Troubled nickel miner Panoramic Resources has been placed in the hands of administrators from FTI Consulting after an unsuccessful bid to obtain funding or attract buyers.
Troubled nickel miner Panoramic Resources has been placed in the hands of administrators from FTI Consulting after an unsuccessful bid to obtain funding or attract buyers.
The ASX-listed miner told the market this morning it had voluntarily appointed FTI administrators Daniel Woodhouse, Hayden White and Kate Warwick in response to falling nickel prices.
It comes just a day after fellow nickel miner IGO- who holds an almost 14 per cent stake in Panoramic Resources- revealed it was halting construction on part of its troubled Cosmos nickel mine and would likely record another impairment charge.
Panoramic's move to appoint administrators follows a review it launched to evaluate options for its Savannah nickel project in the Kimbereley, which has previously faced recurring operational challenges.
Options for a sale, joint venture, recapitalisation and other funding options were explored for both the company and its project but ultimately proved fruitless.
“The review was designed to assess the ongoing capital requirements for Panoramic in the context of the current and forecast nickel price environment, evaluating funding options, and seek interest from third parties to submit proposal to Panoramic,” the miner said.
“It engaged Treadstone Partners to both conduct and review and to explore various options for both the company and its Savannah nickel project, including a partial or complete divestment of the asset, joint ventures, recapitalisation and other funding options or partnerships on an expedited basis.
“Unfortunately, that process was unsuccessful in the time available and the company was, therefore, unable to satisfactorily progress any sales, recapitalisation of partnering options to a point where they would provide sufficient financial certainty to the company and its stakeholders.”
IGO obtained its almost 14 per cent stake in Panoramic through its acquisition of Western Areas- which brought together IGO’s Nova nickel mine with Western Areas’ Forrestania project in the Wheatbelt and the Cosmos mine in the Goldfields.
In its ASX statement yesterday, IGO also warned it would likely record another impairment against its Cosmos asset in the first half of FY24 results.
Panoramic’s Savannah project has previously faced challenges and was most recently closed for about a year between 2020 and 2021 due to operational uncertainties, including increased transportation costs and availability of supplies, equipment and personnel.
It was restarted in 2021 following a year-long assessment process to reduce the operating and financial risk and improve profitability of the project.
