REG - Critical Mineral - Acquisition of 26 Moroccan permits

Critical Mineral ResourcesAnnouncement

16/01/2024 07:00

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RNS Number : 7660Z  Critical Mineral Resources PLC  16 January 2024

16 January 2024

Critical Mineral Resources PLC

('CMR' or the 'Company')

Acquisition of 26 Moroccan permits

Critical Mineral Resources plc ('CMR' or the 'Company), the exploration and
development company focused on clean energy metals in Morocco, is pleased to
announce that it has acquired 26 exploration permits in central Morocco
prospective for copper, antimony, tungsten, lead-zinc and gold. CMR has
acquired the permits through the acquisition of Hesperis Resources SARL, a
Moroccan company.

The acquisition transforms CMR's incubator portfolio in terms of the Company's
footprint of prospective ground in Morocco and its exposure to a wider range
of critical metals and minerals. The Hesperis permits are located in the
Rabat, Beni-Mellal, Agadir and Errachidia administrative regions and cover
approximately 400 km(2). These regions boast a number of historical and
current mining sites with established road and power infrastructure.

Reflecting Hesperis' confidence in the opportunity the permitted ground offers
and CMR's ability to develop it, its shareholders have agreed to an all-share
transaction that sees CMR issue 3.0 million shares to the owners of Hesperis
at completion, followed by 1.5 million shares deliverable at the start of
drilling. As a sign of their commitment to the project the Hesperis
shareholders have also agreed to a ten-month lock-in period.

 

Transaction highlights

 * The acquisition of 26 exploration permits((
 1  (#_ftn1)
)) prospective for copper, antimony, tungsten, lead-zinc and gold, wholly in
line with CMR's stated strategy of targeting and acquiring clean energy
development assets in Morocco.

 * The permitted area covers approximately 400 km(2) across in recognised and
well-established mining regions, which boast numerous existing mining
businesses in production along with the required infrastructure.

 * The newly acquired permits ensure CMR now has meaningful exposure to a broad
range of clean energy materials across permitted areas of significant
geographic scale.

 * The agreement is split into two stages, with an Initial Consideration of
£150,000 payable by the issue of 3,000,000 ordinary shares to be issued at a
price of 5p per share, followed by Deferred Consideration of £75,000 payable
by the issue of 1,500,000 shares, conditional on CMR electing to commence
exploration drilling on any one of the Hesperis permits.

Noureddine Sabraoui, the Company's Chief Operating Officer, is a 25%
beneficial owner of Hesperis. As such, the transaction is considered to be a
related party transaction. The directors of CMR confirm that having exercised
reasonable care, skill and diligence, the related party transaction is fair
and reasonable insofar as the shareholders of Critical Mineral Resources are
concerned.

 

Hesperis portfolio summary

CMR's focus is developing Moroccan commodity projects that have the clear
potential to support the transition to clean energy and quickly advance to
production and cash generation. The Hesperis project portfolio provides
exposure to prospective ground in several distinct metallogenic regions.

Sixteen of the permits are located east of Casablanca in the Rabat and Beni
Mellal administrative regions, as shown in Figure 1 below.

Further south in the Souss-Massa (Agadir is the capital) and Draa-Tafilalet
(Errachidia is the capital) regions, the permits are prospective for copper,
silver, barite, oligiste (foliated iron oxide) and manganese.

 

Charlie Long, Chief Executive Officer of CMR PLC, commented:

"The acquisition of the Hesperis permits marks a key milestone in Critical
Mineral Resource's journey. The Company now possesses a significant
opportunity through its ongoing roll-up of permits across a sizeable footprint
within well-established Moroccan mining territories. Critically, we now have
excellent momentum as we continue to deliver against our stated strategy of
developing an exciting portfolio of assets with the potential to bring
minerals vital for the clean energy revolution into production and cash
generation. We are delighted to welcome the Hesperis owners as shareholders to
the business".

 

Figure 1: Map showing Hesperis permits

Source: Company

 

Figure 2: Map showing Rabat and Beni-Mellal region permits

 

Source: Company

 

 Critical Mineral Resources plc           info@cmrplc.com (mailto:info@cmrplc.com)

 Charles Long, Chief Executive Officer
 Novum Securities                         +44 (0) 20 7399 9425

 Jon Belliss
 Hudson Sandler (Financial PR)            +44 (0) 207 796 4133

 Charlie Jack

 

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 (http://www.cmrplc.com)

 

 1  (#_ftnref1) the main exploration permit type in Morocco is the permis de
recherche. Under Moroccan law, permis de recherche are valid for an initial
three year term renewable once for four years

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