Vis børsmeldingen
presentation and Q&A session will be held in English and transferred via
webcast. You will have the opportunity to post questions online throughout the
webcast session. The webcast will be available on:
https://channel.royalcast.com/hegnarmedia/#!/hegnarmedia/20230207_2
Summary of important events in the fourth quarter of 2022 and year to date:
KEY EVENTS
· Summons to Extraordinary General Meeting - Contemplated Private Placement
for less than 24% in equity remaining
· Keliber share sale for EUR 46.9 million closed in September 2022
· Project economics continues to improve as project progresses towards
production
· Binding offtake agreements for full production of minerals for the first 5
-years of production
· Metso Outotec selected as strategic supplier of comminution circuit for
Engebø Rutile and Garnet
· Nordic Rutile wins in Artic Mineral Resources appeal case in Borgarting
Court of Appeal
· Engebø early construction works advances; enables optimizations of the
construction schedule
· Titanium feedstock demand remained firm in Q4 2022
CORPORATE
Summons to Extraordinary General Meeting - Contemplated Private Placement
Nordic Mining has successfully secured around USD 211 million in financing for
the Engebø Rutile and Garnet Project in 2022, including around USD 19 million in
equity from strategic rutile offtake partner Iwatani Corporation ("Iwatani), USD
55 million investment conditionally agreed from leading mining investment firm
Orion Resource Partners (“Orion”)[1], USD 90 million in a senior secured bond
that was successfully raised in November 2022, and around USD 47 million from
the sale of the shares in Keliber Oy. The investments from Iwatani and Orion and
the senior secured bond are subject to Engebø Project being fully funded, and
the investment from Orion and the senior secured bond certain pre-disbursement
conditions precedent before the proceeds will be released to the Engebø Project.
The USD 211 million that is secured to date covers around 76% of the project
financing package for the Engebø Project of USD 277 million, which will include
both a contingency of around USD 25 million and a project reserve of USD 30
million.
Nordic Mining has started a process for a private placement to raise the
remaining USD 66 million (or more) in equity to fully finance the Engebø
Project, and satisfy relevant financing conditions. The Board of Directors
resolved on 2 February to call for an Extraordinary General Meeting to be held
on Friday 3 March 2023 to approve the private placement. The Company intends,
subject to completion and the final terms of the private placement and equal
treatment considerations and other considerations, to propose a subsequent
repair offering (subsequent offering) of new shares at the subscription price in
the private placement.
Keliber share sale for EUR 46.9 million closed in September 2022
In June Nordic Mining ASA accepted to sell its shares in Keliber Oy (“Keliber”)
to Sibanye Stillwater Limited (“SSW”) for a cash consideration of EUR 157.28 per
share, in total EUR 46.9 million, under a voluntary offer (“Voluntary Offer”)
provided by SSW to the shareholders of Keliber. The share sale was closed on 15
September 2022 with the transfer of shares and settlement of the cash
consideration on 20 September. Following the sale, Nordic Mining holds no shares
in Keliber. Please see note 4 for further information.
ENGEBØ RUTILE AND GARNET PROJECT (100% ownership)
Project economics continues to improve as project progresses towards production
In February 2023, Nordic Mining revised the project economics for the Engebø
Rutile and Garnet Project based on the latest available data and assumptions in
relation the contemplated private placement. The analysis confirmed further
improvements in the key financials compared to the last funding update in
November 2022 as the project continues to progress towards production (numbers
in brackets for comparison to last funding update from November 2022).
