Vast Resources plc / Ticker: VAST / Index: AIM / Sector: Mining

15 May 2024

Vast Resources plc

('Vast' or the 'Company')

Placing to raise £616,000 and Update on Structural Refinancing

Operational Update

Placing and Update on Structural Refinancing

Vast Resources plc, the AIM-listed mining company, announces that it has raised £616,000 gross through a placing (the 'Placing') of 280,000,000 ordinary shares of 0.1p in the Company ('Ordinary Shares') at a price of 0.22p per Ordinary Share (the 'Placing').  The Placing was undertaken by the Company's joint broker, Axis Capital Markets Ltd ('Axis').

The net cash raised from the Placing will be used for bridging the short-term gap in operational expenses while the Company awaits the first tranche of the structural refinancing to close (see below), and to cover near-term corporate obligations, and working capital needs.

Further to the announcement of 29 April 2024, the Company is pleased to announce that the owner of the Swiss Investment Company confirmed in writing on 13 May 2024 to Vast that he has resolved internal matters relating to the release of Tranche 1 of his proposed investment in the Company, and expects to transfer the funds shortly.  Whilst the Board is reassured by this confirmation and is hopeful of the release of funds, of course there can be no guarantee that this funding will be secured.  Should it not be, the Company would need to make alternative arrangements to meet its obligations as previously announced.

Admission of the Placing Shares & Total Voting Rights

Application will be made to AIM for the Placing Shares, which will rank pari passu with existing Ordinary Shares, to be admitted to trading on AIM ('Admission') in two tranches.  It is expected that Admission will become effective and dealing will commence in respect of 45,500,000 Shares on or around 21 May 2024 (the 'First Admission') and Admission will become effective and dealing will commence in respect of 234,500,000 Shares, being the balance of the placing shares, on or around 7 June 2024 (the 'Second Admission').  The Placing is conditional on Admission.

Following the First Admission, the total issued share capital of the Company will be 974,107,357 and following the Second Admission this will be 1,208,607,357.  The Company does not hold any Ordinary Shares in Treasury and accordingly the above figures of 974,107,357 and 1,208,607,357 may be used by shareholders as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in Vast under the FCA's Disclosure and Transparency Rule.

Operational Update

Tajikistan - Aprelevka

The Company also wishes to announce that further to the announcement of 29 April 2024 Formin has provided Gulf International Minerals Ltd ('Gulf') an updated resource report based on the SRK produced wireframes, collated historic data and the 2019-2022 drilling results (the 'Report').  The full Report is set out in an Appendix to this announcement.  The Report includes an updated MRE under the NAEN standard.

As previously announced, Vast has been contracted to develop and manage the Aprelevka gold mines on behalf of its owner Gulf International Minerals Ltd under which Vast is entitled, inter alia, to 10% of the earnings that Gulf receives from its 49% interest in Aprelevka in joint venture with the government of Tajikistan.  As part of its arrangements, Vast is entitled to a right of first refusal to convert its profit share entitlement into an equity interest of 10% in Gulf at any time from 1 January 2025 to 15 January 2027, and represents a 4.9% indirect net attributable interest in the resources set out in the MRE below.

The following is the text of the Executive Summary of the Report:

"Introduction

Formin SA has been requested by Gulf International Minerals Ltd to prepare a digitization of historical data, provide a 3D geological model and a resource evaluation, for Aprelevka Mine located in the Northern part of Tajikistan.

Property Description

The Aprelevka deposit consists of two pits, is about 70km by road to the east of Kansai, and was classified by the Soviets as a centralized vein system of primarily quartz‐carbonate composition.

Ore description and Resource estimation

The ore is represented by 3 main quartz veins with a high grade of gold and silver.

The resource estimate results are presented below:

Report Signatories

Vlad Andrei Negru, who has signed the report on behalf of Formin, is a 'Certified Person' from the National Agency for Mineral Resource in Romania.  He is a geologist with more than 12 years' experience in Mineral Resource estimation.  He has worked for a large number of projects in Romanian and also as an SRK consultant.  Mr Negru consents to the inclusion of his name in this announcement in the form and context to which it appears.

PGM Marketing contract

The Company wishes to confirm that four (4) tons of PGM concentrate has been prepared to depart to Nikash in Dubai to separate the contained PGMs.  Once separation of the contained metals is complete, the Company will receive payment for this first shipment in accordance with the marketing agreement as announced on 22 January 2024.  It is not possible to estimate the amount of any such payment until the minerals involved have been smelted and values established.

