Savannah Resources Regulatory News (SAV)

NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES, AUSTRALIA, CANADA, JAPAN, THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION WHERE TO DO SO WOULD CONSTITUTE A BREACH OF THE RELEVANT SECURITIES LAWS OF SUCH JURISDICTION.

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS FOR INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY AND DOES NOT ITSELF CONSTITUTE A PROSPECTUS OR OFFERING MEMORANDUM OR AN OFFER FOR SALE OR SUBSCRIPTION IN RESPECT OF ANY SECURITIES IN THE COMPANY. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT DOES NOT CONSTITUTE OR CONTAIN ANY INVITATION, SOLICITATION, RECOMMENDATION, OFFER OR ADVICE TO ANY PERSON TO SUBSCRIBE FOR, OTHERWISE ACQUIRE OR DISPOSE OF ANY SECURITIES OF SAVANNAH RESOURCES PLC IN ANY JURISDICTION IN WHICH ANY SUCH OFFER OR SOLICITATION WOULD BE UNLAWFUL.

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION FOR THE PURPOSES OF THE UK VERSION OF THE MARKET ABUSE REGULATION (EU NO. 596/2014) AS IT FORMS PART OF UNITED KINGDOM DOMESTIC LAW BY VIRTUE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (WITHDRAWAL) ACT 2018 ("MAR").

21 April 2021

Savannah Resources Plc

Result of Oversubscribed Placing

Savannah Resources plc (AIM: SAV, FWB: SAV and SWB: SAV) ('Savannah' or the 'Company'), the AIM quoted resource development company, which is focused on becoming Europe's most significant producer of spodumene lithium from its Mina do Barroso Project in Portugal ('Mina do Barroso', 'MdB' or the 'Project'), is pleased to announce that further to its announcement yesterday (the "Launch Announcement"), it has successfully completed a significantly oversubscribed Placing, which is now closed. The private placement took place through an accelerated bookbuilding process managed by Clarksons Platou Securities AS, finnCap Ltd and WH Ireland Limited.

The Company has raised, in aggregate, £10 million (before expenses) through the Placing of 250,000,000 Placing Shares at a Placing Price of 4 pence per Placing Share and £0.3 million through a direct subscription of 7,968,785 Subscription Shares also at the Placing Price of 4p (the "Subscription").

David Archer, CEO of Savannah Resources plc, commented: "We are delighted by the interest shown in Savannah by the international equity capital markets and I would like to thank both our existing and new shareholders for their participation in the Placing. We are particularly pleased to welcome a number of new European investors to our register. The £10.3m raised combined with the US$6.4m investment expected from Galp Energia SGPS, S.A ('Galp') in the Mina do Barroso project holding company, and our existing cash reserves, puts Savannah in a strong financial position as we continue to move towards the development phase at Mina do Barroso.

"Our greatly increased capital position will not only allow Savannah to complete the appraisal of Mina do Barroso, but to complement that work by evaluating opportunities to further enhance the Project's ESG credentials, undertaking exploration to define additional resources, and adding key personnel to our project team as we proceed to the development phase.

"It also gives us a greater position of strength from which to develop Savannah's lithium business beyond Mina do Barroso. The global lithium industry is experiencing a period of strong recovery after a two-year period of falling prices. Lithium raw material prices have all experienced significant increases since Q4 2020, including the spodumene price which has risen approximately 70% since November, as supply tightness has coincided with greater demand driven by the rapid growth in EV sales.

"Nowhere is this more apparent than in Europe with well over a million EVs sold last year despite the impact of COVID-19. The European Commission expects the region's demand for lithium to increase 18x by 2030, while the capacity of the region's domestic battery manufacturing industry is forecast to grow more than 10x as Europe's battery value chain expands rapidly in support of the e-mobility revolution. Savannah is already one of the leading players in Europe's new lithium raw material supply industry and should now leverage its hard-earned position to further expand its lithium supply business in Europe to maintain and grow its future share of the market.

