Australia-listed OreCorp on Thursday confirmed that it had not received any proposal from fellow-listed Perseus Mining to acquire all of the shares in the company.
Perseus did express an interest in exploring funding structures with OreCorp to support the development of the Nyanzaga gold mine, in Tanzania, OreCorp said, but noted that it had no further details on the form such funding might take.
Perseus, which is OreCorp’s biggest shareholder with a 19.9% stake, previously said that it was not in active discussions with OreCorp and did not intend to submit a change of control transaction in competition to the current scheme that TSX- and NYSE-listed Silvercorp Metals had offered to OreCorp shareholders.
OreCorp’s statement comes as a media report stated that senior representatives from Perseus had held discussions in Tanzania with representatives from the Ministry of Minerals regarding its investment in OreCorp’s Nyanzaga project.
According to media reports, the discussions touched on several matters, including taxes, royalties and import duties.
“Perseus previously advised OreCorp confidentially of its proposal to travel to Tanzania to introduce Perseus, as OreCorp’s largest shareholder, to the Minister responsible for mining in Tanzania and other government officials,” said OreCorp.
The company said that it had not participated in any discussions between Perseus and Tanzanian government officials.
The off-market takeover offer made by Silvercorp for all the OreCorp shares not already owned is open for acceptance.
“The OreCorp board continues to unanimously recommend that OreCorp shareholders accept the Silvercorp offer in the absence of a superior proposal and subject to the independent expert’s report concluding, and continuing to conclude, that the Silvercorp offer is reasonable to OreCorp shareholders.”