Strategic Minerals PLC Leigh Creek Copper Mine Project Update (5102N)
21 Maggio 2020 - 8:00AM
UK Regulatory
TIDMSML
RNS Number : 5102N
Strategic Minerals PLC
21 May 2020
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.
21 May 2020
Strategic Minerals plc
("Strategic Minerals" or the "Company")
Leigh Creek Copper Mine Project Update
Strategic Minerals plc (AIM: SML; USOTC: SMCDY), a producing
mineral company actively developing projects prospective for
battery materials , is pleased to announce that the Company's
wholly owned subsidiary, Leigh Creek Copper Mine Pty Ltd ("LCCM" or
"Leigh Creek") has today lodged a draft program for environment
protection and rehabilitation ("PEPR") with the South Australian
government.
The lodgement of the draft PEPR is an important step to full
re-opening of operations and producing copper at Leigh Creek. The
general regulatory process for a licence to operate is for
companies to lodge a draft proposal which is circulated to relevant
departments within the South Australian state government. This
process normally takes around two months and feedback is then
addressed/incorporated into a final PEPR lodgement. Generally, the
process takes around three to four months from lodgement of the
draft PEPR to the granting of the approval.
Once the regulatory approvals are complete LCCM can look at
re-starting operations subject to financing. The directors believe
that LCCM is ideally placed as a second income stream for the
Company with a short development timeframe and low capital costs to
first production.
While we are unsure whether approval timing will be impacted by
Covid-19, the pandemic has negatively impacted copper prices.
However, the fall in copper prices has largely been ameliorated by
a concurrent drop in the USD/AUD exchange rate. These factors have
been built into our on-going discussions with potential joint
venture partners and the Board considers that the project is still
very economically attractive. These joint venture discussions have
slowed as a result of the disruption imposed by Covid-19 but
continue to move forward.
Commenting, John Peters, Managing Director of Strategic
Minerals, said:
"Whilst the Leigh Creek project is taking longer to progress
than anticipated, the Board considers that LCCM, which has a book
value of US$6.8m, is a key asset within its portfolio. The
continued strength of the Cobre operation, which the board expects
to produce circa US$3m in sales and US$1.5m in after tax cash in
2020, provides the Company adequate scope to locate and execute
with a joint venture partner. Again, this emphasises that, subject
to financing, a second income stream for the Group is relatively at
hand. "
For further information, please contact:
+61 (0) 414 727
Strategic Minerals plc 965
John Peters
Managing Director
Website: www.strategicminerals.net
Email: info@strategicminerals.net
Follow Strategic Minerals on:
Vox Markets: https://www.voxmarkets.co.uk/company/SML/
Twitter: @SML_Minerals
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/strategic-minerals-plc
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=strategic%20minerals%20plc
+44 (0) 20 3470
SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP 0470
Nominated Adviser and Broker
Ewan Leggat
Charlie Bouverat
Notes to Editors
Strategic Minerals plc is an AIM-quoted, operating minerals
company actively developing projects prospective for battery
materials. It has an operation in the United States of America and
Australia 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 being sought in the burgeoning
electric vehicle/battery market.
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 orientated to
supplying the burgeoning electric vehicle/battery market.
In January 2016, the portfolio was expanded with the acquisition
of shares in Central Australian Rare Earths Pty Ltd, which holds
tenements in Western Australia prospective for cobalt, nickel
sulphides and rare earth elements. The Company has since acquired
all shares in Central Australian Rare Earths Pty Ltd. In September
2018, the Company entered contracts for the sale of certain CARE
tenements identified as gold targets.
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. This was completed on
24 July 2019.
In March 2018, the Company completed the acquisition of the
Leigh Creek Copper Mine situated in the copper rich belt of South
Austra lia and brought the project into production in April
2019.
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contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.
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