Strategic Minerals (AIM:SML) announced it has completed the sale of its Leigh Creek Copper Mine in South Australia to Cuprum Metals after securing approval from Australia's Foreign Investment Review Board.
The AIM-listed mineral exploration and production company said the deal releases A$500,000 that had been held in escrow, taking total cash consideration to A$750,000.
Strategic Minerals retains further upside through layered consideration: up to 19.9% of the shares in a new company Cuprum intends to list, capped at A$3m, with any shortfall rolled into earn-out payments if the shares are not issued within three years or fall short of that value.
The company also holds a 2% net smelter royalty on the first 24,900 tonnes of copper produced, which Cuprum can buy back down to 1% for A$1.5m, plus an earn-out of 20% of half-yearly operating cash flows from the start of commercial production, capped at A$4m.
Proceeds will fund continued advancement of the Redmoor Tungsten-Copper-Tin Project in southeast Cornwall, the company's flagship asset.
"Through our equity, royalty and earn-out interests, Strategic Minerals will be a significant stakeholder in a future copper mine, and we look forward to continuing to work closely with the Cuprum team as they advance the project," said Charles Manners, Executive Chairman of Strategic Minerals.
Read more about Strategic Minerals
- 28/09/26US Department of War invests $9.25m in Strategic Minerals' Redmoor project
- 17/09/26Strategic Minerals passes milestone in at Redmoor drill programme
- 03/09/26Strategic Minerals agrees final terms to sell Leigh Creek copper mine
Strategic Minerals acquired Leigh Creek in March 2018, and the deal to sell it was first agreed on 3 September 2026, with completion conditional on the regulatory clearance now received.
At Redmoor, the company has been running an expanded infill drilling programme targeting 22,500 metres across at least 44 resource holes, feeding into a pre-feasibility study, and in September secured a $9.25m cost-shared investment from the US Department of War to help accelerate the project toward a definitive feasibility study.