Arcadia Minerals has received unsolicited interest from several potential funders who can acquire HeBei Xinjian Construction CC’s position by providing debt and/or equity to complete the construction of the Swanson Tantalum Mine.
Orange River Pegmatite owns the 14,671.5834 km2 EPL 5047 that contains the Swanson Tantalite Project on the farms Umeis 110, Kinderzitt 132, and Norechab 130, about 15 km to the north of the Orange River.
Arcadia Minerals signed a subscription agreement with HeBei Xinjian Construction CC in May 2023 to develop the Swanson Project in exchange for 38% of newly issued Orange River Pegmatite shares.
HeBei Xinjian Construction CC agreed to deliver a processing plant completion certificate issued by a professional engineer appointed by the parties confirming satisfactory construction and commissioning of the MGS plant.
It also agreed to deliver a finance completion certificate by an auditor appointed by the parties confirming that HeBei Xinjian Construction CC has expended a minimum value of US$7 million (AU$10.4 million) to construct and commission the MGS processing plant.
Additionally, HeBei Xinjian Construction CC was to deliver a processing plant production certificate issued by a professional engineer or metallurgist appointed by Orange River Pegmatite, confirming that the MGS plant can process the agreed volumes of minerals.
Lastly, HeBei Xinjian Construction CC was expected to deliver an executed assumption deed by HeBei to the effect that HeBei has acceded to the existing ORP shareholders’ agreement terms.
In October 2024, Arcadia Minerals reported that development at the Swanson Tantalite Mine had slowed down significantly as a result of a lack of funding from HeBei Xinjian Construction CC (HeBei), which is also delaying delivery of the multigravity separators and spiral circuits due to non-payment of the final balance following previous deposits paid.
The Swanson Project is development-ready and fully permitted for land use, water supply, and electricity.
The project has an established resource & high grade of 10 pegmatites drilled for a mineral resource of 2,582 mt at 486 ppm.
Only 15 of the more than 200 known pegmatites present over Arcadia’s three licenses have been explored.
The projected annual free cash flow is Au$6.4 million, assuming 12,500 tpm throughput vs. scope for up to 20,000 tpm.
