Final Results and Publication of Annual Report

Greatland Gold PLC
06 November 2023
 

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NEWS RELEASE | 6 November 2023                                                  

 

 

Final Results and Publication of Annual Report

 

 

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION AS STIPULATED UNDER THE UK MARKET ABUSE REGULATIONS.  ON PUBLICATION OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT VIA A REGULATORY INFORMATION SERVICE, THIS INFORMATION IS CONSIDERED TO BE IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN.

Greatland Gold plc (AIM:GGP), a mining development and exploration company with a focus on precious and base metals, announces its audited financial results for the year ended 30 June 2023. 

 

 

Corporate highlights

 

§ Retained 30% ownership of Havieron at the conclusion of the 5% option process provided for in the Havieron Joint Venture Agreement, an outcome that delivers substantial value to Greatland shareholders

 

§ Strengthened the Board with the appointments of Mark Barnaba (Non-Executive Chairman), Elizabeth Gaines (Non-Executive Deputy Chair), Jimmy Wilson (Executive Director) and Yasmin Broughton (Non-Executive Director).

 

§ Successfully completed equity raisings of £63.3 million, including £33.5 million cornerstone investment by Wyloo (which currently holds 8.45% of the Company's shares)

 

§ Letter of Support signed with ANZ, HSBC and ING for Havieron, supporting a A$220 million seven-year syndicated debt and associated hedging facilities and subsequent to year end

 

§ Executed a A$50 million unsecured standby loan facility (Standby Facility) with Wyloo Metals (Wyloo)

 

 

Portfolio highlights

 

§ Continued the expedited development of the underground decline at Havieron, in parallel with the Feasibility Study that continues to progress well, assessing several value enhancing options to maximise value and derisk the project

 

§ Entered into a farm-in and joint venture agreement with Rio Tinto Exploration to explore more than 1,500km2 of highly prospective tenure near Havieron; commenced drilling within one month

 

§ Signed a landmark land access agreement for the Ernest Giles project; awarded a drilling grant under the Government of Western Australia's Exploration Incentive Scheme

 

§ Continued to advance exploration at our tenements in the Paterson, in particular Scallywag

 

§ At the Juri Joint Venture, a second exploration programme commenced in May 2022 with encouraging assay results

 

 

Greatland Managing Director, Shaun Day, commented: "This year has seen Greatland continue to make significant progress towards the development of our world-class mining asset, Havieron. Progress at Havieron has been impressive, bringing us closer to the top of the Havieron ore body. In addition to our flagship project, there has been exploration advancement across our portfolio, which we believe provides excellent optionality and prospectivity in addition to Havieron. 

 

"We have significantly enhanced our corporate position by securing both equity and debt financing, and in particular the strategic cornerstone equity investment from Wyloo. We are now well positioned to make the most of all value generative opportunities as and when they become available."

 

"Over the past year, the Greatland team has successfully continued to establish our growth platform, and we are eager to continue building on it in the coming year. The joint venture agreement with Rio Tinto Exploration is a great example of the strides we have taken, and we are excited about the opportunity presented by our Paterson South farm-in."

 

 

Publication of Annual Report

 

The 2023 Annual Report is available for download on our website at https://greatlandgold.com/investors/results/ and will be mailed out to registered shareholders.

 

Contact

 

For further information, please contact:

Greatland Gold plc

Shaun Day, Managing Director  |  info@greatlandgold.com

 

Nominated Adviser

SPARK Advisory Partners

Andrew Emmott / James Keeshan / Neil Baldwin  |  +44 203 368 3550

 

Corporate Brokers

Berenberg  |  Matthew Armitt / Jennifer Lee  |  +44 203 368 3550

Canaccord Genuity  |  James Asensio / George Grainger |  +44 207 523 8000

SI Capital Limited  |  Nick Emerson / Sam Lomanto  |  +44 148 341 3500

 

Media Relations

UK - Gracechurch Group  | Harry Chathli / Alexis Gore / Henry Gamble  |  +44 204 582 3500

Australia - Fivemark Partners  |  Michael Vaughan  |  +61 422 602 720

 

 

About Greatland

Greatland is a mining development and exploration company focused primarily on precious and base metals.

 

The Company's flagship asset is the world-class Havieron gold-copper project in the Paterson Province of Western Australia, discovered by Greatland and presently under development in joint venture with ASX gold major, Newcrest Mining Limited (which is the subject of an agreed takeover by Newmont Corporation that is ongoing).

 

Havieron is located approximately 45km east of Newcrest's existing Telfer gold mine. The box cut and decline to the Havieron orebody commenced in February 2021.  Significant progress continues with the exploration decline with total development at over 2,820  metres in  October 2023.  Subject to a positive feasibility study and Decision to Mine, Havieron may leverage the existing Telfer infrastructure and processing plant.

 

Greatland has a proven track record of discovery and exploration success and is pursuing the next generation of tier-one mineral deposits by applying advanced exploration techniques in under-explored regions. Greatland has a number of exploration projects across Western Australia and in parallel to the development of Havieron is focused on becoming a multi-commodity miner of significant scale.

 

 

 



 

Chairman's Statement

 

I am pleased to present my inaugural Chairman's Statement for Greatland Gold plc (Company) and its consolidated group (Greatland or the Group).  Together with my fellow Directors, I would like to acknowledge what has been another strong year of growth and achievement for Greatland.  This progress continues to position Greatland as one of the mining industry's most exciting growth stories.

The past year has been an important period for Greatland. Our flagship asset, the world-class Havieron gold-copper project in the Paterson region of Western Australia, is being advanced under a joint venture with Newcrest Mining Limited (Newcrest; ASX:NCM, currently in the process of an agreed takeover by Newmont Corporation (NYSE:NEM)).

Mine development towards the Havieron orebody progressed well throughout the year, with total development now in excess of 2,820 metres including over 2,030 metres of advance in the main access decline as of October 2023.  With over 300,000 metres of exploration and development drilling completed, our most recent drilling improves our understanding of the South East Crescent which extends for more than 1,100 metres. Particularly encouraging is confirmation of continuous mineralisation through the link zone which connects the South East Crescent with the Eastern Breccia and the Havieron team is focused on incorporating these results into the optimised Feasibility Study together with several value enhancing options to maximise value and further derisk the project.

In addition to Havieron, Greatland holds a significant portfolio of precious and base metals focused exploration tenements in Western Australia, one of the world's premier mining jurisdictions, which collectively cover an area of approximately 5,000km², including nearly 3,000km² in the Paterson region. Excitingly, we believe we may have only scratched the surface of the exploration potential within our tenements in the Paterson region.  While the Havieron team continues to work hard to progress Havieron towards production, we have maintained our strong exploration momentum and moved swiftly to secure rights to the most prospective surrounding tenure. We are particularly excited about the opportunity presented by our Paterson South farm-in and joint venture arrangement with Rio Tinto Exploration Pty Ltd (RTX), a wholly owned subsidiary of Rio Tinto Limited (Rio Tinto; ASX:RIO), to accelerate exploration across over 1,500km² of highly prospective tenure in the Paterson. Greatland will be entitled to earn up to a 75% interest in the Paterson South tenements under a two-stage farm-in arrangement over seven years.

The Paterson South tenure is historically underexplored and hosts several magnetic anomalies with targets that we consider to be the closest to a Havieron lookalike within the Paterson region, as well as containing prospective Telfer style targets.  Our partnership with RTX is a significant opportunity for us to leverage our existing presence in the region, our good standing within the Paterson community, and our strong technical knowledge fostered through the discovery of Havieron and other exploration.  The rapid commencement of drilling on the tenements within four weeks of entering into the Paterson South farm-in and joint venture arrangement with RTX is testament to both the high quality of the targets and our drive to rapidly unlock greater value from our Paterson region exploration portfolio.

Elsewhere in the Paterson, drilling at Scallywag has returned the most encouraging results to date.  At the A35 Prospect, pre-collar drilling intercepted gold mineralisation and important pathfinder geochemistry which is associated with the Havieron and Telfer gold-copper deposits. In addition, an intercept at the Pearl Prospect confirms the possibility of a new style of deposit being identified. The strong gold and copper mineralisation and supporting pathfinder geochemistry continues to highlight the outstanding prospectivity within our tenement package and the Paterson region in general.  These results, together with our continual improvement in understanding of the covered basement geology, stratigraphy and structure, increases our confidence in the prospectivity of the region, and our ability to vector towards intrusion related and other styles of mineralised systems on our extensive ground holdings.

While the Paterson region has undoubtedly been our key focus for the year, we have also maintained activities across the other projects within our high-quality exploration portfolio that spans some of Australia's most exciting mineral regions.  Leading this generative pipeline is our Ernest Giles project. Subsequent to year end, a landmark land access agreement was completed with the Manta Rirrtinya Native Title Holders, the first they have entered into since their native title determination in 2018.  The agreement provides for the consent to the grant of tenure to, and land access by, Greatland over approximately 75% of the Ernest Giles project area. Diamond drill testing on the Meadows prospect is planned to commence in the 30 June 2024 financial year.

Greatland's most important priority is safety, keeping our employees, contractors and communities safe and well. Our first priorities are to operate with zero fatalities, reduce workplace injuries and prevent catastrophic events. Greatland achieved its goal of maintaining a safe workplace for all during the year. There were no fatalities at the Company's projects and the Total Recordable Injury Frequency Rate for the Company (fully owned or operated projects) was nil.

As Greatland continues its evolution from a junior explorer towards a leading mid-tier developer and producer, we have made substantial progress to support our next growth phase and aspirations through balance sheet strengthening, financing flexibility, increasing the depth and breadth of capabilities of our management team and enhancing our governance and sustainability credentials.

Fundamental to the acceleration in our development and exploration programmes is our ability to maintain our commercial discipline and financial strength. The Group's financial position was strengthened during the year with a combination of fundraises, including £29.7 million raised in August 2022 from institutional investors and a subsequent strategic cornerstone equity investment from Wyloo Consolidated Investments Pty Ltd (Wyloo) of A$60 million (c.£33.5 million) in October 2022, with an additional future potential equity contribution of £35 million.  Wyloo currently holds approximately 8.5% of Greatland shares on issue.  It is my pleasure to welcome our new shareholders.

Furthermore, in May 2023, Greatland received a signed Letter of Support from its banking syndicate expressing their support and interest in the provision of A$220 million seven-year syndicated debt and associated hedging facilities and subsequent to year end, we executed a A$50 million unsecured standby loan facility (Standby Facility) with Wyloo.  We appreciate Wyloo's continued support.  The Letter of Support, Standby Facility and continued backing of high-quality institutions strengthen our financial position and provides funding optionality prior to finalisation of the Havieron Feasibility Study as the underground decline approaches the top of the Havieron gold-copper orebody.

During the year, we significantly increased the depth and breadth of our capabilities across mining operations, project development, strategy, investor relations and governance.  In addition to my own appointment, we enhanced our Board experience with the transformational appointments of Elizabeth Gaines, former Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (Fortescue) CEO and Managing Director, as Non-Executive Director; James 'Jimmy' Wilson, a former senior executive at BHP whose roles included President of its iron ore division, as Executive Director; and Yasmin Broughton, a qualified lawyer with significant experience as a Non-Executive Director across a diverse range of industries with a particular focus on natural resources, as an Independent Non-Executive Director.

From a corporate perspective, Greatland significantly progressed our proposed cross-listing on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) during the year.  Our objective is to undertake an ASX cross-listing in a manner and at a time that delivers an optimised outcome for the Company and its existing shareholders.  Subsequent to year end in September, having regard to the ASX listing timetable and upcoming activities and opportunities for the business, we decided to defer the ASX cross-listing until 2024.  Greatland will continue to support the early works development of Havieron and will complete and announce an updated Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) which is targeted for the December quarter 2023.  Greatland remains committed to listing on the ASX at the appropriate time.  The work undertaken by the Company this year provides a strong foundation to efficiently resume and complete the ASX listing process.

We understand that our stakeholders expect us to operate in a sustainable, responsible and transparent manner that respects all people and the environment.  We recognise that sustainability is a journey and that investors and financial institutions are increasingly assessing companies based on their Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) performance, with the range of issues and expectations continuing to grow and evolve over time. Our achievements in this area and our ambitions for the future are reflected in our second dedicated Sustainability Report.

I would like to extend my gratitude to my fellow Directors and the entire Greatland team for their support, dedication and hard work during 2023. In particular, I thank Alex Borrelli for his Chairmanship of Greatland for the five years prior to my appointment, a period of tremendous success.  Alex's stewardship of the Company during this period was commendable and he remains a valuable contributor to the Board.  I also thank our Managing Director, Shaun Day, for his leadership of our exceptional management team through another important year in Greatland's continued development.

This past year has laid the foundation and I believe this next chapter for Greatland is only just the beginning. We have a busy exploration and development program with a number of key catalysts for growth and I look forward to the year ahead.

Finally, I would also like to thank our shareholders for their continued support and I look forward to bringing you further updates as we embark on another exciting year.

 

Mark Barnaba

Chairman

5 November 2023


Strategic Report

 

The Managing Director presents the strategic report on the Group for the year ended 30 June 2023.

Principal activities, strategies and business model

The principal activity of the Group is to explore for and develop precious and base metal assets.  The Group aspires to become a profitable multi-mine resources company by focusing on the responsible and sustainable discovery, development, extraction, processing and sale of precious and base metals.

Greatland has a clear strategy to achieve this growth which is built on three pillars:

(1)        Continued advancement of the world class Havieron gold-copper project through to production.

(2)        Exploration to identify new precious and base metals deposits with a particular focus on the highly prospective Paterson region of Western Australia.

(3)        Disciplined assessment and, where compelling, pursuit of new investment and acquisition opportunities in the resources sector.

Greatland's strategy and business model is developed by the Managing Director and approved by the Board. The Managing Director reports to the Board and is responsible for implementing the Group's strategy and operating its business, with the leadership team.

Corporate

On 14 July 2022, the Company announced it had successfully renegotiated the contingent consideration due under the original 2016 Havieron acquisition.  The Company agreed with the vendor a two-year restriction on dealing with the Greatland shares to be issued and a reduction of 4.5% in the number of Greatland shares to be issued, a saving of over 6.5 million shares.  This reflected the vendor's support for the Company and conviction in the Havieron project.

The Company then announced the successful conclusion of the Havieron Joint Venture 5% option process, with the Company retaining its 30% interest in Havieron. This was a key objective for the Group and an excellent outcome.

In August 2022, the Group's financial position was strengthened by a successful placing of new shares. The fundraise experienced strong demand and was oversubscribed, with total gross proceeds raised of £29.7 million at a price of 8.2 pence per share. The equity raising enabled the Company to add a significant institutional presence to our share registry, reflecting the evolution of our business.

Shortly afterwards in October 2022, the Group's financial position was further strengthened through a strategic equity investment from Wyloo of A$60 million (c.£33.5m) at an AUD equivalent price of 8.2 pence per share, with the potential for a further equity contribution of £35m (if warrants exercisable at 10.0 pence per share that were granted as part of the transaction are exercised).  The Wyloo investment was strongly supported by shareholders at a general meeting in October 2022 which approved the transaction.

On 30 May 2023, the Company announced that it had received a signed non-legally binding Letter of Support from a syndicate of banks comprising of Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited, HSBC Bank and ING Bank (Australia) (together, the Banking Syndicate).  The Letter of Support provides that the Banking Syndicate are fully supportive and interested in the provision of A$220 million seven-year syndicated debt and associated hedging facilities.

Greatland advanced its preparations for a proposed cross-listing on the ASX, with significant progress made during the year.  Subsequent to year end, having regard to the listing timetable and activities and opportunities for the business, Greatland decided to defer the ASX cross-listing until 2024.  Greatland remains committed to listing on the ASX at the appropriate time and is well positioned by the work undertaken this year to efficiently resume and complete the ASX listing process.

Havieron, Western Australia (Greatland: 30%)

Havieron is an exciting gold-copper development project and is the cornerstone of Greatland's strategic position in the Paterson region of Western Australia, one of the leading frontiers for the discovery of world-class precious and base metals deposits.

Discovered by Greatland in 2018, Havieron is being progressed under a joint venture with Australia's largest gold producer, Newcrest. Newcrest, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Newcrest Operations Limited (Newcrest Operations), has earnt a 70% joint venture interest in Havieron.

Newcrest assumed management of Havieron in May 2019, undertaking the orebody definition and technical studies required to support regulatory approvals and early works. The decline development commenced in May 2021, with the Pre-Feasibility Study completed on 12 October 2021 and the Feasibility Study currently progressing.

 

During the year, decline development continued to progress with total development at Havieron having reached in excess of 2,820 metres including over 2,030 metres of advance in the main access decline (as of October 2023).

Throughout the year exploration drilling continued at Havieron, with a focus on infilling the South East Crescent below the 4200mRL, continued evaluation of the Eastern Breccia along with continuing to assess the mineral system at depth.

The aim of the South East Crescent drilling was to improve the understanding and confidence in the lower South East Crescent Resource so that it may potentially be included in an updated mine design and subsequent Ore Reserve update. This infill drill program was completed in May 2023.

Last year's March 2022 Mineral Resource Estimate represented the first time Resources were defined within the Eastern Breccia, as a result of successful drilling during 2021.  Since this time drilling has continued, focusing on defining the extent of the Eastern Breccia, expanding the known mineralisation and achieving an appropriate spacing of drilling to provide the confidence required to support classified material as Mineral Resource.

Newcrest Operations is required to prepare a Havieron Feasibility Study before a Decision to Mine can be made.  Preparation of the Feasibility Study is ongoing and has been extended to further assess several value enhancing options to maximise value and derisk the project. 

Paterson South Farm-In and Joint Venture Arrangement, Western Australia (Greatland earning up to 75%)

In May 2023, Greatland entered into the Paterson South farm-in and joint venture agreement with RTX, a wholly-owned subsidiary of global mining group Rio Tinto to accelerate exploration at nine exploration licences (Paterson South Tenements) within the Paterson region of Western Australia, located near Havieron. Greatland has the right to earn up to a 75% interest in the Paterson South Tenements by spending at least A$21.1 million and completing 24,500 metres of drilling as part of a two-stage farm-in over seven years. Under stage one, Greatland is subject to minimum commitment spend of A$1.1 million to be completed before 31 December 2024.

In late June 2023, Greatland commenced its maiden exploration drilling campaign at the Paterson South Tenements to test the Stingray and Decka targets. The Stingray target is a magnetic anomaly 10km along strike north-northwest of the Havieron magnetic anomaly, itself associated with mineralisation.  The Decka target is a basement magnetic and conductive anomaly 20km northwest of Havieron.  Both targets show consistent periodicity in that Stingray is approximately 10km from Havieron and Decka is approximately 10km from Stingray on the same trend, which may indicate a consistent paragenesis for all three anomalies.  In addition, both targets are also modelled within 250 metres of surface, making them shallower than Havieron.

The rapid commencement of drilling on the Paterson South Tenements within four weeks of entering into the Paterson South farm-in and joint venture arrangement is testament to both the high quality of the targets and Greatland's drive to rapidly unlock greater value from its Paterson region exploration portfolio.  Greatland is currently reviewing historic work across the remainder of the +1,500km² Paterson South Tenements and developing access to several other tenements to allow on-ground work to commence as statutory and heritage approvals are obtained.

Juri, Western Australia (Greatland: 49%)

Juri is an unincorporated joint venture between Greatland (49%) and Newcrest Operations (51%), to explore the Paterson Range East and Black Hills exploration licences located in the Paterson region, near Havieron.  Newcrest Operations has the right to earn up to a 75% interest in the Juri tenements by spending up to A$20 million as part of a two-stage farm-in over five years.

Following an initial drilling programme which commenced in April 2021, a second exploration programme commenced in May 2022.  Five additional holes were drilled for a total of 2,086 metres to test three targets comprising of two holes each at the Tama and A9 targets on Paterson Range East and one hole at the Black Hills North / A27 target on Black Hills.  Black Hills drill hole BHRD004 intersected anomalous gold mineralisation with Bismuth geochemistry.  Bismuth is associated with higher-grade gold intersections in the hole, similar to the relationship observed at Havieron.  Surface sampling identified low tenor but coherent anomalism around the CAW10-A7 prospect at Paterson Range East.

Mineralisation in drill hole BHRD004 is interpreted by Greatland to sit within a lithological unit near the prospective Telfer Formation contact with the Malu, known to host the mineralisation at Telfer.

Prior to year end, Newcrest elected to assume management of the Juri Joint Venture.  Greatland and Newcrest are two of the largest landholders in the Paterson region. Our partnerships at Havieron and Juri are central to unlocking the full potential of the Paterson region and we remain very excited about the prospectivity of the Juri Joint Venture tenure.  Importantly, the shift of Juri Joint Venture management to Newcrest provides our exploration team the opportunity to put greater focus on our portfolio of highly prospective 100% owned tenure, together with our responsibilities as the new manager of the Paterson South farm-in and joint venture arrangement with RTX.

 

 

Exploration, Western Australia (Greatland: 100%)

Greater Paterson

Greatland's 100% owned Paterson region exploration projects comprise of the Scallywag, Canning and Citadel Hill projects:

§ Scallywag comprises of four wholly-owned granted exploration licences: Scallywag, Pascalle, Rudall and Black Hills North located adjacent to and around Havieron.  Exploration work is focused on the discovery of intrusion related gold-copper deposits similar to Havieron, Telfer and Winu.

§ Canning comprises of two wholly-owned granted exploration licences:  Canning and Salvation Well located approximately 175km south-east of Havieron within the south-eastern extensions of the Paterson region in Western Australia.  The tenements contain two large magnetic 'bullseye' anomalies similar to the Havieron deposit magnetic signature.

§ Citadel Hill is a pending exploration licence application located approximately 145km north-northwest of Havieron.  The tenement area was identified as a regional anomaly as part of an internal Pilbara prospectivity analysis.

During the year, a third drilling programme was conducted at the Scallywag licence to further test ground electromagnetic conductors for Telfer style mineralisation at the Pearl, Swan and Swan East targets.  A specialised reverse circulation rig was used to drill pre-collars ahead of completing the holes with a diamond drill rig with the aim of improving result turnarounds.  A total of eight reverse circulation pre-collar holes for 1,238 metres and one diamond hole with a total depth of 489 metres, for a total of 1,727 metres, were completed. 

The diamond drill hole (PDD003) returned promising anomalous gold, copper, silver and bismuth in the drill hole, while one of the pre-collars (A35RD001) intersected anomalous gold over 2 metres near surface from 69 metres downhole.

At the Rudall tenement, a single diamond hole, which was co-funded by the Government of Western Australia's Exploration Incentive Scheme, was drilled to test the Ramses magnetic anomaly to a total depth of 943 metres.  The results of this drilling included 18.25 metres at 22.0g/t Au from 924 metres to the end of hole at 942.25, including 1 metre at 393g/t Au from 926 metres (see RNS announcement titled "Rudall Exploration Results" dated 20 April 2023 for further information).  Structural and geochemical work and a future downhole electromagnetic survey is planned in the second half of the 2023 calendar year to refine the potential for mineralisation to extend into shallower positions within the system.

At Canning, Greatland has completed a heritage exclusion survey allowing access for a magneto telluric survey.  The survey will identify any conductive response associated with the magnetic anomaly and the depth of cover over it.

Ernest Giles

The Ernest Giles project consists of two granted wholly-owned adjoining exploration licences: Calanchini and Peterswald, and four pending exploration licence applications: Westwood North, Westwood West, Mount Smith and Welstead Hill which are located approximately 250km north-east of the town of Laverton in the Yilgarn region of Western Australia.  The eastern Yilgarn Craton is one of the most highly mineralised areas globally and is considered by Greatland to be prospective for large gold deposits.

In October 2022, Greatland was awarded a drilling grant for Ernest Giles under the Government of Western Australia's Exploration Incentive Scheme.  Greatland continued positive ongoing Native Title land access agreement negotiations with Traditional Owners during the year and subsequent to year end, a landmark land access agreement with the Manta Rirrtinya Native Title Holders was entered into, the first since their native title determination in 2018.  The agreement provides for the consent to the grant of tenure to, and land access by, Greatland over approximately 75% of the Ernest Giles project area. Diamond drill testing on the Meadows prospect will commence during the 30 June 2024 financial year.

Panorama

The Panorama project consists of three granted wholly-owned adjoining exploration licences: Panorama, Panorama North and Panorama East, and one pending exploration licence application: Corrunna Downs, located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.  The tenements are considered by Greatland to be highly prospective for gold, nickel and cobalt.

Greatland has conducted a detailed review of historic work and carried out soil and rock chip sampling which has identified multiple gold anomalies.  The most significant samples identified to date lie along a north-south trending zone approximately 3.2km long.  The geological setting is a prominent ridge marking the structural contact of basaltic and ultramafic rocks of Archean age.  Field reconnaissance along this zone has since been completed and visual indications of mineralisation are present.  A programme of surface geology mapping and soil sampling has been planned for nine distinct areas, encompassing targets from the airborne electromagnetic survey previously completed. 



 

Bromus

The Bromus project consists of two granted wholly-owned adjoining exploration licences: Bromus and Bromus West which are considered prospective for nickel and gold, located approximately 20km southwest of the town of Norseman in southern Western Australia.

During the year, Greatland finalised a heritage agreement with the Native Title Holders, the Ngadju Native Aboriginal Corporation as trustee for and representative of the Ngadju people.  The heritage agreement provides the protocol for carrying out heritage surveys and for the monitoring of certain works.

Firetower and Warrentinna, Tasmania

In November 2022, Greatland entered into an agreement with Flynn Gold Ltd (ASX:FG1) (Flynn Gold), under which Flynn Gold had the option to purchase Greatland's Firetower and Warrentinna tenements.  Greatland was paid A$100,000 by Flynn Gold (satisfied by the issue of Flynn Gold shares) in respect of this option, which was exercisable no later than 30 June 2023.  Flynn Gold exercised this option in June 2023.  The consideration for the purchase consisted of:

(a)    Initial consideration: A$200,000 (satisfied by the issue of 2,000,000 Flynn Gold shares at a deemed issue price of A$0.10 per Flynn Gold share); and

(b)    Deferred Consideration:

(i)      A$500,000 upon the definition of a JORC-compliant Mineral Resource of at least 500,000 ounces of gold in aggregate within one or both tenements (payable in cash or Flynn Gold shares, at Flynn Gold's election);

(ii)     A$500,000 upon the issue of a permit to mine by Mineral Resources Tasmania in respect of any part of the tenements (payable in cash or Flynn Gold shares, at Flynn Gold's election); and

(iii)    a 1% Net Smelter Royalty payable to Greatland in respect of any production from the tenements.

Safety

Greatland's most important priority is safety. Greatland achieved its goal of maintaining a safe workplace with no fatalities at the Company's projects and nil Total Recordable Injury Frequency Rate for the Company (fully owned or operated projects) during the year.

Sustainability

On 30 June 2023, Greatland published its 2023 Sustainability Report, the second release of a dedicated Sustainability Report which follows Greatland's inaugural Sustainability Report which was released in May 2022.  Greatland's 2023 Sustainability Report allows Greatland's stakeholders to obtain a better understanding of Greatland's approach to sustainability as Greatland continues on its journey of enhancing its approach to sustainability practices and reporting.  A copy of Greatland's 2023 Sustainability Report can be found at: https://greatlandgold.com/sustainability.



 

Principal Risks and Uncertainties

Management of the business and the execution of the Board's strategy are subject to a number of key risks and uncertainties, our approach to managing these are detailed below:

Risk

Description

Key Mitigators

Occupational health and safety

Safety risks are inherent in exploration and mining activities and include both internal and external factors requiring consideration to reduce the likelihood of negative impacts. The current highest risk, due to the geological spread of exploration activities, is associated with transportation of people to and from the project areas.

Every Director and employee of the Company is committed to promoting and maintaining a safe and sustainable workplace environment. The Company regularly reviews occupational health and safety policies and compliance with those policies. The Company also engages where required with external occupational health and safety expert consultants to ensure that policies and procedures are appropriate as the Company expands its activity levels.

Commodity price risk

The principal commodities that are the focus of our exploration and development efforts (precious metals and base metals assets) are subject to highly cyclical patterns in global demand and supply, and consequently, the price of those commodities can be highly volatile.

On an ongoing basis we look at opportunities to further diversify our commodity portfolio. In addition, we continuously review our costs as well as consider hedging strategies to make our projects more resilient.

Havieron Feasibility Study and Decision to Mine

A Decision to Mine between the Havieron Joint Venture participants is required to commence construction, development and commercial scale mining operations at Havieron.  Before a Decision to Mine can be made, a Havieron Feasibility Study is required, which Newcrest Operations as the Havieron Joint Venture Manager is responsible for preparing.  Preparation of the Havieron Feasibility Study is ongoing.

 

Various workstreams to support the Havieron Feasibility Study are continuing to be progressed with several value enhancing options underway to maximise value and de-risk the project.

Funding Havieron development

Raising sufficient debt and equity to fund the Company's share of the Havieron Joint Venture is crucial to enable the Group to fast track the development of Havieron including early works and mine development activities.

In August 2022, the Company raised £29.7 million through the issuance of new shares. Subsequently, Greatland executed an equity investment by Wyloo of an initial strategic subscription of A$60 million (£33.5 million) plus an option to acquire up to an additional £35 million of Greatland shares at £0.10 per share.

On 30 May 2023, Greatland announced that it had received a signed non-binding Letter of Support from a syndicate of banks providing that the banks are fully supportive and interested in the provision of A$220 million seven-year syndicated debt and associated hedging facilities.

In addition, subsequent to year end, Greatland executed a A$50 million standby loan facility with Wyloo.

The above strengthens our financial position to fast track the development of Havieron.

Recruiting and retaining highly skilled directors and employees

The Company's ability to execute its strategy is highly dependent on the skills and abilities of its people.

We undertake ongoing initiatives to foster strong staff engagement and ensure that remuneration packages are competitive in the market.

Mineral exploration discovery

Inherent with mineral exploration is that there is no guarantee that the Company can identify a mineral resource that can be extracted economically.

Exploration work is conducted on a systematic basis. More specifically, exploration work is carried out in a phased, results-based fashion and leverages a wide range of exploration methods including modern geochemical and geophysical techniques and various drilling methods.

 

The Board regularly reviews our exploration and development programmes and allocates capital in a manner that it believes will maximise risk-adjusted return on capital, within our capital management plan.

We apply advanced exploration techniques to undercover areas and regions that we believe are relatively under-explored.

We focus our activities on jurisdictions that we believe represent low political and operational risk. We operate in jurisdictions where our team has considerable on the ground experience. Presently all of the Company's projects are in Australia, a country with established mining codes, stable government, skilled labour force, excellent infrastructure and well-established mining industry.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Directors' Report

The Directors present their report on the consolidated entity (Greatland or the Group) consisting of the parent entity, Greatland Gold Plc (Company) and the entities it controlled at the end of the year ended 30 June 2023.

Directors

The Directors of Greatland in office during the year and until the date of this report, their qualifications, experience, other directorships held in listed companies, are as follows. 

Director

Experience and background

Mark Barnaba

 

Independent Non-Executive Chairman

 

(Appointed 7 December 2022)

Mark is a highly experienced investment banker and corporate advisor, having focused predominantly in the natural resources sector. He currently serves as Deputy Chairman and Lead Independent Director of the world's fourth largest iron ore producer Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. 

Mark also chairs the Hospital Benefit Fund (HBF) Investment Committee, is an Emeritus Board Member of University of Western Australia, Senior Fellow for Ernst & Young Oceania and a Board Member for Centre of Independent Studies. Mark has previously served as a Board Member of the Reserve Bank of Australia and as a director and Deputy Chair of Williams Advanced Engineering Limited.

Elizabeth Gaines

 

Independent Non-Executive Director and Deputy Chair

 

(Appointed 7 December 2022)

Elizabeth is a highly experienced business leader with extensive international experience as a Chief Executive Officer. She has significant experience in the resources sector and is a part-time Executive Director of Fortescue Metals Group Ltd, where she was previously CEO and presided over a heralded period of operational delivery and significant growth in shareholder value.

Elizabeth is a Board Member of the Victor Chang Cardiac Institute, West Coast Eagles Football Club and the Curtin University Advisory Board.

Shaun Day

 

Managing Director

 

(Appointed 15 December 2020)

Shaun has substantial experience in executive and financial positions across mining and infrastructure, investment banking and international consulting firms. Shaun has considerable capital markets experience with a track record of leading successful transactions including M&A of publicly listed companies, farm-in agreements and raising capital.

Prior to joining Greatland, Shaun spent six years as CFO of Northern Star Resources Limited, an ASX100 company and a global-scale Australian gold producer. Prior to Northern Star, Shaun spent five years as CFO of SGX listed Sakari Resources Plc which operated multiple mines before its sale for over US$2 billion.

Shaun is currently a Non-Executive Director of Aurumin Limited, Blue Ocean Monitoring Limited and is an Audit and Risk Committee Member of the University of Western Australia.

James (Jimmy) Wilson

 

Executive Director

 

(Appointed 12 September 2022)

Jimmy is a highly experienced mining and natural resources executive with deep operational experience across a range of commodities and jurisdictions. He spent more than twenty five years with the world's biggest mining company BHP and held various senior executive positions including President of the Iron Ore, Energy Coal and Stainless Steel Materials divisions. 

Jimmy was appointed to the Export Finance Australia Board in December 2020 for a three-year term and holds a Bachelor of Science (Mechanical Engineering) from the University of Natal. He is also the Deputy Chair of the University of Western Australia.

Michael Alexander (Alex) Borrelli

 

Senior Independent Non-Executive Director

 

(Appointed 18 April 2016)

Alex is a senior Non-Executive Director of Greatland. Alex qualified as a Chartered Accountant and has many years experience in investment banking encompassing flotations, takeovers, and mergers and acquisitions for private and quoted companies.

Alex is also a Non-Executive Director of UK listed companies Bradda Head Lithium Limited, Kendrick Resources plc, Red Rock Resources plc and Tiger Royalties and Investments plc.

Yasmin Broughton

 

Independent Non-Executive Director

 

(Appointed 2 May 2023)

Yasmin Broughton is a qualified lawyer with significant experience as a non-executive director in a diverse range of industries with a particular focus on natural resources.  With over twenty years of experience working with ASX-listed companies, Yasmin has a deep understanding of governance, risk management, compliance and regulation. 

Yasmin currently serves as a Non-Executive Director of RAC, Synergy (Electricity Generation and Retail Corporation), Wright Prospecting and VOC Group Limited.  Yasmin has previously served as Non-Executive Director of Resolute Mining (ASX/LSE-listed gold producer), Western Areas (ASX-listed nickel producer) and the Insurance Commission of Western Australia.

Paul Hallam

 

Independent Non-Executive Director

 

(Appointed 1 September 2021)

Paul is a senior mining industry professional with more than forty years of Australian and international resource experience across a range of commodities including both surface and underground mining. He has global operational and corporate experience from his executive roles including Director of Operations with Fortescue Metals Group Ltd, Executive General Manager of Developments & Projects with Newcrest Mining Limited, Director of Victorian Operations with Alcoa as well as Executive General Manager of Base and Precious Metals at North Ltd. Since his retirement in 2011, Paul has advised several boards as a Non-Executive Director.

Paul is currently Non-Executive Director for CODA Minerals Limited.

Clive Latcham

 

Independent Non-Executive Director

 

(Appointed 15 October 2018)

Clive is a chemical engineer and mineral economist with over thirty years experience in senior roles in the mining sector. Clive joined Greatland from ERM - Environmental Resource Management, the world's leading sustainability consultancy group, where he worked as Senior External Advisor, and advisor to the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

Prior to his role at ERM, Clive worked as an independent advisor to private equity and mining consultancy firms, and spent nine years in senior roles with Rio Tinto. During his time at Rio Tinto, Clive spent four years as Copper Group Mining Executive, where he was responsible for managing Rio Tinto's investments in the operating businesses of Escondida in Chile, Grasberg in Indonesia, and Palabora in South Africa and for the initial development of new projects and acquisitions, including La Granja in Peru and La Sampala in Indonesia.

 

Directors' Interests

The Directors' holdings of shares and options in the Company as at 30 June 2023 were as follows:

Director

Number of Shares

Number of Options

Number of Performance Rights

Mark Barnaba

-

100,000,000

-

Elizabeth Gaines

-

55,000,000

-

Shaun Day

1,089,000

5,000,000

12,000,000

James Wilson

-

40,000,000

-

Alex Borrelli

26,403,372

19,000,000

-

Yasmin Broughton

-

-

-

Paul Hallam

-

40,000,000

-

Clive Latcham

3,150,000

2,750,000

-

It is noted that:

§ On 1 October 2023, after the end of the financial year, Mr Borrelli exercised his remaining 19,000,000 options and sold 10,000,000 of the resulting shares to fund the associated exercise costs and tax liabilities, retaining the remaining 9,000,000 resulting shares.

§ On 24 September 2023, after the end of the financial year, Mr Latcham exercised his remaining 2,750,000 options and sold 2,050,000 of the resulting shares to fund the associated exercise costs and tax liabilities, retaining the remaining 700,000 resulting shares.

§ On 19 September 2023, after the end of the financial year, Mr Day was issued a further 72,700,000 options, 7,300,000 retention rights and 3,898,737 performance rights, as detailed in the Remuneration Report.

Principal activities

The principal activities of the Group during the year consisted of the early works development, feasibility study and exploration of the Havieron gold-copper project and the exploration and evaluation of mineral tenements in Australia.

 

 

Results and dividends

§ Closing cash position of £31.1 million (2022: £10.4 million)

§ Closing debt balance of £41.5 million (2022: £43.1 million)

§ Net assets of £52.5 million (2022: £5.7 million)

§ Havieron project costs capitalised of £23.4 million (2022: £21.2 million) during the year

§ Loss before finance items and share-based payments of £11.0 million (2022: £8.4 million); statutory loss of £21.1 million (2022: £11.4 million)

§ Exploration expense of £3.4 million (2022: £3.0 million) for the year

Going Concern

Greatland's principal activities include the development of Havieron. At 30 June 2023 the Group had net current assets of £35.4 million (2022: £14.8 million), with cash of £31.1 million (2022: £10.4 million) and advanced Havieron joint venture cash contributions of £12.6 million (2022: £8.4 million). 

In addition, as outlined in note 28 Greatland has access to a A$50 million (c. £26.3 million) undrawn standby loan facility with Wyloo.

If required, the Group has a number of options available to manage liquidity including:

§ significantly reduce expenditure on its own exploration programmes;

§ significantly reduce corporate costs;

§ raising additional funding through debt, equity or a combination of both, which the Group considers it has the ability to do, should it be required and has demonstrated an ability to do so in the past.

Having prepared forecasts for the next twelve months, based on current resources and assessing methods of obtaining additional finance, the Directors believe the Group has sufficient resources to meet its obligations.

Should the Group not achieve the matters set out above, there may be significant uncertainty about whether it will continue as a going concern and therefore whether it would be able to realise its assets and extinguish its liabilities in the normal course of business and at the amounts stated in the financial report.

Taking these matters into consideration, the Directors continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements. The financial statements do not include the adjustments that would be required should the going concern basis of preparation no longer be appropriate.

Likely developments and expected results

A review of the current and future development of the Group's business is given in the Strategic Report.

Risk Management

The Board considers risk assessment to be important in achieving its strategic objectives. There is a process of evaluation of performance targets through regular reviews by senior management to forecasts. Project milestones and timelines are regularly reviewed.

A risk register is maintained by the Company that identifies key risks in areas including corporate strategy, financial, staff, occupational health and safety, environmental and traditional owner engagement. The register is reviewed periodically and is updated as and when necessary, with all employees and directors being responsible for identifying, managing and mitigating risks.

Refer to the Annual Report for detailed information on the principal risks and uncertainties and for further detailed information on the financial risks refer to note 15.



 

Key performance indicators

The Board has defined the following Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) during the year to monitor and assess the performance of the Group as it advances from an exploration company into a resource development company. These KPIs apply to the FY23 Performance Rights, defined and described in the Remuneration Report, which have a three-year performance period from 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2025.

Performance Target

Rationale 

Our performance in 2023

Total Shareholder Return (TSR) is equal to or greater than that of the VanEck Junior Gold Miners ETF (GDXJ)

The performance of Greatland's share price demonstrates the total return to the shareholders. Our strategy aims to maximise shareholder returns through the commodity cycle, and TSR is a direct measure of that.

 

TSR performance for the financial year 2023 was negative 27%, compared to 9% for GDXJ.

The TSR performance over the three-year performance period from 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2025 is a performance target for the FY23 Performance Rights issued under the Group's Long Term Incentive Plan.

Investor engagement

The Group completes its proposed ASX cross-listing, actively engages with a broad cross section of investors and grows the proportion of its shares held by institutional investors.

The proposed ASX cross-listing is an important pillar to create a fit-for-purpose platform and pursue objectives including increasing equity research and institutional ownership, enhanced capital markets profile, access to deeper pools of capital to support longer term growth, and enhanced flexibility for growth initiatives including corporate and asset level transactions.

During the financial year, the Company completed an institutional equity placement of approximately £30m including a cornerstone investment by Tribeca Investment Partners, and a further equity investment by Wyloo of approximately £33.5m. The Company significantly advanced the proposed ASX listing during the year and is well positioned to resume the process in 2024.

ESG Sustainability Report

The Group publishes an annual Sustainability Report with enhanced levels of disclosure relative to financial year 2022.

 

Greatland is committed to safe, responsible and sustainable exploration and development. The Company continues to focus on improving health and safety training and processes, and on further strengthening relationships with the indigenous communities in the areas that we operate, as well as on our ESG focus for developing a responsible and sustainable resources company.

In June 2023, the Group published its 2023 Sustainability Report. This assessment reveals a compliance driven approach to ESG and forms a baseline for business operations to enhance our sustainability footprint.

Native Title and Environment

The Group maintains positive relations with all Native Title groups in respect of the land it operates on, preserves heritage sites of cultural significance as required to comply with applicable permits and remains in compliance with granted environmental approvals.

In areas that the Group operates, we are committed to understanding, respecting and responsibly managing our impacts on Aboriginal cultural heritage, and co-operating and forming positive relationships with Aboriginal communities.

The Group is committed to operating in an environmentally responsible manner and has developed this Policy to assist in managing the impacts its activities have on the environment.

Through formal processes outlined in Land Access Agreements, Greatland has engaged Traditional Owners to undertake several surveys in advance of field activities. Additionally, Greatland has worked alongside Aboriginal consultants for ground disturbance activities where cultural heritage monitoring has been deemed appropriate through survey or by direction of the prescribed body corporate.

 

Greatland continues to work with our many traditional owners to understand and manage our potential impacts to Aboriginal cultural heritage.

Performance Target

Rationale 

Our performance in 2023

Feasibility Study for Havieron

The Group actively manages its relationship with its joint venture partner and critically reviews, analyses and provides detailed input (based on its review and analysis) into the Havieron Feasibility Study.

Havieron provides an outstanding cornerstone project on which to develop and pursue the Company's aim to become a multi asset producer. It enables the Company to leverage our established footprint and proven methodology in the Paterson region, one of the world's most attractive jurisdictions for discoveries of tier-one, gold-copper deposits.

The Feasibility Study for the Havieron project continued during the year and explored further value enhancing options to maximise value and derisk the project. It also considered various factors including but not limited to environmental, social and economic impacts.

Funding

The Group has sufficient funding in place to fund its share of the Havieron development without dilution of its joint venture interest.

Raising sufficient debt and equity to fund the Company's share of the Havieron Joint Venture is crucial to enable the Group to fast track development of Havieron including early works and other mine development activities, plus accelerate exploration activities at the Group's 100% owned licences to target new discoveries similar to Havieron in the Paterson region.

During the financial year the Company raised approximately £64 million in additional capital through the issuance of new shares and progressed a funding process with top tier banks resulting in a non-binding Letter of Support in respect of a proposed A$220 million debt financing facility. In addition, subsequent to year end, Greatland executed a A$50 million standby loan facility with Wyloo.

The above strengthened our financial position to continue the development of Havieron.

JORC Resource

The Group grows its Mineral Resource base by at least 20% (noting that joint venture mining tenements are assessed on a 100% basis).

Growth of the JORC Resource is a crucial component to Greatland's long term strategy.

Over 55,000 metres of drilling was completed during the year, focusing on increasing confidence in the lower levels of the South East Crescent, as well as further evaluation of the Eastern Breccia.

This drilling will be incorporated into an Updated Mineral Resource that will be included in the Feasibility Study.

Corporate development

The Group actively pursues portfolio enhancing business development opportunities which are presented to the Board for approval.

Corporate development activity is a crucial component to amplify Greatland's growth strategy and support the transition of the business from an explorer to a developer and producer.

Significant corporate activity was undertaken during 2023, including successful conclusion of the Havieron 5% option process, sale of the Tasmanian tenements to Flynn Gold, entering into the farm-in and joint venture agreement with RTX, progressing the proposed ASX Listing in 2023, and consideration and analysis of potential merger and acquisition opportunities. 

 

Share Capital

Information relating to shares issued during the year is given in note 14 to the accounts.



 

Substantial Shareholdings

On 30 June 2023 and 31 October 2023, the following were registered as being interested in 3% or more of the Company's ordinary share capital:

 

31 October 2023

30 June 2023

 

Ordinary shares of £0.001 each

Share %

Ordinary shares of £0.001 each

Share %

 

Hargreaves Lansdown (Nominees) Limited (15942)

596,018,544

11.71%

594,359,327

11.73%

Lynchwood Nominees Limited (2006420)

456,729,841

8.97%

458,734,422

9.05%

Interactive Investor Services Nominees Limited (SMKTISAS)

361,347,494

7.10%

358,867,954

7.08%

Hargreaves Lansdown (Nominees) Limited (HLNOM)

348,483,959

6.85%

347,409,795

6.85%

Hargreaves Lansdown (Nominees) Limited (VRA)

316,783,852

6.22%

309,745,208

6.11%

Vidacos Nominees Limited (FGN)

213,926,382

4.20%

258,015,555

5.09%

Barclays Direct Investing Nominees Limited

226,281,530

4.45%

230,608,624

4.55%

Interactive Investor Services Nominees Limited (SMKTNOMS)

216,820,713

4.26%

221,958,097

4.38%

State Street Nominees Limited (OM02)

196,214,615

3.85%

209,395,552

4.13%

HSDL Nominees Limited (MAXI)

187,400,374

3.68%

185,721,320

3.66%

Additionally, the Company has been notified, in accordance with DTR 5 of the FCA's Disclosure and Transparency Rules, or is aware, of the following interests in its ordinary shares of shareholders with an interest of 3% or more of the Company's ordinary share capital:

 

31 October 2023

30 June 2023

 

Ordinary shares of £0.001 each

Share %

Ordinary shares of £0.001 each

Share %

 

Wyloo Consolidated Investments Pty Ltd

430,024,390

8.45%

430,024,390

8.45%

Van Eck Associates Corporation

250,743,036

4.93%

250,743,036

4.93%

Political donations

During the period there were no political donations (2022: nil).

Auditors

PKF Littlejohn LLP has served as the Company's auditors since 2020. The Directors will place a resolution before the annual general meeting to reappoint PKF Littlejohn LLP as auditors for the coming year.

PKF Littlejohn LLP has signified its willingness to continue in office as auditor.

Directors' Indemnity

The Company has maintained Directors' and Officers' insurance during the year. Such provisions remain in force at the date of this report.

