PERTH (miningweekly.com) – ASX-listed Centaurus Metals on Wednesday announced that it would divest of its Candonga direct shipping ore (DSO) project in Brazil to a private investor in a deal worth A$1.7-million.

In April this year, the metals developer announced that it would explore for opportunities to diversify its asset base in Brazil, while also hunting for joint venture or outright buyers for the Candonga project, in an effort to reposition the company outside of the bulk commodities sector.

MD Darren Gordon said on Wednesday that the sale of the Candonga DSO project was a positive outcome for the company and its shareholders, and allowed Centaurus to realise value from the asset in a challenging environment for greenfield iron-ore projects.

A previous feasibility study estimated that the project could deliver some 300 000 t/y of DSO product, and would require a capital investment of A$2.4-million.

Concurrent with the sale of the Candonga project, Centaurus also completed a A$300 000 share placement to support its ongoing exploration activities, which would be focused on the Mombuca gold project in the short term.

The placement comprised 50-million shares, at 6c each, with a one-for-five attaching unlisted options. The shares would be issued under the company’s placement capacity, and the options could be exercised at a price of 2.6c each, with an expiry date of September 2016.

Gordon said that the sale of Candonga, along with the share placement, provided funding to allow Centaurus to continue its gold exploration activities, while also allowing the company to progress discussions regarding the potential sale or joint venture of its other Brazilian iron-ore projects.

“From Centaurus’s perspective, this transaction is consistent with the approach of realising value from our existing iron-ore assets, working on new opportunities both in Brazil and other jurisdictions. We have several other valuable iron-ore projects in south-eastern Brazil, and we will continue to work hard to extract value from these assets.”