PERTH (miningweekly.com) - Base and precious metals explorer Alara Resources has inked an offtake agreement with commodities group Trafigura covering copper production from the Wash-hi Majaza copper/gold project in Oman.
Under the agreement with the Omani joint venture company Al Hadeetha Resources (AHRL), Trafigura will purchase all of the copper concentrate produced at the mine for a period of eight years, from the start of production.
“We are very excited that Trafigura and AHRL are partnering to transform the mining landscape in the Sultanate of Oman. We are highly indebted to the Ministry of Energy in Oman and our other stakeholders for their support in helping us achieve this major milestone,” said Alara MD Atmavireshwar Sthapak.
Cold and hot commissioning at Wash-hi Majaza is expected to start in August this year, and commercial production is slated for late September. The project will process one-million tonnes a year of mineralised material, over a project life of just over ten years.
In conjunction with the offtake agreement, Alara has obtained a $3.45-million finance facility from Trafigura to enable Alara to further capitalise AHRL, which will, in turn, use the funds for completion of project infrastructure construction.
The facility has a maturity date of the end of June 2029, with repayments to start at the end of September 2025.