Corcel at advanced stage of Brazil mining-oil-gas deals

Corcel plc plans to extend its natural resource exploration and development reach to South America with a focus on Brazil, as part of its revised business strategy.

MULTIPLE DEALS

The company said it had been “actively screening industrial opportunities” for more than 12 months and was at an “advanced stage on multiple transactions across both mining and oil and gas” in the country.

Next week, Corcel is also attending “multiple project vendor meetings” in Brazil.

“The company is uniquely positioned in Brazil given the chairman [James Parsons]’ strong connectivity in country, fluency in Portuguese and deep understanding of the local business culture,” added Corcel in a statement.

Mr Parsons worked in Brazil, among other countries, when he began his career with the Royal Dutch Shell Group.

REVISED STRATEGY

The extension of the company’s portfolio is part of its revised strategy following the restructuring of its corporate debt and disposal of its UK gas peaking asset.

Corcel aims to be a “carried non-operator miner across multiple mineral exploration projects” while progressing its current rare earth elements project in Australia and cobalt-nickel assets in Papua New Guinea. The company also holds 50% of a nickel-vanadium project in Yukon, Canada.

“The company plans to continue to selectively acquire upstream battery metal positions where it finds the right combination of solid technical fundamentals, potentially transformational upside, low upfront entry cost and strong opportunities for back-to-back farm outs of an asset; ultimately resulting in a carried position with little or no ongoing cost to the company, added Corcel in a statement.

During Q1, Corcel will also review its staff structure to reflect the broadening of its interests and “evolving technical requirements”.

LISTING

A potential repurposing of the company’s listing is also being considered as it explores “various potentially transformational transactions in other sectors”.

“The company will continue to consider these as they originate, focused on providing access to capital through a listing to existing revenue and cash generating businesses.”

Corcel added that there was as yet no certainty of any transaction completing.