REG - GreenRoc Mining PLC - Share Placing

GreenRoc Strategic MaterialsAnnouncement

28/05/2024 07:00

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RNS Number : 9605P  GreenRoc Mining PLC  28 May 2024

GreenRoc Mining Plc / EPIC: GROC / Market: AIM / Sector: Mining

 

28 May 2024

GreenRoc Mining plc

("GreenRoc" or the "Company")

 

Share Placing

 

GreenRoc Mining Plc (AIM: GROC), a company focused on the development of
critical mineral projects in Greenland, is pleased to announce that it has
raised gross proceeds of £238,311 by way of a placing of 13,239,499 new
ordinary shares of 0.1 pence each (the "Placing Shares") at a price of 1.8
pence per Placing Share (the "Placing Price") (the "Placing").

 

In addition, the Company's largest shareholder, Alba Mineral Resources plc
("Alba"), an Alba non-Executive Director, as well as the majority of the Board
and management of GreenRoc, have indicated their willingness to participate in
a share placing in the Company on the same terms, namely at a price of 1.8
pence per share, for a total subscription of a further £110,000, once the
Company is no longer in a "close period" for share dealings.  It is
anticipated that GreenRoc will no longer be in a close period following the
publication of its audited financial results for the year ended 30 November
2023, which is expected to be by 31 May 2024.  Confirmation of an additional
share placing will be made by separate RNS.

 

Share Placing: Admission to Trading on AIM and Total Voting Rights

 

Application will be made for the Placing Shares, which will rank pari passu
with the existing ordinary shares of 0.1 pence each, to be admitted to trading
on AIM ("Admission"). It is expected that Admission of 11,850,611 of the
Placing Shares (which are settling on a T+6 basis) will become effective and
that dealings will commence at 8:00 a.m. on or around 5 June 2024 with the
balance of 1,388,888 Placing Shares (which are settling on a T+20 basis)
becoming effective and dealings commencing at 8:00 a.m. on or around 19 June
2024.

 

Following the issue of the Placing Shares, the total issued share capital of
the Company will consist of 181,353,661 ordinary shares of 0.1 pence each. The
Company does not hold any ordinary shares in Treasury, therefore the total
voting rights in the Company following Admission will be 181,353,661. This
figure may be used by shareholders in the Company as the denominator for the
calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their
interest in, or a change in their interest in, the share capital of the
Company under the FCA's Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules.

 

 

Use of Proceeds:

 

The raise will allow the Company to:

•  supplement the Pre-Feasibility Study ("PFS") on a graphite Active Anode
Materials (AAM) Plant with studies on hydrofluoric-acid-free purification
methods. The first results of the PFS were released on 7 May 2024. The
results of the updated PFS are expected to be released within the next
couple of months;

•  continue the process of identifying the ideal location for the AAM
Plant;

•  finalise Pressurised Flotation Cell beneficiation tests
of Amitsoq graphite ore;

• conduct testwork on the potential use of coarser flakes
from Amitsoq as feedstock for expandable graphite production;

•  translate the Amitsoq Technical Project Description document into
Greenlandic and send it for Public Pre-Consultation, a precursor to the
Company's subsequent application for an Exploitation Licence;

•  enter the DigBee scheme for benchmarking and disclosure of the ESG
performance of the mine;

•  prepare and submit an application for Strategic Project status under
EU's Critical Raw Materials Act; and

·      continue discussions with potential strategic and offtake
partners.

 

GreenRoc's CEO, Stefan Bernstein, commented:

"This funding will allow GreenRoc to advance on several fronts. With
respect to our plans to establish localised production of graphite AAM for the
European battery industry, we can now add some important studies to augment
the already very positive PFS that we released earlier this month. We expect
that using a hydrofluoric-acid-free purification technique will further
increase the profitability of the AAM plant. We will also be investigating
more closely some specific potential sites for the location of the AAM plant -
all being in Northern Europe.

 

"In relation to our upstream operations at the Amitsoq Mine, as soon as we
have received the Greenland Government's comments on our technical Project
Description document, this will be finalised, translated and sent out for
public pre-consultation. Pre-consultation is expected to take 35 days,
following which we can adjust the Project Description, prepare and submit our
formal Application for an Exploitation Permit.

 

"In addition to some further technical testing of our graphite, which will add
to the upcoming PFS for the Amitsoq Mine, we will also register with and
submit our data to the DigBee scheme, a leading ESG disclosure platform for
the mining industry. This will provide an independent benchmark of the ESG
performance of the mine, which will be an important deliverable in our ongoing
discussions with strategic and offtake partners."

 

 

Forward Looking Statements

This announcement contains forward-looking statements relating to expected or
anticipated future events and anticipated results that are forward-looking in
nature and, as a result, are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, such
as general economic, market and business conditions, competition for qualified
staff, the regulatory process and actions, technical issues, new legislation,
uncertainties resulting from potential delays or changes in plans,
uncertainties resulting from working in a new political jurisdiction,
uncertainties regarding the results of exploration, uncertainties regarding
the timing and granting of prospecting rights, uncertainties regarding the
timing and granting of regulatory and other third party consents and
approvals, uncertainties regarding the Company's or any third party's ability
to execute and implement future plans, and the occurrence of unexpected
events.

