Update

RNS Number : 2640Q

African Battery Metals PLC

05 June 2018

 

African Battery Metals plc / EPIC: ABM / Market: AIM

5 June 2018

African Battery Metals plc ('ABM' or the 'Company')

Update

AIM listed African Battery Metals plc is pleased to announce an update on its activities as it looks to implement its strategy to become a significant explorer, developer and ultimately miner of battery metals, specifically cobalt, lithium, copper and nickel.

At the 53 km² Kisinka Permit PR12728 ('Kisinka'), located in the Katanga Province of the Democratic Republic of Congo ('DRC') (the 'Licence'), the Company has completed two auger programmes that collected soil samples along lines across this 7-8km long licence.  A number of the resulting samples, after bagging, collation and preparation, are being sent to an independent laboratory in Johannesburg for assay.  Subject to customs clearance these should be dispatched by 15 June.  Assay results will be announced as soon as they are available.  This initial work on the Licence, which is c.40km east of the city of Lubumbashi, will be followed up by a licence-wide sampling programme including geophysics and soil sampling to test for further anomalies in what is recognised as a highly prospective mineralised district, with seven producing cobalt/copper mines within 30km of the Licence. 

Further to the agreement with Mr Jean-Pierre Ndobo Mwamby, the Congolese vendor of Kisinka, the Company has initiated the second US$50,000 tranche of its committed US$100,000 payment to acquire 70% of the Licence as per the original agreement.

On a wider level, the Company has, in line with its strategy, continued to assess multiple opportunities within the battery metals arena.  Having a dedicated London listed vehicle has attracted significant interests from project owners; the Company's team has been busy screening and further evaluating opportunities that it believes may fit ABM's investment criteria.  With this increased workflow, the Company's geologists have been unable to visit the Sakania licence permit in the DRC.  Accordingly, it has agreed to defer by six months the U$50,000 payment to the vendor Mr Jean-Pierre Ndobo Mwamby for the acquisition of the project into ABM. 

ABM CEO Roger Murphy said, "We continue to be extremely busy in building a portfolio of projects focussed on the battery metals arena.   We will be submitting the first set of samples from Kisinka for independent analysis and are currently implementing further exploration initiatives across the Licence to assist in quantifying its prospectivity.  Concurrently, we have been evaluating multiple opportunities that we have both generated ourselves and been approached on.  We have a defined evaluation and investment process and hope to announce further updates on these in the near future."

 **Ends**

For further information please visit https://www.abmplc.com/ or contact:

African Battery Metals plc
Roger Murphy (CEO)	[phone]
SP Angel Corporate Finance (Nomad and Broker)
Ewan Leggat	[phone]
St Brides Partners Ltd (Public Relations)
Susie Geliher/Juliet Earl	[phone]
Madini Minerals (Financial and Technical Adviser)
Iain Macpherson / Ilja Graulich	[phone]

Notes to Editors:

ABM is an AIM listed, Africa focused resource company exploring for the key metals used in next generation batteries that fuel the new electric vehicle revolution.   The Board and team of advisors, who have proven expertise in African exploration, mining and project generation, have identified an opportunity to utilise the Company's position to become the primary vehicle on the London market for investors to gain exposure to the battery metal commodity suite, particularly cobalt, lithium, copper and nickel.  The Company's primary focus is currently on cobalt, with the initial portfolio targeting the Democratic Republic of Congo, the main source of the world's cobalt and where the team has both excellent knowledge and operational ability.  The Board is contemporaneously evaluating multiple projects across Africa to rapidly build its portfolio, capitalise on the battery metal demand fundamentals and deliver value for shareholders.

 

END

 

 

UPDUSVKRWUANRAR