REM Maintains Stake in Bacanora Placing

RNS Number : 7870F

Rare Earth Minerals PLC

16 November 2015

 

16 November 2015

Rare Earth Minerals Plc.

("Rare Earth Minerals", "REM" or "the Company")

REM maintains 17% stake in Bacanora Minerals £8.8 Million Placing to Advance Sonora Lithium
Project.

Rare Earth Minerals (LSE AIM: REM) is pleased to announce that it has maintained it's 17.21% interest in its Sonora Lithium Project partner Bacanora Minerals Limited ("Bacanora"), by subscribing for 1,973,407 new common shares in Bacanora's £8.8 million placing announced today at 77 pence per share (the "Placing"). REM has subscribed these new shares in Bacanora for the consideration of approximately £1.52 million.

The full Bacanora news release relating to the Placing and Sonora Lithium Project in Mexico (the "Sonora Project") update is available at at:

http://www.londonstockexchange.com/exchange/news/market-news/market-news-detail/12582491.html

REM's participation in the Placing takes its total shareholding in Bacanora to 16,632,915 shares, representing 17.21% of the enlarged issued share capital and making REM the largest shareholder of Bacanora. This interest, when aggregated with REM's 30% direct interest in Megalit S.A de CV (the company holding the Beunavista, Megalit and San Gabriel concessions) and the 30% direct interest in Mexelit S.A de CV (the company holding El Sauz, El Sauz 1, El Sauz 2, Fleur and Fleur 1 concessions), results in a total economic interest in each of these companies of 42.05%.

The Placing by Bacanora will be used to advance the Sonora Project, with the ultimate goal of becoming a large scale supplier to the growing lithium market.  The Sonora Project is one of the largest lithium resources in the world containing combined estimated Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resources of 7.42 million tonnes of LCE.

Specifically, the funds will enable Bacanora to:

·     Facilitate the upgrade and continuous running of the Company's operational pilot plant in Hermosillo to produce bulk quantities of lithium products to supply to long term off-take parties with whom the Company remains in ongoing discussions.

·      To enable the Sonora partners to fully fund the completion of the Bankable Feasibility Study (assuming satisfactory completion of the Pre-Feasibility Study), which is currently scheduled to commence in the first half of 2016. 

David Lenigas, REM's Executive Chairman, commented;

"This placing by Bacanora significantly increases their cash reserves as the Sonora Lithium partners enter in to an exceptionally busy period, with the work programme designed to provide continuous operation of the Hermosillo Lithium processing plant and work with off-take candidates as we run up to the publishing of the Preliminary Feasibility Study." 

Qualified Person;

Kiran Morzaria B.Eng. (ACSM), MBA, has reviewed and approved the information contained in this announcement. Kiran holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Industrial Geology) from the Camborne School of Mines and an MBA (Finance) from CASS Business School.

Glossary;

The Sonora Lithium Project is comprised of the following lithium properties: La Ventana lithium concession, which is 100 percent owned by Bacanora; El Sauz and Fleur concessions, which are held by Mexilit S.A. de C.V. ("Mexilit"); and the Megalit concession, which is held by Megalit S.A de C.V ("Megalit"). Mexilit and Megalit are owned 70 percent by Bacanora and 30 percent by REM.

LCE = lithium carbonate (Li2CO3) equivalent; determined by multiplying Li value in percent by 5.324 to get an equivalent Li2CO3 value in per cent. Use of LCE is to provide data comparable with industry reports and assumes complete conversion of lithium in clays with no recovery or process losses.

Ends

For further information please contact: 

Rare Earth Minerals plc                                                                                 [phone]

David Lenigas

Kiran Morzaria

WH Ireland Limited (NOMAD & Broker)                                              [phone]

James Joyce

Mark Leonard

Square1 Consulting

David Bick                                                                                                           [phone]

Mark Longson

 

END

 

 

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