REG - Vast Resources PLC - Tajikistan Update

Vast ResourcesAnnouncement

19/10/2023 07:00

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RNS Number : 5952Q  Vast Resources PLC  19 October 2023

Vast Resources plc / Ticker: VAST / Index: AIM / Sector: Mining

 

 

19 October 2023

Vast Resources plc

('Vast' or the 'Company')

 

Tajikistan Update:

Start of first shipment of lead and zinc at Takob Processing Plant

MoU regarding Aprelevka Gold Mines

 

Vast Resources plc ("Vast"), the AIM-listed mining company, is pleased to
announce an update on the Company's activities in Tajikistan.

 

Takob Processing Project

Loading of the first shipment of 136 Dry Metric tonnes of lead and zinc
concentrate has commenced for delivery to our off-taker Trafigura. This is a
significant milestone for the project as the Company completed all the
necessary logistics for shipments of concentrate out of Tajikistan.  Now that
the logistics are in place the Company envisages that there will be regular
shipments in the future.

 

MoU with Central Asian Minerals and Resources (CAMR)

The Company has signed on behalf of Bay Square Pacific Ltd (Bay Square), a
company incorporated in Mauritius and owned by an existing strategic partner
of the Company in Tajikistan as referred to in the Company RNS of 15 August
2022, a legally binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with CAMR,  a
company incorporated in the Isle of Man under which Bay Square will acquire
the entire share capital of Gulf International Minerals Ltd (Gulf), a company
incorporated in the United Kingdom.  The completion of the purchase is
understood not to be dependent on any government approval in Tajikistan and is
conditional only on the completion of satisfactory due diligence to be
completed by 30 November 2023 or such later date as is agreed to be
undertaken/supervised by Vast on behalf of Bay Square.

 

Gulf, which at completion will have no liabilities, has a 49% interest in a
joint venture with the Government of Tajikistan (holding 51%) which owns the
Joint Tajik-Canadian Limited Liability Company Aprelevka (Aprelevka).  Under
the joint venture agreement, Gulf has the right to exercise management over
Aprelevka.

 

Aprelevka holds four active mining licences located along the Tien Shan Belt
that extends through Central Asia, currently producing approximately 11,600oz
of gold and 116,000 oz of silver per year.  It is the intention of the
Company to assist in increasing Aprelevka's production from these four mines
closer to the historical peak production rates of approximately 27,000oz of
gold and 250,000oz of silver per year from the operational mines.

Two additional mines have been explored, and eight further licenced mining
areas that are currently being prospected have shown positive results.

 

The budget required to carry out the present intended development at the mines
which, under the agreement between Vast and Bay Square, will be funded by Bay
Square under an interest free loan repayable in priority to any dividends
being paid by Aprelevka.

 

Vast has been requested by Bay Square to carry out, at the cost of Bay Square,
due diligence on Gulf and on Aprelevka; to negotiate the acquisition of Gulf;
and post completion to manage the mining and development activities of
Aprelevka for a 5-year period.  In consideration, Vast will be entitled to a
10% share of the earnings before interest, tax and depreciation that Gulf
receives from its 49% interest in Aprelevka.  Vast will also have the right
at any time from 1 January 2025 until the end of the 5-year management period
(i) to convert its earnings share entitlement into a 10% equity interest in
Gulf and (ii) to acquire up to 20% of the share capital of Gulf at market
value at the time of acquisition, market value to be determined by the
auditors in default of an agreement between the parties.

 

Andrew Prelea, Chief Executive Officer at Vast Resources PLC, commented:

 

"We are delighted at the progress we have made in Tajikistan, both in terms of
the work carried out by our team on the ground who have worked tirelessly to
ensure that all the logistics are in place in preparation of our first
shipment to Trafigura, as well as the MOU with Central Asia Minerals and
Resources.

 

"Our success in country and our collaborative approach to operating the Takob
processing facility was key in securing the MOU with CAMR and demonstrates the
Board's ability to increase our earnings and enhance shareholder value, whilst
establishing ourselves further in Tajikistan."

 

Further information on Aprelevka

Two Canadian CIM-compliant NI 43-101 reports have been published on the
Aprelevka assets; a 2003 Technical Report, and a Competent Person's Report
produced in 2011 to support the Admission Document of another company that
previously held an interest in Aprelevka.  Both reports are now considered
substantially out-of-date in terms of mineral resources given production since
those reports were released.

The operator undertook further prospecting and exploration between 2019-2022.

