Australia-based miner Macro Metals Limited has announced that it has signed a nonbinding term sheet to sell KCM Mining Limited, the owner of the Agbaja iron ore project in Nigeria's Kogi State, to China-backed RSIN Nigeria Limited for $5.67 million.
Macro Metals expects net proceeds of approximately A$5.1 million after transaction costs, with about A$4.6 million to be received upon completion. The parties aim to sign a definitive share sale agreement within 20 business days.
Completion remains subject to the buyer's due diligence, confirmation of KCM Mining's licences and metallurgical technology rights, and regulatory approvals in Nigeria and China. The existing development agreement with the Agbaja community must also be extended until at least December 2031.
Located about 200 km southwest of the Nigerian capital Abuja, Agbaja has mineral resources of 586.3 million mt grading 41.3 percent Fe and a probable ore reserve of 205 million mt grading 45.7 percent Fe. Macro Metals, formerly known as Kogi Iron, has spent more than a decade advancing the project through drilling, feasibility studies, environmental assessments, trial mining and metallurgical research aimed at reducing the ore's phosphorus content.
A 2022 scoping study envisaged an integrated open-pit mine and steelmaking facility with an annual mining rate of 1.7 million mt and steel billet production capacity of 500,000 mt. The project was designed with an initial mine life of 25 years and an estimated capital requirement of $557 million. Its billet output was primarily intended to replace imports in the Nigerian market.
If the transaction is completed, Macro Metals plans to use the proceeds to advance its resource projects and expand its mining services operations in Western Australia without raising additional equity.
