Medallion Resources Ltd has announced important progress by ACDC Metals Pty Ltd, a privately held Australian company that is planning to develop heavy mineral sand projects in southeastern Australia.
In an update, the company said ACDC has informed it that it is preparing documentation necessary to file for an initial public offering (IPO) on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX). Subject to regulatory approval, it said ACDC anticipates completing the IPO in the second half of 2022.
Medallion reminded investors that under a non-binding letter of intent (LOI), signed last July, it agreed to license its proprietary Medallion Monazite Process (MMP) to ACDC to extract rare earth elements (REE) from monazite byproduct from ACDC's projects and other third-party sources in southeastern Australia.
READ: Medallion Resources poised to partner with Australian company ACDC to bring its rare earth separation technology to the Murray Basin
Medallion said the two companies are currently negotiating a definitive licensing and royalty agreement under which ACDC plans to build a monazite processing hub using MMP. It said it expects to receive milestone payments as ACDC advances the facility and long-term royalty fees from operations.
Additionally, ACDC has secured rights to acquire three extensively drilled heavy mineral sand properties and one early-stage exploration project in Victoria, Australia. Since historic drilling at the three advanced projects was not conducted to National Instrument 43-101 or equivalent JORC Code standards, Medallion said one of ACDC's initial objectives is to bring those projects into JORC compliance.
The company noted that ACDC has raised more than A$600,000 (C$530,000) in seed funding to secure rights to the four heavy mineral sand projects, complete the IPO and for general working capital.
Medallion said it received founders' stock and participated in a private placement in December 2021. It holds approximately 14% of currently issued capital, and has the right to contribute up to 20% of IPO funding, the company added.
"ACDC has made excellent progress to finalize multiple mineral sand acquisitions, raise seed capital, and prepare for ASX listing," Medallion president and CEO Mark Saxon said in a statement. "Through its early support, Medallion is positioned to not only benefit from the uplift in ACDC's valuation through the IPO process, but also start receiving milestone payments and royalties as ACDC advances its projects."
Medallion is actively identifying key emerging technologies that can unlock bottlenecks within the supply of raw materials critical for the clean energy transition.
It also aims to produce REE by exploiting monazite, which is widely available as a by-product from mining mineral sands.
Notably, the Medallion process does not need mining to produce the rare earths and uses a high-grade by-product that typically goes to waste (monazite) and a design practice that maximizes energy and reagent re-use and produces zero liquid waste output.
Contact the author at stephen.gunnion@proactiveinvestors.com