19th Oct 2005 13:30
Resmex plc19 October 2005 19 October 2005 Resmex plc ("Resmex" or the "Company") New investments and issue of shares The board of Resmex announces that it has raised £1.0 million through the issueof 50 million new ordinary shares in the Company (representing 22.3% of theCompany's issued ordinary share capital as enlarged by the issues referred to inthis announcement) at a price of 2p per share to Cambrian Mining plc("Cambrian"). Cambrian has entered into an orderly market arrangement with theCompany in relation to such shares for a period of 12 months from theiradmission to trading on AIM. Resmex has agreed to invest the funds raised fromthis share issue in a co-investment with Cambrian in the ordinary shares of anAustralian company, Xtract Oil Limited ("Xtract Oil"). Xtract Oil, inconjunction with Australia's CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and IndustrialResearch Organisation), aims to develop commercially effective technology tounlock oil reserves in oil shale deposits and to test the technology using oilshale deposits in an area in Queensland, Australia in relation to which it hasan option over exploration rights. Xtract Oil has had no material trading todate and does not have any significant assets or liabilities other than rightsto the technology referred to above. Under an agreement it has entered with Cambrian, Resmex has agreed to payCambrian A$1.0 million (£0.4 million at an exchange rate of A$2.33/£1) for halfof the ordinary shares in Xtract Oil owned by Cambrian; as a result they willeach own 9 million shares in Xtract Oil (each representing 21.7% of Xtract Oil'sissued share capital) together with options over 4.5 million Xtract Oil shares.Resmex has also agreed to purchase from Cambrian half of any further Xtract Oilshares which Cambrian acquires under: (i) an offer by it to acquire up to 50% ofthe Xtract Oil shares not already owned by it and Resmex and under which it isto acquire 4.2 million shares; and (ii) underwriting arrangements with XtractOil under which it will subscribe for 11.8 million shares under a public offerof shares to be made by Xtract Oil and underwrite any balance of the 20 millionshares to be offered by Xtract not subscribed under the offer. Resmex's totalcommitment under these arrangements (including the initial 9 million sharesreferred to above) amounts to a maximum of A$3.3 million (£1.4 million at anexchange rate of A$2.33/£1) for 21.1 million shares in Xtract Oil representing34.3% of Xtract Oil's share capital as enlarged by the offer. Application has been made for the new Resmex shares referred to above, togetherwith 60,000 new ordinary shares issued by Resmex as a result of the exercise ofwarrants at an exercise price of 1p per share, to be admitted to trading on AIMand this is expected to occur on 24 October 2005. The board of Resmex also announces that it has entered an agreement withIntermin Resources Limited ("Intermin") of Australia under which Resmex is toissue 30 million new ordinary shares (representing 13.4% of the Company's issuedordinary share capital as enlarged by the issues referred to in thisannouncement) and pay A$50,000 in cash as consideration for the assignment byIntermin to Resmex of oil shale exploration rights over certain mining tenementsin the Toolebuc area of Queensland in Australia. The option held by Xtract Oilreferred to above is over rights currently held by Intermin relating to an areacontiguous with the tenements covered by the assignment by Intermin to Resmex.Resmex has commissioned an expert's report on the potential oil shale reservesin the tenements to be assigned to it and a summary of this report will beincluded in an announcement which will be made by the Company when completed. Itis expected that the new Resmex shares will be issued to Intermin on completionof the expert's report and application for their admission to AIM will be madeat that time. Intermin has agreed to enter into an orderly market arrangementwith the Company in relation to the Resmex shares to be issued to it for aperiod of 12 months from their admission to trading on AIM. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
Xtract