Doha – Critical Mineral Resources (CMR) has signed a formal joint venture agreement to earn a 60% interest in a copper-silver project in central Morocco, backed by a £1.33 million investment to accelerate development, the London-listed company announced on Friday.
The deal gives CMR rights to a shallow sedimentary-hosted copper deposit, which the board believes has the potential to become “a significant new discovery,” according to a company statement.
The project has an initial exploration target of 150,000 to 200,000 tons of contained copper at 1.2% copper equivalent. Preparations for drilling are already underway, with a diamond drill rig acquired and scheduled for shipment from Canada next week. Drilling is expected to begin in the third quarter of 2025.
Of the £1.33 million investment, £825,000 has been provided as equity through the issue of 56.9 million new shares at 1.45 pence each. The remaining £500,000 was supplied as a convertible loan with 5% interest, also convertible at 1.45p.
The project benefits from existing development work, including trenching, scout drilling, metallurgical test work, and a feasibility study. A 1,000-ton-per-day copper flotation plant is planned as part of a fast-tracked “initial mine” strategy, running in parallel with further resource delineation.
CMR stressed that the deposit’s shallow depth, estimated at 50 meters, and proximity to infrastructure such as roads, grid power, and water should reduce development and operational costs.
Russell Tucker, newly appointed to CMR’s board as a non-executive director, said: “The deposit’s characteristics are consistent with other long-life, low-cost copper operations. There is excellent potential to power the mine with renewable energy, particularly solar.”
“Whilst we have optioned, promoted, explored and been genuinely excited by two or three other copper-silver projects during this period, our key target has always been this. And by some margin,” Chief Executive Officer Charlie Long added.
Read also: UK Mining Firm CMR Acquires High-Grade Silver, Copper Project in Morocco
This latest agreement follows CMR’s earlier funding success in March, when the company secured a £2.5 million investment from Gilini Holdings to finance its activities in Morocco.
At that time, the company received a first payment of £425,000, with a second payment of £1.325 million expected in the second quarter of 2025, and a third payment of £750,000 planned for the first quarter of 2026.
Morocco harbors vast untapped reserves of critical minerals that form the backbone of tomorrow’s clean energy revolution.
According to a recent academic study, the country boasts substantial reserves of materials needed for lithium-ion batteries, including phosphates (30 million metric tons), manganese (1.5 million metric tons), cobalt and nickel (45 million metric tons), and copper (5 million metric tons).
The North African country is also exploring its potential for rare earth elements. The Office of Hydrocarbons and Mines (ONHYM) has been intensifying exploration efforts, with 44 projects conducted in 2024 covering strategic and critical materials across Morocco’s most promising zones.
ONHYM’s exploration work has revealed three main types of rare earth deposits: carbonated deposits with high concentrations of niobium, uranium and rare earths; pegmatites with rare earth concentrations reaching up to 4.6%; and sedimentary deposits with promising but still under-evaluated potential.
Shares in Critical Mineral Resources rose 13% to 1.30 pence in London on Friday morning following the announcement of the new joint venture.
