Krakatoa Resources Ltd (ASX:KTA) has restructured its acquisition terms for the Zopkhito antimony-gold project in Georgia, shifting the focus away from up-front payments and towards funding exploration and development work on the ground.
The revised deal gives the company a staged pathway to earn up to an 80% interest in the project, while preserving capital for drilling, studies and resource definition as activity ramps up into the 2026 field season.
Under the amended option agreement with JSC Caucasus Minerals, Krakatoa will move from a lump-sum acquisition model to a phased investment structure tied to project advancement milestones, reducing both up-front costs and dilution risk.
Deal reset to drive capital efficiency
The reworked structure allows Krakatoa to deploy capital progressively, aligning investment with technical progress rather than committing significant funds before value is demonstrated.
Key elements of the revised deal include:
- A staged earn-in to 80% ownership, beginning with an initial 30% stake
- Reduced up-front acquisition costs and improved capital flexibility
- Early operational control to direct exploration and development
- A minimum US$2 million exploration commitment, with around US$1.6 million already spent
Krakatoa CEO Mark Major said the changes reflect both internal strategy and broader shifts in global markets, particularly the rising strategic importance of antimony.
“Restructuring the deal to acquire an 80% interest via staged investment in the Zophkito Project is a key milestone for Krakatoa, enabling us to focus our investment on development on the ground, rather than initial acquisition expenses,” he said.
“These changes now position us to create value more efficiently at Zophkito, while maintaining a clear pathway to increased ownership.”
Building towards a JORC resource
The Zopkhito project has a long exploration history, with Soviet-era work and later programs defining a substantial foreign resource estimate, including:
- 225,000 tonnes at 11.6% antimony (26,000 tonnes contained Sb)
- 7.1 million tonnes at 3.7g/t gold (815,119 ounces)
While not yet JORC-compliant, Krakatoa is targeting conversion through ongoing drilling and technical studies.
The company’s 2025 drilling campaign has already validated the historical geological model, intersecting mineralisation across multiple zones and confirming the presence of high-grade antimony veins and associated gold systems.
2026 field program taking shape
With site access work under way and snow melt approaching, Krakatoa is preparing to return to drilling in the coming weeks.
The 2026 program is expected to focus on:
- Targeted resource drilling to expand and define mineralisation
- Metallurgical optimisation test work
- High-level mining studies to support a preliminary economic assessment
- Environmental baseline and permitting activities
The extended field season is aimed at accelerating progress towards a JORC-compliant resource and advancing development options.
Photographs of the excavator clearing the access track to site.
Additional upside across broader licence
Beyond the core Zopkhito deposit, Krakatoa has identified several additional prospects within the licence area through historical data review.
These include:
- Devrushi I and II (copper, lead, zinc)
- Sagebi (tungsten and antimony)
- Kodiani (antimony)
- Edena (antimony and gold)
Some of these targets were previously explored during the Soviet era, with early sampling and historical estimates suggesting further potential upside across the broader project area.
Location of identified prospects within the Zopkhito mining license.
Momentum building at Zopkhito
The combination of a more flexible deal structure, validated drilling results and a fully planned field season positions Krakatoa to push Zopkhito further along the development curve.
With early-stage control of spending and a clear pathway to increased ownership, the company is now directing more of its capital towards defining the scale of the system — and testing whether its historical resource base can be upgraded into a modern, compliant asset.
“It’s an exciting time, and our team is well placed to take the next step at Zophkito further towards the development pathway while utilising all the historical works already in place,” Major said.