4 March 2024
Phoenix Copper Limited
("Phoenix" or the "Company")
Refinancing of Short-Term Loan Facility
Phoenix Copper Limited (AIM: PXC; OTCQX ADR: PXCLY), the AIM quoted USA-focused base and precious metals emerging producer and exploration company, is pleased to confirm that, further to the announcement on 19 February 2024, the Company has completed the refinancing of its US$2 million short-term loan facility (the "Existing Facility") into a new facility of up to US$10 million (the "New Facility").
The Existing Facility, plus accrued interest, is being treated as the first drawdown on the New Facility as at 2 March 2024 ("First Drawdown"). Further drawdowns under the New Facility are subject to the Company having first received at least US$25 million from its proposed corporate copper bond financing. Although there can be no certainty, the Directors remain confident that the bond financing will close. Further announcements relating to the bond financing will be made as appropriate.
Terms of the New Facility
| Total Amount | US$10m Unsecured Loan
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| Availability Period | 3 Years
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| First Drawdown | US$2.089 million
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| Interest | 15% per annum
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| Repayment | The First Drawdown and any further drawdowns have a 90-day repayment holiday and are then repayable in equal monthly instalments over the following 15 months.
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| Conversion Terms | The First Drawdown is convertible into shares of no par value in the Company at 20 pence per share (a 70% premium to the current share price) but cannot be converted for an initial period of 60 days after the First Drawdown, unless the Company's closing share price on the day prior to conversion is 30 pence or higher.
Further drawdowns are convertible at a 40% premium to the average of the five daily VWAPs preceding the date of drawdown (the "Reference Price").
The Company is not obliged to make any further drawdowns.
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| Implementation Fee / Early Redemption | Implementation fee equivalent to 5% of each drawdown. The Company may redeem any amount prior to maturity, subject to an early redemption fee equal to 10% of the amount redeemed.
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| Warrants | The lender will receive warrants to subscribe for ordinary shares of no par value each in the Company equivalent to 40% of the pound sterling equivalent of the principal amount of each drawdown, divided by the Reference Price, with an exercise price equivalent to a 40% premium to the Reference Price, and valid for three years.
The Company has granted warrants to subscribe for 3,300,874 ordinary shares in the Company in respect of the First Drawdown, with an exercise price of 20 pence per share expiring on 1 March 2027.
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Richard Wilkins, Chief Financial Officer of the Company, commented: "I would like to thank Riverfort Global for their ongoing support of the Company, and particularly the flexibility they have allowed us over the last 12 months. We now look forward to closing our corporate copper bond issue as soon as possible."
Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) Disclosure
The Company deems the information contained within this announcement to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014, which has been incorporated into UK law by the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. Upon the publication of this announcement via the Regulatory Information Service, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.
For further information please visit https://phoenixcopperlimited.com
Contacts
| Phoenix Copper Limited | Ryan McDermott Brittany Lock Richard Wilkins | Tel: +1 208 954 7039 Tel: +1 208 794 8033 Tel: +44 7590 216 657
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| SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP (Nominated Adviser) | David Hignell / Caroline Rowe / Kasia Brzozowska
| Tel: +44 20 3470 0470 |
| Tavira Financial Limited (Joint Broker) | Jonathan Evans / Oliver Stansfield
| Tel: +44 20 7100 5100 |
| WH Ireland (Joint Broker and Joint Bookrunner)
| Harry Ansell / Katy Mitchell | Tel: +44 20 7220 1666 |
| Panmure Gordon (UK) Limited (Joint Broker and Joint Bookrunner)
| Mark Murphy / Will Goode / Joseph Tan | Tel: +44 20 7886 2500 |
| EAS Advisors (US Corporate Adviser)
| Matt Bonner / Rogier de la Rambelje | Tel: +1 (646) 495-2225 |
| BlytheRay | Tim Blythe / Megan Ray | Tel: +44 20 7138 3204 |
Notes
Phoenix Copper Limited is a USA focused, base and precious metals emerging producer and exploration company, initially targeting copper, gold, silver and zinc production from an open pit mine.
Phoenix's primary operations are focused near Mackay, Idaho in the Alder Creek mining district, at the 80% owned Empire Mine property, which historically produced copper at grades of up to 8%, as well as gold, silver, zinc and tungsten, from an underground mine.
Since 2017, Phoenix has carried out extensive drill programmes which have defined a NI 43-101 completed PEA (preliminary economic assessment) for an open pit heap leach solvent extraction and electrowinning ("SX-EW") mine, which was updated in October 2020. From the 2020 PEA, the measured and indicated resource is 22,909,059 tonnes at an average grade of 0.38% copper, 0.324 grammes per tonne ("g/t") gold, 10.3 g/t silver, and 0.19% zinc. The contained metal for the measured and indicated resource is 87,543 tonnes of copper, 238,406 ounces of gold, 7,595,198 ounces of silver and 43,871 tonnes of zinc.
In addition to Empire, the district includes the historic Horseshoe, White Knob and Blue Bird Mines, past producers of copper, gold, silver, zinc, lead and tungsten from underground mines. A new discovery at Red Star, 330 metres northwest of the Empire Mine proposed open pit, has revealed high grade silver / lead sulphide ore, and from three shallow exploration drill holes a maiden inferred resource of 103,000 tonnes containing 173.4 g/t silver, 0.85 g/t gold and 3.85% lead (1.6 million ounces silver equivalent) was reported in an NI 43-101 technical report published in May 2019. Additionally, the district includes Navarre Creek, a volcanic hosted precious metals target in a 16.09 sq km area. The Company's total land package at Empire comprises 8,434 acres (34.13 sq kms).
At Empire, it is estimated that less than 1% of the potential ore system has been explored to date and, accordingly, there is significant opportunity to increase the resource through phased exploration. The stated aim of the Company is to fund this phased exploration through free cashflow generated by its initial mine. A Plan of Operations in respect of the initial open pit mine was filed with the relevant regulatory authorities in June 2021.
Phoenix also has two wholly owned cobalt properties on the Idaho Cobalt Belt to the north of Empire. An Earn-In Agreement has been signed with Electra Battery Materials, Toronto, in respect of one of those properties.
Phoenix is listed on London's AIM (PXC), and trades on New York's OTCQX Market (PXCLF and PXCLY (ADRs)). More details on the Company, its assets and its objectives can be found on PXC's website at https://phoenixcopperlimited.com/
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