Actual results achieved may vary from the information provided herein as a
result of numerous known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other
factors.

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of the UK
Market Abuse Regulation and the Directors of the Company are responsible for
the release of this announcement.

 

*ENDS** 

 

For further information, please contact: 

    GreenRoc Mining Plc                                          +44 20 3950 0724

    Stefan Bernstein, CEO 

  
    Cairn Financial Advisers LLP (Nomad)                         +44 20 7213 0880

    James Caithie / Sandy Jamieson /

    Louise O'Driscoll 

  
    Oberon Capital (Broker)                                      +44 20 3179 5300

    Nick Lovering / Adam Pollock

   
    St Brides Partners Ltd (Financial PR & IR)                   +44 20 7236 1177

    Paul Dulieu / Isabel De Salis / Isabelle Morris             greenroc@stbridespartners.co.uk

  

 

About GreenRoc

GreenRoc Mining plc is an AIM-quoted company which is developing mining
projects in Greenland in critical, high-demand and high-value minerals. Led by
a group of highly experienced mining industry professionals, GreenRoc has 100%
ownership of the following high-grade critical mineral projects both of which
benefit from defined Resources:

 

·       The Amitsoq Graphite Project, the Company's flagship project
and one of the highest-grade graphite deposits in the world with a combined
Measured, Indicated and Inferred JORC Resource of 23.05 million tonnes (Mt) at
an average grade of 20.41% graphite, giving a total graphite content of 4.71
Mt; and

 

·       The Thule Black Sands Ilmenite Project ('TBS'), which has an
initial Mineral Resource of 19Mt at 43.6% Total Heavy Minerals with an in-situ
ilmenite grade of 8.9%.

 

Key Points about Amitsoq, GreenRoc's Flagship Asset

1.   Amitsoq is located in the Nanortalik region of southern Greenland, in
year-round ice-free waters and on the same latitude as far northern
Scotland.

2.   GreenRoc is focused on fast-tracking the development of Amitsoq into a
producing mine in the shortest possible timeframe to meet critical demand from
Electric Vehicle ('EV') manufacturers in Europe and North America for new,
high grade and conflict-free sources of graphite.

3.  The Amitsoq Island Deposit has a total inferred, indicated and measured
JORC Resource of 23.05 million tonnes (Mt) at an average grade of 20.41%
Graphitic Carbon ("C(g)"), giving a total graphite content of 4.71 Mt. This
makes Amitsoq one of the highest-grade graphite projects in the world.

4.  Significant further resource upside exists at Amitsoq as the Amitsoq
Island Deposit is open in at least two directions, with potential for
considerable further expansion via the similarly high-grade Kalaaq Mainland
Deposit as well as a series of other high-grade targets within GreenRoc's
licence package.

5.  The Amitsoq Island Deposit was in small-scale production about 100 years
ago, and there remains considerable underground mine development in place from
that time, which will be of considerable benefit to GreenRoc in the mine
construction phase.

6.  In GreenRoc's test work programmes:

a.  Micronisation and spheronisation test work has proven that Amitsoq
graphite can be readily upgraded to high-grade, anode-quality graphite, known
as high purity spherical graphite or cSPG, a critical component in the Li-ion
battery of an EV.

b.  Amitsoq spheronised graphite has achieved higher than 99.95% purity with
relatively little energy input and processing and using a milder alkaline
purification method compared to the industry standard hydrofluoric acid,
boding well for future production costs and sustainability commitments.

c.  Electrochemical testing of Amitsoq graphite anode material within a test
Li-ion battery cell has shown that it performs very well, in part due to its
good crystallinity.

7.  The results of a Preliminary Economic Assessment (or PEA) for Amitsoq
released on 31 October 2023 give a post-tax NPV8 for the Project of US$179M,
an IRR of 26.7% and capex estimated at US$131M (including a 25%
contingency).  These figures solely relate to the economics of a mining and
primary processing operation in South Greenland and do not take into account
any potential upside from a downstream processing operation which GreenRoc
intends to establish in Europe or the USA.

8.  In relation to the downstream business, GreenRoc has completed a
Feasibility Study into the establishment of a graphite spheronisation
processing plant to produce 40,000 tonnes of cSPG per annum from graphite
concentrate delivered from Amitsoq. This Feasibility Study, which was
part-financed by a grant of approximately £250,000 from the UK's Automotive
Transformation Fund, gives an after-tax NPV8 to the downstream business of
US$545M with an IRR of 25.3%, total gross revenue of US$6.5Bn over a 22-year
period, total gross profit totalling US$2.7Bn, a 4-year payback period on
capital from start of production and an initial capex of US$321M inclusive of
a 25% contingency.

9.  Following a detailed evaluation process, the European Raw Materials
Alliance (ERMA) has expressed its support of GreenRoc and its Amitsoq graphite
project, stating that: "GreenRoc's graphite resource is of global importance
and, together with the Company's strategy, will enable the European Union to
achieve a certain level of independence for the electrical vehicle supply
chain. ERMA has approved the Amitsoq Graphite project and will engage to
support its development and financing to produce these critical raw materials
for the benefit of the European Union goals." (see RNS dated 8 February 2023).

 

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