JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Aim-quoted multicommodity resource company Premier African Minerals entered into a nonbinding memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Ethiopia-focused potash company Ethiopian Potash Corp (EPC) for the sale of its Mali subsidiary, G and B African Resources Mali, the company said on Wednesday.
The sale would be satisfied through the issue of 20-million new shares in EPC.
Premier’s subsidiary held the rights to acquire primarily prospective exploration licences for potash in Mali.
The MoU included a number of complex transactions that were subject to final agreement by all parties and, in some instances, approval by the Toronto Stock Exchange, as well as by EPC shareholders.
Premier CEO George Roach said the transaction would allow the company to retain exposure to the Mali properties and the highly prospective Danakil property, in Ethiopia, through its shareholding in EPC, while avoiding the significant exploration expenditure required to quantify the projects’ potential.
“Consequently, this transaction underlines our ability to source projects and crystallise value through either development or a corporate transaction for the benefit of our shareholders.
“On a wider level, we continue to implement our business strategy of building shareholder value through strategic, cost-effective acquisitions and joint-venture partnerships, while advancing our multicommodity portfolio that already consists of preproduction assets and early-stage exploration projects, primarily in Zimbabwe and Togo,” Roach said in a statement.