Ann: Change in substantial holding - Wyloo, page-9

https://thewest.com.au/business/min...-continues-talks-with-western-areas-c-4872070

Twiggy lurks as IGO continues talks with Western Areas

Stuart McKinnonThe West Australian
Wed, 8 December 2021 9:38PMComments
Stuart McKinnon


Andrew Forrest. Credit: DC/AAPIMAGE

Andrew Forrest is positioning himself as a player in IGO’s proposed takeover of Western Areas.

On Wednesday, a change in substantial holder interests notice revealed the WA mining entrepreneur’s Wyloo Metals has upped its stake in the nickel miner from 5.28 per cent to 6.29 per cent.

The notice showed Wyloo had spend $9.6 million buying shares in Western Areas over the past week.

The buying comes after IGO revealed on Tuesday that discussions with Western Areas and due diligence over its assets and books were continuing.
However the company noted there was no certainty that a definitive transaction would result once the period of diligence was complete.
Progress on a takeover has moved at a glacial pace since Western Areas revealed it was in preliminary discussions with IGO in August.

Mr Forrest’s intentions are unclear but it seems unlikely the billionaire is eyeing his growing stake in Western Areas as merely a passive investment.
Wyloo already holds 15 per cent of WA nickel explorer Mincor and a 12 per cent stake in Poseidon.
The privately-owned Forrest entity has also been crossing swords with mining giant BHP over the control of aspiring Canadian nickel miner Noront Resources.

While Western Areas’ existing Forrestania operation is approaching the end of its life, IGO is eyeing the company’s proposed Odysseus underground project at the Cosmos nickel complex near Leinster as a replacement for its flagship Nova mine which depletes in about five years.
Odysseus offers a 10-year minelife at a time when nickel prices are expected to benefit from the commodity’s growing use in the batteries that power electric vehicles.

IGO needs more minelife to justify a move into downstream processing.