Replacement: Final Results for 30 June 2020

RNS Number : 9652G

Mineral & Financial Invest. Limited

30 November 2020

 

The following amendments have been made to the "Audited Full Year Financial Results for Period ended 30 June 2020" announcement released on 30 November 2020 at 7:00 am under RNS No 8363G

The changes are as follows:

At the end to note 5 to the summary Accounts there is a table listing payments due to the Company from Ascendant Resources and the last two entries of this table are payments marked as being due on 30 December 2020 and 30 June 2021, these payments should have been marked as payments due on 30 June 2021 and 30 June 2022 (please see RNS dated 2 August 2018)

In addition, underneath the table, there is reference to Ascendant being able to acquire a further 30% by way of a payment of US$2,500,000 on or before 22 June 2021. This date should have read as 22 December 2022 and it should have clarified this option is also subject to delivering a feasibility study (see RNS dated 2 August 2018).

All other details remain unchanged. The full amended text is shown below.

MINERAL & FINANCIAL INVESTMENTS LIMITED

Audited Full Year Financial Results for Period ended 30 June 2020

and Net Asset Value Update

HIGHLIGHTS

· Year-end Net Asset Value £5,474,000, up 7.0%, from £5,114,000 in past 12 months

· Net Asset Value Per Share fully diluted (FD) 15.5p, up 6.9%, from 14.5p, in past 12 months

· NAVPS FD has increased at compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21.1% since 2015

· Net Asset Value has increased at CAGR of 57.4% since 31 December 2015

· Investment Portfolio now totals £5,315,000 up 7.3%, from £4,952,000 in past 12 months.

· Our performance has consistently exceeded that of the FTSE 350 Mining index and of the CRB Commodity Index since 2015.

George Town, Cayman Island - 26 November 2019  - Mineral & Financial Investments ("M&FI" or the "Company")) , the AIM quoted resources investment company,  is very pleased to announce  its Net Asset value and audited fiscal year update on its activities for the 12 months ended 30 June 2020

CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT

Mineral & Financial Investments Limited M&FI is an investing company with the investment approach and objectives of a mining finance house, which includes providing investment in and capital to finance mining companies and/or projects while providing our shareholders with superior returns. We will seek to provide financing and act as a good partner in exchange for meaningful ownership levels, and board representation if needed and appropriate, all of which with the intention of outperforming mining indices. We will provide advisory services when possible and will be willing to make follow-on investments in the investee companies if, and when, appropriate.  The full details of our investing policy are set out in the Directors' Report on page 10.

During the twelve-month fiscal period ending 30 June 2020 your company generated net trading income of £726,000 which translated into a net profit of £353,000 or 1.0p (FD) per share for the period. At the period end of 30 June 2020, our Net Asset Value (NAV) was £5,474,000 an increase of 7.0% from the June 30, 2020 NAV of £5,114,000.  The Net Asset Value per Share - fully diluted (NAVPS-FD) as at 30 June 2020 was 15.5p, a 6.9% increase from the 14.5p NAVPS FD. We continue to be effectively debt free, with working capital of £5.5million.

YEAR END NET ASSET VALUES

	31 Dec. 2016	31 Dec. 2017	30 June 2018	30 June 2019	30 June 2020	CAGR (%)
Net Asset Value ('000)	£1,495	£2,603	£2,623	£5,114	£5,474	50.4%
Fully diluted NAV per share	6.25p	7.43p	7.49p	14.50p	15.50p	29.9%

The world is a very different place since our last Annual Report to shareholders. Global economic performance was devastated in 2020 by the outbreak of Coronavirus. Its origins appear to be from within Hunan province, China, but its spread has been global and its impact near total.  The IMF's forecast for world output in 2020 declined by 7.80%, from +3.40% to -4.40%. Put another way, if these forecasts are correct, it will take all of 2020 and 2021 for the global economy to end up where it was as at the end of 2019. The world will have lost 2 years of growth. These very dark clouds do, as the adage goes, have a (faint) silver lining - Expected inflationary pressures will be lower over the course of the next few years. It is noteworthy that the IMF estimates that China will have positive economic growth in 2020 (and 2021). The larger question is what structural changes to behaviour and consumption will ensue from these extended lockdowns, and what economic impact will this cause? Our sense is that there will be more economic dislocation than is currently anticipated. A return to what was once deemed to be normal is unlikely before sometime in 2021

