Placing to raise £0.25 million
15 March 2024
Critical Mineral Resources PLC
('CMR' or the 'Company')
Placing to raise £0.25 million to develop high-priority Morrocan permit
Commodity trading opportunity
Critical Mineral Resources plc ('CMR' or the 'Company'), the exploration and development company focused on critical minerals in Morocco, announces that it has conditionally raised approximately £0.25 million (before expenses) by way of a placing (the 'Placing') of 12,242,252 new ordinary shares in the Company ('New Shares') and 8,018,646 ordinary shares held in the Company's name ('Treasury Shares') at a price of 1.25 pence per new Ordinary Share (the 'Placing Price').
Novum Securities ('Novum') is acting as the sole broker in connection with the Placing.
Highlights
· Placing to conditionally raise approximately £0.25 million through the sale of New Shares and Treasury Shares at 1.25p per share.
· Net proceeds of the Placing will enable the Company to advance the Ifri Project ('Ifri') in the Anti-Atlas which has delivered very positive initial results. Prospecting by CMR's geological team demonstrates copper and silver in multiple quartz vein and shear zone structures with some zones assaying for gold.
· The Company is also in discussions with a leading global commodity trading group that would like CMR to act as its Moroccan partner to source and supply certain minerals for its global supply chain. Trading in metals and potentially industrial minerals, either in a partnership or individually, provides the Company with an opportunity for near-term cash flows.
· Ifri Project located in an alteration hotspot and initial channel sampling included an assay of 3.1% copper and 17 g/t silver.
· The Ifri Project is in an active mining belt which hosts four active and seven previously operating mines of copper, silver and gold.
Background to the Placing and use of proceeds
On 16 January 2024, the Company announced it had acquired 26 exploration permits in central Morocco prospective for copper, antimony, tungsten, lead-zinc and gold via the acquisition of Hesperis Resources SARL, a Moroccan company. The acquisition transforms the Morrocan footprint of CMR's incubator portfolio and its exposure to a wider range of critical metals and minerals. It also cements CMR's position as one of the region's leading developers of critical minerals.
Ifri Project mineralisation
CMR remains focused on developing Morrocan clean energy and critical minerals projects that offer significant scale potential. Accordingly, and following in-depth analysis, the Company has concluded the Ifri Project meets these criteria. Initial prospecting at the Ifri site located multiple large copper mineralised shear structures with copper oxide, copper sulphide, silver and gold mineralisation.
Net proceeds from the Placing will enable a complete mapping and geochemical survey of the project area. Ifri benefits from established local road and power infrastructure.
Morocco operations
In the last 9 months, the Company has gained significant momentum in Morroco. It now has a considerable geological understanding of the region's potential as a global commodities hub. Furthermore, it has extensive relationships within the mining sector at a domestic level. This regional Intellectual Property and know-how has led to the Company receiving interest from a leading global commodity trading group to become its Morrocan partner and supply it with commodities from the region. CMR is now in discussions to formalise the partnership.
PDMR Dealing & KM Securities Pty Ltd
KM Securities Pty Ltd ('KM Securities'), in which Russell Thomson, a Non-Executive Director of the Company is a 50% shareholder, acquired 2,000,000 ordinary shares in the Company as part of this Placing.
Charlie Long, Chief Executive Officer of CMR PLC, commented:
"I would like to thank our existing shareholders for their support and welcome new shareholders to the register. The net proceeds from the Fundraising will accelerate the significant Morrocan opportunities CMR has successfully created and advanced in recent months. As a specialist Morrocan exploration and development company, we remain focused on developing projects and opportunities that offer the prospect for meaningful production of critical commodities and near-term cash generation. We are delighted with our recent progress and are confident the fundraise will further enhance our Morrocan momentum."
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Critical Mineral Resources plc Charles Long, Chief Executive Officer |
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Novum Securities Jon Belliss |
+44 (0) 20 7399 9425 |
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Hudson Sandler (Financial PR) Charlie Jack |
+44 (0) 207 796 4133 |
Notes To Editors
Critical Mineral Resources (CMR) plc is an exploration and development company focused on developing assets that produce key commodities essential for renewable energy, battery storage and electrification to support the clean energy revolution. These commodities are widely recognised as being at the start of a supply and demand supercycle.
CMR is building a diversified portfolio of high-quality metals exploration and development projects in Morocco, focusing on copper, nickel, manganese, cobalt, and potentially rare earths. CMR identified Morocco as an ideal mining-friendly jurisdiction that meets its acquisition and operational criteria. The country is perfectly located to supply raw materials to Europe and possesses excellent prospective geology, infrastructure and attractive permitting, tax and royalty conditions. In 2023, the Company acquired an 80% stake in leading Moroccan exploration and geological services company Atlantic Research Minerals SARL.
Since taking over the CMR in 2022, the current management has completed a comprehensive strategic review and restructuring of the business and implemented its clear strategy to maximise exploration and resource development opportunities for the benefit of all stakeholders. The Company is listed on the London Stock Exchange (CMRS.L). More information regarding the Company can be found at www.cmrplc.com
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