Aard Metals puts Warrego iron ore project up for sale

AARD Metals is seeking a buyer for its flagship Warrego project in NT, according to an investment teaser.

IRON ore explorer and developer Aard Metals is seeking a buyer for its flagship Warrego project in Australia's Northern Territory, according to an investment teaser seen by The Wall Street Journal.

The project, which has a resource of 7.8 million tonnes of iron ore tailings, with 2.9 million tonnes of magnetite, as well as smaller amounts of gold and copper, is nearing its production phase, according to the flyer.

Warrego could fetch up to $20 million, said a person familiar with the matter.

The project's off-take agreements with Weisteel International Ltd., the investment arm of Weifang Iron and Steel Co, can be terminated if potential buyers want to secure the offtake, the flyer says.

Aard Metals was contemplating listing on the Australian Securities Exchange in 2012 but cancelled those plans amid a steep drop in the iron ore price and negative investor sentiment towards junior resources companies.

The iron ore price has rallied more than 30 per cent in the past 12 months to around $134 a tonne due to stabilising demand from the world's biggest user of the commodity, China.

Aura Capital, which was mandated on the potential IPO, is advising on the Warrego sale process.