Events after the reporting period

Standby loan facility executed

Subsequent to year end, the Company executed an unsecured A$50 million standby facility with Wyloo Consolidated Investments Pty Ltd (Wyloo). Drawdown is available to Greatland from 1 November 2023, with repayment required by the maturity date of 31 December 2024. The facility has a 3% upfront fee and 1% utilisation fee. Interest is charged at benchmark (Australian BBSY) plus a margin of 7.5% p.a. The debt was undrawn at the date of this report.

Grant of employee incentive options 

On 19 September 2023, Greatland granted 302,700,000 Co-Investment Options with an exercise price of £0.119, 31,100,000 Retention Rights and 13,306,047 FY23 Performance Rights at an exercise price of £0.001 to employees under the Company's employee share plan. Collectively the options and rights are an important element in the attraction and retention of individuals pivotal to Greatland's growth and their alignment with shareholder outcomes. Further details are included in the Annual Report.

Exercise of Options and Director Dealings

On 1 October 2023, Mr Borrelli, Non-Executive Director, exercised his remaining 14,000,000 options over ordinary shares at a price of £0.0028 per share, 2,500,000 options at £0.014 and 2,500,000 options at £0.02 per share for a total consideration of £124,200. Mr Borrelli retained 9,000,000 of the resulting shares and sold 10,000,000 of the resulting shares to fund the associated exercise cost and tax liabilities. Mr Borrelli's shareholding has now increased to 35,403,372 ordinary shares representing 0.70% of the total voting rights.

In addition, on 24 September 2023, Mr Latcham, Non-Executive Director, exercised 1,500,000 existing options over ordinary shares at a price of £0.025 per share and 1,250,000 at a price of £0.03 per share, for a total consideration of £75,000. Mr Latcham retained 700,000 of the resulting shares and sold 2,050,000 of the resulting shares to fund the associated exercise cost and tax liabilities. Mr Latcham's shareholding has now increased to 3,850,000 ordinary shares representing 0.08% of the total voting rights.

Newmont Corporation's acquisition of Newcrest Mining Limited becomes effective

On 18 October 2023, Newcrest, the ultimate parent company of Newcrest Operations which is the Joint Venture Manager of Havieron, announced that the scheme of arrangement under which Newcrest will be acquired by Newmont Corporation was legally effective. Implementation date is planned for 6 November 2023. For further updates refer to www.newmont.com. 

Streamlined energy and carbon reporting ("SECR")

Greenhouse gas emissions, energy consumption and energy efficiency disclosures have not been provided because the Company has consumed less than 40,000 kWh of energy during the period in the UK.

Corporate Governance

A corporate governance statement follows in the Annual Report.

Control Procedures

The Board has approved financial budgets and cash forecasts. In addition, it has implemented procedures to ensure compliance with accounting standards and effective reporting.

Environmental Responsibility

The Company is aware of the potential impact that its subsidiary companies and operations may have on the environment. The Company ensures that it and its subsidiaries at a minimum comply with the local regulatory requirements with regard to the environment.

Cultural awareness

The Company continues to engage with the traditional land owners to understand and respect cultural heritage as a necessary part in obtaining access to projects across its Australian operations and operate within the appropriate protocols.

Health and Safety

The Group aims to achieve and maintain a high standard of workplace health, safety and wellbeing. In order to achieve this objective, the Group provides mental health wellbeing training, mentoring and supervision for employees and ongoing pastoral care support plus regularly reviewing and implementing high standards for workplace safety.

Employment Policies

The Group is committed to promoting policies which ensure that high calibre employees are attracted, retained and motivated, to ensure the ongoing success for the business. Employees and those who seek to work within the Group are treated equally regardless of gender, marital status, disability, race, ethnicity or any other basis. We provide equal opportunities for career development and promotion as well as providing employees with appropriate training opportunities.

Provision of Information to Auditor

So far as each of the Directors is aware at the time this report is approved:

§ there is no relevant audit information of which the Company's auditor is unaware; and

§ the Directors have taken all steps that they ought to have taken to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the auditor is aware of that information.

By order of the Board

 

Shaun Day

Managing Director

5 November 2023


 

consolidated statement of comprehensive income                                                               

for the year ended 30 June 2023

 

 

Note

2023
£'000

2022

£'000

Revenue


-

-

Exploration and evaluation expenses


(3,383)

(3,022)

Administrative expenses


(5,723)

(5,223)

Share-based payment expense

24

(9,787)

(193)

Transaction costs related to proposed IPO


(1,879)

-

Loss before finance items and tax


(20,772)

(8,438)

 




Net foreign exchange losses

13

(1,668)

(2,736)

Other income

4

194

-

Finance income

6

1,228

2

Finance costs

6

(102)

(194)

Loss before tax


(21,120)

(11,366)

Income tax expense

7

-

-

Loss for the year


(21,120)

(11,366)

 




Other comprehensive income:




Exchange differences on translation of foreign operations


(4,906)

518

Total comprehensive income for the year attributable to equity holders of the Company


(26,026)

(10,848)

 




Earnings per share for loss attributable to the ordinary equity holders of the Company:




Basic and diluted earnings per share (pence)

8

(0.44)

(0.28)

 

The above consolidated statement of comprehensive income should be read in conjunction with the accompanying notes.



Consolidated Statement of Financial Position

as at 30 June 2023

 

 

Note

2023

2022

£'000

ASSETS

 



Exploration and evaluation assets

16

264

94

Mine development

17

59,931

35,582

Right of use asset

18

418

272

Property, plant and equipment

19

84

95 

Financial assets held at fair value through profit and loss


88

-

Total non-current assets

 

60,785

36,043

Cash and cash equivalents

9

31,149

10,386

Advanced joint venture cash contributions

10

12,576

8,415

Trade and other receivables

11

116

-

Other current assets


414

427

Total current assets

 

44,255

19,228

TOTAL ASSETS

 

105,040

55,271

 




LIABILITIES




Trade and other payables

12

8,511

3,269

Lease liabilities

18

128

208

Provisions

25

186

919

Total current liabilities

 

8,825

4,396

Borrowings

13

41,503

43,103

Lease liabilities

18

284

70

Provisions

25

1,950

1,976

Total non-current liabilities

 

43,737

45,149

TOTAL LIABILITIES

 

52,562

49,545

 

 



NET ASSETS

 

52,478

5,726

 




EQUITY




Share capital

14

5,069

4,071

Share premium

14

70,821

36,166

Merger reserve

14

27,494

225

Foreign currency translation reserves


(4,259)

647

Share-based payment reserve


10,173

335

Retained earnings


(56,820)

(35,718)

TOTAL EQUITY


52,478

5,726

 

The above consolidated statements of financial position should be read in conjunction with the accompanying notes. 

 

 

 

 

 

Mark Barnaba                                                                                                                        Shaun Day                                            

Chairman                                                                                                                                              Managing Director

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity                                                                    

for the year ended 30 June 2023

 



 

 

Note

 

 

Share capital
£'000

 

 

Share premium
£'000

 

 

Merger reserve

£'000

Foreign currency translation reserve

£'000

Share-based payment reserves
£'000

 

 

 Retained earnings
£'000

 

 

 

Total equity

£'000

At 1 July 2022


4,071

36,166

225

647

335

(35,718)

5,726

Loss for the year


-

-

-

-

-

(21,120)

(21,120)

Other comprehensive income


-

-

-

(4,906)

-

-

(4,906)

Total comprehensive loss for the year


-

-

-

(4,906)

-

(21,120)

(26,026)

Transactions with owners in their capacity as owners:









Share-based payments

24

-

-

-

-

9,995

-

9,995

Transfer on exercise of options


-

-

-

-

(157)

157

-

Share capital issued

14

998

34,685

29,393

-

-

(139)

64,937

Cost of share issue

14

-

(30)

(2,124)

-

-

-

(2,154)

Total contributions by and distributions to owners of the Company


998

34,655

27,269

-

9,838

18

72,778

At 30 June 2023


5,069

70,821

27,494

(4,259)

10,173

(56,820)

52,478

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 





Note

 

 

Share capital
£'000

 

 

Share premium
£'000

 

 

Merger reserve

£'000

Foreign currency translation reserve

£'000

Share-based payment reserves
£'000

 

 

 Retained earnings
£'000

 

 

 

Total equity

£'000

At 1 July 2021


3,948

24,064

225

129

178

(24,388)

4,156

Loss for the year


-

-

-

-

-

(11,366)

(11,366)

Other comprehensive income


-

-

-

518

-

-

518

Total comprehensive loss for the year


-

-

-

518

-

(11,366)

(10,848)

Transactions with owners in their capacity as owners:









Share-based payments

24

-

-

-

-

193

-

193

Transfer on exercise of options


-

-

-

-

(36)

36

-

Share capital issued

14

123

12,797

-

-

-

-

12,920

Cost of share issue

14

-

(695)

-

-

-

-

(695)

Total contributions by and distributions to owners of the Company


123

12,102

-

-

157

36

12,418

At 30 June 2022


4,071

36,166

225

647

335

(35,718)

5,726















 

 

The above consolidated statement of changes in equity should be read in conjunction with the accompanying notes.



 

Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows                                                                              

for the year ended 30 June 2023

 

 

Note

2022

Cash flows from operating activities




Loss before tax


(21,120)

(11,366)

Adjustments for:




Share-based payment expense

24

9,787

193

Depreciation and amortisation

4

224

171

Other non-cash items


(103)

14

Unwind of discount on provisions

25

91

177

Unrealised foreign exchange loss


1,668

2,736

Investing interest income

6

(1,228)

(2)

Lease liability interest expense

18

7

14

Movement in operating assets / liabilities:




Decrease in other current assets


105

83

(Increase) in trade and other receivables


(99)

-

(Decrease) / increase  in payables & other liabilities


(836)

2,022

Increase / (decrease) in provisions


37

(3)

Net cash outflow from operating activities


(5,961) 





Cash flows from investing activities




Interest received


1,082

2

Interest paid


-

(16)

Payments for exploration and evaluation assets


-

(90)

Payments for mine development and fixed assets


(14,522)

(20,453)

Payments in advance for joint venture contributions


(13,406)

(8,415)

Net cash outflow from investing activities


(28,972)





Cash flows from financing activities




Proceeds from issue of shares

14

63,909

12,920

Transaction costs from issue of shares

14

(2,154)

(695)

Proceeds from borrowing facilities

13

-

26,495

Repayment of lease obligations 


(206)

(55)

Payments for prepaid borrowing costs for debt


-

(276)

Net cash inflow from financing activities


38,389





Net increase in cash and cash equivalents


23,236

3,456

Effects of exchange rate differences on cash and cash equivalents


(2,473)

718

Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the period


10,386

6,212

Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year

9

31,149

10,386

 

The above consolidated statement of cash flows should be read in conjunction with the accompanying notes. 

 



 

PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES

1          Corporate information

The consolidated financial statements of Greatland Gold plc and its subsidiaries (collectively, the Group) for the year ended 30 June 2023 were authorised for issue in accordance with a resolution of the Directors on 5 November 2023.

Greatland Gold plc is a public limited company incorporated and domiciled in England and Wales. The Company's ordinary shares are traded on LSE AIM (AIM:GGP).

2          Basis of preparation

The consolidated financial statements of Greatland Gold plc (Greatland or the Group) have been prepared in accordance with UK-adopted international accounting standards and in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.

The financial statements have been prepared on the historical cost basis, except for certain financial instruments and cash-settled share-based payments which have been measured at fair value.

Going Concern

The Group's principal activities include the development of Havieron. As at 30 June 2023, the Group's net current assets of £35.4 million (2022: £14.8 million), with cash of £31.1 million (2022: £10.4 million) and advanced Havieron joint venture cash contributions of £12.6 million (2022: £8.4 million). 

In addition, as outlined in note 28, Greatland has access to a A$50 million (c. £26.3 million) undrawn standby loan facility with Wyloo Consolidated Investments Pty Ltd (Wyloo).

Management has prepared cash flow forecasts for the next twelve months under various scenarios. These scenarios anticipate the Group will be able to meet its commitments and pay its debts as and when they fall due.

If required, the Group has a number of options available to manage liquidity including:

§  significantly reduce expenditure on its own exploration programmes;

§  significantly reduce corporate costs;

§  raising additional funding through debt and equity, or a combination of both, which the Company considers it has the ability to do so, should it be required and has demonstrated an ability to do so in the past.

Should the directors not achieve the matters set out above, there is significant uncertainty whether the Company will continue as a going concern and therefore whether they will realise its assets and extinguish its liabilities in the normal course of business and at the amounts stated in the financial report.

Greatland has considered sensitivities which include increases to the Havieron development costs. In this situation, the Company can mitigate expenditure including ceasing exploration activities and reducing corporate costs. Having prepared forecasts based on current resources and assessing methods of obtaining additional finance, the Directors believe the Group has sufficient resources to meet its obligations for a period of twelve months from the date of approval of these financial statements. Taking these matters into consideration, the Directors continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements.

Rounding

The amounts presented in this financial report have been rounded to the nearest £1,000 where noted (£'000) under the option available to the Company under the Companies Act 2006.

Significant accounting judgements, estimates and assumptions

The preparation of financial statements requires management to use estimates, judgements and assumptions. Application of different assumptions and estimates may have a significant impact on Greatland's net assets and financial results. Estimates and assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis and are based on the latest available information at each reporting date.  

This note provides an overview of the areas that involved a higher degree of judgement and complexity, or areas where assumptions are significant to the financial statements. Detailed information about each of these estimates and judgements is included in other notes together with information about the basis of calculation for each affected line item in the financial statements.



 

2          Basis of preparation (continued)

 

Description

Key estimate or judgement

Notes

Mine development

The recoverable amount of mine development is dependent on the successful development and commercial exploration, or alternatively, sale of the respective area of interest.

Note 17

Provisions

Rehabilitation, restoration and dismantling provisions are reassessed at the end of each reporting period. The estimated costs include judgement regarding the Group's expectation of the level of rehabilitation activities that will be undertaken, timing of cash flows, technological changes, regulatory obligations, cost inflation and discount rates.

Note 25

Share-based payment expense

The Group measures the cost of share-based payment expenses with employees by reference to the fair value of the equity instruments at the date at which they are granted. The fair value was determined using a Monte Carlos and Black-Scholes model which includes key assumptions.

Note 24

Going concern

The ability of the Company to continue as a going concern depends upon continued access to sufficient capital. Judgement is required in the estimation of future cash flows.

Note 2

Loan due from subsidiary

The parent entity holds a loan due from a 100% owned subsidiary. The recoverable amount of the loan is dependent on the successful development and commercial exploration, or alternatively, sale of the respective area of interest.

Note 11

Basis of consolidation 

The consolidated financial statements comprise of the financial statements of Greatland Gold plc and its subsidiaries it controls (as outlined in note 21). Accounting for joint ventures is included in note 22. 

Subsidiaries are those entities controlled directly or indirectly by the Company. The Group controls an entity when it is exposed to, or has rights to, variable returns from its involvement with the entity and has the ability to affect those returns through its power over the entity. The results of the subsidiaries are included in the Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income from the date of acquisition using the same accounting policies as those of the Group.

The consideration transferred in a business combination is the fair value at the acquisition date of the assets transferred and the liabilities incurred by the Group and includes the fair value of any contingent consideration arrangement. Acquisition-related costs are recognised in the income statement as incurred. Identifiable assets acquired and liabilities and contingent liabilities assumed in a business combination are measured initially at their fair value at the acquisition date.

All intra-group balances and transactions, including any unrealised income and expenses arising from intragroup transactions, are eliminated in full in preparing the consolidated financial statements. Unrealised gains arising from transactions with equity accounted investees are eliminated against the investment to the extent of the Group's interest in the investee. Unrealised losses are eliminated in the same way as unrealised gains, but only to the extent that there is no evidence of impairment.

Foreign currencies

Both the functional and presentational currency of Greatland Gold plc is sterling (£). Each entity in the Group determines its own functional currency, the primary economic environment in which the entity operates, and items included in the financial statements of each entity are measured using that functional currency.