IMF - World Economic Outlook [1]

October 2020	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020 [2]  Old (E)	2020 New (E)	2021 (F)
World Output	3.20%	3.70%	3.60%	2.80%	3.40%	-4.40%	5.20%
Advanced Economies	1.70%	2.40%	2.30%	1.70%	1.70%	-5.80%	3.90%
Emerging Markets and Developing Economies	4.40%	4.70%	4.50%	3.70%	4.60%	-3.30%	6.00%
Consumer Prices
Advanced Economies	0.80%	1.70%	2.00%	1.40%	2.00%	0.80%	1.60%
Emerging Markets and Developing Economies	4.30%	4.00%	4.80%	5.10%	4.80%	5.00%	4.70%

Despite an obvious need for liquidity and stimulus to confront the economic hardship caused by the Pandemic, rates in the US for 10-year US treasuries are up 11.1% year on year (June 30, 2020: 0.70% vs June 30, 2019: 0.63%). The acknowledged economic necessity and central bank objectives are not resulting in a decline in interest rates as would be expected. For several years cynical observers have assumed that Central Banks were keeping yields low to reduce governmental borrowing costs as opposed to the traditional objective of creating a stable economic and low inflationary outlook. Are we at the crossroads where Central Banks are no longer able to bend the markets to their will? Have Central Banks' tools become increasingly ineffective? Will markets, rather than Central Banks, dictate the interest rates at which governments can borrow?

Global Stock Index performance

July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2020	01/07/2019	30/06/2020	% change
Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 Index	3825.6	4163.9	8.8%
Standard & Poor 500 Index	2941.7	3106.7	5.6%
Euro Stoxx 50 Index	3473.7	3234.1	-6.9%
Hang Seng	28542.6	24301.6	-14.9%
FTSE 100	7425.6	6169.7	-16.9%
Nikkei 225	21275.9	22288.1	4.8%

Global equity markets, during our fiscal year ending June 30, 2020 were mixed. Of the six equity markets we use as yardsticks, the worst performing was the FTSE 100, declining 16.9%, due in part to the pandemic coupled with the uncertainty of what trade relationships with the EU will emerge from the on and off negotiations. The best performing equity market we track was the Shanghai CSI 300 Index, which rose 8.8%. There appears to be an alignment of equity market performance, economic performance and economic risk - but not of the financial damage being wreaked on government budgets due to lower takings and increased subsidies. We expect an environment of very modestly rising interest rates, due to capital markets demanding higher rates to compensate for the economic risks associated with exploding governmental debt and rapidly increasing money supply, pointing towards inflationary pressures devaluing currency values. We expect equity markets to be highly challenged in 2021 when confronted with slow economic recovery, inflationary pressures, interest rates which are flat to rising very slightly and the prospect of increased taxation to fund the economic safety nets extended by virtually all of the governments of the G7.

Commodities generally struggled during the period framed by our fiscal year. As measured by the Reuters CRB Total Commodity Index, commodities overall declined 22.9% during the period.  As is usual, within a broad index such as the CRB Index, variances between commodity performances were wide. Energy prices were down - WTI was down (-26.4%), while precious metals performed very strongly, Gold (+28.4%), Silver (+19.6%), Palladium (+45.8%) and Rhodium (+108.6%). Base metals mixed with Copper (+7.0%) and Aluminium (+23.8%) up, while Nickel (-4.6%), Zinc (-9.7%) and Lead (-13.6%) declined during our fiscal year. We believe commodity prices will be buoyed in 2021 by a growing shift from financial assets to hard assets and a weakening US dollar.

