(Alliance News) - Premier African Minerals Ltd on Thursday said it remains in discussions with Canmax Technologies Co Ltd over the Zulu offtake and prepayment deal, but noted nothing has been agreed at this time.

Shares in Premier African fell by 16% to 0.42 pence each in London on Thursday afternoon.

At the end of June, the Zimbabwe-focused tungsten producer had received a purported notice of termination from Canmax for the Zulu lithium project offtake pact, just days after issuing a force majeure notice due to issues at the asset.

A force majeure is a clause that is included in contracts to remove liability for unforeseeable and unavoidable catastrophes that interrupt the expected course of events and prevent participants from fulfilling obligations.

The clause meant that Premier African's offtake and pre-payment agreement with Canmax, including those associated with delivery and any consequences associated with it, had been suspended.

Premier African was advised that the notice of termination could not be served at that time. The notice would force a repayment by Premier African of around USD34.6 million within 90 days.

Canmax is based in Suzhou, China and holds a 13% interest in Premier African.

On Thursday, Premier African on Thursday also noted plant modification progress at Zulu with the installation of ultraviolet sorters, but noted that despite the upgrades, it is unlikely it will resolve the state of the force majeure.

By Sabrina Penty; Alliance News reporter

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