Completion of transaction regarding Aprelevka

Vast Resources PLC

16 January 2024

 

Vast Resources plc / Ticker: VAST / Index: AIM / Sector: Mining

16 January 2024

Vast Resources plc

('Vast' or the 'Company')

Completion of transaction regarding Aprelevka Gold Mines

Vast Resources plc ("Vast"), the AIM-listed mining company, is pleased to announce that following satisfactory due diligence pursuant to the MOU regarding Aprelevka Gold Mines announced on 19 October 2023, Bay Square Pacific Ltd (Bay Square) has acquired the entire share capital of Gulf International Minerals Ltd ('Gulf'). Gulf has a 49% interest in a joint venture with the Government of Tajikistan (holding 51%) which owns the Joint Tajik-Canadian Limited Liability Company, Aprelevka ('Aprelevka'). Vast has been contractually appointed to manage and develop the Aprelevka Gold Mines on behalf of the owners and, consistent with the MOU terms previously announced on 19 October 2023.

Highlights

·    Vast will be entitled to a 10% share of the earnings before interest and tax that Gulf receives from its 49% interest in Aprelevka;

·    Vast will be entitled to a right of first refusal to convert its entitlement into an equity interest of 10% in Gulf at any time from 1 January 2025 to 15 January 2027, and;

·    Vast will be entitled to a right to acquire at market price up to a further 20% of the shares of Gulf at any time from 1 January 2025 to 15 January 2027.

·    Aprelevka has three existing tailings dams that can be reprocessed containing high gold values of which two tailings dams can be exploited in the near term.

Funding required to carry out the present intended development at the mines will be facilitated by Bay Square under an interest free loan repayable in priority to any dividends being paid by Aprelevka.

Aprelevka holds four active operational mining licences located along the Tien Shan Belt that extends through Central Asia, currently producing approximately 11,600oz of gold and 116,000 oz of silver per annum.  It is the intention of the Company to assist in increasing Aprelevka's production from these four mines closer to the historical peak production rates of approximately 27,000oz of gold and 250,000oz of silver per year from the operational mines.

Two additional mines have been explored, and eight further licenced mining areas that are currently being prospected have shown positive results as listed in the RNS released on 19 October 2023. 

Additionally, Aprelevka has three tailings dams that contain significant high value gold that are a part of the portfolio that could yield near term additional cash flow for the Company.

Andrew Prelea, Chief Executive Officer at Vast Resources PLC, commented:

"The Aprelevka opportunity should provide Vast with a further meaningful source of revenue in the near-term, whilst insulating shareholders from dilution.  As managers of the Aprelevka Gold Mines, Vast will have direct exposure to the top line growth of the assets as we work to increase production at the operational mines back to historical highs of 27,000oz Au and 250,000oz Ag per annum, and also exposure to the significant upside expected from the development of the three tailings dams and eight further exploration assets.

"We see this as a highly positive pillar of our expanding production footprint alongside our core Baita Plai mine in Romania, and our additional production activities in Tajikistan."

Further Information

The results shown below are NAEN code-compliant (but are not JORC compliant); in 2023 a series of 100 trenches, at approximately one metre deep of two of the three tailings dams were completed and are in accordance with the Tajikistan Mineral Resource legalisation (source: Exploration and Prospecting Report Gulf). The Company will be engaging technical consultants to provide independent due diligence. In the meantime, the figures set out below should be viewed with caution and as background information only.

Tailings Dam 1

Approximately L550m xW200mx H10-35m (Avg.25m) = 2.75Mil m3 at a density of 2.5 = 6.875Mil T

