Kupang signs JOA for manganese stockpiling, export

By Peni Pedriawan

ASX-listed Kupang Resources Ltd said that the Kupang Joint Venture (in which the company holds a 55% interest) has received the final signed Joint Operation Agreement (JOA) for access to the port facilities for the export of manganese by direct ship loading from the wharf.

The Joint Venture?s ship loading equipment can utilize the facilities to export in the region of 80,000t/month of processed Manganese oxide from the deep water Tenau port in Kupang on the island of Timor in Indonesia, the company said in a statement obtained Wednesday.

It added the Kupang Joint Venture is in the final stages of obtaining permitting and approval from the relevant authority to finalize the commissioning and initiate operation of its acquired process plant.

The Joint Venture owns production license and the third party supply of 30,000 tons locally mined raw manganese under the previously announced Manganese Society supply agreement, which will allow the production of approximately 30,000 tons per month of processed manganese oxide lump. This production will be blended to target a greater than 80 percent pure Manganese oxide product for sale into the global manganese market suitable for a high grade blending agent for the Ferro and Silico Manganese smelting industries and has the purity for potential sale directly into the expanding manganese battery market, the company explained.

The Joint Operation Agreement allows for 5 days priority loading to a shared wharf at the deep water Tenau port in the Kupang harbor. This facility, which can accept vessels up to the Handimax 45,000t size, is provided to the Kupang Joint Venture for the period during which a permanent manganese only export facility is being constructed at the port adjacent to the Kupang Port manganese stockpiling facility. Once constructed, the Joint Venture?s manganese loading operation will move to the new facility freeing up the general cargo wharf.

The execution of the Joint Operation Agreement will allow the Joint Venture to transition from a junior manganese explorer to producer with the potential to generate steady cash flow and expand its exploration activities in an exciting manganese region close to an expanding market. This opportunity allows the Joint Venture, which is controlled by the Company via its majority Joint Venture interest, to access stockpiled manganese on the island from third party miners who have been unable to export to date due to a lack of resources or necessary regulatory agreements or permits, the company said.

The execution of the agreement provides the Joint Venture with the opportunity to engage with the wider Kupang manganese mining and processing industry which may offer potential further future value to Kupang shareholders, it added.

Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak