REG - Mineral & Financial - Investment Update: Ascendant’s Redcorp Interest

Mineral & Financial InvestmentsAnnouncement

25/05/2022 11:00

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RNS Number : 7420M  Mineral & Financial Invest. Limited  25 May 2022

MINERAL & FINANCIAL INVESTMENTS LIMITED

Investment Update: Ascendant's Interest in Redcorp Increased To 50% By Paying
additional US$1.0M & Completing US$9.0M On Lagoa Salgada Project

 

HIGHLIGHTS:

·    Ascendant Paid M&FI US$1.0M and Completed US$9.0M of Project
Expenditures on The Lagoa Salgada Project

·    First Phase of the 2018 Earn-In Agreement Fulfilled and Ascendant's
Effective Interest in Lagoa Salgada Increases from 25% To 50%

·    Total Payments Received to Date from Ascendant, Excluding Project
Expenditures, Totals US$5.95M

·    Ascendant Expects to Pay an Additional US$2.5M By December 22, 2022,
to M&FI

 

GEORGE TOWN, CAYMAN ISLANDS, May 25, 2022 - Mineral and Financial Investments
Limited (LSE-AIM: MAFL) ("M&FI" or the "Company") is pleased to report an
investment update from its investment in Redcorp Empreedimentos Mineiros Lda.
Ascendant Resources (ASND-TSX) ("Ascendant") has completed more than US$9.0M
of project related expenditures on the Lagoa Salgada Project and paid TH
Crestgate, a wholly owned subsidiary of M&FI, an additional US$1.0M on May
24, 2022. This thereby fulfills the first phase of the earn-in conditions to
increase its effective ownership interest from 25% to 50% in the Lagoa Salgada
VMS project (the "Project") in Portugal. Ascendant expects to fully satisfy
the conditions of the Earn-In agreement and to increase its stake in the
Project to 80% by year end, further updates will be provided at that time.

Jacques Vaillancourt, Mineral and Financial Investment Limited's President
& CEO stated - "We are thrilled by the outcomes of the development work
conducted at Lagoa Salgada since Ascendant's involvement through its earn-in
agreement reached in August 2018 with TH Crestgate, now a wholly owned
subsidiary of M&FI. On the exploration front, we believe the yield of
tonnage to resources has been exceptional which suggests significant resource
growth still to come and on the technical front we are seeing better results
than initially expected across the board. We remain optimistic that Lagoa
Salgada will become a world class project."

Summary of Transaction

As set out in the announcement of August 2, 2018, Ascendant has the option to
earn an additional 30% (totaling an 80% effective interest in the Project), by
completing a feasibility study by December 22, 2022 and making a final payment
of US$2.5 million to TH Crestgate. Ascendant have indicated they intend to
progress that study, but at this stage there can be no guarantee that it will
complete.

Ascendant originally paid a total of US$2.45M in cash and shares to purchase
25% of Redcorp. Since that date, Ascendant has made further cash payments of
US$3.5M to TH Crestgate and incurred US$9.0M of project expenditures on
Redcorp and the Lagoa Salgada Project, bringing their investment for 50% of
Redcorp to US$14.95M. Accordingly, with immediate effect, Ascendant now holds
50% of the Lagoa Salgada project.

Additional Update

As previously reported on April 4, 2022, the feasibility study at the Project
has now commenced. This study follows the completion of a NI 43-101
Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") entitled "NI 43-101 Technical Report
and PEA for the Lagoa Salgada Project", on September 13, 2021 (the "PEA
Announcement"). The PEA is available on the Company's website and SEDAR. The
PEA highlights a potential low capital-intensive project (a proposed Capex of
US$132 million) with a pre-tax Net Present Value(@8%) of US$341 million and an
IRR of 68.2% at conservative long term metal prices, further details of the
PEA and the underlying assumptions behind the calculations are set out in the
PEA Announcement. The PEA proposes a low capex, low operating cost, high
margin underground mining operation with strong economics and the opportunity
for significant benefit to the Company and the local stakeholders, it should
also boost Portugal's economy through exports, taxes and local employment.

 

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

 

Jacques Vaillancourt, Mineral & Financial Investments Ltd.
 +44 780 226 8247

Katy Mitchell and Ben Good, WH Ireland Limited
            +44 207 220 1666

Jon Belliss, Novum Securities Limited
                +44 207 399 9400

 

THE INFORMATION CONTAINED WITHIN THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS DEEMED BY THE COMPANY TO
CONSTITUTE INSIDE INFORMATION AS STIPULATED UNDER THE MARKET ABUSE REGULATION
(EU) NO.596/2014 AS IT FORMS PART OF UK DOMESTIC LAW PURSUANT TO THE EUROPEAN
UNION (WITHDRAWAL) ACT 2018, AS AMENDED. UPON THE PUBLICATION OF THIS
ANNOUNCEMENT VIA A REGULATORY INFORMATION SERVICE, THIS INFORMATION IS
CONSIDERED TO BE IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN.

 

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