Todays RNS24 Jul 2017 09:58
RNS Number : 8217L
Ironveld PLC
24 July 2017
24 July 2017
Ironveld plc ("Ironveld" or the "Company")
Company Update
Ironveld plc, the owner of a High Purity Iron ("HPI"), Vanadium and Titanium project located on the Northern Limb of the Bushveld Complex in Limpopo Province, South Africa (the "Project"), is pleased to announce material progress with regards to the acquisition of a smelting business ("Middelburg Smelting"), commencement of operations, funding and mining progress.
Highlights:
· The Company is confident of closing the funding arrangements necessary for the potential acquisition of the Middelburg Smelting facility. Once this is complete, the Company will undertake the refurbishment necessary to process its magnetite ore to produce HPI, Vanadium and titanium ****.
· In the interim period, Ironveld, through its wholly owned subsidiary ("Ironveld Middelburg"), has taken management and operational control of the Middelburg Smelting business.
· Ironveld Middelburg has sourced material that could be melted in the induction furnaces at the Middelburg Smelting facility and is expecting to be cash flow positive in August.
· The Sylvania loan facility has been repaid.
· The Section 11 application to transfer the Pan Palladium mining right to Lapon, a 74% owned subsidiary of Ironveld Mining, has been submitted by Pan Palladium and is being processed by the Department of Mineral Resources.
Middelburg Smelting business
The Company has put down R8.8m (c.£530k) as a refundable deposit towards the potential acquisition of the Middelburg Smelting facility (the "Potential Acquisition") in exchange for a period of exclusivity to conclude the Potential Acquisition and in the interim, to take over the management and operation of the facility.
The Company has identified the potential of using the induction furnaces to melt various materials for sale and has already located various copper, cobalt and iron materials that are suitable for induction smelting and is negotiating commercial arrangements which will allow for profitable processing of these materials. Operations are expected to commence in August 2017, with profits being generated on the first sale of material.
The Company is close to finalising the terms of the Potential Acquisition and the Board expects to announce shortly the funding arrangements for the purchase of the facility and the investment in the necessary upgrades and refurbishment to allow for the processing of the Company's own magnetite ore through the 7.5 MW smelter.
Sylvania Loan Facility
The Company is also pleased to announce that it has repaid the R15 million loan facility with Sylvania Metals Pty Limited (the "Loan Facility").
Peter Cox, CEO of Ironveld, said:
"We continue to make significant progress in moving towards production