Last checked at 1 Oct 2021 07:00
Chesterfield Resources / EPIC: CHF / Market: LSE / Sector: Mining
1 October 2021
Update, broker appointment and options
Chesterfield Resources is pleased to announce that it has now completed its initial field programme on its new Adeline copper exploration project in Labrador, Canada, and that its drilling campaign in Cyprus has been extended.
The company's Adeline project in Labrador extends across nearly 300 km2 of an entire sedimentary basin. Over the last 70 years a number of exploration campaigns have discovered over 200 copper shows, on surface or at very shallow depth. Wide scale aerial and ground geophysics surveys have also been conducted. However there has been very little drilling on the project due to the lack of road access.
During due diligence and upon completion of the acquisition, Chesterfield conducted a re-evaluation exercise of all historic data using modern techniques and software. This provided the basis for a two month helicopter-supported field study across a number of existing targets, and also delineating some new target areas. The survey focused on mapping and sampling, especially to identify structures that could host commercial deposits. The survey has just been completed and the results are now being compiled and evaluated to design detailed drill programmes.
In Cyprus, the company is pleased to report that it has extended its drilling and exploration programme, this is to allow for further testing of some gold encounters. The operational team has also identified a promising waste dump opportunity in the Troodos West licence area. Sampling indicates that it has the potential for an early revenue heap leach project. The project has been named Limni South Gold, and an appraisal programme is being designed.
The company is also pleased to announce the appointment of First Equity as co-broker alongside Panmure Gordon. The company was pleased with First Equity's efforts in our recent placement which has left us in a comfortable financial position. The group's net cash balance as at 30 June 2021 was £1,504,973.
The company has agreed to issue certain directors, employees and consultants with options over a total of 2,200,000 Ordinary Shares of 0.1p each in the capital of the Company, on the recommendation of the Remuneration Committee. These options will vest immediately and will expire five years from the date of issue with an exercise price of 11p.
The options to be granted to director and PDMR's are set out below:
Option holder | Position | Quantity |
Martin French | Executive Director | 750,000 |
Ajay Kejriwal | Executive Director | 350,000 |
Neil O'Brien | PDMR | 350,000 |
Peter Damouni | Non-Executive Director | 250,000 |
Dave Cliff | Non-Executive Director | 250,000 |
Paul Ensor | Non-Executive Director | 250,000 |
Said Executive Chairman, Martin French, "The field programme on our extensive new asset in Labrador commenced on completion of the acquisition in June. With the field phase now completed the company is now moving into detailed target and drill planning. Over the coming weeks we will bring you more specific news of our individual targets in Labrador.
In Cyprus we recently hosted a site visit by senior geologists from our strategic partner Polymetal International. Their conclusion was that the project showed particular promise in gold. Polymetal is the world's tenth largest gold producer. We had reached a similar conclusion from our gold study announced last April and have decided to extend our drill programme to encompass more gold targets.
One result of this initiative has been the identification a gold waste material project, which we have christened Limni South Gold. Drilling and sampling work has produced encouraging initial results, and a programme of additional testing is now being planned. We will bring you more news on this project soon.
Over the last year we have been building a good relationship with the broker First Equity Ltd and we are very pleased that they are now formally joining our team. In the recent placement the firm has added a number of high-quality investors to our register. We look forward to working with them, and making money for our investors.
Incentive options are important in retaining key staff and focusing their attention on increasing shareholder value in all their decision-making. Unlike cash bonuses, options entail employees and directors putting additional money into the business rather than taking it out and closely aligning their interests with our shareholders. It is the target of the Remuneration Committee to maintain total incentive options at around 10% of fully diluted share capital, which is an industry norm. We anticipate ongoing results, and other activity, over coming months and took the opportunity to allocate options while the compliance window was open to do so. The options are being issued at approximately a 45% premium to the current share price.
About Chesterfield Resources
Chesterfield Resources is a copper focussed exploration company centred around a newly-acquired large exploration project in Labrador Canada, together with its existing project in Cyprus.
The exploration technical team is led by two highly experienced industry geologists Neil O'Brien, formally SVP Exploration & New Business Development, Lundin Mining, and Dave Cliff, previously Head of Exploration Europe, Rio Tinto.
The company has also acquired a major backer. In December 2020, Polymetal International, the FTSE100 mining group, made a 23% investment in Chesterfield via a placing of new shares, as strategic backing for the company's project in Cyprus.
In Canada, the Adeline copper project is located within the western half of the Central Mineral Belt, a 260 km long metal-rich belt located in Central Labrador, eastern Canada. The Adeline property is comprised of five contiguous mineral licenses totalling 29,725 ha (297.3 km2), covering the full extent of the Seal Lake basin, an approximate 40km long by 10 km wide geological structure which contains some 250 copper prospects. The project is close to the regional service hub of Goose Bay.
