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') which has been incorporated into UK law by the
European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018.
19 August
2024
Strategic Minerals
plc
("Strategic Minerals", "SML" or the "Company")
Board
Changes
Strategic Minerals plc (AIM: SML;
USOTC: SMCDY), a producing mineral company, is pleased to update
shareholders on proposed changes to Board composition.
The Company intends to appoint both
Mr Charles Manners and Mr Mark Burnett to the Board of SML, subject
to the completion of regulatory due diligence. Mr Manners is the
beneficial holder of approximately 4.8% of the Company's issued
share capital and Mr Burnett, of RAB Capital, represents Philip
Richards who holds approximately 4% of the Company's issued share
capital.
Mr Manners has been the largest
shareholder in SML for a number of years. He worked in Investment
Banking from 1985 until 2009, latterly as a Senior Managing
Director and Head of Fixed Income Sales at Nomura International
PLC. From 2009 to 2016,
he was a co-founder and partner in an advisory
firm, focussed on tailored structured solutions. He was a
Non-Executive Director of Asset Trust Housing Association
Limited, a
regulated provider of affordable shared ownership housing, and is a
Director and Chairman of the Board of Campden Charities. In
addition, he is an extensive investor, focussed primarily on
natural resources , healthcare and real estate.
Mr Burnett is Director of Mining
Investments at RAB Capital, a leading mining specialist investor in
London, with over 10 years investing and corporate finance
experience in extractive industries across North America, Australia
and Europe. He is Interim-Chair of a critical metals company
operating in Africa and a Non-Executive Director of a critical
metals company operating in the USA.
With these two proposed
appointments, the Board has decided not to proceed with the
appointment of of Mr. Jonathan (Jon)
Reynolds as a Non-Executive Director of the Company, as
announced on 16 July 2024.
It is the Board's intention that,
once appointed, Charles Manners will be appointed Chairman of
SML.
John
Peters, Managing Director of Strategic Minerals
Plc, said:
"I am pleased to see the involvement
of major shareholders in the active management of the Company and
both Peter Wale and I look forward to working closely with both
Charles and Mark in the future.
"In light of these proposed
appointments, the Board does not consider it appropriate to
continue with the proposed appointment of Mr Jon Reynolds but would
like to thank him for consenting to be considered as Technical
Director."
Notes to Editors
Strategic Minerals
plc:
https://www.strategicminerals.net
Strategic Minerals plc is an
AIM-quoted, profitable operating minerals company actively
developing projects tailored to materials expected to benefit from
strong demand in the future. It has an operation in the United
States of America along with development projects in the UK and
Australia. The Company is focused on utilising its operating cash
flows, along with capital raisings, to develop high quality
projects aimed at supplying the metals and minerals likely to be
highly demanded in the future.
In September 2011, Strategic
Minerals acquired the distribution rights to the Cobre magnetite
tailings dam project in New Mexico, USA, a cash-generating
asset, which it brought into production in 2012 and which continues
to provide a revenue stream for the Company. This operating revenue
stream is utilised to cover company overheads and invest in
development projects aimed at supplying the metals and minerals
likely to be highly demanded in the future.
Since June 2020, the Company has
been a 100% owner of Cornwall Resources Limited (CRL)
having been involved in the project since early 2016. CRL is the
developer of the Redmoor Tin/Tungsten project in Cornwall, UK.
Exploration drilling programs were undertaken in 2017 & 2018
resulting in subsequent upgraded resource definitions & a
scoping study in 2020. In April 2024, CRL gained access to
substantial additional exploration rights in the
prospective Tamar Valley area, quadrupling its overall
mineral rights footprint.
In March 2018, the Company
completed the acquisition of the Leigh Creek Copper
Mine situated in the copper rich belt of South Australia and
brought the project temporarily into production in April 2019.
In July 2021, the project was granted a conditional approval
by the South Australian Government for a Program for
Environmental Protection and Rehabilitation (PEPR) in relation
to mining of its Paltridge North deposit and processing at the
Mountain of Light installation. In late June 2022, an updated
PEPR, addressing the conditions associated with the July
2021 approval, was approved.