Admission to listing on the Official List

RNS Number : 0565V

Castillo Copper Limited

04 August 2020

 

NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY IN OR INTO CANADA, JAPAN, THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA, THE UNITED STATES OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION WHERE TO DO SO WOULD CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF THE RELEVANT LAWS OF SUCH JURISDICTION

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 4 August 2020

CASTILLO COPPER LIMITED
("Castillo" or the "Company" or the Group)

(Incorporated in Australia with registered number ACN 17 606 476)

Admission to listing on the Official List and to trading on the London Stock Exchange

Castillo Copper Limited (LSE: CCZ; ASX: CCZ), a base metal explorer primarily focused on copper across Australia and Zambia, announces that its entire issued share capital of 1,009,938,722 ordinary shares (the constituent elements of which are set out below) has today been admitted to the standard segment of the Official List of the Financial Conduct Authority and to trading on the main market for listed securities of the London Stock Exchange plc under the TIDM "CCZ". The Company's ISIN is AU000000CCZ2. The Placing was arranged by SI Capital Limited.

Details of Admission and Placing

The Company has raised gross cash proceeds of £1,345,000 via the placing of 79,117,618 new Ordinary Shares ("Placing Shares") at a price of 1.7 pence each, capitalising Castillo at £17.16 million. The 1,009,938,722 ordinary shares admitted to the standard segment of the Official List of the Financial Conduct Authority and to trading on the main market for listed securities of the London Stock Exchange plc to comprise 929,056,398 Existing Ordinary Shares, 79,117,618 Placing Shares and 1,764,706 Ordinary Shares issued to SI Capital Limited in connection with the Placing. The Placing Shares will rank pari passu with existing Ordinary Shares.

Capitalised terms used in this announcement are as defined in the prospectus published by the Company on 27 July 2020, unless the context otherwise requires.

Key Projects

The Company's strategy focuses on resource exploration projects that have the potential, through the application of disciplined and structured exploration and analysis, to be progressed towards the development of a mining operation. The dual listing will support the Company's aim to transform the business into a mid-tier copper producer. 

The three main projects across Australia and Zambia include:

Cangai Project

· The Company's flagship project is the Cangai Project in northern New South Wales, where the Cangai Copper Mine is located, one of Australia's highest grading historic copper mines. The Company's core focus is the development and expansion of the Cangai Copper Mine, which comprises a volcanogenic massive sulphide deposit, with a JORC Code compliant Inferred Resource of 3.2Mt at 3.35 per cent. Cu and up to 14.45 per cent. Cu in assayed diamond core intersections.

Mt Oxide Project

· Castillo is targeting the development of a viable copper mining operation at the Mt Oxide Project, which has significant exploration upside with several high-grade targets including an interpreted 130m thick by 1,500m by 450m massive sulphide bedrock conductor that is about to be drilled. The project is located approximately 150km north of Mt Isa in northwest Queensland. The project is within the proximity of several historic and currently operating copper mines including Lady Annie and Capricorn Copper.

Zed Projects

· The Company is the sole shareholder of Zed, an Australian company which holds four high-quality prospective assets across Zambia's copper-belt, the second largest copper producer in Africa. Castillo Copper intends to initially focus on the Luanshya Project, which sits on the Zambian copper belt's Lufilian Arc geological structure. The second priority for the Company is the Mkushi Project, which contiguously surrounds an operating open-pit copper mine, in a region proven to be highly prospective for Cu-Au mineralisation. The Company is currently working towards establishing a Zambian in-country presence, utilising local geologists and joint venture partner teams.

Use of Proceeds

· Progress work on the Cangai Copper Mine, which will potentially include an aeromagnetics programme and further exploration activities to facilitate upgrading the current JORC compliant inferred resource (3.2Mt at 3.35 per cent. Cu) to ultimately result in the Company's strategy of completing a scoping study as a precursor to a bankable feasibility study

· Drilling the current targets at Mt Oxide, as well as undertaking geological mapping, geochemistry, ground physics and drone magnetic surveys to identify test drilling at the other Mt Oxide Projects

· Commitments towards exploring the Zed Projects

· Working capital

Simon Paull, Managing Director of Castillo Copper, said: "We are delighted to have completed our dual listing on the London Stock Exchange, a milestone for the Company and one that will help us drive the business forward towards our goal to become a mid-tier copper producer. The London listing significantly enhances the Company's profile and gives us access to UK institutional investors that understand the global copper industry dynamics and are prepared to fund highly prospective projects. We welcome our new shareholders and look forward to updating them and the wider market during this exciting period of development for Castillo Copper."

