Alara Resources, an Australian minerals exploration company with a portfolio of projects in Saudi Arabia and Oman, said its local units has signed an off-take agreement for the supply of copper concentrate from the Al Hadeetha Project, Washihi Reserve .

As per the agreement signed by Alara Oman Operations Private Limited, the annual concentrate production of 35,000 wmt (wet metric tonnes) will be shipped at regular intervals from the Sohar port.

There also exists the possibility of supplying the material to the Omani smelter in case it restarts. However, the project financial model allows for sea freight and other charges associated with the sale of concentrate from the port at Sohar, said the statement from the company.

After considering offtake proposals from several competing companies, the company entered an agreement with Statdrome, which have over 15 years’ experience in non-ferrous concentrates trading, including copper sales in and out of Oman.

Alara's Omani unit said the agreement also includes a pre-payment of $6 million to assist in funding project construction costs and mine start up.

The funds will be drawn down in instalments during the project construction phase, starting once the mining licence is issued, said the company in a statement.

The agreement forms an important part in financing and development of the mine and processing plant at Washihi, and has been completed in discussion with bank representatives, it added.-TradeArabia News Service