Operations Update

Ironveld PLC

12 May 2023

 

Ironveld Plc

Operations Update

Ironveld plc ("Ironveld" or the "Company"), the AIM quoted mining development company, is pleased to provide an update on recent activities.

Ironveld Smelting- Rustenburg

Refurbishment work at the Rustenburg smelter complex is now approaching full completion and first shipments of the smelter's three speciality metals, high purity iron, titanium slag and vanadium slag, remain in line to meet the Company's stated target of first sales in Q2 2023.

The Company has undertaken extensive scheduled repairs to the second furnace and the AOD (or "Convertor"), as well as to the Granulator. Following discussions with buyers of Ironveld's high purity iron product, it has become clear that a granulated final product, rather than a cast product, will command materially higher selling prices. This led to an assessment of the existing Granulator plant at the smelter and a project to bring this back into production was initiated, despite not being in the initial plan, including significant repairs and the sourcing of certain specialist electrical items and control software.

Following the amended work programme to bring the Granulator into production it is expected that the smelter will operate with two furnaces until July 2023, when the third furnace will then also be brought online, but with no material delay in the plan to reach full production capacity by Q3 2023.

Ironveld Smelting - Limpopo

In recent weeks Ironveld Smelting has signed a long term, 30-year lease, with a right to renew, with the Government of South Africa, represented by the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, for land covering approximately 155 hectares on the Altona licence. In the short term this will be the location for ore processing activities, and in the long term it will be the location for larger smelting operations adjacent to the mine. Already located on the land are extensive buildings from a former police training college, which Ironveld will convert for its own use. The first upgraded buildings will house a clinic, accommodation, and office space.

BurnStar Hydrogen Project

On 3 April 2023, the Company announced that its subsidiary, Ironveld Energy (Pty) Limited, had signed a Letter of Intent with BurnStar Technologies (Pty) Limited ("BurnStar"), to proceed towards a binding Legal Agreement (the "Agreement") under which BurnStar will implement its patent-pending 'Guilt-Free Hydrogen'™ technology, to process Liquefied Natural Gas ("LNG") on site at Ironveld's Rustenburg smelter.

The final legal Agreement is now signed by all parties and BurnStar will now proceed to install, at its own cost, a plant at Ironveld's Rustenburg smelter capable of producing hydrogen from LNG at the rate of five kilograms per hour. It is envisaged that the BurnStar hydrogen plant will be installed and fully operational at the end of 2023.

Once the BurnStar plant is established at the Rustenburg smelter, and is producing hydrogen, Ironveld intends to evaluate its use as the reducing agent in its smelting process. The hydrogen will be supplied by BurnStar at costs at or below current market rates. If successfully applied to Ironveld's production, this will enable the Company to significantly reduce its carbon consumption over and above the benefits of the solar-hybrid power plant, due to be commissioned later this year.

BurnStar is backed by specialist South African venture capital and incubator fund, Savant.

Further information on BurnStar and Savant is available at www.burnstar.co.za and www.savant.co.za

Ironveld Mining

Mining activities have continued as planned. Mined ore is screened and crushed by subsidiary company, IPace, using on site equipment before transportation to the smelter complex at Rustenburg.

Ironveld Mining has also recently agreed a long term, 30-year lease, with a right to renew, with the Government of South Africa, represented by the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, for land covering approximately 312 hectares on the Altona licence, for use of the land covered by the Mining Right.

On 27 January 2023, Ironveld announced the formation of the IPace JV, with the intention of selling DMS grade magnetite ore directly from the mine. Customer enquiries have been very encouraging and first product sales are on track for mid-2023 as planned.

Martin Eales, Chief Executive Officer of Ironveld, commented: "We are delighted with progress at both the Limpopo mine site and the Rustenburg smelter. As we prioritised the Granulator refurbishment, the third furnace will now be online a couple of months behind original estimates, but we will soon be producing a much higher value product. A granulated product means that the material size will be reduced, enabling end users to utilise it more efficiently. We are also very pleased to have signed land leases adjacent to the mine for future development of a larger capacity smelter as part of our longer-term growth plan."

For further information, please contact:

Ironveld plc Martin Eales, Chief Executive Officer	c/o BlytheRay 020 7138 3204
finnCap (Nomad and Broker) Christopher Raggett Charlie Beeson	020 7220 0500
Turner Pope (Joint Broker) Andy Thacker James Pope	020 3657 0050
BlytheRay Megan Ray Tim Blythe	020 7138 3204

NOTES TO EDITORS

Ironveld (IRON.LN) is the owner of Mining Rights over approximately 28 kilometres of outcropping Bushveld magnetite with a SAMREC compliant ore resource of some 56 million tons of ore grading 1,12% V2O5, 68,6% Fe2O3 and 14,7% TiO2.

In 2022 Ironveld agreed to acquire and refurbish a smelter facility in Rustenburg, South Africa, in which it can process its magnetite ore into the marketable products of high purity iron, titanium slag and vanadium slag. This transaction became unconditional in March 2023.

Ironveld is an AIM traded company. For further information on Ironveld please refer to www.ironveld.com.

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) 596/2014 as it forms part of UK domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 ("MAR"), and is disclosed in accordance with the company's obligations under Article 17 of MAR.

 

END