NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES
NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED
STATES
Cobalt 27 Capital Corp. (“Cobalt 27” or the
“Company”) (TSXV:KBLT) (FRA:27O) is pleased to announce that the
Company has entered into an agreement (the "Voisey's Bay Purchase
Agreement") to acquire from a subsidiary of Vale S.A. ("Vale"), an
amount of finished cobalt equal to 32.6% of the cobalt production
from the Voisey’s Bay Mine, including from the proposed Voisey's
Bay Mine Expansion (the "VBME", and collectively, "Voisey's Bay"),
commencing January 1, 2021 (the "Cobalt Stream"). Upon closing,
Cobalt 27 will pay Vale upfront cash consideration of US$300
million, which will represent a prepayment of a portion of the
purchase price for the sale of cobalt to Cobalt 27 (the “Advance
Amount”).
Also on June 11, 2018, Vale entered into a
separate agreement with Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. ("WPM"),
whereby WPM has agreed to acquire from Vale, an amount of finished
cobalt equal to 42.4% of the cobalt production from Voisey's Bay,
commencing January 1, 2021 (the "WPM Agreement"). WPM will pay Vale
upfront cash consideration of US$390 million upon closing. The
terms of the Voisey's Bay Purchase Agreement and the WPM Agreement,
other than the advance amounts and the stream percentages, are
substantially the same.
In total, Cobalt 27 and WPM will provide Vale an
aggregate of US$690 million in upfront proceeds for a combined
purchase of finished cobalt equal to 75% of Voisey's Bay cobalt
production commencing January 1, 2021.
On June 11, 2018, Vale announced its plans to
proceed with the construction of the VBME, which is expected to
have its first full year of production in 2021. Total estimated
capital expenditures to complete construction and commissioning of
the VBME are estimated by Vale to be approximately US$1.7 billion.
Vale expects with VBME to extend Voisey's Bay's mine life to
2034.
Transaction Highlights
- Strengthens portfolio with world-class, low-cost and long-life
asset in a low political-risk jurisdiction.
- Commencing January 1, 2021, Cobalt 27 will receive an amount of
finished cobalt equal to 32.6% of the cobalt production from
Voisey's Bay until an aggregate of approximately 10.8kt (23.8mmlb)
has been delivered and 16.3% of cobalt production
thereafter.
- Adds cobalt production starting in 2021 coincident with the
ramp up of the VBME and growing to approximately 0.85kt (1.9mmlb)
per year attributable to Cobalt 27 under the Cobalt Stream once
fully ramped up.
- The VBME is a brownfield project with extensive infrastructure
in place.
- Vale has made a significant investment in the state-of-the-art
nickel/copper/cobalt refinery at the Long Harbour Processing
Plant.
- The Cobalt Stream is expected to significantly increase Cobalt
27's cash flows starting in 2021.
- Adds strong partner in Vale for Cobalt 27.
“Cobalt 27 is very excited to partner with Vale
to advance future development of Voisey's Bay," said Anthony
Milewski, Chairman and CEO of Cobalt 27. Milewski added, "Following
our recent investment in Ramu, this transaction builds on our
commitment to add high quality streams and royalties and represents
a strong step forward in diversifying our portfolio with the
Voisey's Bay mine, a world-class, low-cost and long-life
nickel/copper/cobalt asset located in a low political-risk
jurisdiction. Further, Voisey's Bay has significant infrastructure
including a state-of-the-art nickel/copper/cobalt refinery to
support the planned VBME. We believe the enhanced exposure to
cobalt, will yield significant returns to our investors as electric
vehicles begin to change our society in the coming years."
Cobalt Stream Terms
- Vale will deliver to Cobalt 27, an amount of finished cobalt
equal to 32.6% of the cobalt production from Voisey’s Bay
commencing January 1, 2021.
