First Tin (LSE:1SN), the AIM-listed developer of the Taronga Tin Project in New South Wales, said on Friday it received an unsolicited, indicative proposal from Metals X for the entire issued and to be issued share capital it does not already own, at 15p per share in cash.
The approach, received on 8 October, falls under Rule 2.4 of the City Code on Takeovers and Mergers and does not amount to a firm intention to make an offer.
Notably, Metals X already has two appointees on First Tin's board, Peter Gunzburg and Brett Smith, both of whom have been excluded from the board's deliberations on the proposal.
The remaining board, together with its advisers, is reviewing the proposal and has told shareholders to take no action for now.
First Tin stressed there is no certainty an offer will follow, nor clarity on what terms it might carry if one does.
The approach lands as First Tin has been building out the investment case for Taronga.
An updated definitive feasibility study published in August lifted the project's combined post-tax net present value to AUS$246m at a long-term tin price of US$40,000 a tonne, up from A$98m in the 2024 study, rising to A$580m at the then-spot tin price of US$55,675 a tonne, with a post-tax internal rate of return of 33.7% and a 24-month payback.
That update followed a 13% increase in Proved and Probable Ore Reserves to around 45m tonnes at 0.12% tin, and an expanded Mineral Resource Estimate in which more than 71% of contained tin now sits in higher-confidence Measured and Indicated categories.
Under Rule 2.6(a) of the Code, Metals X must, by 5pm on 6 November, either announce a firm intention to make an offer under Rule 2.7 or confirm it does not intend to bid, a deadline that can be extended with the Takeover Panel's consent.
The announcement triggers an offer period under the Code, during which shareholders interested in 1% or more of First Tin's shares face disclosure obligations under Rule 8.
First Tin's issued share capital stands at 541.87m shares, each carrying one vote.