Cornish Metals Inc. has announced the sale of its royalty interests in the Mactung and Cantung tungsten projects located in Northern Canada to Elemental Altus Royalties Corp. for a total cash consideration of US$4,500,000. The sale aligns with the company's focus on advancing its wholly owned and fully permitted South Crofty tin project in the UK. The agreement includes a cash payment of US$3,000,000 on the transaction close date and an additional US$1,500,000 12 months later. Elemental Altus will also assume the obligation to pay a C$1,500,000 deferred consideration to Teck Resources Limited. The royalties were acquired by the company in March 2016 for C$1,500,000 and have a book value of nil.
The Mactung royalty consists of a 4% net smelter returns royalty on the Mactung tungsten project, while the Cantung royalty comprises a 1% net smelter returns royalty on the Cantung tungsten project. The Mactung project is an advanced stage exploration project owned by Fireweed Metals Corp., and the Cantung project operated intermittently from 1962 until it closed in 2015. The company's focus remains on advancing the South Crofty tin project, which possesses Planning Permission for underground mining, construction of new processing facilities, and all necessary site infrastructure, as well as an Environmental Permit to dewater the mine. The 2024 Preliminary Economic Assessment for South Crofty validates the project's potential, with a US$201 million after-tax NPV8% and 29.8% IRR, among other positive indicators.
Tin, a Critical Mineral as defined by the UK, American, and Canadian governments, is a key component in electronic and electrical infrastructure, making it critical to the energy transition. South Crofty benefits from strong local community, regional, and national government support and could generate up to 320 direct jobs. The 2024 Preliminary Economic Assessment for South Crofty is preliminary in nature and includes inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves. This news release has been reviewed and approved by Mr. Owen Mihalop, Chief Operating Officer for Cornish Metals Inc., who is the designated Qualified Person under NI 43-101 and a Competent Person as defined under the JORC Code (2012).