Pathfinder appoints consultant to pursue resolution

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Pathfinder appoints consultant to pursue resolution

1:53 CAT | 11 Feb 2019

File photo: Linkedin / Scott Richardson Brown

The British company Pathfinder Minerals has appointed the Hong Kong based consultancy Africa Focus Group to provide assistance to resolve a legal dispute with its one-time business partner, former Mozambican Security Minister Jacinto Veloso, over who owns the licence to mine the heavy mineral sands in Naburi and Moebase, in the central Mozambican province of Zambezia.

Africa Focus Group are specialists in mergers and acquisitions in southern Africa and are being given until the end of September to pursue a legally binding transaction with Pathfinder Moçambique to gain effective control of Mining Concession 4623C.

Pathfinder Minerals has agreed to pay Africa Focus Group a million British pounds upon a successful outcome. It has also committed itself to pay Africa Focus Group 250,000 pounds should it abort the agreement and go on to reach a separate agreement with Pathfinder Moçambique (subject to certain conditions).

Commenting on the agreement, Pathfinder Minerals’ chief executive officer Scott Richardson Brown said, “I feel confident that we can move forward with them to the successful conclusion of the good faith negotiations that are progressing in Mozambique.”.

Results of a scoping study in 2011 showed that Moebase and Naburi could produce 1.245 million tonnes of ilmenite (iron titanium oxide), 24,000 tonnes of rutile (the most common form of titanium dioxide) and 65,000 tonnes of zircon (zirconium silicate) per year. The scoping study put estimated annual revenue from Moebase-Naburi at 246.5 million US dollars.

Ilmenite (iron titanium oxide) and rutile (titanium dioxide) are used to make white pigments for paints, paper, and plastic. Titanium can be extracted from these ores and used to manufacture metallic parts where light weight and high strength are needed. Zircon (zirconium silicate) is used for abrasive and insulating purposes.

Shares in Pathfinder Minerals on the London Stock Exchange opened eleven per cent higher following the announcement.

Source: AIM