GBP 300,000 Short-Term Facility

RNS Number : 6954Z

Ferrex PLC

15 December 2014

 



Ferrex plc / Index: AIM / Epic: FRX / Sector: Mining

15 December 2014

Ferrex plc ('Ferrex' or 'the Company')

£300,000 Short-Term Facility

Ferrex plc, the AIM quoted manganese development and iron-ore exploration company focused in Africa, is pleased to advise that it has agreed an unsecured short-term facility for up to £300,000 ('the Facility') with parties, including a Director, on commercial terms, the details of which are provided below. With the Mining Licence at the Company's Nayega Manganese Project in Togo expected in the near term, the Facility will provide working capital to Ferrex until this milestone is reached. 

Terms of Loan

The Facility of up to £300,000 may be drawn down by the Company on demand.  The Facility is underwritten by a consortium which includes Managing Director David Reeves.  The loan carries interest at 10% per annum on amounts drawn and is repayable at the Company's discretion.

Related Party Transaction

David Reeves has provided commitments to meet the facility which, if drawn, would constitute a related party transaction under the AIM Rules for Companies.  The Company's independent Directors, having consulted with the Company's Nominated Adviser, consider that the terms of the transaction are fair and reasonable insofar as the Company's shareholders are concerned.

**ENDS**

For further information please visit www.ferrexplc.com or contact the following:

Dave Reeves	Ferrex plc	+ 61 (0) 420 372 740
finnCap		[phone]
Joanna Weaving	Broking
Matthew Robinson	Corporate Finance
Beaufort Securities
Elliot Hance / Saif Janjua	Broking	[phone]
Felicity Winkles / Elisabeth Cowell	St Brides Media and Finance Ltd	[phone]

Notes

Ferrex plc is an AIM quoted, leading manganese development and iron-ore exploration company in Africa.  The Company is focussed on advancing low capex deposits, which benefit from proximal established infrastructure, up the development curve and into production. Ferrex has a solid portfolio of assets including three primary projects: Nayega Manganese Project in Togo ('Nayega'), Mebaga Iron Ore Project in Gabon ('Mebaga'), and Malelane Iron Ore Project in South Africa ('Malelane').

At Nayega, Ferrex is currently concluding a Bankable Feasibility Study and expects award of the mining permit in the very near future.  A Scoping Study indicates that Nayega could produce 250,000 tonnes per year of manganese concentrate at 38% with an initial capital expenditure of under $15m.  A Scoping study on a ferro manganese plant in Togo has also been concluded and shows a lowest quartile operation with robust economics. The company is focussed on bringing the mine into production on grant of the mining permit whilst advancing the ferro manganese studies.  

In parallel with this, Ferrex will continue to prove up resources at its Mebaga concession in Gabon when the sentiment for iron ore improves. A recent review has led to the estimation of an exploration target comprising 90 to 150Mt @ 35 to 65% Fe (oxide target) and 550 to 900Mt @ 25% to 40% Fe (primary target) for Mebaga. The Oxide target will incorporate both DSO* and bBSO* material. Ferrex has recently completed an initial drill programme at Mebaga that has intersected significant widths of DSO and bBSO mineralisation.

The Company also holds the Malelane Iron Ore concession in eastern South Africa. A Scoping Study on Malelane has demonstrated its potential to produce 1.8Mtpa of beneficiated ore per year, with initial capital expenditure of $139m, a payback of 1.9 years, a Net Present Value of US$523m (10% discount rate) and a 16.6 year life-of-mine. 

Ferrex has 934M shares on issue. The Directors have subscribed for and purchased approximately 28% of the issued share capital of the Company and are thus aligned with shareholders interests.

 

END

 

 

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