TIDMBMN
RNS Number : 4809K
Bushveld Minerals Limited
29 August 2019
Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) Disclosure
Certain information contained in this announcement would have
been deemed inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of
Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 until the release of this
announcement.
29 August 2019
Bushveld Minerals Limited
("Bushveld Minerals" or the "Company")
Vanchem Update - Competition Commission Approval
Bushveld Minerals Limited (AIM:BMN), the AIM listed, integrated
primary vanadium producer, with ownership of high grade vanadium
assets, is pleased to announce that on 28 August 2019, it received
approval from the Competition Commission of South Africa to acquire
the Vanchem assets, without conditions.
On 1 May 2019, Bushveld announced a conditional agreement to
acquire the primary vanadium processing assets of Vanchem Vanadium
plant, the ferrovanadium production business of SAJV as a going
concern, and a 100 per cent of the outstanding shares of Ivanti
Resources (Pty) Limited, a subsidiary of Duferco Participations
Holding S.A, (collectively "Vanchem").
The transaction remains on track to be completed on 31 October
2019 and we expect the outstanding conditions precedent, being the
cession of specific commercial agreements and South African Reserve
Bank approval, to be satisfied.
The Company is progressing the negotiations with local banks for
a debt facility to supplement existing cash resources. Further
updates and progress on the satisfaction of the remaining
conditions precedent and the approval of the debt facility will be
provided as appropriate.
Fortune Mojapelo, CEO of Bushveld Minerals Limited,
commented:
"Competition Commission approval marks yet another key milestone
in closing this exciting transaction. We remain on track to
complete the acquisition within our targeted timeframe, at which
point we will have significantly increased our processing capacity,
giving us the ability to unlock even more of our existing large
high grade resource base and produce a diverse array of products
for the steel market, chemical industry and energy storage sector.
Furthermore, significant progress is being made in respect of the
preparation ahead of the integration of Vanchem post transaction
closure."
Enquiries: info@bushveldminerals.com
+27 (0) 11 268
Bushveld Minerals 6555
Fortune Mojapelo, Chief Executive
Officer
Chika Edeh, Head of Investor
Relations
SP Angel Corporate Finance Nominated Adviser +44 (0) 20 3470
LLP & Broker 0470
Ewan Leggat / Richard Morrison
Richard Parlons
Alternative Resource Capital Joint Broker
+44 (0) 207 186
Rob Collins 9001
+44 (0) 207 186
Alex Wood 9004
+44 (0) 20 7236
BMO Capital Markets Limited Joint Broker 1010
Jeffrey Couch / Tom Rider
Michael Rechsteiner / Neil
Elliot
Tavistock Financial PR
+44 (0) 207 920
Charles Vivian / Gareth Tredway 3150
Brunswick Financial PR (South
Africa)
+27 (0) 11 502
Miyelani Shikwambana 7300
About Vanchem
The Vanchem Business is a primary vanadium producing facility
with a beneficiation plant capable of producing various vanadium
oxides, ferrovanadium and vanadium chemicals. The Vanchem Business
uses the salt roast beneficiation process, similar to the one used
at Vametco. Following a refurbishment and ramp-up schedule, which
is estimated to require approximately US$45 million of capital
expenditure, which will be incurred over a five year period, it is
expected to reach steady state production of 4,200 mtV per annum
utilising all three kilns. The plant consists of the following
components:
-- Milling and concentrator (magnetic separation) facility for the treatment of magnetite;
-- A roast / leach configuration with three kilns;
-- An ammonium poly-vanadate precipitation plant;
-- A de-ammoniation / vanadium trioxide plant;
-- Vanadium pentoxide flake (V(2) O(5) ) production facilities;
-- Two conversion facilities (an electric smelting facility and
an aluminothermic smelting facility) for the production of
ferrovanadium; and
-- A vanadium chemical plant producing various vanadium chemical products.
