Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) has given its approval to the deal announced in July under which China’s Yunnan Tin Group is to acquire up to 60% of Metals X’s Tasmanian tin assets. The agreement was originally due to have been completed by end-October, but was delayed by up to three months awaiting official approval from the authorities in both countries. In a statement today Metals X said that “the JV documentation is in its final stages and both parties will now move forward to complete the transaction.”
YTG is to pay A$50 million for a 50% stake in the joint venture, with an option to take a further 10% at a price to depend on operating performance. The Tasmanian tin operations produced 5,091 tonnes on tin-in-concentrate in the year to September October and the valuation of the option depends on production of over 6,000 tonnes in the following twelve months and a reduction in operating costs. The assets include the Renison mine and concentrator, the Mt Bischoff mine and the Rentails tailings treatment project.
The FIRB also approved the placement of shares that will give the Chinese-backed investment group APAC Resources a 15% stake in Metals X, which will raise another A$16 million, adding to A$20 million earned recently by the sale of nickel royalty interests.
