AUSTRALIAN miner, Prospect Resources Limited (Prospect) has agreed to sell its Step Aside Lithium Project in Zimbabwe to Fatima Resources Pty Ltd for up to US$2,2 million to advance its copper assets in Zambia.
Step Aside Mine, acquired by Prospect in March 2022, is an area that is 8km north of the miner’s formerly owned mining prospect, Arcadia Lithium Mine, which was sold to Chinese battery materials manufacturer, Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Co Ltd in 2022.
Prospect’s sale of the Arcadia Lithium Mine was for US$422 million, covering the full acquisition cost of the project, including payments to minority shareholders and associated liabilities, with the miner’s net payment amounting to US$378 million.
The sale of Step Aside Mine comes despite the firm in May 2023 announcing the discovery of high-grade lithium deposits at the project.
With the sale of Step Aside, the company will have no active projects in Zimbabwe, as it shifts focus to the Mumbezhi Copper Project in Zambia and other Zambian-based copper opportunities.
“Prospect Resources Limited (Prospect or the company) is pleased to advise that it has executed a share sale and purchase agreement (agreement) with a private company, Fatima Resources Pty Ltd (buyer), who is familiar with operating in Zimbabwe, for the sale of its Singapore-registered subsidiary, Promin Resource Holdings Pte Ltd (Promin) for a consideration of up to US$2,2 million,” Prospect said in a statement.
“Promin is a wholly owned subsidiary of Prospect and holds a 90% interest in the Step Aside Lithium Project (project) in Zimbabwe.”
Under the agreement, Prospect will be paid an initial sum of US$850 000 for the purchase of the project upon completion, with another US$150 000 payable six months post completion of the transaction.
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“A payment of up to US$1,2 million is also payable to Prospect if, within 24 months of transaction completion, the buyer achieves certain milestones including the entry into binding offtake agreements, upgrades to the mineral resource of the project, or future sale transaction where the value of the project is more than US$5 million,” Prospect said.
“The sales process was managed by Nurture Capital Zimbabwe, a highly respected financial services firm based in Harare, offering asset management, private equity, and investment and corporate advisory solutions in Sub-Saharan Africa.”
The Step Aside Lithium Project is located within the Archaean Harare Greenstone Belt, approximately 35km east of Zimbabwe’s capital city, Harare, within a claim covering approximately 100 hectares.
Lithium mineralisation at Step Aside is dominated by coarse spodumene, with minor petalite present.
This mineralisation is hosted in intrusive pegmatite bodies, which are located within prospective Archaean-aged greenstone sequences of the Zimbabwe Craton.
“We believe the future stewardship of Step Aside is in good hands and look forward to seeing just how far the project can continue to grow, while we focus on the very exciting Mumbezhi Copper Project in Zambia.
“In the meantime, we are pleased to see a simplification of our corporate structure to assist in reducing ongoing overhead costs,” Prospect managing director and chief executive officer Sam Hosack said.
“Proceeds from the sale of Step Aside will be used to support growing our Zambian copper portfolio, including ongoing exploration at our Mumbezhi Copper Project in the northwest of the country.
“We remain focused on delivering further resource growth and expanding the project’s regional footprint at Mumbezhi, with Phase 2 drilling nearing completion ahead of a planned update to the Mumbezhi Mineral Resource estimates later this year.”
