15
March 2024
Critical Mineral Resources
PLC
('CMR' or the
'Company')
Placing to raise
£0.25 million to develop high-priority Morrocan
permit
Commodity trading
opportunity
Critical Mineral Resources plc
('CMR' or the 'Company'), the exploration and development company
focused on critical minerals in Morocco, announces that it has
conditionally raised approximately £0.25 million (before
expenses) by way of a placing (the 'Placing') of 12,242,252
new ordinary shares in the Company ('New Shares') and 8,018,646
ordinary shares held in the Company's name ('Treasury Shares') at
a price of 1.25 pence per new Ordinary Share (the
'Placing Price').
Novum Securities ('Novum') is acting
as the sole broker in connection with the Placing.
Highlights
·
Placing to conditionally raise approximately £0.25
million through the sale of New Shares and Treasury Shares at 1.25p
per share.
·
Net proceeds of the Placing will enable the
Company to advance the Ifri Project ('Ifri') in the
Anti-Atlas which has delivered very positive initial results.
Prospecting by CMR's geological team demonstrates copper and silver
in multiple quartz vein and shear zone structures with some zones
assaying for gold.
·
The Company is also in discussions with a leading
global commodity trading group that would like CMR to act as its
Moroccan partner to source and supply certain minerals for its
global supply chain. Trading in metals and potentially industrial
minerals, either in a partnership or individually, provides the
Company with an opportunity for near-term cash flows.
·
Ifri Project located in an alteration hotspot and
initial channel sampling included an assay of 3.1% copper and 17
g/t silver.
·
The Ifri Project is in an active mining belt which
hosts four active and seven previously operating mines of copper,
silver and gold.
Background to the Placing and use of
proceeds
On 16 January 2024, the Company
announced it had acquired 26 exploration permits
in central Morocco prospective for copper, antimony, tungsten, lead-zinc and gold
via the acquisition of Hesperis Resources
SARL, a Moroccan company. The acquisition transforms the Morrocan
footprint of CMR's incubator portfolio and its exposure to a wider
range of critical metals and minerals. It also cements CMR's
position as one of the region's leading developers of critical
minerals.
Ifri Project mineralisation
CMR remains focused on developing
Morrocan clean energy and critical minerals projects that offer
significant scale potential. Accordingly, and following in-depth
analysis, the Company has concluded the Ifri Project meets these
criteria. Initial prospecting at the Ifri site located multiple
large copper mineralised shear structures with copper oxide, copper
sulphide, silver and gold mineralisation.
Net proceeds from the Placing will
enable a complete mapping and geochemical survey of the project
area. Ifri benefits from established local road and power
infrastructure.
Morocco operations
In the last 9 months, the Company
has gained significant momentum in Morroco. It now has a
considerable geological understanding of the region's potential as
a global commodities hub. Furthermore, it has extensive
relationships within the mining sector at a domestic level. This
regional Intellectual Property and know-how has led to the Company
receiving interest from a leading global commodity trading group to
become its Morrocan partner and supply it with commodities from the
region. CMR is now in discussions to
formalise the partnership.
PDMR Dealing & KM Securities Pty Ltd
KM Securities Pty Ltd ('KM
Securities'), in which Russell Thomson, a Non-Executive
Director of the Company is a 50% shareholder, acquired 2,000,000
ordinary shares in the Company as part of this Placing.
Charlie Long, Chief Executive Officer of CMR PLC,
commented:
"I
would like to thank our existing shareholders for their support and
welcome new shareholders to the register. The net proceeds from the
Fundraising will accelerate the significant Morrocan opportunities
CMR has successfully created and advanced in recent months. As a
specialist Morrocan exploration and development company, we remain
focused on developing projects and opportunities that offer the
prospect for meaningful production of critical commodities and
near-term cash generation. We are delighted with our recent
progress and are confident the fundraise will further enhance our
Morrocan momentum."
Critical Mineral Resources
plc
Charles Long, Chief Executive
Officer
|
info@cmrplc.com
|
Novum Securities
Jon Belliss
|
+44 (0) 20 7399 9425
|
Hudson Sandler (Financial
PR)
Charlie Jack
|
+44 (0) 207 796 4133
|
Notes To Editors
Critical Mineral Resources (CMR) plc
is an exploration and development company focused on developing
assets that produce key commodities essential for renewable energy,
battery storage and electrification to support the clean energy
revolution. These commodities are widely recognised as being at the
start of a supply and demand supercycle.
CMR is building a diversified
portfolio of high-quality metals exploration and development
projects in Morocco, focusing on copper, nickel, manganese, cobalt,
and potentially rare earths. CMR identified Morocco as an ideal
mining-friendly jurisdiction that meets its acquisition and
operational criteria. The country is perfectly located to supply
raw materials to Europe and possesses excellent prospective
geology, infrastructure and attractive permitting, tax and royalty
conditions. In 2023, the Company acquired an 80% stake in leading
Moroccan exploration and geological services company Atlantic
Research Minerals SARL.
Since taking over the CMR in 2022,
the current management has completed a comprehensive strategic
review and restructuring of the business and implemented its clear
strategy to maximise exploration and resource development
opportunities for the benefit of all stakeholders. The Company is
listed on the London Stock Exchange (CMRS.L). More information
regarding the Company can be found at www.cmrplc.com