Southern Minerals Group ("SMG") Update

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.

2 August 2021

Strategic Minerals plc

("Strategic Minerals", "SML" or the "Company")

Southern Minerals Group ("SMG") Update

June Quarterly Report from CV Investments LLC ("CVI") Receiver

Strategic Minerals plc (AIM: SML; USOTC: SMCDY), a profitable producing mineral company, announces that the Receiver appointed to CVI, against which the Company's wholly owned subsidiary, SMG, has an arbitrated claim for US$21.9m, has provided its June 2021 quarter report on the progress of the receivership of CVI.

The main items from the report are:

·    Unencumbered cash held in Receiver controlled accounts was US$7,374,976.35 at the end of the June 2021 quarter. This amount is after payment of all expenses (including the Receiver's cost).

·    The Receiver identified the potential to realise between US$10-15m from additional claims.

·    It was not likely that the receivership will be completed before the end of this year. 

The full June 2021 quarter report from the Receiver can be found at

 https://broadreachreceiver.com/uploads/1/3/2/9/132950887/2021-07-30_doc._108_receiver_s_fourth_quarterly_status_report.pdf 

Commenting, John Peters, Managing Director of Strategic Minerals, said:

"The updated Receiver's report, with its identification of the potential for additional material realisations, highlights the possibility of a partial recovery of SMG's arbitrated claim on CV Investments.

"It is currently not possible for the Company to quantify either the potential settlement amount, if any, or its likely timing. Accordingly, the Company has not factored the receipt of any such proceeds into its financial plans.

"In line with the receivership nearing its conclusion, the Company expects to more frequently update the market on its progress."

Notes to Editors

Strategic Minerals plc is an AIM-quoted, profitable operating minerals company actively developing projects tailored to materials expected to benefit from strong demand in the future. It has an operation in the United States of America along with 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 likely to be highly demanded in the future.

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 aimed at supplying the metals and minerals likely to be highly demanded in the future.

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. This was followed in 2018 with a 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 which was settled on 24 July 2019 by way of a vendor loan which was fully repaid on 26 June 2020.

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 temporarily into production in April 2019. The project has been granted a conditional approval by the South Australian Government for a Program for Environmental Protection and Rehabilitation (PEPR) in relation to mining of its Paltridge North deposit and processing at the Mountain of Light installation.