Elemental Altus Royalties has signed a binding agreement with Cornish Metals to acquire two existing tungsten royalties on the Mactung and Cantung projects in Canada for a total cash consideration of $4.5m (C$6.19m).
This agreement secures an uncapped 4% net smelter return royalty on the Fireweed Metals-owned Mactung Project.
The Mactung Project is notable for its high-grade tungsten deposit, one of the largest globally and one of the few situated outside China.
Spanning 37.6km² across the Yukon and Northwest Territories border, this project has completed an environmental assessment as part of its previous permitting process.
Fireweed Metals is expected to release a new preliminary economic assessment on the project in 2024.
Elemental Altus will pay a total of $4.5m in two tranches for the royalties, with the first payment of $3m due at the transaction’s close and a second payment of $1.5m 12 months later.
The Cantung Project, located near the Yukon border in the Northwest Territories, has a history of intermittent operation from 1962 until its closure in 2015 due to low commodity prices.
This project is currently in administration, owned by the Northwest Territories Government, and is looking for new ownership.
The Cantung royalty is an uncapped 1% NSR, with no buybacks, covering an area of 100km² area.
Elemental Altus CEO Frederick Bell said: “The transaction with Cornish Metals builds our development pipeline with the potential for material revenue from a Tier 1 jurisdiction in the medium term.
“The addition of tungsten to the portfolio offers exposure to one of the most economically important critical minerals in the EU, US and Canada through a royalty on one of the largest, high-grade deposits in the world outside of China (where over 80% of tungsten is produced).”
“Elemental Altus will continue to focus primarily on precious metal and base metal royalties; however, this transaction reflects the company’s ability to opportunistically identify and transact on compelling royalties.”
