Roundtable Discussion; The Future of Mineral Sands. Watch the video here.

Less Ads, More Data, More Tools Register for FREE

Pin to quick picksWRES.L Regulatory News (WRES)

  • There is currently no data for WRES

Watchlists are a member only feature

Login to your account

Alerts are a premium feature

Login to your account

Ongoing Operations and Covid-19 Response

16 Mar 2020 08:30

RNS Number : 2442G
W Resources PLC
16 March 2020
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

16 March 2020

 

W Resources Plc

("W" or the "Company")

Ongoing Operations and Covid-19 Response

W Resources Plc (AIM:WRES), the tungsten, tin and gold mining company with assets in Spain and Portugal, announces an update on measures to protect the safety of its people and ongoing operations in Spain and Portugal in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Mining and plant operations at La Parrilla and mining operations at Régua continue with stringent procedures implemented to safeguard personnel and ensure full compliance with the newly implemented State of Emergency in both Spain and Portugal to combat the spread of COVID-19.

Update on Spanish State of Emergency and Extremadura

On 14 March Spain's Prime Minister declared a national State of Emergency. The key measures imposed by the Spanish Government are:

- Circulation of persons and vehicles is restricted only to certain uses linked to health, food, banking, refuelling, work, or any force majeure.

- The Spanish Government can direct companies to produce goods and require employees to attend work, if justified to protect the health of the public.

- All recreational and sport centres are closed (including bars, restaurants, cinemas, theatres and museums).

- Public transport services will be reduced by 50%.

- The availability of transport for goods will be guaranteed.

- Import of goods will continue.

- Energy and gas supplies will be guaranteed.

These measures are being put in place for a period of 15 days; however this period can be extended with the approval of the Spanish Parliament.

The Extremadura Region, where W Resources operates, is one of the less affected areas in Spain. At present, there are some 100 reported cases of infection in the region. With no areas showing a heavy concentration of cases save for a small village which is subject to quarantine at present. The region's low population density and the large distances between big cities has helped to reduce the speed of transmission.

The confinement measures implemented in Spain since Sunday 15 March are strict and W Resources and its operations are in full compliance with all such measures.

La Parrilla Ramp-up Operations Continue

The Company does not expect any direct impact from these measures on its Spanish operations. Transport to work is allowed, and supply of goods and energy is guaranteed. The main resources required to continue operations are energy (explosives, fuel, gas) and personnel. W should not expect disruption to energy supplies and the Company is taking decisive steps to protect personnel.

No W Resources personnel or contractors have been diagnosed as having contracted Coronavirus and the Company has stringent safety and screening processes in place. To protect the safety of personnel, continue operations and in order to comply with general Spanish Government recommendations the Company has taken the following actions over the last two weeks to:

1. Ensure that all personnel who can work from home do so, minimising visits to La Parrilla site. Any person with a cold or any symptoms is required under Spanish law and Company procedure to self-isolate.

2. To the greatest extent possible, ensure shift separation (usually 15-17 people per 7 day, 12 hour shift) to allow a degree of isolation in the event that an employee on any given shift contracts the virus.

3. Restrict any travel from outside Extremadura into La Parrilla, unless strictly necessary.

4. Restrict commercial or professional visits to La Parrilla to those strictly required for the continuity of business.

5. Put in place all the measures needed to minimise or eliminate contact between personnel or contractors that may lead to a potential transmission of the virus.

Portugal

The Portuguese government has also declared a State of Emergency and the specific provisions are expected to be outlined this week. To date Portugal has had a low number of reported cases (approximately 170), no reported deaths (World Health Organisation latest report) and has taken strong preventative action.

Mining operations at Régua in Portugal have a small number of geology and contract mining personnel in attendance. In Portugal, the Company has taken steps to:

1. Ensure working at home for all personnel who can do so.

2. Limit travel from outside the area.

3. Continue modular plant engineering and procurement remotely and suspend any plant construction activities until the situation is resolved.

4. Evaluate suspension of adit mining operations in a safe and orderly way.

5. Request (in light of the extraordinary circumstances) an extension of the trial mine license period for a further 12-18 months. The Company expects this to be approved.

W's main priorities are its personnel and contractors. While mining operations continue, we will continue to review the situation throughout the week and follow advice from the Portuguese Government, amending measures where necessary. Engineering and procurement is continuing remotely.

Michael Masterman, Chairman of W, commented: "It is a very challenging time for Spain and Portugal and the markets in general. Our priority is the safety and health of our personnel and we have worked hard at both our operational sites in La Parrilla and Régua to implement strong and stringent procedures. Ramp-up operations continue at La Parrilla and mining operations at Régua in compliance with the new State of Emergency in both Spain and Portugal. We continue a proactive review of steps to protect our team and in a safe and sensible way continue operations. European Tungsten APT prices are in line with budget at US$240/mtu while LME Tin prices are 10% lower at US$16,000 per tonne in line with falls in LME prices."

