Appointment of Project Manager

RNS Number : 3388I

Kodal Minerals PLC

23 November 2018

 

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 ("MAR")

Kodal Minerals Plc / Index: AIM / Epic: KOD / Sector: Mining

23 November 2018

Kodal Minerals plc ('Kodal Minerals' or the 'Company')

Appointment of Highly Experienced Project Manager

to Drive Development at Bougouni Lithium Project and issue of warrants

Kodal Minerals, the mineral exploration and development company focused on the Bougouni Lithium Project, is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr Steven Zaninovich as the Project Manager of the Company's flagship Bougouni Lithium Project in southern Mali ("Bougouni").  Mr Zaninovich is a highly accomplished senior executive in the resources sector with more than 25 years' experience in project management encompassing all stages of mine development.  Mr Zaninovich's most recent experience has been with the delivery and successful commissioning of ASX-listed lithium producer Tawana Resources Ltd's Bald Hill Lithium Project in Western Australia.  His appointment reflects the Company's transition into the development phase as it targets initial production from Bougouni in 2020.

Kodal Minerals has entered into a consultancy contract with Zivvo Pty Ltd ("Zivvo"), a company controlled by Mr Zaninovich, under which Mr Zaninovich will provide services as Project Manager initially on a part-time basis but within three months becoming substantially a full-time role. Mr Zaninovich will report to the board of the Company and has overall responsibility for all aspects of the development of the Bougouni project including planning, licensing, design, construction and commissioning.

Prior to Tawana Resources Ltd, Mr Zaninovich served as Chief Operating Officer with Gryphon Minerals ("Gryphon") before assuming the role of Vice President of Major Projects and becoming part of the Executive Management Team at Teranga Gold Corporation ("Teranga"), following its acquisition of Gryphon.  During his time with Teranga and Gryphon, and also earlier in his career, Mr Zaninovich gained specific expertise in the development of multiple mining operations across various commodities and jurisdictions in West Africa.  He has also taken on consultant project management roles for companies including BHP Limited, Newmont Mining Corporation and Gold Fields Limited.

The Company has entered into a warrant agreement with Zivvo under which up to 180 million warrants may be issued to Zivvo in three tranches as follows:

Exercise price per share	Tranche 1	Tranche 2	Tranche 3	Total
0.14p	13,333,333	16,666,667	30,000,000	60,000,000
0.25p	13,333,333	16,666,667	30,000,000	60,000,000
0.38p	13,333,333	16,666,667	30,000,000	60,000,000
Total	39,999,999	50,000,001	90,000,000	180,000,000

Tranche 1 vests and becomes exercisable from the date the services are provided on a full time basis (within three months from now), Tranche 2 from the date on which a mining licence for the project is awarded to the Company and Tranche 3 from the date on which commercial production commences.

Each warrant is exercisable into one ordinary share of the Company and has a life of 5 five years from vesting.  If the warrants are all exercised it would result in the issue of 180 million new ordinary shares which represents approximately 2.34% of the current issued share capital of the Company.

Bernard Aylward, CEO of Kodal Minerals, remarked: "Having declared our maiden resource at Bougouni and moving towards application for a mining licence, now is the perfect time to bolster our team with the engagement of Steve as Project Manager. To have someone of Steve's calibre directing the evolvement of our project at this critical time as we progress towards development will be highly beneficial for Kodal and its shareholders.  Having recently successfully commissioned the Bald Hill Lithium Project, along with numerous other mines across West Africa and globally over the last 25 years, Steve brings with him a wealth of experience in progressing natural resources projects up the development curve. 

"With a strong team behind us, an exciting lithium project which is delivering consistent high grades and has a scalable JORC Resource, a strategic investor and offtake partner secured and a defined development path in place, we believe we are strongly positioned to advance towards our target of first lithium production from Bougouni in 2020."

**ENDS**

For further information, please visit www.kodalminerals.com or contact the following:

Kodal Minerals plc Bernard Aylward, CEO	Tel: [phone]
Allenby Capital Limited, Nominated Adviser Jeremy Porter/Nick Harriss	Tel: [phone]
SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP, Financial Adviser & Broker John Mackay	Tel: [phone]
St Brides Partners Ltd, Financial PR Susie Geliher/Cosima Akerman	Tel: [phone]

About Kodal Minerals

Kodal Minerals' primary focus is on the rapid advancement of its flagship Bougouni Lithium Project in Southern Mali towards production.  The recently completed Maiden JORC Resource Estimate placed the Bougouni Project in the top 15 hard rock lithium projects globally and was calculated using only three of the eight currently recognised prospects demonstrating the significant exploration upside potential remaining across the 450km² project area.  The Mineral Resource estimate for the Ngoualana, Sogola-Baoule and Boumou prospects are tabulated below.  These mineral resources are reported in accordance with the JORC Code:

	Tonnes (Mt)	Li2O% Grade	Contained Li2O  (kt)
Sogola_Baoule	10.4	1.18	122.2
Ngoualana	4.7	1.34	62.8
Boumou	2.2	1.04	22.9
Total	17.3	1.20	207.9

Notes:  Mineral resources are reported using a 0.5% Li2O cut-off.  Figures may not sum due to rounding.  The contained metal is determined by the estimated tonnage and grade.

The Bougouni Project is located in an emerging lithium province that is already attracting the attention of investors and off-take partners interested in securing a long-term supply of lithium.  With the support of its strategic investor and off-take partner Suay Chin International Pte, a Singapore-based lithium and chemical trader, Kodal Minerals is well funded to continue its ambitious development programme at Bougouni.

Further to this, Kodal Minerals is the manager of additional lithium and gold projects that are undergoing low cost exploration programmes in addition to JV funded gold properties in Côte d'Ivoire that offer potentially significant long-term value.

 

END

 

 

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