London-listed Critical Mineral Resources (CMR) has signed a formal agreement with an unnamed partner to earn into a high-quality copper/silver project, in central Morocco.

The company says it has now signed the formal joint venture (JV) agreement, under which it will earn a 60% interest in a sedimentary-hosted copper deposit upon delivery of agreed milestones.

Based on current information, the company says its board strongly believes the sedimentary-hosted copper deposit will develop into a significant new discovery.

CMR explains that the current owner and new JV partner has previously undertaken trenching, scout drilling and resource modelling work on one part of the project, lowering the project's level of exploration risk.

The company says development work completed by the JV partner also supports a fast-track approach.

Completed works include metallurgical testwork showing copper and silver recoveries of 80% and 61%, respectively; a submitted environmental-impact assessment and feasibility study; and secured land access rights.

The company has received a turnkey estimate for a 750 t/d copper flotation plant.

CMR says drilling is expected to start during the third quarter of this year.

It notes that sufficient exploration data and development work on the project is expected to fast-track production and move straight into confirmatory drilling and a feasibility study.

Additionally, the company is fast-tracking development of a 1 000 t/d copper flotation operation – the initial mine.

CMR says the parallel campaign aims to delineate a large-scale strategic resource, while the initial exploration target is 150 000 t to 200 000 t of contained copper at 1.2% copper equivalent.

Combining the development works with the existing resource modelling – undertaken by one of Morocco's leading resource geologists – and a low strip openpit and shallow underground mining scenario, means the company's board considers that the project is well positioned to be taken into production in the short term.

The company notes that the initial mine is strategically expected to benefit the JV and CMR through positive free cash flow; cash generation to support the development of a larger operation; and the pursuit of a parallel strategy – production while building a strategic-sized resource.

"CMR has been working towards signing this agreement since I first visited the project two years ago. While we have optioned, promoted, explored and been genuinely excited by two or three other copper/silver projects during this period, our key target has always been this,” says CMR CEO Charlie Long.

“And by some margin. The investment, underpinned by the opinion of the anchor investor's independent mining expert, points to the quality of the project and its overall potential.

“Their investment represents validation of the quality of the deposit and its potential scale. We will provide more details shortly and take this opportunity to thank CMR shareholders for their patience,” he continues.

Meanwhile, CMR has appointed Russell Tucker as a nonexecutive director of the company, with effect from May 27.

The company notes that Tucker brings over ten years of experience in mining investment and corporate finance, having held senior roles in private equity and investment groups.

"I'm honoured to be joining the board of CMR at such a pivotal point. Copper remains a fundamental input in the global economy, energy transition and electrification thematic,” says Tucker.

He expresses that the company’s due diligence process has validated not only the geological potential of this asset, but also the scalability and capital efficiency of the planned development route.

Tucker says the deposit's characteristics are consistent with other long-life, low-cost copper operations, and offer optionality in terms of early production, resource expansion and maybe even downstream processing.

“There is also excellent potential to power the mine with renewable energy, particularly solar. From a strategic standpoint, the asset aligns well with our investment thesis – anchoring value in stable jurisdictions with high-impact upside and an early pathway to cash flow”.

Tucker points out that Morocco is rapidly emerging as “Africa's premier mining jurisdiction”, underpinned by transparent regulation, strong trade ties with the EU, the UK and the US, and a proven record of enabling world-class developments across a range of industry sectors.

“Morocco is poised to become a continental leader across the critical minerals value chain, with potential for large-scale discoveries and significant mine production, including of copper.

“I'm very excited to work with the CMR team to develop their strategic vision, helping the board with execution and unlocking shareholder value,” says Tucker.

Additionally, in line with the company's announcement of March 10, CMR has now received the second tranche investment of £1.33-million from Gilini Holdings.

Of this, £825 000 is invested as equity consisting of 56.9-million new ordinary shares, which the company has agreed to issue at 1.45p a share.

The balance of £500 000 has been invested through a loan instrument, convertible at 1.45p and with 5% accruing interest.

As previously reported in Mining Weekly, CMR signed an investment agreement with Gilini Holdings for the provision of £2.5-million in funding to be used for project acquisitions, expanding CMR’s commodities trading venture, working on the existing portfolio and general working capital.