REG - Mineral & Financial - Investment Update: Redcorp Earn-In Terms Extended

Mineral & Financial InvestmentsAnnouncement

15/07/2022 14:15

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RNS Number : 6939S  Mineral & Financial Invest. Limited  15 July 2022

MINERAL AND FINANCIAL INVESTMENTS LIMITED

Investment Update: Redcorp Earn-In Terms Extended To Grant Additional Six
Months To Deliver Feasibility Study

 

HIGHLIGHTS:

·    Extension to deadline to complete feasibility study to June 22, 2023

·    Ascendant is targeting feasibility study completion by Q1-2023

·    Next cash payment of US$2.5m to M&FI remains scheduled for
December 22, 2022

·    Additional time to complete study will allow for the inclusion of
recent drill results

·    M&FI believes the additional time should result in a higher
quality feasibility study

 

GEORGE TOWN, CAYMAN ISLANDS, July 15, 2022 - Mineral and Financial Investments
Limited (LSE-AIM: MAFL) ("M&FI" or the "Company") is pleased to announce
that it has, through its wholly owned subsdiary Mineral and Financial
Investments AG (previously known as TH Crestgate) ("AG"), granted an extension
to the terms of the earn-in and call option agreements with Ascendant
Resources Inc. ("Ascendant").

Feasbility Study

As set out in the announcement dated 2 August 2018 (as amended on 1 July
2020), following receipt of a series of scheduled payments (the last of which
was received in May 2022) for a 50% interest in Redcorp Empreendimentos
Mineros Lda ("Redcorp"),  Ascendant now has the option to earn an additional
30% interest in Redcorp (for a total 80% interest). It can do so by completing
a Feasibility Study on Lagoa Salgada and making a final payment to AG of
US2.5m before the end of December 2022.

However, pursuant to the extension, AG will now allow Ascendant to complete
the Feasibility Study by 22 June 2023 instead of 22 December 2022. The
requirement to make the payment of US$2.5million to AG remains unchanged and
it is scheduled to be paid on or before December 22, 2022.  Ascendant
anticipates completing the Feasibility Study by 1Q 2023.

Jacques Vaillancourt, Mineral and Financial Investment Limited's President
& CEO stated - "We believe that Lagoa Salgada has the potential to be a
world class project. The challenges caused by COVID delayed our partner's
progress in delivering the Feasibilty Study. Although we believe that
Ascendant could have delivered a Feasibility Study by the originally agreed
deadline of December 22, 2022, our willingness to amend the agreement was
based on several factors. Firstly, we believe Lagoa Salgada has the potential
to be a world class project. An integral part of being recognized as a world
class project is a high quality Feasibity Study that demonstrates geology,
time and money can provide the indicated operational and financial returns
indicated. We consider that a Feasibility Study becomes a permanent part of
the Project's history and merits all of the time and effort possible to ensure
that it is as credible an assessment of the Project's economics as possible.
Secondly, as some recent exploration drilling has shown, the yield of tonnage
to resources has been excellent which suggests there is potentially
significant resource growth still to come and technically we are seeing better
results than initially expected across the board. Thirdly, by allowing a
little more time to complete the Feasibility Study and incorporating these
results, this may, I believe, result in improved economics for the Project".

Additional Call Option

Redcorp owns 85% of the Lagoa Salgada project and in June 2017 Redcorp signed
an agreement with Empresa Desenvolvimento Mineiro SA (EDM), a Portuguese state
owned company to purchase the remaining 15% for a 100% interest in the project
("2017 Agreement"). However, as previously announced, the 2017 Agreement was
subject to Portuguese Secretary of State approval which has not yet been
received, and Redcorp, AG and M&FI continue to pursue the completion of
this acquisition.

As part of the agreements with Ascendant, M&FI and AG have granted call
options to Ascendant for nil consideration over 12% of the ordinary shares in
Redcorp held by AG ("Call Options") so that in the event that
 Redcorp/M&FI is unsuccessful in obtaining the completion of the 2017
Agreement, Ascendant will be assured of a net 80% interest in the Lagoa
Salgada Project. However, if Redcorp/M&FI can secure 100% ownership of
Lagoa Salgada then the Call Options are cancelled. The Call Options can be
exercised on the date being 6 months after the date on which Ascendant
increases its ownership of Redcorp to 80% or immediately if EDM elect to
participate in the Project.  If the other conditions set out in this
announcement are satisfied, and if the call option was exercised, TH
Crestgate's and M&FI's net carried interest in Lagoa Salgada would
decrease from 20% to 5%. Further updates will be provided in due course as
this progresses.

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of
the UK version of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 which is part of UK law by
virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, as amended ("MAR"). Upon
the publication of this announcement via a Regulatory Information Service,
this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.

 

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
            +44 207 382 8300

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