Portfolio Update: Thacker Pass Lithium Royalty

RNS Number : 7346R

Trident Royalties PLC.

03 March 2023

 

3 March 2023

Trident Royalties Plc

("Trident" or the "Company")

Portfolio Update: Thacker Pass Lithium Royalty

Trident Royalties Plc (AIM:TRR), the diversified mining royalty company, is pleased to note a recent update on the Thacker Pass lithium project ("Thacker Pass" or the "Project"), in Nevada, by the project operator, Lithium Americas Corp. ("LAC") ¹ .

LAC has today announced the commencement of construction at Thacker Pass following the receipt of notice to proceed from the Bureau of Land Management ("BLM").

Thacker Pass is targeting 80,000 tonnes per annum ("tpa") of battery-quality lithium carbonate ("Li2CO3") production capacity in two phases of 40,000 tpa, respectively ("Phase 1" and "Phase 2"). Phase 1 production is expected to commence in the second half of 2026.

Trident holds a 60% interest in a gross revenue royalty over the entirety of Thacker Pass. Assuming LAC exercises the partial royalty buy-back (US$13.2 million attributable to Trident), then Trident will retain the equivalent of a (net) 1.05% gross revenue royalty.

Jonathan Evans, President and CEO of LAC, commented for the purposes of their announcement ¹ :

"Starting construction is a momentous milestone for Thacker Pass and one we have been working towards for over a decade.  We are excited about the prospect of generating economic growth in Northern Nevada and playing a major role in the domestic lithium supply chain for electric vehicles."

Adam Davidson, Chief Executive Officer of Trident commented:

"LAC is clearly motivated to push forward with its production schedule for Thacker Pass and it is extremely encouraging to note that construction has commenced within a month of the Federal Court's favourable ruling relating to the issuance of the Record of Decision.  This demonstrates LAC's clear belief in the value of bringing Thacker Pass to fruition in as short timeframe as possible, targeting first production in H2 2026."

References

1  Source: Lithium Americas Corp TSX announcement: Lithium Americas commences construction at Thacker Pass dated 2 March 2023:

( https://www.lithiumamericas.com/news/lithium-americas-commences-construction-at-thacker-pass)

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Contact details:

Trident Royalties Plc Adam Davidson / Richard Hughes	www.tridentroyalties.com [phone] / [phone]
Grant Thornton (Nominated Adviser) Colin Aaronson / Samantha Harrison / Samuel Littler	www.grantthornton.co.uk [phone]
Stifel Nicolaus Europe Limited (Joint Broker) Callum Stewart / Ashton Clanfield	www.stifelinstitutional.com [phone]
Liberum Capital Limited (Joint Broker) Scott Mathieson / Cara Murphy	www.liberum.com [phone]
Tamesis Partners LLP (Joint Broker) Richard Greenfield	www.tamesispartners.com [phone]
St Brides Partners Ltd (Financial PR & IR) Susie Geliher / Catherine Leftley	www.stbridespartners.co.uk [phone]

About Trident

Trident is a growth-focused diversified mining royalty and streaming company, providing investors with exposure to a mix of base battery, precious, and bulk metals.

Key highlights of Trident's strategy include:

·	Building upon a royalty and streaming portfolio which broadly mirrors the commodity exposure of the global mining sector (excluding fossil fuels) 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 resource-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.

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.

Third Party Information

As a royalty and streaming company, Trident often has limited, if any, access to non-public scientific and technical information in respect of the properties underlying its portfolio of royalties and investments, or such information is subject to confidentiality provisions. As such, in preparing this announcement, the Company often largely relies upon information provided by or the public disclosures of the owners and operators of the properties underlying its portfolio of royalties, as available at the date of this announcement.

 

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