(Alliance News) - Empire Metals Ltd on Friday said that it has decided not to extend the completion date for the acquisition of the Stavely project, which expired on April 6.
As a result, the acquisition has been terminated, the London-based exploration and resource development company said.
Back in 2022, Empire bought a 70% interest in three prospective Australian-based exploration projects from Century Minerals Pty Ltd via a sale and purchase agreement, which was subject to certain conditions being satisfied. This included the Stavely project, which is located in Victoria, Australia.
Under the agreement, completion of the sale and purchase of each project was independent of the others. The sale and purchase of Pitfield, having a granted tenement at the time, was completed on April 6, 2022, while the sale and purchase of Walton was completed on March 29, 2023.
At the time of the agreement, there were a number of conditions precedent to be satisfied before completion of the sale and purchase of the Stavely project and these were to be satisfied no later than April 6, 2024. One of these conditions precedent was the grant of the tenement comprising the Stavely project. However, the expiry date has now passed, and the tenement has not yet been granted, Empire Metals said.
As a result, Empire Metals said it has decided not to proceed with the sale and purchase of the Stavely project, and prefers to concentrate its resources on the "rapidly developing titanium project at Pitfield", which was one of the three projects included in the sale and purchase agreement.
Managing Director Shaun Bunn said: "Given the focus on the rapid advancement of Pitfield, the company considers it prudent to rationalise its exploration portfolio and has decided not to proceed with the acquisition of the Stavely project. The board no longer believes that this is a core project for Empire and by rationalising the company's portfolio, the board can apply all of the company's energy and resources on Pitfield as it targets a maiden resource in 2024, and the construction of a demonstration plant in the following year.
"I look forward to providing an update on our cevelopment plan for Pitfield, particularly on the establishment of an exploration target over two key prospect areas, an important outcome from our recent drilling campaign. This, and the next phase of mineralogical and metallurgical studies, will provide a much clearer picture of the potential value of the giant, titanium rich mineralised system."
Shares in Empire were up 1.0% at 7.84 pence each in London on Friday afternoon.
By Sabrina Penty, Alliance News reporter
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Empire Metals (EEE)