Half-Yearly Report 2018

                                                                                                 22 May 2018

 

TERTIARY MINERALS PLC

("Tertiary" or "the Company")

 

 

HALF-YEARLY REPORT 2018

 

Tertiary Minerals plc, the AIM-traded company building a strategic position in the fluorspar sector, announces its unaudited interim results for the six months ended 31 March 2018.

 

Operational Summary for the six months ending 31 March 2018

 

Acquisition Opportunities

·      Following the evaluation of a number of potential fluorspar project acquisitions, the Company is now focusing its efforts on one particular project that has the potential to generate revenue in the near term

·      Early stage due diligence and negotiations are progressing

·      There is no guarantee that the acquisition will proceed at this stage

Partnership with Global Commodities Trading Group

·      Non-binding Memorandum of Understanding signed with Possehl Erzkontor GmbH & Co. KG (wholly owned subsidiary of CREMER) ("Possehl") in November 2017

·      Intention for Possehl and the Company to enter into a definitive sales and purchase agreement ("Offtake Agreement"), if and when the Tertiary projects reach commercial viability, whereby Possehl commit to purchase a minimum of 70% of commercial grade acid-spar to be produced at Tertiary's three fluorspar projects

·      As a condition of the Offtake Agreement Possehl, will provide part of the pre-financing to Tertiary, where funds will be advanced by Possehl to Tertiary to assist the Company in meeting its working capital needs and/or its capital investment needs for the development of its current and future fluorspar projects

Storuman Fluorspar Project, Sweden - Exploitation (Mine) Permit Progress

·      Recent positive meetings have been held between the head of The Swedish Mining Inspectorate, The County Administrative Board of Västerbotten and the Company

·      Comprehensive supplementary reports and a legal statement have been submitted to Swedish Mining Inspectorate - requested as part of the Mine Permit re-assessment process

·      The in-depth analysis shows that the Company's proposed mining operations at Storuman, with mitigation measures proposed, will have only a minimal impact on reindeer husbandry and that there will be no impact on the Natura 2000 area

·      The Swedish Mining Inspectorate will now assess feedback from key stakeholders and the Company remains hopeful for a positive decision regarding the award of the Mine Permit in the near future

MB Fluorspar Project, Nevada, USA - Metallurgical Testwork Progress

·      Scoping Study level bench scale metallurgical testwork progressing at SGS Lakefield in Canada with the aim of producing commercial grade acid-spar and mica

·      Early testwork has indicated that the ore is metallurgically complex, presenting certain processing challenges, and therefore the Company has engaged the services of one of the world's leading consultant fluorspar metallurgists to assist with the testwork

·      The Company along with the consultant metallurgist are now scoping the next phase of testwork following recent positive developments

Lassedalen Fluorspar Project, Norway

·      The project continues to be a lower priority for the Company given the commitments on its other larger/more advanced fluorspar projects and acquisition opportunities

·      The Company has made the decision not to proceed with the purchase of land and historic mine workings from Norwegian aluminium producer, Hydro, on which part of the Lassedalen fluorspar project sits

·      The Company continues to control exploration rights on the Hydro land and all other landholder parcels on which the project sits, through a combination of expropriation rights, exploration licences and landholder agreements

Kaaresselkä and Kiekerömaa Gold Projects, Finland

·      Following the sale of the two projects in March 2017 to Aurion Resources, the Company sold its shares in Aurion Resources (paid as part initial consideration) in November 2017, resulting in a profit of £31,264

·      The Company retains pre-production and net smelter royalty interest in the projects

·      Aurion is a Canadian listed exploration company with primary focus on the development of its Finnish gold projects, several of which are under joint venture with B2Gold. Kinross Gold Corporation are also significant shareholders of Aurion.