During the year our emphasis has been to continue diversification while increasing exposure to precious metals. The Strategic Portfolio has sought advanced stage exploration or early stage development precious metal investment opportunities. During the period we increased our investments in Cerrado Gold and Golden Sun Resources.  Cerrado will be completing a listing in November 2020 on the Toronto Stock Exchange. We have decided to write down our CAP Energy investment by 60% as a matter of prudence in light of the decline in oil prices. CAP has succeeded in making important changes that have resulted in its increased ownership of all three of its offshore oil fields by buying out its partners during the period of weak oil prices.

M&FI continues to be seeking suitable strategic investment opportunities that we believe will generate above average returns while adhering to our standards of prudence. We thank you for your support and we will continue to work diligently, thoroughly and with prudence to advance your company's assets and market position.

OPERATING REPORT AND INVESTMENT REVIEW

OPERATIONS

We believe the key to creating shareholder value is sound investment performance and low operating costs. More specifically operating costs which grow at a slower rate than the accretion in the Net Asset Value. M&FI's full year realised/Unrealised gains in fiscal 2020 totalled £726,000. Our full year Administrative costs totalled £338,000, a 20.4% increase over the previous period. The increased costs are largely associated with the integration and 100% ownership of TH Crestgate and the associated operating costs of a Swiss corporate entity. We are very attentive to our operating costs and remain focused on keeping them as low as possible while toiling to increase our net asset value.

INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO

The fiscal period remained challenging for the natural resource sector. The Goldman Sachs (spot) Commodity Index declined by 14.4%, while the FTSE 350 Mining Index declined 23.5% during the 12-month period ending June 30, 2020. Our Investment portfolios outperformed the FTSE 350 Mining Index by 30.8%, rising 7.3% year on year to £5,315,000, largely due to the increased weighting in precious metals. We increased our overall weighting to precious metals during the period to 49% of our Investment Assets. The result of our efforts during the year was to increase the Net Asset Value per share (NAVPS) as of June 30, 2020 by 6.6% to 15.46p from 14.50p a year prior.

ETF Portfolio

Gold ETF: During the 12-month fiscal period the Company's gold ETF position (Zuercher Kantonal Bank Gold ETF and UBS Gold (CH) ETF) rose in value by 29.4%. We believe the position has been an excellent hedge against the weakening of the US dollar, our reporting currency is GBP. According to the World Gold Council in 2019, global total gold demand was flat year on year. The World Gold Council during the same period noted that demand for ETF's and similar products increased by 328.6 tonnes year on year. Additionally, the Gold Council noted that Central Banks and other Financial Institutions gold purchases were up 2%, year on year to 667.7 tonnes. The annual supply of gold from mines, according the World Gold Council, was down 1% in 2019 to 3,530.9 tonnes. The key appeal of our gold position is as a liquid proxy for gold investments and as hedge against weakening currencies resulting from the widespread monetary stimulus from Central Banks. A physical gold position is a core holding in our portfolio, its weighting will vary according to our market perspective.

Silver ETF: During the 12-month fiscal period the Company's silver ETF (Zuercher Kantonal Bank Silver ETF) exposure rose in value by 22.4%. The appreciation in Silver has lagged behind that of gold. According to data from the Silver Institute, mine supply of silver is down 1.3% during the past year and overall supplies (including recycling) are up 0.4% year on year. Silver's uses have been undergoing a massive evolution. Since 2011, Photography has seen Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of negative 7.3%, while photovoltaic demand has experienced a positive CAGR of 4.7% and investment demand for Silver has increased by 100 million ounces. We view silver as a levered complement to our gold investment.

Copper ETF: Lately copper has been the "tomorrow" metal. Copper is viewed as being critical to the portable power and electrification. We have not re-purchased a copper position. The economic slowdown has kept all base metals at the bottom of the performance tables for the first six months of 2020. We believe in the future prospects of copper demand; however, the issue has long been the constant trickle of new copper mines entering the market.

Equity portfolio

Amongst the equity portfolio the following investments are noteworthy.

