Bacanora Minerals Ltd Appointment of Non-Exec Director and CFO (9692D)

TIDMBCN

RNS Number : 9692D

Bacanora Minerals Ltd

06 February 2018

Bacanora Minerals LTD / Index: AIM; TSX-V / Epic: BCN / Sector: Natural Resources

6 February 2018

Bacanora Minerals Ltd ("Bacanora" or the "Company")

Appointment of Non-Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer

Bacanora Minerals Ltd., the London and Canadian listed lithium company, is pleased to announce that Ms Eileen Carr has agreed to join the Board as a Non-Executive Director with immediate effect. Ms Carr is a Chartered Certified Accountant with over 25 years' experience in the resource sector during which she has worked on both energy and mining projects across the world, including projects in China, Russia, Australia, Latin America and Africa.

In addition, the Company announces the appointment of Ms Janet Boyce as Chief Financial Officer with immediate effect. Ms Boyce is a certified public accountant who has held a number of senior financial roles, including Group Chief Financial Officer and Executive Director of Gemfields plc, a leading supplier of gemstones. Ms Boyce replaces Mr Derek Batorowski, who is stepping down as CFO to pursue other business interests. Mr Batorowski will continue to serve Bacanora as a Non-Executive Director of the Company.

The appointments of both Ms Carr and Ms Boyce are in line with Bacanora's transition from an explorer to a lithium development company, as it enters the construction phase at its Sonora Lithium Project in Mexico, which was assigned a US$1.25 billion NPV and 26% IRR in its recently completed Feasibility Study.

Ms Eileen Carr - Non-Executive Director

Over the course of her career, Ms Carr has been a key member of teams behind the development of a number of successful mining operations across the world, including the Freda Rebecca gold mine in Zimbabwe, the Ayanfuri gold mine in Ghana, the Kalsaka gold mine in Burkina Faso and the Angovia gold mine in Ivory Coast. She has served as Finance Director/ CFO for both private and public companies starting with Cluff Resources in 1993. She has since gone on to hold several executive directorships in the resource sector, including CFO at both AIM traded Monterrico Metals plc and Alexander Mining plc. She was also a Director at European Goldfields Inc, a TSX listed gold exploration company with operations in Romania.

Ms Carr has also held a number of Non-Executive Directorships and currently sits on the Board and the Audit Committee of Sylvania Platinum Limited, an AIM listed PGM (platinum group metals) company with operations in South Africa. Her first non-executive role was for Banro Corp in 1998 and more recently she was a Non-Executive Director for Talvivaara Mining Co, the Finnish nickel company, and Goldstar Resources NL, an ASX listed gold company. Ms Carr holds an MSc in Management from London University and is a SLOAN fellow of London Business School.

Ms Janet Boyce - Chief Financial Officer

As a member of the executive management team between August 2013 and July 2017, Ms Boyce played a key role in the formulation and implementation of group strategy at Gemfields. During this period, Ms Boyce's responsibilities included: managing the accounting, insurance, legal, tax, and treasury functions; providing strategic guidance to operating subsidiaries and divisions; and overseeing the financial activities of subsidiary companies and foreign operations. As well as playing a key role in the Group's investor relations, she was instrumental in increasing the Group's banking facilities from US$15m to US$100m. In addition, Ms Boyce managed Gemfields' preparations for a main board listing: establishing risk management, internal audit, legal, tax and CoSec functions; integrating management reporting processes; implementing accounting systems; and upgrading corporate governance.

Prior to Gemfields, Ms Boyce held a number of senior positions with ENRC Plc (August 2007 - July 2013), which at the time of her employment was a FTSE 100 mining and metals company. Her roles included: Group accounting methodology manager; Deputy Finance Controller; Corporate accounting manager and Group reporting manager. Previously Ms Boyce was part of the Audit and Assurance Services team at Ernst & Young LLP in London and PricewaterhouseCoopers in the Philippines (2002 - 2007).

Peter Secker, CEO of Bacanora, commented, "To have secured the services of a Non-Executive Director and a CFO who have both held senior finance positions at multi-divisional natural resources companies, reflects the significant progress made by Bacanora in the last twelve months. This has seen us complete a positive Feasibility Study at Sonora and also secure leading Japanese battery trader Hanwa as a strategic investor and offtake partner, in addition to other large institutional investors. I look forward to working with both Janet and Eileen during what promises to be an exciting period for Bacanora, as we focus on embarking on the construction phase of a 35,000 tonnes per annum battery grade lithium carbonate operation at Sonora in H1 2018.

"I would like to take this opportunity to thank Derek Batorowski for the valuable contribution he has made to the Company as Finance Director over the years. Derek was one of the founding Directors of Bacanora and has carried out the CFO function since the Company's incorporation. I look forward to continue working with him in the future as a Non-Executive Director, as we look to deliver on our objective to build a leading supplier of high value lithium products to fast growing industries such as electric vehicles and energy storage."

