31 July 2023
Premier African Minerals Limited
Offtake and Prepayment Agreement Update
Zulu and Corporate Update
Premier African Minerals Limited ("Premier" or the "Company"), is pleased to provide a further update on the Zulu Lithium and Tantalum Project ("Zulu") and the Offtake and Prepayment Agreement ("Agreement") entered into between Premier and Canmax Technologies Co., Ltd ("Canmax").
Offtake and Prepayment Agreement
As previously announced on 20 July 2023, the Company received, and acknowledged, a further written notice from Canmax on 17 July 2023 that there is a dispute under the Agreement and that both parties are now required to seek to resolve the dispute in good faith by "friendly negotiation". To the extent that the parties are unable to resolve the dispute in 10 days, then either party may then refer the dispute to arbitration in Singapore.
The Board is pleased to report that these discussions, which remain ongoing, are at an advanced stage and have been constructive. The Board's expectation is that there is a common understanding between the parties and they are close to a satisfactory resolution. Shareholders should note that as CanMax is interested in more than 10 per cent. of the issued ordinary share capital of the Company, any addendum to the Agreement will be a related party transaction for the purposes of Rule 13 of the AIM Rules and will be dealt with in accordance with AIM Rule 13.
Zulu plant modification update
Whilst certain of the required fixes as set out in the announcement dated 26 May 2023 and in the annual financial statements published at the end of June 2023 have been installed, optimisation and full commissioning has not yet been concluded and the plant supplier, Stark International Projects Limited ("Stark") has not been able to deliver spodumene concentrate as expected and production projections will need to be reviewed. The plant has demonstrated its ability to produce concentrates from both the mica and spodumene sections of the floatation plant. The ongoing optimisation will focus on the following key aspects:
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Increase in density of material provided to the floatation plant; |
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Installation as an intermediate upgrade of redundant RHA Tungsten rod mill at Zulu; and |
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Refinement of the spodumene concentrate to eliminate mica and lepidolite minerals. |
Spodumene concentrates produced to date contain in the region of 50% spodumene as determined by XRD analysis, but also up to 30% in mica minerals that cause a dilution of the spodumene grade. With improvements through ongoing optimisation and a refloating of concentrates produced to date, we expect that the plant will produce spodumene to SC6 grade as we have already demonstrated in our on-site laboratory.
Further updates are expected in the near term in regard to the plant operations and production forecasts.
George Roach, CEO commented, "I am deeply appreciative to our team at Premier and the team from Canmax for the work being undertaken in an effort to find a satisfactory outcome.
In regard to Spodumene concentrate production, it is most encouraging to note that we are able to produce high grade spodumene concentrates from the plant material in our laboratory and to note that we expect to re-float concentrates produced to date with the intention of having saleable material in the coming weeks."
Corporate update
As previously announced, notice has been published for a General Meeting at the Chesterfield Mayfair Hotel, 35 Charles Street, London W1J 5EB, United Kingdom at 13:00 (BST) on 12 August 2023 which shareholders are strongly encouraged to vote in either person or through the proxy of the Chairman of the meeting.
MAR (Market Abuse Regulation)
The 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 UK Domestic Law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018.
The person who arranged the release of this announcement on behalf of the Company was George Roach.
A copy of this announcement is available at the Company's website, www.premierafricanminerals .com
Enquiries:
| George Roach |
Premier African Minerals Limited |
Tel: +27 (0) 100 201 281 |
| Michael Cornish / Roland Cornish |
Beaumont Cornish Limited (Nominated Adviser) |
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7628 3396 |
| Douglas Crippen |
CMC Markets UK Plc |
Tel: +44 (0) 20 3003 8632 |
| John More/Toby Gibbs |
Shore Capital Stockbrokers Limited |
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7408 4090 |
Forward Looking Statements:
Certain statements in this announcement are or may be deemed to be forward looking statements. Forward looking statements are identified by their use of terms and phrases such as ''believe'' ''could'' "should" ''envisage'' ''estimate'' ''intend'' ''may'' ''plan'' ''will'' or the negative of those variations or comparable expressions including references to assumptions. These forward-looking statements are not based on historical facts but rather on the Directors' current expectations and assumptions regarding the Company's future growth results of operations performance future capital and other expenditures (including the amount. Nature and sources of funding thereof) competitive advantages business prospects and opportunities. Such forward looking statements reflect the Directors' current beliefs and assumptions and are based on information currently available to the Directors. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements including risks associated with vulnerability to general economic and business conditions competition environmental and other regulatory changes actions by governmental authorities the availability of capital markets reliance on key personnel uninsured and underinsured losses and other factors many of which are beyond the control of the Company. Although any forward-looking statements contained in this announcement are based upon what the Directors believe to be reasonable assumptions. The Company cannot assure investors that actual results will be consistent with such forward looking statements.
| Glossary |
|
| "Floatation circuits" |
Flotation circuits are a common technology for the concentration of a broad range of minerals. Froth flotation is based on differences in the ability of air bubbles to adhere to specific mineral surfaces in a solid/liquid slurry. |
| "Lepidolite" |
A pink to lavender coloured lithium bearing mineral (KLi2Al(Si4O10)(F,OH)2). |
| "Micas" |
Micas are a group of silicate minerals whose outstanding physical characteristic is that individual mica crystals can easily be split into extremely thin elastic plates. |
| "SC6" |
An important economic concentrate of spodumene, known as spodumene concentrate 6 or SC6, is a high-purity lithium ore with approximately 6 percent lithium content being produced as a raw material for the subsequent production of lithium-ion batteries. |
| "Spodumene" |
A white to pink coloured lithium bearing mineral (LiAlSi2O6). |
| "XRD" |
X-ray diffraction (XRD) is a widely used technique to assess the mineral assemblage, crystallinity and structure of rocks, cores etc. |
Notes to Editors:
Premier African Minerals Limited (AIM: PREM) is a multi-commodity mining and natural resource development company focused on Southern Africa with its RHA Tungsten and Zulu Lithium projects in Zimbabwe.
The Company has a diverse portfolio of projects, which include tungsten, rare earth elements, lithium and tantalum in Zimbabwe and lithium and gold in Mozambique, encompassing brownfield projects with near-term production potential to grass-roots exploration. The Company has accepted a share offer by Vortex Limited ("Vortex") for the exchange of Premier's entire 4.8% interest in Circum Minerals Limited ("Circum"), the owners of the Danakil Potash Project in Ethiopia, for a 13.1% interest in the enlarged share capital of Vortex. Vortex has an interest of 36.7% in Circum.
In addition, the Company holds a 19% interest in MN Holdings Limited, the operator of the Otjozondu Manganese Mining Project in Namibia.
Ends