High-margin cash flow and short pay-back support bankability (unlevered):
· NPV@8% of USD 491 million (up from USD 453 million)
· Post-tax IRR of 25.9% (up from 24.4%)
· Remaining initial capital investment of around USD 187 million (down from
USD 207 million)
· Life of Mine EBITDA of USD 3.2 billion (up from USD 3.1 billion),
corresponding to an EBITDA-margin of 76% (up from 75%)
· Life of Mine Operating Cash Flow of USD 2.55 billion (up from USD 2.5
billion)
· Free Cash Flow the first 10 years of full operations of over USD 60 million
per annum
· Pay-back period of less than 4 years from start of production (down from 4
years)
Binding offtake agreements for full production of minerals for the first 5-years
of production
In January 2023, Nordic Rutile entered into a global exclusive offtake agreement
the full planned garnet production from Engebø for the first 5 years of
production. The offtake agreement is for the supply and delivery of minimum
total of 762,500 metric tonnes of garnet concentrate in the 5-year contract
period, up to a total of 785,000 metric tonnes, which is the full planned garnet
production the first 5-years of production. Further to the initial garnet
offtake, the parties shall discuss extension of the cooperation, comprising for
example joint marketing, sales, and distribution of garnet from the Engebø
Rutile and Garnet Project. The consideration under the garnet offtake agreement
will be based on a pre-agreed price schedule. In 2022, Nordic Rutile entered
into two rutile offtake agreements, the first with Iwatani Corporation for close
to 60% of the planned rutile production for the first 5-year and the second
agreement in October 2022 for up to the remaining annual planned rutile
production for the first 5-year. The consideration under the rutile offtake
agreements will be based on the market price for 95% natural rutile concentrate,
adjusted for actual TiO? content, as determined from TZMI index or annual price
discussions between the parties.
Nordic Mining has with the rutile and garnet offtake agreements secured
committed sales for up to the full production of all minerals from the Engebø
Rutile and Garnet Project for the first 5 years of production, all with highly
reputable buyers. The offtake agreements are inter alia subject to certain
conditions precedent.
Final agreement signed with Hatch and Sweco as PMC for the Engebø Project
Nordic Rutile AS entered in December 2022 into a final agreement with the
leading engineering companies Hatch and Sweco as Project Management Consultant
(“PMC”) for the Engebø Rutile and Garnet project. The PMC agreement is signed
with Hatch as principal consultant, with Sweco supplementing key resources to
support the Norwegian construction regulations. The PMC is integrated into the
Owners’ team, reporting to the Engebø Project Director, Terje Gundersen, and
will be responsible for process design, and overall engineering coordination and
integration of the selected partners for Engineering, Procurement and
Construction (“EPC”).
Metso Outotec selected as strategic supplier of comminution circuit for Engebø
Rutile and Garnet
In December 2022, Nordic Rutile AS entered into an agreement with Metso Outotec,
a leading supplier of sustainable end-to-end technologies, solutions, and
services for the minerals industry globally, for delivery of a comprehensive
comminution technology package for the Engebø Rutile and Garnet project.
The technology package includes delivery of primary and secondary mills, stack
sizer and vibrating screens. The agreements include pre-production pilot scale
confirmatory testwork and minimum 3-year collaborative optimization agreement
focusing on securing ramp-up of production to design criteria and ongoing
optimization of the comminution circuit the first years of production. This is
the first major contract for critical process equipment and will represent up to
30% of the total process equipment expenditure, corresponding to around USD 10
million.
Metso Outotec will be the main technology provider for comminution circuit for
Engebø Rutile and Garnet, which delivery includes the crushers as part of the
lump-sum EPC contract with Nordic Bulk AS.
Nordic Rutile wins in Artic Mineral Resources appeal case in Borgarting Court of
Appeal
The Borgarting Court of Appeal ruled on 24 October 2022 in favor of Nordic
Rutile in Artic Mineral Resources (“AMR”) appeal of the ruling from Oslo
District Court. The appeal case took place 19-28 September 2022. The Court of
Appeal ruling confirmed the ruling from the Oslo District Court that Nordic
Rutile has exclusive right to all minerals in the Engebø deposit within the
limits of the Norwegian Mining Act, in line with the operating license granted
by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries in May 2022. The court ruled
that AMR shall pay all legal expenses, which Nordic Rutile will now focus on
securing. The ruling of the appeal court has been appealed to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court is expected to decide if the appeal will be heard in February.