 

The new results shown below are NAEN code-compliant (but are not JORC
compliant) from 2019 to 2022 and are in accordance with the Tajikistan Mineral
Resource legalisation (source: Exploration and Prospecting Report Gulf). The
Company will be engaging technical consultants to provide independent due
diligence. In the meantime, the figures set out below should be viewed with
caution and as background information only.

 

 New Resources Existing Mines non JORC compliant
 C1+C1+C2+P1+Dashti P2
                   Total
                   Ore                       Gold grammes   Gold Oz                    Silver grammes                         Silver Oz
 Aprelevka                 4,719,294           12,346,506           397,633                      196,856,000                            6,339,968
 Burgunda
 Ikkizhelon
 Kizil-Cheku

 New Resources Existing Licences non JORC compliant
 C2+P1+P2
                   Total

                   Ore                       Gold grammes   Gold Oz                    Silver grammes                         Silver Oz
 Kushmullo                 4,853,879           10,224,838           329,302                        88,406,000                           2,847,214
 Tashkeseken I-II
 Taganasov
 Okkur

 New Resources Existing Prospecting Licences non JORC compliant
 P1+P2
                   Total
                   Ore                       Gold grammes   Gold Oz                    Silver grammes                         Silver Oz
 Dashti            25,766,200                34,300,800     1,106,477                  187,388,000                            6,044,774
 Bogishamol
 Kyshalisoy
 Tutli IV
 Oshoba

 Combined Total of Existing Resources, Exploration and Prospecting Licences Non
 JORC Compliant
 Thousand t          35,339.419              t                      35,339,419         t                    35,339,419        Ore Tonnes
 kgs                 56,872.144              g                      56,872,144         Oz                      1,834,585      Au
 tonnes                    794.206           g                    794,206,000          Oz                   25,619,548        Ag

 

A December 2020 corporate presentation by a previous operator suggested that
there may be the potential for a sizeable increase in gold mineralization.

 

The table below shows historical production by JTC LLC "Aprelevka" Bahori
since 2011.

2011-2022 Ore extraction Production figures. Please not the first C1 reference
refers to the reserve category and the second С1заб & С2заб
reference refers to the resource category under the NAEN Code.

*Sourced from  from JTC LLC "Aprelevka" Bahori

 No.   Year                NAEN                                Ore extracted  Metal
       Inventory category                                       tonnes        Gold, Oz  Silver, Oz
 1     2011                В+С1                                121,080        24,140    133,811
 2     2012                В+С1+С2                             121,271        17,755    168,406
 3     2013                В+С1+С2                             100,260        27,444    202,646
 4     2014                В+С1+С2                             94,465         20,462    258,299
 5     2015                В+С1+С2                             107,553        23,189    253,541
 6     2016                В+С1+С2                             141,616        21,441    206,022
 7     2017                В+С1+С2+С1заб.+С2заб.               125,554        22,244    218,754
 8     2018                В+С1+ С2+С1заб.+С2заб.              123,738        18,253    209,816
 9     2019                В+ С1+ С2+С1заб.+С2заб.             94,772         13,615    231,646
 10    2020                В+ С1+ С2+С1заб.+С2заб.             139,895        12,331    206,183
 11    2021                В+ С1+ С2+С1заб.+С2заб.             116,063        10,933    213,610
 12    2022                В+С1+ С2+С1заб.+С2заб.              82,516         8,858     151,494

 Total:                    В+С1+ С2+С1заб.+С2заб.              1,368,783      220,666   2,454,227

 

Aprelevka Summary financial information for the year ended 31 December 2022:

                                         US$
 As at 31 December 2022
 Total assets                                    15,425,802
 Net current assets                                1,291,970
 Total equity                                      9,601,333
 Long-term liabilities                                           -

 Year ended 31 December 2022
 Turnover                                        16,044,311
 Net loss                                            (818,929)

NOTE: The above figures have been derived from the JTCLLC "Aprelevka"
Financial Statements, 2022, on which the Auditors provided an audit report
which was qualified due to non- attendance at the stocktake.

 

The Tien Shan Belt

The Tien Shan Belt, where Aprelevka's precious metals' assets are located,
extends for over 2,500km, from western Uzbekistan, through Tajikistan,
Kyrgyzstan and southern Kazakhstan to western China, and represents the
central part of the Altaid Orogenic Collage (Sengör et al, 1993; Sengör and
Natalin, 1996; Yakubchuk, 2004) of central Eurasia. The Tien Shan Belt is host
to a number of large gold deposits and gold mines.

