Tag Archives: Energy Charter Treaty

In July 2023, GreenX entered into an Option Agreement with Greenfields Exploration Limited (Greenfields) to acquire up to 100% of the Eleonore North gold project (Eleonore North) in eastern Greenland.

o  Eleonore North has the potential to host a “reduced intrusion-related gold system” (RIRGS), analogous to large bulk-tonnage deposit types found in Canada.

o  Option to earn 100% of the Project vests upon GreenX spending A$600,000 on exploration on Eleonore North within 12 months and can be exercised in return for a 1.5% Net Smelter Royalty plus A$250,000 payable in cash and A$250,000 payable in either cash or GreenX shares at GreenX’s election.

o  Transaction provides GreenX with gold exposure in Greenland and complements GreenX’s existing exploration prospect in Greenland, the Arctic Rift Copper project (ARC).

·    During the quarter, GreenX completed a Placing to issue 5.2 million new ordinary shares to raise gross proceeds of approximately A$4.2 million (~£2.1 million) from new and existing investors (Placing). Proceeds from the Placing will be used for exploration activities at the Company’s projects in Greenland and general corporate activities.

·    In November 2022, the hearing for the claim against the Republic of Poland under both the Energy Charter Treaty and the Australia-Poland Bilateral Investment Treaty was concluded (Claim).

o  Combined arbitration hearing took place in front of the Tribunal in London under the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules

o  Damages of up to £737 million (A$1.3 billion / PLN4.0 billion) have been claimed including the assessed value of GreenX’s lost profits and damages related to both the Jan Karski and Debiensko projects, and accrued interest related to any damages

·    Cash balance as at 30 September 2023 was A$10.7 million.

GreenX Metals Limited (ASX:GRX, LSE:GRX) (GreenX or the Company) is pleased to present its Quarterly Activities Report for the period during and subsequent to 30 September 2023.

Eleonore north gold project option acquisition

In July 2023, GreenX entered into an Option Agreement (Agreement) with Greenfields to acquire up to 100% of the Eleonore North gold project in eastern Greenland.

Eleonore North has the potential to host a “reduced intrusion-related gold system” (RIRGS), analogous to large bulk-tonnage deposit types found in Canada including Donlin Creek, Fort Knox and Dublin Gulch.

Gold mineralisation documented at the high-priority Noa Pluton prospect within Eleonore North.

·      Geophysical “bullseye” anomaly 6 km wide co-incident with elevated gold mineralisation from historical geochemical sampling.

·      Anomalous gold mineralisation associated with quartz veining exposed at surface over a length of up to 15 km.

·      Historical sampling includes 4 m chip sample grading 1.93 g/t Au and 1.9% Sb (refer to Appendix 1 of the Company’s announcement on 10 July 2023).

Eleonore North has potential to host large scale, shallow, bulk tonnage gold deposits. Eleonore North remains underexplored, with the existence of a possible RIRGS being a relatively new geological interpretation based on the historical data. Initial field work consists of a seismic survey to determine the depth from surface to the Noa Pluton to aid in drill targeting.

Figure 1: Eleonore North licence area showing the 6km diameter geophysical anomaly co-incident with gold veining visible at surface over some 15km at the high priority Noa Pluton prospect

Eleonore North license area contains other gold targets as well as copper, antimony and tungsten prospects. At Holmesø there is copper and antimony mineralisation outcropping at surface. Historical mapping and sampling in the 1970s at Holmesø show a prospective horizon between 15 m and 20 m thick, with per cent level grades for both metals.

Option to earn 100% of the project vests upon GreenX spending A$600,000 on exploration on Eleonore North within 12 months and can be exercised in return for a 1.5% Net Smelter Royalty plus A$250,000 payable in cash and A$250,000 payable in either cash or GreenX shares at GreenX’s election.

Transaction provides GreenX with gold exposure in Greenland and complements GreenX’s existing exploration prospect in Greenland, the ARC project. There are significant synergies with regards to personnel, logistics and equipment in having multiple exploration projects in Greenland. Field works for the 2023 field season have already been completed at Eleonore North, with follow-on exploration field activities for the ARC project currently being planned.

Greenland is a mining friendly jurisdiction with strong Government support for expanding its mining industry, simple laws and regulations, and a competitive fiscal regime.

The primary target in Eleonore North is the Noa Pluton, followed by the Holmesø prospect and its source intrusion.  The Noa Veins provide a near-term drill target, however, the Company’s 2023 field work was focussed on determining the depth of the intrusion with greater precision using a passive seismic survey. Once analysed, this information will validate the magnetic interpretation, provide more certainty for a future drilling program, and help identify the size of the intrusion within the well-defined hornfels.

