Interim Results - Six months ended 30.09.2019

RNS Number : 7919X

Panthera Resources PLC

23 December 2019

 

23 December 2019

Panthera Resources PLC

("Panthera" or "the Company")

Interim Results - Six months ended 30 September 2019

Panthera Resources PLC (AIM: PAT), the gold exploration and development company with key assets in India and West Africa, is pleased to announce its unaudited interim results for the half year ended 30 September 2019.

Highlights

·     Earnings for the reporting period was a loss of $659,348 or $0.01 per share.  This was an improvement on the previous corresponding period loss of $1,106,883 or $0.02 per share.  The improvement resulted from efforts to reduce the company's overall cost base and lower levels of expensed exploration expenditures.

·     Government of Rajasthan (GoR) finally filed its response to Metal Mining India Pvt Ltd's (MMI's) writ petition.  The rejoinder has now been filed on behalf of MMI and all documents therefore lodged with the Hon'ble High Court of Rajasthan (Court) and the case is now ready for a final hearing.

·     MMI was granted an interim stay order by the Court, which fully protects our rights to the project area.

·     The Labola Project in Burkina Faso was acquired.  Labola hosts evidence of mineralisation over at least 7km of mineralised structures known to extend for 9km strike and hosts a previously identified resource which was estimated at approximately 600,000 ounces of contained gold averaging (approximately) 1.2g/t Au.

·     The final instalment of the first tranche of Galactic Gold Pvt Ltd's (Galaxy) investment in Indo Gold Pty. Ltd (IGL) was received and Galaxy now holds a 5% interest in IGL, resulting in Panthera holding an effective 66.5% stake in the Bhukia Joint Venture Project (Bhukia).

·     Tranche 3 of the Republic Investment Management (Republic) financing agreement was restructured to bring forward £500,000 at £0.10 per share and align pricing for the remainder of the tranche with the market prevailing at the time.

·     Following up on the gold mineralised drill intercepts that were returned from drilling at the Naton project in Burkina Faso, further work (mostly soil geochemistry and mapping) has outlined and better defined extensions to this mineralization and added further high-quality drill targets.

·     The company's corporate restructuring has been completed and subsidiaries formed in Mali and Burkina Faso now hold the exploration assets in-country.

Activities during the Reporting Period

The key focus of Panthera's operating activities during the reporting period was to:

(i)            Progress the permitting of the Bhukia joint venture property in Rajasthan, India through the Court and through parallel negotiations with the GoR;

(ii)           Continue to build a highly attractive portfolio of West African gold exploration properties, some with clearly identified drill targets;

(iii)          Seek and successfully identify a strategic partner (or partners) to advance the Company's West African gold exploration initiatives; and

(iv)          Optimise the Company's investment in Anglo Saxony Mining.

To this end the Company met with good success:

Bhukia Project (67%), India 

·     Panthera is targeting a 6.0Moz+ AU resource at Bhukia, where it currently has a JORC (2012) compliant inferred resource of 1.74Moz on a 100% basis (1.16Moz on a 67% attributable basis), defined over only approximately 10% of an extensive gold in soil geochemical anomaly.

·     During the previous reporting period, MMI's Bhukia PLA was rejected.  On 6 September 2018 a substantive writ petition was filed with the Court on MMI's behalf. The GoR filed its reply 14 months later in November of 2019.  With the recent filing of MMI's rejoinder to the reply, all pleadings are now lodged with the court and the matter is ready for the Court to decide.  Unfortunately, given the overtaxed and generally inefficient nature of the Court, we cannot predict with any certainty when our case will be adjudicated.

·     The Company's operations in India have benefitted from input and assistance from Galaxy and it's affiliates since the inception of the investment and cooperation agreement.  Even as events have unfolded in the Court, communication with newly elected and appointed politicians and bureaucrats have improved and, while at an early stage, an increasingly constructive dialogue is underway.

West African Gold Exploration Initiative 

·     During the reporting period the West African assets were restructured to be held in subsidiary companies in Mali and Burkina Faso.

·   In an exciting addition to Panthera's West African gold portfolio, a decision was made to move to a full Option to Purchase agreement following its successful due diligence investigation of the Labola Project in Burkina Faso. 

·   Labola hosts drill defined mineralisation intermittently over at least 7km of the known 9km strike and previously identified resource estimates of approximately 600,000 ounces of contained gold averaging (approximately) 1.2g/t Au.

·    The agreement allows for up to five years of exploration and Panthera may obtain a 100% interest in the project by payment of US$1,000,000 to the vendor at any time within this five-year period.  An additional payment of US$1,000,000 will become due if a JORC compliant resource exceeding 1,000,000 ounces of contained gold is defined and a 1% net smelter royalty capped at US$2M will be payable from production.

