Bacanora Minerals Update

RNS Number : 0431C

Cadence Minerals PLC

10 April 2017

 

Cadence Minerals Plc

("Cadence Minerals", "Cadence" or "the Company")

Battery Grade Lithium Carbonate Offtake Signed at Sonora Lithium Project

Cadence (AIM/NEX: KDNC; OTC: KDNCY) is pleased to announce that Bacanora Minerals Plc ("Bacanora") has entered in into offtake and strategic partnership (the "Agreement") with Hanwa Co., LTD. ("Hanwa"), a leading Japan-based global trading company and one of the larger traders of battery chemicals in the Asian region, with reported net sales of more than ¥1,500 billion in 2016.  The full Bacanora release is available at: http://ir.euroinvestor.com/Tools/newsArticleHTML.aspx?solutionID=2482&customerKey=bacanoraminerals&storyID=13572044&language=en

Cadence holds an interest in the Project in Mexico through its 19.12% holding in Bacanora and the joint venture interests of 30% in each of Megalit S.A. de CV and Mexalit S.A. de CV as fully described below.

Highlights from Bacanora Release:

·           Off-take Agreement for up to 100% of battery grade lithium ("Li₂CO₃"), pricing will be in line with global Li₂CO₃  at the time of production.

·           Hanwa to purchase 70-100% of Li₂CO₃ produced from Stage 1 production schedule of 17,500 tonnes Li₂CO₃ per annum.

·           Hanwa has the option to increase this offtake to 100% of the product from Stage 2 (35,000 tonnes Li₂CO₃ per annum).

·           Hanwa to initially invest approximately £10 million for 10% equity investment in Bacanora, with option to increase this interest to 19.9%.

·           Hanwa has committed to assist Bacanora in securing the debt financing component of the funding package required to enable development to commence following completion of the Feasibility Study. 

·           Preliminary introductions made to date by Hanwa have been positive first steps towards securing such additional future financing requirements.

Commenting, Kiran Morzaria, Chief Executive Officer of Cadence, said:

"This strategic partnership is a pivotal moment in the development of the Sonora lithium project. The off-take agreement for up to 100% of battery grade lithium carbonate, not only validates the production process, but also reduces the risk profile and importantly means that the Project has a strong strategic partner that provides an excellent foundation for project debt financing, construction and production."

"Both our key investments have progressed exceptionally over the last year, with the Sonora lithium project advancing from pre-feasibility to off-take and the Cinovec project in Europe advancing towards pre-feasibility, which is due in April 2017."

The Sonora Lithium Project and Details of Cadence's ownership:

Cadence owns a direct interest of 19.12 % of Bacanora. The Sonora Lithium Project is comprised of the following lithium properties:

- La Ventana, La Ventana 1, and Megalit concessions, which are 100 percent owned by Minera Sonora Borax S.A. de C.V.("MSB"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bacanora; Cadence, through its direct interest of 19.12 % of Bacanora, has an indirect interest in these concessions of 19.12%.

- El Sauz, El Sauz 1, El Sauz 2, Fleur and Fleur 1 concessions, which are held by Mexilit S.A. de C.V. ("Mexilit"). Cadence has a 43% direct interest in Mexalit through its Joint Venture with Bacanora, and when combined with Cadence's direct interest of 19.12 % in Bacanora, has a total economic interest in Mexalit of 43%.

- The Buenavista, and San Gabriel concessions, which are held by Megalit S.A de C.V ("Megalit"). Cadence has a 30% direct interest in Megalit through its Joint Venture with Bacanora, and when combined with Cadence's direct interest of 19.2% in Bacanora, has a total economic interest in Megalit of 43%.

Qualified Person:

Kiran Morzaria B.Eng. (ACSM), MBA, has reviewed and approved the information contained in this announcement. Kiran holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Industrial Geology) from the Camborne School of Mines and an MBA (Finance).

For further information please contact
Cadence Minerals plc	[phone]
Andrew Suckling
Kiran Morzaria
WH Ireland Limited (NOMAD & Broker)	[phone]
James Joyce
James Bavister
Square1 Consulting	[phone]
David Bick
Brian Alexander

Qualified Person

Kiran Morzaria B.Eng. (ACSM), MBA, has reviewed and approved the information contained in this announcement. Kiran holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Industrial Geology) from the Camborne School of Mines and an MBA (Finance) from CASS Business School.

About Cadence Minerals:

Cadence is dedicated to smart investments for a greener world. The planet needs rechargeable batteries on a global scale - upcoming supersized passenger vehicles, lorries and buses - require lithium and other technology minerals to power their cells. Cadence is helping find these minerals in new places and extracting them in new ways, which will meet the demand of this burgeoning market. With over £35 million vested in key assets globally, Cadence is helping us reach tomorrow, today.

Cadence invests across the globe, principally in lithium mining projects. Its primary strategy is taking significant economic stakes in upstream exploration and development assets within strategic metals. We identify assets that have strategic cost advantages that are not replicable, with the aim of achieving lower quartile production costs. The combination of this approach and seeking value opportunities allows us to identify projects capable of achieving high rates of return.

The Cadence board has a blend of mining, commodity investing, fund management and deal structuring knowledge and experience, that is supported by access to key marketing, political and industry contacts. These resources are leveraged not only in our investment decisions but also in continuing support of our investments, whether it be increasing market awareness of an asset, or advising on product mix or path to production. Cadence Mineral's goal is to assist management to rapidly develop the project up the value curve and deliver excellent returns on its investments.

 

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