8th Feb 2013 07:00
February 8 2013
Wolf Minerals Limited
("Wolf" or "the Company")(ASX: WLF AIM: WLFE)
Investor Update
ISSUE 12: February 2013
Welcome to the first issue of the Wolf Minerals Investor Update for 2013.
It coincides with a period of outstanding progress for the company and our funding requirements for the Hemerdon tungsten and tin project.
Since the last Investor Update we have secured total funding of around AU$212 million, which will be utilised in the development and construction of the project.
It goes without saying that, against the backdrop of challenging conditions, the achievement of this funding package is a major milestone for the Company and one that we are delighted to have achieved.
Details of the components of the funding package are provided in this Investor Update.
The Company is also pleased to announce that it has recently moved into a new UK head office, at the Tamar Science Park in Plymouth. It is an ideal base, located in close proximity to the project with all the services we require on hand.
At the project itself, progress continues to be made on work required to take the mine into production.
The Company has been granted key environmental approvals for the project from the Environment Agency, in the form of seven water licenses which cover the entire operation of the project.
Further details on these permits, and updates on other recent activities are provided in this Investor Update.
I look forward to sharing news of our ongoing progress with you, as Wolf continues to work towards bringing the Hemerdon project on-line as a large scale, low cost tungsten and tin mining operation.
Humphrey Hale
Managing Director
AU$212M FUNDING PACKAGE FOR HEMERDON PROJECT
Since releasing the project's Definitive Feasibility Study in May 2011, Wolf has been working to secure a funding package to take the Hemerdon Project into production.
The Company was recently delighted to report it had put together a total funding package of approximately AU$212 million (~£141 million). The funding will allow Wolf to commence construction and development at the project in line with its goal to bring Hemerdon into production as a major tungsten and tin mining operation.
The funding package comprises;
·; AU$20.3 million placement for 75,378,519 shares at AU$0.27 (c.17p) per share, a premium of 12% over Wolf's 30 day VWAP at the time of the placement.
·; US$82 million funding package from Resource Capital Fund V L.P. (RCF). This is made up of a US$75 million 12 month secured Bridge Finance Facility and US$7 million consideration for the purchase of a 2% Royalty by RCF on gross revenues from all metals and minerals produced from the Hemerdon project.
·; Credit approval for £75 million senior debt funding from senior debt providers; UniCredit Bank AG (UniCredit Corporate & Investment Banking), ING Bank N.V. and Caterpillar Financial SARL.
Full details on the funding are available at the Wolf website.
NEW STRATEGIC INVESTOR
The placement also facilitated the introduction of a new strategic investor in Wolf; TTI (NZ) Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of one of New Zealand's largest and most successful companies, the Todd Corporation Ltd. TTI (NZ) Ltd subscribed for 39,410,000 shares in the placement, giving them a 19.9% interest in Wolf. Todd also retains the right to nominate a Director to join the Wolf board.
The Todd Corporation has been in business for more than 125 years, and has interests in oil and gas, electricity generation and retailing, property development, healthcare, telecommunications and wine.
RCF and Traxys, two of Wolf's major shareholders, demonstrated their continued support by also participating in the placement.
NEW UK HEAD OFFICE
The company recently reported it had moved into a new UK head office, at the Tamar Science Park in Plymouth.
The Tamar Science Park is located close to the Hemerdon project site, and Wolf's establishment of its new UK base at the park is another key milestone in its development plans to bring the Hemerdon tungsten mine into production.
It is anticipated that the project will generate 230 direct jobs, plus many more indirect jobs when in full production, which will inject millions of pounds into the local economy and provide an environment to develop new skills in the region.
http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/4413X_1-2013-2-7.pdf
Tamar Science Park is jointly owned by Plymouth University and Plymouth City Council and, aside from providing office space for companies, is a focal point for business innovation and growth in the south west region of the UK. It houses around 80 businesses, which employ a total of more than 650 staff with a combined turnover in excess of £95 million.
KEY ENVIRONMENTAL APPROVALS RECEIVED
In September 2012 the Company received a set of key environmental approvals for the Hemerdon project from the Environment Agency (EA) with the granting of seven water permits covering the entire operation of the mine.
These include the abstract of the required volume of water for the processing plant and the discharge of water from pit dewatering.
Wolf had been required to seek additional permits from the EA prior to the commencement of operations at Hemerdon, as a pre-requisite to operating the mine. These included the water licenses, and a waste dump license, that satisfies the EU Mine Waste Directive.
The granting of the water permits is a further indication of the continued progress being achieved by Wolf in the development of the Hemerdon project into a world class tungsten and tin mining operation.
The Company has also made significant progress on other key activities required for the development of the Hemerdon project. These include:
·; The EPC contract for the detailed design and construction of the processing plant and infrastructure has been tendered and negotiated, and is due to be awarded in the near future.
·; The mining contract for the project has also been tendered and negotiated, and a short list compiled. Work will continue to finalise this contract.
·; Wolf has strong offtake partners, in Wolfram Bergbau und Hütten AG and Global Tungsten & Powders Corp, and expects the tungsten offtake agreement to be finalised in the near future.
·; Senior management personnel appointed to support the project's development. An HR Manager, Commercial Manager, and EPC Contract Manager have all joined Wolf's UK management team, and further appointments have also been made to the Perth-based project team.
·; Property acquisition at project site; options-to-purchase have been renegotiated with many local property owners, and this acquisition will proceed.
A new analyst research report on Wolf Minerals has recently been published by Breakaway Research and is available now on Wolf website.
For further details, please contact:
Wolf Minerals Limited Humphrey Hale
| +61 8 6364 3776 |
Investec Chris Sim/Neil Elliot | +44 (0) 20 7597 5970
|
Newgate Threadneedle Beth Harris/Graham Herring | +44 (0) 20 7653 9855 |
Notes to Editors
Wolf Mineral is an ASX listed and AIM listed specialty metals company focused on developing the world class Hemerdon tungsten and tin project, in Devon, in the south-west of the UK. The Company holds an option over 100% of the Hemerdon project, which the Directors consider to be one of the largest undeveloped tungsten and tin resources in the western world. It is ranked as the fourth largest tungsten deposit in the world in terms of contained tungsten metal, by The British Geological Survey. The Company aims to develop the project into a large scale, open pit mining operation, which will position it as a world class tungsten and tin producer. Wolf released a positive Definitive Feasibility Study for the Hemerdon project in 2011, and it has updated planning permission for mining until 2021.
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