Royalty Portfolio Update: Thacker Pass Project

RNS Number : 4583S

Trident Royalties PLC.

16 November 2021

 

16 November 2021

Trident Royalties Plc

("Trident" or the "Company")

Royalty Portfolio Update: Thacker Pass Lithium Project

Trident Royalties Plc (AIM:TRR, FSX:5KV), the growth-focused mining royalty and streaming company, is pleased to note the recent announcement¹ by Lithium Americas Corp. ("Lithium Americas" or "LAC") regarding positive progress at the Thacker Pass Lithium Project ("Thacker Pass" or the "Project"), in Nevada, USA. Trident holds a 60% interest in a gross revenue royalty ("GRR") over the entirety of the Project (the "Thacker Pass Royalty" or the "Royalty").

HIGHLIGHTS

· In October 2021, the Nevada Department of Environmental Protection made a preliminary determination to issue the three remaining key state-level permits: the Water Pollution Control Permit, Mine Reclamation Permit, and Class II Air Permit.

· The Record of Decision appeal process remains on track, with the hearing date set for Q1 2022, following which early-works construction is expected to commence, including site access, site preparation, water line and additional infrastructure to condense and de-risk the overall construction schedule.

· LAC reiterated that Phase 1 of the Feasibility Study was increased to target 40,000 tonnes per annum ("tpa") lithium carbonate equivalent ("LCE"), with a potential Phase 2 expansion scenario to target total capacity of 80,000tpa LCE. This is a +30% increase over the 30,000tpa and 60,000tpa LCE targeted for Phases 1 and 2 respectively in the original Pre-Feasibility Study ("PFS")².

· An integrated pilot processing plant, to support increased scale and ongoing optimisation work and to provide product samples to potential customers, is also expected to be operational in the first half of 2022, while discussions with potential strategic partners and customers are currently ongoing.

Adam Davidson, Chief Executive Officer of Trident commented³:

"This latest update from Lithium Americas highlights continued progress at Thacker Pass, with a positive preliminary determination having been issued for the remaining three key State permits. LAC also reiterated the increased scale of the Feasibility Study and its intention to commence construction in the first half of next year. The increase in project scale is significant for Trident's royalty which, at current LCE spot prices and following an expected US$13.2 million partial buy-back payment to Trident, would see the royalty pay +US$11 million per year on the Phase 1 production profile and +US$23 million per year on the Phase 2 production profile; while we note that the original PFS contemplated a 46-year mine life."  

Notes & References

All of the technical information in this release has been extracted from the publicly available source documents identified below, the reader is advised that the appropriate CIM tables and Qualified Persons Statements may be found in those documents.

1   Source: Lithium Americas Corp. (TSX: LAC, NYSE: LAC) announcement. Lithium Americas Reports Third Quarter 2021 Results, 15 November 2021

( https://www.lithiumamericas.com/_resources/news/nr_20211115.pdf   )

2  Technical Report on the Pre-Feasibility Study for the Thacker Pass Project, Humboldt County, Nevada, USA, Effective Date 1 August 2018 , results announced 21 June 2018 Study link : https://www.lithiumamericas.com/staging/lithiumamericas.com/_resources/pdf/investors/technical-reports/thacker-pass/Technical-Report-Thacker-Pass.pdf?v=0.228

3   Source: Lithium spot price reference, Fastmarkets lithium carbonate min 99% Li₂CO₃ technical and industrial grades, CFR China

Competent Person's Statement

The technical information contained in this disclosure has been read and approved by Mr Nick O'Reilly (MSc, DIC, MAusIMM, MIMMM, FGS), who is a qualified geologist and acts as the Competent Person under the AIM Rules - Note for Mining and Oil & Gas Companies. Mr O'Reilly is a Principal Consultant working for Mining Analyst Consulting Ltd which has been retained by Trident to provide technical support.

** Ends **

Contact details:

Trident Royalties Plc Adam Davidson	www.tridentroyalties.com [phone]
Grant Thornton (Nominated Adviser) Colin Aaronson / Samantha Harrison	www.grantthornton.co.uk [phone]
Tamesis Partners LLP (Joint Broker) Richard Greenfield	www.tamesispartners.com [phone]
Shard Capital Partners LLP (Joint Broker) Erik Woolgar / Isabella Pierre	www.shardcapital.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 and precious metals, bulk materials (excluding thermal coal) and battery metals.

Key highlights of Trident's strategy include:

· Expanding on a royalty and streaming portfolio which broadly mirrors 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 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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