REG - Ironveld PLC - First Production at Smelter

IronveldAnnouncement

10/01/2023 07:00

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RNS Number : 1563M  Ironveld PLC  10 January 2023

Ironveld Plc

("Ironveld" or the "Company")

First Production at Smelter

Ironveld is pleased to confirm that its subsidiary, Ironveld Smelting, has
completed refurbishment of the first of the three furnaces at the Rustenburg
smelter complex and has successfully produced metal from the furnace, marking
a transformational step in the Company's development.

Highlights:

·    'Cold Commissioning' of machinery and 'Hot Commissioning' of the
first furnace commenced in December 2022 and has now been completed; and

·    Magnetite ore has been smelted into first marketable products of
titanium slag and High Purity Iron ("HPI").

·    Commissioning and mining processes ahead of schedule.

 

Martin Eales, CEO of Ironveld, commented:

"Our aim is to create a sustainable, socially and environmentally responsible
operation that will prove to be rewarding for all stakeholders. Today's news
that Ironveld Smelting has successfully smelted ore into marketable metal
products in the first operating furnace is a fantastic achievement for the
whole Ironveld team. I would like to thank all of our staff for making this
happen in just over four months since we set foot on the ground in Rustenburg
to start work at the smelter.

We anticipate first revenues from initial production comfortably in line with
our original expectation of Q2 2023. We will be issuing further updates as the
phased recommissioning process at Rustenburg continues."

First Production at Rustenburg Smelter

As announced in the Company's most recent Progress Update on 9 December 2022,
the refurbishment work at the Rustenburg smelter complex is proceeding well
against the planned six-to-nine-month schedule envisaged at the commencement
of works.

During December 2022 'Cold Commissioning' of mechanical equipment at the
smelter was successfully completed, which has been followed over the holiday
period by 'Hot Commissioning' of the first of three planned operating
furnaces.  The furnace has now successfully smelted test quantities of
magnetite ore in order to produce HPI and titanium slag of marketable standard
for the first time.  Initial analysis of the HPI confirms that it meets
planned quality and content specifications.

Next steps

In the coming weeks operations from the first furnace will be tested and
optimised and also be extended to include production of vanadium slag, which
requires a further processing step. First production sales are still in line
to be achieved by Q2 2023 as planned.

The second and third furnaces at the smelter continue to be refurbished and
are both anticipated to be in production by April 2023. Once the three
furnaces are fully operational, the complex will be capable of processing
approximately 40,000 tonnes of Ironveld's magnetite ore per annum which, in
turn, will provide the following approximate quantities of finished products
per annum: 20,000 tonnes of high purity iron; 190 tonnes of vanadium in slag;
and 3,800 tonnes of titanium in slag.

Photos of production from the first operational furnace can be viewed on the
Company's website:  www.ironveld.com (http://www.ironveld.com)

 

For further information, please contact:

 

 Ironveld plc                            c/o BlytheRay

 Martin Eales, Chief Executive Officer   020 7138 3204

 finnCap (Nomad and Broker)              020 7220 0500

 Christopher Raggett

 Charlie Beeson

 Turner Pope (Joint Broker)              020 3657 0050

 Andy Thacker

 James Pope

 BlytheRay                               020 7138 3204

 Megan Ray

 Tim Blythe

 

 

NOTES TO EDITORS

 

Ironveld (IRON.LN) is the owner of Mining Rights over approximately 28
kilometres of outcropping Bushveld magnetite with a SAMREC compliant ore
resource of some 56 million tons of ore grading 1,12% V2O5, 68,6% Fe2O3 and
14,7% TiO2.

 

In 2022 Ironveld agreed to acquire and refurbish a smelter facility in
Rustenburg, South Africa, in which it can process its magnetite ore into the
marketable products of high purity iron, titanium slag and vanadium slag.

 

Ironveld is an AIM traded company. For further information on Ironveld please
refer to www.ironveld.com (http://www.ironveld.com) .

 

 

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of
the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) 596/2014 as it forms part of UK domestic law
by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 ("MAR"), and is
disclosed in accordance with the company's obligations under Article 17 of
MAR.

 

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