BHP Group Limited has executed a definitive option and earn-in agreement to acquire a 100% interest in Magma Resources doo, a wholly owned Serbian subsidiary of Elemental Royalty, along with three exploration licenses in the Bor Mining District. Under the deal, BHP will assume control of the Lenovac North, Lenovac South and Durlan Istok projects, which collectively span more than 150 square kilometres of prospective porphyry, epithermal and skarn mineralization along trend from Zijin’s Čukaru Peki and Malka Golaja copper-gold deposits.

To vest its interest, BHP must make an initial cash payment of $200,000 six months after signing, followed by annual payments of $200,000 on each anniversary until completion. In parallel, BHP is required to invest a minimum of $5 million in cumulative exploration expenditures on the three licenses within five years. Upon satisfying these conditions, BHP will hold 100% equity in Magma and the underlying projects.

Elemental Royalty will retain a 2% net smelter return (NSR) royalty on each of the three projects once BHP completes its earn-in. BHP may repurchase up to 0.5% of the NSR in two tranches of 0.25%, each priced at $5 million. The first tranche can be exercised before the eighth anniversary of the agreement, with the second tranche available before the eleventh anniversary. Annual advance royalty payments of $200,000 will continue until commercial production commences.

The Bor Mining District has produced copper continuously for over a century and hosts a cluster of advanced porphyry and epithermal systems. BHP’s deep-sensing geophysical expertise and regional exploration infrastructure are well suited to test near-surface targets in Cretaceous andesites as well as deeper Jurassic and Paleozoic host rocks. Initial work programs are expected to begin in the coming quarter, with drill permits already secured for priority targets on the Lenovac trend extension south of Čukaru Peki.