REG - First Class Metals - Rule 2.9 Announcement

FIRST CLASS METALSAnnouncement

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RNS Number : 8944R  First Class Metals PLC  05 February 2026

 

First Class Metals PLC

("First Class Metals", "FCM" or the "Company")

Rule 2.9 Announcement

In accordance with Rule 2.9 of the City Code on Takeovers and Mergers (the
"Takeover Code" or "Code"), the Company confirms that, as at the date and time
of this announcement, it had 244,889,548 ordinary shares of £0.001 each
("Shares") in issue.

In addition, the Company has in issue £332,500 2025 CLNs and £350,000 2026
CLNs convertible into Shares. The Company does not hold any shares in
treasury.

Consequently, 244,889,548 is the figure which may be used by shareholders as
the denominator for the calculation by which they will determine if they are
required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in, FCM
under the FCA's Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules.

The International Securities Identification Number (ISIN) for the Company's
ordinary shares is GB00BPJGTF16 and the Company's LEI number is
894500V981ZTFLGVOZ38.

 

Enquiries:

 

 For further information, please contact:

 James Knowles, Executive Chair

Email: JamesK@Firstclassmetalsplc.com (mailto:JamesK@Firstclassmetalsplc.com)

Tel: 07488 362641

 Marc J Sale, CEO and Executive Director

Email: MarcS@Firstclassmetalsplc.com (mailto:MarcS@Firstclassmetalsplc.com)

Tel: 07711 093532

 AlbR Capital Limited (Financial Adviser)

David Coffman / Dan Harris

 Website: www.albrcapital.com (http://www.albrcapital.com)

Tel: (0)20 7469 0930

 Axis Capital Markets (Broker)

Lewis Jones

Website: Axcap247.com (http://www.axcap247.com)

Tel: (0)203 026 0449

 Important Notices

This announcement is not intended to, and does not, constitute or form part of
any offer, invitation or the solicitation of an offer to purchase, otherwise
acquire, subscribe for, sell or otherwise dispose of, any securities, or the
solicitation of any vote or approval in any jurisdiction, whether pursuant to
this announcement or otherwise. Any offer, if made, will be made solely by
certain offer documentation which will contain the full terms and conditions
of any offer, including details of how it may be accepted.

The release, distribution or publication of this announcement in whole or in
part, directly or indirectly in, into or from jurisdictions outside
the United Kingdom may be restricted by law and therefore persons into whose
possession this announcement comes should inform themselves about, and
observe, such restrictions. Any failure to comply with the restrictions may
constitute a violation of the securities law of any such jurisdiction.

 

Disclosure requirements of the Code

 Under Rule 8.3(a) of the Code, any person who is interested in 1% or more of
any class of relevant securities of an offeree company or of any securities
exchange offeror (being any offeror other than an offeror in respect of which
it has been announced that its offer is, or is likely to be, solely in cash)
must make an Opening Position Disclosure following the commencement of the
offer period and, if later, following the announcement in which any securities
exchange offeror is first identified. An Opening Position Disclosure must
contain details of the person's interests and short positions in, and rights
to subscribe for, any relevant securities of each of (i) the offeree company
and (ii) any securities exchange offeror(s). An Opening Position Disclosure by
a person to whom Rule 8.3(a) of the Code applies must be made by no later than
3.30 pm (London time) on the 10th business day following the commencement of
the offer period and, if appropriate, by no later than 3.30 pm (London time)
on the 10th business day following the announcement in which any securities
exchange offeror is first identified. Relevant persons who deal in the
relevant securities of the offeree company or of a securities exchange offeror
prior to the deadline for making an Opening Position Disclosure must instead
make a Dealing Disclosure.

Under Rule 8.3(b) of the Code, any person who is, or becomes, interested in 1%
or more of any class of relevant securities of the offeree company or of any
securities exchange offeror must make a Dealing Disclosure if the person deals
in any relevant securities of the offeree company or of any securities
exchange offeror. A Dealing Disclosure must contain details of the dealing
concerned and of the person's interests and short positions in, and rights to
subscribe for, any relevant securities of each of (i) the offeree company and
(ii) any securities exchange offeror, save to the extent that these details
have previously been disclosed under Rule 8 of the Code. A Dealing Disclosure
by a person to whom Rule 8.3(b) of the Code applies must be made by no later
than 3.30 pm (London time) on the business day following the date of the
relevant dealing. If two or more persons act together pursuant to an agreement
or understanding, whether formal or informal, to acquire or control an
interest in relevant securities of an offeree company or a securities exchange
offeror, they will be deemed to be a single person for the purpose of Rule 8.3
of the Code.

 

Opening Position Disclosures must also be made by the offeree company and by
any offeror and Dealing Disclosures must also be made by the offeree company,
by any offeror and by any persons acting in concert with any of them (see
Rules 8.1, 8.2 and 8.4 of the Code).