- Once an aggregate of approximately 10.8kt (23.8mmlb) of cobalt
has been delivered to Cobalt 27, which would occur once Voisey's
Bay cobalt production after January 1, 2021 reaches approximately
33.1kt (73.0mmlb), the proportion of cobalt production delivered to
Cobalt 27 will reduce to 16.3%.
- Cobalt 27 will pay Vale cash consideration of US$300 million
upon closing.
- Cobalt 27 will make ongoing payments (the "Ongoing Payments")
equal to 18% of the Cobalt Reference Price for each pound of cobalt
delivered under the Cobalt Stream, until Cobalt 27 has recovered
the full value of the Advance Amount through Vale's deliveries of
finished cobalt under the Cobalt Stream. After this time, the
Ongoing Payments will increase to 22% of the Cobalt Reference
Price.
- The Cobalt Reference Price will be equal to an applicable, as
determined by grade, Cobalt Metal Bulletin free market U.S. dollar
per pound in warehouse price, as published by Metal Bulletin, or an
alternative reference price mutually agreed to by Vale and Cobalt
27.
- Vale has agreed that if mill throughput does not reach 85% of
targeted levels by December 31, 2025, some or all of the Advance
Amount may be refunded and/or the applicable cobalt stream
percentages may be increased.
- The Voisey's Bay Purchase Agreement will be settled with
physical delivery of cobalt. Vale will deliver cobalt metal stored
in warehouse in the form of warehouse certificates.
- The stream is subject to a 93.3% payability factor applied to
cobalt contained in concentrate recovered from the stream
area.
- Closing of the transaction is expected to occur in late June
following the closing of the Offering (as defined below) announced
concurrently with the Cobalt Stream, and is subject to customary
conditions.
Voisey's Bay and Long Harbour Processing
Plant
Voisey's Bay is located in Newfoundland &
Labrador, Canada and has been in production since 2005. The
Voisey’s Bay site consists of an open pit mine, concentrator,
tailings facility, diesel power generation facility, airstrip,
accommodations complex, concentrate storage, fuel storage, and port
facility.
To view the Location of Voisey's Bay &
Long Harbour Processing Plant, please
visit, http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/c37fcbb7-6532-4736-8947-de056f033b9f
In 2014, the Long Harbour Processing Plant
("LHPP") became operational and has total production capacity of
50,000 tonnes of nickel per annum. The LHPP uses a state-of-the-art
high pressure acid leaching, solvent extraction and electrowinning
processes to process the Voisey's Bay nickel concentrate. In late
2017, all Voisey’s Bay nickel concentrate began shipping to the
LHPP. The LHPP produces high purity nickel rounds, high purity
cobalt rounds and copper cathode from the Voisey’s Bay
concentrate.
Voisey's Bay Mine Expansion
On June 11, 2018, Vale announced its plans to
proceed with the construction of the VBME, which is expected to
have its first full year of production in 2021. Total estimated
capital expenditures to complete construction and commissioning of
the VBME are estimated by Vale to be approximately US$1.7 billion.
The VBME is expected to extend Voisey's Bay's mine life to
2034.
Cobalt 27's stream commences January 1, 2021 and
will include Voisey's Bay ore from remaining open pit operations
and all future underground operations within the stream area. As
estimated by Vale, during the initial ramp-up period of 4 years,
first full ramp-up year commencing in 2021, the underground mine is
expected to produce an average of approximately 1.8kt (4.0mmlb) per
year of refined cobalt. When complete, the underground mine is
expected to produce an average of 2.6kt (5.8mmlb) per year of
refined cobalt. Nickel production from Voisey’s Bay mine will be
maintained at 38kt per year from 2018 to 2020, ramping up to
45-50kt per year of nickel contained in concentrate from 2024
onwards.
