The Market Online - At The Bell

Join our daily newsletter At The Bell to receive exclusive market insights

  • Cyprium Metals (CYM) has entered a share sale agreement with Metals X (MLX) to acquire its subsidiary, Paterson Copper, for $60 million
  • Paterson Copper owns three copper projects, which are located in WA’s highly prospective Paterson Province
  • Cyprium’s Executive Director, Barry Cahill, says the company has been eyeing these assets as part of its goal of building an Australian copper mining business
  • To pay for the acquisition, Cyprium will raise $90 million through a placement to investors
  • 450 million shares will be issued at 20 cents each — representing a 15.2 per cent discount to the five-day volume-weighted average price
  • The placement is expected to settle later this month and the acquisition will be completed by March 31
  • Cyprium’s shares have dropped a slight 2.04 per cent to trade at 24 cents, while Metals X is up 5.88 per cent and trading at 18 cents

Cyprium Metals (CYM) has entered a share sale agreement with Metals X (MLX) to acquire its portfolio of copper assets in Western Australia.

Specifically, Cyprium will acquire 100 per cent of Metals X’s subsidiary, Paterson Copper, which owns three prospective copper projects. These include the Nifty Copper Mine, Maroochydore Copper Project and the Paterson Exploration Project — all of which are located in the highly prospective Paterson Province of WA.

Notably, the Paterson Exploration Project is held in a farm-in agreement with fellow ASX-lister, IGO (IGO). IGO is solely funding $32 million of exploration activities over 6.5 years to earn a 70 per cent interest in the project.

The company believes this transformational acquisition represents an outstanding opportunity to generate significant value for Cyprium and its shareholders.

“We have regularly ranked Nifty at the top of our Australia copper project acquisition target list and are delighted to have secured this as part of our quality suite of copper development projects,” Cyprium Metals Executive Director Barry Cahill said.

“Nifty and Maroochydore are a perfect fit for the skill set of our management team, who have a track record of creating value and producing copper, as most recently demonstrated with Finders Resources at the Wetar copper project,” Barry added.

Cyprium will pay Metals X $60 million which includes a cash payment of $24 million and four convertible notes that total $36 million.

To pay for the acquisition, Cyprium has received binding commitments to raise $90 million through a placement to professional and sophisticated investors.

A total of 450 million shares will be issued under the placement at an issue price of 20 cents. This represents an 18.4 per cent discount to Cyprium’s last closing price on February 4 and a 15.2 per cent discount to the five-day volume-weighted average price.

The placement is expected to be completed later this month and the acquisition will be completed by March 31 2021.

Overall, this $60 million deal aligns with Cyprium’s strategy of building a mid-tier Australian copper mining business.

Cyprium’s shares have dropped a slight 2.04 per cent to trade at 24 cents at 11:52 am AEDT.

Metals X is up 5.88 per cent and trading at 18 cents just after midday trade.

CYM by the numbers
More From The Market Online

Great Western shares jump nearly 11% on WA govt funding for priority Cu-Au targets

Great Western Exploration shares jump nearly 11 percent on West Australian government funding to test copper-gold…

Lithium Universe ends the quarter charged up for Quebec Refinery roll-out

Lithium Universe has closed off the March quarter with a new Chief Financial Officer and strategically located land…

Alligator snaps at extended mineralisation of Blackbush uranium deposit in SA

Extension drilling in the first four months of this year at the Samphire Uranium Project in South Australia has enabled Alligator Energy Ltd