Details of the offeree and offeror companies in respect of whose relevant
securities Opening Position Disclosures and Dealing Disclosures must be made
can be found in the Disclosure Table on the Takeover Panel's website at
www.thetakeoverpanel.org.uk, including details of the number of relevant
securities in issue, when the offer period commenced and when any offeror was
first identified. You should contact the Panel's Market Surveillance Unit on
+44 (0)20 7638 0129 if you are in any doubt as to whether you are required to
make an Opening Position Disclosure or a Dealing Disclosure.

 Rule 26.1 Disclosure

In accordance with Rule 26.1 of the Code, a copy of this announcement will be
available on FCM's website (www.firstclassmetalsplc.com) by no later than 12
noon (London time) on the business day following the date of this
announcement. The content of the website referred to in this announcement is
not incorporated into, and does not form part of, this announcement.

Disclaimer

AlbR Capital Limited ("AlbR"), which is authorised and regulated by the
Financial Conduct Authority ("FCA") in the UK, is acting exclusively as
financial adviser to FCM and no one else in connection with the matters
described in this announcement and will not be responsible to anyone other
than FCM for providing the protections afforded to clients of AlbR nor for
providing advice in connection with the matters referred to herein. Neither
AlbR nor any of its subsidiaries, branches or affiliates owes or accepts any
duty, liability or responsibility whatsoever (whether direct or indirect,
whether in contract, in tort, under statute or otherwise) to any person who is
not a client of AlbR in connection with this announcement, any statement
contained herein, any offer or otherwise. Apart from the responsibilities and
liabilities, if any, which may be imposed on AlbR by the Financial Services
and Markets Act 2000, or the regulatory regime established thereunder, or
under the regulatory regime of any jurisdiction where exclusion of liability
under the relevant regulatory regime would be illegal, void or unenforceable,
neither AlbR nor any of its affiliates accepts any responsibility or liability
whatsoever for the contents of this announcement, and no representation,
express or implied, is made by it, or purported to be made on its behalf, in
relation to the contents of this announcement, including its accuracy,
completeness or verification of any other statement made or purported to be
made by it, or on its behalf, in connection with FCM or the matters described
in this document. To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, AlbR and
its affiliates accordingly disclaim all and any responsibility or liability
whether arising in tort, contract or otherwise (save as referred to above)
which they might otherwise have in respect of this announcement, or any
statement contained herein.

This announcement has been prepared in accordance with English law and
information disclosed may not be the same as that which would have been
prepared in accordance with the laws of jurisdictions outside England.

 

Ends

 

 

First Class Metals listed on the LSE in July 2022 and is focused on metals
exploration in Ontario, Canada which has a robust and thriving junior mineral
exploration sector. In particular, the Hemlo 'camp' near Marathon, Ontario is
a proven world class address for gold exploration, featuring the Hemlo gold
deposit operated by Barrick Mining (>23M oz gold produced), with the past
producing Geco and Winston Lake base metal deposits also situated in the
region.

FCM currently holds 100% ownership of seven claim blocks covering over 250km²
in northwest Ontario. A further three blocks are under option and cover an
additional 30km(2).FCM is focussed on exploring for gold but has base metals
and critical metals mineralisation. FCM is maintaining a joint venture with GT
Resources on the West Pickle Lake Property a drill-proven ultra-high-grade
Ni-Cu project.

The flagship properties, North Hemlo and Sunbeam, are gold focussed. North
Hemlo has a significant discovery in the Dead Otter trend which is a
discontinuous 3.5km gold anomalous trend with a 19.6g/t Au peak grab sample.
This sampling being the highest known assay from a grab sample ever recorded
on the North Limb of Hemlo.

In October 2022 FCM completed the option to purchase the historical high-grade
past-producing Sunbeam gold mine near Atikokan, Ontario, ~15 km southeast of
Agnico Eagle's Hammond Reef gold deposit (3.3 Moz of open pit probable gold
reserves).

FCM acquired the Zigzag Project near Armstrong, Ontario in March 2023. The
property features Li-Ta-bearing pegmatites in the same belt as Green
Technology Metals' Seymour Lake Project, which contains a Mineral Resource
estimate of 9.9 Mt @ 1.04% Li2O. Zigzag was successfully drilled prior to
Christmas 2023 and results have now been released.

The Kerrs Gold property, acquired under option by First Class Metals in April
2024, is located in northeastern Ontario within the Abitibi Greenstone Belt,
one of the world's most prolific gold-producing regions. The project holds a
historical inferred resource of approximately 386,000 ounces of gold,
underscoring its potential as a meaningful addition to FCM's expanding gold
portfolio. Kerrs Gold complements the Company's exploration strategy and
provides exposure to a well-established mining district. FCM is currently
reviewing plans to advance the project and further unlock its value.

The significant potential of the properties for precious, base and battery
metals relates to 'nearology', since all properties lie in the same districts
as known deposits (Hemlo, Hammond Reef, Seymour Lake), and either contain
known showings, geochemical or geophysical anomalies, or favourable structures
along strike from known showings (e.g. the Esa project, with an inferred
Hemlo-style shear along strike from known gold occurrences).

For further information see the Company's presentation on the web site:
firstclassmetalsplc.com

 

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