For immediate release
30 May 2022
Serabi Gold plc
(“Serabi” or the “Company”)
Notice of Annual General Meeting and
Directorate Change
The Company announces that its Annual General
Meeting will be held on Tuesday 28 June 2022, at the offices of
Travers Smith LLP, 10 Snow Hill, London EC1A 2AL, England at 2.00
pm (BST). The Company has published the formal notice of the
meeting (the “Notice”) on its website which can be accessed using
the following link https://bit.ly/3GrWEQ1. Proxy voting forms are
being posted to all shareholders providing details of how to access
the Notice and instructions for voting. A copy of the Notice
together with proxy voting forms is being posted to all
shareholders who are required to receive or have formally requested
to receive these documents.
The Notice contains a letter from the Chairman
of the Company, Mr Nicolas Bañados, which is set out below in
Appendix 1.
Directorate Change
Mr Sean Harvey, who has served as a Director of
Serabi since 2011 and was Chairman of the Company for the period
from March 2011 to June 2017, has advised his intention to step
down from the Board at the AGM. Sean’s knowledge and experience has
been a significant asset to the Company over the last eleven years
and has always ensured lively and insightful debate at Board
meetings. The Company extends its gratitude for the time and effort
he has contributed to Serabi, and the assistance and guidance he
has provided to management.
Enquiries:
Serabi Gold plc |
|
Michael Hodgson |
Tel: +44 (0)20 7246 6830 |
Chief Executive |
Mobile: +44 (0)7799 473621 |
|
|
Clive Line |
Tel: +44 (0)20 7246 6830 |
Finance Director |
Mobile: +44 (0)7710 151692 |
|
|
Email:
contact@serabigold.com |
|
Website: www.serabigold.com |
|
|
|
Beaumont Cornish Limited Nominated
Adviser |
|
Roland Cornish |
Tel: +44 (0)20 7628 3396 |
Michael Cornish |
Tel: +44 (0)20 7628 3396 |
|
|
Peel Hunt LLP Joint UK
Broker |
|
Ross Allister |
Tel: +44 (0)20 7418 9000 |
|
|
Tamesis Partners LLP Joint UK
Broker |
|
Charlie Bendon |
Tel: +44 (0)20 3882 2868 |
Richard Greenfield |
Tel: +44 (0)20 3882 2868 |
|
|
Camarco
Financial PR Gordon Poole / Emily
Hall |
Tel: +44(0) 20 3757 4980 |
Copies of this announcement are available from
the Company's website at www.serabigold.com.
Neither the Toronto Stock Exchange, nor any
other securities regulatory authority, has approved or disapproved
of the contents of this announcement.
Appendix 1
The letter from the Chairman of the Company
included in the Notice is reproduced below (without material
adjustment or amendment):
“Dear Shareholder
This document provides the formal notice (the
"Notice") of the 2022 Annual General Meeting of the Company to be
held at Travers Smith LLP, 10 Snow Hill, London EC1A 2AL England on
28 June 2022 at 2.00 p.m. (London time) (the "AGM"). The purpose of
the AGM is to seek Shareholders' approval of the resolutions.
Canadian Designated Foreign Issuer
Status
The Company is a "designated foreign issuer" for
the purposes of Canadian Securities Administrators’ National
Instrument 71-102 – Continuous Disclosure and Other Exemptions
Relating to Foreign Issuer ("NI 71-102") and, as such, the Company
is not subject to the same ongoing reporting requirements as most
other reporting issuers in Canada. Generally, the Company complies
with Canadian ongoing reporting requirements by complying with the
regulatory requirements of AIM, which is a "foreign regulatory
authority" (as defined in NI 71-102), and filing any documents
required to be filed with or furnished to AIM with the securities
regulatory authorities in Canada.
Action to be taken by
Shareholders
A Form of Proxy for use by Shareholders
accompanies this document. To be valid, Forms of Proxy must be
completed and returned so as to be received at either the offices
of the Company's UK Registrar, Computershare Investor Services Plc,
The Pavilions, Bridgwater Road, Bristol, BS99 6ZZ or the offices of
the Company's Canadian Registrar, Computershare Investor Services
Inc., 100 University Avenue, 8th Floor, Toronto, Ontario M5J 2Y1 by
not later than 2.00 p.m. (London time) (9.00 a.m. Eastern time) on
26 June 2022. Alternatively, Shareholders can appoint a proxy
electronically by going to either www.investorcentre.co.uk/eproxy
(for UK appointments) or www.investorvote.com (for Canadian
appointments) or, if they hold their shares in CREST, Shareholders
can appoint a proxy using the CREST electronic proxy appointment
service, in each case by not later than not later than 2.00 p.m.
(London time) (9.00 a.m. Eastern time) on 26 June 2022 in
accordance with the instructions set out in the "Proxy
Instructions" section below and the Form of Proxy.
Completion and return of a Form of Proxy will
not prevent Shareholders from attending and voting in person at the
AGM should they so wish.
Beneficial Shareholders (as defined in the
"Voting by Beneficial Shareholders" section below on page 14)
should note that only registered Shareholders or their duly
authorised proxy holders are entitled to vote at the AGM. Each
Beneficial Shareholder should ensure that their voting instructions
are communicated to the appropriate person well in advance of the
AGM.
Further details of the restrictions and steps to
be taken with respect to voting are set out in the Notice and
Information Circular contained in this document.
