued,” PSC Managing Director and CEO Sam Hosack says.
“Our current drilling program at Step Aside is nearing completion and the acquisition of 100% of Omaruru gives us much more flexibility with cash spend, allowing a real focus on aggressively drilling Mumbezhi.
“The Nyungu deposits have all the potential ingredients of a world-class, long-life, open pittable, copper-cobalt mining and processing operation, with regionally favourable metallurgy and significant exploration upside,” he says.
“Mumbezhi has the potential to define a maiden copper resource rapidly and offers excellent potential to deliver new, high-value copper cobalt discoveries.”
Acquisition details
Prospect has agreed to pick up an 85% interest in Mumbezhi from GDC for US$5.5 million ($8.3m) in cash and US$1m in Prospect shares (around $1.5m worth at current exchange rates) at a 20% premium to the five day VWAP once the deal’s conditions are satisfied.
It has also agreed to spend US$1m PSC scrip, plus options to Orpheus Uranium as reimbursement of select exploration costs on Mumbezhi. ORP has agreed to withdraw all legal claims to the exploration licence and share all historical geological and mining data pertaining to the project.
Upon the definition of a JORC resource exceeding 500,000t of contained copper metal at a defined Cu cut-off grade of 0.5% Cu, PSC has also agreed to a milestone payment of $2.5m cash to ORP.
Next steps?
Prospect says a clear opportunity exists to re-interpret the data provided through the acquisition of the technical datasets and diamond drilling core to produce updated geological, structural and mineralogical deposit models for Mumbezhi.
This will inform further infill and extensional drilling required across the broader Nyungu copper-cobalt deposits to assist in generating a maiden mineral resource estimate for the Mumbezhi project.
This article was developed in collaboration with Prospect Resources, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.
This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.
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