Net Asset Value(s)

RNS Number : 8539U

Baker Steel Resources Trust Ltd

04 August 2022

 

BAKER STEEL RESOURCES TRUST LIMITED

(Incorporated in Guernsey with registered number 51576 under the provisions of The Companies (Guernsey) Law, 2008 as amended)

4 August 2022

29 July 2022 Unaudited NAV Statement

Net Asset Value

Baker Steel Resources Trust Limited (the "Company") announces its unaudited net asset value per share at 29 July 2022:

Net asset value per Ordinary Share: 80.2 pence.

The NAV per share has decreased by 0.2% against the unaudited NAV at 30 June 2022 with the partial recovery of Tungsten West's share price on the AIM market following the announcement of its revised development plan being balanced by the reduction in the carrying value of Bilboes Gold following the agreement to sell that company, (see below), and a further fall in the share price of First Tin PLC on the London Stock Exchange

The Company had a total of 106,462,502 Ordinary Shares in issue with a further 700,000 shares held in treasury as at 29 July 2022.

Investment Update

The Company's top 10 investments were as follows as a percentage of NAV:

	29 July 2022	31 December 2021
Futura Resources Ltd	27.6%	18.1%
Cemos Group plc	20.3%	18.6%
Bilboes Gold Limited	14.5%	13.1%
Tungsten West Plc	8.7%	14.7%
Kanga Potash	5.5%	4.1%
First Tin plc	4.8%	7.7%
Polar Acquisition Ltd	4.4%	7.5%
Nussir ASA	3.6%	3.6%
Silver X Mining Corporation	3.1%	2.8%
Prism Diversified	1.5%	1.1%
Listed Precious Metal Shares	3.0%	3.3%
Other Investments	3.0%	3.3%
Net Cash, Equivalents and Accruals	0.0%	1.1%

Tungsten West PLC ("Tungsten West")

On 19th July 2022 Tungsten West announced it had concluded a re-evaluation of the options for restoring production at the Hemerdon Mine back into production and announced its new development plan (the "Plan"). The Plan evolved following Tungsten West's announcement in April 2022 that it was pausing its original plan which had been based on the 2021 Bankable Feasibility Study (BFS) in response to the global energy price crisis and the general inflationary environment for construction materials faced. The Plan involves a new ramp-up schedule, crushing strategy, and operating parameters for ore sorting, together with a re-purposing of equipment within the processing plant, and the production of a different specification of final tungsten concentrate product. The outcome of the Plan is a lower cap-ex requirement and a much lower diesel and power consumption whilst delivering profitable operating margins.

Hemerdon will now aim to process 2.1 mtpa of ore in year one, 2.6 mtpa in year two, before ramping up to steady state production of 3.5 mtpa throughput in year three (the BFS envisaged first year production of 2.7 mtpa rising to steady state throughput of 3.5 mtpa). This should result in tungsten oxide in concentrate production of 2,200t, 3,000t, 3,900t in years 1, 2, and 3 respectively.

The cap-ex estimate for the new Plan is estimated to be in a range of £26m - £36m, compared to the BFS capex estimate of £35 million. The revised estimate at the time of the April 2022 pause announcement was £54m. At 30 June 2022, Tungsten West had cash on hand of £22.9m. Allowing for contingencies and working capital costs Tungsten West will seek to raise debt or other non-equity capital and is in discussions with financing partners to provide this additional capital.

Bilboes Gold Ltd ("Bilboes")

As announced on 21 July 2022, the Company and the other shareholders of Bilboes have signed an agreement to sell Bilboes to NYSE, AIM and Victoria Falls Exchange listed gold producer Caledonia Mining Corporation Plc. The Company's share of the consideration for its 24.2% shareholding in Bilboes will be 800,000 shares in Caledonia together with a 1% net smelter royalty ("NSR") over the future gold production from the Bilboes properties. Completion of the transaction is subject to a number of conditions precedent, in particular Zimbabwean Government approvals, which are expected to be satisfied before the end of 2022.

The Company believes that the Bilboes project has a very good prospect of becoming a successful gold mine in the near term, with potential to expand its reserves and extend its mine life over the medium term. It thus opted for an ongoing direct interest in the mine through the NSR. Should the ultimate proposed production rate of 168,000 ounces of gold per annum be achieved the NSR would generate some US$2.6 million per annum for the Company at current gold prices.

As a result of the proposed transaction, at 29 July 2022 Bilboes has been valued on the basis of a development risk discounted economic model for the NSR and in accordance with the Company's valuation policies, at a discount to the quoted price for Caledonia shares as there will be a 6 month lock-up following completion. This net result is an approximate 9% reduction to the carrying value of Bilboes from 30 June 2022.

We believe there are significant synergies to the transaction, combining the best gold development project in Zimbabwe with possibly the best operating and development team in the country. The combined group presents a clear path to becoming a 250,000+ ounce gold producer which should in due course lead to a re-rating of Caledonia's share price.

Further details of the Company and its investments are available on the Company's website www.bakersteelresourcestrust.com

Enquiries:

Baker Steel Resources Trust Limited   [phone]

Francis Johnstone
Trevor Steel

Numis Securities Limited  [phone]

David Benda (corporate)

James Glass (sales)

The Net Asset Value ("NAV") figure stated is based on unaudited estimated valuations of the underlying investments and not necessarily based on observable inputs. Such estimates are not subject to any independent verification or other due diligence and may not comply with generally accepted accounting practices or other generally accepted valuation principles. In addition, some estimated valuations are based on the latest available information which may relate to some time before the date set out above.

Accordingly, no reliance should be placed on such estimated valuations and they should only be taken as an indicative guide. Other risk factors which may be relevant to the NAV figure are set out in the Company's Prospectus dated 26 January 2015.

 

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