Australian junior miner Tyranna Resources announced Tuesday, July 7, that it had agreed to sell its Namibe
lithium project in Angola to China’s Sinomine Resources. The $1.44 million deal expands Sinomine’s presence in Africa’s lithium industry, where it already operates the Bikita mine in Zimbabwe.
The deal is structured as a binding share purchase agreement (SPA) between Tyranna Resources and a Sinomine trading subsidiary. Under the agreement, Tyranna will sell its 90% stake in AM (Mauritius) Limited, the entity that owns the Namibe lithium project.
The acquisition builds on a partnership that began in 2023. At that time, Sinomine committed to funding exploration and development work at the project while securing the option to gradually acquire an ownership stake.
Sinomine’s interest in the project is no coincidence. According to Tyranna Resources, Namibe covers 207 square kilometers and includes a pegmatite field that has been studied for several decades. Pegmatites are geological formations that can host minerals such as spodumene, the main commercial source of lithium, and pollucite, which is used to produce cesium. The Bikita mine in Zimbabwe, Sinomine’s flagship African lithium operation and one of the continent’s largest, is hosted in the same type of geological formation.
Given those geological similarities, acquiring Namibe represents a logical next step for Sinomine, allowing it to oversee the project’s development directly. Exploration remains at an early stage, however. Work to date has focused only on the most accessible pegmatites, several of which have already confirmed the presence of spodumene.
The transaction must still clear several regulatory hurdles before it can be completed. Closing remains subject to Sinomine obtaining the approvals required from Chinese authorities for overseas investments, as well as approval from Tyranna Resources’ shareholders.
The two companies have set Aug. 15 as the deadline for satisfying all conditions precedent. Even after the acquisition closes, the project’s success will depend on continued exploration and development. That work will require sustained investment over several years and remains subject to the geological, technical and commercial risks typical of an early-stage mining project.
