Pembridge subsidiary Minto gets second advance payment from Sumitomo

Pembridge Resources said on Wednesday that, after the restart of operations on 15 October and first revenue of $3.4m received on 6 November, under the offtake agreement between Sumitomo Canada and Minto Explorations, Minto has received a 90% provisional payment of $3.7m for the copper concentrate produced during the month of November.

The AIM-traded firm said its subsidiary, Minto Explorations, produced 1,793 dry metric tonnes of concentrate during November.

Under the terms of the offtake agreement, an advanced payment was made by Sumitomo to Minto for 90% of the estimated value of concentrate produced at the Minto mine during November, the board confirmed.

It said the final, balancing payment would be paid on delivery to Japan, subject to the quotation period as per the terms of the offtake agreement.

The final invoice would consist of the remaining 10%, plus or minus any commodity price changes to the advanced payments made, less any accrued interest.

Transportation and shipping of the copper concentrate was expected to start early in the first quarter of 2020.

In addition to the copper revenue, the advance payments included precious metals credits, and thus Minto would receive 90% of the revenue from the copper, gold and silver due under the terms of the offtake agreement.

“This payment, for production in November, is the second monthly advance payment made to Minto from Sumitomo, bringing total payments received to over $7.0m since Minto recommenced production seven weeks ago,” said Pembridge chairman and chief executive officer Gati Al-Jebouri.

“It proves the operation's ability to generate steady cash flow as operations ramp up.

“It is the objective of Minto mine management, with oversight from Pembridge, to ensure that production continues to grow while ensuring an efficient and cost-effective operation.”