Cyprium Metals Ltd (ASX:CYM, OTC:CYPMF) has entered into a binding term sheet with Glencore (LON:GLEN) International AG for A$40 million in offtake financing. This follows Cyprium’s previously announced commercial strategic partnership with the mining giant to accelerate copper production from the Nifty copper complex in Western Australia.
The binding term sheet with Glencore features a A$40 million senior secured loan facility with a four-year term. The company intends to use the funds to repay the existing senior secured facility, advance early works and feasibility studies at Nifty, and for general corporate purposes.
Under the term sheet Cyprium has committed to raise A$20 million through any combination of equity raise, asset sales, royalty sales and exercise of existing options and warrants before end of current calendar year.
The company also expects to complete its previously announced — and now fully negotiated — copper cathode offtake agreement and copper concentrate offtake agreement alongside the loan facility.
A top corporate priority completed
Cyprium executive chair Matt Fifield said, “Our commercial strategic partnership with Glencore continues to gain momentum.
“We are pleased to announce that we have signed a binding term sheet with Glencore for an A$40 million loan facility. This new loan completes the refinancing of our near-term maturities which has been a top corporate priority.
“With that step completed, we are now heightening our focus on bringing Nifty’s copper products to market.
“Commercially, we have advanced our relationship with Glencore significantly. First, our offtake agreements for copper products are in final form. We expect to execute them alongside the loan facility in the coming weeks.”
“Next, we’ve been working with Glencore to streamline our access to their downstream processing facilities – the Townsville Copper Refinery and the Mt Isa Smelter. We have already executed a small sale of off-spec material to work through logistics from the Nifty mine site to Townsville.
“Finally, we have settled the physical specifications in our concentrate sales terms. The Nifty orebody makes a clean concentrate that is low in certain impurities. We expect it will be a useful component of blended ore feed at Mt Isa as it becomes available.”
A Glencore spokesperson said, “Cyprium is one of the near-term expected suppliers of Australian copper. We are pleased with our growing strategic commercial partnership. This is another example of Glencore working with other Australian miners to develop and bring critical minerals and metals to market.”