Red Rock Resources PLC
("Red Rock" or the "Company")
Update on Steelmin Investment
08 Sept 2017
Further to the announcements of 23 June and 3 July 2017, Red Rock Resources Plc, the natural resource development company with interests in gold, manganese and oil production, announces an update in relation to its investment in Steelmin Limited ("Steelmin")
Highlights:
o Red Rock has now been issued an additional 1% of Steelmin bringing its total interest to 17%
o Major components ordered and scheduled to be delivered and installed between October and early to mid-December
o The on-site team has expanded from 45 to 70 with an eventual planned workforce of 150
o Offsite team training of management to create corporate culture to begin mid-October
Under the terms of the Loan, an 8 month secured loan note of €3,874,560, announced on 23 June 2017, Red Rock received as partial consideration for the Loan 16% of the fully diluted equity of Steelmin, which would increase by 1% if the Loan was not fully repaid by 1 September 2017 and a further 1% each month until April 2018, 0.9% in May, 1.1% in June, and then 1% per month up to a maximum holding of 30%.
Andrew Bell, Chairman of Red Rock comments: "A great deal of progress has occurred since we invested just over two months ago, and the project appears to be on track and under budget. The sustained rise in Asian ferrosilicon prices has begun to feed through to the European market, which is another positive factor. We look forward to taking key investors and advisors on a field visit in early October when the final phase of works will be under way."
Steelmin - Background
The Steelmin plant and facility is located in central Bosnia, 104 kilometres north west of Sarajevo. The complex, formerly part of Electrobosna, was originally built in the 1970s by Elkem, a major silicon and alloy producer based in Norway, and was one of the largest and best known producers of ferrosilicon and silicon metal in Europe. It was closed down in 1992 due to the Bosnian War, was then privatised and the six furnaces were sold off in two separate parts in 2000. The plant was brought back online until finally being shuttered again in 2004 due to increasing exports pressure from Chinese producers.
Anti-dumping regulations have since been implemented by the European Commission; which significantly reduced both Chinese and Russian exports into Europe, allowing prices to stabilize and rise over time. The second, smaller, facility split off from the original is now being operated by the Italian ferro-alloy producer Metalleghe, and has been successfully producing next to Steelmin's plant for the past 12 years.
Steelmin controls furnaces IV and V from the original Electrobosna complex. Furnace V has a 48MVA installed power Elkem furnace, and is connected to two chimneys on the roof of the production hall. Furnace IV, the smaller of the two, has a 30 MVA Tagliaferri furnace with three chimneys, preventing the emission of gases in ambient air to comply with EU regulatory requirements. Given its larger total capacity Steelmin has decided to bring furnace V on initially and then move to recommission furnace IV later in 2018.
Current activity is aimed at completing the rehabilitation of the plant and furnace V this year and starting production.
In addition to the two furnaces, the facility in Jajce houses a filtration plant, warehouse storage for raw materials, pouring and dispatch hall as well as a plant for process water recirculation.
Steelmin intends to produce ferrosilicon containing 75% silicon and 25% iron, a product primarily used as a deoxidising agent and to add electrical conductivity and corrosion resistance to steel. A by-product of ferrosilicon production will be microsilica, which is a dust used in the manufacture of speciality concretes in the construction industry as well as in advanced refractories and ceramics. Furnace V is expected to produce 29,000t of ferrosilicon per annum as well as 5,800t of microsilica.
Over time Steelmin is expected to produce both ferrosilicon as well as additional silicon alloys that offer higher margins and additional upside.
European ferrosilicon production depends critically on access to cheap power (locally generated hydroelectric power in the case of Jajce) since this is up to half the cost of production. Prices are historically driven by steel production levels, the level of Chinese pricing and production allowed into Europe, as well as the associated export and anti-dumping tariffs. Since late 2016 overall Chinese export prices have risen, positively impacting European produce prices. Key input costs such as metallurgical coal are also closely correlated to realized ferrosilicon prices.
EU supplies of ferrosilicon are generally heavily constrained, with 70% coming from Norway and Iceland and few if any new producers coming online. Given Bosnia's ideal location closer to key steel customers in Germany, Austria and Northern Italy, Steelmin is well poised to service these major markets.
Steelmin currently projects operating revenues of €35m in its first full year of operations with gross margins expected to come in around 33%. These figures assume production of 85 tonnes per day over 339 days a year and a Ferrosilicon selling price of €1,200/t (current pricing c€1,350/t).
For further information, please contact:
Andrew Bell 0207 747 9990 Chairman Red Rock Resources Plc
Scott Kaintz 0207 747 9990 Director Red Rock Resources Plc
Roland Cornish/ Rosalind Hill Abrahams 0207 628 3396 NOMAD Beaumont Cornish Limited
Neil Badger 0129 351 7744 Broker Dowgate Capital Stockbrokers Ltd
Glossary
Ferrosilicon: ferrosilicon produced at Steelmin contains 75% silicon, and is primarily used as a deoxidising agent in steel production, adding electrical conductivity and corrosion-resistance properties to steel
Microsilica: a by-product of silicon and ferrosilicon production, used in the construction industry for its added strength and abrasion resistance
