The information contained within
this announcement is deemed to constitute inside information as
stipulated under the retained EU law version of the Market Abuse
Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014 (the "UK MAR") which is part of UK law
by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. The
information is disclosed in accordance with the Company's
obligations under Article 17 of the UK MAR. Upon the publication of
this announcement, this inside information is now considered to be
in the public domain.
FIRST CLASS METALS
PLC
8 October
2024
79th Group -
Strategic Funding
Issue of
Equity
First Class Metals PLC ("First Class
Metals" "FCM" or the "Company"), the UK-listed metals exploration
company focused on unlocking the value of its extensive land
holdings in northern Ontario, Canada, is pleased to announce that
The 79th GRP Ltd ("79th Group"), has increased its loan
to the Company by £270,000, reinforcing the strategic partnership
that has been developing between the two companies. This additional
funding builds on the strong relationship already established and
marks an exciting new phase of collaboration.
Key
Highlights:
·
Existing Loan
with 79th Group increased from £230,000 to
£500,000: This additional funding
comes as a further demonstration of the 79th Group's commitment to
supporting FCM's strategic goals and ongoing exploration
initiatives.
·
Enhanced
Partnership: The Company is
delighted to be deepening its relationship with the 79th Group,
which continues to conduct detailed due diligence on other FCM
assets, opening the potential for additional future
transactions.
·
Exploration
Acceleration: Funds will be
allocated towards advancing key projects within the FCM portfolio,
as the Company remains focused on driving forward exploration
activities across its core North Hemlo & Sunbeam
properties.
Loan
Facility Update:
The new loan agreement increases the
total facility from £230,000 to £500,000, to be drawn in a single
tranche. Key terms of the loan include:
I. Repayment Date:
The loan is repayable on 25 May 2025.
II.
Interest
Only: Interest will be paid at a 15%
annual rate throughout the term.
III.
Secured
Facility: The loan is secured by a
debenture over the assets of First Class Metals PLC.
IV.
No Equity
Conversion: The loan does not
include any conversion rights into equity.
For more details on the original loan
facility, please refer to the announcement dated 13 June
2024. LSE:FCM -
First Class Metals - Asset Sales & Funding
(firstclassmetalsplc.com)
James Knowles, Executive Chairman,
commented:
"This additional funding from the
79th Group not only highlights their confidence in our assets but
also strengthens our mutual relationship, a partnership we believe
will bring long-term benefits to both companies. We are pleased to
see this continued commitment and are optimistic about future
collaborations that will further support the growth and development
of our portfolio. This latest financing underscores the validity of
our incubator-style strategy, where we actively progress assets
along the value chain while efficiently managing our
resources."
Looking Forward:
With gold prices maintaining strong
levels and the global demand for critical and base metals rising,
FCM is in a prime position to capitalise on its exploration
efforts. The deepening partnership with 79th Group not only
validates our strategy but positions us strongly for further growth
and value creation. As both parties explore new opportunities, we
are excited about the prospects this collaboration will continue to
unlock.
The Board is committed to ensuring
that our shareholders and stakeholders benefit from these
developments, with the focus firmly on unlocking the potential of
our high-quality assets, and the strategic backing of 79th Group is
crucial to realising this vision.
We look forward to providing further
updates as we move forward into this exciting new phase.
Seventy Ninth Resources CEO, Natalie Bellis,
added:
We are very pleased to continue
our collaboration with First Class Metals. Our deepening
partnership aligns with our long-term strategy of internationally
expanding our footprint in quality mining projects. We remain
highly optimistic about the opportunities ahead and will continue
to work closely with FCM to maximise these assets and grow the
portfolio collectively.
Issue of Equity:
Kerrs Gold First Share Option Payment
423,570 new ordinary shares of £0.001
("Shares") are being issued to the owners of the Kerrs Gold Option
in respect of the first share based payment to the Kerrs Gold
'option to earn in' as set out in the news release of 22 April
2024, LSE:FCM -
First Class Metals - Kerrs Gold Property Earn-In Agreement Signed
(firstclassmetalsplc.com).
Application is being made for the
423,570 Shares to be admitted to the Official List and to trading
on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange which is expected
to be on or around 11 October 2024. These Shares
rank pari
passu with the existing ordinary shares of the
Company.
