REG - Savannah Resources - Chairman and Chairman Elect AGM Statements

Savannah ResourcesAnnouncement

24/06/2024 07:15

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RNS Number : 4878T  Savannah Resources PLC  24 June 2024

 

24 June 2024

 

Savannah Resources Plc

(AIM: SAV, FWB: SAV and SWB: SAV) ('Savannah', or the 'Company')

 

Chairman and Chairman Elect AGM Statements

 

Savannah hosts its Annual General Meeting ('AGM') today at 10:00 BST at Druces
LLP, Salisbury House, London Wall, London, EC2M 5PS (Exchange Meeting Room).
Ahead of the AGM, the Company is providing the following statements from its
current Chairman and Chairman-Elect.

 

Chairman's AGM Statement

In the period between the publication of our Annual Report and the AGM last
year, Savannah passed two very important milestones. The award of the DIA for
our Barroso Lithium Project (the 'Project'), a key endorsement from Portugal's
environmental regulator, and the publication of a new, highly positive,
Scoping Study. Those milestones laid the foundation for a successful fundraise
last July which has allowed us to make meaningful progress since then on the
Project's Definitive Feasibility Study, remaining Environmental Licence
process, and with expanding our team at all levels.

 

This year, the interim period between the Annual Report and AGM has again been
marked by an equally important development, Savannah's new strategic
partnership with AMG Critical Materials N.V. ('AMG'). This partnership not
only provides Savannah with the financing it needs to take the Project through
to a Final Investment Decision, but potentially all the finance required to
build the Project as well. Furthermore, it pairs us with an established
spodumene concentrate producer, capable of providing valuable technical
insight to Savannah as we continue with our Project's development, backed by
our replenished cash reserves which now stand at over £21m. AMG's lithium
business is also undertaking significant development itself, expanding into
lithium chemical production in Europe from the new plant it is commissioning
in Germany. The proposed offtake which we are negotiating with AMG (following
the offtake heads of terms agreement executed on 19 June 2024), initially
covering 45ktpa of spodumene with the potential to rise to 90ktpa if a
satisfactory full financing package for the Project is provided, also ensures
that Savannah and AMG will be contributing towards the targets set for
domestic extraction and processing of lithium in the 2023 European Critical
Raw Materials Act.

 

As shareholders will be aware the 90ktpa of offtake represents just under half
of our targeted annual production from the Project. Hence, Savannah has been
able potentially to obtain full financing for the Project and still retain the
majority of our offtake to sell to an additional customer or into the open
market once in production. I believe our deal team have performed
exceptionally well to secure the partnership with AMG and still leave us with
further commercial optionality for the future. This is particularly true,
bearing in mind the negative backdrop that persisted in the lithium industry
in the second half of 2023 and into 2024, with lithium prices falling and weak
sentiment in the sector.

 

With the AMG partnership in place, I believe all the framework components for
the Project's development are now present. From this position, Savannah can
complete the current assessment and licencing phase of the Project and
continue to grow its team in preparation for the Project's construction. Our
team can also maintain and increase its engagement with local and national
stakeholders in Portugal. Significant progress has been made under Emanuel
Proença's leadership on this front, establishing Savannah as a recognised
brand within Portugal. Now we must ensure that the Company's responsible
approach and commitment to long term socio-economic benefits for stakeholders
are fully appreciated by all.

 

As announced earlier today, today's AGM marks my last official duty as
Chairman of Savannah after 9 years in the role. During that time Savannah has
navigated an often challenging path, covering projects in different countries
focused on different commodities, as well as dealing with the COVID pandemic
and a highly turbulent period in global politics and economics. Throughout all
my time with Savannah, its team has remained focused on the task at hand and
has worked extremely hard to get our Company to this exciting point in its
evolution.

 

I am delighted to pass on the baton of Chairmanship to Rick Anthon. With
significant experience in the mining sector, and the lithium industry in
particular, he has all the qualifications and attributes needed by Savannah in
the next phase of its development of the Project. Further key appointments are
also planned, as Savannah continues to build out its team with project
development and production in mind.

 

I take this opportunity to thank all of Savannah's staff and directors, past
and present, who I have worked with for all their efforts and commitment.
Along with the continued support of our shareholders, the efforts made by the
team have led Savannah to this exciting point today. My particular thanks and
good wishes today go to Mary Jo Jacobi and James Leahy, my fellow directors,
who are also stepping down from the Board following today's AGM, effective 25
June 2024.

 

As I take my place among the ranks of Savannah shareholders, I sincerely
believe that an exciting and highly rewarding time lies ahead for the Company.
For the first time, Savannah has the financing framework in place which allows
it to move forward with great confidence, assured that its long term goals can
be achieved. I wish Savannah the very best for the future and look forward to
watching the Company flourish and the Barroso Lithium Project becoming a key
source of this critical material for Europe's energy transition.

