Latest news with #ProspectResources
Reuters
3 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
First Quantum says Prospect investment key to Zambia copper expansion
LUSAKA, July 11 (Reuters) - First Quantum Minerals' ( opens new tab recent investment in Prospect Resources ( opens new tab is key to the extension of mine life at Zambia's Sentinel mine, FQM's country director Anthony Mukutuma said on Friday. The Canada-based company made a 15% investment in Prospect in April, becoming the biggest shareholder in the Australia-listed exploration company. Prospect is exploring the Mumbezhi copper project, which is about 30 kilometres (19 miles) from FQM's Sentinel mine. FQM has become a key technical partner in the Mumbezhi exploration. Sentinel mine currently has a mine life of about 12 years remaining and FQM is studying options to extend that, Mukutuma told Reuters. Initial exploration at Mumbezhi has shown positive results, Mukutuma said, adding that the project had a similar deposit to Sentinel in terms of copper grades. "It could have a significant impact on the mine life of Sentinel," he said. Prospect this week said exploration conducted to date had "strongly positioned Mumbezhi amongst the leading copper exploration assets in Zambia". Sentinel mine produced 231,000 metric tons of copper in 2024, more than half of FQM's total output of 431,000 tons for the year. FQM has recently completed a $1.25 billion expansion project at its Kansanshi copper mine and Enterprise nickel operations. The expansion will extend Kansanshi's life to 2046 and raise its output to as high as 280,000 tons annually from current levels around 170,000 tons. Zambia, Africa's second biggest copper producer after the Democratic Republic of Congo, plans to lift production of the red metal to 3 million tons annually by 2031, to take advantage of growing global demand from renewable energy plants and electric vehicles. The country produced 821,000 tons of copper in 2024, a 12% increase from the previous year. Other mines such as Barrick Mining Corp's Lumwana ( opens new tab, Vedanta's Konkola and Mopani, recently acquired by the UAE's International Resources Holding, are all looking to ramp up output.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
First Quantum says Prospect investment key to Zambia copper expansion
By Chris Mfula LUSAKA (Reuters) -First Quantum Minerals' recent investment in Prospect Resources is key to the extension of mine life at Zambia's Sentinel mine, FQM's country director Anthony Mukutuma said on Friday. The Canada-based company made a 15% investment in Prospect in April, becoming the biggest shareholder in the Australia-listed exploration company. Prospect is exploring the Mumbezhi copper project, which is about 30 kilometres (19 miles) from FQM's Sentinel mine. FQM has become a key technical partner in the Mumbezhi exploration. Sentinel mine currently has a mine life of about 12 years remaining and FQM is studying options to extend that, Mukutuma told Reuters. Initial exploration at Mumbezhi has shown positive results, Mukutuma said, adding that the project had a similar deposit to Sentinel in terms of copper grades. "It could have a significant impact on the mine life of Sentinel," he said. Prospect this week said exploration conducted to date had "strongly positioned Mumbezhi amongst the leading copper exploration assets in Zambia". Sentinel mine produced 231,000 metric tons of copper in 2024, more than half of FQM's total output of 431,000 tons for the year. FQM has recently completed a $1.25 billion expansion project at its Kansanshi copper mine and Enterprise nickel operations. The expansion will extend Kansanshi's life to 2046 and raise its output to as high as 280,000 tons annually from current levels around 170,000 tons. Zambia, Africa's second biggest copper producer after the Democratic Republic of Congo, plans to lift production of the red metal to 3 million tons annually by 2031, to take advantage of growing global demand from renewable energy plants and electric vehicles. The country produced 821,000 tons of copper in 2024, a 12% increase from the previous year. Other mines such as Barrick Mining Corp's Lumwana, Vedanta's Konkola and Mopani, recently acquired by the UAE's International Resources Holding, are all looking to ramp up output. Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
News.com.au
3 days ago
- Business
- News.com.au
Barry FitzGerald: Been there, done that, Prospect could be the next ASX M&A target (again)
'Garimpeiro' columnist Barry FitzGerald has covered the resources industry for 35 years. Now he's sharing the benefits of his experience with Stockhead readers. It's all in the timing. Just ask Prospect Resources (ASX:PSC), which cashed in its African lithium chips in early 2022 just ahead of the crash in lithium prices which began to take hold later that year. It was a big cash out too. Prospect picked up the Arcadia lithium project on the outskirts of Harare in Zimbabwe in 2016. At the time, Prospect had a $6 million market cap. Prospect went on to spend $84m by 2022 to turn the initial discovery in to a shovel ready project when it went looking for development funding. During that process China's Huayou Cobalt had a better idea – let us buy the thing. Prospect was happy to oblige and pocketed $US378m for its 87% share of Arcadia. The Chinese wasted no time getting Arcadia into production, ironically adding to the rising lithium glut that sent prices crashing from early 2023. It's fair to suggest that had Prospect been looking for a buyer for Arcadia come late 2023, it would have struggled to find one. And it certainly would not have got anything like the $US378 Huayou Cobalt handed over. Prospect banked