Sale and Disposal of Nickel-Cobalt Licences
29 July 2021
Caerus Mineral Resources PLC
('Caerus' or the 'Company')
Sale and Disposal of Nickel-Cobalt Licences
Caerus Mineral Resources (LON: CMRS), the exploration and resource development company focused on developing mineral resources in Europe to help support the global "Clean Energy" initiative, is pleased to announce the disposal of the Black Pine nickel-cobalt project and associated licences to Aeramentum Resources Pty. Ltd ("Aeramentum") , a private Australian company with near-term plans to become a public listed company by way an IPO on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX), for a total consideration of GBP£500,000. The disposal is by way of a sale for a combination of cash and equity in Aeramentum, and at no discount to book value.
Black Pine comprises Ni-Co-Cu massive sulphide mineralisation hosted in serpentinised structural zones in ultramafic rocks. The four licences presently owned by Caerus have an exploration history over a 15km strike length, but this will extend to 45km upon issue of two additional 25km2 Reconnaissance Licence now under application. Upon completion, Aeramentum will have 100% ownership of licences that encompass all known Ni-Co-Cu mineralisation and prospective geology in Southern Cyprus.
Reasons for Disposal
The Company's Prospectus, published at Admission, indicated that the Black Pine licences were a 'non-core' asset and that no exploration expenditure was budgeted in the near future. With the licences requiring renewal in 2021, in order to protect their value, and with areal extensions available within the same geological province, the Company has decided to realise value for the combined assets by an 'off-market' disposal. Nickel-cobalt, though essential Battery Metals, do not form a part of the Company's current plans which are focused firmly on copper-gold projects in Cyprus.
Consideration
The transaction between the Company and Aeramentum is a disposal for cash and equity that values the Black Pine and related licence assets at GBP£500,000 (ca. AUS$0.93M), payable as follows:
The GBP£300,000 cash element of the transaction is payable in two tranches, GBP£30,000 immediately in the form of a non-refundable deposit, and the balance of GBP£270,000 on or by 31 August 2021. The equity balance of the transaction is payable to the Company in the form of shares in Aeramentum, valued at GBP£200,000 and issued to the Company at the IPO price when Aeramentum becomes a public listed company on the ASX.
The cash injection into the Company from the Black Pine transaction means that the cash-cost of the Cyprus Gold Mines acquisition announced on 28 June 2021 is offset in full . The two transactions, though unconnected per se, are financially neutral for the Company Treasury and thus safeguard the core funds raised at IPO specifically for copper-gold exploration as described in the Prospectus.
Martyn Churchouse, Chief Executive Officer of Caerus Mineral Resources, commented "This transaction successfully achieves a number of goals. The cash component covers the full cost of the recent acquisition of the highly prospective suite of copper-gold licences that make up Cyprus Gold Mines, the financially neutral transaction neatly offloads non-core assets whilst bolstering our Cu-Au portfolio and finally, we are making available exploration licences that has immediately resulted in further investment in the Exploration Sector in Cyprus. As previously mentioned, Caerus is focused on strong capital discipline and the disposal of Black Pine allows the company to remain focused on its two-pronged strategy whilst ensuring shareholder value."
For further information , please visit www.caerusmineralresources.com or contact:
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Caerus Mineral Resources plc: |
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Martyn Churchouse Chief Executive Officer |
info@caerusmineralresources.com +44 (0)1249 782162 |
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Novum Securities |
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Jon Belliss |
+44 (0) 20 7399 9425 |
Follow us on Twitter at @CaerusMineral
About Caerus Mineral Resources
Caerus Mineral Resources is a copper - gold resource development and exploration company with mineral exploration licences located in Cyprus, a member of the European Union that operates to English common law. The Country has a well-developed infrastructure and a climate conducive to year-round exploration.
With investors recognising copper as one of the cornerstone metals for the Clean Energy Transition centred upon the Electric Vehicle and Stationary Energy sectors, Caerus is working to rapidly expand its copper exploration and production objectives. The Caerus licence portfolio includes 16 former mines which operated with an average head grade of approximately 2% copper.
Caerus' licence portfolio comprises brownfield sites where historic mining has taken place and greenfield licences where there has been no systematic exploration. The Brownfield sites and the former high-grade copper - gold mines they host are evidence of rock types and structures conducive to Volcanogenic Massive Sulphide ("VMS") mineralisation. As VMS deposits characteristically occur in camps or clusters, it is the Company's view that its licences are prospective for both extensions to existing or mined-out orebodies together with new discoveries.
The combination of brown and greenfield exploration provides optionality and the opportunity for the Company to quickly build a resource portfolio that can be commercially developed.
Certain information contained in this announcement would have been deemed inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 until the release of this announcement .
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