Pictured: Blackstone Managing Director Scott Williamson
Blackstone Minerals Ltd managing director Scott Williamson said in the April edition of Australia’s Paydirt that his company wasn’t at the mercy of “conventional capital markets” given the relationship struck in December with the world’s second largest nickel-rich cathode materials manufacturer – EcoPro.
EcoPro subsidiary EcoPro BM from Korea has signed a binding agreement to take 40 million shares at 17c/share, representing a 62% premium to Blackstone’s last traded price.
“Korea is our funding source, so we don’t have to worry so much about the conventional capital markets; we have someone much bigger ready to help us, we’re lucky there,” Williamson told Paydirt.
“We are focusing on that and trying to get some deals done there. As soon as we get funding out of Korea then there will be no stopping us because the market will realise we don’t have to worry about fluctuations in share prices.”
The binding agreement means a structure is in place for EcoPro and BlackstoneMinerals to work in partnership (through an additional investment via a JV agreement) to develop a downstream processing facility in association with Blackstone’s Ta Khoa Nickel-PGE project, northern Vietnam.
“Our maiden resource in late Q2 and scoping study in late Q3 is really when the market will wake up and realise that our nickel mine works in any nickel price environment because we have nickel sulphides, which works in any price environment and laterites require at least $US20,000/t,” Williamson said.
Read more about Blackstone in the April edition of Australia’s Paydirt. For access to a FREE three-month digital subscription contact kateb@paydirt.com.au or visit https://www.paydirt.com.au/magazines/