Corcel Regulatory News (CRCL)

Corcel PLC

("Corcel" or the "Company")

Operational and Strategic Update

20 February 2023

Corcel Plc (London AIM: CRCL), the natural resource exploration and development company, with interests in battery metals including nickel, cobalt, vanadium and rare earth elements, announces its forward work programme and revised strategy following the successful restructuring of its corporate debt and the completion of the disposal of its UK asset portfolio. 

Highlights

o  Corcel positioned as a carried non-operator miner across multiple mineral exploration projects in its growing battery metals upstream portfolio

o  Broadening of strategy to include oil and gas alongside mining, reflecting the significant onshore opportunity set in oil and gas at attractive valuations and the Company's Executive experience and connectivity in this space

o  Strategic focus on Brazil where the Company is at an advanced stage on multiple transactions across both mining and oil and gas

Upstream Battery Metals:

The Company has historically been primarily focused on an upstream battery metals strategy, reflecting its strong belief in global electrification, the expected supply constraints in these key metals and the associated price increases already underway involving battery metals globally. The Company notes recent structural increases in the prices of copper, nickel, lithium and other key battery metals.

The current battery metals portfolio primarily includes the Company's interests in two PNG based lateritic nickel deposits, Mambare and Wowo Gap (where it holds a 41% and 100% interest respectively). As announced on 17 October 2022, the Company is well advanced in a restructuring and the formation of a new joint venture entity in Asia, such that it will retain a non-operated and fully carried interest in these projects as they continue to be developed. The Company will update the markets upon formal signature of the transaction. As previously announced, the intention of this restructuring is to tie these assets to several Asian industrial concerns and end users of these metals, and to prepare the portfolio for a separate listing, as part of a broader battery metals portfolio, in Australia or Singapore at an attractive valuation.

The Company has also, as announced on 5 December 2022 and 4 January 2023, recently acquired and subsequently farmed out the Mt. Weld project in Western Australia. Mt Weld is a potentially significant rare earth project, located next to one of the world's largest REE mines, where results of a magnetics inversion which were also announced this morning confirm the potential of the project, which is now preparing up to four high quality drill targets. This interest is also a non-operated and fully carried position.

The Company plans to continue to selectively acquire upstream battery metal positions where it finds the right combination of solid technical fundamentals, potentially transformational upside, low upfront entry cost and strong opportunities for back-to-back farm outs of an asset; ultimately resulting in a carried position with little or no ongoing cost to the Company. The Company's goal is therefore ultimately to offer its shareholders ongoing exposure to a range of non-operated upstream battery metals projects, with carried positions where possible.

Strategic Broadening:

The Company further announces it is now broadening its strategic focus to include the full range of extractive industries including oil and gas alongside mining. This reflects the unique opportunities available in the onshore oil and gas sector at present and the e3xecutive team's experience, connectivity and skill set in this sector. The Company will review its staffing model during Q1 to reflect this broadening and its evolving technical requirements.

Whilst the Company's geographic focus to-date has been PNG and Australia, this is now expected to rapidly broaden across other geographies including Brazil, where the Company has been actively screening industrial opportunities for over 12 months and has multiple potential transaction opportunities. The Company is uniquely positioned in Brazil given the Chairman's strong connectivity in country, fluency in Portuguese and deep understanding of the local business culture. The Company advises it is attending multiple project vendor meetings in Brazil the week of 27th of February and further announcements will be made following the conclusion of these engagements as required.

Whilst primarily focused on buy and build opportunities in its chosen extractive industries and geographies, the Company also confirms that it is also exploring various potentially transformational transactions in other sectors, which could potentially repurpose the listing. The Company will continue to consider these as they originate, focused on providing access to capital through a listing to existing revenue and cash generating businesses. However, the Company cautions that there can be no certainty at this point of such a transaction completing, and that further announcements will be made as appropriate.

Investor Event:

The Company expects to host an investor event where it will launch its new strategy and release its new investor deck towards the end of March 2023. Further details will be provided in due course. 

For further information, please contact:

Scott Kaintz Corcel Plc CEO

020 7747 9960  

James Joyce / James Bavister /Andrew de Andrade WH Ireland Ltd NOMAD & Broker

0207 220 1666

Patrick d'Ancona   Vigo Communications IR

0207 3900 230

The information contained within this announcement is deemed to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014 which is part of UK law by virtue of the European Union (withdrawal) Act 2018. Upon the publication of this announcement, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.