Transactions in foreign currencies are recorded at the spot rate at the date of the transaction. Monetary assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies are translated at the rate of exchange ruling at the balance sheet date. All differences are taken to the Statement of Comprehensive Income.

On consolidation of a foreign operation, assets and liabilities are translated at the balance sheet rate, income and expenses are translated at average foreign currency rates prevailing for the relevant period. Gains/losses arising on translation of foreign controlled entities into pounds sterling are taken to the foreign currency translation reserve.

Other accounting policies

Significant and other accounting policies that summarise the measurement basis used and are relevant in understanding the financial statements are provided throughout the notes to the financial statements.

New standards, amendments and interpretations adopted by the Group

There are no IASB and IFRIC standards that have been issued with an effective date after the date of the financial statements which are expected to have a material impact on the Group.



 

2          Basis of preparation (continued)

New and amended Standards and Interpretations issued but not effective

At the date of approval of these financial statements, the following standards and interpretations which have not been applied in these financial statements were in issue but not yet effective (and in some cases had not been adopted by the UK):

§  Amendments to IFRS 17: Insurance Contracts - effective 1 January 2023

§  Amendments to IAS 1 Presentation of Financial Statements: Classification of Liabilities as Current or Non-current - effective 1 January 2023*

§  Amendments to IAS 1: Presentation of Financial Statements and IFRS Practice Statement 2: Disclosure of Accounting Policies - effective 1 January 2023*

§  Amendments to IAS 8: Accounting policies, Changes in Accounting Estimates and Errors - Definition of Accounting Estimates - effective 1 January 2023*

§  Amendments to IAS 12: Income Taxes - Deferred Tax related to Assets and Liabilities arising from a Single Transaction - effective 1 January 2023*

*subject to UK endorsement

The new and amended Standards and Interpretations which are in issue but not yet mandatorily effective are not expected to be material.

FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE

3          Segmental information

An operating segment is a component of the Group that engages in business activities from which it may earn revenue and incur expenditure and about which separate financial information is available that is evaluated regularly by the Group's Chief Operating Decision Makers, who is the Managing Director, in deciding how to allocate resources and in assessing performance.

Segment name

Description

UK

The UK sector consists of the parent company which provides investor relations and corporate functions as well as administrative and management services to its subsidiaries based in Australia.

Australia

This segment consists of the development activities for Havieron and exploration and evaluation activities throughout Australia.

 

Segment information is evaluated by the executive management team and is prepared in conformity with the accounting policies adopted for preparing the financial statements of the Group.

Segment results

Income statement for the year ended 30 June 2023

UK

£'000

Australia

£'000

Group

£'000

Revenue

-

-

-

Exploration and evaluation costs

-

(3,286)

(3,286)

Administrative costs

(1,102)

(4,494)

(5,596)

Transaction costs related to the proposed IPO

(1,879)

-

(1,879)

Loss for the segment

(2,981)

(7,780)

(10,761)

Depreciation and amortisation expenses

(13)

(211)

(224)

Segment result

(2,994)

(7,991)

(10,985)

Share-based payment expense



(9,787)

Foreign exchange gain / (losses)



(1,668)

Other income



194

Finance income



1,228

Finance expense



(102)

Loss before income tax

 

 

(21,120)

Income tax expense

 

 

-

Loss after income tax

 

 

(21,120)

 



 

3          Segmental information (continued)

 

Income statement for the year ended 30 June 2022

UK

£'000

Australia

£'000

Group

£'000

Revenue

-

-

-

Exploration and evaluation costs

-

(2,985)

(2,985)

Administrative costs

(1,980)

(3,109)

(5,089)

Loss for the segment

(1,980)

(6,094)

(8,074)

Depreciation and amortisation expenses

(38)

(133)

(171)

Segment result

(2,018)

(6,227)

(8,245)

Share-based payment expense



(193)

Foreign exchange losses



(2,736)

Finance income



2

Finance expense



(194)

Loss before income tax

 

 

(11,366)

Income tax expense



-

Loss after income tax

 

 

(11,366)

Adjustments and eliminations

Share-based payment expense, foreign exchange losses, other income, finance income, finance costs and taxes are not allocated to individual segments as they are managed on a Group basis.

Segment assets and liabilities

Assets and liabilities as at 30 June 2023

UK

£'000

Australia

£'000

Group

£'000

Segment assets

568

104,472

105,040

Segment liabilities 

(383)

(52,179)

(52,562)

 



 

Assets and liabilities as at 30 June 2022

UK

£'000

Australia

£'000

Group

£'000

Segment assets

711

54,560

55,271

Segment liabilities 

(1,954)

(47,591)

(49,545)







 

4          Other income and expenses  

Other income

 

Note

2023
£'000

2022
£'000

Government grants

(a)  

90

-

Other gains


104

-

Total other income

 

194

-

(a) Government grant

Greatland was awarded a government grant of £0.1 million to co-fund exploration drilling and mobilisation costs at its 100% owned Rudall licence in the Paterson region under the Western Australian Government's Exploration Incentive Scheme. There are no unfulfilled conditions or other contingencies attached to this grant.

Breakdown of expense by nature

 

 

2023
£'000

2022
£'000

Amortisation of right-of-use asset


197

133

Depreciation


27

38

Total amortisation and depreciation

 

224

171

 



 

5          Employee information

 

Group

2023

£'000

Group

2022

£'000

Company

2023

£'000

Company

2022

£'000

Wages and salaries  

3,352

2,150

501

185

Bonus 

863

729

-

-

Pension / superannuation

349

171

24

2

Share-based payments

9,787

193

8,687

76

Total director and employee benefit expense 

14,351

3,243 

9,212

263

 

Average Number

Average Number

Average Number

Average Number

Exploration

11

9

-

-

Corporate and other

14

8

4

2

For further details on Director's remuneration refer to Remuneration Report.

Recognition and measurement

Employee benefits

Wages, salaries and defined contribution superannuation expenses are recognised as and when employees render their services. Expenses for non-accumulating personal leave are recognised when the leave is taken and measured at the rates paid or payable.

Share-based payments

The accounting policy, key estimates and judgements relating to employee share-based payments are set out in note 24 of the Annual Report.

6          Finance income and finance costs

 

Note

2023
£'000

2022
£'000

Finance income 




Interest income


1,228

2

Total finance income

 

1,228

2

Finance costs




Interest on lease liabilities


(7)

(15)

Unwinding of discount on provisions

25

(91)

(177)

Other


(4)

(2)

Total finance costs


(102)

(194)

Recognition and measurement

Interest income is recognised as interest accrues using the effective interest method.

Provisions and other payables are discounted to their present value when the effect of the time value of money is significant. The impact of the unwinding of these discounts is reported in finance costs.

Borrowing costs

General and specific borrowing costs that are directly attributable to the acquisition, construction or production of a qualifying asset are capitalised during the period of time that is required to complete and prepare the asset for its intended use or sale. Qualifying assets are assets that necessarily take a substantial period of time to get ready for their intended use or sale.

All other borrowing costs are recognised in income in the period in which they are incurred.



 

7          Taxation 

 



2023
£'000

2022
£'000

Components of income tax:




Deferred tax - temporary differences


-

-

Current tax


-

-

Income tax expense


-

There was no deferred or current tax during the year or in prior year.

Factors affecting tax charge for the year

The tax assessed on the loss on ordinary activities for the period differs from the standard rate of corporation tax in the UK of 19% (2022: 19%) and Australia of 30% (2022: 30%). The differences are explained below:

 



2023
£'000

2022
£'000

Loss before income tax


(21,120)

(11,366)

Weighted average applicate rate of tax of 24% (2022: 28%) 

(5,052)

(3,148)

Increase (decrease) in income tax due to:




Share-based payments


1,981

652

Unwind of rehabilitation provision


30

53

Temporary differences


(1,730)

(1,131)

Net deferred tax assets not brought to account


4,771

3,574

Income tax expense 


-

Tax losses

 



2023
£'000

2022
£'000

Unused tax losses for which no deferred tax asset has been recognised


57,967

35,433

Potential tax benefit - average effective tax rate of 28%

 

16,063

9,921

The Group has unrecognised carried forward losses for which no deferred tax asset is recognised as the statutory requirements for recognising those deferred tax assets have not yet been met. The Group recognises the benefit of tax losses only to the extent of anticipated future taxable income or gains in relevant jurisdictions. These losses do not expire. Unrecognised UK revenue losses for which no deferred tax asset has been recognised are £11.3 million (2022: £9.8 million). Unrecognised Australian revenue losses for which no deferred tax asset has been recognised are approximately A$88.3 million (£46.4 million) (2022: £25.6 million).

Recognition and measurement

Current tax assets and liabilities for the period are measured at the amount expected to be recovered from, or paid to the taxation authorities. The tax rates and tax laws used to compute the amount are those that are enacted or substantially enacted by the reporting date in the countries where the Group operates.

Full provision is made for deferred taxation resulting from timing differences which have arisen but not reversed at the reporting date.

Deferred tax is calculated at the tax rates that are expected to apply in the period when the liability is settled or the asset realised. Deferred tax is charged or credited to profit or loss, except when it relates to items charged or credited directly to equity, in which case the deferred tax is also dealt with in equity.

The Group offsets deferred tax assets and deferred tax liabilities if, and only if, it has a legally enforceable right to set off current tax assets and current tax liabilities and the deferred tax assets and deferred tax liabilities relate to income taxes levied by the same taxation authority on either the same taxable entity or different taxable entities which intend either to settle current tax liabilities and assets on a net basis, or to realise the assets and settle the liabilities simultaneously, in each future period in which significant amounts of deferred tax liabilities or assets are expected to be settled or recovered.

Deferred tax assets on carried forward losses are only recorded where it is expected that future trading profits will be generated in which this asset can be offset. The carrying amount of deferred tax assets is reviewed at each reporting date and reduced to the extent that it is no longer probable that sufficient taxable profits will be available to allow all or part of the asset to be recovered.



 

7          Taxation (continued)

Tax consolidation

Greatland Holdings Group Pty Ltd, a 100% owned subsidiary of Greatland Gold plc, and its 100% owned Australian resident subsidiaries formed a tax consolidated group with effect from 14 February 2023. Greatland Holdings Group Pty Ltd is the head entity of the tax consolidated group. Members of the tax consolidated group have entered into a tax funding agreement under which the wholly-owned entities fully compensate Greatland Holdings Group Pty Ltd for any current tax payable assumed and are compensated by Greatland Holdings Group Pty Ltd for any current tax receivable and deferred tax assets related to unused tax losses or unused tax credits that are transferred to Greatland Holdings Group Pty Ltd under the tax consolidation.

8          Earnings per Share

 



2023
£'000

2022
£'000

Loss for the period   


(21,120)

(11,366)

Weighted average number of ordinary shares of £0.001 in issue


4,849,928,345

4,016,373,291

Loss per share  


(0.44) pence

(0.28) pence

The weighted average number of the Group's shares including outstanding options is 4,921,573,345 (2022: 4,097,373,291). Dilutive earnings per share are not included on the basis inclusion of potential ordinary shares would result in a decrease in loss per share and is considered anti-dilutive.

Subsequent to year end, the following transactions occurred that were not retrospectively adjusted in the calculation of earnings per share:

§ Greatland granted 302,700,000 Co-Investment Options with an exercise price of £0.119, 31,100,000 Retention Rights and 13,306,047 FY23 Performance Rights at an exercise price of £0.001 to employees under the Company's employee share plan. These transactions were not retrospectively adjusted in the calculations of earnings per share.

§ Mr Borrelli exercised his remaining 19,000,000 options and Mr Latcham exercised his 2,750,000 remaining options.

For further details, refer to events after the reporting period in note 28.

Recognition and measurement

Basic earnings per share

Basic earnings per share is calculated by dividing:

§ the profit attributable to owners of the company, excluding any costs of servicing equity other than ordinary shares

§ by the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding during the financial year, adjusted for any bonus elements in the ordinary shares issued during the year and excluding treasury shares

Diluted earnings per share

Diluted earnings per share adjusts the figures used in the determination of basic earnings per share to take into account:

§ the after-income tax effect of interest and other financing costs associated with dilutive potential ordinary shares; and  

§ the weighted average number of additional ordinary shares that would have been outstanding assuming the conversion of all dilutive potential ordinary shares.  



 

CAPITAL MANAGEMENT

9          Cash and cash equivalents

 

Group

2023

£'000

Group

2022

£'000

Company

2023

£'000

Company

2022

£'000

Cash at bank

25,794

10,386

489

634

Short-term deposits

5,355

-

-

-

Total cash and cash equivalents

31,149

10,386

489

634

Recognition and measurement

Cash and cash equivalents in the consolidated statement of financial position and consolidated statement of cash flows comprise cash at bank and short-term deposits that are readily convertible to known amounts of cash with insignificant risk of change in value. Short-term deposits are usually between one to three months depending on the short-term cash flow requirements of the Group. The Group holds short-term deposits with financial institutions that have a long term credit rating of AA- or above.

10         Advanced joint venture cash contributions 

 

Group

2023

£'000

Group

2022

£'000

Company

2023

£'000

Company

2022

£'000

Havieron joint venture cash calls in advance

12,576

8,415

-

-

Total advanced joint venture cash contributions

12,576

8,415

-

-

Recognition and measurement

Joint venture cash calls are paid in advance of expenditure being incurred. Once the funds have been incurred they are transferred out of current assets and into the relevant asset or expenditure depending on the nature of the transaction. 

11         Trade and other receivables

 

Group

2023

£'000

Group

2022

£'000

Company

2023

£'000

Company

2022

£'000

GST receivable

116

-

-

-

Loans due from subsidiaries

-

-

92,721

33,046

Total trade and other receivables 

116

-

92,721

33,046

 

Recognition and measurement

Trade and other receivables are recognised initially at fair value and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method, less any allowance for the expected future issue of credit notes and for non-recoverability due to credit risk. The Group applies the simplified approach to measuring expected credit losses which uses a lifetime expected loss allowance for all trade receivables and contract assets. To measure expected credit losses, trade receivables and contract assets have been grouped based on shared risk characteristics. No such credit loss has been recorded in these financial statements as any effect would be immaterial.

Key estimates and assumptions - Impairment on loan due from subsidiary

The Company holds loans due from its 100% owned subsidiaries. The recoverable amount of the loan is dependent on the successful development and commercial exploration of Havieron, or alternatively, sale of the respective area of interest. Management has concluded the loans will be recoverable on this basis.

12         Trade and other payables

 

Group

2023

£'000

Group

2022

£'000

Company

2023

£'000

Company

2022

£'000

Trade and other payables

1,492

101

197

-

Payroll tax and other statutory liabilities

192

281

-

-

Juri joint venture funds received in advance

28

949

-

-

Accruals

6,799

1,938

-

1,023

Total trade and other payables

8,511

3,269

197

1,023

 

12         Trade and other payables (continued)

Recognition and measurement

Trade and other payables

Trade payables and other payables are carried at amortised cost and represent liabilities for goods and services provided to the Group prior to the end of the financial year that are unpaid and arise when the Group becomes obliged to make future payments in respect of the purchase of these goods and services. The amounts are unsecured and are usually paid within 30 days of recognition. 

Employee benefits  

Short term employee benefits are liabilities for wages and salaries, including non-monetary benefits, annual leave and accumulating sick leave that are expected to be settled wholly within 12 months after the end of the period in which the employees render the related service are recognised in respect of employees' services up to the end of the reporting period and are measured at the amounts expected to be paid when the liabilities are settled. The liabilities are presented as current other payables and accruals in the statement of financial position.

13         Borrowings  

 

Group

2023

£'000

Group

2022

£'000

Company

2023

£'000

Company

2022

£'000

Opening balance 

43,103

12,189

-

-

Debt drawdown

-

24,235

-

-

Facility fees 

-

186

-

-

Capitalised interest

45

2,074

-

-

Effect of foreign exchange revaluation

1,661

2,736

-

-

Adjustment of currency translation

(3,306)

1,683

-

-

Total non-current borrowings

41,503

43,103

-

-

The borrowings presented above relate to a loan agreement with Newcrest Operations Limited dated 29 November 2020 in respect of Havieron. As at 30 June 2023, the loan was fully drawn down. The key terms of the facility with Newcrest include:

§  The loan is made up of Facility A and Facility B with values of US$20 million and US$30 million respectively, in addition to capitalised interest;

§  Interest is calculated on the LIBOR rate plus a margin of 8% annually and is calculated every 90 days. . Following the removal of LIBOR this was subsequently updated to SOFR plus a margin of 8.26161%;

§  The facility is secured against Greatland's share of the Havieron asset;

§  Repayment of the loan is from 80% of net proceeds from the sale of Havieron products and must be repaid by the earlier of 10 years from the date of the Feasibility Study or 12 years from the date of the Newcrest Loan Agreement;

§  There are no financial covenants.

Unrealised foreign exchange loss of £1.7 million (2022: £2.7 million) was incurred on the US$52.4 million loan balance held by the Australian subsidiary. The functional currency of the Australian subsidiary is Australian dollars while the loan is denominated in US dollars. The exchange rate decreased during the year from 0.69 USD/AUD at 30 June 2022 to 0.66 USD/AUD at 30 June 2023.

Exchange differences arising on the translation of the functional currency of the Australian subsidiary differing from the Group's presentation currency resulted in a reduction to borrowings of £3.3 million during the year (2022: addition of £1.7 million). The exchange rate decreased during the year from 0.545 GBP/AUD at 30 June 2022 to 0.525 GBP/AUD at 30 June 2023.

Details of the Group's exposure to risks and the maturity of the loan are set out in note 15 of the Annual Report.

Recognition and measurement

At initial recognition, financial liabilities are classified as financial liabilities at fair value through profit or loss, amortised cost, or as derivatives designated as hedging instruments in an effective hedge, as appropriate. All financial liabilities are recognised initially at fair value and, in the case of those measured at amortised cost, net of directly attributable transaction costs. The subsequent measurement of financial liabilities depends on their classification, as described below.

Financial liabilities measured at amortised cost

Borrowings are measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method. Gains and losses are recognised in profit or loss when the liabilities are derecognised as well as through the effective interest method amortisation process.

Amortised cost is calculated by taking into account any discount or premium on acquisition and fees or costs that are an integral part of the effective interest. Refer to note 17 of the Annual Report for interest capitalised to mine development.

14         Equity

 

Note

No. of Shares

Share Capital
£'000

Share Premium
£'000

Merger Reserve

£'000

Total

£'000

Balance at 1 July 2022 of authorised fully paid shares


4,070,547,171

4,071

36,166

225

40,462

Issued at £0.001 - Havieron contingent consideration on 2 Aug 2022

(a)

138,981,150

138

-

-

138

Issued at £0.082 - from equity raise on 25 Aug 2022

(b)

362,880,180

362

-

29,393

29,755

Issued at £0.078 - from Wyloo subscription on 7 Oct 2022

(c)

430,024,390

430

33,104

-

33,534

Issued at £0.0765 - Havieron 5% option fee to advisor on 11 Nov 2022


13,443,391

13

1,015

-

1,028

Issued at £0.020 - exercise of options on 9 January 2023


25,000,000

25

25

-

50

Issued at £0.025 - exercise of options on 9 January 2023


8,750,000

9

210

-

219

Issued at £0.070 - exercise of options on 9 January 2023


7,500,000

8

45

-

53

Issued at £0.025 - exercise of options on 30 January 2023


5,000,000

5

120

-

125

Issued at £0.03 - exercise of options on 30 January 2023


3,000,000

3

87

-

90

Issued at £0.001 - exercise of options on 13 February 2023


500,000

1

-

-

1

Issued at £0.025 - exercise of options on 9 March 2023


1,500,000

2

36

-

38

Issued at £0.03 - exercise of options on 9 March 2023


1,500,000

2

43

-

45

Less: transaction costs on share issue


-

-

(30)

(2,124)

(2,154)

Balance at 30 June 2023 of authorised fully paid shares

 

5,068,626,282

5,069

70,821

27,494

103,384

 

 

 

No. of Shares

Share Capital
£'000

Share Premium
£'000

Merger Reserve

£'000

Total

£'000

Balance at 1 July 2021 of authorised fully paid shares


3,947,270,143

3,947

24,064

225

28,236

Issued at £0.03 - exercise of options on 29 Jul 2021


250,000

1

7

-

8

Issued at £0.025 - under block listing authority on 2 Aug 2021


6,216,216

6

149

-

155

Issued at £0.025 - under block listing authority on 1 Sep 2021


10,810,812

11

260

-

271

Issued at £0.145 - from fundraise on 19 Nov 2021


82,000,000

82

11,808

-

11,890

Issued at £0.014 - exercise of options on 18 Mar 2022


3,000,000

3

39

-

42

Issued at £0.02 - exercise of options on 18 Mar 2022


3,000,000

3

57

-

60

Issued at £0.03 - exercise of options on 17 May 2022


9,000,000

9

261

-

270

Issued at £0.025 - exercise of options on 17 May 2022


9,000,000

9

216

-

225

Less: transaction costs on share issue


-

-

(695)

-

(695)

Balance at 30 June 2022 of authorised fully paid shares

 

4,070,547,171

4,071

36,166

225

40,462

(a) Contingent deferred acquisition consideration

In July 2022 (prior to the outcome of the Havieron 5% option process), Greatland successfully renegotiated the deferred consideration that was due to be paid in respect of its 2016 acquisition of Havieron. The original terms of the acquisition comprised an initial payment of A$25,000 in cash and 65,490,000 new ordinary shares. A further 145,530,000 new ordinary shares were payable if Greatland's ownership interest in Havieron reduced to 25% or less, or upon a decision to mine at Havieron whichever occurs earlier.

The 145,530,000 deferred share payment was renegotiated as follows:

i)    138,981,150 Greatland shares were issued to the vendor nominee, Five Diggers, during the year. This represented a 4.5% reduction in total shares issued relative to the ordinary agreed quantum

ii)   In respect of the 138,981,150 shares issued, Five Diggers are subject to the following restrictions:

§ A lock up which prohibits any shares from being disposed of for the first 12 months from grant, subject to carveouts (such as recommend takeovers), and

§ Orderly market arrangement, under which the shares may only be traded through Greatland's broker (subject to customary carve outs)

The new ordinary shares were issued in Greatland on 2 August 2022. The fair value of the contingent consideration formed part of the original acquisition in 2016 and as such the equity instruments were issued to share capital for £0.001 as required by the Companies Act 2006, with nil value attributable to share premium in August 2022.

14         Equity (continued)

(b) August 2022 equity raise

On 25 August 2022, Greatland raised total gross proceeds of £29.8 million through placing 362,880,180 new ordinary shares at an issue price of £0.082. The raise was facilitated through an incorporated Jersey registered company, Ferdinand (Jersey) Limited. The proceeds of the share issue were held in trust by Greatland on behalf of Ferdinand (Jersey) Limited, which was then acquired by way of share for share exchange in circumstances which qualified for merger relief, therefore no amount was recognised as share premium on the share issue as required under section 612 of the Companies Act.

The amount recognised in the merger reserve reflects the amount by which the fair value of the shares issued exceeded their nominal value and is recorded within the merger reserve on consolidation, rather than in a share premium account.

(c) Strategic placement to Wyloo

On 12 September 2022, Greatland entered into an agreement for a strategic equity investment with Wyloo, a privately owned minerals investment company. Wyloo subscribed for 430,024,390 shares for A$60 million (£33.5 million), an equivalent at the date of the agreement of £0.082 per share. This placement occurred at the same price as the August 2022 raise which equated to a small premium to the five-day VWAP of 9 September 2022. The transaction was approved by shareholders on 7 October 2022, resulting in Wyloo becoming Greatland's largest shareholder with approximately 8.6% of shares on issue. Settlement occurred on 14 October 2022 at a converted share price of £0.078 per share. On settlement, the A$60 million (£33.5 million) consideration received from Wyloo was allocated to share capital and share premium reflecting the fair value of the ordinary shares at settlement date.

As part of the equity subscription, a further £35 million may be raised from Wyloo in the future through the conversion of 352,620,000 warrants with a strike price of £0.10 per share and expiry date of 6 October 2025. The warrants were recognised in the statement of financial position at nil value on issue.

(d) Farm-in to Rio Tinto Exploration's Paterson South 

In May 2023, Greatland entered into a farm-in and joint venture agreement with Rio Tinto in respect of the Paterson South Project which comprises of nine exploration licences. Under the farm-in and joint venture arrangement, Greatland is required to make an up-front payment to RTX of A$350,000 which Greatland has elected to settle in shares within 6 months from the date of execution. As the farm-in and joint venture agreement was executed during the year, the up-front payment has been capitalised as part of the acquisition costs of the tenements and recognised in share-based payment reserves until the shares are issued.

Capital management

Greatland's capital includes shareholders' equity, reserves and net debt. Net debt is defined as borrowings and lease liabilities less cash and cash equivalent.

Management controls the capital of the Group in order to generate long-term shareholder value and ensure that the Group can fund operations and continue as a going concern. Management effectively manages the Group's capital by assessing the Group's financial risks and adjusting its capital structure in response to changes in these risks and in the market. These responses include share issues and debt considerations. Given the nature of the Group's current activities, the entity will remain dependent on debt and equity funding in the short to medium term until such time as the Group becomes self-financing from the commercial production of mineral resources.

Recognition and measurement

Share capital and share premium

Share capital is the nominal value of shares issued at £0.001.

Share premium is the amount subscribed for share capital in excess of nominal value, less share issue cost.

Ordinary shares participate in dividends and the proceeds on winding up the Company in proportion to the number of shares held. At shareholder meetings each ordinary share is entitled to one vote when a poll is called, otherwise each shareholder has one vote on a show of hands.

Merger reserve

Where the Company issues equity shares in consideration for securing a holding of at least 90% of the nominal value of each class of equity in another company, the application of merger relief is compulsory. Merger relief is a statutory relief from recognising any share premium on shares issued. A merger reserve is recorded equal to the value of share premium which would have been recorded if the provisions of section 612 of the Companies Act 2006 had not been applicable.

 

 

15         Financial risk management 

This note explains the Group's material exposure to financial risks and how these risks could affect the Group's future financial performance.  

Financial Risks

Exposure arising from

Measurement

Management

Market risk - foreign exchange

Recognised financial assets and liabilities not denominated in GBP

§ Cash flow forecasting

§ Sensitivity analysis

Assessment of use of financial instruments, hedging contracts or techniques to mitigate risk

Market risk - interest rate

Long-term borrowings at variable rates

§ Cash flow forecasting

§ Sensitivity analysis

Assessment of use of financial instruments, hedging contracts or techniques to mitigate risk

Credit risk

Cash and cash equivalents

§ Credit ratings

Diversification of banks, credit limits, investment grade credit ratings

Liquidity risk

Borrowings and other liabilities

§ Rolling cash flow forecasts

Availability of committed credit lines and borrowing facilities, equity raises

There have been no changes in financial risks from the previous year. The Group did not have any hedging in place at 30 June 2023 or in prior year. Details on commodity price risk is included in Principal Risks and Uncertainties of the Annual Report.

Market Risk

(a) Foreign currency risk and sensitivity analysis

The Group's exposure to foreign currency risk at the end of the reporting period was as follows:

 

2023

2022

 

USD
$'000

AUD
$'000

USD
$'000

AUD
$'000

Cash and cash equivalents

-

58,400

-

17,196

Borrowings

(52,412)

-

(52,360)

-







The following table demonstrates the sensitivity of the exposure at the balance sheet date to a reasonably possible change in AUD/USD/GBP exchange rate, with all other variables held constant. The impact on the Group's profit before tax and equity is due to changes in the fair value of monetary assets and liabilities, expressed in GBP. 

Effect on profit before tax

 

 

 

 

2023
£'000

2022
£'000

USD/GBP exchange rate - increase 4% (2022: 10%)


(1,660)

(4,310)

USD/GBP exchange rate - decrease 4% (2022: 10%)


1,660

4,310

AUD/GBP exchange rate - increase 10% (2022: 10%)


3,066

975

AUD/GBP exchange rate - decrease 10% (2022: 10%)


(3,066)

(975)

(b) Interest rate risk management and sensitivity analysis

The Group's policy is to retain its surplus funds in interest bearing deposit accounts including term deposits available up to twelve months' maximum duration. An increase / decrease of 2% in interest rates will impact the Group's income statement by a gain/loss of £1.2 million (2022: £0.2 million). The Group considers that a +/-2% movement in interest rates represents reasonable possible changes.

The Group has borrowing facilities with Newcrest as part of the Havieron project with a total facility limit of US$50 million, excluding interest. Interest is calculated on the LIBOR rate plus a margin of 8% pa. Interest is calculated every 90 days. Under the Group's accounting policy, interest on the loan is capitalised to mine development and therefore movements in interest rates had no impact on the profit or loss in the current year.

Credit risk

Credit risk is the risk that a counterparty will not meet its obligations under a financial instrument or customer contract, leading to a financial loss. The Group is exposed to credit risk from its financing activities, including deposits with financial institutions. At the reporting date, the carrying amount of the Group's financial assets represents the maximum credit exposure.



 

15 Financial risk management (continued)

The credit risk on cash and cash equivalents is managed by restricting dealing and holding of funds to banks which are assigned high credit ratings by international credit rating agencies. The Group's cash and cash equivalents as at 30 June 2023 are predominately held with financial institutions with an investment grade long term credit rating with Standard & Poor's. As short-term deposits have maturity dates of less than twelve months, the Group has assessed the credit risk on these financial assets using life time expected credit losses. In this regard, the Group has concluded that the probability of default on the term deposits is relatively low. Accordingly, no impairment allowance has been recognised for expected credit losses on the short-term deposits.

Liquidity risk

Liquidity risk is the risk that the Group will encounter difficulty in meeting obligations associated with financial liabilities that are settled by delivering cash or another financial asset. The Group's approach to managing liquidity is to ensure, as far as possible, that it will always have sufficient liquidity to meet its liabilities when due, under both normal and stressed conditions, without incurring unacceptable losses or risking damage to the Group's reputation. The Group manages liquidity risk by conducting regular reviews of the timing of cash flows in order to ensure sufficient funds are available to meet these obligations.

(a) Maturities of financial liabilities

The table below analyses the Group's financial liabilities into relevant maturity groupings based on their contractual maturities. The amounts disclosed in the table are contractual discounted cash flows. Balances due within 12 months equal their carrying balances as the impact of discounting is not significant.

Contractual maturities of financial liabilities

At 30 June 2023

 

Less than 6 months

£'000

 

6- 12 months

£'000

 

Between 1 and 2 years

£'000

 

Between 2 and 5 years

£'000

 

Over 5 years

£'000

Total contractual cashflows

£'000

 

Carrying amount

£'000

Trade payables

8,511

-

-

-

-

8,511

8,511

Borrowings

-

-

41,503

-

-

41,503

41,503

Lease liabilities

75

76

129

155

-

435

412

Total liabilities 

8,586

76

41,632

155

-

50,449

50,426

 

Contractual maturities of financial liabilities

At 30 June 2022

 

Less than 6 months

£'000

 

6- 12 months

£'000

 

Between 1 and 2 years

£'000

 

Between 2 and 5 years

£'000

 

Over 5 years

£'000

Total contractual cashflows

£'000

 

Carrying amount

£'000

Trade payables

3,269

-

-

-

-

3,269

3,269

Borrowings

-

-

43,103

-

-

43,103

43,103

Lease liabilities

114

100

70

-

-

284

278

Total liabilities 

3,383

100

43,173

-

-

46,656

46,650

 



 

INVESTED CAPITAL

16         Exploration and evaluation assets 

 


Note

2023
£'000

2022
£'000

As at 1 July


94

-

Additions

(a)

189

90

Adjustment of currency translation


(19)

4

As at 30 June


264

94

(a) Farm-in to Rio Tinto Exploration's Paterson South 

Greatland entered into a farm-in and joint venture agreement with RTX during the year in respect of the Paterson South Project which comprises of nine exploration licences. Greatland elected to settle the up-front payment to RTX of A$350,000 in shares within 6 months from the date of execution. Refer to note 14(d) for further details.

