PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Base metals developer New Century Resources has inked a long-term zinc offtake agreement at its Century zinc mine, in Queensland.
The company on Monday said that the offtake agreement signed with commodity trader MRI Trading also included a $15-million unsecured debt facility, which will be used for general working capital at the Century mine.
New Century has now executed four offtake agreements at the Century zinc mine, accounting for 75% of the project’s 1.5-million tonnes of zinc concentrate production for the first three-and-a-half years of operation.
New Century is considering a tailings operation at the project area to treat the 78.9-million tonnes of resource at the project, which is estimated to contain some 2.38-million tonnes of zinc, 370 000 t of lead and 31.5-million ounces of silver.
The ASX-listed company told shareholders that the debt facility secured with MRI was structured as a prepayment for zinc concentrates to be delivered under the offtake agreement, with the period for delivery of concentrate ore repayment being 120 days from drawdown.
The drawdown of the debt facility is conditional on the start of commercial production of zinc concentrate at Century.