- Kincora completes acquisition to secure 100% interest in all
NSW projects
- Acquisition completed of RareX Limited's ("RareX")
carried 35% asset level interests in the Trundle, Fairholme,
Jemalong, Cundumbul and Condobolin licenses for 40m Kincora Chess Depositary Interests
("CDIs") and a 1% Net Smelter Return Royalty ("NSR")
(the "Acquisition")
- A review process, including discussions and negotiations with
potential third party asset level investors and partners, is
ongoing for the NSW porphyry portfolio including project level
funding and other corporate transaction structures
- Experienced resource executive Jeremy Robinson appointed to Kincora's
board
MELBOURNE, Australia, Dec. 15,
2023 /CNW/ - Kincora Copper Limited (ASX: KCC)
(TSXV: KCC), Kincora or the Company) today announced
it has completed the acquisition of RareX's minority and carried
interest in various projects to now have a 100% ownership in the
entire NSW project portfolio and this follows an associated
A$2m raising completed last
quarter.
Mr. Jeremy Robinson, founder and
chair of RareX, has joined the Company's board as a non-executive
director and brings extensive corporate transaction, project
generation and capital markets experience.
Chairman Cameron McRae,
commented:
"Completion of the acquisition with RareX
results in Kincora holding a 100% interest in a highly prospective
and district scale project portfolio in NSW. This transaction
supports a pivot in funding strategy seeking dilution at the
project rather than solely at the listed company level as has been
in the past.
Completion of the RareX acquisition is
expected to be a major catalyst for ongoing discussions and
negotiations for the NSW projects.
I now formally welcome Jeremy to the board
and acknowledge his already significant inputs to the Kincora team
on a number of value adding initiatives. We look forward to
leveraging Jeremy's commercial experience and value-added
focus."
Acquisition
Further to the July
31st, 2023, press release announcing the
conditional agreement with RareX to acquire its minority and
carried interest in various NSW projects, the Company is pleased to
announce all conditions precedent have been met and the Acquisition
has completed with the 40,000,000 shares being issued to RareX,
which was approved by shareholders on September 27th, 2023.
With this transaction now complete, Kincora's 100% interest in
all NSW projects yields certain benefits:
- Increase the strategic value of the NSW project
portfolio: Consolidating the project ownership and removing the
existing carried interests increases the strategic value and
attractiveness of the projects and NSW project portfolio.
- Partner discussions at the project level: The NSW
project portfolio had already attracted interest from mid-tier and
an industry majors1. The 100% ownership structure now in
place provides optionality for project level funding and other
corporate transactions.
Coupled with a successful strategic review process for the
Mongolian porphyry portfolio, resulting in a confidential and
incomplete offer that includes the receipt of a non-refundable
deposit to enable final due diligence and definitive legal
agreements 2, the Acquisition is expected to be a
catalyst to ongoing asset level partner discussions and
negotiations at a time of increasing and very significant corporate
activities in the district from the exploration stages (eg
AngloGold Ashanti's up to A$145m
earn-in with Inflection Resources adjacent to Kincora's Northern
Junee-Narromine Belt project) to producing mines (eg Evolution
Mining's acquisition of 80% of Northparkes for up to A$720m, A$1.3b sale
of the CSA mine, and, Newmont's acquisition of Newcrest and earn-in
agreement with Legacy Minerals).
- Funding position strengthened: Following the recently
completed A$2m raising completed last
quarter, the Company is in a strong financial position, with large
scale targets and designed drill programs for the Condobolin,
Trundle, Fairholme, Jemalong and Northern Junee-Narromine Belt
("NJNB") projects.
Artificial Intelligence ("AI") exploration alliance partner, Earth
AI, is in the advanced stages for shortly commencing its maiden
drilling program at the Cundumbul project. This program (at Earth
AI's cost, Kincora retaining a 100% project interest) will test
anomalous copper geochemistry and porphyry targets associated with
outcropping hydrothermal breccias and skarns.
Board appointment
Mr. Jeremy Robinson has joined
Kincora's Board as a Non-Executive Director and member of the
Company's Remuneration Committee.
Mr. Robinson is the founder and the current chair of RareX, is a
significant shareholder in Kincora and brings an extensive track
record of fund raising, corporate development and successful
exploration, resource growth and development stages in the junior
sector.
Mr. Robinson has 18 years corporate finance experience both in
investment firms and in-house, having earned a Bachelor of Commerce
from the University of Western
Australia majoring in Corporate Finance, Investment Finance
and Marketing.
RareX shareholding
The Company further reports that in connection with the
Acquisition, RareX has acquired beneficial ownership and control of
40,000,000 shares of Kincora in the form of CDIs. Prior to the
acquisition, RareX had beneficial ownership and control over
4,983,333 common shares, representing 2.4% of the outstanding
shares of the Company.
