Polymetals Resources has secured key funding for the restart of the historic Endeavor silver mine near Cobar in New South Wales.
The company has been hard at work preparing the mine for restart following promising results positioning the mine for restart in early 2025.
Endeavor boasts a 10 year mine life, with a forecast production of 260,000 tonnes (t) of zinc, 10.6 million ounces of silver and 90,000t of lead.
Following what it described as a “competitive project funding process”, Polymetals has entered a binding financing term sheet and concentrate offtake arrangement with global precious and base metal commodities trader Ocean Partners UK to the tune of $20 million.
“Completion of the project financing and offtake arrangement is the last hurdle in supporting the restart of Endeavor production, remaining on track for first concentrate output and cash flow during H1 2025,” Polymetals executive chair Dave Sproule said.
“Surface and underground refurbishment work is underway, and we very much look forward to realising on the significant Endeavor asset with its substantive remaining ore reserves and exploration potential.”
Sproule said the deal with Ocean Partners secures Endeavor’s path to production.
“The strategic partnership with Ocean Partners builds upon an existing 20-year relationship between us, with Endeavor being a perfect fit for our respective capability and experience,” he said.
“The intent is to build a platform for growth, and the flexibility provided by the Ocean Partners facility allows us to execute this strategy.”
Established in 2004, Ocean Partners provides a complete range of commodity trading services for miners, smelters, refiners and metal consumers.
Endeavor is also being bankrolled by Polymetals’ strategic partner, Metals Acquisition Limited (MAC), which helped fund the initial round of resource drilling at the site.
According to a deal between Polymetals and MAC, the company will further invest in the project now that Polymetals has secured funding from Ocean Partners.
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