Cadence Minerals #KDNC – Results for the year ended 31 December 2020

Cadence Minerals (AIM/NEX: KDNC; OTC: KDNCY) is pleased to announce its final results for the year ended 31 December 2020. A copy of the full results will be made available on the Company’s website at https://www.cadenceminerals.com/  and will be posted to shareholders today.

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The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information under the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014.

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CHAIRMAN’S STATEMENT

I am pleased to present the Company’s Annual Report and Audited Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2020.

In my previous statement to you as Chairman, I surmised that the economic contraction, whilst severe and turbulent, would hopefully recover rapidly due to global stimulus measures. Today, despite the persistent dislocations and disruptions of the global pandemic, this view is supported by several key metrics, including higher commodity prices. 

On behalf of the Board of Directors (“Board”) and management, I wish to express our thanks and gratitude to all our service providers, consultants, advisors and most importantly to our shareholders for their support throughout a difficult year. Despite the unpredictable nature of the pandemic, the Board and the Company have been able to operate efficiently and successfully. We are well-positioned to transition back to our regular pre-COVID work schedule as and when that is permitted. Our sincere hope that all within our community have kept themselves and their families safe and well.

Without any specific order or priority, our Board wishes to congratulate the successes and achievements of our portfolio companies. Bacanora has successfully negotiated agreements with one of the Worlds biggest Lithium producers, European Metal Holdings has continued to develop Cinovec, the largest hard rock Lithium deposit in Europe, Macarthur Minerals has taken great strides forward with the Lake Giles Iron project and its respective BFS, and Hastings Technology Metals has been at the front and centre of the global focus on rare earth metals. While remaining as supportive shareholders to these companies, our Board remains focused on unlocking and accelerating the value across our entire portfolio. To this extent, despite the challenges thrown up by COVID in conducting thorough due diligence, we have continued to look for new investment opportunities to complement our geographic and geological spread.

The pandemic has provided new perspectives on developing our portfolio, none more so than at our key pending investment – the Amapa Iron Ore (“Amapa Project”) project in Brazil. The main priority for the Board has been following the processes and protocols outlined in the Judicial Review Procedure, which have been meticulously and publicly disclosed at every step of the journey. Our management team have maintained a patient and persistent approach, following what was always expected to be a protracted route to bring the mine and community back to life. Today, supported by a 21% increase in total mineral resources compared to the equivalent MRE published by Anglo American 2012 and with the global supply of iron ore still falling short of predicted global demand, the Amapa opportunity looks better than ever.

The unprecedented levels of global economic stimulus, combined with a focus on infrastructure and an overarching need for strategic supply chains for metals and minerals, suggests our portfolio is well-positioned to benefit. Commodity prices have responded to a rapid economic recovery, especially in China. If legislated clean energy goals, electric vehicle production and infrastructure spending is executed and adopted as announced by the incumbent administrations around the globe. In that case, we envisage strong demand growth for the underlying commodities at the heart of the Cadence portfolio. We do not predict prices, but it is worth noting that peak predictions often come at peak prices. As such, our focus on the long-term fundamentals of each commodity allows for a more sustainable and longer-term investment thesis.

While the challenges of the pandemic remain in focus, I would like to conclude by personally thanking our Cadence Community, management, fellow Board members, staff and partners and of course, all Shareholders for their continued support and confidence in the Company.

Andrew Suckling

Non-Executive Chairman, 29 June 2021

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER’S COMMENTARY

I am pleased to present the audited results for the year ended 31 December 2020. Alongside the financial statements and supporting notes, a full review of business activities during the year is provided within the Strategic Report.

Given the results presented for the period ended 31 December 20, they reflect a historical position in terms of the Company progress and its financial position, so we have included within the Strategic Report further information on key events post year-end. 

Despite 2020 being a year of turbulence, Cadence has continued to pursue its strategic objectives because we believe that assets that are undervalued, de-risked, or have strategic advantages will outperform their peers in the long term. During 2020 this strategy bore fruit with the Company delivering both a net profit of £7.8 million (2019 loss of £1.9 million) and reporting considerable progress across its key investments. Furthermore, in 2020, the Company repaid the vast majority of its outstanding convertible debt and in April 2021 repaid it entirely.

