Acquisition of US Copper Rich Polymetallic Royalty
8 November 2023
Trident Royalties Plc
("Trident" or the "Company")
Acquisition of Copper Rich Polymetallic Royalty in USA
Trident Royalties Plc (AIM: TRR, OTC: TDTRF), the diversified mining royalty company, is pleased to announce it has entered into a binding royalty purchase agreement with ASX-listed New World Resources Limited ("New World", ASX Ticker: NWC) to acquire a net smelter return ("NSR") royalty (the "Royalty") on all metal production from New World's flagship Antler Copper Project ("Antler", or "the Project"), a copper-zinc polymetallic deposit located in Arizona, USA.
HIGHLIGHTS
The Transaction
Trident will pay A$11 million (approx. US$7 million) in cash for the Royalty. The Royalty includes:
· A 0.90% NSR royalty over the current tenement package which covers the entire Project, including the Antler deposit and five named exploration targets ("Project Area Royalty").
· A 0.45% NSR royalty over any ground subsequently acquired by New World within 5km of the Project Area Royalty boundary ("AOI Royalty").
The Asset
· Antler is an advanced stage, high-grade copper-zinc polymetallic deposit in a secure mining supportive jurisdiction1 with a JORC (2012) compliant Mineral Resource estimate of 11.4Mt @ 4.1% Cu-equivalent2 for approximately 467,000 tonnes of Cu-equivalent.
· Enhanced Scoping Study published in May 20233, highlighted:
o Strong project economics, with a pre-tax NPV@7% of US$835 million and a low capital expenditure of US$252 million, delivering an IRR of 40.2%.
o 50% of expected revenue from copper and 38% from zinc, with by-product credits from lead, gold and silver.
o 13-year mine life with average annual production of 32,700 tonnes copper equivalent (over years 2-11)
· Mine development and surface infrastructure will be located on privately owned land, which is currently owned or controlled by New World, thereby streamlining the permitting process4.
· A Pre-Feasibility Study on the Project is expected in Q4 2023, with commencement of pre-construction development works targeted for Q1 20254.
· Trident considers there to be significant upside potential, with New World actively targeting exploration opportunities across its land holdings5.
· New World recently attracted a A$5 million investment from a leading US mining private equity firm6 which, when coupled with Trident's investment, leaves it well funded to advance the Project through the remainder of its planned feasibility studies.
Adam Davidson, Chief Executive Officer of Trident commented:
"At the end of last year, we indicated that the market for royalties was becoming more active as projects looked for funding outside of traditional equity and debt markets. That has proven to be the case, with Antler marking our fifth transaction this year.
"This is a highly attractive royalty. The commodity mix complements our existing portfolio, with future-facing base metals to sit alongside our lithium, precious metals, and existing base metals exposure. The location and management of the asset are both excellent and we expect the royalty to deliver significant value for Trident shareholders."
Antler Copper-Zinc Rich Polymetallic Project4
Antler is an advanced Scoping Study stage, copper-zinc polymetallic (copper, zinc, lead, gold, silver) volcanic massive sulphide deposit located in the mining friendly U.S. state of Arizona. Arizona was recently ranked as the 7th most attractive mining investment jurisdiction in the world1. The Project is located 15km east of the town of Yucca and 40km to the south of Kingman (Figure 1). New World acquired 100% of the Project in March 2020.
Figure 1 - Antler Location Map4
The deposit was originally identified in the late 1800s with intermittent production reported between 1916-1970, but no activity since 1975. The deposit outcrops over a strike length of 750 metres and is open at depth. In addition, the wider Project area includes a further five as yet undrilled exploration targets within a 6km strike length, comprising coincident geophysical and geochemical anomalies similar to Antler (Figure 2).
Figure 2 - Antler Location and Named Exploration Targets4
In November 2022, New World released an updated JORC 2012 compliant Mineral Resource estimate of 11.4Mt @ 2.10% Cu, 4.97% Zn, 0.89% Pb, 32.9 g/t Ag & 0.36 g/t Au gold at a 1.0% copper equivalent cut-off.2
Table 1 - 2022 Resource Estimate2
|
Classification |
Tonnes |
Cu (%) |
Zn (%) |
Pb (%) |
Ag (g/t) |
Au (g/t) |
|
Indicated |
9,063,649 |
2.25 |
5.11 |
0.90 |
35.94 |
0.40 |
|
Inferred |
2,371,673 |
1.55 |
4.46 |
0.85 |
21.32 |
0.17 |
|
Total |
11,435,323 |
2.10 |
4.97 |
0.89 |
32.9 |
0.36 |
The Project infrastructure is considered excellent, with road access directly to the project site, electrical power to within 750 metres, and both an interstate highway and active railroad within 15 kilometres.
Scoping Study Delivers Strong Returns with Pre-Feasibility Study Nearing Completion
In May 2023, New World published an Enhanced Scoping Study with significantly improved project economics relative to a 2022 Scoping Study. The mine life was increased to an initial 13-years, with total production of 381,400 tonnes of copper equivalent metal. The pre-tax NPV@7% and pre-tax IRR are estimated to be US$835 million and 40.2%, respectively. The Project is based on a modest capital cost expenditure of US$252 million (including US$44.2M contingency)3.
