Vast Resources plc Placing, Open Offer & Appointment Of Joint Broker

 
TIDMVAST 
 
 
   NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN 
OR INTO THE UNITED STATES, AUSTRALIA, CANADA OR JAPAN OR ANY OTHER 
JURISDICTION WHERE TO DO SO WOULD CONSTITUTE A BREACH OF THE RELEVANT 
SECURITIES LAWS OF SUCH JURISDICTION. 
 
   This announcement does not constitute a prospectus or offering 
memorandum or an offer in respect of any securities and is not intended 
to provide the basis for any investment decision in respect of Vast 
Resources plc or other evaluation of any securities of Vast Resources 
plc or any other entity and should not be considered as a recommendation 
that any investor should subscribe for or purchase any such securities. 
 
   Vast Resources plc / Ticker: VAST / Index: AIM / Sector: Mining 
 
   21 November 2017 
 
   Vast Resources plc 
 
   ("Vast" or the "Company") 
 
   Placing to raise GBP1,000,000 
 
   Open Offer to raise up to GBP1,250,000 
 
   Appointment of Joint Broker 
 
   Vast Resources plc, the AIM-listed mining company with operating mines 
in Romania and Zimbabwe, is pleased to announce a financing update which 
is designed to facilitate the Company's continued expansion and 
production optimisation whilst offtake debt finance is secured in 
Romania. 
 
   Overview 
 
 
   -- Raised in aggregate GBP1,000,000 (approximately US$1.32 million) before 
      costs through a Placing (the "Placing") of 190,476,190 ordinary shares of 
      0.1 pence in the Company ("Ordinary Shares") at a price of 0.525 pence 
      per Ordinary Share (the "Placing Shares"). 
 
   -- Shareholders will be invited to participate on the same terms as those 
      investors in the Placing, through a proposed open offer to raise up to 
      GBP1,250,000 (approximately US$1.65 million) by the issue of up to 
      238,095,238 Ordinary Shares at the price of 0.525 pence per Ordinary 
      Share (the "Open Offer"). 
 
   -- The Board and management is simultaneously working to finalise 
      longer-term, non-dilutionary offtake financing that will see both the 
      Company's Baita Plai Polymetallic Mine and the Manaila Polymetallic Mine 
      reach their production objectives. 
 
   -- Appointment of SVS Securities Plc ("SVS") as joint broker with immediate 
      effect. 
 
   Purpose of the fundraising 
 
   Through its recent announcements, the Company has signalled that its 
Directors have estimated a strategic financing requirement for its 
operations of US$10 million (details of which are set out below) and 
encouraged by the drilling results to date at Carlibaba, the Company 
believes it is in a good position to obtain substantial offtake debt 
finance from metal traders. The Company has started an offtake contract 
bidding process linked to pre-shipping finance, funded by the retention 
of a portion of subsequent concentrate sale proceeds, and it is believed 
that a significant proportion of the capital requirements of the Company 
can be funded from these sources or by other non-dilutionary methods. 
 
   While such measures are being negotiated, the Company requires finance 
towards its overall $10 million requirement, which it believes should be 
satisfied by the Placing supplemented by such amount as it raises in the 
Open Offer. 
 
   Background and further details 
 
   The Company has made significant progress over the last 20 months, over 
which it has completed its transition from an explorer to a miner. 
 
 
 
   Manaila Polymetallic Mine 
 
   --         This is an open-pit mine with a current JORC Indicated and 
Inferred mineral resource of 2,600,000 tonnes open pit at 1.0% copper 
and 0.9% zinc at a cut-off grade of 0.25% copper, together with 
considerable exploration targets. 
 
   --         The Group has increased its holding in the mine to 100%. 
 
   --         A licence extension has been obtained that increases the 
total prospecting licence area by more than 20 times. 
 
   --         Production has increased over the time period and 
optimisation initiatives undertaken. 
 
   --         A zinc flotation line has been installed to establish a 
second revenue stream. 
 
   --         A gravity concentrator has been installed to extract a pyrite 
concentrate containing gold credits. 
 
   --         A phase 1, ten-hole drill programme for 1,000 metres at the 
Carlibaba prospect located adjacent to the current Manaila open pit has 
been completed and results announced on 4 October 2017. 
 
   --         Phase 2 drilling to test the extension of the Carlibaba ore 
body at depth has been completed and assays sent to an independent 
external laboratory for analysis. 
 
   --         It is the Group's objective to establish a second open pit 
mining operation at Carlibaba and to establish an enlarged mining 
complex that will utilise a centralised metallurgical processing 
facility for both open pits. 
 