the cheque and followed up in August 2022 with a A$443 million distribution to shareholders of 96c a share that left A$33 million in the kitty for its team of African resources specialists to find the next opportunity for the company. Zambian copper belt The team landed on the advanced Mumbezhi copper project in the Zambian copper belt. While advanced all right, disputed ownership had been holding the project back. Prospect sorted that out and emerged with 85% in April last year. It could be said that Prospect has set out to do in Zambian copper what it was able to achieve in Zimbabwean lithium. Mumbezhi is on the big side of things already, with Prospect releasing its maiden resource estimate of 107.2Mt at 0.5% copper for 514,000t of copper in March this year. It also announced a compliant 'exploration target' of 420Mt to 1.05 billion tonnes (1.68Mt to 4.2Mt of copper), including the existing resource. That should have been enough in itself for the local market to sit up and pay attention, But there was only a little bump in the share price. Things changed on April 14 though when the C$20 billion international copper heavyweight First Quantum Minerals arrived on the scene. The Canadian-based miner put its hand up for a 15% placement in Prospect at a cost of $15.2 million or 15c a share – a 35% premium to Prospect's previous closing price at the time of 11c. First Quantum also became a technical adviser on Mumbezhi. It knows all there is to know about Zambian copper as it has been operating in the country for more than 25 years, producing copper, gold and nickel. Its current operations include the Kansanshi copper/gold mine and smelter and the Sentinel copper mine which produced more than 400,000t of copper combined in 2024. Sentinel is 20km to the north-west of Mumbezhi in a similar geological setting. Sentinel is a massive mining and processing operation which delivers economies of scale to make the 0.51% grade (2024) highly profitable. Its total costs in 2024 were $US2.85/lb of copper. Since the First Quantum placement, Prospect shares have marched higher to 18.7c for a market cap of $131 million. Prospect is now busy with a drilling program to grow the resource towards the world-scale levels implied by the exploration target, with advice from First Quantum. First Quantum agreed to an18-month standstill agreement on it acquiring or disposing Prospect shares, subject to customary exceptions. The market nevertheless now sees Prospect – or at least Mumbezhi itself – as an obvious potential acquisition for First Quantum. Copper had a massive week after the announcement of a planned 50% tariff on imports into the US by President Donald Trump, with US market prices surging to over US$5.50/lb. At Stockhead, we tell it like it is. While Prospect Resources is a Stockhead advertiser, it did not sponsor this article. The views, information, or opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the columnist and do not represent the views of Stockhead. Stockhead does not provide, endorse or otherwise assume responsibility for any financial product advice contained in this article.
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Prospect Resources secures licences for Mumbezhi copper production in Zambia
Australian exploration and development company Prospect Resources has been granted two large-scale mining licences (LMLs) for its flagship Mumbezhi copper project in north-west Zambia. This grant of the LMLs provides 25-year tenure security, renewable for successive 25-year periods. The licences are a cornerstone for further development, financing and long-term operational planning. The LMLs de-risk the project, contrasting with the Australian system where a mining licence is typically the final step before development. With a substantial maiden mineral resource estimate of 107 million tonnes (mt) grading 0.5% copper for 515,000 tonnes, Mumbezhi is poised to support Zambia's goal of producing three million tonnes per annum (mtpa) by 2031. Prospect Resources managing director and CEO Sam Hosack said: 'The rapid grant of the LMLs over Mumbezhi is a testament to both the underlying opportunity presented by this asset as well as the professional and stakeholder-aware approach adopted by our team in Zambia. 'Like our recent tabling of a maiden mineral resource estimate and development of a substantial exploration target for the project, the grant of these licences represents another major milestone in our journey at Mumbezhi, delivering the inherent credibility attached to this more advanced and secure form of tenure.' Prospect is also positioned to benefit from Zambia's mining tax incentives and negotiate additional investment incentives under the Zambia Development Agency framework. Prospect's exploration efforts continue to identify significant potential across the Nyungu Corridor and at Kabikupa. With further drilling planned for the second quarter of 2025, the company aims to increase its copper resource base and progress towards a large-scale mining operation. Hosack added: 'We are also excited about recommencing drilling at Mumbezhi shortly, with a particular focus on the regional opportunities across this large prospective ground holding. Priority targets for the upcoming programmes include the Nyungu 'Corridor', which remains broadly untested to date. 'Located within a world-class geological address, as established by the scale and projected life of the surrounding major copper operations, delivers us a compelling magnitude of opportunity at Mumbezhi.' "Prospect Resources secures licences for Mumbezhi copper production in Zambia" was originally created and published by Mining Technology, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site.