ARCTIC RIFT COPPER PROJECT

The ARC project is an exploration joint venture between GreenX and Greenfields. GreenX can earn-in upto 80% of ARC by spending A$10 million by October 2026. ARC is targeting large scale copper in multiple settings across a 5,774 km² Special Exploration Licence in eastern North Greenland. The area has been historically underexplored yet is prospective for copper, forming part of the newly identified Kiffaanngissuseq metallogenic province.

The results of work program announced last year have demonstrated the high-grade nature of the known copper sulphide mineralisation and wider copper mineralization in fault hosted Black Earth zones and adjacent sandstone units. The exact position of a native copper fissure at the Neergaard Dal prospect was also identified.

Analysis of this information is underway and will be key to future planned work programs.

ShARE PLACING

In July 2023, the Company announced that it had successfully completed a Placing of 5.2 million new ordinary shares at a price of A$0.80 (41 pence) per share for gross proceeds of approximately A$4.2 million (~£2.1 million) from new and existing investors.

The net proceeds from the Placing will be used for exploration activities at the company’s projects in Greenland and will help ensure that GreenX retains a strong balance sheet position.

DISPUTE WITH POLISH GOVERNMENT

In November 2022, the Company reported the conclusion of the Claim against the Republic of Poland under both the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) and the Australia-Poland Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) (together the Treaties). The hearing took place in London in and lasted two weeks.

Following completion of the hearing, the Tribunal will render an Award (i.e., the legal term used for a ‘decision’ by the Tribunal) in due course with no specified date available for the Tribunal decision.

As previously advised, the arbitration and hearing proceedings in relation to the Claim are required to be kept confidential.

Details of the Claim

The Company’s Claim against the Republic of Poland is being prosecuted through an established and enforceable legal framework, with GreenX and Poland agreeing to apply the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law Rules (UNCITRAL) rules to the proceedings. The arbitration claims are being administered through the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague.

The evidentiary hearing phase of the arbitration proceedings has now been completed in front of the Arbitral Tribunal. With completion of the hearing, the Arbitral Tribunal will render an Award in due course. There is no specified date for an Award to be rendered. The Company’s claims for damages against Poland are in the amount of up to £737 million (A$1.3 billion/PLN4.0 billion), which includes a revised assessment of the value of GreenX’s lost profits and damages related to both the Jan Karski and Debiensko projects, and accrued interest related to any damages. The Claim for damages has been assessed by independent external quantum experts appointed by GreenX specifically for the purposes of the Claim.

In July 2020, the Company announced it had executed the LFA for US$12.3 million with LCM. US$10.4 million of the facility has been drawn down to cover legal, tribunal and external expert costs as well as defined operating expenses associated with the Claim. The Company does not anticipate further material drawdowns now that funded costs relating to the claims have been dispersed. The LFA is a limited recourse loan with LCM that is on a “no win – no fee” basis.

In September 2020, GreenX announced that it had formally commenced with the Claim by serving the Notices of Arbitration against the Republic of Poland. In June 2021, GreenX announced that it had formally lodged its Statement of Claim in the BIT arbitration, including the first assessed claim for compensation. The Company’s Statement of Reply, the last material filing to be made by the Company for the BIT arbitration proceedings, was submitted in July 2021. The Statement of Reply addresses various points raised by the Republic of Poland in their Statement of Defence. The Statement of Reply also contains a re-evaluation of the claim for damages based on responses to Poland’s Statement of Defence.

GreenX’s dispute alleges that the Republic of Poland has breached its obligations under the applicable Treaties through its actions to block the development of the Company’s Jan Karski and Debiensko projects in Poland which effectively deprived GreenX of the entire value of its investments in Poland.

In February 2019, GreenX formally notified the Polish Government that there exists an investment dispute between GreenX and the Polish Government. GreenX’s notification called for prompt negotiations with the Government to amicably resolve the dispute and indicated GreenX’s right to submit the dispute to international arbitration in the event of the dispute not being resolved amicably.

GreenX’s investment dispute with the Republic of Poland is not unique, with international media widely reporting that the political environment and investment climate in Poland has deteriorated since the change in Government in 2015. As a result, there are a significant number of International Arbitration claims being bought against Poland.

CORPORATE

Financial Position

Following the successful completion of the Placing, GreenX had cash of A$10.7m as at 30 September 2023.

