29 September 2017

NQ Minerals PLC
(the “Company” or “NQ Minerals”; NEX:NQMI, OTCQB: NQMLF)
Interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2017

NQ Minerals PLC (NEX: NQMI), (OTCQB: NQMLF) an exploration and mining company with Australian assets, today announces its interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2017.

Highlights:

• NQ has two exploration projects known as Ukalunda and Square Post, in North Queensland, Australia. Both these projects are located in prospective mining districts that form part of the well-known Charters Towers Gold Province, where more than 20 million ounces of gold has been mined.
• During the half-year, the Company acquired all of the issued and outstanding shares in Keen Pacific Limited, along with its wholly-owned subsidiaries Ivy Resources Pty Ltd and Hellyer Gold Mines Pty Ltd.
• The acquisition resulted in the Group acquiring the Hellyer Mill and Tailings project Gold Mine in Tasmania, Australia which is in line with the Company’s strategy of becoming a near-term revenue generating minerals production company.

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Non-Executive Chairman’s Statement

I am delighted to present the unaudited results for NQ Minerals plc, for the six months ended 30 June 2017. The Company has completed a major acquisition of Hellyer Gold Mine in Tasmania with a view to NQ achieving the Board’s objective of becoming a near term revenue generating company.

Preliminary work has commenced during the period on refurbishing the existing operating facilities on site in order to extract and treat the large high-grade tailings deposit and produce three marketable concentrates of lead, zinc, gold/silver/pyrite. The board is considering further funding options to bring the project into production and further announcements in relation to this will be made in due course.

Projects

NQ is focused on three main projects being Hellyer in Tasmania which offers the prospects of significant short term cash flow, and it’s two exploration projects, Ukalunda and Square Post, in North Queensland, Australia. These two exploration projects are both located in prospective mining districts that form part of the well-known Charters Towers Gold Province, where more than 20 million ounces of gold has been mined.

Hellyer

The Hellyer Gold Mine in Tasmania represents a significant project for the Company. Held within four separate areas, the tailings include, Pyrite, Gold, Silver, Lead and Zinc. The necessary plant and equipment exists on site including a large pre-existing mill facility and full supporting infrastructure, including a direct rail line to port with port concentrate housing, handling and loading facilities. Preliminary work has commenced during the period on refurbishing these existing operating facilities to extract and treat the large tailings deposit and produce three marketable concentrates of lead, zinc, gold/silver/pyrite. The board is considering further funding options to bring the project into production and further announcements in relation to this will be made in due course.

Ukalunda

The Group continues to invest in the Ukalunda. The tenement, which lies midway between the Lake Dalrymple/Burdekin Dam and the historic Wirralie gold mine, which previously produced 1.1 million ounces of gold. The Ukalunda project area contains multiple shows of mineralisation that are the same as other mineralisation shows discovered in mining districts around the world that host major ore bodies. This suggests that a major ore body may be present in this district. Historic, wide-ranging exploration has been carried out at the Ukalunda permit area, which had discovered some areas of rich mineralisation of gold, silver and a number of associated base metals.

Square Post

Investment continues in the Square Post tenement lies close to the Flinders Highway, 10 kilometres north east of Mingela and 50 kilometres south of Townsville. The area is considered to be underexplored, principally due to its rugged terrain. The permit consists of 47 sub-blocks covering an area of around 168km(2) .

Outlook

The six months to 30 June 2017 has been an important period in the development of NQ Minerals. During the half-year, the Company acquired all of the issued and outstanding shares in Keen Pacific Limited, along with its wholly-owned subsidiaries Ivy Resources Pty Ltd and Hellyer Gold Mines Pty Ltd. The Company acquired the Keen Pacific Limited Group for a fair value consideration of GBP22,116,000 which included the estimated issue of 138,679,990 shares in the Company to the vendors. The acquisition resulted in the Group acquiring the Hellyer Gold Mine in Tasmania, Australia which is in line with the Company’s strategy of becoming a near-term revenue generating base metal production company. The Board has announced that it intends to seek admission of its shares to trading on AIM and intensive work continues in this regard.

