Conic Releases Ramu Q1 2020 Operating Costs, Issues Audited Financial Statements and Announces Results of Annual Meeting
June 22 2020 - 5:45PM
Business Wire
Conic Metals Corp. (“Conic” or the “Company”)
(TSXV:NKL) is pleased to provide operating costs for the
quarter ending March 31, 2020 of the Company’s largest asset, being
the Ramu Nickel-Cobalt (“Ramu”) integrated operation in
Papua New Guinea (“PNG”). Conic currently holds an 8.56%
joint-venture interest in the Ramu operation. Ramu is operated by
the Metallurgical Corporation of China (“MCC”) which, along
with its partners, owns an 85.0% interest in Ramu.
“Ramu’s operating costs continue to consistently show that it is
a low cost asset capable of delivering strong cash flow despite the
downward pressure we have seen on nickel and cobalt prices during
this global pandemic,” stated Justin Cochrane, President and CEO.
“Our actual cash cost to produce a pound of nickel contained in MHP
was well below $3.00 per pound which provides significant
insulation against nickel price volatility,” added Mr. Cochrane.
According to Wood Mackenzie, the lowest quartile of C1 Cash Cost of
nickel production is forecast to be $3.35 per pound in 2020. C1
Cash Cost differs from actual production cost as it includes
transportation and refining costs to produce Class I or Class II
nickel. Ramu produces nickel in the form of mixed hydroxide product
(“MHP”) which contains approximately 40% nickel and 3.5%
cobalt. MHP is a desired raw material for the manufacture of
lithium ion battery cathode materials such as NCA and NMC, which
are being extensively adopted in the electrification of
vehicles.
The table below presents the previously disclosed production
update with the addition of actual cash cost.
2019
2020
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Q1
Ore Processed (dry kt)
800
959
911
886
920
MHP Produced (dry tonne)
19,653
22,490
21,186
19,695
21,177
Contained Nickel (tonne)
7,663
8,767
8,390
7,902
8,635
Contained Cobalt (tonne)
704
793
740
674
720
Nickel Capacity Utilization (% of design1)
94%
108%
103%
97%
106%
MHP Shipped (dry tonnne)
17,219
24,607
37,605
24,460
17,408
Contained Nickel (tonne)
6,588
9,457
14,531
9,685
6,108
Contained Cobalt (tonne)
609
861
1,329
827
522
C1 Cash Cost
$2.34
$3.14
$3.69
$4.05
$3.65
C1 Cash Cost for 25th Percentile
$2.56
$3.48
$3.42
$4.05
$3.35
Cash Cost Actual2
$2.44
$2.41
$2.75
$2.68
$2.12
Note 1 – Ramu design capacity of 32,600
tonnes/year contained nickel
Note 2 – Cash Cost Actual is net of
byproduct credits and does not include transportation and refining
charges by 3rd parties
- Conic has included certain performance measures in this press
release that do not have any standardized meaning prescribed by
International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”),
including (i) C1 Cash Cost and (ii) Cash Cost Actual. C1 Cash Cost
is a metric published independently by Wood Mackenzie. The C1 Cash
Cost presented is annualized cash cost to produce one pound of
finished nickel product based on Wood Mackenzie’s analysis of
global refined nickel operations. The presentation of these
non-IFRS measures is intended to provide additional information and
should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for
measures of performance prepared in accordance with IFRS. Other
companies may calculate these non-IFRS measures differently. Note
these figures have not been audited and are subject to change.
Audited Financial Statements
On June 15, 2020, the Company filed its initial Audited
Financial Statements and Management’s Discussion and Analysis for
the period ended December 31, 2019. Mr. Cochrane commented on the
filings, “Conic finished the year with over US$4.4 million in cash
and US$13.0 million in net working capital and repaid US$17.2
million of its Ramu operating debt on January 1st, 2020. These are
outstanding results for Ramu which we believe is one of the best
nickel-cobalt operations in the World.”
Additionally, Conic expects to file quarterly financial
statements for the period ended March 31, 2020 (and related
management’s discussion and analysis thereon) (collectively, the
“Q1 2020 Disclosure Documents”) at the earliest opportunity
and currently expects to file them no later than July 14, 2020, as
previously announced.
