Galileo Set to Complete US$3M Sale of Botswana Copper Licences to Sandfire by September 30
Galileo Resources has confirmed that all conditions have been satisfied for the sale of two copper prospecting licences in Botswana’s Kalahari Copper Belt to a subsidiary of Sandfire Resources, with completion expected around September 30, 2026.
The transaction, first announced in June, involves the sale of Galileo’s wholly owned subsidiary Virgo Business Solutions to Metal Capital Exploration, a subsidiary of ASX-listed Sandfire Resources. Sandfire is acting as purchaser guarantor.
The deal provides Galileo with an upfront payment of US$3 million, while the company could receive a further US$20 million to US$80 million in a contingent success payment, depending on the amount of copper contained in a qualifying future ore reserve.
The success payment would be triggered if a first qualifying ore reserve contains at least 400,000 tonnes of copper.
Galileo has stressed that the additional payment is dependent on future exploration success and is therefore not guaranteed.
Virgo holds prospecting licences PL039/2018 and PL040/2018 in Botswana’s Kalahari Copper Belt. Under the agreement, Metal Capital has committed to spend US$4.5 million on exploration across the licences within three years of completion, including drilling and assaying.
Galileo said the transaction would allow it to focus its financial and technical resources on its exploration portfolio in Zambia and Zimbabwe, where the company has a larger concentration of projects and personnel.
The sale also gives Sandfire an opportunity to advance exploration on the Botswana licences, which remain without a defined mineral resource estimate.
Completion of the transaction is now expected on or around September 30, following the satisfaction of the previously agreed conditions.
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