NQ Minerals Plc

Consolidated Statement of Total Comprehensive Income

For the period to 30 June 2017

 
                                   6 Months       6 Months      12 Months 
                                         to             to             to 
                                    30 June   30 June 2016    31 Dec 2016 
                                       2017      Unaudited        Audited 
                                  Unaudited 
                              GBPÕ000s  GBPÕ000s  GBPÕ000s 
 
Administrative expenses             (5,795)          (176)        (2,394) 
Other income                              3              2 
 
 
Loss before tax                     (5,792)          (174)        (2,394) 
 
Income tax charges                       31              -              - 
 
Loss for the period                 (5,761)          (174)        (2,394) 
 
Other comprehensive income              809            119              4 
 
Total comprehensive loss 
 for the period                     (4,952)           (55)        (2,387) 
 
 
Attributable to: 
 
- Owners of the parent              (4,952)           (55)        (2,387) 
 
 
Loss per share 
 
From continuing operations: 
 
Basic and diluted                   (2.81p)        (0.12p)        (1.62p) 
 
 
 
 

NQ Minerals Plc

Consolidated Statement of Financial Position as at 30 June 2017

 
                                           As at          As at          As at 
                                         30 June   30 June 2016    31 Dec 2016 
                                            2017      Unaudited        Audited 
                                       Unaudited 
                                   GBPÕ000s  GBPÕ000s  GBPÕ000s 
Assets 
 
Non-current assets 
Deferred exploration 
 and evaluation expenditure                  962            764            899 
Mining tenements                               1              -              - 
Inventory                                 24,804              -              - 
Property, plant and equipment              8,600              -              - 
Financial assets                           1,139              -              - 
Deferred tax assets                          991              -              - 
Deposits                                       -              -            239 
 
                                          36,497            764          1,138 
 
 
Current assets 
Trade and other receivables                  363            305          2,084 
Cash and cash equivalents                  1,240              8            373 
 
                                           1,603            313          2,457 
 
 
Total assets                              38,100          1,077          3,595 
 
 
Equity and liabilities 
 
Capital and reserves 
Issued capital                               253            144            159 
Share premium                             13,947          1,308          2,382 
Share option reserve                       5,391              -            231 
Merger relief reserve                      7,171          7,171          7,171 
Group reorganisation 
 reserve                                 (6,983)        (6,983)        (6,983) 
Translation reserve                          900              -             91 
Currency translation 
 reserve                                       -            125              - 
Other reserve                                 63 
Accumulated deficit                      (8,801)          (827)        (3,040) 
 
Total equity                              11,941            938             11 
 
 
Non-current Liabilities 
Financial liabilities                      5,539              -              - 
Provision for rehabilitation               4,394              -              - 
Deferred tax liabilities                   7,937              -              - 

                                          17,870             -               - 
Current liabilities 
Trade and other payables                     916            139            558 
Financial liabilities                      6,116              -          1,926 
Convertible notes                          1,257              -          1,100 
 
                                           8,289            139          3,584 
 
Total equity and liabilities              38,100          1,077          3,595 
 
 

NQ Minerals Plc

Notes to the Interim Financial Information

   1.   General Information

NQ Minerals Plc (“Company”) is a public limited company incorporated in England and Wales with company number 09540926 and quoted on the NEX Exchange Growth Market.

   2.   Basis of Preparation

This unaudited interim report has been prepared using the historical cost convention, on a going concern basis and in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”) as adopted by the European Union, using accounting policies which are consistent with those set out in the financial statements of NQ Minerals Plc for the financial year ended 31 December 2016. This interim financial information for the six months ended 30 June 2017 was approved by the Board on 29 September 2017.

   3.   Segmental Analysis

In the opinion of the Directors the group has one class of business, being the exploration for, and development and production of minerals and other related activities.

4. The unaudited results for 6 months ended 30 June 2017 have not been reviewed by the Company’s auditors and do not constitute statutory accounts within the meaning of Section 434 of the Companies Act 2006. The comparative figures for the period ended 31 December 2016 are extracted from the audited financial statements of NQ Minerals PLC which contained an unqualified audit report and did not contain statements under Sections 498 to 502 of the Companies Act 2006.

5. The acquisition of Keen Pacific Limited and its wholly owned subsidiaries completed in May 2017. The Company’s accounting for the business combination is incomplete as at the date of approval of the interim financial information due to the requirement to assess fair values of the assets acquired and consideration paid, therefore the consolidated statement of financial position at 30 June 2017 includes provisional amounts in accordance with IFRS 3 which allows provisional amounts to be reported during a measurement period of a maximum of one year from the acquisition date. The provisional amounts include an estimated number of shares still to be issued as part of the consideration for the acquisition, which due to the complex mechanism for calculating the consideration in the share purchase agreement are still subject to final agreement and could change.

About NQ Minerals

NQ Minerals is an Australia-based exploration and mining company, focusing on projects where past exploration work has established the presence of mineral occurrences. The Company’s management team has decades of experience in the exploration and production of gold, silver and a variety of base metals.

Please visit our website at www.nqminerals.com.

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