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(Sharecast News) - Firering Strategic Minerals said on Wednesday that it had increased its stake in Limeco Resources to 41.7% after exercising the fourth tranche of its option, as the Zambian quicklime producer reached operational breakeven and continued to ramp up production.
The AIM-traded, Africa-focused quicklime producer and critical minerals explorer said it had paid $981,667 to acquire a further 5.5% interest in Limeco.
One final tranche remained, giving Firering the right to acquire another 3.3% by 31 July for $1.0m, which would take its total holding to 45.0%.
Firering said the decision reflected Limeco's achievement of operational breakeven, improving production performance, lower unit costs and an expanding customer base across Southern Africa.
Limeco's combined kiln discharge output averaged more than 135 tonnes per day over the first 20 active days of May.
Kiln 2 optimisation has been completed and it is now operating above the initial 80 tonnes-per-day discharge target, while Kiln 1 continues to operate at about 55 tonnes per day.
The company said both kilns achieved record efficiency in May, while syngas production costs per tonne of saleable product had fallen by about 25% compared with previous months, demonstrating continued progress on unit economics.
Modifications to Kilns 3 and 4 are progressing, with commissioning targeted for the third and fourth quarters of 2026 respectively.
Firering said this was expected to substantially increase overall production capacity.
Commercially, Limeco now supplies a diversified portfolio of quicklime, hydrated lime and aggregates to mining, industrial and agricultural customers. Its active customer base spans Zambia, Zimbabwe and Malawi, including a leading copper producer in the Copperbelt.
Firering said Limeco had a confirmed customer order pipeline of about 2,500 tonnes pending dispatch, alongside ongoing discussions on medium- and longer-term supply agreements with mining and industrial customers in the region.
The aggregates business is also contributing incremental revenue, with around 11,625 tonnes crushed in April and 10,071 tonnes crushed so far in May, across 14 active crushing days to 20 May.
Chairman and interim chief executive Youval Rasin said the exercise of the fourth tranche reflected the progress being made at Limeco following the achievement of operational breakeven.
"Production ramp-up continues, unit economics are improving and the customer base is expanding across Zambia, Zimbabwe and Malawi," he said.
"Increasing our shareholding at this stage allows Firering and its shareholders to participate more fully in Limeco's continued growth."
Rasin said the trajectory across operations and commercial activity remained positive, with further kiln capacity expected to come online later this year.
At 1159 BST, shares in Firering Strategic Minerals were down 0.1% at 1.02p.
Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.
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