Share capital to issue reserve relates to shares to be settled via the issue of the Company's shares at the year-end which meet the definition of equity per IAS 32 are classified as shares to be issue within equity and are held at fair value.

2.6          Foreign currency translation

The results and financial position of all the Group entities (none of which has the currency of a hyperinflationary economy) that have a functional currency different from the presentation currency are translated into the presentation currency as follows:

(i)            assets and liabilities for each statement of financial position presented are translated at the closing rate at the date of that statement;

(ii)           income and expenses for each income statement are translated at spot exchange rates (unless the spot is not a reasonable approximation of the cumulative effect of the rates prevailing on the transaction dates, in which case income and expenses are translated at the rate on the dates of the transactions); and

(iii)          all resulting exchange differences are recognised in the Statement of Comprehensive Income and accumulated in the foreign exchange reserve in equity.

When a foreign operation is disposed of in its entirety or partially such that control is lost, the cumulative amount in the translation reserve related to that foreign operation is reclassified to profit or loss as part of the gain or loss on disposal. Exchange differences arising, if any, are recognised in other comprehensive income and accumulated in a foreign exchange reserve (attributed to non-controlling interests as appropriate).

2.7          Financial instruments

IFRS 9 requires an entity to address the classification, measurement and recognition of financial assets and liabilities.

a)  Classification

The Group classifies its financial assets in the following measurement categories:

·      those to be measured subsequently at fair value (either through Other comprehensive income or through profit or loss);

·      those to be measured at amortised cost; and

·      those to be measured subsequently at fair value through profit or loss.

The classification depends on the Group's business model for managing the financial assets and the contractual terms of the cash flows.

For assets measured at fair value, gains and losses will be recorded either in profit or loss or in OCI. For investments in equity instruments that are not held for trading, this will depend on whether the Group has made an irrevocable election at the time of initial recognition to account for the equity investment at fair value through other comprehensive income (FVOCI).

b)  Recognition

Purchases and sales of financial assets are recognised on trade date (that is, the date on which the Group commits to purchase or sell the asset). Financial assets are derecognised when the rights to receive cash flows from the financial assets have expired or have been transferred and the Group has transferred substantially all the risks and rewards of ownership.

c)  Measurement

At initial recognition, the Group measures a financial asset at its fair value plus, in the case of a financial asset not at fair value through profit or loss (FVPL), transaction costs that are directly attributable to the acquisition of the financial asset.

Transaction costs of financial assets carried at FVPL are expensed in profit or loss.

Debt instruments

Amortised cost: Assets that are held for collection of contractual cash flows, where those cash flows represent solely payments of principal and interest, are measured at amortised cost. Interest income from these financial assets is included in finance income using the effective interest rate method. Any gain or loss arising on derecognition is recognised directly in profit or loss and presented in other gains/(losses) together with foreign exchange gains and losses. Impairment losses are presented as a separate line item in the statement of profit or loss.

Equity instruments

The Group subsequently measures all equity investments at fair value. Where the Group's management has elected to present fair value gains and losses on equity investments in OCI, there is no subsequent reclassification of fair value gains and losses to profit or loss following the derecognition of the investment. Dividends from such investments continue to be recognised in profit or loss as other income when the Group's right to receive payments is established. Changes in the fair value of financial assets at FVPL are recognised in other gains/(losses) in the statement of profit or loss as applicable. Impairment losses (and reversal of impairment losses) on equity investments measured at FVOCI are not reported separately from other changes in fair value.

d)  Impairment

The Group assesses, on a forward-looking basis, the expected credit losses associated with any debt instruments carried at amortised cost. The impairment methodology applied depends on whether there has been a significant increase in credit risk. For trade receivables, the Group applies the simplified approach permitted by IFRS 9, which requires expected lifetime losses to be recognised from initial recognition of the receivables.

2.8          Trade and other receivables

Trade receivables are initially recognised at fair value and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method, less any allowance for expected credit losses. Trade receivables are generally due for settlement within 30 days.

