Portfolio Update: Sonora Lithium Royalty

Trident Royalties PLC.

28 April 2023

 

28 April 2023

Trident Royalties Plc

("Trident" or the "Company")

Portfolio Update: Sonora Lithium Royalty

Trident Royalties Plc (AIM:TRR, OTCQX: TDTRF), the diversified mining royalty company, notes a recent update relating to the Sonora lithium royalty ("Sonora Royalty").

The Alberta Court of Appeal overturned, on appeal, a judgment which had summarily dismissed  the action brought by Bacanora Minerals Ltd. ("Bacanora") against the Estate of Ian Colin Orr-Ewing ("Estate") on the basis that it was time barred under the statute of limitations. This decision relates to a specific point of law and no determination has been made in relation to the merits of the underlying claim. The case will now be referred back to the Court of King's Bench of Alberta to consider the merits of the claim and they will determine the timetable for this process and the timing for future hearings. Bacanora alleges that Mr. Orr-Ewing obtained the Sonora Royalty either by misrepresentation or without consideration. The Estate disputes the allegations and intends to rigorously defend itself in the action.

Transaction Summary

On 27 January 2022, Trident announced that Sonoroy, a 50%-held joint venture between Trident and Marmottes Capital Limited, entered into an agreement to acquire a 3.0% Gross Revenue Royalty (1.5% attributable to Trident) over the Sonora Lithium Project from the Estate. In accordance with the terms of the agreement, the long-stop date to complete the acquisition of the royalty is the earlier of 31 January 2025, or the date which is 6 months after the first Royalty payment.

The conditions requiring Trident to provide funding in respect of Sonoroy to enable it to complete the acquistion remain at Trident's discretion and includes a provision that at the time of funding, no changes in Mexico's regulatory regime materially affects the Sonora project and that the litigation by Bacanora is favourably resolved for the Estate. If Trident elects to exit the joint venture, the repayment date of an initial loan made by Trident to Sonoroy of $2.5 million is due six months from notification of termination of the Sale and Purchase Agreement or Joint Venture Agreement.

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Contact details:

Trident Royalties Plc Adam Davidson / Richard Hughes	www.tridentroyalties.com [phone] / [phone]
Grant Thornton (Nominated Adviser) Colin Aaronson / Samantha Harrison / Samuel Littler	www.grantthornton.co.uk [phone]
Stifel Nicolaus Europe Limited (Joint Broker) Callum Stewart / Ashton Clanfield	www.stifelinstitutional.com [phone]
Liberum Capital Limited (Joint Broker) Scott Mathieson / Cara Murphy	www.liberum.com [phone]
Tamesis Partners LLP (Joint Broker) Richard Greenfield	www.tamesispartners.com [phone]
St Brides Partners Ltd (Financial PR & IR) Susie Geliher / Catherine Leftley	www.stbridespartners.co.uk [phone]

About Trident

Trident is a growth-focused diversified mining royalty and streaming company, providing investors with exposure to a mix of base battery, precious, and bulk metals.

Key highlights of Trident's strategy include:

·	Building upon a royalty and streaming portfolio which broadly mirrors the commodity exposure of the global mining sector (excluding fossil fuels) with a bias towards production or near-production assets, differentiating Trident from the majority of peers which are exclusively, or heavily weighted, to precious metals;
·	Acquiring royalties and streams in resource-friendly jurisdictions worldwide, while most competitors have portfolios focused on North and South America;
·	Targeting attractive small-to-mid size transactions which are often ignored in a sector dominated by large players;
·	Active deal-sourcing which, in addition to writing new royalties and streams, will focus on the acquisition of assets held by natural sellers such as: closed-end funds, prospect generators, junior and mid-tier miners holding royalties as non-core assets, and counterparties seeking to monetise packages of royalties and streams which are otherwise undervalued by the market;
·	Maintaining a low-overhead model which is capable of supporting a larger scale business without a commensurate increase in operating costs; and
·	Leveraging the experience of management, the board of directors, and Trident's adviser team, all of whom have deep industry connections and strong transactional experience across multiple commodities and jurisdictions.

The acquisition and aggregation of individual royalties and streams is expected to deliver strong returns for shareholders as assets are acquired on terms reflective of single asset risk compared with the lower risk profile of a diversified, larger scale portfolio. Further value is expected to be delivered by the introduction of conservative levels of leverage through debt. Once scale has been achieved, strong cash generation is expected to support an attractive dividend policy, providing investors with a desirable mix of inflation protection, growth and income.

Forward-looking Statements

This news release contains forward‐looking information. The statements are based on reasonable assumptions and expectations of management and Trident provides no assurance that actual events will meet management's expectations. In certain cases, forward‐looking information may be identified by such terms as "anticipates", "believes", "could", "estimates", "expects", "may", "shall", "will", or "would". Although Trident believes the expectations expressed in such forward‐looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected. Mining exploration and development is an inherently risky business. In addition, factors that could cause actual events to differ materially from the forward-looking information stated herein include any factors which affect decisions to pursue mineral exploration on the relevant property and the ultimate exercise of option rights, which may include changes in market conditions, changes in metal prices, general economic and political conditions, environmental risks, and community and non-governmental actions. Such factors will also affect whether Trident will ultimately receive the benefits anticipated pursuant to relevant agreements. This list is not exhaustive of the factors that may affect any of the forward‐looking statements. These and other factors should be considered carefully and readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information.

Third Party Information

As a royalty and streaming company, Trident often has limited, if any, access to non-public scientific and technical information in respect of the properties underlying its portfolio of royalties and investments, or such information is subject to confidentiality provisions. As such, in preparing this announcement, the Company often largely relies upon information provided by or the public disclosures of the owners and operators of the properties underlying its portfolio of royalties, as available at the date of this announcement.

 

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