Board Changes

RNS Number : 2126X

China Africa Resources PLC

17 February 2017

 

China Africa Resources PLC

17 February 2017

China Africa Resources plc

("China Africa" or "the Company" or "CAF")

Board Changes

China Africa Resources plc (LON:CAF) the AIM listed natural resource exploration and development company,  announces strategic board changes which the they believe will drive forward the growth and development of the Company.

·     David Linsley, formerly the Executive Director of Behre Dolbear, has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer with immediate effect;

·     Paul Johnson and Nick O'Reilly will step down from the Board with immediate effect however will continue to support the Company going forward, notably dealing with any transitional matters;

·     John Bryant and Rod Webster will remain as Directors of the Company in the roles of Non-Executive Director and Non-Executive Chairman, respectively;

·     Further senior appointments are expected to be made and announced in due course and expected to include team members with extensive exploration, development and mining experience across a diverse range of commodities including technical experience in copper operations and uranium mining, alongside M&A and corporate advisory;

·     The new Board hopes to provide the Company with:

- new resource project opportunities including more advanced and near or currently producing assets, complementing existing interests, and

- access to high quality capital for the future including institutions, hedge funds and family offices.

Rod Webster, Chairman, said,

"I thank Paul and Nick for their work in successfully steering China Africa through the General Meeting in December, and into its Rule 15 Cash Shell status and now holding two investment interests in Botswanan Copper and USA Lithium.

The Company is well positioned for its next growth phase and as such has attracted the interest of a high profile management team who are eager to drive the company forward.

I welcome David as CEO and the Board looks forward to working with him and the new colleagues he is expected to be bring to the Company. The Board believe David and his potential team have the skills to move the Company forward through the sourcing of high quality assets and access to capital."

David Linsley, Chief Executive Officer said,

 "I am delighted to assume the position of CEO at China Africa.  I have been closely involved in the mineral sector for many years, a significant portion of which has been spent in fund management financing resource companies.   I intend to leverage this strong network to bring some high calibre people to work with me at China Africa. I believe we will be able to access resource projects capable of delivering a significant return for investors'.

Through this network I will also seek to support our future work with a pool of high quality capital from well-regarded institutions, hedge funds and family offices known to myself and my team.

I am currently in the process of finalising the management team and in parallel pursuing negotiations over new resource opportunities which will fit with both the China Africa business model and our plans for the business.  I intend to provide a report to shareholders outlining our plans in more detail in the coming weeks.  I will of course make announcements to market should material events occur in the interim."

David Linsley's Background:

David Linsley is a former Executive Director of Behre Dolbear.  Prior to his work with Behre Dolbear he was a co-founder of Northern Zinc, a group formed to acquire a near production zinc asset in upstate New York.

Mr Linsley founded Sirius Investment Management LLP in 2005, a Gibraltar based multi strategy fund management group specialising in fund of funds and hedge fund products.  The most notable fund launched was the Sirius Resource Fund which invested in global mining and resource transactions.

Previously, Mr Linsley was a co-founder in 1998 and CEO of Cross Asset Management Ltd, a UK- based hedge fund management company which managed $500 million in assets across a number of strategies including Event Driven Equity and Credit.  As a multi-strategy Europe-focused arbitrage firm Cross was involved in mergers, corporate restructurings, IPOs and private placements across Europe. In 2005 Cross Asset Management was sold to RAB Capital, a specialist asset manager focusing on natural resource and long/short equity investments.

Mr Linsley started his career at Lehman Brothers International in the prime brokerage and equity finance group, where he was involved with numerous hedge fund structures as an early participant in this London based community

Mr Linsley has developed strong relationships with institutional funds internationally, including in Europe and the US. In addition, Mr Linsley has been involved in numerous financings in the mining and resources sectors around the world and has sat on the boards of several mining companies. Mr Linsley is currently a member of the board of Behre Dolbear.

Mr David Charles Linsley, aged 51, held or has held the following directorships or partnerships in the past five years. 

Current                                                                              Past

Behre Dolbear Group Inc.                                           Northern Zinc LLC

He has no shareholding in the Company.

Save as disclosed, there are no other disclosures required in relation to Rule 17 or paragraph (g) of Schedule 2 of the AIM Rules for Companies.

