Pafos Press 30 April 2024
European Green Transition (EGT), a company founded by businessman Cathal Friel in London earlier this month, won an option to buy a copper mining project left over from a Cyprus mine that produced for four decades until 1978.
According to a report in the Irish Times (29/4/24), a company has spent £125,000 (€146,100) to get the option for a so-called scrap copper recycling project, which will give it 12 months to carry out due diligence, she said in a statement on Monday.
The Limni mine, near Poli Chrysochous in western Cyprus, targeted by EGT was filled with waste a decade ago. However, it has focused more recently on the possibility of extracting copper from the pit waters at the mine. EGT chief executive Aidan Lavelle had been involved in an assessment project at the site in 2017.
EGT is also looking at the possibilities of setting up a solar power facility on the site after the waste recycling is complete. If it goes ahead, it would join forces with a solar energy operator, which would finance the development.
This is the first potential project that EGT has announced since the company's recent initial public offering (IPO), in which it raised £6.46 million in fresh capital. The company's focus is on the assets required for the green transition.
The company had a portfolio that included three exploration projects – two in Sweden and one in Germany – for critical metals such as lithium, used in electric vehicle batteries, and rare earth metals such as dysprosium and terbium, used in wind turbines.
"The Lake project fits perfectly with our goal of pursuing what we believe are high-quality opportunities where we can generate potentially short-term cash flow efficiently while prioritizing the environment and local stakeholders," Mr Lavelle said. “In light of shortages and rising prices for the metal, we believe this project is potentially well-positioned to benefit from Europe's green energy transition and the fundamental role that copper will play in the development of wind and transmission infrastructure solar energy".
The recently adopted European Union law on critical raw materials stipulates that at least 15 percent of the annual consumption of critical materials in the EU must come from recycling.
Mr Friel's stake in EGT was reduced to around 19 per cent from nearly 44 per cent as a result of the fundraising, still leaving him as the largest shareholder. The IPO was the fifth such transaction his Raglan Capital business has done in twelve years.
EGT shares have risen 25 per cent to 12.5p since trading opened on April 8, giving it a market value of £17.4m.
Source: sigmalive
