REG - Neometals Ltd - Chairman’s AGM 2024 Address

NeometalsAnnouncement

22/11/2024 07:45

For best results when printing this announcement, please click on link below:
https://newsfile.refinitiv.com/getnewsfile/v1/story?guid=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20241122:nRSV3144Na&default-theme=true

RNS Number : 3144N  Neometals Ltd  22 November 2024

22 November 2024

Neometals Ltd

("Neometals" or "the Company")

Chairman's AGM 2024 Address

The past year has been challenging for your Company and its share price
performance, especially relative to the impressive escalation in market
recognised value over the "lithium boom" years. But like many other booms,
they are often succeeded by a material decline. This one was no exception with
lithium commodity pricing declining around 70% and even vanadium commodity
pricing declining to long term lows.

To put matters into direct focus, the NMT share price currently sits around
the 9 to 10 cent range following the recent share placement and entitlement
issue pricings at 9 cents.

These numbers are disturbing both for the Company's shareholders and for your
Company's Board which has been diligent in prosecuting the Company's strategy
across its portfolio of projects. The core strategy is aligned with and seeks
to leverage off the globally relevant energy transition thematic coupled with
the sustainability of critical minerals through innovative recycling
technologies designed to deliver lowest quartile production costs and CO2
emissions footprints.

Our CEO Chris Reed will speak in more detail in his presentation as to these
matters. But for now, let me summarise several relevant aspects as to NMT's
current position:

1.   The Company's businesses have always been at risk of adverse commodity
pricing movements. We are not unique among participants in the lithium space
whether their business focus be upstream mining or downstream processing.

2.   The negative news-flow from Li-cycle, the NYSE listed poster-child for
battery recycling, combined with the slowdown in EV penetration and cell
production in the west have adversely impacted investment sentiment for the
sector.

3.   The equity capital markets' support of recent years, outside of
precious metals, has materially declined especially for technology developers
that are not generating net positive cash flow.

4.   Notwithstanding these headwinds the Company's main LiB recycling
business in Germany through Primobius, its ELi™ lithium processing
technology and its vanadium recovery project in Finland have continued to
mature towards commercialisation.

5.   Due to these factors, the Company has had to narrow its focus and,
prioritise battery recycling as being closest to cashflow, including "trimming
its cloth" by executing an organisational restructure with a material staff
reduction to reset of the Company's cost base.

6.   From a strategic perspective, your Board continues to review its
current portfolio of projects including considering whether other
opportunities may be available to the Company with nearer term value creation
and cash generation horizons. This includes actively considering an
exploration program to define gold resources within its Barrambie tenement
holdings following release of larger than expected historical analysis
results.

In summary, your Company remains clear on its strategy and purpose: delivering
shareholder value through its continuing strategic focus on the key thematics,
yet at the same time exploring other innovative shorter term value creation
opportunities that may exist.

NMT respects its committed and highly valued workforce notwithstanding the
hard decision needed to be taken in August to materially scale back the team.

Finally in closing, I wish to acknowledge you, our shareholders and broader
stakeholders, who have held firm with the Company through this roller-coaster
ride over recent years. Your ongoing support is very much valued by the
Company and it is your Board's commitment to honour that support.

Steven Cole - Chairman

Neometals Ltd

 

Authorised on behalf of Neometals by the Board of Neometals.

- ENDS -

For more information, please contact:

 

 Neometals Ltd
 Chris Reed, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer       +61 8 9322 1182
 Chris Kelsall, CFO & Company Secretary                        +61 8 9322 1182

 Cavendish Capital Markets Ltd - NOMAD & Broker
 Neil McDonald                                                +44 (0)131 220 9771
 Peter Lynch                                                  +44 (0)131 220 9772
 Adam Rae                                                     +44 (0)131 220 9778

 

About Neometals

Neometals facilitates sustainable critical material supply chains and reduces
the environmental burden of traditional mining in the global transition to a
circular economy.

The Company is commercialising a portfolio of sustainable processing solutions
that recycle and recover critical materials from high-value waste streams.

·      Neometals' core focus is its patented, Lithium-ion Battery
("LiB") Recycling technology (50% NMT), being commercialised in a 50:50
incorporated JV (Primobius GmbH) with 150-year-old German plant builder, SMS
group GmbH. Primobius is supplying Mercedes-Benz a 2,500tpa recycling plant
and operates its own LiB Disposal Service in Germany. Primobius' first
21,000tpa commercial plant will be offered to Stelco under an existing
technology licence for North America.

Neometals is developing two advanced battery materials technologies for
commercialisation under low-risk, low-capex technology licensing business
models:

·       Lithium Chemicals (70% NMT) - Patented ELi™ electrolysis
process, co-owned 30% by Mineral Resources Ltd, to produce battery quality
lithium hydroxide from brine and/or hard-rock feedstocks at lowest quartile
operating costs. Successfully completed pilot scale test work and planning
further development with industrialisation partners under a technology
licensing business model; and

 

·      Vanadium Recovery (100% NMT) - Patent pending hydrometallurgical
process to produce high-purity vanadium pentoxide from steelmaking by-product
(Slag) at lowest-quartile operating cost and carbon footprint. Planning to
exploit under a technology licensing business model. Project financing process
for first commercial plant in progress.

 

For further information, visit: www.neometals.com.au
(https://www.neometals.com.au/) .

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact
rns@lseg.com (mailto:rns@lseg.com)
 or visit
www.rns.com (http://www.rns.com/)
.

RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our
Privacy Policy (https://www.lseg.com/privacy-and-cookie-policy)
.   END  AGMBTBRTMTJTMPI