LONDON (Alliance News) - Tri-Star Resources PLC on Tuesday said its partners on the Oman Antimony Roaster project have approved a new, larger capital budget for construction work after previously agreeing to include a secondary recycling process to recover precious metals.
Tri-Star shares were trading up 13% to 0.0900 pence per share on Tuesday afternoon.
Tri-Star holds a 40.0% stake in the joint venture company that holds the project, Strategic & Precious Metals Processing LLC, alongside its partners, the Oman Investment Fund and DNR Industries Ltd.
In April this year, the group agreed to include plans to develop a plant capable of accepting a wide range of antimony feedstock, including those associated with gold, with the aim of adding another revenue stream to the project.
However, that will require the partners to spend slightly more in capital expenditure on the project, and the group have now agreed on a new budget totalling USD65.5 million compared to the previous budget of USD62.1 million, with Tri-Star contributing its 40% share of around USD26.2 million.
Tri-Star said the inclusion of the precious metals facility was an "important and logical" step for the project as it will add capabilities that could significantly improve the "plant revenue opportunity" by 50% - whilst the budget has only been increased by 5.5%.
"Furthermore, the knowledge gained from the operation of this gold recovery plant will provide Strategic & Precious Metals Processing with valuable engineering design and operating information for future refractory gold processing initiatives," said Tri-Star.
The project, once constructed and commissioned, is expected to produce around 20,000 tonnes of antimony per year.
By Joshua Warner; joshuawarner@alliancenews.com; @JoshAlliance
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