Disclosures under Schedule 2 of the AIM Rules

Ms Eileen Carr, aged 61, holds or has held the following directorships and/or partnerships in the previous five years:

 
 Present Directorships/Partnerships   Past Directorships/Partnerships 
-----------------------------------  -------------------------------- 
 Sylvania Platinum Ltd                Nobel Holdings Investments 
  Bunree Resources Management          Ltd 
  Ltd                                  Talvivaara Mining Company 
                                       Plc 
                                       Buenavista Gold Plc 
-----------------------------------  -------------------------------- 
 

Ms Carr was a Non-Executive Director of Talvivaara Mining Company Plc ("Talvivaara") from June 2007 until June 2014. Talvivaara applied for corporate reorganisation proceedings governed by the Finnish Restructuring of Enterprises Act (47/1993, as amended) on 15 November 2013. On 2 June 2017, Talvivaara announced that the District Court of Espoo had confirmed Talvivaara's Restructuring Programme.

Ms Carr does not currently hold any shares in the Company.

There are no other disclosures to be made under Schedule Two paragraph (g) of the AIM Rules in respect of Ms Carr.

**S**

For further information please visit www.bacanoraminerals.com or contact:

 
 Bacanora Minerals      Peter Secker, CEO      [e-mail] 
  Ltd. 
---------------------  ---------------------  -------------------------- 
 Cairn Financial 
  Advisers LLP,         Sandy Jamieson/Liam                   +44 (0) 20 
  Nomad                  Murray                                7213 0880 
---------------------  ---------------------  -------------------------- 
 Canaccord Genuity,     Martin Davison,                       +44 (0) 20 
  Broker                 James Asensio                         7523 8000 
---------------------  ---------------------  -------------------------- 
 St Brides Partners, 
  Financial PR          Frank Buhagiar /                      +44 (0) 20 
  Adviser                Megan Dennison                        7236 1177 
---------------------  ---------------------  -------------------------- 
 

ABOUT BACANORA:

Bacanora is a Canadian and London listed lithium exploration and development company (TSX-V: BCN and AIM: BCN). The Company is exploring for, and developing a pipeline of international lithium projects, with a primary focus on the Sonora Lithium Project. The Company's operations are based in Hermosillo in northern Mexico. The Company is led by a team with lithium expertise and proven mine development, construction and operations experience.

The Sonora Lithium Project(1) , which consists of ten mining concession areas covering approximately 100 thousand hectares in the northeast of Sonora State. The Company, through drilling and exploration work to date, has established a Measured plus Indicated Mineral Resource estimate of over 5 Mt (comprising 1.9Mt of Measured Resources and 3.1Mt of Indicated Resources) of LCE(2) and an additional Inferred Mineral Resource of 3.7 Mt of LCE. The Company's Feasibility Study (which was announced 12 December 2017) has established Proven Mineral Reserves (in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects) of 1.67 MT and Probable Mineral Reserves of 2.85 Mt LCE and confirmed the economics associated with becoming a 35,000 tpa lithium carbonate and 30,000 tpa SOP producer in Mexico. In addition to the Sonora Lithium Project, the Company also has a 50% interest in the Zinnwald Lithium Project and the Falkenhain Licence in southern Saxony, Germany. Each of the Zinnwald Lithium Project and the Falkenhain Licence are located in a granite hosted Sn/W/Li belt that has been mined historically for tin, tungsten and lithium at different times over the past 300 years. The strategic location of the Zinnwald Lithium Project and the Falkenhain Licence provides close geographical proximity to the German automotive and downstream lithium chemical industries.

1 LCE = lithium carbonate (Li(2) CO(3) ) equivalent; determined by multiplying Li value in percent by 5.324 to get an equivalent Li(2) CO(3) value in per cent. Use of LCE is to provide data comparable with industry reports and assumes complete conversion of lithium in clays with no recovery or process losses.

2 The Sonora Lithium Project is comprised of the following lithium properties: La Ventana lithium concession, which is 100 percent owned by Bacanora and El Sauz and Fleur concessions, which are held by Mexilit S.A. de C.V. ('Mexilit') which is owned 70 percent by Bacanora and 30 percent by Cadence Minerals Plc.

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS:

Except for statements of historical fact, this news release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities law. Forward-looking information is frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. In particular, forward-looking information in this press release includes, but is not limited to the estimation of resources and reserves, estimated IRR and NPV and the entering into of the construction phase of development. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking information are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. We cannot guarantee future results, performance or achievements. Consequently, there is no representation that the actual results achieved will be the same, in whole or in part, as those set out in the forward-looking information.

Forward-looking information is based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the statements are made, and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking information. Some of the risks and other factors that could cause the results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking information include, but are not limited to: commodity price volatility; general economic conditions in Canada, the United States, Mexico and globally; industry conditions, governmental regulation, including environmental regulation; unanticipated operating events or performance; failure to obtain industry partner and other third party consents and approvals, if and when required; the availability of capital on acceptable terms; the need to obtain required approvals from regulatory authorities; stock market volatility; competition for, among other things, capital, skilled personnel and supplies; changes in tax laws; and the other risk factors. Readers are cautioned that this list of risk factors should not be construed as exhaustive.

This information is provided by RNS

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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February 06, 2018 02:00 ET (07:00 GMT)