Total Voting Rights
In accordance with the FCA's
Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules, including the issue of
the Shares, the Company's issued share capital consists of
98,076,990 Shares, each with one voting right. The Company does not
hold any Shares in treasury. Therefore, the total number of voting
rights in the Company is 98,076,990.
The above figure of 98,076,990 should be used by shareholders in
the Company as the
denominator for the calculations 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 Guidance and Transparency
Rules.
Ends
For Further
Information:
Engage with us by asking questions, watching
video summaries, and seeing what other shareholders have to say.
Navigate to our Interactive
Investor hub here: Home | First Class Metals
(firstclassmetalsplc.com)
For
further information, please contact:
James Knowles, Executive Chair
Email: JamesK@Firstclassmetalsplc.com
Tel: 07488 362641
Marc J Sale, CEO
Email: MarcS@Firstclassmetalsplc.com
Tel: 07711 093532
Novum Securities Limited (Financial Adviser)
David Coffman / George Duxberry
Website: www.novumsecurities.com
Tel: (0)20 7399 9400
Axis Capital Markets (Broker)
Lewis Jones / Ben Tadd
Website: Axcap247.com
Tel: (0)203 026 0449
NOTES TO EDITORS
Qualified Person
The technical disclosures contained
in this announcement have been drafted in line with the
Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum standards
and guidelines and approved by Marc J. Sale, who has more than
30years in the gold exploration industry and is considered a
Qualified person owing to his status as a Fellow of the Australian
Institute of Mining and Metallurgy.
First Class Metals PLC - Background
First Class Metals listed on the LSE
in July 2022 and is focused on metals exploration in Ontario,
Canada which has a robust and thriving junior mineral exploration
sector. In particular, the Hemlo 'camp' near Marathon, Ontario is a
proven world class address for gold exploration, featuring the
Hemlo gold deposit operated by Barrick Gold (>23M oz gold
produced), with the past producing Geco and Winston Lake base metal
deposits also situated in the region.
FCM currently holds 100% ownership
of seven claim blocks covering over 180km² along a 150km strike of
the Hemlo-Schreiber-Dayohessarah greenstone belt, exploring for
gold, base metals, and rare earth element mineralization. In
addition, FCM is carrying out a joint venture with Palladium One on
the West Pickle Lake Property in the region, a drill-proven
ultra-high-grade Ni-Cu project.
The flagship property North Hemlo
had a high-definition low level magnetic Heli-borne survey flown in
April 2022, this was followed with ground prospecting which
ultimately defined the 'Dead Otter Trend' which is a discontinuous
4.5km gold anomalous trend with a 19.6g/t Au peak grab sample. This
sampling being the highest known assay ever recorded on the North
Limb of Hemlo.
In October 2022 FCM completed the
option to purchase the historical high-grade past-producing Sunbeam
gold mine near Atikokan, Ontario, ~15 km southeast of Agnico
Eagle's Hammond Reef gold deposit (3.3 Moz of open pit probable
gold reserves).
FCM acquired the Zigzag Project near
Armstrong, Ontario in March 2023. The property features
Li-Ta-bearing pegmatites in the same belt as Green Technology
Metals' Seymour Lake Project, which contains a Mineral Resource
estimate of 9.9 Mt @ 1.04% Li2O. Zigzag was drilled prior to
Christmas 2023 and results have now been released.
The significant potential of the
properties for precious, base and battery metals relates to
'nearology', since all properties lie in the same districts as
known deposits (Hemlo, Hammond Reef, Seymour Lake), and either
contain known showings, geochemical or geophysical anomalies, or
favourable structures along strike from known showings (e.g. the
Esa project, with an inferred Hemlo-style shear along strike from
known gold occurrences).
Forward Looking
Statements
Certain statements in this announcement may contain
forward-looking statements which are based on the Company's
expectations, intentions and projections regarding its future
performance, anticipated events or trends and other matters that
are not historical facts. Such forward-looking statements can be
identified by the fact that they do not relate only to historical
or current facts. Forward-looking statements sometimes use words
such as 'aim', 'anticipate', 'target', 'expect', 'estimate',
'intend', 'plan', 'goal', 'believe', or other words of similar
meaning. These statements are not guarantees of future performance
and are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other
factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from
those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.
Given these risks and uncertainties, prospective investors are
cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking
statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of
such statements and, except as required by applicable law, the
Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise publicly any
forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise.