Altus Strategies jumps after forking over Cameroon licences

Altus Strategies climbed on Monday after the company terminated its joint-venture, Aucam Resources, selling its stake in mining licenses in Cameroon to joint-venture partner Canyon Resources.

In exchange for the Birsok and Mandoum licences, which cover the "potentially substantial" Minim Martap bauxite deposit in Central Cameroon, Altus Strategies will receive up to 30m Canyon shares with a current value of C$5.8m (£3.4m).

Steven Poulton, chief executive of Altus, said: "We are delighted to reach this deal with Canyon which is designed to monetise our bauxite projects in Cameroon. The deal will generate a significant additional shareholding for the Company in ASX listed Canyon."

The deal also ensures that the AIM traded company will receive a US$1.50 per tonne "life of mine" royalty on bauxite ore mined and sold from the project, while the under US$0.125m that Altus has spent on the project has been repaid in cash by Canyon.

A JORC compliant resource estimate for the Minim Martap project of 550m tonnes at an average grade of 45.5% total aluminium oxide has been announced by Canyon.

"This series of transactions showcases the strategic value of our Africa focused and counter-cyclical project generator business model," said Poulton.

A statement from analysts at SP Angel said: "The finalisation of the deal allows to monetise bauxite assets in the Altus portfolio while also retaining exposure through a lifetime royalty should licenses get incorporated into the future mining plan at Minim Martap. The sale reflects an attractive investment return for Altus given that the company spent only $125k on generating the project prior to the JV while Canyon covered all of the following exploration expenses."

Altus Strategies' shares were up 5.42% at 3.11p at 1236 GMT.