- First Quantum Minerals (FM) announced the company is selling a 30 per cent equity interest in the Ravensthorpe Nickel Operation
- The company is selling a stake for $240 million to POSCO, one of the world’s largest steel producers
- Vancouver-based First Quantum will retain a 70 per cent interest in Ravensthorpe and continue to be the operator
- The mining and metals company will use the proceeds from the transaction to reduce its debt
- First Quantum is down 6.85 per cent, trading at $28.43 per share at 11:15 am ET
First Quantum Minerals (FM) announced the company is selling a 30 per cent equity interest in the Ravensthorpe Nickel Operation.
The company is selling a stake in the Western Australia operation for $240 million to POSCO, one of the world’s largest steel producers.
POSCO is South Korea’s largest, and the world’s fourth-largest, steel producer.
First Quantum will retain a 70 per cent interest in Ravensthorpe and continue to be the operator.
The Vancouver-based mining and metals company will use the proceeds from the transaction to reduce its debt.
POSCO will be provided with a long-term offtake agreement for 7,500 tonnes of nickel in mixed nickel-cobalt hydroxide precipitate per year produced at Ravensthorpe, beginning in 2024.
The balance of Ravensthorpe’s production will continue to be marketed by First Quantum.
The transaction remains subject to certain approvals and is expected to close sometime in the third quarter of 2021.
As part of the transaction, First Quantum and POSCO have also entered into a Memorandum of Understanding to explore a partnership to produce battery cathode precursor materials, likely in the form of nickel sulphate, by utilizing the mixed nickel-cobalt hydroxide from Ravensthorpe.
“We are pleased to welcome POSCO as our new long-term strategic partner in Ravensthorpe. Our respective organizations have complementary skillsets which will allow us to maximize the strategic value of Ravensthorpe as a key long-term supplier of nickel to the EV battery sector. We look forward to working closely with POSCO at Ravensthorpe and exploring options to broaden our relationship,” said First Quantum Chairman and CEO Philip Pascall.
First Quantum is down 6.85 per cent, trading at $28.43 per share at 11:15 am ET.
