Australian miner sells nickel tenements for $1.55 million

Norwood-based Minotaur Exploration (ASX: MEP) announced today that it has signed a binding agreement with a company interested in buying its nickel tenements E36/899, E37/909 and E36/936 located south-east of Leinster in Western Australia.

A corporate a press release reveals that, under the terms of the Tenement Sale Agreement, the exploration company should receive A$50,000 in cash and paid upfront, shares in the new nickel vehicle to the value of A$1 million, and A$500,000 in cash payable upon mining within the Leinster tenements. In other words, Minotaur will retain its exposure to discovery potential through equity in the to-be-listed acquisition entity.

According to the miner's website, the Leinster Nickel Project is located in granites and greenstones of the Achaean Kalgoorlie Terrane and its tenements host known deposits of nickel sulphides and gold mineralization.

Minotaur says that the sale will allow management to focus its regional attention on the Saints nickel resource, 65 kilometres northwest of Kalgoorlie, where an in-fill EM survey has just concluded.

Although nickel has been gaining momentum since it is needed to make lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles, a BMI report says refined nickel prices will go down in the coming months because, in its researchers' view, EV production expectations are overly optimistic while, at the same time, Indonesia is oversupplying the market and China's demand has subdued.