Hole no.	Sample #	Sampling depth, m	Average metal grade
			Au g/t	Ag g/t	Cu %	Pb %	Zn %
I	III	IV	V	VI	VII	VIII	IX
1	201	1.00	0.38	26.8	0.07	0.10	0.10
2	202	1.00	0.46	21.0	0.06	0.05	0.08
3	203	1.00	0.43	22.4	0.06	0.07	0.01
4	204	1.00	0.38	23.1	0.05	0.10	0.09
5	205	1.20	0.20	20.5	0.06	0.08	0.07
6	206	1.10	0.48	20.9	0.04	0.04	0.09
7	207	1.00	0.40	20.1	0.04	0.07	0.08
8	208	1.00	0.33	21.4	0.05	0.09	0.11
9	209	1.00	0.28	19.8	0.03	0.07	0.08
10	210	0.70	0.68	25.1	0.06	0.08	0.10
11	211	0.70	0.31	17.2	0.03	0.06	0.09
12	212	0.90	0.29	20.2	0.03	0.06	0.09
13	213	0.80	0.30	21.4	0.04	0.05	0.10
14	214	1.00	0.32	22.5	0.03	0.08	0.11
15	215	1.00	0.39	14.0	0.04	0.06	0.10
16	216	0.80	0.31	20.7	0.04	0.08	0.09
17	217	0.80	0.24	12.7	0.03	0.05	0.08
18	218	0.70	0.35	16.6	0.05	0.07	0.10
19	219	0.80	0.29	21.1	0.05	0.10	0.10
20	220	0.90	0.59	25.6	0.08	0.09	0.12
21	221	0.70	0.56	24.8	0.06	0.11	0.10
22	222	0.90	0.31	20.7	0.03	0.07	0.07
23	223	0.90	0.25	13.5	0.09	0.08	0.06
24	224	1.00	0.29	19.0	0.02	0.04	0.07
25	225	0.80	0.27	19.7	0.07	0.10	0.10
26	226	0.80	0.41	23.0	0.05	0.08	0.09
27	227	0.70	0.32	17.4	0.08	0.05	0.09
28	228	0.70	0.26	18.2	0.07	0.06	0.06
29	229	0.80	0.60	25.9	0.06	0.07	0.07
30	230	0.80	0.27	25.0	0.04	0.08	0.10
31	231	0.90	0.30	17.7	0.04	0.05	0.07
32	232	0.80	0.34	23.9	0.05	0.07	0.05
33	233	1.00	0.30	21.3	0.04	0.08	0.09
34	234	0.90	0.56	24.1	0.07	0.06	0.10
35	235	0.90	0.45	23.2	0.06	0.07	0.09
36	236	0.80	0.27	20.6	0.07	0.08	0.10
37	237	0.80	0.60	25.8	0.07	0.07	0.10
38	238	0.90	0.31	21.4	0.03	0.06	0.07
39	239	0.90	0.32	19.6	0.05	0.10	0.07
40	240	0.90	0.44	20.7	0.06	0.07	0.09
41	241	0.80	0.44	23.5	0.06	0.06	0.06
42	242	0.90	0.47	22.0	0.06	0.07	0.09
43	243	1.00	0.25	19.3	0.02	0.04	0.05
44	244	1.00	0.44	24.7	0.06	0.04	0.08
45	245	0.90	0.32	22.2	0.08	0.06	0.01
46	246	0.90	0.31	21.2	0.04	0.05	0.08
47	247	0.90	0.38	20.1	0.04	0.08	0.09
48	248	1.00	0.32	22.0	0.05	0.08	0.04
49	249	0.80	0.30	18.7	0.03	0.07	0.08
50	250	0.9	0.28	16.0	0.03	0.06	0.08
		Average	0.37	20.97

Tailings Dam 2

Approximately L400m xW200mx H10-35m (Avg.25m) = 2Mil m3 at a density of 2.5 = 5Mil T

Hole no.	Sample #	Sampling depth, m	Average metal grade
			Au g/t	Ag g/t	Cu %	Pb %	Zn %
I	III	IV	V	VI	VII	VIII	IX
1	151	0.90	0.42	18.40	0.05	0.11	0.19
2	152	1.00	0.33	12.70	0.04	0.11	0.53
3	153	0.90	0.36	15.20	0.08	0.14	0.11
4	154	0.90	0.37	15.50	0.05	0.17	0.15
5	155	0.90	0.32	12.40	0.03	0.12	0.04
6	156	0.90	0.31	11.90	0.06	0.12	0.01
7	157	1.00	0.32	14.60	0.04	0.16	0.13
8	158	0.90	0.41	13.80	0.09	0.14	0.05
9	159	0.80	0.50	15.80	0.07	0.12	0.18
10	160	0.90	0.41	16.90	0.05	0.16	0.15
11	161	0.80	0.34	16.70	0.04	0.13	0.21
12	162	0.90	0.30	15.10	0.06	0.12	0.16
13	163	1.00	0.40	15.70	0.05	0.11	0.14
14	164	0.80	0.49	16.00	0.09	0.09	0.18
15	165	0.80	0.30	12.50	0.06	0.13	0.11
16	166	0.80	0.29	11.60	0.03	0.09	0.14
17	167	0.70	0.38	13.50	0.04	0.11	0.07
18	168	0.80	0.43	15.30	0.05	0.11	0.15
19	169	0.80	0.44	14.70	0.08	0.18	0.15
20	170	0.80	0.56	15.80	0.12	0.12	0.20
21	171	0.80	0.35	13.70	0.05	0.13	0.08
22	172	0.80	0.33	12.20	0.08	0.09	0.06
23	173	0.80	0.37	14.20	0.03	0.14	0.11
24	174	0.90	0.38	0.13	0.04	0.07	0.11
25	175	0.90	0.30	11.50	0.07	0.08	0.09
26	176	0.90	0.51	14.40	0.05	0.08	0.09
27	177	0.90	0.42	12.60	0.05	0.08	0.09
28	178	0.80	0.39	12.20	0.06	0.09	0.18
29	179	0.80	0.37	14.90	0.08	0.18	0.18
30	180	0.80	0.42	15.00	0.05	0.11	0.18
31	181	0.90	0.39	13.00	0.08	0.12	0.10
32	182	0.80	0.36	12.20	0.06	0.08	0.09
33	183	0.80	0.40	14.50	0.15	0.17	0.15
34	184	0.90	0.43	15.30	0.06	0.12	0.17
35	185	0.80	0.38	15.30	0.04	0.11	0.13
36	186	0.90	0.35	13.70	0.07	0.09	0.10
37	187	0.80	0.49	14.90	0.17	0.14	0.18
38	188	0.90	0.52	16.00	0.07	0.16	0.14
39	189	0.90	0.40	13.90	0.05	0.07	0.17
40	190	0.90	0.39	15.10	0.09	0.11	0.20
41	191	1.00	0.37	14.90	0.17	0.14	0.18
42	192	0.80	0.42	15.60	0.06	0.14	0.15
43	193	1.10	0.37	14.40	0.06	0.09	0.11
44	194	0.90	0.45	13.70	0.07	0.08	0.11
45	195	1.20	0.66	17.60	0.07	0.09	0.18
46	196	0.90	0.49	14.70	0.04	0.18	0.09
47	197	1.20	0.42	12.80	0.09	0.04	0.13
48	198	0.90	0.54	15.60	0.08	0.11	0.21
49	199	0.90	0.30	10.50	0.04	0.12	0.08
50	200	1.20	0.43	12.50	0.05	0.11	0.00
		Average	0.40	14.02

