Regency Mines granted option to buy 80% of Carbon Minerals Corporation

US Carbon Resolutions Corporation (CMC), the owner of the Alabama-based Rosa Mine, has given Regency Mines, the natural resource exploration and development company, an option to buy the 80% of Carbon Minerals Corporation not already owned by Regency, it emerged on Friday.

Regency paid for the option via a refundable advance of £34,800.

Following that, the company would have a period of sixty days in which to carry out a comprehensive due diligence on CMC and the Rosa Mine.

Andrew Bell, chairman, commented: "Progress at Rosa to date has been unsatisfactory and our hopes for early cashflow from our initial investment have not been met. This additional purchase would allow our partners to continue their focus on other assets and by allowing us to take operational control could enable us to advance the Rosa Mine and take advantage of high prices for specialist and metallurgical coal. It would be expensive to replicate the wash plant facilities, and our inquiries to date indicate that there is no other comparable facility nearby, so that we expect there to be a market for washing coal, besides the known potential for mining a high value metallurgical coal product."