Polymetals Resources will revive the Endeavour silver–zinc–lead mine near Cobar in New South Wales after taking over the reins from Toro Zinc subsidiary CBH Resources.
The acquisition was a revision of an offer Polymetals first made in 2022 through its subsidiary, Cobar Metals.
Under the original Endeavor share sale agreement, Cobar Metals was not entitled to acquire any of the three CBH subsidiaries that collectively own the Endeavor project until it had procured the release and replacement of the Endeavor mine rehabilitation bond.
The new arrangements provide Polymetals with an additional two years to replace the approximately $28 million bond.
In addition to the extension and 100 per cent ownership of the Endeavor mine, Polymetals will also gain access to 1100 square kilometres of exploration tenements in the Cobar Basin.
Polymetals executive chair Dave Sproule welcomed the completion of the sale, which has been the source of ongoing negotiations.
“This is a major achievement for the company,” he said. “The bond exchange has been a challenging hurdle to overcome in what had been a depressed market over the past 12-months.”
Sproule said Endeavour will be a boon for Cobar, creating over 200 jobs and injecting around $50 million a year into the community.
“This mine life has potential to be increased with exploration success and implementation of value adding treatment options,” he said.
“On completion of the revised agreements and transfer of ownership to Polymetals, we will expedite project funding and the commencement of planned mine restart activities.
“Fortunately, we are moving into an increasing base metal price environment which significantly improves the project’s economics.”
Commissioned in 1983 as the Elura Mine, the site has been operated by CBH since 2003 when it was renamed Endeavor.
Extraction of some 30 million tonnes has been undertaken, with remaining reserves tipped to extend the mine’s life a further 10 years.
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