TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Nickel-miner Crowflight Minerals is still in negotiations with representatives from China's Jinchuan Group on a potential takeover of the company, Crowflight said on Friday.

The offer technically expired on August 31, but talks continue and Crowflight intends to seek an extension to the validity date of the offer, the company said in a statement.

Jinchuan offered to buy Crowflight for a total of C$150-million in cash in April, which represented a premium of about 47% at the time.

The offer is premised on Jinchuan obtaining 100% of the offtake from the firm's Bucko Lake mine in Manitoba, and any of the Crowflight exploration properties that are subsequently placed into production.

It is also subject to Jinchuan concluding a satisfactory due diligence review, as well as all the necessary regulatory approvals, the negotiation of a definitive agreement between the two parties and approval from Crowflight shareholders.

Crowflight had received an earlier expression of interest to buy the Bucko Lake asset from shareholder Pala Investment Holdings, which broke off talks after the Jinchuan offer was announced.

Pala's representatives on Crowflight's board resigned in June and Pala sold all 152-million shares and 50,6-million warrants that it held in the company to a single buyer, King Place Enterprises, which is affiliated with China's Hebei Wenfeng Industrial Group.

Crowflight said earlier this week it has agreed to a private placement of a C$10,05-million convertible debenture to King Place, currently its biggest shareholder.

The company intends to use the proceeds from the financing for the continued ramp up of the Bucko Lake mine and for general corporate and working capital purposes.