REG - Strategic Minerals - PEPR Approved

Strategic MineralsAnnouncement

29/06/2022 14:00

For best results when printing this announcement, please click on link below:
http://newsfile.refinitiv.com/getnewsfile/v1/story?guid=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20220629:nRSc6761Qa&default-theme=true

RNS Number : 6761Q  Strategic Minerals PLC  29 June 2022

The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to
constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations
(EU) No. 596/2014 ('MAR') which has been incorporated into UK law by the
European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018.

29 June 2022

Strategic Minerals plc

("Strategic Minerals" or the "Company")

PEPR Approved

Strategic Minerals plc (AIM: SML; USOTC: SMCDY), a profitable producing
mineral company, is pleased to announce that it has received approval for the
planned mining activities of its wholly owned subsidiary. Leigh Creek Copper
Mine ("LCCM"), accessing the Paltridge North ("PN") deposit to be processed at
the nearby Mountain of Light ("MoL") plant.

 

Highlights

·    PEPR approval ensures LCCM now "shovel ready", subject to finance

·    Approval relates to the processing of copper oxide

·    Rehabilitation Financial Assurance reduced by approximately AUD
800,000 to AUD 2,890,000

·    Native Vegetation Fund contribution increased by approximately AUD
50,000 to AUD 139,035

·    Requirement, as anticipated, to provide monitoring reports and to
observe identified areas of historical significance to indigenous communities.

LCCM has received notification from the South Australian Department of Energy
and Mining ("DEM") under the Mining Act 1971 of approval of the Program for
Environment Protection and Rehabilitation for Mineral Lease (ML) 5467 -
Mountain of Light Copper Mine.

The approval is in line with expectations and relates to the mining and
processing of copper oxide from LCCM's PN deposit. From LCCM's previous
drilling results, the PN deposit appears to have a layer of waste material
that needs to be removed (approximately 6 weeks mining) followed by a layer of
copper oxide material and then descending into transitional sulphide ore. It
is anticipated that it will be over 12 months after mining commences before
the transitional ore is reached.

LCCM is confident that, by the time the transitional ore is reached, LCCM will
have submitted, and had approved by DEM, procedures for extracting and
processing the transitional ore. This is because the submission will largely
consist of the existing PEPR documentation with minor variations in relation
to the extraction and handling of the transitional sulphide ores. Work on the
submission has commenced.

As part of the negotiations with DEM in relation to the original conditional
PEPR issued in July 2021, LCCM were able to reduce the rehabilitation bond by
approximately AUD 800,000 from AUD 3,700,000 to AUD 2,890,000 reflecting
reasoned proposals from the Company's mine manager John Speck.  As LCCM
currently has a AUD 200,000 deposit with DEM, this represents a net funding
requirement of AUD 2,690,000.

While reviewing further information supplied by LCCM in relation to the
conditional requirements, DEM have increased the required contribution to the
Native Vegetation Fund from AUD 81,398.52 to AUD 139,035.

Also associated with the approval are a number of, expected, reporting
requirements and observation of identified indigenous sacred sites.

 

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

"The approval, while having taken longer due to a number of factors, is
welcomed, anticipated news. This provides a focal point by which to progress
discussions currently underway with potential funders/joint venture partners.

"With regard to funding of the LCCM project, the Company has had numerous
parties review the project and, currently, has three interested parties who
have signed the Company's Confidentiality Agreement and have been in our data
room for a month or more.  These parties reflect a European based, mining
focused fund, a large, respected, global copper supplier with activities in
South Australia and the equity investment and debt funding arms of a major
Australian, internationally recognised bank.

 "While recent declines in the copper price, associated with fears of global
recession, have impacted the forecasted profitability of the project, the
associated drop in the Australian Dollar/US Dollar exchange rate has partially
offset the impact on profitability ensuring that the project remains an
extremely attractive one from an investors perspective."

 

 For further information, please contact:

 Strategic Minerals plc                                   +61 (0) 414 727 965
 John Peters
 Managing Director
 Website:               www.strategicminerals.net (http://www.strategicminerals.net/)
 Email:                 info@strategicminerals.net (mailto:info@strategicminerals.net)

 Follow Strategic Minerals on:
 Vox Markets:           https://www.voxmarkets.co.uk/company/SML/
                        (https://www.voxmarkets.co.uk/company/SML/)
 Twitter:               @SML_Minerals (https://twitter.com/SML_Minerals)
 LinkedIn:              https://www.linkedin.com/company/strategic-minerals-plc
                        (https://www.linkedin.com/company/strategic-minerals-plc)

 SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP                           +44 (0) 20 3470 0470
 Nominated Adviser and Broker
 Matthew Johnson
 Ewan Leggat
 Charlie Bouverat

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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. In July 2021, the project
was 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. In early January 2022, an updated PEPR, addressing the
conditions associated with the July 2021 approval, was lodged.

 

 

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact
rns@lseg.com (mailto:rns@lseg.com)
 or visit
www.rns.com (http://www.rns.com/)
.

RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our
Privacy Policy (https://www.lseg.com/privacy-and-cookie-policy)
.   END  MSCBKCBPBBKDAAB