Corcel plc said its proposed off-take partner had asked the company to move to a binding agreement for supplies from the Mambare and Wowo Gap nickel-cobalt projects in Papua New Guinea.
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In January 2022, the company signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Shandong New Powder Cosmo AM&T (NPC).
A representative of Sentient Equity Partners (SEP), one of the three main investors and the mining specialists among NPC shareholders, has since visited Cosmo AM&T which is Korea’s fourth largest lithium battery cathode producer.
Corcel, which owns 41% of Mambare and 100% of Wowo Gap, today said that the meeting “successfully advanced discussions”.
“While NPC’s current revenues are robust, access to reliable and reasonably priced raw materials remains an ongoing challenge for the plant and the sector generally,” added the company.
“NPC is currently preparing a detailed report on the Mambare and Wowo gap projects for review by its shareholders, and COSMO AM&T has invited Corcel’s management to Korea to advance discussions and move the MOU to a binding agreement.”
The Mambare JV partners recently concluded a three-day visit with the Papua New Guinea Mineral Resource Authority in Popondetta to give further project information to officials and landowners.
The JV also completed water depth soundings at Gona and Port Harvey, to confirm suitability for direct shipping ore export to bulk carrier vessels for onward transfer to Asia.
Corcel added that Port Harvey would likely be an adequate back-up site to the primary Oro Bay export option currently under consideration.