Nordic Mining maintain that AMR’s claims have no merit and will continue to
defend the case rigorously. Furthermore, two NGO’s have stated in the press that
they will summon the Norwegian Government claiming that Nordic Rutile’s disposal
permit granted by the Norwegian Government in 2015 is null and void.
Engebø early construction works advances; enables optimizations of the
construction schedule
In April 2022 Nordic Mining started early construction works at Engebø,
following the acquisition of the main properties. In September 2022, the Company
resolved to contribute funds from the sale of the shares in Keliber to continue
to advance the early construction works. The groundwork in the process area is
progressing in accordance with plan and we expect to be ready to start concrete
work in Q1 2023. The sea filling of the bay, which is intended for future
industry related to tailings, started in November and will allowed a shorter
transportation route for the material from blasting at the process area. The
work on the transport tunnel including the vertical shaft is 55% completed and
the access road up to the service area 70% of completed. The main construction
works has been undertaken by local contractor, Sunnfjord Industripartner AS,
under the lump-sum EPC contract signed in November 2021. In addition, Detail
Engineering on the process plant is ongoing by Åsen & Øvrelid AS, Nordic Bulk AS
and Normatic AS. The EPCs expect to complete the main parts of this Detail
Engineering in H1 2023. In parallel the Owner’s team has been running a
procurement process for the mechanical packages (“CPIs”) for the process plant,
with the procurement of the time critical long lead packages now close to
complete. The completion of Detail Engineering will allow start of mechanical
and electro procurement and installation work. The advancement of early works
secures important project developments that enables optimizations of the
construction schedule.
Titanium feedstock demand remained firm in Q4 2022
The fourth quarter 2022 showed strong results for titanium feedstock producers.
Rutile sales volumes exceeded production and prices for rutile continued to
increase during the quarter. Titanium metal demand, being an important driver
for rutile, remained robust due to the ongoing revival of air traffic, as well
as demand for non-Russian products. Titanium metal producers reported strong
demand and increasing sales prices. Furthermore, there was continuous strong
demand for titanium metal into general industrial and semiconductor
applications.
The titanium dioxide pigment market reduced production levels during the fourth
quarter of 2022, especially in Europe and Asia, to match the lower demand and
prevent building inventories. The lifting of the Covid-19 restrictions in China,
as well as easing energy prices in Europe have led to an earlier than expected
restart of production and to maintain a steady demand for titanium feedstocks.
Reported bulk natural rutile prices in Q4 2022 have been around USD 1,550/mt FOB
and above, with the main producers expecting pricing to soften marginally in Q1
2023.
Demand for high quality garnet in both waterjet cutting and abrasive blasting
was reported to be strong and steady in Q4 2022, with the main drivers being
investments in infrastructure, oil, and gas industry as well as shipbuilding and
manufacturing, as well as aerospace.
Oslo, 7 February 2023
Nordic Mining ASA
Nordic Mining ASA (www.nordicmining.com)
Nordic Mining ASA (“Nordic Mining” or the “Company”) is a resource company with
focus on high-end industrial minerals and metals. The Company’s project
portfolio is of high international standard and holds significant economic
potential. The Company’s assets are in the Nordic region.
Nordic Mining is undertaking a large-scale project development at Engebø on the
west coast of Norway where the Company has rights and permits to a substantial
eclogite deposit with rutile and garnet. In addition, Nordic Mining holds
interests in other initiatives at various stages of development. This includes
patented rights for a new technology for production of alumina and exploration
of seabed minerals.
Nordic Mining is listed on Euronext Expand Oslo with ticker symbol “NOM”.
[1] Investment from Orion Resource Partners is conditional, and subject to the
parties signing binding agreements and the satisfaction of certain conditions
and approvals.
Kilde
