TIDMCMRS
RNS Number : 7051F
Caerus Mineral Resources PLC
12 July 2023
12 July 2023
Caerus Mineral Resources PLC
('Caerus' or the 'Company')
Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31
December 2022
Caerus Mineral Resources plc (LON:CMRS), the exploration and
resource development company focused on developing mineral
resources to support the global drive for 'Clean Energy' is pleased
to announce its audited Report and Accounts for the year ended 31
December 2022. The Company intends to hold a General Meeting in the
near future to approve the Report and Accounts.
The Report and Accounts are now available on the website at
http://www.caerusmineralresources.com/ and a copy will also shortly
be made available on the FCA's National Storage Mechanism ('NSM')
in electronic format, as required under DTR obligations. The
Chairman's report is provided below.
The Company has applied to the FCA for restoration of its
listing and will issue another RNS once restoration has been
approved.
Chairman's Report
2022 was a tumultuous year for Caerus Mineral Resources ( ' CMR
' ). The composition of the Board changed significantly, the
Company agreed to divest its portfolio of assets, new corporate
governance structures and protocols were implemented, and,
critically, the Company's strategy was refined.
Following my appointment in May, my primary objective was to
ensure that shareholder value was being created. It quickly became
apparent that the Company's portfolio of assets faced significant
challenges. Accordingly, we initiated an operational and strategic
review of the business.
The Company had previously reported positive operational
developments regarding the Troulli and Kalavasos assets. However,
it was soon clear that these projects faced fundamental and likely
unresolvable challenges. The Troulli project, whilst offering good
long-term potential, was destined to require extensive capital
expenditure and significant management time, which outweighed the
potential upside the asset provided. Following a thorough review,
it was decided that Troulli was unlikely to be large enough to be
sufficiently economically attractive.
The Company's previous management believed there was significant
scope to build a copper resource in the Kalavasos Project, where
the Company held four licences. These licenses required approvals
from the Cyprus Ministry of Defence (the ' MOD ' ) to develop the
assets, approvals the former management believed would be granted.
At the request of the new Board, meetings with the Cypriot Mines
Service Department were conducted over the summer of 2022, during
which it became apparent the approvals would not be forthcoming as
the MOD required the land for long-term purposes.
Further headwinds were experienced as the new management
evaluated the governance structures and specific contracts relating
to the Company's joint Cypriot venture with Bezant Resources Plc.
The Company also reviewed the structure of its arrangement with BMG
Resources Limited, a minority shareholder in CMR's subsidiary
company TDL. TDL was responsible for maintaining and progressing
several Cypriot projects. Evidently, the structure of those
agreements, as signed, did not uphold shareholders' best interests
and further justified the need for action regarding the Company's
Cypriot strategy and assets.
The immediate outcome of these investigations was twofold.
Firstly, the Company decided to make a strategic change of focus
away from its Cyprus assets. This resulted in agreeing to the
disposal of the assets in September, with the Company maintaining
exposure to potential upside from the development of the Troulli
project. Secondly, CMR enhanced its corporate governance and
implemented new structures to ensure the Company always operates to
high standards with all stakeholders. Reflecting this, and
following CMR's investigation into certain actions and commercial
decisions made by the previous management, the Company achieved
settlement terms with former directors. The outcome of this was the
return of most of their CMR shares to the Company for no
consideration and the termination of their warrants.
When CMR took ownership with the gifting of the former
director's shares, their market value was approximately GBP600,000.
However, IFRS accounting rules do not appear to have conceived of
this scenario, so we cannot report a profit on these shares.
Similarly, the warrant cancellations, under IFRS 2, must be
initially fully recognised in the current year P&L as a charge
and, despite being cancelled, cannot be reversed in the current
year. The total charge of GBP167,485, in relation to cancelled
warrants, was recycled through the profit and loss reserve account
and is shown in the 'Statement of Changes In Equity'. The warrant
cancellation also has the advantage of reducing the shareholder's
dilution.