Recognition and measurement

Exploration and evaluation and development assets includes acquisition costs, costs associated with exploring, investigating, examining and evaluating an area of mineralisation, and assessing the technical feasibility and commercial viability of extracting the mineral resource from that area.

Exploration and evaluation expenditure is capitalised and carried forward to the extent that it relates to:

(i) acquisition costs; or

(ii) costs are expected to be recouped through successful development and exploitation of the area of interest or alternatively through sale.

If the above criteria are not met, exploration expenditure is expensed when incurred.

The recoverability of the exploration and evaluation assets is dependent on the successful development and commercial exploration, or alternatively, sale of the respective area of interest. Exploration and evaluation assets are assessed for impairment if one or more of the following facts and circumstances exist:

§ the right to explore the specific area has expired during the period or will expire in the near future, and is not expected to be renewed;

§ substantive expenditure on further exploration for and evaluation of mineral resources is the specific areas is neither budgeted nor planned;

§ exploration and evaluation of mineral resources in the specific area have not led to the discovery of commercially viable quantities of mineral resources and the company has decided to discontinue such activities in the specific area;

§ sufficient data exists to indicate that, although development in the specific area is likely to proceed, the carrying amount of the exploration and evaluation asset is unlikely to be recovered in full from successful development or by sale.

An exploration and evaluation asset will be reclassified to mine development when the technical feasibility and commercial viability of extracting a mineral resource are demonstrable.



 

17         Mine Development 

 

2023

 

Assets under construction

£'000

Rehabilitation asset

Total

£'000

As at 1 July


33,835

1,747

35,582

Additions


23,367

-

23,367

Capitalised interest


5,406

-

5,406

Adjustment of currency translation


(4,294)

(130)

(4,424)

As at 30 June


58,314

1,617

59,931

 

 

2022

 

Assets under construction

£'000

Rehabilitation asset
£'000

Total

£'000

As at 1 July


9,074

3,813

12,887

Additions


21,171

-

21,171

Adjustment to rehabilitation provision


-

(2,230)

(2,230)

Capitalised facility fees


186

-

186

Capitalised interest


2,074

-

2,074

Adjustment of currency translation


1,330

164

1,494

As at 30 June


33,835

1,747

35,582

Recognition and measurement

Mine Development

Mine development represents expenditure incurred when the technical feasibility and commercial viability of extracting a mineral resource are demonstrable and includes costs incurred up until such time as the asset is capable of being operated in a manner intended by management.

Mine development is stated at historical cost less impairment losses, if any. Historical cost includes expenditure that is directly attributable to the acquisition of the items and costs incurred in bringing the asset into use.

Subsequent costs are included in the asset's carrying amount or recognised as a separate asset, as appropriate, only when it is probable that future economic benefits associated with the item flow to the Group and the cost of the item can be measured reliably. The carrying amount of the replaced part is de-recognised. All other repairs and maintenance costs are recognised in the income statement as incurred.

Depreciation does not commence until the asset is in the location and condition necessary for it to be capable of operating in the manner intended by management.

An item of mine development is derecognised upon disposal or when no future economic benefits are expected from its use or disposal. Any gain or loss arising on derecognition of the asset (calculated as the difference between the net disposal proceeds and the carrying amount of the asset) is included in the income statement when the asset is derecognised.

Impairment  

At each reporting date, the Company assesses whether there are any indicators of impairment. If any indicators exists, the Company estimates the asset's recoverable amount. An asset's recoverable amount is the higher of an asset's or cash generating unit's (CGU) fair value less cost of disposal and its value in use. Recoverable amount is determined for an individual asset, unless the asset does not generate cash inflows that are largely independent of those from other assets or groups of assets. When the carrying amount of an asset or CGU exceeds its recoverable amount, the asset is considered impaired and is written down to its recoverable amount.

The recoverable amount of mine development is dependent on the Company's estimate of the Ore Reserve that can be economically and legally extracted. The Company estimates its Ore Reserve and Mineral Resource based on information compiled by appropriately qualified persons relating to the geological data on the size, depth and shape of the ore body, and requires complex geological judgments to interpret the data.

Impairment losses are recognised in the profit or loss.

Capitalised borrowing costs

General and specific borrowing costs that are directly attributable to the acquisition, construction or production of a qualifying asset are capitalised during the period of time that is required to complete and prepare the asset for its intended use or sale. Qualifying assets are assets that necessarily take a substantial period of time to get ready for their intended use or sale.



 

17         Mine Development (continued)

Key estimates and assumptions - Mine Development

Development activities commence after commercial viability and technical feasibility of the project is established. Judgement is applied by management in determining when a project is commercially viable and technically feasible. In exercising this judgement, management is required to make certain estimates and assumptions as to future events. If, after having commenced the development activity, a judgement is made that a development asset is impaired the relevant capitalised amount will be written off to the income statement.

The Group's estimate of the Havieron Ore Reserve and Mineral Resource is based on information compiled by appropriately qualified persons relating to the geological data on the size, depth and shape of the ore body, and requires complex geological judgments to interpret the data. The estimation is based on factors such as estimates of foreign exchange rates, commodity prices, future capital requirements, and production costs along with geological assumptions and judgments made in estimating the size and grade of the ore body and removal of waste material. Management have determined the mine development asset to be recoverable based on the Havieron Reserve and Resource. Future changes in these estimates may impact upon the carrying value of mine properties, property, plant and equipment, and provision for rehabilitation. A copy of the Havieron Reserve and Resource is available on the company's website: https://greatlandgold.com

18         Leases 

(a) Amounts recognised in the balance sheet

 

Group

2023

£'000

   Group

2022

£'000

Company

2023

£'000

 Company

2022

£'000

Right-of-use asset





Office and other leases

418

272

-

13

 





Lease liabilities





Current lease liabilities

128

208

-

13

Non-current lease liabilities

284

70

-

-

Total lease liabilities

412

278

-

13

 

 

 

 

 

Maturity analysis of undiscounted future lease payments

 

 

 

 

Within one year

128

214

-

14

Later than one year but not later than five years

307

70

-

-

Later than five years

-

-

-

-

Total undiscounted future lease payments 

435

284

-

14

Additions to the right-of-use assets during the year were £0.4 million (2022: £0.3 million) associated with the extension to the office and warehouse leases.

(b) Amounts recognised in the statement of comprehensive income

 

Group

2023

£'000

   Group

2022

£'000

Company

2023

£'000

 Company

2022

£'000

Depreciation charge of right-of-use assets

197

133

13

37

Interest expense (included in finance cost)

7

14

1

2

Expense relating to short-term leases of low value (included in administrative expense)

6

63

-

-

(c) The group's leasing activities and how these are accounted for

The Group leases various offices, warehouses, equipment and vehicles. Rental contracts are typically made for fixed periods of 6 months to 8 years. Payments associated with short-term leases of equipment and vehicles and all leases of low-value assets are recognised on a straight-line basis as an expense in the statement of profit or loss. Short-term leases are leases with a lease term of 12 months or less without a purchase option. Low-value assets comprise IT equipment and office furniture.

(d) Extension and termination options

Extension options are included in the leases if it is reasonably certain the lease terms are to be extended. These are used to maximise operational flexibility in terms of managing the assets used in the group's operations.

 

18         Leases (continued)

Recognition and measurement

Assets and liabilities arising from a lease are initially measured on present value basis.  Lease liabilities include the net present value of the following lease payments:

§ fixed payments (including in-substance fixed payments), less any lease incentives receivable

§ variable lease payments that are based on an index or a rate, initially measured using the index or rate as at the commencement date

§ amounts expected to be payable by the group is reasonably certain to exercise that option, and

§ payments of penalties for terminating the lease, if the lease term reflects the group exercising that option

The lease payments are discounted using the interest rate implicit in the lease. If that rate cannot be readily determined, which is generally the case for leases in the group, the lessee's incremental borrowing rate is used, being the rate that the individual lessee would have to pay to borrow the funds necessary to obtain an asset of similar value to the right-of-use asset in a similar economic environment with similar terms, security and conditions.

The group is exposed to potential future increases in variable lease payments based on an index or rate, which are not included in the lease liability until they take effect. When adjustments to lease payments based on an index or rate take effect, the lease liability is reassessed and adjusted against the right-of-use asset.

Lease payments are allocated between principal and finance costs. The finance cost is charged to profit or loss over the lease period so as to produce a constant periodic rate of interest on the remaining balance of the liability for each period.

Right-of-use assets are measured at cost comprising the following:

§ the amount of the initial measurement of lease liability

§ any lease payments made at or before the commencement date less any lease incentives received

§ any initial direct costs, and restoration costs.

Right-of-use assets are generally depreciated over the shorter of the asset's useful life and the lease term on a straight-line basis. If the group is reasonably certain to exercise a purchase option, the right-of-use asset is depreciated over the underlying asset's useful life.

19         Property, plant and equipment 

 

 

Motor Vehicles

£'000

Property, Plant & Equipment

£'000

IT Equipment

£'000

 

Total

£'000

Year ended 30 June 2023




 

Opening net book amount

59

36

-

95

Additions

-

-

21

21

Disposals

-

-

-

-

Depreciation

(9)

(12)

(5)

(26)

Adjustment to currency translation

(3)

(2)

(1)

(6)

Closing net book value

47

22

15

84

At 30 June 2023

 

 

 

 

Cost

145

191

20

356

Accumulated depreciation

(98)

(169)

(5)

(272)

Net book amount

47

22

15

84

 



19         Property, plant and equipment (continued)

 

 

Motor Vehicles

£'000

Property, Plant & Equipment

£'000

IT Equipment

£'000

 

Total

£'000

Year ended 30 June 2022





Opening net book amount

78

42

-

120

Additions

20

24

-

44

Disposals

-

(18)

-

(18)

Depreciation

(27)

(10)

-

(37)

Adjustment to currency translation

(12)

(2)

-

(14)

Closing net book value

59

36

-

95

At 30 June 2022




 

Cost

156

206

-

362

Accumulated depreciation

(97)

(170)

-

(267)

Net book amount

59

36

-

95

Recognition and measurement

Plant and equipment is stated at historical cost. Historical cost includes expenditure that is directly attributable to the acquisition of the items and costs incurred in bringing the asset into use.

Subsequent costs are included in the asset's carrying amount or recognised as a separate asset, as appropriate, only when it is probable that future economic benefits associated with the item flow to the Group and the cost of the item can be measured reliably. The carrying amount of the replaced part is de-recognised. All other repairs and maintenance costs are recognised in the income statement as incurred.

An item of property, plant and equipment and any significant part initially recognised is derecognised upon disposal or when no future economic benefits are expected from its use or disposal. Any gain or loss arising on derecognition of the asset (calculated as the difference between the net disposal proceeds and the carrying amount of the asset) is included in the income statement when the asset is derecognised.

Depreciation methods and useful lives

Depreciation is calculated using the straight-line method to allocate their costs over their estimated useful lives, or in the case of leasehold improvements and curtained leased plant and equipment, the shorter lease term as follows:

§ Motor vehicles:                             8 - 10 years

§ Equipment:                                   5 - 10 years

§ IT equipment:                               3 - 5 years

§ Leasehold improvements:        2 - 10 years

20         Commitments

Capital commitments

Capital expenditure contracted for at the end of the reporting period but not recognised as liabilities is as follows:






 

2023

£'000

2022

£'000

2023

£'000

2022

£'000

Within one year

4,589

5,384

-

-

Between one and five years

-

-

-

-

Later than five years

-

-

-

-

Total capital commitments

4,589

5,384

-

-

 



 

GROUP STRUCTURE AND RELATED PARTY INFORMATION

21         Investment in subsidiaries

As at, and throughout the financial year ended 30 June 2023, the ultimate parent entity of the Group was Greatland Gold plc. Information relating to subsidiaries is included below:

 

 

Country of

 

% interest

Controlled entities

Notes

incorporation

Class

2023

2022

Greatland Pty Ltd

(a)

Australia

Common

100%

100%

Greatland Holdings Group Pty Ltd

(b)

Australia

Common

100%

-

Greatland Exploration Pty Ltd

(b)

Australia

Common

100%

-

Greatland Juri Pty Ltd

(b)

Australia

Common

100%

-

Greatland Paterson South Pty Ltd

(b)

Australia

Common

100%

-

(a) During the year the Group undertook an internal re-organisation. This included the formation of Greatland Holdings Group Pty Ltd interposed between Greatland Gold plc and Greatland Pty Ltd. Greatland Holdings Group Pty Ltd became the head entity for the Australian group.

(b) The wholly owned subsidiaries were formed and incorporated in the current financial year.

The registered address of the Australian subsidiaries is Level 3, 502 Hay Street, Subiaco, WA 6008.

Recognition and measurement

Investments in subsidiary companies are classified as non-current assets and included in the statement of financial position of the Company at cost, less any provision for impairment.

Investments in subsidiaries that suffered an impairment are reviewed for possible reversal of the impairment at the end of each reporting period.

22         Interest in joint arrangements 

Set out below are the joint arrangements of the group:

 

 

% interest

 

Joint arrangement

Holding entity

2023

2022

Nature of business

Havieron Joint Venture

Greatland Pty Ltd

30%

30%

Development and exploration of precious and base metals

Juri Joint Venture

Greatland Juri Pty Ltd

49%

49%

Exploration of precious and base metals

Paterson South Joint Venture*

Greatland Paterson South Pty Ltd

-

-

Exploration of precious and base metals, entered into on 30 May 2023

* Formation of Paterson South JV is subject to Greatland Paterson South Pty Ltd satisfying the initial minimum expenditure and drilling commitments required as part of the farm-in with Rio Tinto.

Recognition and measurement

A joint operation is a joint arrangement whereby the parties of the arrangement have rights to the assets, and obligations for the liabilities, relating to the arrangement.

When the Group undertakes its activities under joint operations, the Group as a joint operator recognises in relation to its interest in a joint operation:

§ Its assets, including its share of any assets held jointly

§ Its liabilities, including its share of any liabilities incurred jointly

§ Its revenue from the sale of its share of the output arising from the joint operation

§ Its share of the revenue from the sale of the output by the joint operation

§ Its expenses, including its share of any expenses incurred jointly.

In some cases, Greatland participates in unincorporated joint venture arrangements where it has the rights to its share of the assets and obligations and its share of the revenue and expenses of the arrangement, but it does not share joint control. In such cases, Greatland accounts for its share of the assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses in accordance with the IFRSs applicable to the particular assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses and obligations for the liabilities relating to the arrangement similar to a joint operation noted above.



 

23         Related party transactions  

Remuneration of key management personnel

 

2023

£

2022

£

Short-term employee benefits

2,004,039

1,387,359

Share-based payments

9,420,547

193,195

Long-term employee benefits

18,799

9,802

Post-employment benefits

85,555

67,455

Total

11,528,940

1,657,811

Detailed information about the remuneration received by each key management person is provided in the remuneration report.

Transactions with key management personnel  

During the year, the following key management personnel of the Group participated in the share subscription in August 2022 at an issue price of £0.082 per share, as follows:

 



Number of Shares Subscribed

£

Shaun Day (Managing Director)


714,000

58,548

Christopher Toon (CFO)


71,400

5,855

Damien Stephens (Group Exploration Manager)


35,700

2,927

OTHER NOTES

24         Share-based payments 

The total expense arising from the share-based payment transactions recognised during the year was as follows:

 

Note

2023

£'000

2022

£'000

Employee long term incentive plan

(a)

981

-

Directors' co-investment options

(b)

8,611

-

Other schemes

(c)

195

193

Total

 

9,787

193

(a) Employee Long Term Incentive Plan (LTIP)

Greatland's Board approved LTIP became effective in February 2022. The LTIP is designed to provide long-term incentives for employees (including executive directors) to deliver long-term shareholder returns. Under the LTIP, participants are granted performance rights or options which vest if certain performance standards are met. Participation in the plan is at the Board's discretion and no individual has a contractual right to participate in the plan or to receive any guaranteed benefits.

