LONDON (Alliance News) - EMED Mining Public Ltd Friday said it will hold an extraordinary general meeting to allow shareholders to vote on a proposed capital reorganisation and name change as the company focuses all of its attention to the historic Rio Tinto copper mine in Spain.
The miner said a circular has been posted to shareholders outlining its proposals to be put forward at the EGM to be held on October 13.
EMED has been focused on restarting production from its flagship Rio Tinto copper project, which is targeting a production rate of 7.5 million tonnes per year by the end of the first half of 2016 before rising to 9.5 million tonnes by the end of the following year.
"With the focus now firmly on production and further developing the historic mine the company is very much a different entity to the one that came to the market," said Chief Executive Alberto Lavandeira.
EMED has already started production at Rio Tinto, and produced its first copper concentrate at the end of July, but this was not in commercial volumes.
In line with that focus, it recently offloaded its exploration assets in Cyprus and Slovakia in order to streamline its working capital.
"Accordingly, in order to better reflect the prospects for the company and to help reinvigorate its presence in the capital markets, the board is proposing a share consolidation and change of name," it said in a statement.
The miner is proposing changing its name to Atalaya Mining PLC after Corta Atalaya, part of the Rio Tinto project, which was named after the nearby village of La Atalaya. EMED said the name better reflects its aims and the move away from its assets in the east of the Mediterranean.
EMED currently has an issued share capital comprised of around 3.50 billion shares after the company recently issued approximately 2.10 billion shares to raise capital to help fund the development of the Rio Tinto copper project and to capitalise certain borrowings from cornerstone shareholders.
EMED said the share capital is "considerably higher" than similar-sized companies listed on AIM and the Australian Securities Exchange, where it has a dual listing, which is affecting shareholders perception of the company, it said in a statement.
The miner is proposing consolidating every 30 shares held in the company into one new share, which will lead to the stake held by each shareholder remaining unchanged. Following the consolidation, EMED will have an issued share capital of around 116.7 million shares.
"The directors believe that the consolidation may improve the liquidity and marketability of ordinary shares to a wider range of investors, including institutional investors. The board is hopeful that the consolidation will make the ordinary shares a more attractive investment proposition," it said.
EMED shares were trading flat at 3.75 pence per share on Friday morning.
By Joshua Warner; joshuawarner@alliancenews.com; @JoshAlliance
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