New York fund backs Cloncurry Copper Project, True North Copper

Cloncurry’s True North Copper has attracted a $42 million backing from New York investment firm Nebari Natural Resources Fund.

True North Copper’s tenements sit just south of Cloncurry.

Cloncurry’s True North Copper has attracted a $42 million backing from New York investment firm Nebari Natural Resources Fund.

The four-year, two-tranche USD$28m loan will repay in full a short-term working capital loan, refinance the Mineral and Energy Resources Act rehabilitation bond and pay for capital for an as-yet unapproved mine plan, the ASX was told on Wednesday.

“Nebari Natural Resources Fund are a highly respected and experienced financier of mining projects globally,” True North managing director Marty Costello said.

Refinancing the environmental bond was “the key next step” to restarting the Cloncurry Copper Project, Mr Costello said “at a time where the world’s copper supply is really tightening up and the metal price is rising”.

Nebari managing director Juan Alvarez said the fund was excited about the “long-term” partnership.

Truth North Copper's Cloncurry Copper Project.

The fund, based on New York’s famed Madison Avenue, will receive a little more than 46.3m exercisable warrants for True North shares at $0.1177. At 2.30pm AEST Wednesday, True North was trading at $0.097, up about 9 per cent.

Restarting is contingent on the completion of restart studies, and there is no guarantee available funds or the Nebari money will be enough for all capital and operational requirements, the ASX was told.

The Cloncurry Copper Project encompasses copper, cobalt and gold resources at the company’s Great Australia Mine and Wallace North resource, to the south of Cloncurry’s township.

The company aims to begin metal production at the project, contingent on mine plans expected in the coming months. One new mine plan is needed to ‘restart’ the project as a whole.

Last week True North Copper announced a binding offtake and toll-milling agreement with Glencore for 100 per cent of copper concentrate from the Cloncurry Copper Project, and milling up to one million tonnes of ore per year for the life of the mine.

Nebari has financed and made direct equity investments in multiple Australian and Queensland projects previously.

Originally published as New York fund backs Cloncurry Copper Project, True North Copper