"Lithium represents the future for Savannah, but we also remain committed to completing the technical and corporate review of the Mutamba mineral sands project in Mozambique with our partner, Rio Tinto. Hence a portion of the funds raised today will be used to maintain the project, finalise the review work and execute its findings. This should ensure that Mutamba's future and its true value can be clarified for the benefit of our shareholders and the other stakeholders in the project.

"It is an exciting time in the global lithium sector right now and Europe is rapidly defining itself as a major demand centre with a focus on responsibly sourced raw materials. Savannah is ideally placed to service that demand and will be generating significant news flow over the next 12 months as it takes Mina do Barroso through a number of key milestones and looks to enhance and develop its lithium business."

Admission to trading on AIM

The Placing and Subscription are conditional on the admission of the Placing Shares and Subscription Shares to trading on AIM ("Admission"). Application has been made to the London Stock Exchange for Admission which is expected to become effective and dealings in the Placing Shares commence at 8.00 a.m. on 26 April 2021.

The issuance of the Placing Shares and Subscription Shares will be made from the authorities granted to directors to issue ordinary shares at the Annual General Meeting of the Company held on 25 June 2020.

Director and PDMR participation in the Placing

Matthew King, the Company's Chairman and Michael McGarty, the Company's CFO, have subscribed for an aggregate of 562,500 Subscription Shares at the Placing Price pursuant to the Subscription in the proportions set out below:

Related party transaction

Matthew King is a Director of the Company. Matthew King's participation in the Subscription (the "Director Subscription") therefore constitutes a related party transaction in accordance with AIM Rule 13. The Savannah Directors other than Matthew King, who are not subscribing for Placing or Subscription Shares and are therefore independent Directors for these purposes, having consulted with the Company's Nominated Adviser, consider the terms of the Director Subscription to be fair and reasonable insofar as Savannah's shareholders are concerned.

Significant shareholdings

Following the Placing, the percentage holds of certain significant shareholders will change as per the table below:

Total voting rights

Following Admission of the Placing Shares and Subscription Shares, the Company's issued and fully paid share capital will consist of 1,688,959,820 Ordinary Shares. The Company has no Ordinary Shares in treasury. As such, the total number of voting rights in the Company will be 1,688,959,820 Ordinary Shares. This number may be used by shareholders as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest, or a change to their interest in, the Company under the FCA's Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules.

For further information please visit www.savannahresources.com or contact:

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

This Announcement has been issued by, and is the sole responsibility of, the Company. No representation or warranty express or implied, is or will be made as to, or in relation to, and no responsibility or liability is or will be accepted by finnCap Ltd, WH Ireland Limited or Clarksons Platou Securities AS or by any of their respective affiliates, agents, directors, officers and employees as to or in relation to, the accuracy or completeness of this Announcement or any other written or oral information made available to or publicly available to any interested party or its advisers, and any liability therefore is expressly disclaimed.

This Announcement does not constitute, or form part of, a prospectus relating to the Company, nor does it constitute or contain any invitation or offer to any person, or any public offer, to subscribe for, purchase or otherwise acquire any shares in the Company or advise persons to do so in any jurisdiction, nor shall it, or any part of it (other than the Appendix in relation to Placees) form the basis of or be relied on in connection with any contract or as an inducement to enter into any contract or commitment with the Company. In particular, the Placing Shares have not been, and will not be, registered under the Securities Act or qualified for sale under the laws of any state of the United States or under the applicable laws of any of Canada, Australia, the Republic of South Africa, or Japan and, subject to certain exceptions, may not be offered or sold in the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, US persons (as such term is defined in Regulation S under the Securities Act) or to any national, resident or citizen of Canada, Australia, the Republic of South Africa or Japan.

