Energy Transition Minerals gets judicial approval to buy Spanish tin-tantalum-niobium mine

• Court approves ETM’s €5.2m acquisition of Spain’s Penouta critical minerals mine
• EU’s only developed tin-tantalum-niobium project was producing until October 2024
• Company seeks to bring mine back into production as soon as possible to unlock benefits for local community

Special Report: Energy Transition Minerals has cleared a key hurdle to its acquisition of the Penouta tin-tantalum-niobium mine in Spain after receiving judicial approval from the relevant insolvency court.

The company’s €5.2m ($9.2m) bid for the project was confirmed as the preferred and successful buyer by the court hearing the insolvency proceedings of Strategic Minerals Spain.

Subject to the execution of a formal deed of sale with the administrator and local Spanish procedures, the decision grants Energy Transition Minerals (ASX:ETM) the European Union’s only developed tin-tantalum-niobium project, which is aligned with the EU’s goal of increasing critical minerals production to secure supply chains.

It also diversifies the company’s portfolio beyond a single asset with litigation risk towards becoming a multi-asset, EU-based critical minerals developer.

Equally important is the provision of a clear and low-risk pathway towards early cashflow from potential offtake and industrial minerals by-products from the Section B concession that remains in good standing.

This concession allows for the reprocessing of tailings while pursuing re-compliance with the Section C Concession, which allows new mining to be carried out, presenting significant upside.

Restarting production is expected to be straightforward given the project includes the Penouta mine and processing plant that was producing tin and tantalum concentrates as recently as October 2024.

That the acquisition cost is well below the €28m cost of historical investment – including processing infrastructure such as the 2Mtpa crushing-grinding-gravity separation processing plant tailored to its polymetallic ore – is icing on the top for ETM.

The acquisition will be funded by the company’s existing cash reserves.

Strategic asset

Managing director Daniel Mamadou-Blanco said the company was pleased by the court’s decision.

“The Penouta mine is a strategic asset for the Galician economy and it is our intention to put it back into production as soon as practicable, and to unlock benefits for the local community,” he added.

“Our next steps are to transfer the head office of our Spain subsidiary to the Galician Community and to connect with the local authorities regarding local access, environmental permitting and staffing.”

While it has a mining history dating back to Roman times, Penouta’s modern history began with an initial development in the early 1900s that saw intermittent production through to the mid-20th century.

The most significant progress during this period was by industrial conglomerate RUMASA from the 1970s to 1983.

During that period, it delivered significant quantities of tin concentrate to European smelters using conventional open-pit methods and gravity processing circuits.

Declining tin prices and operational challenges led to a suspension of primary extraction, leaving behind well-maintained infrastructure and a thoroughly characterised resource base.

Penouta has a non-JORC foreign mineral resource calculated by SRK Consulting in 2021 comprising an indicated and measured resource of 76.3Mt grading 149ppm tantalum pentoxide equivalent (443ppm tin and 73ppm tantalum).

There’s also an inferred resource of 57Mt at 129ppm Ta2O5.

Besides the processing facilities, the project hosts engineered tailings storage facilities and some utility connections while existing roads provide efficient access to the Port of Vigo about 230km away while rail links support bulk concentrate transport to European and international markets.

Four legacy employees of Strategic Minerals, who were identified as being critical to the ongoing operations, will remain to help operate the project.

ETM adds that it remains committed to advancing its world-class Kvanefjeld rare earths project in Greenland.

This article was developed in collaboration with Energy Transition Minerals, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.