JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – ASX-listed Flinders Mines and New Zealand-based The Todd Corporation have been given the green light to move forward with their option and sale agreement of the Pilbara iron-ore project (PIOP), in Western Australia.
Flinders MD Ian Gordon on Friday said that the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) had notified Todd that there were no objections to the A$65-million deal signed with a Todd subsidiary in May.
Todd would pay Flinders a A$10-million up-front cash consideration, paving the way for Todd to exercise an option to buy out the PIOP for an additional A$55-million and an attached royalty agreement.
Todd aimed to develop the 25-million-tonne-a-year iron-ore resource and its own proposed Balla Balla port and railway as an integrated project.
Flinders would retain the A$10-million injection, as well as 100% ownership of the project should Todd choose not to exercise the sale option.
A further two A$10-million option extension payments were agreed to as further compensation for Flinders should Todd’s development plan be delayed beyond its end-2016 target.