 

Competent Person

The technical information in this announcement has been reviewed by, and the
forward-looking technical views are based on, information interpreted by Mr
Nicolae Turdean, our Romanian Country Manager and a full-time employee of the
Company. Mr Nicolae Turdean is a Qualified Person who is a Member in good
standing of the:

·      Romanian National Association of Specialists in Mining Industry

·      General Association of Romanian Engineers

·      Romanian National Committee of Mining Engineers

Nicolae has 40 years' experience in the Romanian mining industry. He was most
recently President of the National Agency for Mineral Resources.  Prior to
this, Nicolae was the Chief Executive of Cupru Min SA, the Romanian
state-owned copper producer. Nicolae has worked closely with the Ministry of
Economy and Commerce, the Minister of Economy and Finance, and the World Bank,
as well as serving on the Board of Administration for a number of companies.
Nicolae holds both a Bachelor of Mining Science and a MSc. in the Management
of Mining Activities from the Technical University of Petrosani in Romania.

The technical information and forward-looking views have also been reviewed by
and interpreted by Negru Vlad Andrei, Chief Geologist for geological and
geotechnical consultants Formin SA.  The information is in the course of
further review by SRK.

Important Notices

This announcement contains 'forward-looking statements' concerning the Company
that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Generally, the words 'will',
'may', 'should', 'continue', 'believes', 'targets', 'plans', 'expects',
'aims', 'intends', 'anticipates' or similar expressions or negatives thereof
identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve
risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially
from those expressed in the forward-looking statements. Many of these risks
and uncertainties relate to factors that are beyond the Company's ability to
control or estimate precisely. The Company cannot give any assurance that such
forward-looking statements will prove to have been correct. The reader is
cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements,
which speak only as of the date of this announcement. The Company does not
undertake any obligation to update or revise publicly any of the
forward-looking statements set out herein, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent legally
required.

Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) Disclosure

Certain information contained within this announcement is deemed by the
Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse
Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014 as it forms part of UKDomestic Law by virtue of
the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 ("UK MAR") until the release of this
announcement.

**ENDS**

 

For further information, visit www.vastplc.com or please contact:

 

 Vast Resources plc                                    www.vastplc.com

Andrew Prelea (CEO)
+44 (0) 20 7846 0974

 Andrew Hall (CCO)

 Beaumont Cornish - Financial & Nominated Advisor      www.beaumontcornish.com (http://www.beaumontcornish.com)

 Roland Cornish                                        +44 (0) 20 7628 3396

 James Biddle

 Shore Capital Stockbrokers Limited  - Joint Broker    www.shorecapmarkets.co.uk

                                                      +44 (0) 20 7408 4050
 Toby Gibbs / James Thomas (Corporate Advisory)

 Axis Capital Markets Limited - Joint Broker           www.axcap247.com

Richard Hutchinson                                    +44 (0) 20 3206 0320

 St Brides Partners Limited                            www.stbridespartners.co.uk (http://www.stbridespartners.co.uk)

 Susie Geliher                                         +44 (0) 20 7236 1177

 

 

ABOUT VAST RESOURCES PLC

 

Vast Resources plc is a United Kingdom AIM listed mining company with mines
and projects in Romania, Tajikistan, and Zimbabwe.

 

In Romania, the Company is focused on the rapid advancement of high-quality
projects by recommencing production at previously producing mines.

 

The Company's Romanian portfolio includes 100% interest in Vast Baita Plai SA
which owns 100% of the producing Baita Plai Polymetallic Mine, located in the
Apuseni Mountains, Transylvania, an area which hosts Romania's largest
polymetallic mines. The mine has a JORC compliant Reserve & Resource
Report which underpins the initial mine production life of approximately 3-4
years with an in-situ total mineral resource of 15,695 tonnes copper
equivalent with a further 1.8M-3M tonnes exploration target. The Company is
now working on confirming an enlarged exploration target of up to 5.8M tonnes.

 

The Company also owns the Manaila Polymetallic Mine in Romania, which the
Company is looking to bring back into production following a period of care
and maintenance. The Company has also been granted the Manaila Carlibaba
Extended Exploitation Licence that will allow the Company to re-examine the
exploitation of the mineral resources within the larger Manaila Carlibaba
licence area.

 

Vast has an interest in a joint venture company which provides exposure to a
near term revenue opportunity from the Takob Mine processing facility in
Tajikistan. The Takob Mine opportunity, which is 100% financed, will provide
Vast with a 12.25 percent royalty on overall sales of non-ferrous concentrate
and any other metals produced.

 

Glossary

 

 

NAEN CODE - Russian Code for the Public Reporting of Exploration Results,
Mineral Resources, Mineral Reserves.

 

 

 

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