2.9          Trade and other payables

These amounts represent liabilities for goods and services provided to the consolidated entity prior to the end of the financial year and which are unpaid. Due to their short-term nature, they are measured at amortised cost and are not discounted. The amounts are unsecured and are usually paid within 30 days of recognition.

2.10        Property, plant and equipment

Property, plant and equipment are stated at cost less accumulated depreciation and any accumulated impairment losses.

When the Group acquires any plant and equipment it is stated in the accounts at its cost of acquisition less a provision.

Depreciation is charged to write off the costs less estimated residual value of plant and equipment on a straight basis over their estimated useful lives being:

-     Plant and equipment     5-7 years

-     Furniture and fittings     5-7 years

-     Computer equipment    3 years

Estimated useful lives and residual values are reviewed each year and amended as required.

2.11        Exploration and evaluation assets

Intangible assets represent exploration and evaluation assets (IFRS 6 assets), being the cost of acquisition by the Group of rights, licences and know-how. Such expenditure requires the immediate write-off of exploration and development expenditure that the Directors do not consider to be supported by the existence of commercial reserves.

All costs associated with mineral exploration and investments, are capitalised on a project-by-project basis, pending determination of the feasibility of the project. Costs incurred include appropriate technical and administrative expenses but not general overheads and these assets are not amortised until technical feasibility and commercial viability is established. If an exploration project is successful, the related expenditures will be transferred to "mining assets" and amortised over the estimated life of the commercial ore reserves on a unit of production basis.

The recoverability of all exploration and development costs is dependent upon the discovery of economically recoverable reserves, the ability of the Group to obtain necessary financing to complete the development of reserves and future profitable production or proceeds from the disposition thereof.

Exploration and evaluation assets shall no longer be classified as such when the technical feasibility and commercial viability of extracting mineral resources are demonstrable. When relevant, such assets shall be assessed for impairment, and any impairment loss recognised, before reclassification to "Mine development".

2.12        Share based payments

The Group has made awards of warrants and options on its unissued share capital to certain parties in return for services provided to the Group. The valuation of these warrants involved making a number of critical estimates relating to price volatility, future dividend yields, expected life of the options and interest rates. These assumptions have been integrated into the Black Scholes Option Pricing model and the Monte Carlo valuation model to derive a value for any share-based payments. These assumptions are described in more detail in the notes.

2.13        Taxation

Tax currently payable is based on taxable profit for the period. Taxable profit differs from profit as reported in the income statement because it excludes items of income and expense that are taxable or deductible in other years and it further excludes items that are never taxable or deductible. The liability for current tax is calculated using tax rates that have been enacted or substantively enacted by the balance sheet date.

Deferred tax is the tax expected to be payable or recoverable on temporary differences between the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities in the group or parent company financial statements and the corresponding tax bases used in the computation of taxable profit and is accounted for using the balance sheet liability method. As there is no reasonable expectation of future revenues to which tax losses could be applied no deferred tax asset has been recognised.

2.14        Leases

The Group recognises the guidelines set out in "IFRS 16 - Leases" and are allocated between principal and finance cost. The finance cost is charged to profit or loss over the lease period. Right-of-use assets are measured at cost which comprises the following:

-     The amount of the initial measurement of the lease liability;

-     Any lease payments made at or before the commencement date less any lease incentives received;

-     Any initial direct costs; and

-     Restoration costs.

Payments associated with short-term leases (term less than 12 months) and all leases of low-value assets (generally less than £5k) are recognised on a straight-line basis as an expense in profit or loss. The short term lease exemption has been utilised by the Group in relation to property leases held in the Kazakhstan and the UK. These leases are on a rolling month-month basis and hence there is no long term commitment entered into and are also low-value assets.

2.15        Contingent asset

A contingent asset is a possible asset that arises from past events, and whose existence will be confirmed only by the occurrence or non-occurrence of one or more uncertain future events not wholly within the control of the entity. Contingent assets in these financial statements relate to VAT that is only offsetable against future revenue and hence these amounts are contingent on this occurrence and are classified as so.

