Cyprium Metals cleared to restart Nifty Copper - ICYMI

Proactive

Written by Fouad Haidar

Cyprium Metals Ltd (ASX:CYM, OTC:CYPMD) earlier this week received final approval to restart the Nifty Copper Project in Western Australia.

The approval came from the Department of Energy and Economic Diversification. The company said this marks the final step required to restart copper cathode production at the site.

Executive Chairman Matt Fifield told investors the project would now proceed into the first phase of development. He said this approach was consistent with a phased strategy to gradually increase production capacity.

The company highlighted that the initial restart would involve 30 to 35 staff per shift and would lead to the creation of more than 70 permanent and 80 construction jobs.

It said it had partnered with Macmahon Holdings for the project.

Cyprium Metals said the restart is part of a broader plan that will eventually include open pit development, additional oxide resource exploration and refurbishment of the concentrator. The company said the long-term goal is to produce 45,000 tonnes of copper per year.

Separately, Cyprium announced it had executed a binding term sheet with Nebari to refinance its existing USD 27.30 million senior secured loan facility. It said the decision follows an AUD 80.00 million equity raise.

The company said the new facility would provide added financial flexibility during the construction phase. Fifield said, “It’s always good to have a little bit of extra liquidity and generate those options when you don’t need them.”

Proactive:

Cyprium Metals has now been given the green light from the Department of Energy and Economic Diversification to restart operations at the Nifty Copper Project. For more on this, I'm joined by the company’s Executive Chairman and Director, Matt Fifield. Matt, lovely to have you back on here at Proactive. How are you?

Matt Fifield:

Doing well. We're firing on all cylinders right now, so it's an exciting time for me and for Cyprium.

Proactive:

Your share price is up, Matt. Investors are quite happy. There's been quite a few announcements over the last few days, but let's first and foremost talk about the hurdle that's now all cleared up by the Department of Energy. Nifty is now back in action. We’re restarting production. How important is this, Matt?

Matt Fifield:

Well, this final approval was the last in a series of events as we've been building our plans to restart cathode production. A counterparty on our state agreement is deed-formally Gypsy, which runs through the Premier's office. And as this is increasing sovereign manufacturing capacity in Australia—semi-finished copper goods like copper cathode—it’s very important to us. Very important, and on mission to the state of Western Australia. So this is that final boost of confidence that we were waiting for, that all of our approvals are in order and we're off to the races.

Proactive:

Matt, you've laid out to the ASX that you're hoping this will lead to the creation of over 70 permanent jobs, more than 80 construction jobs, and of course, royalty payments to WA just in the very first phase alone. How do you foresee that sort of building momentum on the long haul, not just in the first phase?

Matt Fifield:

Well, it's interesting that you mention that. This is a phased redevelopment approach. We're trying to go through that crawl, walk, run philosophy of increasing our organisational capacity to handle more and more of what we have in front of us. We've partnered with Macmahon Holdings on this, who brings quite a lot to the party.

But the resumption of cathode production is a relatively small project in the scheme of what Nifty is going to become. We'll have points on the board, we'll have revenue that helps sustain our business, and about 30 to 35 people per shift working on site. From there, it will be going into the open pit to look for additional oxide resources that you can put through the SX-EW, and ultimately refurbishing the concentrator and bringing that up as well. The full vision through the many stages of Nifty ends up being on the order of 45,000 tonnes a year of copper production or greater.

Proactive:

Matt, today's news of course comes after you've executed a binding term sheet with Nebari to refinance the existing $27.3 million senior secured loan facility. What made you take this decision?

Matt Fifield:

We recently had a transformative equity raise. We raised $80 million and part of the use of proceeds for that was to pay down our senior loan facility, which is $27.3 million US—roughly $40 million Australian.

What I'm so pleased with is that Nebari, who knows this company very well, came in and helped us finance out Glencore. We've landed with a facility that allows us to both pay it down, and then, just in case we need it, to have it. So it's always good to have a little bit of extra liquidity and generate those options when you don't need them. It gives us even more confidence going into a construction situation that we've tailored our senior debt facilities to match the needs of the company as we go through this next phase.

Proactive:

Certainly quite a fair bit keeping you guys busy at Cyprium in the next few weeks as we head to the end of the year. We’ll look forward to having you on board soon to touch base on the latest. This was Cyprium Metals Executive Chairman and Director Matt Fifield. Thank you so much.

Matt Fifield:

Thank you.

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