China’s JCHX takes stake in Cordoba Minerals

Cordoba Minerals (TSXV: CDB) says a strategic investment from China’s JCHX Mining Management, which specializes in underground mine development and construction, should close before the end of January.

JCHX is currently completing underground development work in the Democratic Republic of Congo at the Kamoa-Kakula copper project, which is jointly operated by Ivanhoe Mines (TSX: IVN; US-OTC: IVPAF) and China’s Zijin Mining Group.

The Chinese company, which also does contract mining and R&D on mining technologies, agreed late last year to take a 19.9% stake in Cordoba to advance the Canadian company’s San Matias copper-gold-silver project in Colombia.

HPX, a privately owned U.S. corporation led by CEO and Chairman Robert Friedland, will remain Cordoba’s majority shareholder with 60% of the project.

Under an agreement signed in mid-November 2019, JCHX will acquire 91.4 million common shares of Cordoba through a private placement at a price of 12¢ per share, for gross proceeds of $11 million.

JCHX will be entitled to nominate one person to Cordoba’s board of directors based on its 19.9% stake in the company and will be entitled to appoint other nominees up to a maximum of 20% of the board seats based on its shareholding.

The Chinese company will also be granted anti-dilution rights to allow it to maintain its ownership interest and have a right of first offer to be appointed the engineering procurement construction (EPC) contractor in connection with any future mining development at San Matias. It will also have a right of first offer in respect of any sale of an equity interest in the project.

Cordoba plans to use the funds to complete work necessary to secure mining approvals for the project.

San Matias, 200 km north of Medellin, includes the Alacran deposit and satellite deposits (Monteil East, Montiel West and Cosa Azul).

Cordoba acquired 100% of San Matias from HPX in July 2017, in exchange for a 67% ownership stake in the company.

The company also has a 35% interest in Bell Copper’s (TSXV: BCU) Perseverance porphyry copper project in Arizona.

Cordoba is trading at 11¢ per share within a 52-week trading range of 4¢ and 14.5¢.

The junior has 366 million common shares outstanding for a $40.2-million market capitalization.