London-based junior miner Kore Potash Plc, which is pursuing projects in the Republic of Congo, reported in May that the Australian Securities Exchange had questioned the company over a “significant increase” in its share price on the ASX, according to Alliance News.
Kore said the increase in price and volume could be linked to market expectations around the completion of engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract proposals for the projects. Kore said it expected to wrap up EPC contract during the second quarter of this year and met with officials from PowerChina International Group Ltd in Beijing last month.
The company cautioned, however, that no legal agreement has been reached with PowerChina though discussions are continuing. According to Alliance News, Kore stressed that it is not aware of any other possible explanation for the recent trading in its securities.
Kore owns 97% of the Kola and DX Potash development projects in the Sintoukola Basin, located in the Republic of Congo. Earlier this year (GM Feb. 9, p. 33), Kore said an initial EPC contract price had aligned with expectations and reconfirmed the capital cost detailed in an earlier optimization study (GM July 1, 2022).
The Kola Project, which is to be designed and constructed as a conventional underground potash mine and processing plant, will have capacity to produce 2.2 million mt/y of granular potash over an initial 31-year life. The granular potash produced will be at a minimum quality of 95.3% KCl in line with international standards.
The capital cost to construct Kola has been put at $1.83 billion, with a construction period of 40 months, according to Kore.