Redcorp Empreedimentos Mineiros Lda.: Your company owns 100% of TH Crestgate ("THC"). which owns 75% of Redcorp Empreedimentos Mineiros Lda. Redcorp is a Portuguese company whose main asset is the Lagoa Salgada Project. In June 2018, THC entered into a sale and earn-in agreement with the Canadian listed company, Ascendant Resources. The sale of 25% of Redcorp to Ascendant was completed for cash and shares valued at US$2,600,000. Thereafter, Ascendant can earn into 80% ownership by completing US$9,000,000 of exploration work on the project. Additionally, Ascendant must make payments totalling US$6,000,000 to THC, of which US$1,500,000 has been received. The project has been advanced from approximately 9.67Mt with Zinc Equivalent grade of 6.7% when Ascendant took leadership of the project to approximately 23Mt with Zinc Equivalent grade of 8.24% on the measured and indicated component of the resource. A Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) was completed during the period on the North Zone of the Lagoa Salgada Project which indicated a pre-tax NPV of US$137M and IRR of 37% at an 8% discount rate, using US$1.20/lb Zinc price and 80% recoveries.

CAP Energy:  CAP has used the weak markets for oil and gas to great effect. CAP successfully bought out its operating partner in all three of its West African offshore properties. CAP now owns 90% (up from 44.1%) of the offshore Senegal Djiféré block. Additionally, CAP successfully acquired a 52% interest in Block 1 offshore Guinea-Bissau raising their interest to 76%. CAP also acquired 58.5% of the important and valuable Block 5-B license offshore Guinea Bissau, raising its interest to 85.5% of the license.  These transactions were non-cash, for which payments will be owed if and when the blocks are sold. In 2019 CAP completed a small private placement at 200p per share. Despite the improved net ownership of the potential resources in these fields, we felt that the decline in the price of oil, the decline of publicly listed comparable companies and the absence of any objective valuation from a financing that the most prudent path was to reduce our carrying value by 60% to 80p. The expansion in global oil supply between 2010 and 2020 was in large part from US oil fields which employed enhanced oil recovery techniques. These wells have higher operating costs that result in poor to negative returns at current prices. We believe that demand for hydrocarbons has peaked. Additionally, we believe that supply levels in time will slowly decline, partly due to reduced exploration activity, field depletion and high cost production is gradually being shut-in. Therefore, we are mildly optimistic for oil prices to creep up to the US$50/bbl level over the next year.  CAP's projects are potentially enormous projects which should attract potential partners to advance them. Until then we will maintain a prudent approach on the valuation of this investment.

Ascendant Resources : The Group has acquired a shareholding in Ascendant Resources (ASND), a Toronto Stock Exchange listed zinc explorer, through an earn-in partnership agreement. Zinc prices declined 50% from February of 2018 levels, when zinc reached US$1.65/lb and to a 2020 nadir of US$0.82/lb. The decline was partly caused by the economic impact of Coronavirus. Ascendant's El Mochito mine in Honduras was an unhedged lead and zinc producer with a declining break-even cost of around US$1.08/lb which they sold,  allowing them to focus on the Lagoa Salgada project which is subject to an earn-in agreement with M&FI. To date, ASND have met all of their operational and financial commitments which are part of the earn-in agreement.

Barrick Gold:   Our largest listed gold investment is Barrick Gold (ABX), it has appreciated by 109.5% since our purchase of the position. Barrick is the second largest gold producer in the world, after Newmont. ABX produces 5.5M oz, has proven and probable reserves of 71M oz of Gold. ABX stated objective is to be the most valuable gold company in the world. We believe that under the leadership of the CEO Mark Bristow it has a very good chance of succeeding in this mission. The ABX position was established shortly after ABX announced the acquisition by way of a share exchange of Randgold. The opportunity lay in the fact that Barrick needed some costs controls and was not going to list the shares of the combined company on the LSE, Randgold was a FTSE 100 company.

