First Quarter Royalty Payment and FIRB Approval

RNS Number : 0474O

Trident Resources Plc

27 May 2020

 

27 May 2020

Trident Resources Plc

("Trident" or the "Company")

Koolyanobbing First Quarter Royalty Payment and Receipt of FIRB Approval

Further to its announcements of 25 March 2020 and 1 May 2020, Trident is pleased to advise that the royalty payment from the Koolyanobbing Iron Ore Royalty for the first quarter of 2020 is A$539,310 (US$354,974¹). Trident is also pleased to advise that it has received formal approval for the transaction from Australia's Foreign Investment Review Board ("FIRB").

On 25 March 2020, the Company announced that it had entered into a conditional purchase agreement ("SPA") with Fe Limited ("FEL") to acquire a 1.5% FOB revenue royalty covering part of the producing Koolyanobbing Iron Ore Operation in Western Australia (the "Koolyanobbing Operation") for a staged cash consideration of A$7.0 million (the "Koolyanobbing Iron Ore Royalty Acquisition"). 

The Koolyanobbing Operation is owned and operated by Mineral Resources Limited. Under the terms of the SPA, royalty payments beginning on 1 January 2020 are attributable to Trident and are to be netted off the purchase price at completion. As such, assuming satisfaction of the remaining conditions as set out in the announcements of 25 March 2020 and 1 May 2020 and a transaction close prior to 31 July 2020, upon transaction close, Trident will pay FEL A$3,460,690 (being the A$4.0 million first tranche purchase price, less the first quarter royalty payment). The second tranche of A$3.0 million is payable 12 months and one day after the closing of the transaction.

The royalty is payable on production from the ML77/1259 tenement which constitutes part of the Deception Pit, one of the segments in the broader Koolyanobbing Operation. The Deception Pit is connected to Mineral Resources' Windarling operation by a 20km haul road, which is then connected to Koolyanobbing. Material from Koolyanobbing is transported by rail south to Esperance Port where it is loaded for export. The Deception pit has a JORC 2012 Reserve of 9.3Mt at 59.9% Fe and a total Resource of 19.5Mt at 59.9% Fe as at 30 June 2019. Trident estimates up to 75% of the Deception Pit may contain mineralisation over which payments would be made under the Koolyanobbing Iron Ore Royalty Acquisition.

Adam Davidson, Chief Executive Office of Trident commented:

"Trident is pleased with the outcome of the first quarter payment from the Koolyanobbing royalty. The result emphasises the high-quality nature of the underlying asset and its operator. Despite the challenging macro environment, iron ore price continues to outperform relative to other commodities having reached a 10-month high of US$98.36/t on 19^th May 2020.This provides an attractive basis for the second quarter payment due in August 2020."

[1] 1 AUD = 0.66 USD

[2] Metal Bulletin 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao

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Contact details:

Trident Resources Plc Adam Davidson	www.tridentresources.co.uk [phone]
Tamesis Partners LLP Richard Greenfield	www.tamesispartners.com [phone]
Yellow Jersey Charles Goodwin	www.yellowjerseypr.com [phone]
Azure Capital Ltd John Toll	www.azurecapital.com.au [phone]
Ashanti Capital Pty Ltd Rob Hamilton	www.ashanticapital.com.au [phone]

About Trident

On 25 March, 2020, Trident entered into a definitive purchase agreement to acquire a significant, cash generative royalty over part of the Koolyanobbing iron ore mine operated by Mineral Resources Ltd (ASX: MIN) in Western Australia (the "Acquisition").

The Acquisition will initiate the establishment of Trident as a new, growth-focused diversified mining royalty and streaming company, aiming to provide investors with exposure to a mix of base and precious metals, bulk materials (excluding thermal coal) and battery metals.

Key highlights of Trident's strategy include:

· Constructing a royalty and streaming portfolio to broadly mirror the commodity exposure of the global mining sector (excluding thermal coal) with a bias towards production or near-production assets, differentiating Trident from the majority of peers which are exclusively, or heavily weighted, to precious metals;

· Acquiring royalties and streams in resources-friendly jurisdictions worldwide, while most competitors have portfolios focused on North and South America;

· Targeting attractive small-to-mid size transactions which are often ignored in a sector dominated by large players;

· Active deal-sourcing which, in addition to writing new royalties and streams, will focus on the acquisition of assets held by natural sellers such as: closed-end funds, prospect generators, junior and mid-tier miners holding royalties as non-core assets, and counterparties seeking to monetise packages of royalties and streams which are otherwise undervalued by the market;  

· Maintaining a low-overhead model which is capable of supporting a larger scale business without a commensurate increase in operating costs; and

· Leveraging the experience of management, the board of directors, and Trident's adviser team, all of whom have deep industry connections and strong transactional experience across multiple commodities and jurisdictions.

The acquisition and aggregation of individual royalties and streams is expected to deliver strong returns for shareholders as assets are acquired on terms reflective of single asset risk compared with the lower risk profile of a diversified, larger scale portfolio. Further value is expected to be delivered by the introduction of conservative levels of leverage through debt. Once scale has been achieved, strong cash generation is expected to support an attractive dividend policy, providing investors with a desirable mix of inflation protection, growth and income.

The information contained within this announcement is deemed to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014. Upon the publication of this announcement, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.

Forward-looking Statements

This news release contains forward ‐ looking information. The statements are based on reasonable assumptions and expectations of management and Trident provides no assurance that actual events will meet management's expectations. In certain cases, forward ‐ looking information may be identified by such terms as "anticipates", "believes", "could", "estimates", "expects", "may", "shall", "will", or "would". Although Trident believes the expectations expressed in such forward ‐ looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected. Mining exploration and development is an inherently risky business. In addition, factors that could cause actual events to differ materially from the forward-looking information stated herein include any factors which affect decisions to pursue mineral exploration on the relevant property and the ultimate exercise of option rights, which may include changes in market conditions, changes in metal prices, general economic and political conditions, environmental risks, and community and non-governmental actions. Such factors will also affect whether Trident will ultimately receive the benefits anticipated pursuant to relevant agreements. This list is not exhaustive of the factors that may affect any of the forward ‐ looking statements. These and other factors should be considered carefully and readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information.

 

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