2.16        Other comprehensive income

Gains or losses on the translation of currencies into the presentational currency are recognised as other comprehensive income in the Statement of Profit and Loss and Other Comprehensive Income and transferred to a separate foreign exchange reserve under equity.

2.17        Critical accounting judgements and key sources of estimation uncertainty

The preparation of the financial statements in conformity with IFRSs requires management to make judgements, estimates and assumptions that affect the application of accounting policies and the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, income and expense. Actual results may differ from these estimates. Estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimates are revised and in any future periods affected. The areas involving a higher degree of judgement or complexity, or areas where assumptions and estimates are significant to the financial statements, are disclosed below:

Impairment of investments and loans to subsidiaries - Note 13 & 15

The Group and the Company assess at each reporting date whether there is any objective evidence that investments in and loans to subsidiaries are impaired.  The value of the Company's investment in DVK amounts to approx. £6.275 million and intercompany loans amount to approx. £3.674 million. To determine whether there is objective evidence of impairment, a considerable amount of estimation is required in assessing the ultimate realisation of these investments/receivables, including valuation, creditworthiness and future cashflows. As at the year end the Directors do not assess there to be any impairment of these amounts. 

Recoverable value of exploration assets - Note 10

Costs capitalised in respect of the Group's mining assets are required to be assessed for impairment under the provisions of IFRS 6 (2023: approx. £2.149 million) Such an estimate requires the Group to exercise judgement in respect of the indicators of impairment and also in respect of inputs used in the models which are used to support the carrying value of the assets. Such inputs include estimates of mineral reserves, production profiles, commodity prices, capital expenditure, inflation rates, and pre-tax discount rates that reflect current market assessments of (a) the time value of money; and (b) the risks specific to the asset for which the future cash flow estimates have not been adjusted. Management have concluded that it is appropriate to process an impairment charge in the period in relation to exploration assets and can be further evidenced at note 10.

The Directors have made an assessment and concluded that it is appropriate to process impairment charges in the year specifically relating to licenses held within the joint venture agreement held with Phoenix Mining Limited in relation to the rare earths exploration. As this agreement has been terminated the Directors believe it necessary to impair the entirety of the investment and this charge can be seen in the statement of comprehensive income.

Share based payments - Note 19

The Group issues options and warrants to its employees, directors, investors and advisors.  These are valued in accordance with IFRS 2 "Share-based payments" (2023: approx. £0.04 million).  In calculating the related charge on issuing shares and warrants the Group will use a variety of estimates and judgements in respect of inputs used including share price volatility, risk free rate, and expected life.  Changes to these inputs may impact the related charge.

In the period the Group implemented a long-term incentive program for employees which can be evidence further at note 19. These options have various vesting dates and conditions and have been valued using the Black-Scholes method to assign an appropriate value in the financial statements.

2.18        New standards and interpretations not yet adopted

At the date of approval of these financial statements, the following standards and interpretations which have not been applied in these financial statements were in issue but not yet effective:

The effect of these amended Standards and Interpretations which are in issue but not yet mandatorily effective is not expected to be material.

2.19        New standards and interpretations adopted

The effect of these amended Standards and Interpretations which are in issue have not had a material effect on the financial statements.

3.         Segmental analysis

The Group manages its operations in two segments, being exploration activities in Kazakhstan and corporate functions in the United Kingdom. The results of these segments are regularly reviewed by the board as a basis for the allocation of resources, in conjunction with individual investment appraisals, and to assess their performance.

The Group generated no revenue during the year ended 31 December 2023 (2022: £0).

Segment assets and liabilities are allocated based on geographical location.

4.         Administrative expenses

Administrative expenses for the Group can further be broken down as per below:

*Please see Directors Remuneration report for breakdown

5.         Employees

The average number of persons employed by the Group (including directors) during the period ended 31 December 2023 was:

The highest paid director received total remuneration of approx. £163,000 including share-based payments (2022: approx. £308,000)

6.         Auditor's Remuneration

7.         Taxation

The Group has estimated tax losses carried forward of approx. £2,768,000 (2022: approx. £1,279,000) The taxed value of the unrecognised deferred tax asset is approx. £542,000 and these losses do not expire. No deferred tax assets in respect of tax losses have been recognised in the accounts as there is currently insufficient evidence of the timing of suitable future taxable profits against which they can be recovered.