Cerrado Gold: We initiated an investment in common shares of Cerrado Gold in 2019 and made a follow-on investment in 2020. During the period it acquired 100% of the Minera Don Nicolas (MDN) mine located on a 272,598-hectare (ha) concession on the prolific gold producing area known as Deseado Massif Argentina's in Santa Cruz state. MDN is targeted to produce 50,000 oz of gold with a current resource of 968,501 oz of gold. MDN's epithermal deposit is located between AngloGold's 8.6M oz Cerro Vanguardia mine and Yamana's 1.3M oz Cerro Morro project. Cerrado's lead exploration project is Monte do Carmo, located in Toncantin State in Brazil. Gold was originally discovered in the Monte do Carmo (MDC) area during the 17th century by the Portuguese.  The Serra Alta deposit is the main focus of the exploration of the project.  The 52,213ha MDC project has a maiden resource of 813,000 oz@ 1.8g/t. The initial PEA on the Maiden Resource indicates a Net Present Value (NPV) of US$432M, using a 5% discount rate and an assumed gold price of US$1,550/oz. In June 2020 Cerrado announced a financing at US$0.80. Additionally, it has initiated a reverse takeover of a publicly listed entity on the TSX called BB1 Acquisitions Corp., which is expected to be completed in November 2020, with the key result being that Cerrado will become a publicly listed gold company.

Golden Sun Resources: We invested in Golden Sun by acquiring a secured convertible loan note of Golden Sun. The notes mature on 3 April 2024. Interest shall be charged at the rate of 20% per annum, calculated monthly in arrears, and accrue on the outstanding Loan Amount and shall become payable upon maturity. We made a follow-on investment in identically featured convertible notes during the past fiscal year. Golden Sun has brought the Bella Vista project, located in Costa Rica, back into production. It is now cash flow positive and steadily making operational progress, from 2 leach pads, it now has 3 pads in production. It is now diligently working towards installing Carbon in Leach (CIL) capacity which will increase recoveries to the ~90% range. The progress is gauged to Golden Sun's self-financing abilities to ensure minimal dilution. Our investment rationale is that if, and when the mine achieves production near 40,000 to 50,000oz of gold per year it will be a very attractive acquisition for a gold company seeking production from a stable jurisdiction in Central or South America.

 

Consolidated Income Statement			Year ended 30 June 2020	Year ended 30 June 2019
		Notes	£'000	£'000
	Investment income		3	28
	Fee revenue		-	212
	Net gains/(losses) on disposal of investments		497	405
	Net change in fair value of investments		226	2,009
			726	2,654
	Operating expenses	1	(321)	(280)
	Other gains and losses	2	(24)	161
	Profit before taxation		381	2,535
	Taxation expense	3	(28)	(44)
	Profit for the year from continuing operations and total comprehensive income, attributable to owners of the Company		353	2,491
	Profit per share attributable to owners of the Company during the year from continuing and total operations:	4	Pence	Pence
	Basic (pence per share)		1.0	7.1
	Fully diluted (pence per share)		1.0	7.1

 

Consolidated Statement of Financial Position

		2020	2019
	Notes	£'000	£'000
CURRENT ASSETS
Financial assets held at fair value through profit or loss	5	5,315	4,952
Trade and other receivables		81	78
Cash and cash equivalents		275	224
		5,671	5,254
CURRENT LIABILITIES
Trade and other payables		127	88
Convertible unsecured loan notes		10	10
		137	98
NET CURRENT ASSETS		5,534	5,156
NON-CURRENT LIABILITIES
Deferred tax provision		(60)	(42)
NET ASSETS		5,474	5,114
EQUITY
Share capital		3,096	3,095
Share premium		5,892	5,886
Loan note equity reserve		6	6
Share option reserve		23	23
Capital reserve		15,736	15,736
Retained earnings		(19,279)	(19,632)
Equity attributable to owners of the Company and total equity		5,474	5,114

 

Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity

	Share capital	Share premium	Share option reserve	Loan note reserve	Capital  reserve	Accumulated losses	Total equity
	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000
At 1 July 2018	3,095	5,886	23	6	15,736	(22,123)	2,623
Total comprehensive income for the year	-	-	-	-	-	2,491	2,491
At 30 June 2019	3,095	5,886	23	6	15,736	(19,632)	5,114
Total comprehensive income for the year	-	-	-	-	-	353	353
Share issues	1	6	-	-	-	-	7
At 30 June 2020	3,096	5,892	23	6	15,736	(19,279)	5,474

