Canadian firm eyeing K360mil Ramu project deal

A shareholder in the Ramu Nickel Cobalt Mine in Madang is close to completing a nickel and cobalt streaming transaction with Canadian company Cobalt 27 Capital Corp.
Highlands Pacific Ltd reached a C$145 million (K362.5 million) deal with Cobalt 27 in May 2018 for Cobalt 27 to buy cobalt and nickel from the mine.
Highlands announced to the Port Moresby Stock Exchange (PomSox) last week that the substantive outstanding condition was the execution of a clarification agreement between MCC Ramu NiCo Ltd (MCC), Mineral Resources Ramu Ltd and Mineral Resources Madang Ltd.
Mineral Resources Madang Ltd is Highlands’ joint venture partners in the Ramu project.
According to a Reuters report, the transaction would see Cobalt 27 buy 55 per cent of Highlands’ share of cobalt production and 27.5 per cent of its share of nickel output from the mine.
This will result in Cobalt 27 receiving an estimated 450,000 pounds (204116.4kg) of cobalt and 2.25 million pounds of nickel in concentrate every year. This will result in Highlands’ ownership of the mine increase to 11.3 per cent from 8.56 per cent.
According to Cobalt 27, the transaction is the world’s first cobalt-nickel streaming deal on a producing mine.
Streaming is a type of alternative finance that allows an investor to make an upfront payment in exchange for future production at a discounted price.
Cobalt 27 is a Canadian electric metals investment company in the electric vehicle and battery energy storage markets.