REG-Pan African Resources Plc: 21 Day Lockdown and Suspension of Production Guidance

Pan African ResourcesAnnouncement

24/03/2020 07:40

Pan African Resources PLC

(Incorporated and registered in England and Wales

under Companies Act 1985 with registered number

3937466 on 25 February 2000)

Share code on AIM: PAF

Share code on JSE: PAN

ISIN: GB0004300496

(“Pan African Resources” or “the Company” or “the Group”)

ANNOUNCEMENT REGARDING SOUTH AFRICAN 21-DAY LOCKDOWN AND SUSPENSION OF 2020
PRODUCTION GUIDANCE

Shareholders are referred to the South African Government directive of
 Monday evening, 23 March 2020, enacted in terms of the South African
Disaster Management Act (the “Order”), which requires a 21-day national
lockdown, effective midnight 26 March 2020 to midnight 16 April 2020 (the
“National Lockdown”), in order to contain the spread of the COVID-19
(coronavirus) pandemic.  The full Government announcement can be found at
http://www.thepresidency.gov.za.

The National Lockdown requires all non-essential businesses and activities to
be suspended, with people confined to their homes.  The lockdown will
therefore impact all South African mining operations, including the operations
of Pan African Resources.  Under the Order, “companies whose operations
require continuous processes such as furnaces or underground mine operations
will be required to make arrangements for care and maintenance to avoid damage
to their continuous operations”.

The health and safety of its employees and communities are of paramount
importance to Pan African and the Group has already implemented a number of
measures to mitigate the risk of the Covid-19 virus spreading at its
operations. The Group is implementing contingency plans to ensure that all
operations are safeguarded and secured during the National Lockdown period. 
The Group is also engaging with all stakeholders, including the South African
Government, to obtain further detail on permitted activities during the
National Lockdown.

The Group’s liquidity position is robust, with immediately available
facilities of U$20m. In addition, Rand Merchant Bank has already agreed,
subject to final credit approval, to defer the last three tranches of the
existing gold loan’s redemption, constituting 5000 ounces (U$7.8m), to the
first quarter of the 2021 financial year. Furthermore, the Group has access to
an additional gold loan facilities of approximately U$11m, should it be
required. In the event that the National Lockdown is extended for a prolonged
period, the Company will look to reschedule its short term senior debt
obligations. The Company’s banking Consortium has also confirmed its support
for the Group should further liquidity be required during this period.

In consideration of the National Lockdown and its impact on the Group’s
operations, FY2020 production guidance is suspended until the Company is in a
better position to quantify the full impact of the lockdown. The Company will
continue to monitor the situation, and will inform shareholders as new
information becomes available. 

Cobus Loots, CEO of Pan African Resources, commented: “Pan African supports
all measures to limit the impact of COVID-19 on the people of South Africa. 
Even though the National Lockdown will impact negatively on our operational
performance in the short term, our Group is well positioned and our operations
robust.  In South African Rand terms, the gold price is now at a record
level, and we look forward to resuming full-scale operations to the benefit of
all of our stakeholders as soon as it is possible and safe to do so”.   

Rosebank

24 March 2020

For further information on Pan African, please visit the Company’s website
at www.panafricanresources.com

 Contact information                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
 Corporate Office The Firs Office Building 2nd Floor, Office 204 Cnr. Cradock and Biermann Avenues Rosebank, Johannesburg South Africa Office: + 27 (0)11 243 2900 info@paf.co.za  Registered Office Suite 31 Second Floor 107 Cheapside London EC2V 6DN United Kingdom Office: + 44 (0)20 7796 8644  
 Cobus Loots Pan African Resources PLC Chief Executive Officer Office: + 27 (0)11 243 2900                                                                                         Deon Louw Pan African Resources PLC Financial Director Office: + 27 (0)11 243 2900                                 
 Phil Dexter/Jane Kirton St James's Corporate Services Limited Company Secretary Office: + 44 (0)20 7796 8644                                                                      John Prior Numis Securities Limited Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker Office: +44 (0)20 7260 1000                 
 Ciska Kloppers Questco Corporate Advisory Proprietary Limited JSE Sponsor Office: + 27 (0)11 011 9200                                                                             Ross Allister/David McKeown Peel Hunt LLP Joint Broker Office: +44 (0)20 7418 8900                                 
 Julian Gwillim Aprio Strategic Communications Public & Investor Relations SA Office: +27 (0)11 880 0037                                                                           Thomas Rider/Neil Elliot BMO Capital Markets Limited Joint Broker Office: +44 (0)20 7236 1010                      
 Website: www.panafricanresources.com                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 



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