European Metals Holdings Ltd (LON:EMH) has today declared the maiden Ore Reserve at the Company’s Cinovec Lithium / Tin Project in the Czech Republic. In addition, the Company has appointed Mr Richard Pavlik to the Board of Directors, and secured short-term funding.
HIGHLIGHTS
· Maiden Ore Reserve of 34.5 Mt @ 0.65% Li2O declared for Cinovec Project
· Richard Pavlik, current in-country manager, appointed as Director
· Short term funding secured
European Metals Holdings Ltd Managing Director Keith Coughlan said, “I am pleased to report a maiden Ore Reserve for Cinovec. The conversion of 34.5 million tonnes of Mineral Resource to Ore Reserve was facilitated by the recently published PFS. This is another significant step in the development of the largest lithium resource in Europe. I am also very pleased to welcome Richard Pavlik to the Board of Directors of European Metals on the resignation of Mr Pavel Reichl. Richard has made a significant contribution to the Company since taking the role of Country Manager in January and is a key component of the development of the project. On behalf of the Board I would like to thank Pavel for his role in the development of Cinovec to date. Pavel has been instrumental in securing the project and in managing a great deal of the early work. In addition, we have secured short term funding to allow us to continue work on the Definitive Feasibility Study whilst finalising discussions with a number of potential European based partners. It is the company’s preferred route to partner with a European strategic investor for the bulk of the feasibility funding.”
ORE RESERVE STATEMENT
Based upon the Preliminary Feasibility Study undertaken for the Cinovec Project, the Company declares a maiden Probable Ore Reserve of 34.5 Mt @ 0.65% Li2O, as detailed below. The Probable Reserves have been declared solely from the Indicated Mineral Resource category and are classified based on a PFS level of study and category of Mineral Resource.
| CINOVEC ORE RESERVES SUMMARY | |||||
| Tonnes | Li | Li20 | Sn | W | |
| Category | (Millions) | % | % | % | % |
| Proven Ore Reserves | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Probable Ore Reserves | 34.5 | 0.3 | 0.65 | 0.09 | 0.03 |
| Total Ore Reserves | 34.5 | 0.3 | 0.65 | 0.09 | 0.03 |
Notes to Reserves Table.
1. Probable Ore Reserves have been prepared by Bara International in accordance with the guidelines of the JORC Code (2012).
2. The effective date of the Probable Ore Reserves is June 2017.
3. All figures are rounded to reflect the relative accuracy of the estimate.
4. The operator of the project is Geomet S.R.O. a wholly-owned subsidiary of EMH. Gross and Net Attributable Probable Ore Reserves are the same.
5. Any apparent inconsistencies are due to rounding errors.
The Mineral Resource for the Cinovec deposit was prepared by Widenbar and Associates and issued in February, 2017. The Mineral Resource is reported in the report Cinovec Resource Estimation published by Widenbar and Associates and is reported in accordance with the JORC 2012 guidelines. The table below summarises the Mineral Resource declared.
| CINOVEC 2017 RESOURCE | ||||||
| Cutoff | Tonnes | Li | Li2O | Sn | W | |
| % | (Millions) | % | % | % | % | |
| INDICATED | 0.10% | 347.7 | 0.21 | 0.45 | 0.04 | 0.015 |
| INFERRED | 0.10% | 308.8 | 0.18 | 0.39 | 0.04 | 0.014 |
| TOTAL | 0.10% | 656.5 | 0.2 | 0.43 | 0.04 | 0.014 |
BOARD CHANGES
The Company is pleased to announce that Mr Richard Pavlik has been appointed to the Board with immediate effect. Mr Pavlik is the General Manager of Geomet s.r.o., the Company’s wholly owned Czech subsidiary, and is a highly experienced Czech mining executive. Mr Pavlik holds a Masters Degree in Mining Engineer from the Technical University of Ostrava in Czech Republic. He is the former Chief Project Manager and Advisor to the Chief Executive Officer at OKD. OKD has been a major coal producer in the Czech Republic. He has almost 30 years of relevant industry experience in the Czech Republic. Mr Pavlik also has experience as a Project Analyst at Normandy Capital in Sydney as part of a postgraduate programme from Swinburne University. Mr Pavlik has held previous senior positions within OKD and New World Resources as Chief Engineer, and as Head of Surveying and Geology. He has also served as the Head of the Supervisory Board of NWR Karbonia, a Polish subsidiary of New World Resources (UK) Limited. He has an intimate knowledge of mining in the Czech Republic.
Mr Pavlik has been appointed to replace Mr. Pavel Reichl, who resigns on his request to pursue other interests. Mr Reichl has been instrumental in the development of the Cinovec Project and has been involved in the project since 2010. The company thanks Pavel for his vision in initially identifying the opportunity presented by the project and for his focused commitment in assisting in the development of the project to date. Mr Reichl will continue to provide geologic services on an as-needed basis.
INTERIM FUNDING
The Company is actively engaged in discussions with potential European strategic partners with regards to the funding and development of the Cinovec Project. Given the high level of interest in Europe in the lithium market, the Company is confident of a successful outcome in the near term in this regard. In order to allow sufficient time to finalise discussions and properly assess the various options open to the Company, the Company has arranged an interim funding facility to maintain momentum in developing the project.
This facility has been provided by an Australian based sophisticated investor, 6466 Investments Pty Ltd, and allows for the draw down of up to AUD 2 million in tranches as required over 12 months. Any funds drawn down will convert to CDI’s in the Company at a 10% discount to the 10 day vwap in the Company’s securities. The funds will be used in the preparation of the Company’s Definitive Feasibility Study, for further drilling and general working capital. The issue of shares pursuant to draw downs does not require shareholder approval.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON CINOVEC
PROJECT OVERVIEW
Cinovec Lithium/Tin Project
European Metals owns 100% of the Cinovec lithium-tin deposit in the Czech Republic. Cinovec is an historic mine incorporating a significant undeveloped lithium-tin resource with by-product potential including tungsten, rubidium, scandium, niobium and tantalum and potash. Cinovec hosts a globally significant hard rock lithium deposit with a total Indicated Mineral Resource of 348Mt @ 0.45% Li2O and 0.04% Sn and an Inferred Mineral Resource of 309Mt @ 0.39% Li2O and 0.04% Sn containing a combined 7.0 million tonnes Lithium Carbonate Equivalent and 263kt of tin.
This makes Cinovec the largest lithium deposit in Europe, the fourth largest non-brine deposit in the world and a globally significant tin resource.
The deposit has previously had over 400,000 tonnes of ore mined as a trial sub-level open stope underground mining operation.
The recently completed Preliminary Feasibility Study, conducted by specialist independent consultants, returned a post tax NPV of USD540m and an IRR of 21%. It confirmed the deposit is be amenable to bulk underground mining. Metallurgical test work has produced both battery grade lithium carbonate and high-grade tin concentrate at excellent recoveries. Cinovec is centrally located for European end-users and is well serviced by infrastructure, with a sealed road adjacent to the deposit, rail lines located 5 km north and 8 km south of the deposit and an active 22 kV transmission line running to the historic mine. As the deposit lies in an active mining region, it has strong community support.
The economic viability of Cinovec has been enhanced by the recent strong increase in demand for lithium globally, and within Europe specifically.
