(Adds detail, quote, context)
JOHANNESBURG, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Anglo Pacific has
agreed to buy a share of cobalt production from Vale's Voisey's
Bay mine in Canada, giving the mining royalty and streaming
company exposure to the key battery metal for the first time, it
said on Wednesday.
The deal is Anglo Pacific's biggest to date and marks the
start of a shift into battery metals and away from coking coal
and iron ore, CEO Julian Treger said.
Anglo Pacific will buy a company holding a 70% interest in
32.6% of the mine's cobalt production from private equity
sellers for $205 million cash and a contingent consideration of
up to $27 million.
The company declined to say who the private equity sellers
are. The 32.6% stream of cobalt production was previously owned
by Canadian firm Cobalt 27, which was taken over by Pala
Investments in 2019.
"We definitely see this as the first significant step in
completely recasting the characteristics of Anglo Pacific,"
Treger said.
The transaction will make the company's exposure to cobalt
close to 50%, and cut its exposure to coking coal and iron ore
to around 20% from 50%, Treger said.
Voisey's Bay, in Labrador, produces nickel-cobalt-copper
concentrate and copper concentrate. Brazil's Vale
shuttered the mine in mid-March due to the pandemic and
restarted operations in early July.
If the deal is completed, Anglo Pacific will effectively own
22.8% of the mine's cobalt production.
(Reporting by Helen Reid; editing by Mark Potter and Jason
Neely)