AIM Rule 15 Cash Shell Status

On 14^th December shareholders in CAF approved at General Meeting the distribution of shares in the Company's 100% owned China Africa Namibia Pty Limited to then shareholders.  This distribution was completed as announced to market on 11 January 2017. As a result of the distribution China Africa Resources became a Rule 15 Cash Shell with six months to complete a reverse takeover or face suspension from trading on AIM.

Since that time the Company has made two investments.  The first was to secure a 48.88% of Global Exploration Technologies Pty Limited which has a 100% interest in five copper exploration licences in the Kalahari Copper Belt, Botswana and which was announced to the market on 1 February 2017.  The second to secure up to 47.5% of US Lithium Pty Limited which has a 100% interest in four Lithium exploration properties in Arizona and New Mexico, as announced to market on 8 February 2017.

Shareholders should note that the Company has yet to make an acquisition that represents a reverse takeover under the AIM rules. Consequently, China Africa continues to be required to complete a reverse takeover within six months of 11 January 2017 or face suspension from trading on AIM.

For further information on the Company, visit: http://www.chinaafricares.com/.

China Africa Resources PLC David Linsley, Chief Executive Officer	T: [phone]
SPARK Advisory Partners - Nominated Adviser Sean Wyndham-Quin Neil Baldwin	T: [phone] www.sparkadvisorypartners.com
SI Capital Limited - Joint Broker Nick Emerson Andy Thacker	T: [phone]
Beaufort Securities Limited - Joint Broker Elliot Hance	T: [phone]

  Blythe Weigh - Financial PR

  Tim Blythe, Camilla Horsfall, Nick Elwes                                          T; [phone]

China Africa Resources Investing Policy:

Under the AIM Rules for Companies, CAF is required to complete an acquisition or acquisitions that constitutes a reverse takeover within six months of becoming an AIM Rule 15 Cash Shell or it will face suspension from trading on AIM. The Directors intend to apply the investing policy set out below in seeking an acquisition or acquisitions that will constitute a reverse takeover but there can be no certainty that they will be able to do this in the specified time frame.

The Board proposes to invest in and/or acquire companies and/or projects within the natural resource sector but with a particular interest in opportunities in the precious and base metals sectors. 

The Board will not be limited to a specific geographic focus. In selecting investment opportunities, the Board will focus on businesses, assets and/or projects that are available at attractive valuations and hold opportunities to unlock embedded value or where, through efficient and focused work, there is the prospect of adding considerable value to each project, for the benefit of shareholders.

Where appropriate, the Board may seek to invest in businesses where it may influence the business at a board level, add their expertise to the management of the business, and utilise their industry relationships and access to finance.

The Company's interests in a proposed investment and/or acquisition may range from a minority position to full ownership and may comprise one investment or multiple investments. The proposed investments may be in quoted or unquoted companies; be made by direct acquisitions or farm-ins; and may be in companies, partnerships, earn-in joint ventures, debt or other loan structures, joint ventures or direct or indirect interests in assets or projects. The new Board may focus on investments where intrinsic value can be achieved from the restructuring of investments or merger of complementary businesses.

The Board expects that investments will typically be held for the medium to long term, although short term disposal of assets cannot be ruled out if there is an opportunity to generate an attractive return for Shareholders. The Board will place no minimum or maximum limit on the length of time that any investment may be held.

The Board will conduct initial due diligence appraisals of potential businesses or projects and, where they believe further investigation is warranted, intend to appoint appropriately qualified persons to assist.

The Board believes it has a broad range of contacts through which it is likely to identify various opportunities which may prove suitable. The Board believes its expertise will enable it to determine quickly which opportunities could be viable and so progress quickly to formal due diligence.

The Company will not have a separate investment manager. The Board proposes to carry out a comprehensive and thorough project review process in which all material aspects of a potential project or business will be subject to rigorous due diligence, as appropriate. Due to the nature of the sector in which the Company is focused the Company expects a focus on capital returns over the medium to long term. Should opportunities arise for an early cash return to investors, this will be considered by the Board.

It is emphasised that there is no certainty that the Company will be able to secure an acquisition or Reverse Takeover as set out above.

 

END

 

 

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