Xanadu Mines and Zijin Mining Group have entered a strategic partnership to progress the former’s flagship Kharmagtai copper-gold project in Mongolia through its next phase of evaluation and development.

Under the agreement, staged investment by the Chinese miner will inject up to A$11 million into Xanadu and up to a further US$35 million into the Kharmagtai project. The final stage of the partnership will involve Zijnin and Xanadu establishing a 50/50 JV in Khuiten Metals Pte. Ltd., which owns 76.5% of the Kharmagtai project. Minority holders Ganbayar Lkhagvasuren (an executive director at Xanadu) and QGX Ltd. own 13.5% and 10.0% of the project, respectively.

“We are delighted to have attracted Zijin, a global top 10 copper producer and highly capable mine developer as our partner, and we look forward to finalising negotiations to move Kharmagtai forward and realise its potential on an accelerated path,” said Xanadu Executive Chairman and Managing Director Colin Moorhead.

“This partnership is a good outcome for our shareholders, for Mongolia and for a world looking to fill a global copper supply gap.”

Kharmagtai is located in the South Gobi region of Mongolia and has a mineral resource estimate of 1.1 billion tonnes, containing 3 million tonnes of copper and 8 million ounces of gold.

Source: Xanadu Mines