REG - Kazera Global PLC - 100% disposal of African Tantalum Limited

Kazera GlobalAnnouncement

20/12/2022 07:00

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RNS Number : 2427K  Kazera Global PLC  20 December 2022

20 December 2022

Kazera Global plc

("Kazera" or the "Company")

100% disposal of African Tantalum (Proprietary) Limited

Kazera Global plc ("Kazera Global", "Kazera" or "the Company"), the AIM quoted
investment company, is delighted to announce that it has signed a definitive
agreement to sell its 100% interest in African Tantalum (Proprietary) Limited
("Aftan") to Hebei Xinjian Construction ("Xinjian") for cash consideration of
USD13,000,000.

 

Highlights

 

·       The agreement comprises the sale of all the shares and
associated loans in Aftan for cash consideration of USD13,000,000. Kazera will
retain the right to receive a debenture payment equivalent to 2.5% of gross
sales of produced Lithium & Tantalum for the life of the mine.

·       Full operational control will pass to Xinjian on the effective
transaction date, with 100% ownership of the shares only passing once Kazera
has been paid in full for both the loan and the share sale expected by  DATE .

·       This transaction represents the first successful realization of
returns on a strategic investment made by Kazera. The strategic exit will
allow Kazera to invest in its other projects, principally the exciting Heavy
Mineral Sands opportunity in South Africa, without the need for additional
capital raising.

·       Management attention will now be freed up to focus on further
strategic investment opportunities.

·       Heavy Mineral Sands operation now in production with 2022
targets already comfortably met.

 

This transaction supersedes the transaction announced on 20 July 2022.

 

 

Dennis Edmonds, Kazera Chief Executive Officer, commented:

"This is a hugely significant moment for Kazera, and I am very pleased to
announce this sale delivering USD13m in cash to the Company.  We have been
working with Xinjian under the JV since July and are confident in their
ability to progress the asset through its next development phase, whilst we
retain exposure to its growing cash flow profile through the debenture stream.

This represents a real milestone for Kazera as the first realization of
returns from an investment in line with our stated strategy as an investing
company of building value in our investments whilst maintaining flexibility
for opportunistic exit points. This strategic exit will also enable management
to focus on our existing projects and further potential investments. We see
major opportunities in the present environment and look forward to delivering
sustainable growth to the benefit of all our stakeholders in the near term.

I would also like to thank our team in South Africa for their tremendous
efforts in bringing Walviskop into production. The entire team recognises the
significance of this project, not just to the Company, but also to the
Richtersveld community, who have been incredibly supportive of Kazera and the
project."

 

Transaction overview

 

Kazera has entered into an agreement with Xinjian for Xinjian to acquire all
shares and claims in Aftan for an aggregate consideration of USD13,000,000
comprised of purchase consideration for the sale of the shares in Aftan of
USD3,642,207 and the repayment of the intercompany loan to Kazera of
USD9,357,793. Payment of the full sums is as follows:

 

USD642,207 has already been paid by Xinjian, with USD500,000 to be received
before the end of December 2022 and a further USD2,500,000 to be paid by the
end of January 2023. The balance of USD9,357,793 will be payable in equal
monthly instalments commencing in April 2023 and terminating in December 2023.
Outstanding amounts will attract interest at a rate of 8% p.a.

Aftan is the holding company for Kazera's interest in the Tantalum Valley Mine
in Namibia. To the year ended 30 June 2022 Aftan reported a loss before tax of
N$6,963,023.

When approached by Xinjian to consider the outright sale of Aftan in place of
the previously announced investment, the Board of Kazera carefully considered
the merits of an earlier than initially anticipated exit from this investment.
It is the belief of the Board that this sale offers the opportunity to exit an
investment for an attractive return and, more importantly, enables Kazera to
invest in the Company's Diamond and Mineral Sands projects, the latter which
offers a tremendous cash flow profile and now without the need to raise
additional capital. It also positions the Company to return value to
shareholders, and the Board is examining options to enable this in the future.
In addition, the sale removes the risks associated with the construction of a
new processing plant and recommissioning the mine in the current uncertain
market environment.

 

Update on Walviskop Heavy Mineral Sands project

In South Africa, the Company is pleased to announce that it has comfortably
exceeded its target of producing 1,000 tons of bulk Heavy Mineral Sands at the
Walviskop mine by the end of 2022, and has already built up a stockpile of
almost 5,000 tons. Offtake discussions are well advanced with three different
parties, all of whom have expressed interest in buying the bulk product with a
view to entering into a contract in the future to purchase the product in the
form of refined minerals, which attract a premium price.

 

 

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of
Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014 ('MAR').

For further information on the Company, visit: www.
(http://www.kazeraglobal.com/) kazeraglobal (http://www.kazeraglobal.com/)
.com (http://www.kazeraglobal.com/)

 

 Kazera Global plc (c/o Camarco)                             Tel: +44 (0)203 757 4980

 Dennis Edmonds (CEO)

 finnCap (Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker)                Tel: +44 (0)207 220 0500

 Christopher Raggett / Fergus Sullivan (Corporate Finance)

 Camarco (PR)

 Elfie Kent /  Hugo Liddy / Gordon Poole                       Tel: +44 (0)20 3781 8331

 

**ENDS**

 

 

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