Vast Resources plc Letter To Shareholders

 
TIDMVAST 
 
   Vast Resources plc / Ticker: VAST / Index: AIM / Sector: Mining 
 
   20 February 2017 
 
   Vast Resources plc 
 
   ("Vast" or the "Company") 
 
   Letter to Shareholders 
 
   Vast Resources plc, the AIM listed mining company with operations in 
Romania and Zimbabwe, is pleased to announce that a letter to 
shareholders has been posted on the Company's website at 
www.vastresourcesplc.com. 
 
   The purpose of the letter to shareholders is to introduce a new 
programme of shareholder communication and to highlight the benefit of 
recent developments to new and existing investors. 
 
   OVERVIEW 
 
 
   -- The recent strategic investment by the SSCG Africa Holdings Ltd group 
      ("SSA"), providing gross proceeds of US$8 million to Vast as announced on 
      30 January 2017, has fundamentally changed the Company 
 
   -- The Board foresee that Vast is now fully-funded through to positive cash 
      flow* at the Manaila Polymetallic Mine ("Manaila") and the Baita Plai 
      Polymetallic Mine ("Baita Plai"), once the relevant licence is granted 
 
   -- The Board see that there is no current need to issue new equity during 
      2017 
 
   -- 2017 to be punctuated with regular operational developments charting 
      progress across the Company's portfolio of interests 
 
   -- To reflect the evolving investment proposition of Vast, and to ensure all 
      shareholders are communicated with in a professional manner, the Board 
      are launching a new Vast communications programme 
 
   -- The communications programme is intended to deliver regular and reliable 
      news flow, in addition to providing shareholders with established 
      channels through which to ask questions, raise concerns and provide 
      feedback 
 
 
   * when all conditions precedent have been fulfilled and all the cash is 
received from SSA 
 
   A text only version of the letter to shareholders is copied below for 
shareholders' reference: 
 
   Dear Vast Shareholder, 
 
   Although only in our second month of the year, 2017 has already been an 
active and exciting year for Vast. The strategic investment by the SSCG 
Africa Holdings Ltd group has fundamentally reshaped the near-term 
outlook for the Company, and for this reason I wanted to provide 
shareholders with a better sense of where I believe Vast is headed over 
the course of the year. 
 
   A New Phase of Growth. 
 
   In my statement on 30 January, I advised you that the SSA transaction 
"heralds a new phase of growth for Vast" - I strongly believe this to be 
true and in this letter I want to provide context and colour around this 
statement. 
 
   In addition to removing the concerns of shareholders regarding emergency 
equity raisings, the capital derived from the SSA transaction provides 
shareholders with comfort that Vast is now positioned to achieve 
positive cash flow at Manaila and Baita Plai (once the necessary licence 
is granted) without further equity raises.   Any future fund raising 
activities will need to be demonstrably beneficial to shareholders and 
the growth of the Company, therefore shielding investors to unnecessary 
or value destructive dilution.  I know that further dilution has been a 
primary concern for many long-term holders, so I want to be clear when I 
say that the Board's primary focus is on building a business which 
offers shareholders material value increases in the long-term through 
sustainable and organic growth. 
 
   As longer term shareholders will be aware, Vast has not always had this 
level of security over finance, and the Company agreed to two equity 
draw down facilities in 2016.  Not only did these facilities create 
significant dilution in the year, but it is my belief that the market 
perceives that an overhang, derived from these two facilities, persists 
which is curbing the progression of the share price.  After detailed 
shareholder analysis by our registrar, I can confirm that these two 
entities hold no residual holdings in Vast stock and I am therefore 
confident that neither party represents a threat to the progress of the 
share price henceforth.  One of these parties does have 50,000,000 
warrants exercisable at 0.4p which expire in October 2019, which only 
represent just over 1% of the currently issued share capital of the 
Company. 
 
   Professional & Reliable Communication. 
 
   The appointment of our new nominated adviser last month, together with 
our reinvigorated investment case post-SSA transaction, has prompted us 
and our advisory group to introduce a new investor communication 
programme, which is aimed at giving shareholders frequent and reliable 
news flow combined with regular access to the Board and management. 
 