After the Acquisition, RareX has direct ownership and control
over an aggregate of 44,983,333 common shares of Kincora,
representing 18.2% of the issued and outstanding common shares of
Kincora. RareX acquired the shares for investment purposes and may
in the future acquire or dispose of securities of the Company
through the market, privately or otherwise as circumstances or
market conditions warrant.
The Company notes RareX has today filed an early warning report
advising of a change in its holdings in Kincora following the
receipt of consideration for the Acquisition.
Post the Acquisition, Kincora's total issued ordinary shares are
247,173,541.
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In January 2020,
Kincora executed a binding agreement with RareX that provided for a
controlling interest in a portfolio of 6 advanced to early stage
copper-gold exploration licenses that have demonstrated
mineralisation and strategic appeal. In March 2020, Kincora acquire
a 65% interest in the respective licenses, becoming operator and
sole funder of all further exploration until a positive scoping
study or preliminary economic assessment ("PEA") was delivered on a
license-by-license level basis. In July 2023, Kincora executed
a conditional agreement with RareX to increase its interest to 100%
and remove the carried interest with this transaction completed in
December 2023.
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The vended Trundle
(EL8222), Fairholme (EL6552 and EL6915), Jemalong (EL8502),
Cundumbul (EL6661) and Condobolin (EL7748) licenses all host
demonstrated large scale mineral systems and are located in highly
prospective settings on proven mineral and mining belts of the
Lachlan Fold Belt, in Central West NSW.
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This portfolio has
previously attracted significant investment from Newcrest,
Goldfields, High Powered Exploration Inc. (now Ivanhoe Electric),
Kaizen Discovery, Mitsubishi Materials Corporation and Ramelius
Resources Ltd., amongst others.
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All most recent
previous asset level counterparties withdrew within a 6-month
period at the bottom of the previously commodity price cycle. No
drilling or follow up exploration of note had taken place until
Kincora's recent activities.
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Consolidating the
project ownership and removing the existing carried interests
increases the strategic value of Kincora's NSW project portfolio.
The project portfolio already attracted interest from mid-tier and
an industry majors, and with an ownership structure now in place
that provides optionality for project level funding and other
corporate transactions.
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RareX is listed on the
ASX with the ticker "REE", and is formerly known as Sagon Resources
and Clancy Exploration Limited. RareX is now focused on the
development of its Cummins Range rare earths and Direct Shipping
Ore (DSO) phosphate project in Western Australia. RareX is
Kincora's largest shareholder with a ~18.2% interest.
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In addition to the
licenses acquired from RareX, Kincora was the first mover and
secured directly from the NSW Government a district scale position
in the interpreted northern undercover extension of the Macquarie
Arc.
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Kincora bet Fortescue
and Inflection Resources (its subsequent earn-in partner Anglo-Gold
Ashanti) to the most prospective and shallow to moderate depth
sections of the interpreted northern extension of the
Junee-Narromine Belt.
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Due to post mineral
cover there has been very limited prior drilling in this section of
the belt relative to the southern section (which hosts >160Moz
gold equivalent – source MinEx Consulting).
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The Northern
Junee-Narromine Belt ("NJNB") offers new district-scale discovery
potential with spatial and temporal settings, coupled with
magnetics, supportive of large-scale (Cadia-scale) targets
analogous to porphyry deposits located in the southern section of
the Macquarie Arc and other globally significant porphyry
districts.
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For further details
please refer to the Company's Third Quarter Financials, and
Management's Discussion and Analysis ("MD&A"), released
November 15th, 2023.
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This announcement has been authorised for release by the
Board of Kincora Copper Limited (ARBN 645 457 763)
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain information regarding Kincora contained herein may
constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of
applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements may include
estimates, plans, expectations, opinions, forecasts, projections,
guidance or other statements that are not statements of fact.
Although Kincora believes that the expectations reflected in such
forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance
that such expectations will prove to have been correct. Kincora
cautions that actual performance will be affected by a number of
factors, most of which are beyond its control, and that future
events and results may vary substantially from what Kincora
currently foresees. Factors that could cause actual results to
differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include
market prices, exploitation and exploration results, continued
availability of capital and financing and general economic, market
or business conditions. The forward-looking statements are
expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement.
The information contained herein is stated as of the current date
and is subject to change after that date. Kincora does not assume
the obligation to revise or update these forward-looking
statements, except as may be required under applicable securities
laws.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its
Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the
policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) or the Australian Securities
Exchange accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of
this release.
SOURCE Kincora Copper Limited