REG - Aterian PLC - Strategic Trading JV with Wogen Resources

AterianAnnouncement

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RNS Number : 6720X  Aterian PLC  23 March 2026

23 March 2026

 

Aterian plc

("Aterian" or the "Company" or the "Group")

Strategic Trading JV with Wogen Resources

Aterian plc (LSE: ATN), the African-focused critical minerals exploration and
trading company, is pleased to announce that its wholly owned Rwanda
subsidiary, Eastinco Limited ("Eastinco"), has successfully commenced trading
and export operations under the new terms of its strategic joint venture
("JV") partnership with Wogen Resources Limited ("Wogen"), a global metals
trading group headquartered in London.

 

Since Wogen's founding in 1972, the name Wogen has become synonymous with
integrity, reliability, and professionalism in the field of high-value raw
material deliveries to the non-ferrous industry. Importantly, Eastinco has
completed its first export operation with Wogen and is currently aggregating
additional supply for export under the JV framework, demonstrating both the
effectiveness of the revised structure and the ability of the partners to move
swiftly from agreement to execution. This early traction not only validates
the robustness of the JV terms but also provides increased near-term revenue
generation and scalability of trading volumes.

 

JV Highlights:

·      Improved working capital model, reducing the need for equity
funding to support trading growth.

·      Same-day purchase liquidity, enhancing procurement capability.

·      Institutional-grade risk management and governance framework.

·      Mutual unwavering commitment to internationally recognised
traceability and responsible sourcing standards.

·      Premium market positioning through responsible sourcing and
compliance.

Charles Bray, Executive Chairman of Aterian plc, commented:

"We are proud to announce Wogen Resources as our JV partner.

This achievement speaks volumes about the quality of our assets, our team, and
our operational and traceability standards. Such a partnership brings with it
not only access to international markets and liquidity, but also a significant
degree of third-party validation. The credibility associated with working
alongside Wogen materially enhances our positioning with stakeholders,
including regulators, financiers, and prospective partners.

The JV represents the scaling of Eastinco's trading operations, and
capabilities, accelerating our progress to Group profitability. This
collaboration allows us to optimise pricing, and ensure consistent offtake,
while maintaining the highest standards of responsible sourcing and
transparency. It is a strong endorsement of the platform we have built and
provides a solid foundation for future growth.

Wogen provides: funding + offtake + logistics

Eastinco provides: origination + processing + compliance+logistics

 

We are targeting trading net revenues to fully cover Aterian operational
expenses for the full year 2026 and look forward to updating the market with
clearer details as to our trading volumes and profitability as established
over a representative period."

 

The JV is a fully funded, scalable and traceable tantalum trading platform
with material being sourced, processed, and transacted in accordance with the
updated commercial framework. This has enabled Eastinco to significantly
increase trading volumes, capture downstream trading margins, and accelerate
cash flow generation, while maintaining full compliance with international
responsible sourcing and traceability standards.

Impact

The Board, which previously announced it had agreed Heads of Terms for the JV
on 9 February 2026, believes the transaction represents an improvement to
Eastinco's prior trading model:

 Accelerate growth with reduced dilution:  Significantly reduces reliance on equity or higher-cost funding for Aterian
                                           group growth.
 Scalable volumes:                         Funding and marketing capability supports sustained, substantial volume
                                           growth.
 Institutional platform:                   Enhanced governance, controls and risk management.
 Strengthened market positioning:          A partnership with a global trading counterparty enhances credibility and
                                           market execution capabilities.

 

Responsible Sourcing & Traceability Advantage

The JV reinforces Aterian's overall partnership strategy and its trading
strategy of building a fully traceable, compliant, and responsibly sourced
critical minerals platform. All material traded complies with OECD due
diligence standards and RMI (including ITSCi) traceability protocols, enabling
access to high-value end markets where provenance and ESG compliance are
critical purchasing criteria. This positions Aterian as a reliable supplier to
global customers increasingly requiring verified, conflict-free, and
transparent supply chains, particularly across the electronics, AI
infrastructure and energy transition sectors.