 

Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows

		Year ended 30 June 2020	Year ended 30 June 2019
	Notes	£'000	£'000
OPERATING ACTIVITIES
Profit before taxation		381	2,535
Adjustments for:
(Profit)/loss on disposal of trading investments		(497)	(405)
Fair value (gain)/loss on trading investments		(226)	(2,009)
Other gains and losses		-	(178)
Investment income		(3)	(28)
Tax paid		(10)	(2)
Operating cash flow before working capital changes		(355)	(87)
(Increase) in trade and other receivables		(3)	(58)
Increase in trade and other payables		39	7
Net cash outflow from operating activities		(319)	(138)
INVESTING ACTIVITIES
Purchase of financial assets		(1,279)	(865)
Disposal of financial assets		1,639	587
Acquisition of subsidiary		-	(97)
Cash balance of subsidiary acquired		-	287
Investment income		3	28
Net cash inflow/(outflow) from investing activities		363	(60)
FINANCING ACTIVITIES
Proceeds of share issues		7	-
Net cash inflow from financing activities		7	-
Net (decrease)/increase in cash and cash equivalents		51	(198)
Cash and cash equivalents as at 1 July		224	422
Cash and cash equivalents as at 30 June		275	224

 

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

	1.	OPERATING PROFIT
			2020	2019
			£'000	£'000
	Profit from operations is arrived at after charging:
	Directors fees		59	59
	Other salary costs		18	14
	Registrars fees		31	30
	Corporate adviser and broking fees		45	23
	Other professional fees		107	75
	Foreign exchange differences		24	17
	Other administrative expenses		43	61
	Fees payable to the Group's auditor:
	For the audit of the Group's consolidated financial statements		18	18
			345	297

	2.		OTHER GAINS AND LOSSES
				2020	2019
				£'000	£'000
		Gain on acquisition of subsidiary		-	178
		Foreign currency exchange differences		(24)	(17)
				(24)	161

	3.		INCOME TAX EXPENSE
				2020	2019
				£'000	£'000
		Deferred tax charge relating to unrealised gains on investments		18	42
		Other tax payable		10	2
				28	44
		The tax on the Group's profit before tax differs from the theoretical amount that would arise using the weighted average rate applicable to the results of the Consolidated entities as follows:
				2020	2019
				£'000	£'000
		Profit before tax from continuing operations		381	2,535
		Profit before tax multiplied by rate of federal and cantonal tax in Switzerland of 14.6% (2019: N/A)		56	370
		Less abatement in respect of long term investment holdings		(50)	(333)
		Unrelieved tax losses		22	7
		Total tax		28	44

	4.	EARNINGS PER SHARE
	The basic and diluted earnings per share are calculated by dividing the profit attributable to owners of the Company by the weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue during the year.
				2020	2019
				£'000	£'000
	Profit attributable to owners of the Company
	- Continuing and total operations			353	2,491
				2020	2019
	Weighted average number of shares for calculating basic earnings per share			35,080,784	35,037,895
	Weighted average number of shares for calculating fully diluted earnings per share			35,146,295	35,064,391
	Earnings per share from continuing and total operations
	- Basic (pence per share)			1.0	7.1
	- Fully diluted (pence per share)			1.0	7.1

