Zambian focused manganese exploration and mining company Kaboko Mining Limited (KAB) is pleased to announce that it has signed a strategic offtake agreement with Sinosteel Australia Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of Chinese conglomerate Sinosteel Corporation, for exports of high quality, high grade lump manganese ore to China. Sinosteel Corporation is one of China’s largest State-owned enterprises and its Australian subsidiary, Sinosteel, has played a key role in investments in Australian resource companies active in bulk commodities. Sinosteel Corporation is China’s current leading importer of manganese ore and a significant importer of iron ore and chrome ore. Under the terms of the binding off-take agreement with Sinosteel, Kaboko has agreed to sell an initial 180,000 tonnes of a minimum 48% manganese ore to Sinosteel on an exclusive basis from the Company’s Zambian manganese projects and priced based on BHP’s reference price (expressed in US$ DMTU (per dry metric ton unit Mn content)), CIF China basis.
Commenting on the signing of the off-take agreement with Sinosteel, Kaboko Executive Director, Mr Jason Brewer, said, “The signing of our first off-take agreement with such a well-known and significant end user is a key milestone for the Company and will significantly underpin our mining and development plans and our debt funding arrangements that we are progressing.” The Company anticipates that production from its Emmanuel and Peco Projects in Zambia will be the primary source of product to be delivered into the offtake agreement with Sinosteel. Resource definition drilling is underway at these projects and further exploration work is ongoing. Detailed mine optimisation studies at the Emmanuel Project continues with additional new mining and beneficiation equipment ordered.