   In addition to our regulatory announcement responsibilities, Vast will 
continue to report quarterly operational activity by way of a quarterly 
production report.  In the past, Vast has reported on various financial 
aspects relating to each operation, and the complexity of this has made 
subscribing to a strict reporting calendar difficult.  In order to 
resolve this, Vast will publish production figures only and these will 
be issued to the market within four weeks of the end of the period.  The 
Board and its advisers believe that this will be a more useful tool in 
keeping investors abreast of developments - rather than waiting up to 
ten weeks for all the relevant information to be approved by the 
appropriate parties.  The Company will of course continue to issue all 
financial results, including production and financial operating data for 
each mine, in its half-yearly report and annual audited accounts.  The 
financial details will however be disclosed in the next quarterly report, 
due to be announced on Tuesday 21 February, as adequate time has elapsed 
for these to be accurately calculated. 
 
   The Board would also like to introduce a rationalised structure for ad 
hoc communication between the directors, management and shareholders. 
This investor relations policy will include the following: 
 
 
   -- Quarterly shareholder conference calls: details of which will be found in 
      the Quarterly Production Reports announced to the market - during the 
      call, shareholders will have the opportunity to ask questions via an 
      online chat function.  Shareholders can also submit questions to the 
      Board via email in advance of the call to St Brides Partners at 
      [e-mail].  The first shareholder call 
      will be held in conjunction with the release of the next quarterly 
      production report scheduled on Tuesday 21 February. 
 
   -- Q & A documents: shareholders will be invited to email questions to the 
      Board which will be accumulated into Q & A documents and regularly posted 
      on the Vast website and announced to the market - please send any 
      questions through to St Brides Partners who will be compiling this on 
      behalf of the Company ([e-mail]). 
 
   -- Private Investor Events: new and existing shareholders will be invited to 
      exclusive Vast Investor Evenings where members of the Board will provide 
      a presentation and be available to answer questions.  The first of these 
      evenings will be announced to the market shortly. 
 
   A Final Word. 
 
   After 18 months of challenging times for Vast shareholders, we intend to 
rebuild credibility, trust and excitement in the Vast investment 
proposition for the benefit of all stakeholders.  I am confident that 
over the course of 2017, when combined with the continued operational 
turnaround in Romania, this will be achieved. 
 
   Whilst the Board and its advisers continue to monitor the share price 
constantly, it is the Board's responsibility to build the business, 
which ultimately should be reflected in the share price moving forward. 
The Company's advisers will be active in communicating the progress on 
the ground within the investment community.  All parties concerned, be 
they directors, managers or advisers, are fully committed and aligned 
with the success of Vast and we are focussed on establishing a 
significant, profitable and sustainable mining company with a robust 
communications strategy moving forward. 
 
   Brian Moritz 
 
   Chairman 
 
   **S** 
 
   For further information, visit www.vastresourcesplc.com or please 
contact: 
 
 
 
 
Vast Resources plc 
 Roy Pitchford (Chief Executive Officer)            [phone] 
Beaumont Cornish - Financial & Nominated Adviser  www.beaumontcornish.com 
 Roland Cornish                                    [phone] 
 James Biddle 
Brandon Hill Capital Ltd - Joint Broker           www.brandonhillcapital.com 
 Jonathan Evans                                    [phone] 
Peterhouse Corporate Finance Ltd - Joint Broker   www.pcorpfin.com 
 Duncan Vasey                                      [phone] 
St Brides Partners Ltd                            www.stbridespartners.co.uk 
 Susie Geliher                                     [phone] 
 Charlotte Page 
 
 
   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 ("MAR"). 
 
   **S** 
 
   Notes 
 
   Vast Resources plc is an AIM listed mining and resource development 
company focussed on the rapid advancement of high quality brownfield 
projects and recommencing production at previously producing mines in 
Romania. 
 
   Vast Resources currently operates the Manaila Polymetallic Mine in 
Romania, which was commissioned in 2015.  The Company's portfolio also 
includes the Baita Plai Polymetallic Mine in Romania, where work is 
currently underway towards obtaining the relevant permissions to start 
developing and ultimately commissioning the mine. 
 
   The Company also has interests in a number of projects in Southern 
Africa including a 25 per cent. interest in the producing 
Pickstone-Peerless Gold Mine in Zimbabwe. 
 

   This announcement is distributed by Nasdaq Corporate Solutions on behalf 
of Nasdaq Corporate Solutions clients. 
 
   The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely 
responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information 
contained therein. 
 
   Source: Vast Resources plc via Globenewswire 
 
 
  http://www.acrplc.com/ 
 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 20, 2017 03:00 ET (08:00 GMT)

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