The Seal Lake basin has seen extensive regional exploration over the years resulting in a rich exploration database. Trenching and channel sampling has established the presence of laterally continuous high-grade copper beds. However there has been relatively little drill testing, largely due to the lack of road access. Where sulphide mineralization becomes massive the grades are extremely high, commonly 10-30% Cu due to the high tenor of chalcocite-bornite.
The company has recently undertaken the re-modelling of the all the historic regional exploration datasets with the latest visualization software tools. It has assembled a team of expert consultants who have decades of experience in this belt.
An initial field season, which has just been completed, investigated and new prospect areas. This is expected to generate a significant pipeline of quality drill targets to test for significant extents of high-grade copper-silver mineralized grey beds.
In Cyprus the company holds the largest mineral exploration licence area of any operator on the island.
Cyprus is regarded as a high-quality exploration location. It is a member of the EU, and its legal system is based on English common law. An opportunity exists because there has been minimal exploration activity on the island in the last 46 years since the invasion by Turkey in 1974 put a halt to what had been a very active mining industry.
The current focus of exploration is in the Troodos West group of licences belonging to the company, with around 30 defined targets in an area measuring 10km by 10km. The objective is to discover several VMS (volcanogenic massive sulphide) deposits in close proximity to each other to create a mining project with a centralised processing unit.
While copper is the main exploration target, it is noteworthy that gold was not historically exploited in Cyprus. Gold has been encountered in several locations in the exploration target area and is an important part of the exploration objective. This also includes a waste dump opportunity that will be appraised, called Limni South Gold.
The company announced high grade polymetallic results from its late season 2020 drilling campaign and has this year embarked on an enlarged integrated 2021 geophysics, percussion and diamond drilling exploration campaign. The company is in the process of completing its diamond drilling campaign with results expected in November.
Chesterfield Resources is committed to world-class environmental standards in all of its operations to explore for copper, which is essential to developing clean technology projects worldwide. The company hopes to develop industry and opportunities for the benefit of Canada and the Republic of Cyprus.
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.
NOTIFICATION AND PUBLIC DISCLOSURE OF TRANSACTIONS BY PERSONS DISCHARGING MANAGERIAL RESPONSIBILITIES AND PERSONS CLOSELY ASSOCIATED WITH THEM
1. | Details of the person discharging managerial responsibilities/person closely associated | |||||
a) | Name: | Martin French | ||||
2. | Reason for the notification | |||||
a) | Position/status: | Executive Director | ||||
b) | Initial notification/Amendment: | Initial notification | ||||
3. | Details of the issuer, emission allowance market participant, auction platform, auctioneer or auction monitor | |||||
a) | Name: | Chesterfield Resources Plc | ||||
b) | LEI: | 213800EF8I2TT767IU35 | ||||
4. | Details of the transaction(s): section to be repeated for (i) each type of instrument; (ii) each type of transaction; (iii) each date; and (iv) each place where transactions have been conducted | |||||
a) | Description of the financial instrument, type of instrument: Identification code: | Ordinary shares of 0.1 pence GB00BF2F1X78 | ||||
b) | Nature of the transaction: | Grant of options over ordinary shares | ||||
c) | Price(s) and volume(s): |
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d) | Aggregated information: Aggregated volume: Price: | Single transaction as in 4 c) above
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e) | Date of the transaction: | 2021-10-01
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f) | Place of the transaction: | Off-market | ||||
1. | Details of the person discharging managerial responsibilities/person closely associated | |||||
a) | Name: | Ajay Kejriwal | ||||
2. | Reason for the notification | |||||
a) | Position/status: | Executive Director | ||||
b) | Initial notification/Amendment: | Initial notification | ||||
3. | Details of the issuer, emission allowance market participant, auction platform, auctioneer or auction monitor | |||||
a) | Name: | Chesterfield Resources Plc | ||||
b) | LEI: | 213800EF8I2TT767IU35 | ||||
4. | Details of the transaction(s): section to be repeated for (i) each type of instrument; (ii) each type of transaction; (iii) each date; and (iv) each place where transactions have been conducted | |||||
a) | Description of the financial instrument, type of instrument: Identification code: | Ordinary shares of 0.1 pence GB00BF2F1X78 | ||||
b) | Nature of the transaction: | Grant of options over ordinary shares | ||||
c) | Price(s) and volume(s): |
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d) | Aggregated information: Aggregated volume: Price: | Single transaction as in 4 c) above
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e) | Date of the transaction: | 2021-10-01
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f) | Place of the transaction: | Off-market | ||||