8.         Other comprehensive income

Items credited to the other comprehensive income line in the statement of comprehensive income relate to the impact of foreign exchange movements when translating the statement of financial position from functional to presentational currencies on consolidation. The corresponding movement is offset against the foreign exchange reserve in the statement of financial position:

9.         Earnings per share

The calculation of the basic and diluted earnings per share is calculated by dividing the profit or loss for the year by the weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue during the year.

There is no difference between the diluted loss per share and the basic loss per share presented. Share options and warrants could potentially dilute basic earnings per share in the future but were not included in the calculation of diluted earnings per share as they are anti-dilutive for the year presented.

In the current year no adjustment is required to account for the reverse takeover transaction. In the previous period the weighted average number of shares was adjusted for the impact of the reverse acquisition as follows:

-     Prior to the reverse takeover, the number of shares is based on DVK, adjusted using the share exchange ratio arising on the reverse takeover; and from the date of the reverse takeover, the number of share is based on the Company. The prior year number of shares is also adjusted using the share exchange ratio.

10.       Exploration assets

Group

Exploration and evaluation assets relate specifically to expenditure to support the exploitation of exploration licenses held in the Kazakhstan based subsidiaries. The Group holds a total of 8 licenses across 3 mineral districts being specifically the Chu-Ili belt, East Kostanay region and Rudny Altai belt.

In accordance with IFRS 6, the Directors undertook an assessment of the following areas and circumstances which could indicate the existence of impairment

•     The Group's right to explore in an area has expired, or will expire in the near future without renewal;

•     No further exploration or evaluation is planned by the Company or in conjunction with potential joint venture partners;

•     The Board may consider to discontinue exploration and evaluation in an area due to the absence of a commercial level of reserves;

•     Existing joint venture agreements have been terminated;

•     Sufficient data exists to indicate that the book value may not be fully recovered from future development and production.

The Directors concluded that an impairment charge need be processed in the period in relation to the licenses as detailed below:

i)             License 670 - Dalny: The exploration asset relating to license 670 was fully impaired in the period. No further exploration is planned by the Group.

ii)            License 774 - Apmintas: The exploration asset relating to license 774 has been partially impaired in the period. The Company is in the process of relinquishing 40% of the tenement package considered to be less prospective for a commercial gold discovery.  

A 10% movement either way in the KZT/GBP exchange rate would change the fair value by approximately £215,000.

11.       Earn in advance (financial asset)

Group

The licenses held jointly with Phoenix Mining Ltd in relation to rare earths are referred to above as a financial asset as they do not currently satisfy all the requirements of IFRS 6 to be capitalised as an exploration asset.

In the period an impairment charge was processed in relation to the licences as the joint venture agreement with Phoenix Mining Ltd was terminated. An impairment charge of £126,174 has been included in the accounts to write down the value of the assets to their fair value less cost to sell.

12.       Property, plant & equipment

Group

13.       Investment in subsidiaries

Company

List of Subsidiaries

*Subsidiaries held indirectly through Discovery Ventures Kazakhstan

14.       Cash and cash equivalents

15.       Inter-company receivable

Company

16.       Trade and other receivables

17.       Trade and other payables

18.       Share capital and share premium

Group

¹ On 16 October 2023, the Company issued 36,400,000 ordinary shares at £0.015 as part of a share placement.

The share premium represents the difference between the nominal value of the shares issued and the actual amount subscribed less; the cost of issue of the shares, the value of the bonus share issue, or any bonus warrant issue.

The Company has only one class of share. All ordinary shares have equal voting rights and rank pari passu for the distribution of dividends and repayment of capital.

19.       Share based payments reserve

¹ On 13 December 2021, 11,250,000 employee options were granted. These options have an exercise price of £0.05 and expire 5 years from the grant date. Value attributed to the share based payments reserve in the current period represents the pro-rata portion of the expense brought to account over the vesting period.