Financing the Acquisition
In connection with the Cobalt Stream, Cobalt 27
has entered into an agreement with a syndicate of underwriters led
by TD Securities Inc., Credit Suisse (Canada), Inc., BMO Capital
Markets and Scotiabank as bookrunners and National Bank Financial
Inc., as co-lead (the "Underwriters"), pursuant to which they have
agreed to purchase, on a bought deal basis, 30,800,000 common
shares of Cobalt 27 at a price of C$9.75 per share (the "Offering
Price"), for aggregate gross proceeds to Cobalt 27 of approximately
C$300 million (the "Offering"). In addition, Cobalt 27 has agreed
to grant to the Underwriters an option to purchase up to an
additional 4,620,000 common shares at the Offering Price, on
the same terms and conditions as the Offering, exercisable at any
time, in whole or in part, until the date that is 30 days following
the closing of the Offering. In the event that the option is
exercised in its entirety, the aggregate gross proceeds of the
Offering to Cobalt 27 will be approximately C$345 million.
The Company will fund the Advance Amount of
US$300 million using the net proceeds of the Offering, our recently
announced US$80 million revolving credit facility and cash on hand.
As at March 31, 2018, the Company had approximately C$195 million
of cash on hand.
The Offering will be made by way of a short form
prospectus to be filed on or about June 20 2018, with the
securities regulatory authorities in each of the provinces and
territories of Canada, and may also be offered by way of private
placement into the United States pursuant to an exemption from
registration under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as
amended (the “U.S. Securities Act”). Closing of the Offering is
subject to customary regulatory and stock exchange approvals and is
anticipated to occur on or about June 27, 2018.
The common shares have not been registered under
the U.S. Securities Act, and may not be offered or sold in the
United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from
the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act. This news
release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation
of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of the common shares
in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would
be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the
securities laws of that jurisdiction.
Advisors
and Counsel
TD Securities Inc. acted as financial advisor to
Cobalt 27. Stikeman Elliott LLP acted as legal advisor to Cobalt
27.
Conference Call
Cobalt 27 will hold a conference call and audio
webcast on Monday, June 11th at 4:45 pm Eastern Daylight Time for
management to discuss details of the Voisey’s Bay Cobalt
Stream.
Live Dial-in Information
Date: Monday, June 11th, 2018Time:
4:45 pm EDT
Toronto and international: (647) 427-7450North America
(toll-free): (888) 231-8191
To participate in the webcast and slide
presentation live via your computer go to:
https://event.on24.com/wcc/r/1770893/5E64F6D7BCCEB1B9D51B3E5375F44A44
Please connect at least 15 minutes prior to the
conference call to ensure adequate time for any software download
that may be required to hear the webcast. An archived webcast will
be available for one year.
Replay call information
Toronto and
international: 416.849.0833, passcode: 5869835 North
America (toll-free): 855.859.2056, passcode: 5869835
The conference call replay will be available
from 7:45 pm EDT on June 11th, 2018, until 11:59 pm EDT on June 18,
2018. Participant audio webcast will also be available on the
events page of the investors section of Cobalt 27’s website
at: http://www.co27.com/investors/events/
Scientific and Technical
Information
The scientific and technical information in this
news release, as well as additional material scientific and
technical information with respect to Voisey’s Bay, has been
prepared by Vale in its capacity as 100% owner and operator of
Voisey’s Bay and the LHPP, and disclosed by Vale and is available
on Vale’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
at https://www.sec.gov as well as on Vale’s website at
http://www.vale.com/canada/.
All estimates of mineral reserves and mineral
resources in respect of Voisey’s Bay in this news release are based
on Vale's Canadian mines operations’ use of the NI 43-101 standard
of estimating and reporting.
Disclosures of a scientific or technical nature
in this news release have been reviewed on behalf of Cobalt 27 by
Mr. Robert Osborne P.Eng., geologist and President of OLGS, an
independent consultant to Cobalt 27 and a “Qualified Person” as
defined by Canadian National Instrument 43-101 – Standards of
Disclosure for Mineral Projects (“NI 43-101”). A due diligence was
conducted for scientific and technical matters and a site visit was
conducted by the due diligence team.