 
 
   Baita Plai Polymetallic Mine 
 
   --         This is a skarn deposit comprising several veins in 
calcareous sediments in five distinct pipes with a reserve and resource 
under the Romanian reporting system of 1,800,000 tonnes copper-lead-zinc, 
gold and silver with uncategorised resources of molybdenum, tungsten and 
bismuth. 
 
   --         This has uncategorised resources in other pipes and a 
substantial exploration upside. 
 
   --         After an extremely long and difficult process due to the 
insolvency of the previous owner, the point has been reached where the 
Directors believe that the grant of an association licence giving the 
right to mine is imminent. 
 
   --         The mine is due to become operational within six months of 
the grant of the licence. 
 
   --         The budgeted expenditure before first revenue is $1.5 million 
(CAPEX $1.2m + resource drilling $0.3m). This low figure reflects the 
fact that the Group has acquired 60 years of infrastructure development 
and investment that would take 5-10 years to build today. Basic care and 
maintenance has been undertaken by the company to ensure access to the 
underground infrastructure is unimpeded. 
 
 
 
   Pickstone Peerless Gold Mine 
 
   --         Significantly increased production and revenues have been 
achieved. 
 
   --         A new sulphide plant is nearly completed and due for 
commissioning imminently. This is estimated to increase production to at 
least 35,000 tonnes per month from the current level of 20,000 tonnes 
per month. 
 
 
 
   The Company has commenced prospecting activities at Piciorul Zimbrului 
and Magura Neagra (74km from Manaila) in October 2017.  Initial 
estimates derived from open source literature related to the 
mineralisation at Magura Neagra have indicated an exploration target 
(non JORC compliant) of up to 3,000MT of ore to a depth of 600 metres at 
grades of up to 0.8% copper and 0.5 grams per tonne gold. 
 
 
 
   The Company will now require approximately US$10 million for the next 
phase of its development to be applied as follows: 
 
 
 
 
                                                                   US$ 
MPM new metallurgical complex                                      4.0m 
BPPM reopening                                                     1.2m 
BPPM underground resource drilling         pre-opening      0.3m   0.6m 
 post opening                                               0.3m 
Piciorul Zimbrului and Magura Neagra prospecting                   0.4m 
UK and Romania overheads - 12 months                               1.2m 
Repayment of SSGI loan to finalise Baita Plai exploitation 
 licence                                                           1.6m 
General working capital                                            1.0m 
TOTAL                                                             10.0m 
 
 
   As stated above, the amounts raised by the Placing and the Open Offer 
will count towards this requirement. 
 
   Appointment of Joint Broker 
 
   SVS has been appointed joint broker to the Company alongside Brandon 
Hill Capital Ltd. 
 
   Admission of and Dealings in the Placing Shares 
 
   The issue of the Placing Shares is conditional on their admission to 
trading on AIM ("Admission").  Application is being made for the Placing 
Shares to be admitted to trading on AIM and it is expected that 
Admission will become effective and dealing in the Placing Shares will 
commence on 27 November 2017.  The Placing Shares will rank pari passu 
with existing Ordinary Shares. 
 
   Following Admission, the total issued share capital of the Company will 
be 4,875,713,703.  The Placing Shares together will represent 
approximately 3.91 per cent. of the enlarged share capital of the 
Company prior to the Open Offer. 
 
   The above figure of 4,875,713,703 may be used by shareholders as the 
denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they 
are required to notify their interest in Vast under the FCA's Disclosure 
and Transparency Rule. 
 
   Open Offer 
 
   A further announcement concerning the timetable and other details of the 
Open Offer will be made shortly and a circular sent to shareholders at 
the same time. 
 
   Roy Pitchford, Vast CEO, commented: 
 
   "This limited placing and the subsequent open offer to shareholders on 
the same terms, will ensure the Company is adequately funded through the 
process of securing longer-term, non-dilutionary offtake financing that 
will see both the Baita Plai Polymetallic Mine and the Manaila 
Polymetallic Mine reach their production objectives. 
 
   "These objectives will see Vast generating sufficient cash flows to 
cover its operating and overhead funding requirements while the current 
Zimbabwe mining operations continue to be operationally self-financing. 
It is anticipated that any future capital raisings will be for specified 
acquisitions or expansions." 
 
   **S** 
 
   For further information, visit www.vastresourcesplc.com or please 
contact: 
 
 
 
 
Vast Resources plc                                www.vastresourcesplc.com 
 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] 
SVS Securities Plc - Joint Broker                 www.svssecurities.com 
 Tom Curran                                        [phone] 
 Ben Tadd 
 
  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"). 
 
   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 own and 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

November 21, 2017 08:45 ET (13:45 GMT)

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