Moxico Resources plans London IPO within the next year

Wave of copper buying crests. Stock Image

Africa-focused Moxico Resources is planning an initial public offering (IPO) of its shares in London within the next twelve months, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said.

The UK-based company, run by ex-Rio Tinto executive Alan Davies, is developing its flagship Mimbula project in Zambia’s copper belt but also has other assets under development.

Moxico secured about $75 million in equity from investors in May to help fund the construction of Mimbula, one of the sources said.

They added that the company is currently focusing on raising between $65 million to $70 million of debt, mainly from commodity trading houses, to complete construction funding.

The source said the company planned to list by the end of this year or in the first half of 2022, while the second person gave a narrower timeframe, saying the deal was planned for the fourth quarter of 2021.

No decision has been made on which banks will be in involved in the transaction nor a likely valuation, the sources said, with both issues still under discussion.

A spokesperson for Moxico declined to comment.

Demand for copper is expected to soar in coming years due to the global shift to a lower carbon economy, where the metal is crucial for its conductive properties.

Once in full production, Mimbula, which is 85% owned by Moxico and 15% by Zambian partners, will produce 30,000 tonnes of copper cathode per year.

A bid by Moxico to buy a copper smelter that was owned by Vedanta earlier this year and which is under control of a court-appointed liquidator was not successful, multiple sources told Reuters.

(By Zandi Shabalala; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)

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