Premier African Minerals Limited / Ticker: PREM / Index: AIM / Sector: Mining
For immediate release
14 August 2018
Premier African Minerals Limited
Placing and Fully Funded RHA Drilling Programme
The Board of Premier African Minerals Limited ("Premier" or the "Company") is pleased to announce a placing today to raise £750,000 before expenses at an issue price of 0.18 pence per new ordinary share. It has been clear for some time that Premier would need to supplement working capital, in part to support costs associated with the restructuring and ongoing holding costs of the RHA Tungsten Mine ("RHA"), which remain vital to bringing RHA back into production expeditiously.
Further to yesterday's announcement which sets out that Premier's proposal has been favourably received by the relevant Ministries, the Company is looking to de-risk the development of RHA. As such, Premier will begin mobilising the driller with the aim to commence a drilling programme of up to 2,750 meters as soon as possible with the objective of expanding the Resource base as well as increasing the confidence levels of both the open pit and underground Resources. The Company will provide regular updates on this drilling programme.
In addition, the Company and its technical consultants are finalising an assessment of the wolframite Resources contained in the tailings facility of RHA. Premier expects to publish an updated technical report shortly.
This placement will see Premier fully funded in regard to working capital until December 2018, without any dependency on revenue generated from a possible early return to production, targeted at 6,000 tonne per month at RHA. At the same time, Premier is actively seeking the appointment of a new full time Finance Director and is implementing a series of internal cost cutting measures to reduce the overheads of the Company.
George Roach, CEO of Premier, stated: "This placement gives Premier a head start at RHA and provides the working capital necessary for the group as a whole. Being able to get the additional drilling started immediately at RHA is likely to add further value to the mine and will guide efficient and effective back-to-production strategies. With the Zulu Lithium and Tantalum Project nearing the completion of the Due Diligence period, I look forward to updating the market on the proposed investment by Cadence.
At the same time, we have re-examined our bulk test on historic tailings at RHA and are confident that with improved tungsten prices at present, we are able to expedite reopening of operations using tailings as a supplemental ore feed."
Placing
Premier has today issued by way of a placing ("Placing"), conditional on admission, 416,666,667 new ordinary shares of 0.1 pence each ("Placing Share") at a Placing price of 0.18 pence per Placing Share. The Placing Shares will, when issued, rank pari passu in all respects with the existing ordinary shares. Application has been made for the Placing Shares to be admitted to trading on AIM and admission is expected to take place on or around 17 August 2018. The Placing has been undertaken within the Company's existing share authorities. The proceeds of the Placing will used to fund exploration and development activities at RHA as detailed above and provide additional general working capital necessary for the group as a whole.
Total Voting Rights
Following the issue of the Placing Shares, the Company's issued share capital consists of 7,239,603,037 Ordinary Shares, with voting rights. This figure may be used by shareholders in the Company as the denominator for the calculation by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in, the share capital of the Company under the Financial Conduct Authority's Disclosure and Transparency Rules.
Special note concerning the Market Abuse Regulation
This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 ("MAR"). Market soundings, as defined in MAR, were taken in respect of the Placing, with the result that certain persons became aware of inside information, as permitted by MAR. That inside information is set out in this announcement. Therefore, those persons that received inside information in a market sounding are no longer in possession of inside information relating to the Company and its securities.
Enquiries:
Fuad Sillem |
Premier African Minerals Limited |
Tel: +44 (0)7734 922074 |
Michael Cornish / Roland Cornish |
Beaumont Cornish Limited (Nominated Adviser) |
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7628 3396 |
Jerry Keen/Edward Mansfield |
Shore Capital Stockbrokers Limited |
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7408 4090 |
Jonathan Evans |
Brandon Hill Capital Limited |
Tel: +44 (0) 20 3463 5000 |
Notes to Editors:
Premier African Minerals Limited (AIM: PREM) is a multi-commodity mining and natural resource development company focused on Southern Africa with its RHA and Zulu projects in Zimbabwe.
The Company has a diverse portfolio of projects, which include tungsten, rare earth elements, lithium and tantalum in Zimbabwe, encompassing brownfield projects with near-term production potential to grass-roots exploration. In addition, the Company holds 5,010,333 shares in Circum Minerals Limited ("Circum"), the owners of the Danakil Potash Project in Ethiopia, which has the potential to be a world class asset. Premier also has an interest in Arc Minerals that has a number of mineral assets in Europe and Africa.
Forward Looking Statements:
Certain statements in this announcement are or may be deemed to be forward looking statements. Forward looking statements are identified by their use of terms and phrases such as ''believe'' ''could'' "should" ''envisage'' ''estimate'' ''intend'' ''may'' ''plan'' ''will'' or the negative of those variations or comparable expressions including references to assumptions. These forward-looking statements are not based on historical facts but rather on the Directors' current expectations and assumptions regarding the Company's future growth results of operations performance future capital and other expenditures (including the amount. nature and sources of funding thereof) competitive advantages business prospects and opportunities. Such forward looking statements reflect the Directors' current beliefs and assumptions and are based on information currently available to the Directors. Many factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements including risks associated with vulnerability to general economic and business conditions competition environmental and other regulatory changes actions by governmental authorities the availability of capital markets reliance on key personnel uninsured and underinsured losses and other factors many of which are beyond the control of the Company. Although any forward-looking statements contained in this announcement are based upon what the Directors believe to be reasonable assumptions. The Company cannot assure investors that actual results will be consistent with such forward looking statements.
This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of EU Regulation 596/2014.
ENDS
