PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Iron-ore junior Waratah Resources on Tuesday told shareholders that it would refocus its priorities and create two new divisions within the company.

Waratah, which recently completed a A$1.7-million capital raising, said it would now have an African iron-ore-focused division and an Australia-focused commodity division.

Following an internal review, the company decided to divest of its assets in the Republic of Congo, which included the Youkou/Mekambo-Est and the Okanabora iron-ore projects.

Instead, the African iron-ore division would focus on the company’s assets in Gabon.

“The Congo is no longer strategically suitable for Waratah and does not align with our new business focus on Gabon,” said MD Ben Kirkpatrick.

He noted that the company had been approached by a number of different parties that were interested in the Congolese assets and was currently engaged in confidential preliminary discussions. A positive outcome was expected by the next quarter.

Meanwhile, Waratah was also in discussions with parties that were interested in its Belinga project, in Gabon, with the company expected to meet with the Mines Ministry during July to outline its strategy.

The company was also in negotiations with various international firms specialising in developing mines and infrastructure solutions in West Africa.

“We remain extremely positive about the potential of our Gabon licences and will be releasing the results of metallurgical tests, including a maiden inferred Joint Ore Reserves Committee-compliant resource, during the next quarter,” Kirkpatrick said.

Meanwhile, the Australian commodities division would focus on the development of the company’s Australian assets. Commodities targeted included iron-ore, thermal and coking coal, copper, nickel and cobalt.

The company was also currently evaluating acquisition opportunities in partnership with project level and strategic end-user clients.

“We are looking to build robust revenue streams for the company by providing our clients, project partners and other potential stakeholders access to commodity exposures over a range of products,” said Kirkpatrick.

“While the broader commodity space is viewed somewhat skeptically by markets, we believe significant opportunities exist for solid value-driven assets to fit with our new business model and resource portfolio.”