·   This is the first time this package of properties has been consolidated under one ownership and it represents an excellent opportunity to integrate the significant amount of previous drilling and optimise the resource potential of the project.

·      Significant potential for higher grade mineralisation can also be seen based on previous drill results:

o  2m @ 130.6g/t Au from 66m

o  11m @ 8.2g/t Au from 147m

o  6.5m @ 7.26g/t Au from 318m.

Galaxy Partnership Tranche 1 Investment Concluded

·     During the reporting period Galaxy completed the first of its two planned investment tranches in IGL.  These two tranches, totalling US$1.25m, will entitle Galaxy to a 10% holding in IGL. 

·     Galaxy has agreed to purchase two 5% stakes in IGL in two stages:

o  Stage 1 (5%) - US$500,000 was completed in two investments of $250,000 each, with the last $250,000     payment received in May 2019.

o  Stage 2 (5%) - US$750,000 is scheduled to be made prior to the re-commencement of exploration (now   expected in the first half of 2020).

Republic Investment Management ("Republic") Tranche 3 Investment Restructured

In a prudent move to provide near term liquidity in response to delays to the permitting of the Company's Bhukia JV in India, Panthera's binding investment agreement with Republic was successfully restructured.  The Tranche 3 payment previously consisted of A$2.67m at A$0.65 per share and was due at the time the Bhukia PL is granted and the necessary environmental and forestry permits for drilling are obtained.  The Tranche 3 capital injection was restructured and split into two separate investment tranches.  Tranche 3A, provided proceeds of £500,000 at 10 pence per share during the reporting period.  The payment timing for Tranche 3B will be made (as previously agreed) upon receipt of approvals to recommence exploration at the Bhukia JV project in India.  Tranche 3B is now to be priced at a 15% discount to the 20 day VWAP at that time. 

Management indicate that on current expenditure levels, all current cash held will be used within the next 12 months. The group's ability to continue as a going concern is dependent upon raising additional capital. A key factor affecting this is the granting of the PL and necessary environmental and forestry permits which triggers an additional US$750,000 from Galaxy and £1m from RIM. The Company will keep the market updated on progress with the PL grant and its funding requirements.

Geoff Stanley, Chief Executive Officer of Panthera Resources, commented:

"During this period Panthera has made excellent progress on multiple fronts, including strengthening our legal case for grant of the Bhukia PL, the acquisition of an excellent property package with strong indications of gold mineralization in Burkina Faso and completion of several financings that provide low dilution to shareholders by leveraging the underlying value of the Company's asset base.

With all legal pleadings now submitted with the Court in Rajasthan, MMI's case is ready to be decided.  The strength of the joint venture's case is apparent, which we expect will allow a fruitful negotiation to commence with the GoR regarding grant of the long-awaited PL.

We are looking forward to reporting substantial additional progress in 2020.  Areas of focus will remain advancing the permitting process in India to allow exploration to recommence at Bhukia, adding to our already successful West African exploration efforts and nurturing the ASM investment"

Enquiries

Panthera Resources PLC

Geoff Stanley (CEO)                                             [phone]

Nominated Advisor and Broker

RFC Ambrian                                                         [phone]

Rob Adamson                                      

Bhavesh Patel

Charlie Cryer

Panthera Resources PLC
Unaudited Interim Financial Information for the period ended

 30 September 2019

Set out below are the unaudited result of the group for the six months to 30 September 2019.

Group Statement of comprehensive income
For the six months ended 30 September 2019
					Six months to 30 September 2019	Six months to 30 September 2018
					Unaudited $USD	Unaudited $USD
Continuing operations
Revenue					-	1,682
Gross profit					-	1,682
Other Income					28,697	-
Exploration costs expensed					(289,934)	(534,903)
Administrative expenses					(397,724)	(260,054)
Share option expenses					-	-
Impairment expense						-
AIM Listing and acquisition related costs					-	-
Loss from operations					(658,961)	(793,275)
Investment revenues					607	6,759
Loss on sale of assets					-	-
Loss before taxation					(658,354)	(786,516)
Taxation					-	-
Other comprehensive income
Items that may be reclassified to profit or loss:
Changes in the fair value of available-for-sale financial assets					1,316	-
Gain on sale to non controlling interest					-	-
Exchange differences					(2,310)	(320,367)
Loss and total comprehensive income for the year					(659,348)	(1,106,883)
Total loss for the year attributable to:
- Owners of the Parent Company					(637,744)	(765,945)
- Non-controlling interest					(20,610)	(20,571)
					(658,354)	(786,516)
Total comprehensive income for the year attributable to:
- Owners of the Parent Company					(638,738)	(1,086,312)
- Non controlling interest					(20,610)	(20,571)
					(659,348)	(1,106,883)
Earnings per share attributable to the owners of the parent
Continuing operations (undiluted/diluted)					(0.01)	(0.02)

