MinRes adds to global lithium production cuts amid downturn
The company will put its Bald Hill lithium mine in Western Australia under care and maintenance starting this week.
Nickel and lithium producer IGO Ltd is negotiating a potential deal with Medallion Metals to divest certain assets of its Forrestania nickel operation in Western Australia, the companies said in separate statements on Thursday.
The total consideration of the deal is up to A$50 million ($32.58 million), Medallion said.
Australia-based IGO will transition Forrestania into care and maintenance in fiscal 2025 after 18 years of commercial nickel production from its mines, as reserves are now depleting.
The deal comes at a time when IGO has been undertaking a strategic review in an attempt to reevaluate its resources, as nickel prices have slumped due to an oversupply in the global market.
Last month, it said it will slim down its executive team amid nickel writedowns, and was looking to maximize cash from its nickel businesses that are transitioning to care and maintenance.
The assets include IGO’s Cosmic Boy process plant and associated infrastructure, which Medallion would use to accelerate commercial production at its flagship Ravensthorpe gold project.
The parties entered into an exclusivity agreement, granting them 90 days to conduct due diligence and negotiate a binding transaction.
($1 = 1.5349 Australian dollars)
(By Ayushman Ojha; Editing by Mohammed Safi Shamsi and Rashmi Aich)
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