Corporate governance has been further enhanced with the recent
appointment of Adrian England as our Non-Executive Independent
Director and new legal advisors.
Outlook
The Board believes considerable shareholder value can be
delivered if the Company remains focused on its strategy of taking
opportunities arising from and aligned to supporting the European
electric vehicle supply chain and its compliance with increasing
global legislation.
CMR is committed to supplying the clean energy sector and will
look to maximise opportunities created through the Company's
alliance with EV Metals Group plc ( ' EVM ' ) . However, in
addition to the EVM alliance, the board is able to draw on its
significant experience within the mining sector and the
management's extensive network and deep understanding of the
industry's dynamics. Accordingly, alongside opportunities that
emerge from the EVM alliance, the board has been evaluating
opportunities from its own network that fit its strategy. As the
market recognises the long-term production deficit for commodities
required to supply the EV transition, not all vendor valuation
expectations meet CMR's high hurdle of delivering long-term
sustainable value. We continue to ensure rigorous financial
discipline when evaluating opportunities, and several opportunities
in recent months have not progressed. However, in the first six
months of the year, the Company has built several new and exciting
relationships with owners of high-quality upstream and midstream
assets where discussions regarding partnership and investment are
ongoing.
In recent weeks, CMR has decided to enter Morocco, which stands
out as an extremely attractive jurisdiction for upstream and
potentially midstream battery materials projects. With deposits of
copper, manganese, nickel and potentially other clean technology
metals and minerals, Morocco has proven well-mineralised geology
yet is largely under-explored. Morocco's main trading partner is
the European Union, and its modern infrastructure, proximity to
Europe and political stability make it an excellent country for CMR
to operate in. For a modest sum, CMR has agreed to acquire 80% of a
local Moroccan exploration company, led by a highly regarded
geologist with extensive knowledge of the region. This will enable
CMR to enter into strategic upstream joint ventures in addition to
creating its own portfolio of 100% owned projects. I look forward
to updating you as our Moroccan portfolio and partnerships
progress.
In December, we announced the payment of a deposit of GBP500,000
to secure the exclusivity of RIWAQ and its portfolio of 146
exploration licences in Saudi Arabia. In May, we completed our
review of the RIWAQ portfolio and took the difficult decision not
to pursue the opportunity. This was due to several factors,
including the early stage of the projects and the very large size
of the portfolio, which our Board decided would be too large a
drain on CMR's resources. This deposit was received back post the
year end. The Company is not currently planning to draw down on the
existing CLN facility which is in place with EVM.
I want to thank the Department of International Trade ( ' DIT '
) for its help in the U.K. and overseas territories, where we
continue to evaluate opportunities. Our success will enable the
U.K. market to benefit from the essential commodities we can
deliver for the security of a critical supply chain.
2022 was a year of turmoil, though significant progress was made
to stabilise the Company and ensure governance failings are not
repeated. Beyond the Board and I would like to thank the FCA for
assisting us in steering our way through a very difficult path for
the Company. I am pleased to report all these issues are behind us
now. The Company is now focused on developing excellent
opportunities aligned with its clear strategy. Importantly, we are
making meaningful progress. I look forward to providing our
investors with updates over the next six months that return the
Company to growth and value creation for all stakeholders.
For further information, please contact:
Caerus Mineral Resources plc info@caerusmineralresources.com
Chris Lambert, Executive Chairman via Hudson Sandler +44 (0)
Charles Long, Chief Executive Officer 207 796 4133
Novum Securities
Jon Belliss +44 (0) 20 7399 9425
--------------------------------
Hudson Sandler (Financial PR)
Charlie Jack +44 (0) 207 796 4133
--------------------------------
, 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 or visit 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.
END
ACSDZGMNVMMGFZM
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 12, 2023 02:00 ET (06:00 GMT)
Critical Mineral Resources (LSE:CMRS)
Gráfica de Acción Histórica
De Abr 2024 a May 2024
Critical Mineral Resources (LSE:CMRS)
Gráfica de Acción Histórica
De May 2023 a May 2024