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.
13th May 2019
Strategic Minerals plc
("Strategic Minerals", "SML" or the "Company")
Execution of binding contracts for the acquisition of the balance of Cornwall Resources Limited
Strategic Minerals plc (AIM: SML; USOTC: SMCDY), a producing mineral company actively developing projects prospective for battery materials, is pleased to announce that it has executed final unconditionally binding documentation for the acquisition from New Age Exploration Limited ("NAE") of 50% of Cornwall Resources Limited ("CRL") the joint venture vehicle holding the Redmoor tin and tungsten project located in Cornwall, England.
Highlights:-
· Binding contracts now signed with an agreed settlement date of 30 May 2019.
· Consideration of A$5m to be paid progressively as follows:
1) A$2m on settlement scheduled for 30 May 2019
2) A$1m on 29 November 2019
3) A$1m on Net Smelter Sales arising from Redmoor production reaching A$50m
4) A further A$1m on Net Smelter Sales arising from Redmoor production reaching A$100m.
· NAE to hold a charge over the Company's CRL shares until 29 November 2019 payment made.
Commenting, John Peters, Managing Director, Strategic Minerals, said:
"SML and NAE have worked closely together to prepare final documentation for SML's purchase of NAE's 50% holding in Cornwall Resources Limited.
"Recent developments have shown the potential for the Redmoor tin and tungsten project to be a world class mine and, with the full control of the project, SML believes it can time its development to fit in with cash flows from Cobre and, shortly, Leigh Creek. This ability to manage cash flow requirements provides great confidence that the Redmoor project will progress in the future."
Notes to Editors
Strategic Minerals Plc is an AIM-quoted, operating minerals company actively developing projects prospective for battery materials. It has an operation in the United States of America and development projects in the UK and Australia. The Company is focused on utilising its operating cash flows, along with capital raisings, to develop high quality projects aimed at supplying the metals and minerals being sought in the burgeoning electric vehicle/battery market.
In September 2011, Strategic Minerals acquired the distribution rights to the Cobre magnetite tailings dam project in New Mexico, USA, a cash-generating asset, which it brought into production in 2012 and which continues to provide a revenue stream for the Company. This operating revenue stream is utilised to cover company overheads and invest in development projects orientated to supplying the burgeoning electric vehicle/battery market.
In January 2016, the portfolio was expanded with the acquisition of shares in Central Australian Rare Earths Pty Ltd, which holds tenements in Western Australia and the Northern Territory that are prospective for cobalt, gold, nickel sulphides and rare earth elements. The Company has since acquired all shares in Central Australian Rare Earths Pty Ltd. In September 2018, the Company entered contracts for the sale of certain CARE tenements that have been identified as gold targets.
In May 2016, the Company entered into an agreement with New Age Exploration Limited and, in February 2017, acquired 50% of the Redmoor Tin/Tungsten project in Cornwall, UK. The bulk of the funds from the Company's investment were utilised to complete a drilling programme that year. The drilling programme resulted in a significant upgrade of the resource. The 12-hole 2018 drilling programme has now been completed and the resource update that resulted was announced in February 2019. In March 2019, the Company entered into arrangements to acquire the balance of the Redmoor Tin/Tungsten project in Cornwall, UK.
In March 2018, the Company completed the acquisition of the Leigh Creek Copper Mine situated in the copper rich belt of South Australia and brought the project into production in April 2019.
