Vast Resources shares take hit as Mercuria deal suffers delay

Mining company Vast Resources’ shares dropped over 7% Friday after announcing that it will give Mercuria Energy Group a further two weeks to finalise its pre-payment offtake.

The offtake offer’s completion has been delayed due to diligence from Mercuria and is for 100% of the copper and zinc concentrate produced at the Manaila and Baita Plai polymetallic mine projects in Romania.

Andrew Prelea, chief executive of Vast Resources, said: "We have spent considerable time and resources with the team at Mercuria and we welcome their rigorous diligence and procedures. Whilst acknowledging this modest delay, we appreciate and are more than happy to spend the time to complete the transaction to their satisfaction. A short delay will be more than compensated in the long term by their strategic support."

The two companies had also discussed Vast’s $1.7m bridging loan with the intention of securing a two-week extension to the repayment date of 9 March.

A statement from Vast Resources said: "The Company awaits written confirmation from SSGI and will duly update shareholders with the expectation that they will revert as soon as possible given the current delays."

As of 1056 GMT, Vast Resources’ shares were down 7.32% at 0.57p.