Rapid Critical Metals (ASX:RCM) has acquired the Webbs Consol Silver Project from Lode Resources (ASX:LDR) for $9.845 million.
Lode has received $3 million in cash from Rapid with a further $750,000 cash payment to be made by Rapid to Lode in 12 months’ time.
Lode also now holds a 2% net smelter return (NSR) royalty over the Webbs Consol silver deposit (in addition to a 2% NSR royalty already held in Rapid’s Webbs silver deposit).
The acquisition comprises exploration licences EL 8933 and EL 9454, ‘building mass’ to the company’s already held Webbs and Conrad deposits.
Located in the New England Ford Belt, the Webbs Consol Project contains a “district-scale” silver corridor, proximal to existing infrastructure.
The companies signed a sale and purchase agreement in September 2025. Rapid will pay Lode $3 million and will issue 115 million shares upon completion, with an additional $750,000 payment after 12 months, as reported by Mining.com.au.
Shares were issued at $0.053 valued at $6.1 million. Shares will be held in voluntary escrow for 12 months.
Rapid will be eligible to purchase back Lode’s 2% NSR royalty for a cash payment of $2 million.
Managing Director Byron Miles says the completion of this acquisition builds on the company’s silver-focused strategy in New South Wales.
“We have now secured a contiguous silver corridor with outstanding geological prospectivity and opened up exciting potential for new discoveries in the area,” Miles says.
“With a prospective portfolio of assets and a team focused on execution and delivery, we are well placed to accelerate exploration and development activities to create long-term value for our shareholders.”
Lode Executive Chairman Andrew van Heyst says the capital received from this divestment will be deployed to advancing the Montezuma Project in Tasmania and Magwood Project in New South Wales.
“Both of which provide significant exposure to critical minerals within Australia against a backdrop of increased awareness of the strategic value of such projects in safe sovereign settings,” van Heyst says.
“The transaction structure we have adopted for the sale of Webbs Consol results in Lode having a material shareholding in Rapid as well as a 2% net smelter return royalty over both Webbs and Webbs Consol, aligning Lode to the ongoing success Rapid is targeting with this logical consolidation play.”
Rapid Critical Metals is an Australian explorer focused on uncovering and developing silver and critical mineral assets.
Write to Maddison Elliott at Mining.com.au
Images: Rapid Critical Metals
