SolGold PLC Director Dealing - Exercise of Options (4328K)

TIDMSOLG

RNS Number : 4328K

SolGold PLC

07 July 2017

7 July 2017

SolGold plc

("SolGold" or the "Company")

Director Dealing - Exercise of Options

The Board of SolGold plc (SolGold or the Company) wishes to advise that Mr Nicholas Mather and Mr Brian Moller, have respectively exercised options over 1,500,000 new ordinary shares and 1,100,000 new ordinary shares, of which half were granted at 14p each and half were granted at 28p each on 8 July 2014, following approval by shareholders at the Company's AGM convened in July 2014.

The Company has issued and allotted new 2,600,000 new ordinary shares in the capital of the Company as a result of the exercise of shares options by the two Directors.

Application has been made to the London Stock Exchange and admission is expected on or around 12 July 2017.

Following the exercise of these options, Mr Nicholas Mather's shareholding is 90,768,275 Ordinary Shares, representing 5.99% per cent of the Company's total voting rights. Mr Brian Moller's shareholding is 5,189,121 Ordinary Shares, representing 0.34% per cent of the Company's total voting rights.

*******************

The Company now has on issue a total of 1,515,555,686 fully-paid ordinary shares, 31,795,884 options exercisable at 28p and 9,795,884 options exercisable at 14p.

By order of the Board

Karl Schlobohm

Company Secretary

CONTACTS

Mr Nicholas Mather Tel: [phone]

SolGold Plc (Executive Director) [phone]

[e-mail]

Mr Karl Schlobohm Tel: [phone]

SolGold Plc (Company Secretary)

[e-mail]

Mr Ewan Leggat / Mr Richard Morrison Tel: [phone]

SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP (NOMAD and Broker)

[e-mail]

Follow us on twitter @SolGold_plc

The notifications below, made in accordance with the requirements of the EU Market Abuse Regulation, provide further detail on the directors' participation in the Placing.

NOTIFICATION AND PUBLIC DISCLOSURE OF TRANSACTIONS BY PERSONS DISCHARGING MANAGERIAL RESPONSIBILITIES AND PERSONS CLOSELY ASSOCIATED WITH THEM

 
 1.   Details of the person discharging managerial 
       responsibilities/person closely associated 
---  ------------------------------------------------------------------ 
 a)   Name:                             Nicholas Mather 
---  --------------------------------  -------------------------------- 
 2.   Reason for the notification 
---  ------------------------------------------------------------------ 
 a)   Position/status:                  Managing Director 
---  --------------------------------  -------------------------------- 
 b)   Initial notification/Amendment:   Initial notification 
---  --------------------------------  -------------------------------- 
 3.   Details of the issuer, emission allowance 
       market participant, auction platform, 
       auctioneer or auction monitor 
---  ------------------------------------------------------------------ 
 a)   Name:                             SolGold plc 
---  --------------------------------  -------------------------------- 
 b)   LEI:                              213800HGFADQBMIEVI76 
---  --------------------------------  -------------------------------- 
 4.   Details of the transaction(s): section 
       to be repeated for (i) each type of instrument; 
       (ii) each type of transaction; (iii) each 
       date; and (iv) each place where transactions 
       have been conducted 
---  ------------------------------------------------------------------ 
 a)   Description of the                Ordinary shares of 
       financial instrument,             1p 
       type of instrument:               GB00B0WD0R35 
       Identification code: 
---  --------------------------------  -------------------------------- 
 b)   Nature of the transaction:        Exercise of options 
---  --------------------------------  -------------------------------- 
 c)   Price(s) and volume(s): 
                                          Exercise Price(s)   Volume(s) 
                                          ---------  ---------- 
                                           14p        750,000 
                                           28p        750,000 
                                          ---------  ---------- 
---  --------------------------------  -------------------------------- 
 d)   Aggregated information:           1,500,000 Ordinary 
       Aggregated volume:                Shares @ 21p (avg) 
       Price:                            = GBP315,000 
---  --------------------------------  -------------------------------- 
 e)       Date of the transaction       7 July 2017 
---  --------------------------------  -------------------------------- 
 f)   Place of the transaction:         Off market transaction 
---  --------------------------------  -------------------------------- 
 1.   Details of the person discharging managerial 
       responsibilities/person closely associated 
---  ------------------------------------------------------------------ 
 a)   Name:                             Brian Moller 
---  --------------------------------  -------------------------------- 
 2.   Reason for the notification 
---  ------------------------------------------------------------------ 
 a)   Position/status:                  Non-Executive Director 
---  --------------------------------  -------------------------------- 
 b)   Initial notification/Amendment:   Initial notification 
---  --------------------------------  -------------------------------- 
 3.   Details of the issuer, emission allowance 
       market participant, auction platform, 
       auctioneer or auction monitor 
---  ------------------------------------------------------------------ 
 a)   Name:                             SolGold plc 
---  --------------------------------  -------------------------------- 
 b)   LEI:                              213800HGFADQBMIEVI76 
---  --------------------------------  -------------------------------- 
 4.   Details of the transaction(s): section 
       to be repeated for (i) each type of instrument; 
       (ii) each type of transaction; (iii) each 
       date; and (iv) each place where transactions 
       have been conducted 
---  ------------------------------------------------------------------ 
 a)   Description of the                Ordinary shares of 
       financial instrument,             1p 
       type of instrument:               GB00B0WD0R35 
       Identification code: 
---  --------------------------------  -------------------------------- 
 b)   Nature of the transaction:        Exercise of options 
---  --------------------------------  -------------------------------- 
 c)   Price(s) and volume(s):           Exercise Price(s)   Volume(s) 
                                         ---------  ---------- 
                                          14p        550,000 
                                          28p        550,000 
                                         ---------  ---------- 
---  --------------------------------  -------------------------------- 
 d)   Aggregated information:           1,100,000 Ordinary 
       Aggregated volume:                Shares @ 21p (avg) 
       Price:                            = GBP231,000 
---  --------------------------------  -------------------------------- 
 e)       Date of the transaction       7 July 2017 
---  --------------------------------  -------------------------------- 
 f)   Place of the transaction:         Off market transaction 
---  --------------------------------  -------------------------------- 
 

