Celsius Resources Ltd (ASX:CLA, AIM:CLA) and Silvercorp Metals Inc (TSX:SVM, AMEX:SVM) have agreed to extend the exclusivity period to negotiate the Canadian miner’s acquisition of the ASX-lister until July 31 in order to comply with legal issues in the jurisdictions they operate in.
The companies entered into a non-binding term sheet and a binding subscription agreement in May for the transaction that will involve the creation of a new exploration company to hold all of Celsius' rights and interests in the Sagay project in the Philippines and the Opuwo Cobalt project in Namibia.
Both parties have now signed an additional variation to the term sheet to accommodate the extension.
READ: Celsius Resources inks deal for acquisition by Silvercorp Metals
Positive development
Celsius executive chairman Julito Sarmiento said in May: “This a positive step and timely development for Celsius and its subsidiaries.
“We are happy to have received an offer from Silvercorp which shares Celsius’ corporate values and our vision to develop mining projects in a sustainable, inclusive and responsible manner.
“Together, we have the potential to demonstrate and realise our commitments to all our shareholders and stakeholders to see the development of Celsius’ mineral assets, particularly our flagship MCB Copper-Gold Project with the Balatoc Indigenous Community in Kalinga, Philippines, through fruition."
About the company
Celsius has a portfolio of world-class copper-gold assets in the Philippines and an advanced cobalt asset in Namibia.
Its flagship MCB Project is situated on the Philippines island of Luzon, 320 kilometres north of Manila, with good access to key transport and export infrastructure.
The project has a JORC resource estimate of 338 million tonnes at 0.47% copper and 0.12 g/t gold, culminating in 1.6 million tonnes of contained copper and 1.3 million ounces of gold.
Celsius also owns two other copper-gold projects in the Philippines: the Nabiga-a Prospect (the Sagay Project) and the Malangsa Prospect.