EQ Resources spreads wings with Spanish mine deal

Far North Queensland tungsten miner EQ Resources is building a global presence through a deal to buy European tungsten producer Saloro from investment manager Oaktree. EQ Resources says the combination of operations will make it the largest tungsten concentrate producer in the Western World, with a robust growth pipeline across two top-tier mining jurisdictions Saloro brought the Barruecopardo mine in Spain online in 2019 after a 40-year break and it is producing about 140 tonnes of high-grade tungsten concentrate a month. "This is without doubt an outstanding development and a transformational acquisition for EQR that delivers a huge value opportunity for shareholders," chief executive officer Kevin MacNeill said. EQ Resources chief executive officer Kevin MacNeill. "We continue building a robust growth pipeline with the addition of the Saloro operation and considering the exploration ground around the Barruecopardo mine is covering prospective historical workings. "Saloro has a great management team which built and commissioned a mine during rough times of Covid and now coming to a stage of sustainable production growth. "Our technical and geology teams assessed this opportunity in the recent months and with the installation of their first Tomra XRT sorter we can provide technical assistance to our new colleagues at Saloro to immediately optimise production.” Related: Open-pit ore fuels bumper Mount Carbine output Oaktree will invest $25 million into EQ Resources as part of the transaction through the subscription of 278 million new ordinary shares at $0.09 per share. The deal would mean Oaktree would hold a 15.86 per cent stake in EQ. It comes as EQ Resources ramps up open-pit mining operations at Mount Carbine, where it has previously been extracting tungsten from low-grade stockpiles. The company has also won a tender that paves the way for it to breathe new life into the abandoned Wolfram Camp tungsten mine and related tenements 60km south of its Mount Carbine operation. The Saloro transaction remains subject to various closing conditions, including foreign investment approval from agencies in Australia and Spain. Under the terms of the transaction, EQ Resources (through its subsidiary European Tungsten) has agreed to acquire 100 per cent of the issued capital of Saloro from Tungsten Mining (a portfolio company of funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management) for a nominal consideration of EUR1 and the benefit of all of the intercompany loans owed by Saloro to the Oaktree group (which is approximately EUR80,000,000) for EUR1. EQ Resources has agreed guarantee all of the obligations of European Tungsten under the share purchase agreement. Image at top of page: The Barruecopardo mine in Spain. Below: A flyover of the Barruecopardo operations. https://www.youtube.com/watch?ve7YxECbK7_o

EQ Resources spreads wings with Spanish mine deal

Industry Queensland

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