The Tantalum Market Picture

Tantalum ore prices have recently surged to historic all-time highs of
approximately US$225/lb (c. US$500,000 per metric tonne of Ta2O5 contained),
compared to US$95/lb from just four months ago with gross margins increasing
accordingly. This sharp appreciation reflects a tightening supply environment
combined with accelerating demand from advanced electronics, military, AI
infrastructure, and high-performance manufacturing sectors.  Given the
accelerating price, 10 mts of 30% grade Ta2O5 CIF China is valued at
approximately $1.5 million USD.

 

The resulting market dynamics have introduced elevated volatility and margins
across the commodity complex, prompting buyers to seek reliable, traceable
sources of supply. In this context, Eastinco has benefited from both the
increased trading activity and enhanced margin opportunities as it broadens
its procurement network within a disciplined traceability framework.

 

- ENDS -

 

This announcement contains information which, prior to its disclosure, was
inside information as stipulated under Regulation 11 of the Market Abuse
(Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019/310 (as amended).

 

Engage directly with the Aterian PLC management team by asking questions,
watching video summaries, and seeing what other shareholders have to say.
Please navigate to our interactive investor hub here:
https://aterianplc.com/s/fcf8eb (https://aterianplc.com/s/fcf8eb)

 

For further information, please visit the Company's website:
www.aterianplc.com (http://www.aterianplc.com) or contact:

 

Aterian Plc:

Charles Bray, Executive Chairman - charles.bray@aterianplc.com
(mailto:charles.bray@aterianplc.com)

Simon Rollason, CEO & Director - simon.rollason@aterianplc.com
(mailto:simon.rollason@aterianplc.com)

 

Financial Adviser and Joint Broker:

AlbR Capital Limited

David Coffman / Dan Harris

Tel: +44 (0)207 7469 0930

 

Joint Broker:

SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP

Ewan Leggat / Devik Mehta

Tel: +44 20 3470 0470

 

Financial PR:

Bald Voodoo - ben@baldvoodoo.com

Ben Kilbey

Tel: +44 (0)7811 209 344

 

Subscribe to our news alert service: https://atn-l.investorhub.com/auth/signup
(https://atn-l.investorhub.com/auth/signup)

Notes to Editors:

About Aterian plc

www.aterianplc.com (http://www.aterianplc.com)

 

Aterian plc is an LSE-listed critical minerals exploration and trading company
focused on Africa. Through Eastinco Limited, the Group operates a responsible
sourcing and minerals trading platform in Rwanda alongside its exploration
portfolio.

 

The Company's strategy is to build a scalable, compliant and cash-generative
trading business to support its broader critical minerals exploration and
development ambitions.

 

Aterian plc is actively seeking to acquire and develop new critical metal
resources to strengthen its existing asset base while supporting ethical and
sustainable supply chains as the world transitions to a sustainable, renewable
future. The supply of these metals is vital for developing the renewable
energy, automotive, and electronic manufacturing sectors, which are
increasingly important in reducing carbon emissions and meeting global climate
ambitions.

 

Aterian has a portfolio of multiple copper-silver (+gold) and base-metal
projects in Morocco. Aterian holds a 90% interest in Atlantis Metals, a
private Botswana-registered company holding eleven mineral prospecting
licences for copper-silver in the world-renowned Kalahari Copperbelt and three
for lithium and salt brine exploration in the Makgadikgadi Pans region. The
Company also holds an exploration licence in southern Rwanda, where it is
evaluating the tantalum and niobium opportunity, in addition to further
exploring for pegmatite-hosted lithium.

 

The Company's strategy is to seek new exploration and production opportunities
across the African continent and to develop new sources of critical mineral
assets for exploration, development, and trading.

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