About Cobalt 27 Capital
Corp.
Cobalt 27 Capital Corp. is a battery metals
streaming and royalty company offering direct exposure to cobalt,
an integral element in key technologies of the electric vehicle and
battery energy storage markets. The Company owns over 2,982Mt of
physical cobalt and is acquiring the world’s first producing cobalt
nickel stream on the low-cost, long-life Ramu Nickel-Cobalt Mine
and a cobalt stream on Vale's world-class Voisey's Bay mine
beginning in 2021, including the announced underground expansion.
The Company also manages a portfolio of ten royalties and intends
to continue to invest in a cobalt-focused portfolio of streams,
royalties and direct interests in mineral properties containing
cobalt, while potentially adding to its cobalt physical holdings
when opportunities arise.
About Vale S.A.
Vale is one of the largest metals and mining
companies in the world with a market capitalization of
approximately US$75 billion. Vale operates four principal business
segments: Ferrous Minerals, Base Metals, Coal and Logistics
Infrastructure. Vale is one of the world’s largest producers of
iron ore and iron ore pellets and the world’s largest producer of
nickel. Vale also produces manganese ore, ferroalloys,
metallurgical and thermal coal, copper, platinum group metals
(PGMs), gold, silver and cobalt. Vale operates large logistics
systems in Brazil and other regions of the world, including
railroads, maritime terminals and ports, which are integrated with
its mining operations. Vale has a track record of successfully
streaming by-product metals from several of its base metals mines,
with upfront payments totaling US$3.7 billion since 2013 (excluding
the Voisey's Bay Purchase Agreement and the WPM Agreement).
For further information please visit the Company
website at www.co27.com or contact:
Betty Joy LeBlanc, BA, MBADirector, Corporate
Communications+1-604-828-0999info@co27.com
Voisey's Bay Mineral Reserves and
Mineral Resource Estimate (100% Basis)
Source: 2017 Vale MRMR Technical Report. Note:
As reported by Vale, as of December 31, 2017. Resources shown
exclusive of reserves. Numbers may not add due to rounding. The
2017 MRMR Technical Report was reviewed in detail. It is backed up
with reviewed documents on QA/QC, drilling database, resource and
reserve modeling and related reports plus a similar review of the
2016 MRMR report and documentation. The documentation is believed
to be thorough and to a standard acceptable for NI-43-101 technical
reporting.
Proven & Probable |
|
Tonnes |
Grade (%) |
Contained Metal (kt) |
Contained Metal (mmlb) |
|
mt |
Ni |
Cu |
Co |
Ni |
Cu |
Co |
Ni |
Cu |
Co |
Main Ovoid |
5.8 |
2.67 |
1.43 |
0.13 |
154 |
83 |
8 |
340 |
182 |
17 |
Mini Ovoid |
0.2 |
1.37 |
0.93 |
0.07 |
3 |
2 |
0 |
7 |
5 |
0 |
SE Extension |
2.8 |
0.71 |
0.39 |
0.03 |
20 |
11 |
1 |
44 |
24 |
2 |
Reid Brook |
6.1 |
2.10 |
0.87 |
0.14 |
128 |
53 |
9 |
282 |
117 |
19 |
Eastern Deeps |
17.5 |
2.20 |
0.93 |
0.14 |
386 |
163 |
25 |
849 |
359 |
53 |
Total |
32.4 |
2.13 |
0.96 |
0.13 |
691 |
312 |
42 |
1,523 |
687 |
91 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Measured & Indicated |
|
Tonnes |
Grade (%) |
Contained Metal (kt) |
Contained Metal (mmlb) |
|
mt |
Ni |
Cu |
Co |
Ni |
Cu |
Co |
Ni |
Cu |
Co |
SE Extension |
3.8 |
0.67 |
0.38 |
0.03 |
25 |
14 |
1 |
55 |
31 |
2 |
Discovery Hill |
6.5 |
0.99 |
0.80 |
0.05 |
64 |
52 |
3 |
141 |
114 |
7 |
Total |
10.3 |
0.87 |
0.65 |
0.04 |
89 |
66 |
4 |
196 |
145 |
10 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Inferred |
|
Tonnes |
Grade (%) |
Contained Metal (kt) |
Contained Metal (mmlb) |
|
mt |
Ni |
Cu |
Co |
Ni |
Cu |
Co |
Ni |
Cu |
Co |
Discovery Hill |
6.8 |
0.9 |
0.6 |
0.1 |
58 |
42 |
3 |
128 |
93 |
7 |
Reid Brook |
5.9 |
2.1 |
0.8 |
0.1 |
120 |
49 |
8 |
265 |
108 |
18 |
Total |
12.7 |
1.4 |
0.7 |
0.1 |
178 |
91 |
12 |
393 |
200 |
26 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its
Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the
policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for
the adequacy or accuracy of this release. No securities regulatory
authority has either approved or disapproved of the contents of
this news release.