1. | Details of the person discharging managerial responsibilities/person closely associated | |||||
a) | Name: | Neil O'Brien | ||||
2. | Reason for the notification | |||||
a) | Position/status: | PDMR | ||||
b) | Initial notification/Amendment: | Initial notification | ||||
3. | Details of the issuer, emission allowance market participant, auction platform, auctioneer or auction monitor | |||||
a) | Name: | Chesterfield Resources Plc | ||||
b) | LEI: | 213800EF8I2TT767IU35 | ||||
4. | Details of the transaction(s): section to be repeated for (i) each type of instrument; (ii) each type of transaction; (iii) each date; and (iv) each place where transactions have been conducted | |||||
a) | Description of the financial instrument, type of instrument: Identification code: | Ordinary shares of 0.1 pence GB00BF2F1X78 | ||||
b) | Nature of the transaction: | Grant of options over ordinary shares | ||||
c) | Price(s) and volume(s): |
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d) | Aggregated information: Aggregated volume: Price: | Single transaction as in 4 c) above
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e) | Date of the transaction: | 2021-10-01
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f) | Place of the transaction: | Off-market | ||||
1. | Details of the person discharging managerial responsibilities/person closely associated | |||||
a) | Name: | Peter Damouni | ||||
2. | Reason for the notification | |||||
a) | Position/status: | Non-Executive Director | ||||
b) | Initial notification/Amendment: | Initial notification | ||||
3. | Details of the issuer, emission allowance market participant, auction platform, auctioneer or auction monitor | |||||
a) | Name: | Chesterfield Resources Plc | ||||
b) | LEI: | 213800EF8I2TT767IU35 | ||||
4. | Details of the transaction(s): section to be repeated for (i) each type of instrument; (ii) each type of transaction; (iii) each date; and (iv) each place where transactions have been conducted | |||||
a) | Description of the financial instrument, type of instrument: Identification code: | Ordinary shares of 0.1 pence GB00BF2F1X78 | ||||
b) | Nature of the transaction: | Grant of options over ordinary shares | ||||
c) | Price(s) and volume(s): |
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d) | Aggregated information: Aggregated volume: Price: | Single transaction as in 4 c) above
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e) | Date of the transaction: | 2021-10-01
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f) | Place of the transaction: | Off-market | ||||
1. | Details of the person discharging managerial responsibilities/person closely associated | |||||
a) | Name: | Dave Cliff | ||||
2. | Reason for the notification | |||||
a) | Position/status: | Non-Executive Director | ||||
b) | Initial notification/Amendment: | Initial notification | ||||
3. | Details of the issuer, emission allowance market participant, auction platform, auctioneer or auction monitor | |||||
a) | Name: | Chesterfield Resources Plc | ||||
b) | LEI: | 213800EF8I2TT767IU35 | ||||
4. | Details of the transaction(s): section to be repeated for (i) each type of instrument; (ii) each type of transaction; (iii) each date; and (iv) each place where transactions have been conducted | |||||
a) | Description of the financial instrument, type of instrument: Identification code: | Ordinary shares of 0.1 pence GB00BF2F1X78 | ||||
b) | Nature of the transaction: | Grant of options over ordinary shares | ||||
c) | Price(s) and volume(s): |
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d) | Aggregated information: Aggregated volume: Price: | Single transaction as in 4 c) above
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e) | Date of the transaction: | 2021-10-01
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f) | Place of the transaction: | Off-market | ||||
1. | Details of the person discharging managerial responsibilities/person closely associated | |||||
a) | Name: | Paul Ensor | ||||
2. | Reason for the notification | |||||
a) | Position/status: | Non-Executive Director | ||||
b) | Initial notification/Amendment: | Initial notification | ||||
3. | Details of the issuer, emission allowance market participant, auction platform, auctioneer or auction monitor | |||||
a) | Name: | Chesterfield Resources Plc | ||||
b) | LEI: | 213800EF8I2TT767IU35 | ||||
4. | Details of the transaction(s): section to be repeated for (i) each type of instrument; (ii) each type of transaction; (iii) each date; and (iv) each place where transactions have been conducted | |||||
a) | Description of the financial instrument, type of instrument: Identification code: | Ordinary shares of 0.1 pence GB00BF2F1X78 | ||||
b) | Nature of the transaction: | Grant of options over ordinary shares | ||||
c) | Price(s) and volume(s): |
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d) | Aggregated information: Aggregated volume: Price: | Single transaction as in 4 c) above
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e) | Date of the transaction: | 2021-10-01
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f) | Place of the transaction: | Off-market | ||||
**ENDS**
For further information, please visit www.chesterfieldresourcesplc.com or contact:
Chesterfield Resources plc:
Martin French, Executive Chairman Tel: +44(0) 7901 552277
Panmure Gordon (UK) Limited (Joint Broker): Tel: +44 (0)207 886 2500
John Prior & Hugh Rich
First Equity Limited (joint Broker):
Jason Robertson Tel: +44 (0) 207 330 1883