EV Resources Signs First Binding Ore Supply Agreement for Tecomatlán Processing Plant

EV Resources (ASX: EVR) has secured its first five-year binding ore supply agreement for the Tecomatlán plant in Mexico, advancing the refurbished and upgraded facility towards proof-of-concept production.

The agreement has been signed with Lucero Grupo Minero de Puebla SA de CV, which operates the nearby Chinantla antimony mine and previously held a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MoU) with EV for the supply of ore for test work at the plant.

Chinantla ore—which has been the principal third-party feed source for Tecomatlán—has been subject to EV’s metallurgical program, with flotation test work achieving 81.1% antimony recovery and producing a 42.4% antimony concentrate.

EV is also progressing the separate acquisition of an initial 200-tonne high-grade Chinantla stockpile for use as feed for the proof-of-concept campaign.

The aim is to establish the processing of regional antimony ore through Tecomatlán and provide operational and commercial data to support a development strategy.

Regional Processing Hub

Tecomatlán is being developed as a regional processing hub for antimony miners across Puebla, Oaxaca and, Guerrero that have limited access to nearby processing capacity as alternative facilities can be located as far as 1,200 kilometres away, meaning that haulage often absorbs a substantial share of the value of the ore and constrains the mining economics for smaller regional operators.

EV’s strategy provides these miners with a potential local route to market while progressively building a diversified feedstock network around existing processing infrastructure.

Tecomatlán's processing model is designed around the value differential between delivered ore and the antimony concentrate produced through beneficiation.

Under the Chinantla agreement, pricing for individual ore purchases will be determined by reference to the applicable international antimony benchmark, final payable antimony grade, treatment, refining and transportation charges, together with any agreed adjustments for moisture, impurities or penalty elements.

This structure provides EV with a transparent commercial framework under which the price paid for ore reflects prevailing antimony market conditions and contained payable antimony determined through agreed sampling and assay procedures.

First Binding Agreement

Executive chair Shane Menere confirmed it was the first regional feedstock MoU to be converted into a binding agreement under the company’s hub processing strategy.

“This is an important milestone as we are progressively bringing together every component required for the Tecomatlán proof-of-concept campaign—the plant, the processing flowsheet, tested high-grade ore and now our first binding long-term commercial supply relationship,” he said.

“We have already extensively tested Chinantla ore and achieved impressive recoveries, so converting the MoU into a five-year binding commercial relationship is an important step in moving our regional processing model from concept into execution.”

EV’s combined feedstock MoUs represent more than 50% of Tecomatlán's nameplate capacity of 150 tonnes per day.

Alongside its broader third-party regional supply strategy, EV continues to work towards a future proprietary source of antimony supply at its 70%-owned Los Lirios project.