NOTES TO EDITORS

SolGold is a Brisbane, Australia based, AIM--listed (SOLG) copper gold exploration and future development company with assets in Ecuador, Solomon Islands and Australia. SolGold's primary objective is to discover and define world--class copper--gold deposits. The Board and Management Team have substantial vested interests in the success of the Company as shareholders as well as strong track records in the areas of exploration, mine appraisal and development, investment, finance and law. SolGold's experience is augmented by state of the art geophysical and modelling techniques and the guidance of porphyry copper and gold expert Dr Steve Garwin.

SolGold was shortlisted as a nominee for the Mining Journal Explorer Achievement Award for 2016. The Company announced USD54m in capital raisings in September 2016 involving Maxit Capital LP, Newcrest International Ltd and DGR Global Ltd, and a USD41.2m raising in June of 2017 largely from Newcrest International with USD1.2m raised from Ecuadorean investors. All of these raisings were undertaken at substantial premiums to previous raisings, and SolGold has circa USD70 million in available cash to continue the exploration and development of its flagship Cascabel Project.

Mr Craig Jones joined the SolGold Board on 3 March 2017, nominated to the Board of SolGold by Newcrest Mining, now a 14.54% shareholder in SolGold. Mr Jones is a Mechanical Engineer and is currently the Executive General Manager Wafi-Golpu (Newcrest-Harmony MMJV). He has held various senior management and executive roles within the Newcrest Group, including General Manager Projects, General Manager Cadia Valley Operations, Executive General Manager Projects and Asset Management, Executive General Manager Australian and Indonesian Operations, Executive General Manager Australian Operations and Projects, and Executive General Manager Cadia and Morobe Mining Joint Venture. Prior to joining Newcrest, Mr Jones worked for Rio Tinto.

Cascabel, SolGold's 85% owned "World Class" (Ref: Cautionary Notice) flagship copper--gold porphyry project, is located in northern Ecuador on the under--explored northern section of the richly endowed Andean Copper Belt. SolGold owns 85% of Exploraciones Novomining S.A. ("ENSA") and approximately 8% of TSX--V--listed Cornerstone Capital Resources ("Cornerstone"), which holds the remaining 15% of ENSA, the Ecuadorian registered company which holds 100% of the Cascabel concession. Subject to the terms of existing agreements, Cornerstone is debt financed by SolGold for its share of costs to completion of a Feasibility Study.

The investments by Newcrest for 14.54% of SolGold, and the investments into SolGold by Guyana Goldfields, Maxit Capital and its clients, endorses Ecuador as an exploration and mining destination, the management team at SolGold, the dimension, size and scale of the growing Alpala, and the prospectivity of Cascabel and its multiple targets. The gold endowment, location, infrastructure, logistics are important competitive advantages offered by the project.

To date SolGold has completed geological mapping, soil sampling, rock saw channel sampling, geochemical and spectral alteration mapping over 25km(2) , along with an additional 9km(2) of Induced Polarisation and 14km(2) Magnetotelluric "Orion" surveys over the Alpala cluster and Aguinaga targets.