The Group issued 22,000,000 performance rights on 27 July 2022 under the Greatland LTIP which were in respect of the 2022 financial year. The amount of performance rights will vest depending on a number of performance targets during the performance period from 27 July 2022 to 7 February 2025. The share-based payment expense to be recognised in future periods is £1.6 million.

The fair value at grant date is independently determined using an adjusted form of the Black-Scholes Model which includes a Monte Carlo simulation model for the TSR rights. The key assumptions were as follows:

Fair value of performance rights and assumptions

2022 LTIP

Grant date

27 July 2022

Fair value

£0.1205

Share price at grant date

£0.131

Exercise price

£0.001

Expected volatility

60%

Vesting date

7 February 2025

Expected dividends

0.00%

Risk free interest rate

1.82%

Valuation methodology

Monte Carlo & Black-Scholes

 



 

24         Share-based payments (continued)

The movements in the number of performance rights granted under the plan are as follows:

 

Weighted average exercise price

2023

Number of options

2023

Weighted average exercise price

2022

Outstanding at the beginning of the year

-

-

-

-

Granted during the year

£0.001

22,000,000

-

-

Exercised during the year

£0.001

(500,000)

-

-

Forfeited during the year

-

-

-

-

Outstanding at the end of the period

£0.001

21,500,000

-

-

Exercisable at the end of the period

-

-

-

-

 

Set out below are the performance rights granted under the plan:

Date of grant

Vesting and exercisable date

Expiry date

Exercise price

Number granted

Number at

30 June 2023

Number at

30 June 2022

27-Jul-2022

7-Feb-2025

27-Jul-2032

£0.001

22,000,000

21,500,000

-

Weighted average remaining contractual life of rights outstanding at the end of the period



9.1 years

-

 

(b) Directors' Co-investment Options

The Company granted co-investment options to subscribe for new ordinary shares in the Company to four Directors, Mark Barnaba, Elizabeth Gaines, Paul Hallam and Jimmy Wilson. The co-investment option structure has been designed to create strong and immediate alignment with shareholders to deliver substantial share price growth, with the options being set at £0.119, representing a 45% premium to the equity placement in August 2022 of £0.082. There are no future amounts associated with these options to be expensed in future periods.

The Group issued 235,000,000 co-investment options on 12 September 2022. The fair value at grant date was independently determined using a Binomial simulation model. The key assumptions were as follows:

Fair value of performance rights and assumptions

Grant date

12 September 2022

Fair value

£0.0366

Share price at grant date

£0.0902

Exercise price

£0.119

Expected volatility

60%

Vesting date

12 September 2022

Life of options

4 years

Expected dividends

0.00%

Risk free interest rate

2.92%

Valuation methodology

Binominal

Set out below are the options granted under the plan:

Grant date

Expiry date

Exercise price

Number granted

Number at

30 June 2023

Number at

30 June 2022

12-Sep-2022

27-Sep-2022

31-Aug-2026

£0.119

235,000,000

235,000,000

-

Weighted average remaining contractual life of rights outstanding at the end of the period



3.2 years

-

 



 

24         Share-based payments (continued)

(c) Other schemes

Other schemes relate to previous issues of share options and performance rights. The share-based payment expense in relation to other schemes to be recognised in future periods is £0.2 million.

Share options for other schemes outstanding at the end of the year have the following expiry dates and exercise prices:

Grant date

Vesting and exercisable date

Expiry date

Exercise price

Number granted

Number at

30 June 2023

Number at

30 June 2022

Options

 

 

 

 

 

 

20-Apr-2016

20-Apr-2016

20-Apr-2023

£0.002

100,000,000

-

25,000,000

18-Jan-2017

18-Jul-2017

18-Jul-20231

£0.0028

75,000,000

14,000,000

14,000,000

18-Aug-2017

18-Feb-2018

16-Feb-2023

£0.007

60,000,000

-

7,500,000

7-Sep-2018

7-Sep-2019

6-Sep-20231

£0.014

39,500,000

2,500,000

2,500,000

7-Sep-2018

7-Sep-2019

6-Sep-20231

£0.02

39,500,000

2,500,000

2,500,000

22-Mar-2019

21-Mar-2020

21-Mar-2023

£0.025

20,000,000

-

13,750,000

26-Sep-2019

26-Sep-2020

25-Sep-2023

£0.025

32,000,000

1,500,000

3,000,000

26-Sep-2019

26-Sep-2020

25-Sep-2023

£0.03

32,000,000

1,250,000

5,750,000

5-May-2021

3-May-2024

4-May-2026

£0.25

5,000,000

5,000,000

5,000,000

Total

 

403,000,000

26,750,000

79,000,000

Weighted average remaining contractual life of rights outstanding at the end of the period

0.6 years

1.0 years









1 Remaining options outstanding relate to Mr Borrelli and the exercise period has been extended to 20 business days after the director ceases to be in possession of price sensitive information. Mr Borrelli exercised these options on 1 October 2023.

2 Mr Latcham exercised these options on 24 September 2023.

Performance rights are subject to performance hurdles and have a nominal exercise price of £0.001:

Date of grant

Vesting and exercisable date

Expiry date

Number granted

Number at

30 June 2023

Number at

30 June 2022

Performance rights

 




8-Jul-2021

30-Jun-2024

8-Jul-2031

2,000,000

2,000,000

2,000,000

Weighted average remaining contractual life of rights outstanding at the end of the period

8.0 years

9.0 years








The movements in the number of options and performance rights from other schemes are as follows:

 

Weighted average exercise price

2023

Number of options

2023

Weighted average exercise price

2022

Number of options

2022

Options

Outstanding at the beginning of the year

£0.026

79,000,000

£0.026

103,250,000

Exercised during the year

£0.012

(52,250,000)

£0.025

(24,250,000)

Outstanding at the end of the period

£0.054

26,750,000

£0.026

79,000,000

Exercisable at the end of the period

£0.011

21,750,000

£0.011

74,000,000

 


Number of performance rights

2023

Number of performance rights

2022

Performance Rights

Outstanding at the beginning of the year

2,000,000

-

Exercised during the year

-

-

Granted during the year

-

2,000,000

Outstanding at the end of the period

2,000,000

2,000,000

Exercisable at the end of the period

-

-

 



 

24         Share-based payments (continued)

Recognition and measurement

The Group measures the cost of equity-settled transactions with employees by reference to the fair value of the equity instruments at the date at which they were granted. Non-vesting conditions and market vesting conditions are factored into the fair value of the options granted. As long as all other vesting conditions are satisfied, a charge is made irrespective of whether the marketing vesting conditions are satisfied. The cumulative expense is not adjusted for failure to achieve market vesting conditions or where a non-vesting condition is not satisfied.

Estimating fair value for share-based payment transactions requires determining the most appropriate valuation model, which is dependent on the terms and conditions of the grant. This estimate also requires determining the most appropriate inputs to the valuation model including the expected life of the share option, volatility and dividend yield and making assumptions about them.

The fair value of options granted to directors and others in respect of services provided is recognised as an expense in the profit and loss account with a corresponding increase in equity reserves - the share-based payment reserve.

On exercise or cancellation of share options, the proportion of the share-based payment reserve relevant to those options is transferred to the profit and loss account reserve. On exercise, equity is also increased by the amount of the proceeds received. The fair value is measured at grant date and the charge is spread over the relevant vesting period.

Key estimates and assumptions - Share-based payments

The fair value of performance rights is measured using a Black-Scholes model which includes a Monte Carlo simulation model for the TSR rights. The fair value includes assumptions for the expected volatility, dividend yield and a risk-free rate as at the measurement date which are detailed above. A 60% volatility was applied based on the parent entity's historical volatility of the share price and considering the volatility of several peer companies.

25         Provisions 

 

Group

2023

£'000

   Group

2022

£'000

Company

2023

£'000

 Company

2022

£'000

Current provisions





Employee benefits 

186

919

186

918

Total current provisions

186

919

186

918

Non-current provisions





Employee benefits 

63

29

-

-

Lease make good provision

14

15

-

-

Rehabilitation, restoration and dismantling

1,873

1,932

-

-

Total non-current provision

1,950

1,976

-

-

Total provisions

2,136

2,895

186

918

Movements in each class of provision during the financial year are set out below:

 

 

Rehabilitation

£'000

Employee benefits
£'000

Lease make good

£'000

 

Total

£'000

As at 1 July 2022

1,932

948

15

2,895

Additional provisions recognised

-

37

-

37

Amounts used during the year

-

(733)

-

(733)

Unwinding of discount

91

-

-

91

Adjustment to currency translation

(150)

(3)

(1)

(154)

As at 30 June 2023

1,873

249

14

2,136

 



 

25         Provisions (continued)

Recognition and measurement

Employee Benefits

The leave obligations cover the Group's liabilities for long service leave which are classified as other long-term benefits. The Group has liabilities for long service leave that are not expected to be settled wholly within 12 months after the end of the period in which the employees render the related service. These obligations are therefore measured as the present value of expected future payments to be made in respect of services provided by employees up to the end of the reporting period, using the projected unit credit method. Consideration is given to expected future wage and salary levels, experience of employee departures and periods of service. Expected future payments are discounted using market yields at the end of the reporting period of high-quality corporate bonds with terms and currencies that match, as closely as possible, the estimated future cash outflows. Remeasurements as a result of experience adjustments and changes in actuarial assumptions are recognised in profit or loss. The obligations are presented as current liabilities in the balance sheet if the entity does not have an unconditional right to defer settlement for at least 12 months after the reporting period, regardless of when the actual settlement is expected to occur.

Lease make good provisions   

The Group is required to restore the leased premises to their original condition at the end of the respective lease terms. A provision has been recognised for the present value of the estimated expenditure required to remove any leasehold improvements. These costs have been capitalised as part of the cost of leasehold improvements and are amortised over the shorter of the term of the lease and the useful life of the assets.

Rehabilitation, restoration and dismantling  

The Group recognises a provision for the estimate of the future costs of restoration activities on a discounted basis at the time of disturbance. The nature of these restoration activities includes dismantling and removing structures, rehabilitating mines, dismantling operating facilities, closure of plant and waste sites, and restoration, reclamation and re-vegetation of affected areas. When the liability is initially recognised, the present value of the estimated costs is capitalised by increasing the carrying amount of the related assets to the extent that it was incurred by the development/construction of the asset.

Over time, the discounted liability is increased for the change in the present value based on a discount rate that reflects current market assessments. Additional disturbances or changes in rehabilitation costs will be recognised as additions or changes to the corresponding asset and rehabilitation liability when incurred. The unwinding of the effect of discounting the provision is recorded as a finance cost in the statement of comprehensive income. The carrying amount capitalised as a part of mining assets is depreciated/amortised over the life of the related asset.

Rehabilitation and restoration obligations arising from the Group's exploration activities are recognised immediately in the income statement. If a change to the estimated provision results in an increase in the rehabilitation liability and therefore an addition to the carrying value of the related asset, the Group considers whether this is an indication of impairment of the asset. If the revised assets, net of rehabilitation provisions, exceed the recoverable amount, that portion of the increase to the provision is charged directly to the statement of comprehensive income.

Key estimates and assumptions - Rehabilitation provisions

The Group assesses its rehabilitation, restoration and dismantling (rehabilitation) provision at each reporting date. Significant estimates and assumptions are made in determining the provision as there are numerous factors that will affect the ultimate amount payable. These factors include estimates of the extent, timing and costs of rehabilitation activities, technological changes, regulatory changes and cost increases as compared to the inflation rates. These uncertainties may result in future actual expenditure differing from the amounts currently provided. The provision at reporting date represents management's best estimate of the present value of the future rehabilitation costs.

The provision for rehabilitation has been recorded assuming a risk-free nominal discount rate derived from an Australian 10 year government bond rate of 4.0% and long-term inflation of 3.0%. The discount rate approximates the estimated time period for when the majority of the future rehabilitation costs are expected to be incurred.

 



 

26         Contingent assets

In November 2022, Greatland entered into an agreement with Flynn Gold to sell its Tasmanian tenements. The consideration for the purchase consisted of:

(a)   Initial consideration: £0.1 million (satisfied by the issue of 2,000,000 Flynn Gold shares at a deemed issue price of A$0.10 per Flynn Gold share).

(b)    Deferred contingent consideration:

(i)      A$500,000 upon the definition of a JORC-compliant Mineral Resource of at least 500,000 ounces of gold in aggregate within one or both tenements (payable in cash or Flynn Gold shares, at Flynn Gold's election);

(ii)     A$500,000 upon the issue of a permit to mine by Mineral Resources Tasmania in respect of any part of the tenements (payable in cash or Flynn Gold shares, at Flynn Gold's election); and

(iii)    a 1% Net Smelter Royalty payable to Greatland in respect of any production from the tenements.

The contingent asset associated with the deferred consideration has not been recognised as a receivable at 30 June 2023 as receipt of the amount is dependent on the outcome of the requirements outlined above.

27         Remuneration of auditors

 

2023

£

2022

£

Auditors of the Group - PKF and related network firms



Audit and review of financial reports



Group audit by PKF Littlejohn

72,000

49,600

Controlled entities by PKF Perth

19,700

11,405

Total audit and review of financial reports

91,700

61,005

 



Regulatory assurance services by PKF Littlejohn - Reporting Accountant

90,000

-

Total services provided by PKF

181,700

61,005

28         Events after the reporting period

Standby loan facility executed

Subsequent to year end, the Company executed an unsecured A$50 million standby facility with Wyloo. Drawdown is available to Greatland from 1 November 2023, with repayment required by the maturity date of 31 December 2024. The facility has a 3% upfront fee and 1% utilisation fee. Interest is charged at benchmark (Australian BBSY) plus margin of 7.5% p.a. The debt was undrawn at the date of this report.

Grant of employee incentive options 

On 19 September 2023, Greatland granted 302,700,000 Co-Investment Options with an exercise price of £0.119, 31,100,000 Retention Rights and 13,306,047 FY23 Performance Rights at an exercise price of £0.001 to employees under the Company's employee share plan. Collectively the options and rights are an important element in the attraction and retention of individuals pivotal to Greatland's growth and their alignment with shareholder outcomes. Further details are included in the Annual Report.

Exercise of Options and Director Dealings

On 1 October 2023, Mr Borrelli, Non-Executive Director, exercised his remaining 14,000,000 options over ordinary shares at a price of £0.0028 per share, 2,500,000 options at £0.014 and 2,500,000 options at £0.02 per share for a total consideration of £124,200. Mr Borrelli retained 9,000,000 of the resulting shares and sold 10,000,000 of the resulting shares to fund the associated exercise cost and tax liabilities. Mr Borrelli's shareholding has now increased to 35,403,372 ordinary shares representing 0.70% of the total voting rights.

In addition, on 24 September 2023, Mr Latcham, Non-Executive Director, exercised 1,500,000 existing options over ordinary shares at a price of £0.025 per share and 1,250,000 at a price of £0.03 per share, for a total consideration of £75,000. Mr Latcham retained 700,000 of the resulting shares and sold 2,050,000 of the resulting shares to fund the associated exercise cost and tax liabilities. Mr Latcham's shareholding has now increased to 3,850,000 ordinary shares representing 0.08% of the total voting rights.

Newmont Corporation's acquisition of Newcrest Mining Limited becomes effective

On 18 October 2023, Newcrest, the ultimate parent company of Newcrest Operations which is the Joint Venture Manager of Havieron, announced that the scheme of arrangement under which Newcrest will be acquired by Newmont Corporation was legally effective. Implementation date is planned for 6 November 2023. For further updates refer to www.newmont.com. 

 

 

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