Competent Person

The technical information in this announcement has been reviewed by, and the forward-looking technical views are based on, information interpreted by Mr Nicolae Turdean, our Romanian Country Manager and a full-time employee of the Company. Mr Nicolae Turdean is a Qualified Person who is a Member in good standing of the:

·      Romanian National Association of Specialists in Mining Industry

·      General Association of Romanian Engineers

·      Romanian National Committee of Mining Engineers

Nicolae has 40 years' experience in the Romanian mining industry. He was most recently President of the National Agency for Mineral Resources.  Prior to this, Nicolae was the Chief Executive of Cupru Min SA, the Romanian state-owned copper producer. Nicolae has worked closely with the Ministry of Economy and Commerce, the Minister of Economy and Finance, and the World Bank, as well as serving on the Board of Administration for a number of companies. Nicolae holds both a Bachelor of Mining Science and a MSc. in the Management of Mining Activities from the Technical University of Petrosani in Romania.

The technical information and forward-looking views have also been reviewed by and interpreted by Negru Vlad Andrei, Chief Geologist for geological and geotechnical consultants Formin SA.  The information is in the course of further review by SRK.

Important Notices

This announcement contains 'forward-looking statements' concerning the Company that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Generally, the words 'will', 'may', 'should', 'continue', 'believes', 'targets', 'plans', 'expects', 'aims', 'intends', 'anticipates' or similar expressions or negatives thereof identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements. Many of these risks and uncertainties relate to factors that are beyond the Company's ability to control or estimate precisely. The Company cannot give any assurance that such forward-looking statements will prove to have been correct. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this announcement. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update or revise publicly any of the forward-looking statements set out herein, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent legally required.

Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) Disclosure

Certain information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014 as it forms part of UKDomestic Law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 ("UK MAR") until the release of this announcement.

**ENDS**

For further information, visit www.vastplc.com or please contact:

Vast Resources plc Andrew Prelea (CEO)	www.vastplc.com [phone]
Beaumont Cornish - Financial & Nominated Advisor Roland Cornish James Biddle	www.beaumontcornish.com [phone]
Shore Capital Stockbrokers Limited  - Joint Broker Toby Gibbs / James Thomas (Corporate Advisory)	www.shorecapmarkets.co.uk  [phone]
Axis Capital Markets Limited - Joint Broker Richard Hutchinson	www.axcap247.com  [phone]
St Brides Partners Limited Susie Geliher	www.stbridespartners.co.uk [phone]

ABOUT VAST RESOURCES PLC

Vast Resources plc is a United Kingdom AIM listed mining company with mines and projects in Romania, Tajikistan, and Zimbabwe.

In Romania, the Company is focused on the rapid advancement of high-quality projects by recommencing production at previously producing mines.

The Company's Romanian portfolio includes 100% interest in Vast Baita Plai SA which owns 100% of the producing Baita Plai Polymetallic Mine, located in the Apuseni Mountains, Transylvania, an area which hosts Romania's largest polymetallic mines. The mine has a JORC compliant Reserve & Resource Report which underpins the initial mine production life of approximately 3-4 years with an in-situ total mineral resource of 15,695 tonnes copper equivalent with a further 1.8M-3M tonnes exploration target. The Company is now working on confirming an enlarged exploration target of up to 5.8M tonnes.

The Company also owns the Manaila Polymetallic Mine in Romania, which the Company is looking to bring back into production following a period of care and maintenance. The Company has also been granted the Manaila Carlibaba Extended Exploitation Licence that will allow the Company to re-examine the exploitation of the mineral resources within the larger Manaila Carlibaba licence area.

Vast has an interest in a joint venture company which provides exposure to a near term revenue opportunity from the Takob Mine processing facility in Tajikistan. The Takob Mine opportunity, which is 100% financed, will provide Vast with a 12.25 percent royalty on overall sales of non-ferrous concentrate and any other metals produced.

Glossary

NAEN CODE - Russian Code for the Public Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources, Mineral Reserves.

 

END