29th Jul 2025 07:00
NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART IN, INTO OR FROM THE UNITED STATES OR ANY JURISDICTION WHERE TO DO SO WOULD CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF THE RELEVANT LAWS OR REGULATIONS OF THAT JURISDICTION.
29 July 2025
First Development Resources plc
('First Development", "FDR" or the "Company')
Admission to AIM and First Day of Dealings
First Development Resources plc (AIM: FDR) a UK based, Australian focused exploration company with mineral interests in Western Australia and Australia's Northern Territory, is pleased to announce the admission of its entire share capital, being 105,859,430 ordinary shares of 1 pence each ("Ordinary Shares"), to trading on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange ("Admission").
Admission and dealings in the Ordinary Shares will commence at 8.00 a.m. today under the TIDM and ISIN of FDR and GB00BRY05092 respectively. The Company has raised gross proceeds of £2.3 million (before expenses) through the issue of 34,482,759 new Ordinary Shares at a placing price of 6.67 pence per share.
As from today, the Company's registered address has been changed to Salisbury House, London Wall, London EC2M 5PS.
The Admission Document as well as information required pursuant to AIM Rule 26 are available at the Company's website at: www.firstdevelopmentresources.com
Tristan Pottas, CEO of FDR, commented:
"First Development Resources' admission to AIM comes at a time when the world needs more critical, precious-and base-metals. This presents an exciting opportunity for a company such as ours with ownership of four diverse exploration and development assets located within one of the world's most attractive mining jurisdictions. We believe FDR represents significant potential and are eager to accelerate both exploration and corporate development activities immediately following our listing.
I would like to extend my sincere thanks to the entire FDR team and our shareholders for their support as we navigated the detailed exploration and corporate steps that have brought us to this point. Their commitment has been instrumental in positioning the Company for future growth and value creation. I would like to take this opportunity to welcome our new investors and we now look forward to advancing and executing our operational work programmes."
For further information visit www.firstdevelopmentresources.com or contact the following:
First Development Resources plc Tristan Pottas (CEO) | Tel: +44 (0) 20 3778 1397 |
Beaumont Cornish Limited Nominated Adviser Roland Cornish / Asia Szusciak | Tel: +44 (0) 20 7628 3396 |
SI Capital Limited Broker Nick Emerson | Tel: +44 (0) 1483 413 500 |
Beaumont Cornish Limited ("Beaumont Cornish") is the Company's Nominated Adviser and is authorised and regulated by the FCA. Beaumont Cornish's responsibilities as the Company's Nominated Adviser, including a responsibility to advise and guide the Company on its responsibilities under the AIM Rules for Companies and AIM Rules for Nominated Advisers, are owed solely to the London Stock Exchange. Beaumont Cornish is not acting for and will not be responsible to any other persons for providing protections afforded to customers of Beaumont Cornish nor for advising them in relation to the proposed arrangements described in this announcement or any matter referred to in it.
OVERVIEW OF FIRST DEVELOPMENT RESOURCES
First Development Resources' assets comprise eight granted tenements covering a total area of 2,314.4km2. Five of the tenements, comprising three prospective copper-gold projects, are located in Western Australia (WA) while the remaining three tenements, comprising a rare-earth element (REE), uranium, lithium and gold project, are located in the Australian's Northern Territory. All tenements are wholly owned by FDR.
The WA Projects include the Company's flagship Wallal Project as well as Ripon Hills and Braeside West Projects situated in the Paterson Province, which is widely regarded as one of the most productive regions in Australia for the discovery of world-class gold-copper deposits, and which is home to several world-class mines and more recent discoveries.
The Selta Project in the Northern Territory is located in an area considered highly prospective for uranium and rare-earth element mineralisation along with base and precious metal mineralisation. Numerous companies are actively exploring within the region.
Beyond the existing portfolio, FDR is actively looking to expand its portfolio through the acquisition of early-stage exploration projects in Australia.
Location
Well-endowed with natural resources, Australia is a globally significant producer of more than 20 mineral commodities including bauxite, cobalt, gold, lithium, iron ore, mineral sands, nickel and rare-earth elements ("REEs"). Australia's resource and energy commodity exports are forecast to be worth AU$387B in FY 24-25. (Office of the Chief Economist, Australian Department of Industry, Innovation and Science, March 2025).
In 2024, Australia had around 350 operating mines producing 26 major and minor mineral commodities. Mining accounts for approximately two-thirds of Australia's total merchandise exports, with the combined energy and mineral commodity exports forecast to be worth AU$387B in 2024-25.
Projects with Critical and High-Demand Minerals
First Development's principal focus is to undertake exploration primarily for copper and gold in Western Australia and for REE's, lithium and uranium in the Northern Territory. The FDR Board believe the Projects give the Company exposure to the traditional precious metals market as well as capitalising on the emerging green metals markets.
FDR's Wallal Project comprises three granted exploration licences covering a combined area of 572.9 km2 and located approximately 240km east of Port Hedland on the western edge of the Paterson Province, WA. Three copper-gold exploration targets have been defined at the Project using geophysical surveying, and are known as the Eastern, Border and Western anomalies. The primary styles of mineralisation being targeted by FDR are intrusive-related breccia hosted copper gold mineralisation systems. The Company expects to commence its Phase I Diamond Drilling Programme in the coming weeks to test the Eastern anomaly.