A full update on quarterly production for the March quarter will be provided in April 2020.

Enquiries:

W Resources Plc

Michael Masterman

T: +44 (0) 20 7193 7463

www.wresources.com

Grant Thornton UK LLP

Colin Aaronson / Seamus Fricker

T: +44 (0) 20 7383 5100

Joint Broker

Turner Pope Investments (TPI) Ltd

Andy Thacker / Zoe Alexander

T: +44 (0) 203 657 0050

www.turnerpope.com

Joint Broker

Alternative Resource Capital / Shard Capital

Alex Wood

T:+44 (0) 207 186 9004

www.altrescap.com

Damon Heath

T:+44 (0) 207 186 9952

www.shardcapital.com

Alma PR

Justine James

M: +44 (0) 7525 324431

wres@almapr.co.uk

 

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.
 
END
 
 
MSCVQLBFBXLLBBB
Date   Source Headline
14th Apr 20217:30 amRNSHolding(s) in Company
14th Apr 20217:00 amRNSQ1 2021 Production Report
8th Apr 202111:26 amRNSAtlas Conversion Notice & Total Voting Rights
31st Mar 202110:22 amRNSResult of General Meeting & Total Voting Rights
22nd Mar 20211:00 pmRNSAtlas Conversion Notice
17th Mar 202111:00 amRNSPrice Monitoring Extension
17th Mar 20219:05 amRNSSecond Price Monitoring Extn
17th Mar 20219:00 amRNSPrice Monitoring Extension
15th Mar 20212:06 pmRNSSecond Price Monitoring Extn
15th Mar 20212:01 pmRNSPrice Monitoring Extension
15th Mar 202112:19 pmRNSDirector/PDMR Shareholding
8th Mar 20217:00 amRNSCapital Reorganisation & Notice of General Meeting
3rd Mar 20217:21 amRNSLa Parrilla Update
10th Feb 20218:09 amRNSDirectorate Change
29th Jan 202111:05 amRNSSecond Price Monitoring Extn
29th Jan 202111:00 amRNSPrice Monitoring Extension
28th Jan 20217:00 amRNSAtlas Conversion Notice
26th Jan 20218:01 amRNSIssue of Shares to a Director and Others
25th Jan 20217:00 amRNSManagement Team Update
21st Jan 20217:00 amRNSQ4 2020 Production Report
15th Jan 20217:51 amRNSExtremadura Grant Update & Loan Facility Extension
11th Jan 20217:00 amRNS£500k Atlas Facility Drawdown & Conversion Notice
22nd Dec 20207:00 amRNSLa Parrilla Update
15th Dec 202011:21 amRNSWarrant Date Extension
7th Dec 20207:00 amRNSIssue of Equity
27th Nov 20201:05 pmRNSLa Parrilla Update - Replacement
26th Nov 20207:00 amRNSLa Parrilla Update
18th Nov 20207:00 amRNSExecutive Director and CFO Appointment
21st Oct 20207:00 amRNSQ3 Production Report
9th Oct 202011:18 amRNSIssue of Shares to Creditors
8th Oct 20207:02 amRNSBlackRock Additional US$7m Loan Facility
30th Sep 20207:00 amRNSHalf-year Report to 30 June 2020
1st Sep 20209:10 amRNSBlackRock Amendment Update
26th Aug 20209:11 amRNSAtlas Facility and La Parrilla Update
5th Aug 20208:54 amRNS£500,000 Atlas Facility Drawdown
23rd Jul 20202:05 pmRNSSecond Price Monitoring Extn
23rd Jul 20202:00 pmRNSPrice Monitoring Extension
23rd Jul 20207:00 amRNSJune 2020 Quarterly Production Report
22nd Jul 20209:19 amRNSSpanish Bank Loan Facilities
30th Jun 202011:59 amRNSResult of AGM
8th Jun 202012:58 pmRNSHolding(s) in Company
2nd Jun 20202:04 pmRNSNotice of AGM and Annual Report
1st Jun 20207:35 amRNSFinal Results
17th Apr 20208:00 amRNSMarch 2020 Quarterly Production Report
1st Apr 20202:05 pmRNSSecond Price Monitoring Extn
1st Apr 20202:00 pmRNSPrice Monitoring Extension
1st Apr 202011:06 amRNSSecond Price Monitoring Extn
1st Apr 202011:00 amRNSPrice Monitoring Extension
30th Mar 20203:26 pmRNSFinancing, La Parrilla and Spain COVID-19 Update
25th Mar 20204:41 pmRNSSecond Price Monitoring Extn

Due to London Stock Exchange licensing terms, we stipulate that you must be a private investor. We apologise for the inconvenience.

To access our Live RNS you must confirm you are a private investor by using the button below.

Login to your account

Don't have an account? Click here to register.

Quickpicks are a member only feature

Login to your account

Don't have an account? Click here to register.