-ENDS-

The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014 as it forms part of UK domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (‘MAR’). Upon the publication of this announcement via Regulatory Information Service (‘RIS’), this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain

Forward Looking Statements

This release may include forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on GreenX’s expectations and beliefs concerning future events. Forward looking statements are necessarily subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside the control of GreenX, which could cause actual results to differ materially from such statements. GreenX makes no undertaking to subsequently update or revise the forward-looking statements made in this release, to reflect the circumstances or events after the date of that release.

Competent Persons Statement

The information in this report that relates to exploration results were extracted from the ASX announcement dated 10 July 2023 which is available to view at www.greenxmetals.com.

GreenX confirms that (a) it is not aware of any new information or data that materially affects the information included in the original announcement; (b) all material assumptions and technical parameters underpinning the content in the relevant announcement continue to apply and have not materially changed; and (c) the form and context in which the Competent Person’s findings are presented have not been materially modified from the original announcement

This announcement has been authorised for release by the Company’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr Ben Stoikovich.

APPENDIX 1: TENEMENT INFORMATION

As at 30 September 2023, the Company has an interest in the following tenements:

Notes:

¹        In October 2021, the Company announced that it had entered into an Earn-In Agreement (EIA) with Greenfields to acquire an interest of up to 80% in ARC. As at the date of this announcement, the Company held no beneficial interest in ARC, other than through the EIA.

²        In July 2023, the Company announced that it had entered into an Option Agreement with Greenfields to acquire an interest of up to 100% in Eleonore North. As at the date of this announcement, the Company held no beneficial interest in Eleonore North, other than through the Option Agreement.

³        GreenX formally commenced international arbitration claims against the Republic of Poland under both the ECT and the BIT in 2021. GreenX alleges that the Republic of Poland has breached its obligations under the Treaties through its actions to block the development of the Company’s Jan Karski and Debiensko projects in Poland. Refer to discussion of the Claim above. The Company has received notice from the relevant Polish authority that the Debiensko mining licence has been extinguished.

Appendix 2: Related Party Payments

During the quarter ended 30 September 2023, the Company made payments of A$241,000 to related parties and their associates. These payments relate to existing remuneration arrangements (director fees, consulting fees and superannuation of A$166,000 and the provision of a serviced office and company secretarial and administration services of A$75,000).

Appendix 3: Exploration and Mining Expenditure

During the quarter ended 30 September 2023, the Company made the following payments in relation to exploration activities:

There were no mining or production activities and expenses incurred during the quarter ended 30 September 2023.

Appendix 5B

Mining exploration entity or oil and gas exploration entity
quarterly cash flow report

Compliance statement

1        This statement has been prepared in accordance with accounting standards and policies which comply with Listing Rule 19.11A.

2        This statement gives a true and fair view of the matters disclosed.

Date:                13 October 2023

Authorised by:  Company Secretary

(Name of body or officer authorising release – see note 4)

Notes

1.          This quarterly cash flow report and the accompanying activity report provide a basis for informing the market about the entity’s activities for the past quarter, how they have been financed and the effect this has had on its cash position. An entity that wishes to disclose additional information over and above the minimum required under the Listing Rules is encouraged to do so.

2.          If this quarterly cash flow report has been prepared in accordance with Australian Accounting Standards, the definitions in, and provisions of, AASB 6: Exploration for and Evaluation of Mineral Resources and AASB 107: Statement of Cash Flows apply to this report. If this quarterly cash flow report has been prepared in accordance with other accounting standards agreed by ASX pursuant to Listing Rule 19.11A, the corresponding equivalent standards apply to this report.

3.          Dividends received may be classified either as cash flows from operating activities or cash flows from investing activities, depending on the accounting policy of the entity.

4.          If this report has been authorised for release to the market by your board of directors, you can insert here: “By the board”. If it has been authorised for release to the market by a committee of your board of directors, you can insert here: “By the [name of board committee – eg Audit and Risk Committee]”. If it has been authorised for release to the market by a disclosure committee, you can insert here: “By the Disclosure Committee”.

5.          If this report has been authorised for release to the market by your board of directors and you wish to hold yourself out as complying with recommendation 4.2 of the ASX Corporate Governance Council’s Corporate Governance Principles and Recommendations, the board should have received a declaration from its CEO and CFO that, in their opinion, the financial records of the entity have been properly maintained, that this report complies with the appropriate accounting standards and gives a true and fair view of the cash flows of the entity, and that their opinion has been formed on the basis of a sound system of risk management and internal control which is operating effectively