Arc Minerals exclusivity agreement with Anglo American lapses

Arc Minerals announced on Friday that the exclusivity agreement with Anglo American, signed on 13 July 2020, had now lapsed.

The AIM-traded firm did say discussions with the FTSE 100 mining giant had been positive, however, and were continuing.

Against a backdrop of “very strong” copper fundamentals, the company said it had been approached by a number of interested groups to start discussions regarding a potential commercial transaction.

“As we have always said, any transaction has to sufficiently compensate Arc shareholders for allowing a major to take over an asset which we believe has significant potential to become a major tier-one copper discovery,” said chairman Nick von Schirnding.

“We will continue our discussions with Anglo American, which have been going well, but will also commence discussions with other major mining companies that have approached us.

“In the meantime, we continue with our very exciting drill programme and development of the Cheyeza East plant, against the backdrop of a very strong copper market.”

At 0943 BST, shares in Arc Minerals were down 10.99% at 4.45p.