Strategic Minerals PLC Leigh Creek Copper Mine Update (9529E)
July 12 2021 - 8:01AM
UK Regulatory
TIDMSML
RNS Number : 9529E
Strategic Minerals PLC
12 July 2021
Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) Disclosure
Certain information contained in this announcement would have
been deemed inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of
Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 until the release of this
announcement.
12 July 2021
Strategic Minerals plc
("Strategic Minerals" or the "Company")
Leigh Creek Copper Mine Update
Conditional PEPR Approval
Strategic Minerals plc (AIM: SML; USOTC: SMCDY), a profitable,
producing mineral company is pleased to confirm that its wholly
owned subsidiary, Leigh Creek Copper Mine ("LCCM"), has been
granted a conditional approval from the Department of Energy and
Mining of South Australia ("DEM") for its Programme for
Environmental Protection and Rehabilitation ("PEPR") on the
Paltridge North deposit ("Paltridge North") MPEPR2020/032.
DEM approved the PEPR application subject to reviewing:
-- LCCM's final plans for identifying and managing Potentially Acid Forming ("PAF") material.
-- The cover design for Paltridge North Waste Rock Dump ("WRD") and heap leach pads.
-- Visual amenity associated with the Paltridge North WRD.
-- Plans for post completion of surface water management structures.
-- Continued liaison with Traditional Owners of the land.
-- The groundwater monitoring programme which is to be submitted
to and approved by the Minister of Water Resources.
As part of the approval, the DEM requires:
-- An environmental security deposit of AUD $3.7M.
-- Native Vegetation Fund contribution via a Significant
Environmental Benefit payment of $81,398.52 to offset for native
vegetation clearing.
To a large extent, the conditions associated with the approval
were expected and reflected on LCCM's PEPR application. Whilst the
bond requirement is larger than catered for in the Company's
financial modelling of the project, the Company is comfortable with
this level given the current overall amount of funding being
sought.
The Company considers that the cost of funding the additional
environmental security deposit will have a negligible effect on the
profitability of its planned accessing and processing of material
at both Paltridge North and Lynda/Lorna Doone (the "Project"). This
impact will be more than offset as current market parameters
indicate an increase of around 20% in the LCCM's Project
profitability, reflecting the current copper prices and the AUD/USD
exchange rate (US $4-28/lb and 0.7500 respectively) compared to the
previous levels employed (US $4-00/lb and 0.7800) and the Project's
50% operating margin.
Commenting, John Peters, Managing Director of Strategic
Minerals, said:
"The conditional approval of the PEPR was as expected and is an
important milestone in restarting full-time production at the
Mountain of Light plant at Leigh Creek.
"Work will begin on fulfilling the conditions, some of which are
already underway, and the Company will report on its plans in due
course.
"In the interim, the Company will continue to seek debt style
funding for the Project and has had a number of encouraging
meetings with potential funders. Increased forecasted Project
profitability and planned exploration has significantly improved
the Project's attractiveness and is assisting attempts to secure
funding, especially as planned facility repayment is forecast to
occur within two years of drawdown (inclusive of funds applied for
exploration purposes). "
For further information, please contact:
+61 (0) 414 727
Strategic Minerals plc 965
John Peters
Managing Director
Website: www.strategicminerals.net
Email: info@strategicminerals.net
Follow Strategic Minerals on:
Vox Markets: https://www.voxmarkets.co.uk/company/SML/
Twitter: @SML_Minerals
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/strategic-minerals-plc
+44 (0) 20 3470
SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP 0470
Nominated Adviser and Broker
Matthew Johnson
Ewan Leggat
Charlie Bouverat
Notes to Editors
Strategic Minerals plc is an AIM-quoted, profitable operating
minerals company actively developing projects tailored to materials
expected to benefit from strong demand in the future. It has an
operation in the United States of America along with development
projects in the UK and Australia. The Company is focused on
utilising its operating cash flows, along with capital raisings, to
develop high quality projects aimed at supplying the metals and
minerals likely to be highly demanded in the future.
In September 2011, Strategic Minerals acquired the distribution
rights to the Cobre magnetite tailings dam project in New Mexico,
USA, a cash-generating asset, which it brought into production in
2012 and which continues to provide a revenue stream for the
Company. This operating revenue stream is utilised to cover company
overheads and invest in development projects aimed at supplying the
metals and minerals likely to be highly demanded in the future.
In May 2016, the Company entered into an agreement with New Age
Exploration Limited and, in February 2017, acquired 50% of the
Redmoor Tin/Tungsten project in Cornwall, UK. The bulk of the funds
from the Company's investment were utilised to complete a drilling
programme that year. The drilling programme resulted in a
significant upgrade of the resource. This was followed in 2018 with
a 12-hole 2018 drilling programme has now been completed and the
resource update that resulted was announced in February 2019. In
March 2019, the Company entered into arrangements to acquire the
balance of the Redmoor Tin/Tungsten project which was settled on 24
July 2019 by way of a vendor loan which was fully repaid on 26 June
2020.
In March 2018, the Company completed the acquisition of the
Leigh Creek Copper Mine situated in the copper rich belt of South
Austra lia and brought the project temporarily into production in
April 2019. The project has been granted a conditional approval by
the South Australian Government for a Program for Environmental
Protection and Rehabilitation (PEPR) in relation to mining of its
Paltridge North deposit and processing at the Mountain of Light
installation.
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