Further information on the Company, and a copy of the Prospectus, is available on CCZ's website ( www.castillocopper.com ).

For further information, please contact:

Castillo Copper Limited	[phone]
Simon Paull (Australia), Managing Director Gerrard Hall (UK), Director
SI Capital Limited (Financial Adviser and Corporate Broker)	[phone]
Nick Emerson
Luther Pendragon (Financial PR)	[phone]
Harry Chathli, Alexis Gore, Joe Quinlan

Notes to Editors:

About Castillo Copper

Castillo Copper Limited is a base metal explorer primarily focused on copper then zinc and nickel. The Group is embarking on a strategic transformation to morph into a mid-tier copper Group underpinned by three core pillars:

· Cangai Copper Mine in northern New South Wales, which is one of Australia's highest grading historic copper mines.

· The Mt Oxide project in the Mt Isa copper-belt district, north-west Queensland, which delivers significant exploration upside through having several high-grade targets and a sizeable untested anomaly within its boundaries in a copper-rich region.

· Four high-quality prospective assets across Zambia's copper-belt which is the second largest copper producer in Africa.

Background and Company Strategy

The Company's strategy focuses on resource exploration projects that have the potential, through the application of disciplined and structured exploration and analysis, to be progressed towards the development of a mining operation. On 6 May 2019, the Company announced that the Board had approved a new business strategy, which would focus on securing a "three-pillar" diversified project portfolio with the aim of transforming the business into a mid-tier copper business.

Pillar I - Cangai Project

The Company's core focus is the development and expansion of the Cangai Copper Mine within the Cangai Project located near Grafton in the northeast of New South Wales, Australia, which has a JORC Code Inferred Resource of 3.2Mt at 3.35 per cent. Cu and up to 14.45 per cent. Cu in assayed diamond core intersections. On 21 July 2017, the Company announced that it had entered into an agreement with certain sellers (the "Total Minerals Sellers") to acquire the entire issued share capital in Total Minerals, which owned three cobalt and copper assets in New South Wales and Queensland (including the historic Cangai Project in northeast New South Wales and two contiguous tenements that are located within a 20km radius of Broken Hill, New South Wales, that are prospective for copper-cobalt-zinc (the "Broken Hill Project")). In consideration for the Total Minerals Acquisition, the Company issued 55,000,000 Ordinary Shares in the Company to the Total Minerals Sellers and facilitated Total Minerals entering into a royalty agreement pursuant to which the Total Minerals Sellers were entitled to a net smelter return royalty of 3 per cent. in respect of the tenements. The Company completed the Total Minerals Acquisition on 11 August 2017.

The Company's objective is to (i) continue the assessment of incremental metallurgical work to be conducted to finalise an off-take agreement; (ii) continue discussions with the New South Wales Resources Regulator ("NSWRR") on the necessary approvals required to process the stockpile ore; and (iii) assess forward exploration plans and conduct a scoping study in order to proceed with its long term strategy of undertaking a bankable feasibility study.

Pillar II - Mt Oxide Project

The Company is targeting the development of a viable copper mining operation at the Mt Oxide Project, which is located approximately 150km north of Mt Isa in northwest Queensland. The project is within the proximity of several historic and currently operating copper mines including Lady Annie and Capricorn Copper. On 22 March 2017, the Company announced that it had entered into an agreement with certain sellers (the "QComm Sellers") to acquire the entire issued capital of QComm, an Australian copper and cobalt company which owns three assets targeting high grade copper and cobalt systems in New South Wales and Queensland (including the Mt Oxide Project). In consideration for the QComm Acquisition, the Company agreed that it would:

(i)  issue 10,000,000 shares in the Company as initial consideration (issued in March 2017 at A$0.02 per share for the value of A$200,000);

(ii)  pay the QComm Sellers A$150,000 as initial cash consideration;

(iii)  issue 76,666,668 consideration shares in the Company on completion of the QComm Acquisition;

(iv)  pay the QComm Shareholders A$200,000 pro-rata to their QComm shareholding payable as soon as practicable following grant of all applications; and

(v)  facilitate QComm entering into a royalty agreement with the QComm Sellers (or their nominees) pursuant to which QComm would pay a 1 per cent net smelter return royalty in respect of the area covered by the applications.

