Bumi to sell 51% stake in Dairi Prima to Chinese firm

By Romel S. Gurky

Courtesy of BRMS

IDX-listed mining firm PT Bumi Resources Minerals Tbk (BRMS) said on Tuesday its subsidiary Gain and Win Pte Ltd had on April 29 signed a share purchase agreement (SPA) with China Nonferrous Metal Industry's Foreign Engineering & Construction Co. Ltd. (NFC) for the sale of 51 percent shares in PT Dairi Prima Mineral (DPM) to the latter.

BRMS said in a statement that the sale of the 51 percent stake in DPM will be effective once approvals among others from DPM shareholders, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Investment Coordinating Board, and Ministry of Law and Human Rights have been obtained.

?The sale of 51 percent shares in DPM will increase the overall performance of the group. Through the sale of the shares, DPM will also have opportunity to obtain fresh funds with better debt terms to develop its project,? BRMS said, but did not provide further details.

BRMS owns 80 percent shares in DPM, which operates a zinc and lead mine project in North Sumatra. According to BRMS website, DPM has total JORC reserves of 11 million tons (based on 2010 and 2011 estimates) in Anjing Hitam and Lae Jahe sites, which translates to a mine life of 15 years, and resources of 25 million tons from Anjing Hitam, Lae Jahe, and Base Camp sites. The concession has one of the highest grades of zinc deposits in the world (11.5% Zn; 6.8% Pb; 7.5 Ag g/t).

DPM entered into an Agreement of Strategic Cooperation NFC in October 2013. This was followed by the signing of an Engineering, Procurement and Construction Contract in April 2014 to develop and monetize zinc and lead reserves in Anjing Hitam.

This portal previously reported that DPM is targeted to start production in 2019.

Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak