Neometals eyeing 80% stake in US-based precious metal waste recovery plant

Shares in Neometals (ASX:NMT) were up 4.4% to 12cps in the second hour of trade on Monday as the company revealed it’s eyeing an option to acquire an 80% stake in a US-based precious metals waste recovery plant.

To acquire that 80%, the company would pay US$10M (A$15M) to the vendor in a mix of cash and equity.

That vendor is made up of three entities: PMR vendors, GreenFuels Energy LLC and a third called STRATA Trust Company. Shares in Neometals handed off would be worth US$500,000.

The plant would, reportedly, give Neometals the ability to recover precious metals from waste streams at the plant, but, requires “debottlenecking” to unlock the “potential [for] short term cash generation.”

To that end, Neometals’ staffers are now undertaking a six week metallurgical testwork program along with a due diligence process. Neometals is already a metals recycler and it sees the US plant as fitting into its corporate strategy.

Should the deal go ahead, Neometals subsidiary Adamant Technologies would hold the 80% interest. The other 20% stake would be held by an entity called Sidvin Mintek, the technology inventor of the plant.

“Our long-term relationship with members of the PMR team has enabled us to secure this exceptional opportunity to evaluate a potential source of short-term cashflow via precious metal recovery from industrial waste,” Neometals MD Chris Reed said.

“Producing precious metals from an industrial waste material is a natural hedge to our battery materials focused plant supply and technology licensing business models.

“We hope to confirm the technical feasibility of the PMR Technology to deliver lowest quartile operating costs and show that precious metals production can be green too.”

NMT last traded at 12cps.