Glencore partners up on copper with $40m loan

Glencore will provide a $40m senior loan facility to Cyprium Metals (ASX: CYM) to execute the copper cathode and concentrate offtake agreements.

This new loan completes the refinancing of Cyprium’s near-term maturities. With refinancing completed, the company will now focus on bringing copper products to market.

Cyprium executive chair Matt Fifield says the company’s commercial strategic partnership with Glencore continues to gain momentum.

“First, our offtake agreements for copper products are in final form,” he said.

“We expect to execute them alongside the loan facility in the coming weeks.

“Next, we’ve been working with Glencore to streamline our access to their downstream processing facilities — the Townsville copper refinery and the Mt Isa smelter [in Queensland].

“We have already executed a small sale of off-spec material to work through logistics from Nifty mine site [in WA] to Townsville.

“Finally, we have settled the physical specifications in our concentrate sales terms.

“The Nifty orebody makes a clean concentrate that is low in certain impurities.

“We expect it will be a useful component of blended ore feed at Mt Isa as it becomes available.

A Glencore spokesperson says Cyprium is one of the near-term expected suppliers of Australian copper.

“This is another example of Glencore working with other Australian miners to develop and bring critical minerals and metals to market,” said the spokesperson.