On August 28th 2014, the boards of Intrepid Mines Limited (IAU: ASX) and Blackthorn Resources Limited (BTR: ASX), 2 Australian mining companies listed at the Australian Stock Exchange, announced their merger.
According to an Intrepid press release, this will provide the needed capital for the Kitumba Copper Project and the Mumbwa Project in Zambia.
Following completion of the merger, Intrepid and Blackthorn shareholders will own approximately 52% and 48% of the merged group respectively.
This positions the group to complete its Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) for Kitumba and to explore near-Kitumba targets as well as the wider Mumbwa Project licence areas.
The Mumbwa Project, which comprises 5 contiguous licenses covering a total land area of 1,000 km2, hosts the Kitumba deposit and is located 200 km west of Zambia’s capital city Lusaka.
In April 2014, a study estimated that the mine in Kitumba would yield an average 58,000 tonnes of copper per year for an initial 11 years mine life.
The boards of both Intrepid and Blackthorn consider that the combination of Intrepid’s cash resources with Blackthorn’s development projects in Kitumba is capable of delivering superior returns to both sets of shareholders.
Intrepid Chairman Ian MacMaster said: “Following an extended process of review and due diligence on numerous assets, our team has determined that the Kitumba Copper Project offers a lot more value than is currently recognised by the market, and we are confident that our cash resources can both add value and unlock this discount over time”.
Blackthorn Chairman Mike Oppenheimer added: “The cash resources of the Merged Group provide a stable platform from which to pursue value accretive growth principally from our existing assets in Zambia, but will also allow us to take advantage of business development opportunities”.
