REG - Ironveld PLC - Operations Update

IronveldAnnouncement

12/05/2023 07:00

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RNS Number : 1650Z  Ironveld PLC  12 May 2023

Ironveld Plc

Operations Update

Ironveld plc ("Ironveld" or the "Company"), the AIM quoted mining development
company, is pleased to provide an update on recent activities.

 

Ironveld Smelting- Rustenburg

 

Refurbishment work at the Rustenburg smelter complex is now approaching full
completion and first shipments of the smelter's three speciality metals, high
purity iron, titanium slag and vanadium slag, remain in line to meet the
Company's stated target of first sales in Q2 2023.

 

The Company has undertaken extensive scheduled repairs to the second furnace
and the AOD (or "Convertor"), as well as to the Granulator. Following
discussions with buyers of Ironveld's high purity iron product, it has become
clear that a granulated final product, rather than a cast product, will
command materially higher selling prices. This led to an assessment of the
existing Granulator plant at the smelter and a project to bring this back into
production was initiated, despite not being in the initial plan, including
significant repairs and the sourcing of certain specialist electrical items
and control software.

 

Following the amended work programme to bring the Granulator into production
it is expected that the smelter will operate with two furnaces until July
2023, when the third furnace will then also be brought online, but with no
material delay in the plan to reach full production capacity by Q3 2023.

 

 

Ironveld Smelting - Limpopo

 

In recent weeks Ironveld Smelting has signed a long term, 30-year lease, with
a right to renew, with the Government of South Africa, represented by the
Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, for land
covering approximately 155 hectares on the Altona licence. In the short term
this will be the location for ore processing activities, and in the long term
it will be the location for larger smelting operations adjacent to the mine.
Already located on the land are extensive buildings from a former police
training college, which Ironveld will convert for its own use. The first
upgraded buildings will house a clinic, accommodation, and office space.

 

 

BurnStar Hydrogen Project

 

On 3 April 2023, the Company announced that its subsidiary, Ironveld Energy
(Pty) Limited, had signed a Letter of Intent with BurnStar Technologies (Pty)
Limited ("BurnStar"), to proceed towards a binding Legal Agreement (the
"Agreement") under which BurnStar will implement its patent-pending
'Guilt-Free Hydrogen'™ technology, to process Liquefied Natural Gas ("LNG")
on site at Ironveld's Rustenburg smelter.

 

The final legal Agreement is now signed by all parties and BurnStar will now
proceed to install, at its own cost, a plant at Ironveld's Rustenburg smelter
capable of producing hydrogen from LNG at the rate of five kilograms per hour.
It is envisaged that the BurnStar hydrogen plant will be installed and fully
operational at the end of 2023.

 

Once the BurnStar plant is established at the Rustenburg smelter, and is
producing hydrogen, Ironveld intends to evaluate its use as the reducing agent
in its smelting process. The hydrogen will be supplied by BurnStar at costs at
or below current market rates. If successfully applied to Ironveld's
production, this will enable the Company to significantly reduce its carbon
consumption over and above the benefits of the solar-hybrid power plant, due
to be commissioned later this year.

 

BurnStar is backed by specialist South African venture capital and incubator
fund, Savant.

 

Further information on BurnStar and Savant is available at www.burnstar.co.za
(http://www.burnstar.co.za/) and www.savant.co.za (http://www.savant.co.za)

 

 

Ironveld Mining

 

Mining activities have continued as planned. Mined ore is screened and crushed
by subsidiary company, IPace, using on site equipment before transportation to
the smelter complex at Rustenburg.

 

Ironveld Mining has also recently agreed a long term, 30-year lease, with a
right to renew, with the Government of South Africa, represented by the
Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, for land
covering approximately 312 hectares on the Altona licence, for use of the land
covered by the Mining Right.

 

On 27 January 2023, Ironveld announced the formation of the IPace JV, with the
intention of selling DMS grade magnetite ore directly from the mine. Customer
enquiries have been very encouraging and first product sales are on track for
mid-2023 as planned.

 

 

Martin Eales, Chief Executive Officer of Ironveld, commented: "We are
delighted with progress at both the Limpopo mine site and the Rustenburg
smelter. As we prioritised the Granulator refurbishment, the third furnace
will now be online a couple of months behind original estimates, but we will
soon be producing a much higher value product. A granulated product means that
the material size will be reduced, enabling end users to utilise it more
efficiently. We are also very pleased to have signed land leases adjacent to
the mine for future development of a larger capacity smelter as part of our
longer-term growth plan."

 

 

 

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. This
transaction became unconditional in March 2023.

 

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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