Forward-Looking Information: This news
release contains certain information which constitutes
‘forward-looking statements’ and ‘forward-looking information’
within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws.
Forward-looking statements in this news release include, without
limitation: statements pertaining to the timing and completion of
the acquisition of the Cobalt Stream and completion of the
equity capital raise, and the receipt of any regulatory and stock
exchange approvals therefor; statements pertaining to the timing
and amounts of cash and proceeds related to the Cobalt Stream;
statements pertaining to the construction and commissioning of the
VBME; statements pertaining to the Syndicate with WPM; statements
pertaining to estimates of mineral resources and mineral reserves
at Voisey’s Bay; statements pertaining to future production and
mining costs at Voisey’s Bay; statements pertaining to future
prices of cobalt, nickel and other commodities; statements
pertaining to the adoption of electric vehicles globally; and
statements pertaining to impact of the Cobalt Stream on the future
performance of the Company. Forward-looking statements involve
known and unknown risks and uncertainties, most of which are beyond
the Company's control. For more details on these and other risk
factors see the Company’s most recent Annual Information Form on
file with Canadian securities regulatory authorities on SEDAR at
www.sedar.com under the heading “Risk Factors”. Should
one or more of the risks or uncertainties underlying these
forward-looking statements materialize, or should assumptions
underlying the forward-looking statements prove incorrect, actual
results, performance or achievements could vary materially from
those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements.
Accordingly, undue reliance should not be placed on these
forward-looking statements. This news release also contains
references to estimates of mineral resources and mineral reserves.
The estimation of mineral resources is inherently uncertain and
involves subjective judgments about many relevant factors.
Estimates of mineral reserves provide more certainty but still
involve similar subjective judgments. Mineral resources that are
not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.
The accuracy of any such estimates is a function of the quantity
and quality of available data, and of the assumptions made and
judgments used in engineering and geological interpretation
(including estimated future production from the company’s projects,
the anticipated tonnages and grades that will be mined and the
estimated level of recovery that will be realized), which may prove
to be unreliable and depend, to a certain extent, upon the analysis
of drilling results and statistical inferences that ultimately may
prove to be inaccurate. Mineral resource or mineral reserve
estimates may have to be re-estimated based on: (i) fluctuations in
mineral prices; (ii) results of drilling; (iii) metallurgical
testing and other studies; (iv) proposed mining operations,
including dilution; (v) the evaluation of mine plans subsequent to
the date of any estimates and/or changes in mine plans; (vi) the
possible failure to receive required permits, approvals and
licences; and (vii) changes in law or regulation.
The forward-looking statements contained herein
are made as of the date of this release and, other than as required
by applicable securities laws, the Company does not assume any
obligation to update or revise it to reflect new events or
circumstances. The forward-looking statements contained in
this release are expressly qualified by this cautionary
statement.
Cobalt 27 Capital (TSXV:KBLT)
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から 11 2023 まで 11 2024