 

Financial Results - Summary:

 

·      Operating Loss for the six-month period of £170,880 comprises:

o  Revenue of £110,554; less

o  Administration costs of £269,480 (which includes non-cash share based payments of £3,998); and

o  Pre-licence and reconnaissance exploration costs totalling £11,954

 

·      Total Group Loss of £133,539 is after charging:

o  Gain on disposal of available for sale investment of £37,263

o  Interest income of £78

 

·      362,554 Ordinary Shares were issued during the reporting period to directors in lieu of fees at a price of 1.875 pence per share

 

·      41,666,670 Ordinary Shares were issued during the reporting period by way of placing, in December 2017, at a price of 1.2 pence per share.

 

 

Enquiries   Tertiary Minerals plc Patrick Cheetham, Executive Chairman  Richard Clemmey, Managing Director	+44 (0)1625 838 679
SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP Nominated Adviser & Joint Broker Ewan Leggat / Lindsay Mair	+44 (0) 20 3470 0470

 

Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) Disclosure

Certain information contained in this announcement would have been deemed inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 until the release of this announcement.

 

Notes to Editors

Tertiary Minerals plc (ticker symbol 'TYM') is an AIM-traded mineral exploration and development company building a significant strategic position in the fluorspar sector. Fluorspar is an essential raw material in the chemical, steel and aluminium industries. Tertiary controls two significant Scandinavian projects (Storuman in Sweden and Lassedalen in Norway) and a large deposit of strategic significance in Nevada, USA (MB Project).

 

CAUTIONARY NOTICE

The news release may contain certain statements and expressions of belief, expectation or opinion which are forward looking statements, and which relate, inter alia, to the Company's proposed strategy, plans and objectives or to the expectations or intentions of the Company's directors. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors beyond the control of the Company that could cause the actual performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from such forward-looking statements. Accordingly, you should not rely on any forward-looking statements and save as required by the AIM Rules for Companies or by law, the Company does not accept any obligation to disseminate any updates or revisions to such forward-looking statements.

Chairman's Statement

 

I am pleased to present our Interim Report for the six-month period ended 31 March 2018.

 

The Company's plan to build a strategic position in the fluorspar sector has attracted the support of global commodities trading group, Possehl, part of the CREMER Group, with the signing of an important Memorandum of Understanding. This ("MOU"), whilst non-binding, paves the way for a definitive sales and purchase agreement for fluorspar from the Company's projects and, importantly, extends to the provision of pre-financing for commercial production and lends support to the Company's ambitions to develop not only its existing projects but to acquire a near-term revenue generating project.

 

The Company has evaluated a number of possible acquisition opportunities in the reporting period. Whilst most of these have been rejected for various reasons, one project opportunity is currently being taken forward through early due diligence and negotiations with the current owners. There is no guarantee that the acquisition will proceed at this stage.

 

Work on the Company's existing fluorspar projects in Europe and North America has largely focused on the Storuman Project in Sweden. The re-assessment process for the Company's Exploitation (Mine) Permit application for our Storuman Fluorspar Project in Sweden has consumed considerable management time to meet an April 2018 deadline for the submission of supplementary reports and legal statements in support of the grant of the permit.

 

Whilst the Storuman mine permit was originally granted in 2016, the government returned the permit case, along with many other cases, back to the Swedish Mining Inspectorate for re-assessment following a Supreme Court decision to overturn the grant of a third-party mining company's mine permit in the south of Sweden. The re-assessment is intended to consider the impact of mining in the concession area on a wider surrounding area. The Company has addressed these issues with detailed impact and mitigation studies and, after consultation with certain stakeholders, has submitted comprehensive additional information that demonstrates minimal impact with the mitigation measures proposed. We are hopeful of a favourable outcome in the near future.

 

In Nevada, USA, our previous exploration on the MB Project has defined a very large fluorspar resource with varying metallurgical characteristics in different zones. The zone of mineralisation that is most immediately accessible to open-pit mining is the most metallurgically complex. Nevertheless, I am pleased that progress is now being made in scoping study level testwork towards production of acid-grade fluorspar as well as a by-product industrial filler grade mica. Testwork continues under the guidance of our specialist consultants.

 

In Norway, work at our Lassedalen Fluorspar Project has assumed a lower priority due to its smaller fluorspar resource and a decision was made not to proceed with the purchase of land from large Norwegian aluminium producer, Hydro, a forerunner company of which was responsible for mining fluorspar at Lassedalen in World War II.

