Corcel joint venture refused mining lease in Papua New Guinea
Shares in oil, gas and battery metals small cap tanked on Wednesday after the company announced that the Papua New Guinea government refused to grant a direct shipping ore mining lease for its part-owned Mambare nickel-cobalt project.
Corcel said that its the Ministry of Mining had notified the joint venture that it was currently not prepared to grant the lease and that it has 30 days in which to appeal the decision. The joint venture has been working on the application of the licence since March 2022.
"The company has not been informed by [operator] BMA nor the authorities in PNG of any subsequent developments on these matters following this period of appeal," Corcel said.
Separately, the company said it was pushing forward with the sale of its 41% interest in Mambare after its partner in the project, Battery Metals Australasia, failed to exercise its pre-emption rights following an offer from International Battery Metals last October.
As such, Corcel and International Battery Metals have been legally advised to move forward with completion of the sale.
The stock was down 15% at 0.17p by 1009 BST.
Disclaimer & Declaration of Interest
The information, investment views and recommendations in this article are provided for general information purposes only. Nothing in this article should be construed as a solicitation to buy or sell any financial product relating to any companies under discussion or to engage in or refrain from doing so or engaging in any other transaction. Any opinions or comments are made to the best of the knowledge and belief of the writer but no responsibility is accepted for actions based on such opinions or comments. Vox Markets may receive payment from companies mentioned for enhanced profiling or publication presence. The writer may or may not hold investments in the companies under discussion.