The Vanchem Plant is situated at Ferrobank Industrial Park in
Emalahleni Local Municipality, Mpumalanga Province in the Republic
of South Africa and has been operating since the late 1970s,
processing a combination of ore feed from the Mapochs vanadium mine
("Mapochs") and slag from Highveld. Highveld continued to supply
ore to VVP from its Mapochs mine in Limpopo until it closed in
2015. The closure of the mine meant that VVP no longer had a supply
of ore and as a consequence, VVP went into Business Rescue in
November 2015. The Vanchem Plant was put into care and maintenance
later that year. The Vanchem Plant was partially re-started in the
third quarter of 2018, after VVP was able to procure magnetite ore
from third parties.
SAJV is located at the Highveld site and is situated
approximately 10 km from the Vanchem Plant. SAJV comprises of an
alumino-thermic smelting facility which is adjacent to the Vanchem
Plant electric smelting facility.
The Vanchem Business has secured sufficient ore supply from
third parties to support current levels of production, until
Mokopane's development has been completed. The Company retains the
optionality to supply magnetite concentrates from Vametco to the
Vanchem Business. Upon receipt of the mining right, Mokopane will
be a primary source of feedstock to the Vanchem Business as a
result of its large mineral reserve, therefore the Transaction
facilitates the expedited development of Mokopane. The
Mokopane-Vanchem model will represent a fully integrated business,
in line with the Company's strategy for Vametco.
ABOUT BUSHVELD MINERALS LIMITED
Bushveld Minerals is a low cost, integrated, primary vanadium
producer, with ownership of high grade vanadium assets.
The Company's flagship vanadium platform includes a 74 per cent
controlling interest in Bushveld Vametco Alloys (Pty) Ltd, a
primary vanadium mining and processing company; the Mokopane
Vanadium Project and the Brits Vanadium Project.
Bushveld's vision is to become a significant, low cost,
integrated primary vanadium producer through owning high grade
assets. This incorporates development and promotion of the role of
vanadium in the growing global energy storage market through
Bushveld Energy, the Company's energy storage solutions provider.
Whilst the demand for vanadium remains largely anchored in the
steel industry, Bushveld Minerals believes there is strong
potential for an imminent and significant global vanadium demand
surge from the fast-growing energy storage market, particularly
through the use and adoption of Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries.
While the Company's focus is on vanadium operations and the
development and promotion of VRFBs, it has additional investments
in coal, power and tin.
The Company's approach to project development recognises that,
whilst attractive project economics are imperative, they are
insufficient to secure capital to bring them to account. A clear
path to production within a visible timeframe, low capital
expenditure requirements and scalability are important factors in
ensuring a positive return on investment. This philosophy is core
to the Company's strategy in developing projects.
Detailed information on the Company and progress to date can be
accessed on the website www.bushveldminerals.com.
About Vametco
Vametco is located near Brits on the Western Limb of the
Bushveld Complex. The integrated operation comprises a vanadium ore
mine and a processing plant that produces Nitrovan(TM) , a
trademark product sold in major steel markets across the world. The
mine lies adjacent to the Brits Vanadium Project, which will in
future serve as an alternative source of near surface run of mine
(ROM) ore feed to the Vametco plant.
The Vametco mining operation uses open pit bench mining methods
to mine a well-defined orebody. The deposit is continuous with
limited faulting and dips in a northerly direction at approximately
19 degrees.
ROM ore is fed into a primary, secondary and tertiary crushing
circuit, followed by milling and magnetic separation to produce
magnetite concentrates. The magnetite concentrates are fed into the
extraction process which includes the kiln for roasting followed by
leaching and precipitation. Thereafter the precipitated vanadium as
ammonium metavanadate is converted to modified vanadium oxide (MVO)
in rotary calciners. MVO is fed into the mixplant and finally into
the shaft furnaces to produce Nitrovan(TM) .
About Bushveld Energy Limited
Bushveld Energy is a leading energy storage solutions provider,
focusing on the African market. Bushveld Energy recognises that
electricity in Africa intersects paramount potential for social
transformation with an immense commercial opportunity.
Launched in 2016, Bushveld Energy is focused on developing and
promoting the role of vanadium in the growing global energy storage
market through application in vanadium redox flow batteries. Its
near term strategy is to deploy several VRFB systems as part of its
longer term vision to become a significant electricity storage
provider in Africa by 2020, meeting the demand for utility scale
energy storage in Africa by leveraging South Africa-mined and
beneficiated vanadium.
http://www.bushveldenergy.com
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END
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