Group Statement of financial position
As at 30 September 2019
					30 September 2019	30 September 2018
					Unaudited $USD	Unaudited $USD
Non-current assets
Property, plant and equipment					4,275	1,941
Investments					6,747	-
Available for sale financial asset					1,760,635	1,227,797
					1,771,657	1,229,738
Current assets
Trade and other receivables					171,454	64,623
Cash and cash equivalents					381,847	500,883
					553,301	565,506
Total assets					2,324,958	1,795,244
Non-current liabilities
Provisions					42,923	35,765
Deferred tax liabilities					-	-
					42,923	35,765
Current liabilitites
Provisions					6,019	-
Trade and other payables					185,883	72,120
Total liabilitites					234,825	107,885
Net assets					2,090,133	1,687,359
Equity
Share capital					1,007,056	913,588
Share premium					18,010,161	17,373,601
Capital reorganisation reserve					537,757	537,757
Other reserves					(227,875)	(819,211)
Retained earnings					(16,991,030)	(16,099,803)
Total equity attributable to owners of the parent					2,336,069	1,905,932
Non-controlling interest					(245,936)	(218,573)
Total equity					2,090,133	1,687,359

Group Statement of changes of equity
For the six months ended 30 September 2019
	Share Capital	Share premium account	Capital re-organisation reserve	Other reserves	Retained earnings	Total equity	Non-controlling interest	Total
	Unaudited $USD	Unaudited $USD	Unaudited $USD	Unaudited $USD	Unaudited $USD	Unaudited $USD	Unaudited $USD	Unaudited $USD
Balance at 1 April 2018	913,588	17,373,601	537,575	(497,524)	(15,313,287)	3,014,135	(198,002)	2,816,133
Loss for the year					(786,516)	(786,516)	(20,571)	(807,087)
Foreign exchange differences on translation of currency				(320,367)		(320,367)		(320,367)
Total comprehensive income for the year	-	-	-	(320,367)	(786,516)	(1,106,883)	(20,571)	(1,127,454)
Expiry of Options				(1,320)		(1,320)		(1,320)
Total transactions in the year recognised diectly in equity	-	-	-	(1,320)	-	(1,320)	-	(1,320)
Balance at 30 September 2018	913,588	17,373,601	537,575	(819,211)	(16,099,803)	1,905,932	(218,573)	1,687,359
Balance at 1 April 2019	913,588	17,373,601	537,757	(115,997)	(16,352,292)	2,356,657	(225,326)	2,131,331
Loss for the year					(637,744)	(637,744)	(20,610)	(658,354)
Changes in the fair value of available-for-sale financial assets					1,316	1,316		1,316
Foreign exchange differences realised during the year					(2,310)	(2,310)		(2,310)
Total comprehensive income for the year	-	-	-	-	(638,738)	(638,738)	(20,610)	(659,348)
Share application moneys received	61,450	553,050		-		614,500		614,500
Shares issued in lieu of fees	32,018	83,510				115,528		115,528
Gain on fair value of investment assets				(81,943)		(81,943)		(81,943)
Foreign exchange differences on translation of currency				(29,935)		(29,935)		(29,935)
Total transactions in the year recognised diectly in equity	93,468	636,560	-	(111,878)	-	618,150	-	618,150
Balance at 30 September 2019	1,007,056	18,010,161	537,757	(227,875)	(16,991,030)	2,336,069	(245,936)	2,090,133

Group Statement of cash flows
For the six months ended 30 September 2019
					Six months to 30 September 2019	Six months to 30 September 2018
					Unaudited $USD	Unaudited $USD
Cash flows from operating activities
Cash used in operations					(606,593)	(879,924)
Income taxes paid					-	-
Net cash outflow from operating activities					(606,593)	(879,924)
Investing activities
Purchase of intangible assets					-	-
Sale/(purchase) of property, plant and equipment					(1,308)	-
Payments for available for sale financial assets					-	-
Sale/(Purchase) of Investments					-	-
Net cash generated/(used) in investing activities					(1,308)	-
Financing activities
Proceeds from issue of shares					741,600	-
Share issue costs					-	-
Proceeds from share applications					-	-
Loans repaid from other companies					-	-
Loans advanced to other companies					-	-
Effect of exchange rate movement on cash and investments					59,773	(190,771)
Net cash generaged from financing activities					801,373	(190,771)
Net increase in cash and cash equivalents					193,472	(1,070,695)
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period					188,375	1,571,578
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period					381,847	500,883

 

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