Rosebank Regulatory News (ROSE)

12 Apr 2007 07:00

Vane Minerals PLC12 April 2007 12th April 2007 VANE Minerals Plc (AIM: VML) Uranium Assets Update £1 Million Raised By Way Of A Convertible Loan Note VANE Minerals Plc ("VANE" or "the Company") announces that, further to theprogress recently announced with the expansion of its US based portfolio ofuranium assets and the commencement of drilling at certain projects, the Boardis undertaking a strategic review of its options in order to maximiseshareholder benefit from its uranium portfolio. The Board recognises the risinginterest, particularly in the US and Canada, of institutions and other partiesin companies operating in the uranium sector. This has led to substantialvaluations and major fundraising opportunities for some asset-rich uraniumcompanies in those markets. There is no certainty as to the outcome of any such review but in the currentenvironment the Board considers that it has a duty in the best interests ofshareholders to explore what options may be available to extract optimum valuefrom its now sizeable uranium portfolio. An update on any progress will beannounced in due course. Loan note To facilitate the fast track exploration and drilling at the Company's variousNorth American uranium projects, the Company has conditionally agreed to raise£1,000,000 through the issue of a fixed-rate unsecured convertible loan note(the "Loan Note") to Geiger Counter Limited. The issue of the Loan Note is conditional upon shareholder approval which willbe sought at an Extraordinary General Meeting (the "EGM"), to be held on the 8thMay, 2007. . A circular describing the proposed issue of the Loan Note andconvening the EGM will be sent to shareholders this week. Principal Terms of the Loan Note • The Loan Note attracts interest at 8% per annum, paid half-yearly. • The Loan Note is convertible at the option of the holder at any time prior to the redemption date (being the date five years from the date of issue of the Loan Note) at a price of £0.29 per share, a premium of 28.9% to the closing price at the 10th April. (£0.225 per share). • The number of ordinary shares of 10 pence each to be issued upon conversion of the Loan Note are subject to proportional adjustments to reflect stock dividends, share splits, reverse share splits and other anti-dilutive events. • Should the Company elect to divest any or all of the uranium assets into a new company, the Loan Note shall be convertible at the option of the holder into shares in such company at a price not greater than the price per share of the shares in such company issued to new investors in the first round of a fundraising. • Upon a change of control involving the acquisition of voting control or direction of over 50% or more of the ordinary shares of the Company, the holder has the right to require the Company to redeem the Loan Note, in whole or in part, at a price equal to 101% of the principal amount, plus accrued and unpaid interest thereon. Additionally, shareholders will be aware that the Company raised £750,000 inSeptember 2006 through a convertible loan note agreement with City NaturalResources High Yield Trust Plc and Geiger Counter Limited, who loaned £450,000and £300,000 respectively. Should shareholder approval be obtained in respect ofthe Loan Note, Geiger Counter and City Natural Resources have irrevocablyundertaken to exercise their conversion rights on the existing loan note intoordinary shares of the Company at the agreed price of 12p, this will happen onthe issue of the new loan note and no further interest will be payable from thatpoint on the £750,000. Matthew Idiens, Director of Corporate Development, commented, "We are verypleased to announce this funding which will allow us to continue to acceleratethe development of our uranium portfolio in the US. The uranium market is hereto stay and we believe that the time is now right to explore ways in which wecan extract the maximum value from our uranium assets. We are also delightedthat Geiger Counter, the specialist uranium fund, has likewise recognised thepotential uplift and further cemented their support for VANE." Enquiries: VANE Minerals Plc Ambrian Partners LimitedMatthew Idiens Richard Brown+44 (0) 20 7667 6322 +44 (0) 20 7776 6417 Parkgreen Communications Daniel Stewart & CoCathy Malins / Annabel Leather Katie Shelton+44 (0) 20 7851 7480 +44 (0)20 7776 6550 About VANE Minerals: Since December 2004, VANE Minerals has built a substantial uranium portfolio ofproperties in the US, initially targeting the Northern Arizona Breccia PipeDistrict which holds the highest grade deposits in the US. The Company is using the silver/gold production at the Diablito mine in Mexicoto help fund exploration work across its attractive portfolio of uranium as wellas base and precious metal prospects. VANE was founded by the former international exploration team ofFreeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc., one of the world's largest producers ofcopper and gold. The Company has assembled a highly qualified and experiencedmanagement team with a proven track record in exploration and development, whohave spent their entire careers searching for and defining large scale mineraldeposits. For further information, please review: www.vaneminerals.com. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange