Australian mining company Oceana Metals announced the acquisition of 100% of the shares in Brazilian company Songeo Mineração, which is responsible for the Serra Negra rare-earth exploration project in Minas Gerais. The deal involves cash, shares and milestone payments tied to progress in estimating the project’s mineral resources.
Under the agreement, Oceana will pay US$2.95 million in cash and issue 20 million shares valued at a reference price of A$0.36 each, to be delivered upon completion of the transaction.
The contract also provides for additional payments linked to technical milestones. One payment of US$750,000 will become due when an initial resource estimate for Serra Negra is released. Another US$1.5 million is conditional on demonstrating a minimum resource of 100 million tonnes grading 4% Total Rare Earth Oxides (TREO), or equivalent.
In addition to these amounts, Songeo’s current owners will receive royalties of 2.5% on commodities extracted from the project’s areas. Oceana will retain a right of first refusal should those rights be negotiated with third parties in the future.
Fundraising and next steps
To fund development of the asset, Oceana Metals plans to raise approximately US$20 million through a private placement of new shares for institutional and professional investors. The offering will be divided into two tranches, with the second subject to shareholder approval.
Canaccord Genuity will lead the offering, while Euroz Hartleys Limited will act as co-manager.
On the operational side, the company intends to revisit the project’s historical data, including reviewing and sampling existing drill cores. New drilling programs, geophysical surveys and metallurgical tests are also planned.
The aim is to consolidate technical information and prepare an initial resource estimate for the Serra Negra Project, considered a crucial stage in advancing exploration and the asset’s economic assessment.
Source: brasil247.com
Leave a Reply