Eqtec sells entire stake as MetalNRG shifts to be Morocco copper miner

(Alliance News) - Eqtec PLC on Friday said it has sold its entire stake in fellow London listing MetalNRG PLC, as MetalNRG moves away from Eqtec's focus on new energy infrastructure development.

London-based Eqtec is a licensor of syngas technology for conversion of waste into sustainable energy and biofuels.

MetalNRG is set to become Atlas Metals Group PLC, after last month agreeing to buy a copper mine in Morocco. In a reverse takeover, MetalNRG will acquire Compagnie Miniere de Oumejrane from Managem SA, paying USD32 million in total. CMO owns the producing Oumejrane copper mine in the eastern Anti-Atlas mountains of Morocco.

Eqtec said it sold all 60.6 million shares it held in MetalNRG, banking GBP200,000 to redeploy into new investments in renewable energy and alternative fuels from waste. That suggests a price of 0.33 per share. MetalNRG shares were down 6.4% to 0.66p early Friday.

Earlier Friday in a stock exchange filing, MetalNRG said Eqtec had no more shares as of Wednesday, down from a 4.1% stake. At that point, it said, Eqtec still had a 3.4% stake via financial instruments.

Eqtec said the investment in MetalNRG already had been written off in its 2023 results.

"Eqtec no longer considers its holding in MNRG to be strategic, following MNRG's decision to withdraw from new energy infrastructure development to refocus on core mining opportunities," it said on Friday.

Last week, Eqtec said it has entered a collaboration framework agreement in the US with Simonpietri Enterprises LLC, a Hawaii-based developer of technology to re-use and recycle waste into sustainable products in the the agriculture, energy, and transportation sectors.

By Tom Waite, Alliance News editor

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