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- Centaurus Metals has executed its sale and purchase agreement with Vale for the sale of the Jaguar Nickel Sulphide Project
- The timing of the sale agreement comes at Centaurus’ convenience as the nickel price has recently reached five-year highs
- Centaurus will drill high-grade targets with in-fill and extensional drilling designed to improve the understanding of the high-grade mineralisation
- Centaurus and Vale have also agreed on a future off-take whereby Vale can buy 100 per cent of Jaguar’s production
Centaurus Metals has executed its sale and purchase agreement with Vale for the sale of the Jaguar Nickel Sulphide Project.
The Jaguar Nickel Sulphide Project hosts multiple nickel sulphide deposits and exploration targets within a 30 square kilometre land package in the western portion of the world-class Carajás Mineral Province.
Vale completed a historical Mineral Resource estimate in 2010 comprised 40.4Mt at 0.78% Ni at a 0.5% Ni cut-off for a total of 315kt of contained nickel metal.
Centaurus Managing Director Darren Gordon is very pleased to acquire the asset, stating Vale’s approval represents the final step towards acquiring the project.
“Being able to acquire such an outstanding asset with genuine company-making potential is a great result for the company and our shareholders, and reflects the strong and deep relationships which Centaurus has built up in Brazil over the past 10 years,” Darren said.
The timing of the sale agreement comes at Centaurus’ convenience as the nickel price has recently reached five-year highs after Indonesia confirmed a ban on ore exports from December this year.
Supply disruptions from Papua New Guinea mean there will be a search for potential new nickel sulphide deposits. This puts Centaurus in an optimal position.
“We believe the acquisition of the Jaguar Nickel Project will provide Centaurus with a unique growth opportunity at the perfect time in the nickel market cycle. The opportunity to fast-track a new nickel sulphide development over the next two years could prove to be a game-changer,” Darren added.
Centaurus will focus initial drilling on high-grade targets with in-fill and extensional drilling designed to improve the understanding of the high-grade mineralisation. It will also add additional high-grade nickel tonnes to the current foreign resource.
In addition to the sale agreement, Vale and Centaurus have agreed to enter a future off-take agreement whereby Vale can purchase 100 per cent of the production from Jaguar.
Centaurus’ drilling program is expected to commence at the end of October 2019.
