Arc Minerals Ltd. decided to increase its direct interest in the Zamsort copper-cobalt project in northwest Zambia to 49%.

The company executed a binding agreement to purchase 35% of Terra Metals Ltd.'s stake in Zamsort Ltd. for 102,083,333 shares and one nonexecutive director nominee on its board.

Arc already holds a 14% direct interest and a loan note convertible into an additional 5.34% holding in Zamsort, according to the May 15 release.

The conversion will give the company a 54.34% interest in Zamsort and it has already started discussions with the Zambian competition and consumer protection commission to increase the stake.

Meanwhile, Arc raised £2.5 million by placing 104,166,667 shares at 2.4 British pence per share.

The Zamsort large-scale exploration license hosts a copper-cobalt oxide resource of 16.6 million tonnes at 0.94% copper equivalent.

An under-construction commercial-scale demonstration plant on the project, about 75% complete, is anticipated to start production of copper and cobalt hydroxide cake within six months.

Arc plans to conduct an assessment of historical exploration data and optimize the plant under a new management team.