² On 1 March 2023 the remuneration committee approved the adoption of a long-term incentive plan ("LTIP"). On the recommendation of the Remuneration Committee, the Company has granted an aggregate of 4,432,326 options over new ordinary shares in the Company to employees and non-executive directors of the Company to be approved by shareholders at the next Annual General Meeting. Value attributed to the share based payments reserve in the current period represents the pro-rata portion of the expense brought to account over the vesting period

Share based payments valuation

The charges associated with the share based payments have been applied to the statement of profit or loss and other comprehensive income. The following tables summarises the valuation techniques and inputs used to calculate the values of share based payments in the period:

Options

Warrants

The weighted average time to expiry of the warrants as at 31 December 2023 is 1.06 years.

Options

The weighted average time to expiry of the options as at 31 December 2023 is 4.67 years.

The option vesting conditions of the LTIP options are as below:

-     50% of the Shares under Option (rounded down to the nearest whole number) shall Vest on the first anniversary of the Date of Grant;

-     25% of the Shares under Option (rounded down to the nearest whole number) shall Vest on the second anniversary of the Date of Grant;

-     25% the remaining number of the Shares under Option shall Vest on the third anniversary of the Date of Grant.

20.       Reverse acquisition

On 10 January 2022, the Company acquired the share capital of Discovery Ventures Kazakhstan Limited ("DVK"), through an issue of 45,000,000 consideration shares the entire share capital of DVK, whose principal activity is to undertake exploration activities relating to gold and copper mineral resources in Kazakhstan.

Although the transaction resulted in DVK becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, the transaction constitutes a reverse acquisition as in substance, it has resulted in a fundamental change in the business of the Company with the sole director of DVK becoming the Chief Executive Officer of the Company. Thus, the executive management of DVK now exerts significant influence over the executive management of the Company.

The shareholders of DVK acquired a 27.63% interest in the Company and the transaction has therefore been accounted for as a reverse acquisition. As the Company's activities prior to the acquisition were purely the maintenance of the Main Market LSE Listing, acquiring DVK and raising equity finance to provide the required funding for the operations of the acquisition the directors did not consider this to meet the definition of a business in accordance with IFRS 3.

Accordingly, this reverse acquisition does not constitute a business combination. Although, the reverse acquisition is not a business combination, the Company has become a legal parent and is required to apply IFRS 10 and prepare consolidated financial statements. The Directors have prepared these financial statements using the reverse acquisition methodology, but rather than recognising goodwill, the difference between the equity value given up by the DVK shareholders and the share of the fair value of net assets gained by the DVK shareholders is charged to the statement of comprehensive income as a share-based payment on reverse acquisition, and represents in substance the cost of acquiring a Main Market LSE listing.

In accordance with reverse acquisition accounting principles, these consolidated financial statements represent a continuation of the consolidated statements of DVK and its subsidiaries and include:

-     The assets and liabilities of DVK and its subsidiaries at their pre-acquisition carrying value amounts and the results for both periods; and

-     The assets and liabilities of the Company as at 10 January 2022 and its results from the date of the reverse acquisition on 10 January 2022 to 31 May 2022.

On 10 January 2022, the Company issued 45,000,000 ordinary shares to acquire the entire share capital of DVK. As part of the acquisition the Company also agreed to settle a separate convertible loan note held by DVK through the issue of 5,350,000 shares. On the same date, the Company was readmitted to the Main Market of the LSE, after completing its second placing round with a placing share price of £0.05 and therefore the Company has valued the investment in DVK at £6,267,500. (This figure includes both the initial consideration mentioned above as well as the contingent consideration on completion milestones)

Because the legal subsidiary, DVK, was treated on consolidation as the accounting acquirer and the legal Parent Company, East Star, was treated as the accounting subsidiary, the fair value of the shares deemed to have been issued by DVK was calculated at £3,477,008 based on an assessment of the purchase consideration for a 100% holding of East Star of 69,540,164 shares at a weighted average placing price of £0.05 per share (being the share price of East Star at acquisition).