On 4 July 2017, the Company completed the QComm Acquisition. Furthermore, in August 2017, the Company received notice from Queensland's Department of Natural Resources and Mines that the final exploration application had been granted. Following the notice, the Company paid the QComm Sellers A$200,000.

Currently, the main highlight within the Mt Oxide Project is the exploration target, known as the Ayra Prospect, which was identified through an airborne electromagnetic survey conducted by Geoscience Australia in March 2019. Whilst the potential quantity and grade of the exploration target is conceptual in nature, there has been insufficient exploration to estimate a mineral resource and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in the estimation of mineral resource.

The Company's main objective is to progress with several site visits to conduct geochemical sampling and geophysical surveys on known exploration targets to facilitate an inaugural test drilling campaign for developing a clear exploration strategy.

Pillar III-Zed Projects

On 20 February 2020, the Company entered into the Zed Acquisition Agreement with the Zed Sellers and Matthew Bull, as representative of Zed Sellers to acquire, subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions, the entire issued share capital in Zed. Zed is a minerals explorer which holds the exclusive rights to acquire the Zed Projects covering approximately 1,121km² in the Lufilian Arc region in Zambia. The Zed Acquisition completed on 25 February 2020. Following the completion of the Zed Acquisition, the Company intends to firstly develop the Luanshya project, located in Zambia's traditional "copper-belt" along a key northwest structural trend known as the Lufilian Arc. The second priority for the Company is the Mkushi project, which contiguously surrounds an operating open-pit copper mine, in a region proven to be highly prospective for Cu-Au mineralisation.

Strategy and Rationale

With a positive global outlook for both base and precious metals, the Directors believe that the Group's current asset portfolio provides a base from which the Company will seek to add significant value. Further investments may be considered:

(i)  where assets in strategic commodities are geologically prospective but undervalued;

(ii)  where technical knowledge and experience could be applied to add or unlock upside potential;

(iii)  where the assets may be synergistic to the current portfolio; or

(iv)       where project diversification will add strategic growth opportunities within an appropriate timeframe.

As described above, the Company's short-term objectives will focus on the delivery and development of the Projects. While new project acquisitions may be considered on an opportunistic basis following adequate due diligence, they are not expected to be a primary focus in the short to medium term.

The Board

Robert Scott - Non-Executive Chairman, age 72

Robert Scott has over 35 years of experience in corporate accounting and public company administration. Since 2010, Robert has served as a non-executive director of Sandfire Resources and has overseen the development and commercialisation of the company's Degrussa Copper-Gold Mine in Western Australia. Robert is currently a non-executive director of RTG Mining Inc., an exploration company which has advanced copper and gold exploration interests in the Philippines and Bougainville. He previously served as a non-executive director of CGA Mining Ltd, a major gold producer in the Philippines and Lonestar Resources US Inc., a Texas-based producer of shale oil, as well as serving as a non-executive director for a number of diversified companies within the resources and mining services industry. Robert is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants, a member of the Taxation Institute of Australia and a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Simon Paull - Managing Director, age 52

Simon Paull is an experienced finance and operational executive with over 25 years of experience in the resources and mining services industry. Simon spent 12 years as the managing director of Sandvik Mining & Constructions Ltd, where he oversaw the company's East African operations in nine countries including: Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Sudan. Mr Paull obtained his MBA from the University of New England, Australia. He is a member of the Institute of Public Accountants and a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. In 2013, Simon served as general manager and international commercial manager for Liberation Mining Services Ltd and NRW Pty Ltd, respectively, before joining Falck Pty Ltd as the chief executive officer in 2014, where he served for four years.

Gerrard ("Ged") Hall - Non-Executive Director, age 49

Ged is a senior front office professional with strong experience in proprietary trading, derivatives structuring and asset management. Ged has over 20 years of securities and trading experience gained in London at JP Morgan and UBS. Ged joined the Saudi National Commercial Bank as a Business Head of Asset Management & Treasury Products in Bahrain, where he established their Structured Investment Product division. Ged is a director and founder of Strategic Business Analysis Limited, a strategic management consultancy firm which has undertaken engagements for companies such as BFC Bank, Northern Trust Natixis, HSBC and, more recently, SI Capital. Ged obtained his MBA and MSc in Financial Management from Edinburgh Business School.

 

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