Global commodities trader and miner Glencore has been enlisted by Australia’s Cyprium Metals (ASX: CYM) to expedite the resumption of the company’s Nifty copper complex, which is situated close to Port Hedland.
The parties agreed on July 26 a commercial strategic collaboration whereby Glencore will buy copper products from Nifty’s two processing plants at market pricing, including off-spec materials produced during the start-up period.
This initial fixed-term offtake deal includes 100% of cathodes produced and delivered to Port Hedland. The business stated the sale deal would begin in 2026, when Nifty may manufacture concentrates.
As part of the agreement, Glencore would also have to explore all feasible options for supplying these concentrates to the Mt Isa smelter, which supplies one of the biggest mining complexes globally and the second-largest copper producer in Australia.
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Assuming final agreements, the Swiss-based business will expedite the building of a new surface mine by paying A$20 million in advance for the copper production. Additionally, it will provide working capital to shift the purchase point to Nifty.
“This commercial partnership gives us certainty of revenue during the crucial startup phases of Nifty’s two processing plants, removes uncertainty in sourcing a key input into cathode production, and aligns with creating and maintaining a strong Australian job base in the ultimate critical mineral, copper,” stated Cyprium’s executive chair Matt Fifield.
The Nifty mine, which is situated in the northeastern Pilbara region on the western side of the Great Sandy Desert, started operations as an open pit oxide copper mine in 1993 and switched to an underground sulphide mine in 2006.
Nifty produced more than 700,000 tonnes of copper metal between the start of the oxide operation and November 2019, when the mine was put on care and maintenance. In March 2021, Cyprium purchased all of the Nifty project from Metals X (ASX: MLX) as part of a wider deal.
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The arrangement also includes technical help from Glencore and a possibility for Cyprium to buy sulphuric acid in order to remove supply uncertainty.
An estimate of 125 million tonnes of total resource, averaging 0.83% copper for 1.04 million tonnes of the metal, was released earlier this year in a resource statement. The majority of the resource, 80.9 million tonnes grading 0.79% for 635,765 tonnes of copper, falls into the specified category.
About Cyprium
Cyprium Metals is a copper development company that has advanced stage exploration and development properties in its portfolio. In its present asset portfolio, Cyprium has more than 1.6 million tonnes of contained copper. The management and board teams have extensive expertise creating, starting up, and running heap leach copper mines in difficult-to-regulate areas.
About Glencore
Glencore, one of the world’s largest diversified natural resource firms, produces and markets over 60 commodities that improve daily life. They manufacture, process, recycle, source, market, and distribute decarbonization-supporting commodities while addressing today’s energy needs through a global network of assets, customers, and suppliers.