Annual General and Special Meeting Results
The Company also announced today the voting results for the
election of its board of directors, which took place at the
Company’s Annual General and Special Meeting held on June 19, 2020
in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The number of directors was set at
five and all of the nominees listed in the management proxy
circular dated May 15, 2020 (the “Circular”) were elected as
directors of Conic at the meeting. Detailed results of the votes
are set out below:
Election of Directors
Outcome of the Vote
Votes for (#)
Votes for (%)
Votes withheld (#)
Votes withheld (%)
Justin Cochrane
Elected
25,176,436
98.832%
297,647
1.168%
Candace MacGibbon
Elected
25,393,032
99.682%
81,051
0.318%
Anthony Milewski
Elected
25,073,706
98.428%
400,377
1.572%
Maurice Swan
Elected
25,197,156
98.913%
276,927
1.087%
Philip Williams
Elected
25,200,106
98.924%
273,977
1.076%
At the Annual General and Special Meeting, the shareholders of
the Company also approved: (i) the appointment of Baker Tilly WM
LLP as auditor and authorized the directors to fix their
remuneration; and (ii) on a disinterested basis, authorized the
omnibus long-term incentive plan of the Company and ratified
certain grants thereunder, all as more particularly described in
the Circular. The voting results on each resolution are set out
below:
Set Number of Directors at 5
Outcome of the Vote
Votes for
Votes withheld
Carried
25,333,295
140,788
99.447%
0.553%
Appointment
of Auditor
Outcome of the Vote
Votes for
Votes withheld
Carried
31,820,074
294,510
99.083%
0.917%
Approval of
Omnibus Long-Term Incentive Plan
Outcome of the Vote *
Votes for
Votes withheld
Carried
16,201,992
2,422,635
86.992%
13.008%
* Excluding an aggregate of 6,849,456 common shares beneficially
owned by insiders of the Company in accordance with the rules of
the TSX Venture Exchange.
About Conic
Conic Metals Corp. is a base metals company offering direct
exposure to nickel and cobalt, both being critical elements of
electric vehicles and energy storage systems. Conic holds an 8.56%
joint-venture interest in the producing, long-life and world-class
Ramu Nickel-Cobalt Operation located in Papua New Guinea which
provides Conic with significant attributable nickel and cobalt
production. In addition, Conic manages a portfolio of 11 nickel and
cobalt royalties on development and exploration projects in Canada
and Australia. Conic will continue to invest in a battery
metals-focused portfolio of streams, royalties and direct interests
in mineral properties containing battery metals.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains certain information which constitutes
‘forward-looking statements’ and ‘forward-looking information’
within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Any
statements that are contained in this news release that are not
statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking
statements. Forward-looking statements are often identified by
terms such as “may”, “should”, “anticipate”, “expect”, “potential”,
“believe”, “intend” or the negative of these terms and similar
expressions. Forward-looking statements in this news release
include, but are not limited to: statements with respect to the
business; and, assets of Conic and its strategy going forward;
statements with respect to the operational and financial results of
the Ramu project; statements with respect to the prospects of
nickel and cobalt in the global electrification of vehicles;
statements related to the impact of COVID-19 on the Company’s
business, operations and prospects; statements with respect to the
timing of the filing of the Q1 2020 Disclosure Documents; and
statements with respect to the business and assets of Conic and its
strategy going forward. Readers are cautioned not to place undue
reliance on forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements
involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, most of which
are beyond the Company’s control. Should one or more of the risks
or uncertainties underlying these forward-looking statements
materialize, or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking
statements prove incorrect, actual results, performance or
achievements could vary materially from those expressed or implied
by the forward-looking statements.
The forward-looking statements contained herein are made as of
the date of this release and, other than as required by applicable
securities laws, the Company does not assume any obligation to
update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances. The
forward-looking statements contained in this release are expressly
qualified by this cautionary statement.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services
Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX
Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or
accuracy of this release. No securities regulatory authority has
either approved or disapproved of the contents of this news
release.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200622005721/en/
Investors: Justin Cochrane 647.846.7765
info@conicmetals.com
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