Q3 Update and Shareholder Q&A Session

RNS Number : 3537P

Oracle Power PLC

18 October 2021

 

18 October 2021

Oracle Power PLC

("Oracle", the "Company" or the "Group")

Q3 Update and Shareholder Q&A Session

Oracle Power PLC (AIM:ORCP), the international natural resources project developer, is pleased to provide the following update statement from its CEO, Naheed Memon, with respect to developments during Q3 2021:

"Our objective over the past year has been to create scale and diversification in our portfolio, to establish Oracle as a significant new competitor on the international power and resources stage.  I am delighted to report that recent developments have propelled this process forward and Oracle now has multiple high growth divisions and prospects, with the support and cooperation of two state-owned Chinese enterprises and a highly supportive strategic shareholder.  Oracle is pursuing power generation in Pakistan and is working to prove up two highly prospective gold properties in Western Australia, creating a group of assets and interests which can generate significant returns for our investors.

"The most recent development that I would like to refer to is the recently announced non-exclusive co-operation agreement with PowerChina International Group Ltd ("PowerChina"), which was signed with the objective of jointly developing a green hydrogen production facility in Pakistan.  I cannot overestimate the impact that green hydrogen could have in terms of the energy transition to support a carbon neutral future, and to be a frontrunner in Pakistan is both an enormous opportunity, and huge honour. 

"Green hydrogen, meaning hydrogen generated from renewable sources, is being developed as a competitive fuel source in multiple sectors, including steel and fertiliser production, cars, power generation, long-range shipping and aviation.  It is planned to be deployed in multiple countries including India and many states in the Middle East, and we believe that Pakistan has the right combination of land, labour and abundant renewable resources (solar and wind) to support a large-scale green hydrogen generation facility, pivoting the country towards a green hydrogen economy and to becoming one of the main green hydrogen suppliers in the future.

"PowerChina, one of the largest Chinese state-owned-enterprises, will partner with Oracle, with the intention to establish a 400MW capacity hydrogen plant powered by photovoltaics, with planned hydrogen production of approximately 150,000 kg per day.  PowerChina is already working on a technical pre-feasibility study and has reported its interest to its government in China, with both parties expecting the project to receive bilateral support.

"This is a development which certainly resonated within the market, and has the full support of our strategic shareholder, The Private Office of His Highness Sheikh Ahmed Bin Dalmook Juma Al Maktoum, who has expressed his enthusiasm for this initiative.  We look forward to providing further updates in due course as the technical pre-feasibility advances.

"Also in Pakistan, a key development was the recent approval of the Indicative Generation Capacity Expansion Plan 2021-2030 ("IGCEP"), prepared by the National Transmission Dispatch Company ("NTDC").  The approval of this plan was a critical event in the country's power industry and one which is expected to deliver an indicative optimum route through which energy supply should be undertaken over the current decade including the increase of electricity generation capacity from the existing 34,776MW to 61,112MW by 2030.  As part of this plan, the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority ("NEPRA") has directed the NTDC to consider the Company's Thar Block VI Project for inclusion in the next IGCEP annual review.  The Board believes that NEPRA's directive to NTDC relating to the Thar Block VI Project is a positive development for Oracle and the Company will make further updates in due course.

"Looking now to the Company's activities in Western Australia, our Jundee East and Northern Zone projects continue to yield some highly positive results, reinforcing our belief that Oracle has not one, but two assets with 'company-maker' potential in this world-class mining jurisdiction.

"At Jundee East, geochemical soil sampling was conducted over the majority of the project which highlighted positive responses for copper and gold using the Ionic Leach™ (Ionic Leach) geochemical technique, designed to identify mineralisation below cover.  These further positive results show that indicator elements (including gold and copper) are mobilising to surface at an atomic level above the target area.  This further supports the potential of a mineralised system in a previously unrecognised greenstone belt, proximal to Northern Star's producing Jundee Gold Mine, which has a current Resource of 5.4Moz.  The programme has successfully defined five large target zones which are now essentially drill ready for first pass testing, with a programme currently being developed.

"At Northern Zone, which is located 25km east of Kalgoorlie, home of the 'Super Pit' Mine, the second largest gold mine in Australia, we have recently successfully concluded our first phase Reverse Circulation (RC) drilling programme.  This campaign comprised of drillholes of up to 260 metres deep, mainly targeting gold mineralisation within a series of stacked porphyry intrusions.  Our samples are now with the laboratory and we look forward to sharing the results in the coming weeks as we look to begin to define what we believe is a highly exciting new gold zone, ripe for mine development."

The Board of Oracle would like to advise shareholders that Naheed Memon, CEO of Oracle, will be conducting a shareholder Q&A session, details of which will be made available on the Company's website by close of business on 22 October 2021.

Shareholders are invited to submit questions to Ms. Memon by 12.00pm on 21 October 2021 via email at [e-mail] . There is no guarantee that all questions will be discussed on the call given time limitations and/or specific sensitivities with respect to operations.

*ENDS*

For further information:

Oracle Power PLC Naheed Memon	[phone]
Strand Hanson Limited (Nominated Adviser) Rory Murphy, James Harris, Rob Patrick	[phone]
Brandon Hill Capital Limited (Joint Broker) Oliver Stansfield	[phone]
Shard Capital (Joint Broker) Damon Heath Isabella Pierre St Brides Partners Limited (Financial PR) Susie Geliher Catherine Leftley	[phone] [phone]

About Oracle Power PLC:

Oracle Power PLC is an international natural resource and power project developer quoted on London's AIM market.  The Company holds two highly prospective gold assets in two globally significant gold regions of Western Australia.  The Northern Zone Project is located 25km east of the major gold mining centre of Kalgoorlie, the home of the 'Super Pit' mine, the second largest gold mine in Australia, and the Jundee East Gold Project is located ~9km east of Northern Star's Jundee Gold Mine, one of Australia's largest gold mines.

The Company is also active in the power industry in Pakistan and is working to establish a green hydrogen production facility in association with PowerChina.  The Company's initial project is the Thar Block VI Project in south-east Pakistan where the Company is advancing plans for a combined lignite coal mine, a 1,320MW mine mouth power plant and a proposed coal gasification to urea project.

 

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