SolGold has completed over 40,000m of drilling and expended over USD47M on the program, which includes corporate costs and investments into Cornerstone. This has been accomplished with a workforce of up to 176 Ecuadorean workers and geoscientists, and 6 expatriate Australian geoscientists. The results of 26 holes drilled (including re-drilled holes) and assayed to date have produced some of the greatest drill hole intercepts in porphyry copper-gold exploration history, as indicated by Hole 12 (CSD-16-012) returning 1560m grading 0.59% copper and 0.54 g/t gold including, 1044m grading 0.74% copper and 0.54 g/t gold. The average grade of all metres drilled to date on the project currently stands at 0.32% copper and 0.27 g/t gold. Intensive diamond drilling is planned for the next 12 months with 10 drill rigs expected to be operational by early 2018, targeting over 90,000m of drilling per annum.

Cascabel is characterised by fifteen (15) identified targets, "World Class" drilling intersections over 1km in length at potentially economic grades, and high copper and gold grades in richer sections, as well as logistic advantages in location, elevation, water supply, proximity to roads, port and power services; and a progressive legislative approach to resource development in Ecuador.

To date, SolGold has drill tested 4 of the 15 targets, being Alpala Northwest, Alpala Central, Hematite Hill, and Alpala Southeast. Currently drill testing of Alpala Northwest, Alpala Central and Alpala Southeast targets is underway, with drill testing of the Aguinaga target to commence in August 2017.

The Alpala deposit is open in multiple directions and the mineralised corridor marked for drill testing of the greater Alpala cluster occurs over a 2.2km strike length from Trivinio in the northwest to Cristal in the southeast. The mineralised corridor is known to be prospective over approximately 700m width.

High priority targets within the Alpala cluster, at Moran approximately 700m to the north, and at Aguinaga approximately 2.3km north east, are closely modelled by 3D MVI magnetic signatures that currently encompass over 15Bt of magnetic rock. Based on a strong spatial and genetic relationship between copper sulphides and magnetite, this body of magnetic rock is considered to be highly prospective for significant copper and gold mineralisation, and requires drill testing.

SolGold is focussing on extending the dimensions of the Alpala deposit including Hematite Hill, Alpala South East, Cristal, Alpala Northwest and Trivinio before completing a resource statement and drill testing of the other key targets within the Cascabel concession at Aguinaga, Tandayama-America, Alpala West, Carmen, Alpala East, Moran, Parambas, and Chinambicito.

The Company is currently planning further metallurgical testing and completion of an independent Pre-Feasibility Study at Cascabel. SolGold is investigating both high tonnage open cut and underground block caving operations, as well as a high grade / low tonnage initial underground development towards the economic development of the copper gold deposit/s at Cascabel.

Drill hole intercepts have been updated to reflect current commodity prices, using a data aggregation method, defined by copper equivalent cut-off grades and reported with up to 10m internal dilution, excluding bridging to a single sample. Copper equivalent grades are calculated using a gold conversion factor of 0.63, determined using an updated copper price of USD3.00/pound and an updated gold price of USD1300/ounce. True widths of down hole intersections are estimated to be approximately 25-50%.

Following a comprehensive review of the geology and prospectivity of Ecuador, SolGold and its subsidiaries have also applied for additional exploration licences in Ecuador over a number of promising porphyry copper gold targets throughout the Country. SolGold is negotiating external funding options which will provide the Company with the ability to have some of these projects fully funded by a third party while focussing on Cascabel.

In Queensland, Australia the Company is evaluating the future exploration plans for the Mt Perry, Rannes and Normanby projects, with drill testing of the Normanby project planned for the coming quarter. Joint venture agreements are being investigated for a joint venture partner to commit funds and carry out exploration to earn an interest in the tenements.

SolGold retains interests in its original theatre of operations, Solomon Islands in the South West Pacific, where the 100% owned, but as yet undrilled, Kuma prospect on the island of Guadalcanal exhibits surface lithocap characteristics which are traditionally indicative of a large metal rich copper gold intrusive porphyry system. SolGold intends in the future to apply intellectual property and experience developed in Ecuador to target additional "World Class" copper gold porphyries at Kuma and other targets in Ecuador and Argentina.

SolGold is based in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The Company listed on London's AIM Market in 2006, under the AIM code 'SOLG' and currently has on issue a total of 1,515,555,686 fully-paid ordinary shares, 31,795,884 options exercisable at 28p and 9,795,884 options exercisable at 14p.

This information is provided by RNS

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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July 07, 2017 03:58 ET (07:58 GMT)