Important Notices

This announcement contains 'forward-looking statements' concerning the Company that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Generally, the words 'will', 'may', 'should', 'continue', 'believes', 'targets', 'plans', 'expects', 'aims', 'intends', 'anticipates' or similar expressions or negatives thereof identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements.  Many of these risks and uncertainties relate to factors that are beyond the Company's ability to control or estimate precisely. The Company cannot give any assurance that such forward-looking statements will prove to have been correct. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this announcement. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update or revise publicly any of the forward-looking statements set out herein, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent legally required.

Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) Disclosure

Certain information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014 as it forms part of UK Domestic Law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 ("UK MAR") until the release of this announcement.

**ENDS**

For further information, visit www.vastplc.com or please contact:

ABOUT VAST RESOURCES PLC

Vast Resources plc is a United Kingdom AIM listed mining company with mines and projects in Romania, Tajikistan, and Zimbabwe.

In Romania, the Company is focused on the rapid advancement of high-quality projects by recommencing production at previously producing mines.

The Company's Romanian portfolio includes 100% interest in Vast Baita Plai SA which owns 100% of the producing Baita Plai Polymetallic Mine, located in the Apuseni Mountains, Transylvania, an area which hosts Romania's largest polymetallic mines. The mine has a JORC compliant Reserve & Resource Report which underpins the initial mine production life of approximately 3-4 years with an in-situ total mineral resource of 15,695 tonnes copper equivalent with a further 1.8M-3M tonnes exploration target. The Company is now working on confirming an enlarged exploration target of up to 5.8M tonnes.

The Company also owns the Manaila Polymetallic Mine in Romania, which the Company is looking to bring back into production following a period of care and maintenance. The Company has also been granted the Manaila Carlibaba Extended Exploitation Licence that will allow the Company to re-examine the exploitation of the mineral resources within the larger Manaila Carlibaba licence area.

The Company retains a continued presence in Zimbabwe.

Vast has an interest in a joint venture company which provides exposure to a near term revenue opportunity from the Takob Mine processing facility in Tajikistan.  The Takob Mine opportunity, which is 100% financed, will provide Vast with a 12.25 percent royalty over all sales of non-ferrous concentrate and any other metals produced.

Also in Tajikistan, Vast has been contracted to develop and manage the Aprelevka gold mines on behalf of its owner Gulf International Minerals Ltd ("Gulf") under which Vast is entitled, inter alia, to 10% of the earnings that Gulf receives from its 49% interest in Aprelevka in joint venture with the government of Tajikistan.  Aprelevka holds four active operational mining licences located along the Tien Shan Belt that extends through Central Asia, currently producing approximately 11,600oz of gold and 116,000 oz of silver per annum.  It is the intention of the Company to assist in increasing Aprelevka's production from these four mines closer to the historical peak production rates of approximately 27,000oz of gold and 250,000oz of silver per year from the operational mines.

Beaumont Cornish Ltd

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.

APPENDIX

TECHNICAL PROGRAM FOR APRELEKVA MINE

PROJECT EXPLOITATION LICENCE

Prepared by Formin SA

Project Location:

Latitude 40°, 29' 21.3" North and Longitude 70°, 0.31, 20.1"

Northern Tajikistan

Prepared for:

GULF INTERNATIONAL MINERALS LTD

INTRODUCTION  

Background 

Formin SA is a company with a complex potential in terms of consulting services, design, execution and documentation of projects, geological, geotechnical and water drillings, geophysics and other light mining works.

Founded in 1952 under the name of "Caransebes Exploration Enterprise", Formin SA operated until 1990 under various names, with predominant activity in geological investigation and mining.

The Aprelevka project consists of two open pit mines. The mineralization was discovered and outlined by Soviet geologists and engineers in the 1970s. In 1982 the Soviet group published their results in a 225 page report titled "Detailed Exploration of Aprelevka Deposits with Reserves Calculation, 1978‐1982". The mine has been operating in most of the 1990‐2023.

Previous exploration

Discovered in the 1960s and put into production in 1983, the Aprelevka deposit was explored and developed from 1972 to 1986, when it was commissioned as an open‐pit mine. The exploration was done by the soviets.

Most recent prospecting and evaluation program was carried out from 2019-2022 (until 31.12.2022). For the Aprelevka ore deposit, the area prospected is called Bahori.

Total reserves as of 01.03.2023 for the Bahori (Aprelevka), Farkhunda (Burgunda), Moron (Ikkizhelon) and Surkhkon (Kizil-Cheku) deposits in categories C1+C1off-balance reserves +C2 off-balance reserves + P2 ore - 4719,294 thousand tons, gold - 12346,506 kg, silver 196,856 tons.

In the case of additional geological exploration on the flanks and the study of the lower horizons, it is possible to double the amount of mineral reserves above these deposits.