	5.	INVESTMENTS HELD AT FAIR VALUE THROUGH PROFIT OR LOSS
				2020		2019
				£'000		£'000
	1 July - Investments at fair value			4,952		2,269
	Investments held by subsidiary on acquisition			-		142
	Reclassified to subsidiary undertaking			-		(151)
	Cost of investment purchases			1,279		865
	Proceeds of investment disposals			(1,639)		(587)
	Profit/(loss) on disposal of investments			497		405
	Fair value adjustment			226		2,009
	30 June  - Investments at fair value			5,315		4,952
	Categorised as:
	Level 1 - Quoted investments			1,001		1,117
	Level 3 - Unquoted investments			4,314		3,835
				5,315		4,952
	The Group has adopted fair value measurements using the IFRS 7 fair value hierarchy Categorisation within the hierarchy has been determined on the basis of the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement of the relevant asset as follows: Level 1 - valued using quoted prices in active markets for identical assets Level 2 - valued by reference to valuation techniques using observable inputs other than quoted prices included in Level 1. Level 3 - valued by reference to valuation techniques using inputs that are not based on observable market criteria.
	LEVEL 3 investments Reconciliation of Level 3 fair value measurement of investments
					2020	2019
					£'000	£'000
	Brought forward				3,835	927
	Investments held by subsidiary on acquisition				-	14
	Reclassified to subsidiary undertaking				-	(150)
	Purchases				122	350
	Disposals				(16)	-
	Fair value adjustment				373	2,694
	Carried forward				4,314	3,835
	Level 3 valuation techniques used by the Group are explained on page 26 (Fair value of financial instruments) The Group's largest Level 3 investment is Redcorp Empreendimentos Mineiros LDA ("Redcorp"). REDCORP EMPREENDIMENTOS MINEIROS LDA Redcorp is a Portuguese company whose main asset is the Lagoa Salgada Project, which has resources of zinc, lead and copper. In June 2018, TH Crestgate entered into an agreement with Ascendant Resources Inc ("Ascendant") under which Ascendant initially acquired 25% of the equity in Redcorp for a consideration of US$2.45 million, composed of US$1.65 million in Ascendant shares and US$800,000 in cash. The second part of the Agreement is an Earn-in Option under which Ascendant has the right to earn a further effective 25% interest via staged payments and funding obligations as outlined below: Ascendant is required to spend a minimum of US$9.0 million directly on the Lagoa Salgada Project within 48 months of the closing date, to fund exploration drilling, metallurgical test work, economic studies and other customary activities for exploration and development, and to make stage payments totalling US$3.5 million to TH Crestgate according to the following schedule or earlier:
	22 Dec 2018 22 Jun 2019 22 Dec 2019 22 Jun 2020 22 Jun 2021 22 Jun 2022		US$250,000 US$250,000 US$500,000   US$500,000 (amended to 5 monthly payments of $100,000, June to October plus an additional payment of $100,000 in November 2020) US$1,000,000 US$1,000,000
	Under the last part of the agreement Ascendant can acquire an additional 30%, taking its total interest to 80% by the payment of US$2,500,000 on or before 22 Dec 2022 as well as completing and delivering a feasibility study.  To date the payments due by Ascendant under the agreement have been paid on time and the Group's investment in Redcorp has been valued on a discounted cash flow basis of the remaining payments due under the agreement plus an additional amount for the discounted value of the Group's residual investment in the project. Redcorp currently owns 85% of the Lagoa Salgada project. Redcorp signed an agreement in June 2017 with Empresa Desenvolvimento Mineiro SA (EDM), a Portuguese State-owned company to re-purchase the remaining 15% of the project resulting in a 100% ownership of the project. The 2017 agreement was subject to the Portuguese Secretary of State's approval which has not yet been received. Redcorp and Mineral & Financial continue to explore ways and means to complete the purchase.

Mineral & Financial's Audited Financial Statements for the year ended 30 June 2020 will be available on the Company's website (http://www.mineralandfinancial.com/) on Wednesday, 2 December 2020 and will be posted to shareholders together with the notice of the AGM on or before 22 December 2020.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Jacques Vaillancourt, Mineral & Financial Investments Ltd.    [phone] 

Katy Mitchell, WH Ireland Group Limited                                   [phone]

Jon Belliss, Novum Securities Limited                                         [phone]

 

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[1] International Monetary Fund, "World Economic Outlook: A long and Difficult Ascent", 7 October 2020

[2]International Monetary Fund, "World Economic Outlook: Global Manufacturing Downturn, Rising Trade Barriers", October 15, 2019

 

END

 

 

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