Octava Minerals Raises A$1.8 Million to Acquire Argentine Fluorspar

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On September 28, Australian mining company Octava Minerals announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire a staged interest in the West Sierra Grande fluorspar project in Argentina. The project is located in Sierra Grande, a historic fluorspar mining area in Argentina, covering a total area of approximately 400 square kilometers and encompassing four historic fluorspar mines. Octava has not yet completed the acquisition of 100% of the project; the transaction will proceed in three stages: "option — 70% interest — remaining 30% interest."

Under the transaction arrangements, Octava will first pay US$100,000 in cash and US$200,000 in company shares to obtain a 12-month option to acquire Aybull S.A., the company holding the project. After completing due diligence and satisfying relevant conditions, the company may further pay US$100,000 in cash and US$250,000 in cash or shares to acquire a 70% equity interest in Aybull. The acquisition of the remaining 30% equity interest is directly linked to resource targets.

For Octava to acquire full ownership of the project, it must, within 24 months of obtaining the initial 70% interest, announce a JORC-compliant indicated resource of no less than 500,000 tonnes at an average grade of no less than 30% calcium fluoride (CaF₂). Upon meeting this condition, the company will pay an additional US$300,000 in cash and US$550,000 in cash or shares to complete the acquisition of the remaining 30% equity interest. Historical records show that some old mines in the project area reported grades of 58% to 70% CaF₂, but these data do not comply with current JORC resource reporting standards and have not been independently verified by Octava.

To advance the transaction and subsequent exploration, Octava has secured commitments for a private placement of approximately A$1.8 million, with plans to issue approximately 99 million new shares at A$0.018 per share. The company also intends to implement a securities purchase plan of up to A$500,000 for eligible Australian and New Zealand shareholders. The proceeds will be used for due diligence and geological exploration at the West Sierra Grande project, as well as metallurgical testing and resource drilling at the company's existing Byro critical minerals project.

According to the current plan, the West Sierra Grande project will carry out geological mapping, systematic rock chip sampling, and trench sampling in the fourth quarter of 2026. After the option formally takes effect and satisfactory due diligence is completed, a decision will be made on whether to proceed to the drilling stage based on surface verification results.