The fair value of the net assets of East Star at acquisition was as follows:

The difference between the deemed cost (£3,477,008) and the fair value of the net assets assumed above of £1,747,053 resulted in £1,729,955 being expensed within "reverse acquisition expenses" in accordance with IFRS 2, Share Based Payments, reflecting the economic cost to DVK shareholders of acquiring a quoted entity.

The reverse acquisition reserve which arose from the reverse takeover is made up as follows:

1.       Recognition of pre-acquisition equity of East Star as at 10 January 2022.

2.     DVK had equity at the date of acquisition of £216,050. As these financial statements present the capital structure of the legal parent entity, the equity of DVK is eliminated.

3.     The value of the shares issued by the Company in exchange for the entire share capital of DVK as at the share price used in the placing that occurred simultaneously (£0.05). The above entry is required to eliminate the balance sheet impact of this transaction.

I.     Initial consideration: 45 million shares at £0.05 (£2,250,000)

II.    Contingent consideration: 75 million shares at £0.05 (£3,750,000)

III.   Convertible loan notes settled on behalf of DVK through issue of 5.35m shares at £0.05 (£267,500)

4.     The reverse acquisition expense represents the difference between the value of the equity issued by the Company, and the deemed consideration given by DVK to acquire the Company.

21.       Financial Instruments and Risk Management

Capital management

The Group manages its capital to ensure that entities in the Group will be able to continue as a going concern while maximising the return to stakeholders. The overall strategy of the Company and the Group is to minimise costs and liquidity risk.

The capital structure of the Group consists of equity attributable to equity holders of the parent, comprising issued share capital, share premium, reverse acquisition reserves, foreign exchange reserves and retained earnings as disclosed in the Consolidated Statement of Changes of Equity.

The Group is exposed to a number of risks through its normal operations, the most significant of which are interest, credit, foreign exchange and liquidity risks.

The management of these risks is vested to the Board of Directors. The sensitivity has been prepared assuming the liability outstanding was outstanding for the whole period. In all cases presented, a negative number in profit and loss represents an increase in expense/decrease in income.

General objectives and policies

As alluded to in the Directors report the overall objective of the Board is to set policies that seek to reduce risk as far as practical without unduly affecting the Group's competitiveness and flexibility. Further details regarding these policies are detailed below.

Principal financial instruments

The principal financial instruments used by the Group from which the financial risk arises are as follows:

Policy on financial risk management

The Group's principal financial instruments comprise cash and cash equivalents, other receivables, trade and other payables. The Group's accounting policies and methods adopted, including the criteria for recognition, the basis on which income and expenses are recognised in respect of each class of financial asset, financial liability and equity instrument are set out in note 2 - "Accounting Policies".

The Group does not use financial instruments for speculative purposes. The carrying value of all financial assets and liabilities approximates to their fair value.

Derivatives, financial instruments and risk management

The Group does not use derivative instruments or other financial instruments to manage its exposure to fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates, interest rates and commodity prices.

Foreign currency risk

The Group operates in a global market with income and costs arising in a number of currencies and is exposed to foreign currency risk arising from commercial transactions, translation of assets and liabilities and net investment in foreign subsidiaries. Exposure to commercial transactions arise from sales or purchases by operating companies in currencies other than the Group's functional currency. Currency exposures are reviewed regularly.

The Group has a limited level of exposure to foreign exchange risk through its foreign currency denominated cash balances, trade receivables and payables:

Credit risk

Credit risk refers to the risk that a counterparty will default on its contractual obligations resulting in financial loss to the Group . The Group has adopted a policy of only dealing with creditworthy counterparties. The Group's exposure and the credit ratings of its counterparties are monitored by the Board of Directors to ensure that the aggregate value of transactions is spread amongst approved counterparties.

The Group applies IFRS 9 to measure expected credit losses for receivables, these are regularly monitored and assessed. Receivables are subject to an expected credit loss provision when it is probable that amounts outstanding are not recoverable as set out in the accounting policy.