 

Matthew King

 

 

 

Chairman-Elect's AGM Statement

I am delighted to be joining Savannah at this time in the Company's evolution
and to be part of the growing team which will take the Barroso Lithium Project
through development and into production. My thanks go to Matthew and all our
team members who have helped bring Savannah to this very exciting point. I am
really looking forward to working with my new colleagues and helping the
Company achieve its goals of becoming a responsible European lithium producer,
generating value for shareholders and sharing the socio-economic benefits
generated by the Project with its stakeholders.

 

As shareholders will have observed, new individuals, including myself, have
joined the Board and management group recently to ensure that the Company has
the appropriate team to execute the opportunity which is available. At Board
level, our team now has significant mining sector experience ranging right
through from exploration to mine development and large-scale sector
transactions. In addition, our lithium sector knowledge will be further
enhanced by the incoming director from our new largest shareholder, AMG, who
we look forward to welcoming onboard in due course. There is also significant
depth on the Board now in terms of Portuguese business experience, which is
supplemented with broader international business experience and substantial
knowledge of international capital markets.

 

Among the executive and wider team, the recent focus has been on adding
Portuguese talent, including offering opportunities to people from the area
surrounding the Project, to ensure that Savannah has the in-country skills it
needs at all levels to progress this Project. Going forward, this focus will
continue and be complemented by strengthening the team with the technical
personnel required to develop and deliver the Project.

 

To echo Matthew's comments, I believe that Savannah and its shareholders can
now look forward with great confidence to an exciting future for the Company.

 

Rick Anthon

 

Regulatory Information

This Announcement contains inside information for the purposes of the UK
version of the market abuse regulation (EU No. 596/2014) as it forms part of
United Kingdom domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act
2018 ("UK MAR").

 

Savannah - Enabling Europe's energy transition.

 

**ENDS**

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Follow Savannah Resources on LinkedIn

 

 

For further information please visit www.savannahresources.com
(https://www.savannahresources.com/)  or contact:

 

 Savannah Resources PLC                                                 Tel: +44 20 7117 2489

 Emanuel Proença, CEO

 SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP (Nominated Advisor & Joint Broker)      Tel: +44 20 3470 0470

 David Hignell / Charlie Bouverat (Corporate Finance)

 Grant Barker /Abigail Wayne (Sales & Broking)

 SCP Resource Finance (Joint Broker)                                    Tel: +44 204 548 1765
 Filipe Martins / Chris Tonkin

 Camarco (Financial PR)                                                 Tel: +44 20 3757 4980

 Gordon Poole / Emily Hall / Nuthara Bandara

 LPM (Portugal Media Relations)                                         Tel: +351 218 508 110

 Herminio Santos / Jorge Coelho / Margarida Pinheiro

 

 

About Savannah

Savannah Resources is a mineral resource development company and the sole
owner of the Barroso Lithium Project in northern Portugal, the largest battery
grade spodumene lithium resource outlined to date in Europe.

 

Through the Barroso Lithium Project (the 'Project'), Savannah will help
Portugal to play an important role in providing a long-term, locally sourced,
lithium raw material supply for Europe's rapidly developing lithium battery
value chain. After the Environmental Licence was granted in May 2023 and the
Scoping Study confirmed the economic potential of the Project in June 2023,
production is now targeted and on track to begin in 2026. At that stage,
Savannah will start producing enough lithium (contained in c.190,000tpa of
spodumene concentrate) for approximately half a million vehicle battery packs
per year, equal to a significant portion of the European Commission's Critical
Raw Material Act goal of a minimum 10% of European endogenous lithium
production set for 2030. Savannah is focused on the responsible development
and operation of the Barroso Lithium Project so that its impact on the
environment is minimised and the socio-economic benefits that it can bring to
all its stakeholders are maximised.

 

In June 2024, Savannah entered a strategic partnership with AMG Critical
Materials N.V., the global critical materials business and established lithium
market participant. AMG has invested GBP 16m in Savannah in exchange for a
15.8% stake in the Company and a 5 year, 45ktpa spodumene offtake agreement.
This investment alongside existing cash provides Savannah with the finance
required to take the Project to a Final Investment Decision point. AMG can
increase its offtake to 90ktpa for 10 years if it provides an acceptable full
project funding solution for the Project's construction.

 

The Company is listed and regulated on the London Stock Exchange's Alternative
Investment Market (AIM) and the Company's ordinary shares are also available
on the Quotation Board of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (FWB) under the symbol
FWB: SAV, and the Börse Stuttgart (SWB) under the ticker "SAV".

 

 

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