Cadence Minerals #KDNC – Corporate Update – Hastings Technology Metals

Cadence Minerals (AIM/NEX: KDNC; OTC: KDNCY) is pleased to note the announcement by Hastings Technology Metals (ASX: HAS) (“Hastings”) in regard to further progress at the Yangibana Rare Earths Project. Hastings has announced that it has reduced the Yangibana delivery risk by awarding the EPC Process Plant Contract to GR Engineering.

Highlights: 

• Hastings enters binding Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) terms sheet entered with GR Engineering Services Limited (GRES) for delivery of the beneficiation plant and associated infrastructure for the Yangibana Rare Earths Project (Yangibana).

• The $210 million EPC contract is lower than cost estimates for an equivalent scope under the current Engineering, Procurement and Construction Management (EPCM) model, and includes:

o A fixed price component of $180 million for the beneficiation plant; and

o A provisional component of $30 million, mainly for earthworks associated with the beneficiation plant and tailings storage facility.

• The EPC contract offers additional benefits and lowers risk in multiple areas, compared with the EPCM model, including guarantees on time, cost and product quality with first concentrate delivery in Q1 CY2025.

• GRES will commence work immediately under a three-month early works agreement.

• Change in delivery model for the beneficiation plant is an outcome of the ongoing Hastings

review of the capital cost, schedule and project execution strategy

Link here to view the full Hastings announcement 

Cadence CEO Kiran Morzaria, commented: “On behalf of the Cadence board, we are pleased to see Yangibana take another step towards production, and in doing so deliver a further reduction in delivery risk through a substantial cost saving in the EPC contract. I look forward to providing further updates.” 

Cadence shareholding in Hastings

On 25 January 2023, Cadence completed the sale of its 30% stake in several mineral concessions forming part of the Yangibana Rare Earths project for a consideration of 2.45 million Hastings shares, equating to approximately 1.9% Hastings issued share capital. This consideration was a premium over the Net Present Value (“NPV”) of the Cadence portion of the mineable material, based on the definitive feasibility (“DFS”) updated by Hastings on 21 February 2022.

The full announcement concerning the Yangibana sale is available here.

Qualified Person

Kiran Morzaria B.Eng. (ACSM), MBA, has reviewed and approved the information contained in this announcement. Kiran holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Industrial Geology) from the Camborne School of Mines and an MBA (Finance) from CASS Business School.

Cautionary and Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this announcement are or may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are identified by their use of terms and phrases such as “believe”, “could”, “should”, “envisage”, “estimate”, “intend”, “may”, “plan”, “will”, or the negative of those variations or comparable expressions including references to assumptions. These forward-looking statements are not based on historical facts but rather on the Directors’ current expectations and assumptions regarding the company’s future growth results of operations performance, future capital, and other expenditures (including the amount, nature, and sources of funding thereof) competitive advantages business prospects and opportunities. Such forward-looking statements reflect the Directors’ current beliefs and assumptions and are based on information currently available to the Directors.  Many factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements, including risks associated with vulnerability to general economic and business conditions, competition, environmental and other regulatory changes actions by governmental authorities, the availability of capital markets reliance on key personnel uninsured and underinsured losses and other factors many of which are beyond the control of the company. Although any forward-looking statements contained in this announcement are based upon what the Directors believe to be reasonable assumptions. The company cannot assure investors that actual results will be consistent with such forward-looking statements.

The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the company to constitute Inside Information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulation (E.U.) No. 596/2014, as it forms part of U.K. domestic law under the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, as amended. Upon the publication of this announcement via a regulatory information service, this information is considered to be in the public domain.