Director Change and Change of Advisor
NQ Minerals PLC
(the “Company” or “NQ Minerals”;
NEX: NQMI, OTCQB: NQMLF)
Director Change and Change of Advisor, Appointment of New Chairman and Material Hellyer Mine Update
November 14, 2019
NQ Minerals Plc (NEX: NQMI) (OTCQB: NQMLF), the owner and operator of the Hellyer lead, zinc, gold and silver mine in Tasmania, Australia, advises that Mr David Lenigas has been appointed Chairman of the Company with immediate effect and Mr Brian Stockbridge has retired from the board of directors of the Company.
In addition, now that production from its Hellyer Operations in Australia is running profitably at the project level, the Company advises that it is in advanced discussions with potential lenders to fully replace on more favourable terms the debt that was raised in order to start operation. Further updates with respect to NQ Minerals debt refinancing plans will be made available as negotiations progress.
David Lenigas commented;
“As the new Chairman of NQ Minerals PLC, I am very pleased to announce that the Hellyer’s lead, zinc, gold and silver operations continue to improve with lead concentrate production of 2,331 tonnes and and zinc concentrate production of 1,651 tonnes in October. This output is ahead of initial project estimates and resulted in revenue for the month of AUD$5.25 million with an operating profit of AUD$1.6 million. For the ten months to 31 October 2019, the project has generated unaudited turnover of AUD$43.7 million with an operating profit of AUD$9.1 million.
“The dedication of management and operations teams has achieved remarkable success at Hellyer over the past year and we all expect to see even further improvements in operational performance over the coming months from this long-life mining operation.”
“I see the future growth potential for NQ Minerals. The Company has a fantastic operation at Hellyer, and significant efforts are being made to improve profitability and further extend the operation’s life of mine.”
“I am also particularly keen to assist the board and management with their initiatives towards the development of long-life nickel operations in Tasmania, through their recently announced strategic investment into Tasmania Energy Metals. New JORC 2014 resources for the Nickel Project will be available for release over the coming weeks.”
“And finally, I join the entire board, management, staff, off-take partners, shareholders, bond and debt providers of NQ Minerals in sincerely thanking Mr Brian Stockbridge for his tremendous efforts with chairing the Company since it was formed some 4 years ago. His achievements in assisting to make the Hellyer operations the success we see today, are a true credit to him and a testament to his perseverance and belief in project.”
David Lenigas is a qualified Mining Engineer with a Western Australian First Class Mine Managers Certificate. He has extensive corporate experience at Chairman and CEO level on many of the world’s leading stock exchanges.
The Company also announces the appointment of First Sentinel Corporate Finance Limited as the Company’s NEX Exchange Corporate Adviser with immediate effect.
About NQ Minerals:
NQ Minerals is an Australian-based mining company which commenced production in Q4 2018 at its 100% owned flagship Hellyer Gold Mine in Tasmania. Hellyer has a published JORC compliant resource estimated at 9.5 mt which is host to Gold at 2.61 g/t Au for 796,000 oz Au, Silver at 104 g/t Ag for 32 m oz Ag, Lead at 3.03% Pb for 287,800 tonnes and Zinc at 2.5% Zn for 237,900 tonnes. In addition to these resources, the Hellyer assets include a large mill facility and full supporting infrastructure, including a direct rail line to port. The Company anticipates strong cash-flow and profitability from Hellyer and has a portfolio of exciting exploration prospects. Please visit our website at www.nqminerals.com.
Competent Persons Report:
The Resource information in this announcement is based on information (third party consultants) compiled by Mr. Roger Jackson, an Executive Director of the Company, who is a 20+ year Member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and a Member of Australian Institute of Company Directors. Mr. Jackson has sufficient experience which is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposits under consideration and to the activity which he is undertaking to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the ‘Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves’. Mr. Jackson consents to the inclusion of the data contained in relevant resource reports used for this announcement as well as the matters, form and context in which the relevant data appears.
For further information, please contact:
Corporate Adviser – First Sentinel Corporate Finance Limited
Brian Stockbridge
Liza Vasilyeva
Tel: +44 207 183 7407
Additional Information:
Apart from his directorship of the Company, Mr. Lenigas is on the Board of Directors of the following companies:
Year Appointed Company Title
2019 Future Farm Technologies Non-Executive
Chairman
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2018 Hampton Bay Capital Inc Director
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2017 Southern Hemisphere Mining Non-Executive
Limited Director
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2016 Anglo African Agriculture Plc Non-Executive
Chairman
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2016 AfriAg Global Plc Executive Chairman
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2016 Elixxer Ltd - formerly LGC Non-Executive
Capital Ltd Director
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2015 AMKI Investments Limited Director
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2008 Active Resource Realisation Chairman
Fund
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Furthermore, Mr Lenigas held positions on the Board of Directors of the following companies in the past five years:
Appointed Terminated Company Title
2019 2019 Generation Alpha, Inc Director
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2018 2019 Clancy Exploration Non-Executive
Chairman
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2016 2018 Auroch Minerals Ltd Non-Executive
Director
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2016 2019 Artemis Resources Limited Executive Chairman
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2016 2019 Macarthur Minerals Limited Director
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2016 2019 Doriemus Plc Executive Chairman
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2015 2016 TravelWelcome Ltd Director
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2015 2015 Bacanora Minerals Non-Executive
Director
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2015 2016 Leni Gas and Oil Limited Director
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2014 2015 Evocutis Plc Non-Executive
Director
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2014 2015 Horse Hill Developments Limited Chairman
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2014 2015 Octagonal Plc Non-Executive
Director
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2013 2015 Inspirit Energy Holdings Non-Executive
Plc Chairman
----------- -------------------------------- -------------------Save as disclosed above, no additional information relating to Mr. Lenigas falls to be disclosed pursuant to paragraph 21 of Appendix 1 of the NEX Growth Market – Rules for Issuers.