Midnight Sun Mining Corp. moved to consolidate its ownership of the Solwezi copper exploration licenses in Zambia.

The company, which holds a 60% interest in the licenses, agreed to acquire the remaining 40% stake from joint venture partner Kam Chuen Resource Holdings Inc. for a total of C$30 million in staged payments over a four-year period.

Kam Chuen will also retain a 2% net smelter return royalty on the licenses, according to a Feb. 20 release.

Midnight Sun President and CEO Brett Richards said the company can execute on its work programs in 2018 and 2019 by controlling all aspects of the project.

The licenses cover over 506 square kilometers of surface area.