Capital Raising to Support Ongoing Development

RNS Number : 1947T

Emmerson PLC

16 July 2020

 

Emmerson Plc / Ticker: EML / Index: LSE / Sector: Mining

16 July 2020

Emmerson Plc ("Emmerson" or the "Company")

Raises £1.72 million in an Oversubscribed Placement to Fund the Acceleration of
Development at the World Class Khemisset Potash Project

Emmerson Plc, the Moroccan focused potash development company, is pleased to announce that it has raised £1.72 million (before expenses) through an oversubscribed placing of 40,470,589, new ordinary shares of no-par value each in the share capital of the Company ("Placing Shares") at a price of 4.25 pence per share (the "Issue Price") (collectively the "Fundraising").

Following the delivery of the Feasibility Study (refer to announcement 1 June 2020) for the Khemisset Potash Project ("Khemisset" or "the Project"), which once again confirmed its potential to be among the lowest capital cost potash development projects in the world, the Company received several expressions of interest from investor groups with respect to investing in Emmerson.

The placing was led by sole broker Shard Capital Partners LLP ("Shard"). The funds raised will primarily support the Company as it continues to rapidly develop the world class Khemisset Project through the delivery of key work streams.

Graham Clarke, CEO of Emmerson, commented:

"The support that we have received in this fundraise, for which demand significantly exceeded our minimum targeted figure, is very encouraging and demonstrates a strong belief from our investors in the potential of Emmerson and the Khemisset Project.

"These funds enable us to continue to make strong progress on preparing the Khemisset Potash Project for detailed design and engineering and, ultimately, construction.

"While our focus in the short term is on permitting, strategic financing discussions and reviewing the Feasibility Study for both opportunities to improve the project further and complete additional work to mitigate any risks, we also expect to be able to complete additional work on our SOP project, salt strategy and to bring our additional resources into a mine plan, which present growth opportunities to improve our already outstanding economics.

"We look forward to keeping our shareholders updated on the progress we make over the remainder of 2020 and into 2021."

Details of the Fundraising

Use of proceeds

It is intended that the proceeds of the Fundraising will principally be used for the continuation of development of the Project post the delivery of the Feasibility Study with workstreams including the mine permitting process, project technical work including geotechnical drilling and drilling to confirm brine deep well injection as well as examining the potential for a phased development of the Khemisset Project.

Admission and Total Voting Rights

The Company has raised £1.72 million, before expenses, through the issue of the Placing Shares with certain existing Shareholders and new investors.

Accordingly, an application will be made for the Placing Shares to be admitted to the Official List of the UK Listing Authority by way of a Standard Listing ("Admission") and it is expected that Admission will become effective and dealing in the Placing Shares will commence on or around 29 July 2020.  The Placing Shares will rank pari passu with the existing ordinary shares of the Company. 

Following Admission, the enlarged issued share capital of the Company will comprise of 726,602,974 ordinary shares of no-par value each. No ordinary shares are held in Treasury. The total number of voting rights in the Company is therefore 726,602,974.

The above figure of 726,602,974 ordinary shares may be used by shareholders of the Company as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change in their interest in, the share capital of the Company under the Financial Conduct Authority's Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules.

**ENDS**

For further information, please visit  www.emmersonplc.com , follow us on Twitter (@emmerson_plc), or contact:  Hayden Locke Emmerson Plc Tel: [phone] Edward McDermott Damon Heath Isabella Pierre Shard Capital Partners LLP Tel: [phone] Megan Denison Isabel de Salis St Brides Partners Ltd Financial PR/IR Tel: [phone]

 Notes to Editors

Emmerson's primary focus is on developing the Project located in Northern Morocco.  The Project has a large JORC Resource Estimate (2012) of 537Mt @ 9.24% K ₂ O and significant exploration potential with an accelerated development pathway targeting a low capex, high margin mine. Khemisset is perfectly located to capitalise on the expected growth of African fertiliser consumption whilst also being located on the doorstep of European markets. This unique positioning means the Project will receive a premium netback price compared to existing potash producers. The need to feed the world's rapidly increasing population is driving demand for potash and Emmerson is well placed to benefit from the opportunities this presents. The Feasibility Study released in June 2020 indicated Khemisset has the potential to be among the lowest capital cost development stage potash projects in the world and also, as a result of its location, one of the highest margin projects. This delivered outstanding economics including a post-tax NPV ₁₀  of approximately US$1.4 billion using industry expert, Argus', price forecasts.

The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014.

 

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