Mine development and the location of all surface infrastructure will be constrained to privately-owned land which New World already owns/controls, which is expected to streamline the permitting process.4
A comprehensive development programme has been created by New World which is currently progressing a Pre-Feasibility Study due for completion in Q4 2023, before progressing to a Definitive Feasibility Study, with pre-construction development (commencement of decline) targeted for Q1 2025 (see Figure 3).
Figure 3: Forward Work Programme - Antler Copper Project4
Attractive Exploration Upside with Drilling Recently Restarted
Exploration drilling resumed in mid-October 2023 with drilling at the Project to date limited to just 600m of strike at the Antler deposit itself. Mineralisation remains completely open at depth at the Antler deposit (deepest hole intersected 21.3m @ 5.3% Cu-equivalent). As yet undrilled shallower exploration targets include the Antler Offset Target, Rattlesnake Ridge, Copper Knob, Insulator and West World prospects (see Figure 2). With exploration success at some or all of these targets, New World could potentially expand the existing Mineral Resource and evaluate a staged expansion of the processing facility it intends constructing at the Project and/ or extending the life of the proposed operation.
Buyback Provisions
The Royalty includes a Right of First Refusal providing Trident the right to match any royalty or streaming transaction associated with the Project, until 12 months following the declaration of commercial production at Antler.
The Royalty also contains two separate buyback provisions:
· The Project Area Royalty can be reduced from 0.90% to 0.60% following the payment of A$9 million at any time within 3 months of New World obtaining at least 75% of the funding required for the development and construction of Antler.
· The AOI Royalty can be reduced from 0.45% to 0.30% following the payment of A$4 million at any time within 3 months of New World obtaining at least 75% of the funding required for the development and construction of Antler.
If both buybacks are exercised, Trident will have recovered 120% of its investment prior to construction, whilst still retaining two-thirds of its initial uncapped, perpetual royalty exposure.
References
1 Source: Fraser Institute Annual Survey of Mining Companies 2022, published on 4 May 2023
( https://www.fraserinstitute.org/studies/annual-survey-of-mining-companies-2022 )
2 Source: New World Resources announcement dated 28 November 2022
Mineral Resource Estimate for the Antler Copper Deposit above a 1.0% Cu-Equivalent cut-off grade
|
Classification |
Tonnes |
Cu (%) |
Zn (%) |
Pb (%) |
Ag (g/t) |
Au (g/t) |
|
Indicated |
9,063,649 |
2.25 |
5.11 |
0.90 |
35.94 |
0.40 |
|
Inferred |
2,371,673 |
1.55 |
4.46 |
0.85 |
21.32 |
0.17 |
|
Total |
11,435,323 |
2.10 |
4.97 |
0.89 |
32.9 |
0.36 |
Notes: Mineral Resource stated at 1.0% Cu-equivalent cut-off. Cu=copper, Zn=zinc, Pb=lead, Ag=silver, Au=gold
Reported in compliance with 2012 Edition of the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results and Mineral Resources (JORC, 2012). Metal prices applied for the copper equivalent calculations were the spot prices prevailing on 10 October 2022, namely: copper - US$7,507/t, zinc - US$3,011/t, lead - US$2,116/t, silver - US$20.26/oz and gold - US$1,709/oz. Potential metallurgical recoveries were used for the following formula to calculate the copper equivalent grade, with results rounded to one decimal point:
Cu equivalent (%) = (Cu% x 0.872) + (Zn% x 0.889 x 3,011/7,507) + (Pb% x 0.591 x 2,116/7,507) + (Ag oz/t x 0.503 x 20.26/7,507x 100) + (Au oz/t x 0.700 x 1,709/7,507x 100)
3 Source: New World Resources announcement dated 2 May 2023
4 Source: New World Resources announcement dated 19 September 2023
(https://newworldres.com/wp-content/uploads/ResourcesRisingStarsPresentation19Sep23.pdf)
5 Source: New World Resources announcement dated 18 September 2023
6 Source: New World Resources announcement dated 31 July 2023
( https://newworldres.com/wp-content/uploads/USPrivateEquityFirmMakesStrategicInvestment31Jul23.pdf )
Competent Person's Statement
The technical information contained in this disclosure has been read and approved by Mr Nick O'Reilly (MSc, DIC, MAusIMM, MIMMM, FGS), who is a qualified geologist and acts as the Competent Person under the AIM Rules - Note for Mining and Oil & Gas Companies. Mr O'Reilly is a Principal Consultant working for Mining Analyst Consulting Ltd which has been retained by Trident to provide technical support.
The information contained within this announcement is deemed to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014 which is part of UK law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. Upon the publication of this announcement, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.
** Ends **
Contact details:
|
Trident Royalties Plc Adam Davidson / Richard Hughes |
www.tridentroyalties.com +1 (757) 208-5171 / +44 7967 589997 |
|
Grant Thornton (Nominated Adviser) Colin Aaronson / Samantha Harrison / Samuel Littler |
+44 020 7383 5100 |
|
Liberum Capital Limited (Joint Broker) Scott Mathieson / Cara Murphy |
+44 20 3100 2184 |
|
Stifel Nicolaus Europe Limited (Joint Broker) Callum Stewart / Ashton Clanfield |
+44 20 7710 7600 |
|
Tamesis Partners LLP (Joint Broker) Richard Greenfield |
+44 20 3882 2868 |
|
St Brides Partners Ltd (Financial PR & IR) Susie Geliher / Catherine Leftley |
+44 20 7236 1177 |
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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