Previous Mining

From production reports, the ore extracted from 2003-2022 is as follows:

Previous Mineral Resource estimate

Initial Soviet estimate was of 2 million tonnes with 6.5 gold grade. In 1997 it was upgraded to 4.358 million tonnes with 4.35 gold grade and 44.291 silver grade.

In 2001 MicroMine Consulting of South Africa prepared a resource and reserve estimate for Gulf. As reviewed by Pamicon MicroMine's report conforms to Australian as well as CIM standards.

MicroMine applied 2001 economic constraints (more severe than present day constraints would likely be) to the deposit model with a 1 g/t Au cutoff and came up with an equivalent measured Mineral Resource (CIM standard).

The 2001 MicroMine Consulting report estimated a total resource and reserve for Gulf of 586000 tonnes of ore with a gold grade of 7.48 g/t and silver 71.2 g/t.

In 2010 JTC "Aprelevka" status report estimates a remaining reserves of 351000 tones. Which is confirmed to be accurate because the report states that 393500 tonnes have been mined; and the production reports between 2003-2009 state that 291689 tonnes have been mines with a content of 2.68 gold grade and 18.52 silver grade.

From 2010 till 2022 out of 351000 tonnes. 429709 tonnes have been mined with 4.25 g/t gold and 46.52 g/t silver.

RELIANCE ON OTHER EXPERTS 

Certified person

The Certified Person (Certificate No. 1823/31.01.2017 from Romanian National Agency for Mineral Resource) responsible for this report is Negru Vlad Andrei, Eng. Geol., Chief Geologist at Formin SA.

Negru Vlad Andrei is a geologist certified by the Romanian state with more than 12 years experience in resource estimation who worked for a large number of projects in Romania and also as an SRK CONSULTING (GLOBAL) LIMITED consultant for Ma'aden in Saudi Arabia.  

Sources of Information 

Formin's study and interpretation is based upon information provided by the Company, including information relating to the data quality, data collection procedures and protocols, are as follows: 

·      Database files: 

o  Drilling and sampling database (collar, survey and assays); 

o  Historical 2D Mine plans, cross sections, sampling and assay database 

PROPERTY DESCRIPTION, LOCATION AND HISTORY 

Mineral Tenure, Permits and Permissions 

Aprelevka western pit                   N40° 29' 21.3"  E70° 03' 20.1"

Aprelevka eastern pit                    N40° 29' 25.8"  E70° 03' 32.6" 

The Aprelevka deposit consists of two pits, is about 70 km by road to the east of Kansai, and was classified by the Soviets as a centralized vein system of primarily quartz‐carbonate composition.

Figure 1.Location of the mining license

Surface layout 

The topographic survey was not provided and the topo wireframe was created using the drillholes collars elevation.

Figure 2. Topography wireframe created from collar points

GEOLOGICAL MODELLING

Data extraction from historical logs, maps and sections

The provided maps and sections are georeferenced, vectorized and classified as geological data, structural data, assay and ore body.

For the veins modelling were created structural points with azimuth and dip for the hangingwall and footwall.

The main lithologies were created with polylines with tangents with respect to the provided historical sections and maps.

The main lithologies digitized were:

·      Andesitic porphyry

·      Dacite porphyry

·      Granite porphyry

·      Quaternary deposits and chert

·      Quartz veins

Figure 3. Structural points created for construction of the veins( Yellow- Hanging Wall and Blue- Footwall)

Figure 4. Faulting system created based on historical data

Figure 5.Geological Model validated by comparing with historical sections

Figure 6. Geological Model validated by comparing with historical sections

Figure 7.Geological Model validated by comparing with historical sections

Mineral Resource estimate

The resource estimation was performed on the 3 main veins for Gold and Silver using the following steps:

-    Compositing data- to reduce the influence of the different sample lengths

Figure 8.Evaluation of the composited results against raw values - Vein 1 for Au

-    Transformation of the data using Normal Score - The normal score transformation is designed to transform your dataset so that it closely resembles a standard normal distribution. It does this by ranking the values in your dataset from lowest to highest and matching these ranks to equivalent ranks generated from a normal distribution.

Figure 9. Normal score transformed values

- Variography on NS transformed values

Downhole variogram

The Downhole Variogram can be used to better define the nugget. It looks only looks at pairs of samples on the same drillhole and uses the differences in depths to calculate the lag value.

As it isn't associated with a specific direction, the Angle tolerance parameter is not available for the Downhole Variogram.

Ordinary Krigging interpolation using Elipsoid Ranges resulted in Variography with a search definition of a minimum of 4 samples.

Same procedure was performed for each of the three veins for Au and Ag the estimation parameters are presented in the appendicies.

Block Model creation

The block model was created in order to represent the estimations performed on previous step and interrogate to obtain the estimation reports:

The parameters used for the block model creation are:

Resource estimation result