 

The pricing environment for fluorspar has continued to strengthen, particularly for delivery into Europe where, after a period of disconnect, prices are now catching up with Chinese domestic prices which have traditionally set the pricing benchmark. Downstream processors of fluorochemicals have recently reported strong sales and increased prices.

 

Earlier in the reporting period we announced the sale of our shareholding in Canadian TSX-listed Aurion Resources Ltd which we received as part payment for the sale of our Finnish gold projects. This resulted in a profit of £31,264 on the original transactional value and with good timing we achieved a price per share substantially above the current prevailing price. We will, however, continue to share in any of Aurion's future success on these projects as we are entitled to further payments on the definition of Ore Reserves and Mineral Resources and a royalty on production.

 

We look forward to reporting further progress through the rest of this financial year.

 

 

Patrick L Cheetham                

Executive Chairman

 

22 May 2018

 

 

Consolidated Income Statement

for the six months to 31 March 2018

 

	Six months to 31 March 2018 Unaudited		Six months to 31 March 2017 Unaudited		Twelve months  to 30 September 2017 Audited
	£		£		£
Revenue	110,554		134,885		241,024
Administration costs	(269,480)		(286,654)		(550,229)
Pre-licence and other exploration costs	(11,954)		(4,371)		(30,617)
Operating loss	(170,880)		(156,140)		(339,822)
Impairment of available for sale investment	-		(55,987)		(55,987)
Profit on disposal of available for sale investment	37,263		-		-
Interest receivable	78		277		277
Loss before income tax	(133,539)		(211,850)		(395,532)
Income tax	-		-		-
Loss for the period attributable to equity holders of the parent	(133,539)		(211,850)		(395,532)
Loss per share - basic and diluted (pence) (Note 2)	(0.04)		(0.08)		(0.14)

 

 

 

Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income

for the six months to 31 March 2018

 

	Six months to 31 March 2018 Unaudited		Six months to 31 March 2017 Unaudited		Twelve months to 30 September 2017 Audited
	£		£		£
Loss for the period	(133,539)		(211,850)		(395,532)
Other comprehensive income:
Items that could be reclassified subsequently to the Income Statement:
Fair value movement on available for sale investment	(111,316)		(54,755)		122,753
Foreign exchange translation differences on foreign currency net investments in subsidiaries	(209,948)		59,852		(15,442)
Items that have been reclassified subsequently to the Income Statement:
Amount reclassified on disposal of available for sale investment	(37,263)		-		-
Total comprehensive income/(loss) for the period attributable to equity holders of the parent	(492,066)		(206,753)		(288,221)

 

 

Company Registration Number 03821411

Consolidated Statement of Financial Position

at 31 March 2018

 

	As at 31 March 2018 Unaudited		As at 31 March 2017 Unaudited		As at 30 September 2017 Audited
	£		£		£
Non-current assets
Intangible assets	4,406,689		4,497,712		4,508,015
Property, plant & equipment	2,463		6,607		4,361
Available for sale investment	164,391		231,463		408,971
	4,573,543		4,735,782		4,921,347
Current assets
Receivables	95,668		86,975		94,253
Cash and cash equivalents	474,052		145,212		159,278
	569,720		232,187		253,531
Current liabilities
Trade and other payables	(75,464)		(62,555)		(75,808)
Net current assets	494,256		169,632		177,723
Net assets	5,067,799		4,905,414		5,099,070
Equity
Called up Ordinary Shares	35,910		2,670,769		31,708
Deferred Shares	2,644,062				2,644,062
Share premium account	9,784,363		9,066,769		9,331,768
Merger reserve	131,096		131,096		131,096
Share option reserve	204,522		254,566		259,690
Available for sale investment reserve	25,291		(3,638)		173,870
Foreign currency reserve	156,964		442,206		366,912
Accumulated losses	(7,914,409)		(7,656,354)		(7,840,036)
Equity attributable to the owners of the parent	5,067,799		4,905,414		5,099,070