The distribution or transmission of this Announcement and the offering of the Placing Shares in certain jurisdictions may be restricted or prohibited by law or regulation. Persons distributing this Announcement must satisfy themselves that it is lawful to do so. Any failure to comply with these restrictions may constitute a violation of the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. No action has been taken by the Company or the Joint Bookrunners that would permit an offering of such shares or possession or distribution of this Announcement or any other offering or publicity material relating to such shares in any jurisdiction where action for that purpose is required. Persons into whose possession this Announcement comes are required by the Company and the Joint Bookrunners to inform themselves about, and to observe, such restrictions. In particular, this Announcement may not be distributed, directly or indirectly, in or into the United States, Canada, the Republic of South Africa, Australia or Japan. Overseas Shareholders and any person (including, without limitation, nominees and trustees), who have a contractual or other legal obligation to forward this document to a jurisdiction outside the UK should seek appropriate advice before taking any action.

This Announcement contains "forward-looking statements" which includes all statements other than statements of historical fact, including, without limitation, those regarding the Company's financial position, business strategy, plans and objectives of management for future operations, or any statements preceded by, followed by or that include the words "targets", "believes", "expects", "aims", "intends", "will", "may", "anticipates", "would", "could", "indicative", "possible" or similar expressions or negatives thereof. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors beyond the Company's control that could cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Group to be materially different from future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on numerous assumptions regarding the Company's present and future business strategies and the environment in which the Company will operate in the future. These forward-looking statements speak only as at the date of this Announcement. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to disseminate any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in the Company's expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statements are based unless required to do so by applicable law or the AIM Rules.

No statement in this Announcement is intended to be a profit forecast and no statement in this Announcement should be interpreted to mean that earnings or losses per share of the Company for the current or future financial years would necessarily match or exceed the historical published earnings or losses per share of the Company.

finnCap Ltd, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in the United Kingdom, is acting as Joint Bookrunner and Joint Broker to the Company in connection with the Placing. finnCap Ltd will not be responsible to any person other than the Company for providing the protections afforded to clients of finnCap Ltd or for providing advice to any other person in connection with the Placing or any acquisition of shares in the Company. finnCap Ltd is not making any representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the contents of this Announcement. finnCap Ltd has not authorised the contents of, or any part of, this Announcement, and no liability whatsoever is accepted by finnCap Ltd for the accuracy of any information or opinions contained in this Announcement or for the omission of any material information.

WH Ireland Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in the United Kingdom, is acting as Joint Bookrunner and Joint Broker to the Company in connection with the Placing. WH Ireland Limited will not be responsible to any person other than the Company for providing the protections afforded to clients of WH Ireland Limited or for providing advice to any other person in connection with the Placing or any acquisition of shares in the Company. WH Ireland Limited is not making any representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the contents of this Announcement. WH Ireland Limited has not authorised the contents of, or any part of, this Announcement, and no liability whatsoever is accepted by WH Ireland Limited for the accuracy of any information or opinions contained in this Announcement or for the omission of any material information.

Clarksons is authorised and regulated by the Financial Supervisory Authority of Norway. It has been registered under the UK FCA's Temporary Permissions Regime, which allows EEA-based firms to operate in the UK for a limited period. Clarksons is acting as Joint Bookrunner to the Company in connection with the Placing. Clarksons will not be responsible to any person other than the Company for providing the protections afforded to clients of Clarksons or for providing advice to any other person in connection with the Placing or any acquisition of shares in the Company. Clarksons is not making any representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the contents of this Announcement. Clarksons has not authorised the contents of, or any part of, this Announcement, and no liability whatsoever is accepted by Clarksons for the accuracy of any information or opinions contained in this Announcement or for the omission of any material information.

SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in the United Kingdom, is acting as nominated adviser to the Company for the purposes of the AIM Rules in connection with the Placing and, as nominated adviser, its responsibilities are owed solely to the London Stock Exchange and are not owed to the Company or its Directors or to any other person or entity. SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP will not be responsible to any person other than the Company for providing the protections afforded to clients SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP or for providing advice to any other person in connection with the Fundraising or any acquisition of shares in the Company. SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP is not making any representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the contents of this Announcement. SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP has not authorised the contents of, or any part of, this Announcement, and no liability whatsoever is accepted by SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP for the accuracy of any information or opinions contained in this Announcement or for the omission of any material information.