The challenges faced with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic earlier in 2020 presented the Company with some potentially large risks to its concentration of investments. In October 2020, the IMF stated that the total bill for the global pandemic would reach some $28tn (£21.5tn) in lost output. The rapid intervention by global governments with rate cuts, looser monetary policies and fiscal stimulus has certainly avoided a financial catastrophe, but at the same, increased demand for commodities. Historically the consequences of such events invariably see a strong recovery in commodity markets. This factor was clearly in evidence as 2020 progressed. Prices of commodities such as Iron Ore and Nickel and precious metals including Gold and Silver all increased in value. 

In the wake of the sharp economic contractions in 2020, the IMF forecast that only China was expected to emerge with any economic growth during the year. 2021 is set to be a different story, however, and with the vaccine rollout accelerating globally, there are expectations for sharp recoveries across most leading economies. Added to this, the new $1.9tn stimulus package in the US from the Biden administration will see heavy investment into ageing US infrastructure. These factors should ensure sustained demand and pricing for iron ore and base metals.

There is also the revolution taking place within the automotive industry to consider. The move towards EV’s is accelerating rapidly, with a plethora of commitments from key automotive manufacturers such as Ford, Volvo, BMW and Jaguar to switch to electric-only production in the next few years. This move, of course, sounds the death knell for the internal combustion engine, but at the same time is driving the cost of battery metals and component commodities such as lithium, nickel, cobalt and graphite.

The net effect is that specific commodities and minerals assets that we have invested in are undergoing a significant global resurgence. I believe that our diverse and complementary nature of investments is uniquely positioned, with downside risk protection and several potential scenarios which could create substantial value to the Company

Our portfolio has been focused on two main investments, and the first is the private Amapa Project. The terms of our investment and the judicial recovery plan were finalised in 2019. The key outstanding item for Cadence to complete its initial US$2 million (20%) investment in the Amapa Project is the execution of a settlement agreement with the secured bank creditors. During the year, we reached an agreement in principle with secured banks creditors. At the time of writing, we understand the secured creditors either have credit committee approval or are awaiting it. The final settlement agreement has been circulated and is with the respective legal teams for review. 

Given the time it had taken for the secured bank creditors to obtain internal approval for the settlement agreement in February 2021, the Commercial Court of São Paulo (“the Court”) ruled that DEV Mineração S.A’s (“DEV”) the owner of the Amapa Project could commence the shipment of the iron ore stockpiles situated at DEV’s wholly-owned port in Santana, Amapa, Brazil. DEV was permitted to export sufficient iron ore to realise a US$10 million profit from the Amapa stockpiles at the port. As of the end of June 2021, DEV had shipped three of the estimated four shipments of 58% iron ore required to net US$ 10 million profit. DEV is also contracted to carry out logistical and shipping activities for third parties who have stockpiles held at DEV’s port. 

Despite the lack of a settlement agreement, Cadence, our joint venture partners, Indo Sino Pte Ltd (“Indo Sino”), and DEV determined that it was essential to progress the Amapa Project. In this vein, we completed an updated mineral resource statement increasing the total mineral resources by 21%. In addition, we have commenced various other work streams which will enable us to complete and a pre-feasibility study. 

As we have mentioned on numerous occasions, the opportunity to invest in such a project is rare within our industry, and we believe this project provides us with a potentially transformative asset for our Company. The Amapa Project gives Cadence the potential for an exceptional return on investment in the run-up to full production and an opportunity to become a significant shareholder in a mid-tier iron ore producer.

The second of our key investments is European Metals Holdings (“EMH”), whose strategy is to become a Czech based lithium and tin producer. During the year, EMH’s Cinovec Project has been significantly de-risked and is moving rapidly towards a final investment decision. The year was marked primarily by the completion of an agreement with CEZ a.s., the Czech national power utility, by which CEZ became a 51% shareholder of the Project Company, Geomet and injected approximately EUR 29 million into Cinovec. This agreement not only provides all necessary funding to move the Project to the final investment decision, but it also provides strong business and management support within the Czech Republic. 

I would like to record my thanks to the team members at Cadence and our investee companies who have all worked incredibly hard to bring the Company and its investment to its present strong position. We continue to deliver on identifying opportunities in line with our investment strategy, and we believe the concentration of risk across a few key assets and commodities will bear fruit. Our investments have some downside protection, optionality and exposure to potentially significant upside.

We look forward to continuing to actively assess investment opportunities as well as managing them actively and diligently.

Kiran Morzaria

Chief Executive Officer, 29 June 2021

Link here for the full review and financial statements