Kavango Resources plc, an exploration company targeting the discovery of world class mineral deposits in Botswana, is pleased to announce its unaudited financial results for the six months ended 30 June 2021.

SUMMARY

· Issue of 69,776,784 ordinary shares (Note 5)

· Expenditure in Botswana on exploration of US$512,000 (Note 4)

· Operating loss of US$776,000 (2020 – US$254,000)

The Chairman’s Statement and Interim Results are set out in the following pages.

Contacts

INTERIM MANAGEMENT REPORT 30 JUNE 2021

We’ve taken great strides during the first half of 2021 to realise our ambition of becoming one of Botswana’s leading minerals exploration companies.

Having raised £2million in a placing in November 2020 through our joint brokers, First Equity Ltd and SI Capital Ltd, Kavango entered 2021 in good financial shape.

On 11 January 2021, I joined the board as Non-Executive Chairman together with Ben Turney, who joined as Executive Director. Ben subsequently became CEO on 22 June 2021. I would like to thank our former CEO Michael Foster for the role he played in bringing Kavango to market and guiding the Company through its start-up phase. Michael remains as a Non-Executive Director.

I am pleased to report that Ben and I have quickly developed an effective working relationship. I have been impressed at the dynamic leadership he has injected into the business at all levels, from building strong commercial relationships and raising money to coordinating our investor relations, improving our operations and recruiting key personnel. Based on our experience so far, I believe that we have complementary skills that bring the right balance to Kavango’s board.

The first six months of 2021 have essentially been a period of transition for the Company, as it moves from its start-up phase to a fully operational enterprise, and while there have inevitably been growing pains, I am confident (particularly following recent senior appointments in Botswana after the period end, as announced on 22 September 2021) we are continuing to build the right leadership team in place to maximise Kavango’s chances of future success. We continue to look to identify the right individuals, at all levels of the group, who can help us grow the group, deliver value to our shareholders and play a positive and responsible role in the wider communities in which we operate.

Before reviewing our operations, I would also like to take the opportunity to thank Mike Moles and Hillary Gumbo for all they have done for Kavango. As the Company’s co-founders, it was their original vision that brought us all here. Their technical expertise and knowledge are a significant boon to Kavango. In a long overdue move, Hillary joined the Kavango board on 28 May.

Operationally, Kavango has accelerated exploration across all three of its project areas.

In the Kalahari Suture Zone (“KSZ”), we are pioneering the deployment of modern remote sensing technology in our search for large-scale copper, nickel and platinum group element deposits. Specifically, we have sought to develop a geophysics-led exploration method that combines Airborne Electromagnetic (“AEM”) surveys, with ground-based Time Domain Electromagnetic (“TDEM”) surveys and other surveying methods. The goal was to identify priority targets, which we could then test with drilling to attempt to confirm the KSZ’s potential as a system to host large-scale nickel, copper and platinum group element deposits.

To this end, on 20 April 2021, we secured a strategic partnership with Spectral Geophysics (“Spectral”), one of southern Africa’s leading experts in the deployment of geophysical surveying. Cas Lotter, Spectral’s CEO, has been an excellent partner to Kavango. We have benefitted a great deal both from the technology he can put into the field as well as the deep level of his experience and understanding of conducting exploration under the Kalahari Sands. We are looking forward to Cas and his team continuing to play a significant role in our work in the KSZ.

Following identification of the first TDEM targets, we moved quickly to organise our first drill campaign since 2019. We appointed Mindea Exploration and Drilling Services (Pty) (“Mindea”), a company operated under the Botswana Citizen Economic Empowerment Policy, to conduct the drill campaign on Kavango’s behalf. Mindea was set up by Equity Drilling Limited, which remains a 49% shareholder in Mindea. Ben has been developing a strong working relationship with Equity Drilling/Mindea and commercial discussions are ongoing about the establishment of a strategic drilling joint venture.

Drilling in the KSZ is a significant engineering challenge. A number of historic exploration holes were forced to stop early because of poor ground conditions. We have been extremely fortunate to have a partner as technically skilled as Mindea/Equity Drilling. Maintaining a borehole’s integrity through Kalahari sands and loose sediments is difficult. The fact that, as of writing, Kavango has successfully drilled two deep holes into the KSZ is a major achievement for a company of our size, and we are pleased to acknowledge the expertise of Mindea/Equity Drilling in this regard.

A great deal of testing remains to be done on the drill core, but we now expect the data gathered from our first two holes in the KSZ will guide our future exploration strategy in the region. Our geologists are particularly heartened by what they have seen in their visual inspections of core from the Proterozoic gabbros. The prospectivity of the Proterozoic has long been recognised, but we intercepted it at what we believe are the shallowest depths ever encountered in the northern (Hukuntsi) section. Now, with two distinct exploration horizons to go for (Karoo and Proterozoic), it feels like we may be making tangible progress in unlocking this region’s potential.

Although much of our operational focus has been on the KSZ, we have also continued to make progress in the Kalahari Copper Belt (“KCB”). Here we have two Joint Ventures; one with Power Metal Resources PLC (LSE: POW) and one with Botswana-based LVR GeoExplorers (Pty) Ltd.

Unlike in the KSZ, where Kavango is pioneering modern exploration techniques, in the KCB the exploration model is much more tried and tested.

In February we flew Airborne Electromagnetic (“AEM”) surveys over both JV target areas. AEM surveys have been one of the most successful exploration methods used in the KCB. We were pleased to report the results of these surveys in March and to have identified well-defined targets for further exploration, which were coincidental with the regional geology.

Also, in March we announced a significant increase to our land holding in the KCB in the Power Metal JV (which is called Kanye Resources), through the acquisition of 8 new prospecting licences (“PLs”). We completed the acquisition of these PLs in early August. 

Meanwhile, Kavango has continued work on the ground across its licence areas in the KCB. The Company has commissioned an independent evaluation programme of the company’s soil sampling surveys, with the aim of refining and maximising its methodology.

We are also currently waiting for the government approval of our KCB Environmental Management Plan, which is a prerequisite to be able to undertake drilling in the districts of Botswana that host our principal exploration prospects. We expect this should be awarded in early Q4 of this year.

Finally, at our rare earth elements project at Ditau, which forms part of the Kanye Resources JV with POW, we have continued our exploration work. At the start of January, we initiated orientation work using geophysical and geochemical surveys, which culminated with an announcement in early July that we had identified a number of drill targets. Ditau is covered by our KSZ EMP, and we expect to undertake limited drilling here later in 2021.

Responsibility Statement

We confirm that to the best of our knowledge:

–  The Interim Report has been prepared in accordance with International Accounting Standards 34, Interim Financial Reporting, as endorsed for use in the United Kingdom;

–  Gives a true and fair value of the assets, liabilities, financial position and Loss of the Group;

–  The Interim Report includes a fair review of the information required by DTR 4.2.7R of the Disclosure and Transparency Rules, being an indication of important events that have occurred during the first six months of the financial year and their impact on the set of interim financial statements; and a description of the principal risks and uncertainties for the remaining six months of the year and

–  The Interim Report includes a fair review of the information required by DTR 4.2.8R of the Disclosure and Transparency Rules, being the information required on related party transactions.

The Interim Report was approved by the Board of Directors and the above responsibility statement was signed on its behalf by

David Smith, Chairman

30 September 2021

Forward looking statement

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. A number of 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.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED INTERIM FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Group Statement of Comprehensive Income for the Interim Period Ended 30 June 2021