China Natural Resources to acquire lithium mine in Zimbabwe

China Natural Resources announced that the company has completed its due diligence investigation with satisfactory results, and will proceed with the acquisition of Williams Minerals Ltd by paying a deposit of $35M by way of promissory notes to Feishang Group Limited and Top Pacific Limited on or about April 21, 2023, pursuant to the definitive sale and purchase agreement that the Company entered into with the Sellers on February 27, 2023. Williams Minerals owns the mining permit for a Zimbabwean lithium mine. Under the Sale and Purchase Agreement, it is expected that the Company will indirectly acquire all interests in Williams Minerals and pay an aggregate of $140M by way of promissory notes and/or cash to the Sellers as an initial installment. Consideration for the Company’s "ownership" (as defined in the Sale and Purchase Agreement) of various regions of the Zimbabwean lithium mine will thereafter be calculated and paid, and such "ownership" will vest, cumulatively, region by region and over time, based on the issuance and results of subsequent independent technical reports, with the maximum consideration contemplated to be $1.75B. The subject of each independent technical report will be the quantity of qualified measured, indicated and inferred sources of lithium oxide proven to be in a discrete region of the mining area. For each region of the lithium mine, until the consideration due for each region based upon the independent technical report has been paid and the company’s "ownership" has vested, the Sellers will maintain legal possession and control, including the right to exploration, sales of lithium, and the revenue derived therefrom, as well as liability for operational costs and third-party claims.