LONDON (Alliance News) - Nyota Minerals Limited Friday said key strategic partner Centamin PLC has further reduced its shareholding in the company, a move that comes a day after Nyota detailed the structure of a sales agreement with another exploration company.
The gold exploration and development company operating in East Africa said that Centamin sold 9.4 million shares in Nyota over Monday and Tuesday this week, lowering its holding to 141.6 million shares or 16.1% of the company's issued share capital, down from 17.2%.
The move comes only five days after Nyota announced that Centamin sold 20 million shares in Nyota last week.
A spokesman for Nyota on Monday declined to comment on why Centamin is reducing its stake in the company.
Nyota last week said it has signed two agreements with a new development partner for a 75% stake in its Tulu Kapi Gold Project in Ethiopia.
Nyota added on Thursday that the partner has not been named to mitigate the risks of the sale, but it is a junior exploration and development company listed on a regulated stock market.
A spokesman told Alliance News at the time that the sales deal was not with Centamin, which was one of the key players in discussions over Nyota's future.
Centamin recently called for the removal of Nyota Chief Executive Richard Chase in an attempt to salvage a deal between the two miners.
Nyota said a number of conditions must be satisfied before the Tulu Kapi deal can go ahead. Both parties must complete due diligence, and the new partner must confirm it has sufficient funding to execute a work programme necessary to maintain the licence at Tulu Kapi.
Nyota said it is the intention of both parties to complete the sale by the end of this year, assuming approval by Nyota's shareholders.
The company had said it would run out of cash by the end of September, but in a recent statement said cost cutting and careful management of its spending means it has enough to get it through to the end of October at least. Its cost cutting has included reducing fees paid to its directors by half.
Nyota said in September that, due to the failure to develop Tula Kapi at that point, the company expects its 2013 financial report to include a non-cash impairment charge of AUD45-55 million and had put the site into care-and-maintenance until a definitive plan was agreed.
Nyota shares were down 20% to 0.600 pence, making it in the biggest AIM loser, and Centamin shares were down 0.2% to 50.20 pence, in early trading Friday.
By Tom McIvor; tommcivor@alliancenews.com; @TomMcIvor1
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