KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 25): Mining firm OM Holdings Ltd has raised its stake in Bryah Basin Manganese Joint Venture (BBMJV) to 51% — from 40% previously — following its unit’s completion of a further A$500,000 (about RM1.51 million) investment in the JV it co-owns with Bryah Resources Ltd.

In a bourse filing with both Bursa Malaysia and the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), OM Holdings announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary OM (Manganese) Ltd (OMM) completed stage two — Tranche 4 (A$500,000) — funding of the JV agreement.

“Bryah advises that OMM has completed its funding requirement under Tranche 4 of the JV agreement to earn 51% interest in BBMJV.

“The completion of stage 2/Tranche 4 brings the total funding for the JV to A$3 million (about RM9.06 million),” the filing read.

The filing stated that OMM funding of BBMJV has supported exploration efforts to find significant manganese in the Bryah Basin.

“A summary of the work completed to date shows the exploration activities to discover near surface mineralisation, together with beneficiation and metallurgical testwork to support the path to production.

“Exploration for the next stage will commence in early March with further reverse circulation (RC) drilling,” it added.

The filing noted that with OMM earning its 60% JV interest, Bryah may elect not to contribute project expenditure, diluting from 40% to 30% JV interest by OMM funding the A$2.5 million of project expenditure.

“The aim of the JV is to explore for commercially mineable manganese and carry out feasibility studies. If a positive feasibility study is supported by a decision to mine, then OMM and Bryah may elect to participate in a mining JV in proportion to their JV interest or convert to a royalty,” it added.

Bryah chief executive officer Ashley Jones said OMM’s 51% milestone reflects its desire to get the Bryah Basin former manganese mining centre back into production.

“The JV committee and Bryah exploration team have been very successful in their exploration efforts to date and believe that there is significant potential to identify sufficient resources to support the commencement of high-grade manganese mining operations in the near future,” he added.

OM Holdings’ share price gained nine sen or 3.20% to close at RM2.90, giving the group a market capitalisation of RM2.05 billion.