Armadale Capital Plc AGM Statement
26 June 2017 - 4:00PM
UK Regulatory
TIDMACP
Armadale Capital Plc / Index: AIM / Epic: ACP / Sector:
Investment Company
26 June 2017
Armadale Capital Plc ('Armadale' or 'the Company')
AGM Statement
Armadale, the AIM quoted investment company focused on natural
resource projects in Africa, is holding its annual general meeting
('AGM') at 11.00 am today at 55 Gower Street, London, WC1E 6HQ. At
the meeting Nick Johansen, Director of Armadale, will make the
following statement:
"2016 was a pivotal year for Armadale, which saw the Company
reassess its evolving investment portfolio and ultimately saw the
business shift towards a new project and commodity - graphite. The
rationale behind this move was two-fold: firstly, the directors
became aware of the high growth market for graphite and the
demonstrable opportunities for junior explorers and developers as
evidenced by several companies listed on the ASX; secondly that our
ability to raise sufficient finance to bring our second tier
investment, being the gold project in the Democratic Republic of
Congo, was stymied both by the relative size of the project and the
often uncertain political climate in the country.
"With this in mind, our attention turned towards the strategic
commodity of graphite - and we became aware of a project in the
well-known resource destination of Tanzania, which hosts one of the
world's most prolific high grade coarse flake graphite regions.
Flanked by exploration and development projects with high grade
graphite mineralisation, the board was hopeful that the Mahenge
Liandu Project, which Armadale acquired in July 2016, would yield
similar results. Suffice to say, the Board has not been
disappointed.
"Since initiating exploration activities in July 2016, and
drilling in September 2016, consistently encouraging results have
been returned which have confirmed significant high-grade material
at Mahenge Liandu. The result of this initial drilling programme
was the declaration of a maiden JORC compliant inferred mineral
resource estimate of 40.9Mt @ 9.41% Total Graphitic Carbon ('TGC').
Importantly, at least 32Mt of this resource has an average grade of
10.47% TGC making it one of the largest high-grade resources in
Tanzania. Delivering a resource of this size and grade within six
months of acquiring the project highlights both the potential
commercial viability of Mahenge Liandu but also our commitment to
proving up this high-quality project in as short timeframe as
possible.
"In parallel with the continuing drilling underway at Mahenge
Liandu, the team has also been progressing test work of material
from the Project to demonstrate the quality of graphite to
potential offtake partners. We have now confirmed results of up to
99.99% graphitic carbon for flake size between from 300µm to 500µm,
and purity of above 99.95% for size fractions between 106 µm and
500µm, which are typically used for the production of spherical
graphite. These exceptional results underpin the Project's ability
to produce high quality graphite concentrates, which should be
suitable for a number of applications, positioning us strongly for
commercial negotiations with offtake partners moving forward.
"Looking now to our secondary investment, the Mpokoto Gold
Project in DRC ('Mpokoto'). We were delighted to report in December
2016 that our partners, Kisenge Mining Pty Ltd, formerly known as
African Mining Services, had exercised its option to form a joint
venture with us to develop and operate Mpokoto. Despite the
challenges we faced trying to secure the necessary finance from the
traditional channels open to Armadale to develop Mpokoto, as
referred to above, we believe that this project has value left to
contribute to our overall investment portfolio. With an established
resource of 678,000oz of gold ('Au') at 1.45 g/t Au and a completed
DFS based on a production rate of circa 25,000oz annually over an
initial four-year mine life for the first phase of mining, together
with a defined route to production, we are confident that the
project offers significant potential and we are pleased that KMP
agrees and is able to fund onward development as set out in the
announcement of 5 December 2016.
"Over the past six months, KMP has been focussed on completing a
gap analysis of the project data to determine the required steps to
bring Mpokoto into production as soon as possible. In addition, KMP
has reassessed the mine plan and capital cost estimates with a view
to significantly reducing the capex requirements, and this may
include adopting a staged production plan. KMP has also conducted
an Independent review of the Resource estimate of the deposit which
confirmed the existing Resource statement produced by CSA. The work
currently being undertaken by KMP will enable Phase II of the joint
venture to continue ahead of Mpokoto commencing commercial
production.
"Moving away from our operations and on to corporate matters,
shareholders will be aware that as our commodity and country focus
has shifted, so too has our board evolved to reflect Armadale's
emphasis on graphite and Tanzania. We are now actively seeking a
new UK-based executive to bolster Armadale's corporate presence.
Interviews with several experienced individuals have taken place
and the directors hope to be able to update shareholders in the
near future.
"I would like to take this opportunity to thank our shareholders
for their commitment and support over the past year and reiterate
my optimism for the future of Armadale, with Mahenge Liandu at its
core."
**ENDS**
For further information please visit www.armadalecapitalplc.com
or contact:
Enquiries:
Armadale Capital Plc +44 20 7236 1177
Nick Johansen
Nomad and broker: finnCap Ltd +44 20 7220 0500
Christopher Raggett / Simon Hicks
Joint Broker: Beaufort Securities Limited +44 20 7382 8300
Jon Belliss
Press Relations: St Brides Partners Ltd +44 20 7236 1177
Susie Geliher / Charlotte Page
Notes
Armadale Capital Plc is focused on investing in and developing a
portfolio of investments, targeting the natural resources and/or
infrastructure sectors in Africa. The Company, led by a team with
operational experience and a strong track record in Africa, has a
strategy of identifying high growth businesses where it can take an
active role in their advancement.
The Company owns the Mahenge Liandu graphite project in
south-east Tanzania, which is now its main focus. The Project is
located in a highly prospective region with a high-grade JORC
compliant inferred mineral resource estimate of 40.9Mt @ 9.41% TGC.
At least 32Mt of this resource has an average grade of 10.47% TGC,
one of the largest high-grade resources in Tanzania, and work to
date has demonstrated Mahenge Liandu's potential as a commercially
viable deposit with significant tonnage, high-grade coarse flake
and near surface mineralisation (implying a low strip ratio)
contained within one contiguous ore body.
Other assets Armadale has an interest in include the Mpokoto
Gold project in the Democratic Republic of Congo and a portfolio of
quoted investments.
View source version on businesswire.com:
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170625005053/en/
This information is provided by Business Wire
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