FDR's Selta Project comprises three granted ELs covering approximately 1,575km2, which are considered prospective for lithium, REE, uranium, gold and potentially base metal mineralisation. Based on small field reconnaissance programs in 2022 and 2023, as well as in-depth desktop reviews of publicly available exploration data, FDR has identified nine prospective target areas. FDR proposes to initially explore four target areas considered to have the highest exploration potential. Planned works include soil and rock geochemical sampling, mapping and a geophysical survey (magnetics). Systematic, methodical, first-pass exploration is expected to commence later this year.
Management Team & Strategy
The members of the Company's Board have deep expertise in mining and mine development, considerable knowledge of the Australia mining sector, as well as expertise in corporate finance, legal and regulatory issues, ecology and the environment.
The Directors believe the establishment of a UK-based, Australian-focused AIM-quoted company creates the opportunity to generate shareholder value through the process of discovering and advancing new mineral deposits with a focus on copper-gold and uranium - rare-earth elements in Australia.
First Development's mineral assets are currently in the early-stage exploration phase, so whilst this means that they are highly risky, exploration success and progressing one or more of the Projects into the development phase could add significantly to their value.
IMPORTANT NOTICES
The information contained in this announcement is for background purposes only and does not purport to be full or complete. No reliance may be placed by any person for any purpose on the information contained in this announcement or its accuracy, fairness or completeness.
This announcement is for information purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or issue or the solicitation of an offer to buy, acquire or subscribe for shares in the capital of the Company in Canada, Australia, Japan or the Republic of South Africa or any other jurisdiction where such offer or solicitation may be restricted, unlawful or unauthorised. Any failure to comply with these restrictions may constitute a violation of the securities laws of such jurisdictions. Subject to certain exemptions, the securities referred to herein may not be offered or sold in Canada, Australia, Japan, or the Republic of South Africa or to, or for the account or benefit of any national resident or citizen of Canada, Australia, Japan, or the Republic of South Africa.
This announcement is not for publication or distribution, directly or indirectly, in or into the United States of America. This announcement is not an offer of securities for sale into the United States. The securities referred to herein have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and may not be offered or sold in the United States, except pursuant to an applicable exemption from registration. No public offering of securities is being made in the United States.
This announcement is addressed to and directed only at persons who are (a) persons in member states of the European Economic Area who are "qualified investors" within the meaning of Article 2(e) of the EU Prospectus Regulation (Regulation (EU) No 2017/1129), or (b) persons in the United Kingdom who are "qualified investors" within the meaning of Article 2(e) of the UK Prospectus Regulation (Regulation (EU) No. 2017/1129, which is part of UK law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018) (the "UK Prospectus Regulation"), who (i) have professional experience in matters relating to investments and fall within the definition of "investment professionals" in Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005, as amended (the "Order"), or (ii) are high net worth companies, unincorporated associations or partnerships or trustees of high value trusts as described in article 49(2) of the Order, or (c) persons to whom it may otherwise be lawful to communicate it (all such persons together being referenced to as "relevant persons"). Any investment in connection with the Placing will only be available to, and will only be engaged with, relevant persons. Any person who is not a relevant person should not act or rely on this announcement or any of its contents.
Potential investors should not base their financial decision on this announcement. Acquiring investments to which this announcement relates may expose an investor to a significant risk of losing all of the amount invested. Persons considering making investments should consult an authorised person specialising in advising on such investments. The value of the Ordinary Shares can decrease as well as increase.
This announcement contains statements that are, or may be deemed to be, "forward-looking statements". These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Group's control and all of which are based on the Directors' current beliefs and expectations about future events. In some cases, these forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, including, without limitation, the terms "anticipates", "believes", "could", "envisages", "estimates", "expects", "intends", "may", "plans", "projects", "should", "will" or, in each case, their negative or other variations or comparable terminology. These forward-looking statements relate to matters that are not historical facts. They include statements regarding the intentions, beliefs and current expectations of the Company or the Directors concerning, amongst other things, the results of operations, financial condition, liquidity, prospects, growth and strategies of the Company and the industry in which the Group operates. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that may or may not occur in the future. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. The actual results, performance or achievements of the Company or developments in the industry in which the Group operates may differ materially from the future results, performance or achievements or industry developments expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements contained in this announcement.
These forward-looking statements and other statements contained in this announcement regarding matters that are not historical facts involve predictions. No assurance can be given that such future results will be achieved; actual events or results may differ materially as a result of risks and uncertainties facing the Group. Such risks and uncertainties could cause actual results to vary materially from the future results indicated, expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements.
Each of the Company, Beaumont Cornish and SI Capital, and their respective affiliates, expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to update, review or revise any forward-looking statements contained in this announcement and disclaims any obligation to update its view of any risks or uncertainties described herein or to publicly announce the results of any revisions to the forward-looking statements made in this announcement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as required by law.
Nothing contained herein constitutes or should be construed as (i) investment, tax, financial, accounting or legal advice, (ii) a representation that any investment or strategy is suitable or appropriate to your individual circumstances or (iii) a personal recommendation to you.
For the avoidance of doubt, the contents of the Company's website, or any website directly or indirectly linked to the Company's website, are not incorporated by reference into, and do not form part of, this announcement.
Related Shares:
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