H1 2020 dividend

RNS Number : 8962E

Central Asia Metals PLC

11 November 2020

 

11 November 2020

CENTRAL ASIA METALS PLC

('CAML' or the 'Company')

H1 2020 dividend

Central Asia Metals plc (AIM: CAML) today provides an update on its H1 2020 dividend, which was deferred on 16 September 2020 due to the leakage from its Sasa tailings storage facility 4 ('TSF4').

The CAML Board today recommends a six pence interim dividend. This will be paid on 11 December 2020 to shareholders registered on 20 November 2020.

The Board's confidence to now recommend an interim dividend is as a result of the following:

-  Sasa's production has been reliably returned to 100% capacity over the last month

-  As estimated on 5 October 2020, the total cost of the TSF4 incident, comprising dam repairs and engineering improvements to the facility as well as environmental aspects, is still expected to be below $1.5 million

-  The river remediation process is progressing well, and the local community remains supportive of the Company's clean-up efforts

-  Sasa has settled its environmental fines with the North Macedonian authorities

-  While there has been a recent rise in the number of COVID-19 cases at Sasa and in the town of Makedonska Kamenica close to the mine, CAML is confident that this situation is being managed as well as possible

-  Metal prices have generally recovered well during H2 2020 to date, with the copper price up 50%, the zinc price up 45% and the lead price up 17% from their respective lows in H1 2020

-  As announced on 8 October 2020, CAML had cash in the bank on 30 September 2020 of $55.2 million (inclusive of $10.0 million drawdown in overdraft facilities)

Nigel Robinson, Chief Executive Officer, commented:

"We are delighted to recommend an interim dividend of six pence per share, which will be paid before the end of the year, and we appreciate the patience and continued support of our shareholders over the last two months. This period has been challenging for us but I am particularly proud of how our team has handled this issue and believe we can now look forward to better times ahead having now reinstated our dividend and thereby underscored our long term intentions in this regard."

For further information contact:

Central Asia Metals	Tel: [phone]
Nigel Robinson, CEO
Gavin Ferrar, CFO
Louise Wrathall, Director of Corporate Relations	[e-mail]
Peel Hunt (Nominated Advisor and Joint Broker)	Tel: [phone]
Ross Allister
David McKeown
BMO Capital Markets (Joint Broker)	Tel: [phone]
Thomas Rider
Neil Elliot
Blytheweigh (PR Advisors)	Tel: [phone]
Tim Blythe
Megan Ray
Rachael Brooks

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION FOR THE PURPOSES OF ARTICLE 7 OF THE MARKET ABUSE REGULATION (EU) 596/2014

Note to editors:

Central Asia Metals, an AIM-listed UK company based in London, owns 100% of the Kounrad SX-EW copper project in central Kazakhstan and 100% of the Sasa zinc-lead mine in North Macedonia.

For further information, please visit www.centralasiametals.com and follow CAML on Twitter at @CamlMetals and on LinkedIn at Central Asia Metals Plc

 

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