The Company will continue to monitor the impact
of Covid-19 and reserves the ability to revise arrangements in
relation to the AGM should circumstances change. Any relevant
updates regarding the AGM will be available on the Company's
website and announced through a Regulatory Information Service.
Background
The matters being considered at the 2022 Annual
General Meeting, as set out in the Notice are, for the most part,
items that are routinely considered at such meetings.
“In common with many other businesses, we have
continued to face challenges and through 2021 we have sought to
re-establish our activities as quickly as possible in an
environment that is still resetting itself following what we all
hope are the worst effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. As we return
to normality, protecting the health of our employees, suppliers and
communities continues to be a priority, and the Company will
maintain its full commitment to be a safe place in this difficult
environment.
The development of our Coringa project remains
our immediate growth priority and it is very pleasing to see the
continued progress that we are making. As we reported in the first
quarter of 2022, the ramp development of the Serra orebody has
intersected the three known veins of the Serra orebody with grades
significantly higher than we were expecting. All three veins have
been intersected on the 320m and 340m levels, with excellent
results to date. Our plan is now to develop the two principal
veins, V1 and V3 to the north. We have also introduced ‘resue’
development mining, where the ore and waste can be blasted
separately. The advantage of this technique is that dilution of the
ore coming out of the mine will be minimised and allow us to build
a high-grade stockpile over the coming months, in preparation for
plant feed in 2023.
The current development operations at Coringa
are being carried out under a trial mining licence (“GUIA”) that
allows us to undertake mining activities and perform some initial
processing of the ore and further test work at the Palito Complex.
We remain optimistic regarding the award of the Installation
Licence which is required before we can start construction of the
plant and the rest of the site infrastructure. Ongoing dialogue
with the relevant agencies involved with issuing this licence,
continues to be very positive and has not highlighted any concerns
with the project design itself. The agencies continue to follow the
steps and processes set down by the law to help expedite the issue
of the licence. Both the National Mining Agency (the “ANM”) and the
State environmental agency (“SEMAS”) have together with Serabi,
filed documents of protest with the relevant court authorities and
the court judge who, is currently reviewing the need for any
ongoing intervention given that all proper processes are being
followed. The key issue has been confirmation that the needs of the
indigenous populations have been properly considered. In all steps
of the process Serabi, SEMAS and the ANM have observed their legal
and moral obligations consulting with and obtaining approval from
FUNAI, the national agency that protects the rights of indigenous
populations. A specific indigenous study that goes beyond the
requirements of the law is now expected to be completed during the
second quarter of 2022 and is intended to allay any further
concerns regarding the impact of mining activity at Coringa. In the
meantime, SEMAS have received letters from the indigenous tribes
confirming their support for the project. Discussions regarding the
additional funding that will be required for the longer term
development of Coringa, including the construction of the plant and
the necessary site infrastructure, remain on-going with a variety
of providers.
Brownfield exploration during 2021 brought some
excellent mine-site discoveries, especially around the current
Palito deposit, which will allow us to expand the operation during
the latter half of 2022. This growth is particularly important
after the lower than expected production in the fourth quarter of
2021 and the first quarter of 2022.
The last 12 months have been challenging and I
believe that the post pandemic effects on Serabi have been more
wide ranging than we originally anticipated. Whilst in 2020, it was
the pandemic itself that hampered operations, 2021 was a year when
supply chain delays became prevalent, as businesses in Brazil
accelerated output, but struggled to meet targets due to lack of
critical items. Since travel restrictions for non-nationals
travelling to Brazil were eased in the latter part 2021, Serabi’s
executive management have spent a lot of time in country, making a
number of management changes and implementing numerous operational
actions.
At the Palito operation, whilst 2021 was a
better year than 2020, we still faced a number of challenges, and
the final quarter of 2021 as well as the first quarter of 2022 saw
lower than anticipated levels of production. The reasons for this
are twofold. In the Palito orebody, ongoing delays in the delivery
of critical new mining fleet have hampered mine development and
therefore the speed at which new areas at Palito can be prepared
for mining. The brownfield exploration has brought some excellent
results over the past six months but accessing these resources and
translating them into reserves and production has not been possible
due to fleet shortage, which we have been waiting for since mid
2021. In the meantime, we have been reliant upon an aging fleet
that, with increasing maintenance downtime, is unable to provide
the required capacity. As a consequence of this delay, we have been
somewhat restricted in our production options and have, in the
short-term, needed to mine and process the ore that is in
immediately accessible blocks, including those with lower grades.
This has resulted in lower than anticipated production in the
fourth quarter of 2021 and the first quarter of 2022. Nevertheless,
we are confident the already identified new vein structures will
allow us to increase production from the deposit during the
remainder of 2022 and in 2023. All new items of fleet have been or
are expected to be delivered during the second quarter of 2022.
Secondly, we have also experienced lower than
expected production from the São Chico orebody. During the second
half of 2021, we commenced production on the Julia Vein. Up until
then, most São Chico production has come from the Main Vein, where
mechanised long hole open stoping has proved to be an efficient and
effective mining method. During the second and third quarters of
2021, the Julia Vein was developed with the intention to again use
mechanised long hole open stoping. However, as we progressed
through the fourth quarter, it became clear that the levels of
dilution from stoping were far higher than forecast as a
consequence of the presence of multiple cross cutting faults and
intrusive dykes, which post-date the ore. These faults were not
easily identified in the initial drilling into the vein Through the
latter part of the fourth quarter of 2021 and the first quarter of
this year we installed significant amounts of ground support such
as cable bolts and leaving ground pillars to help minimise
dilution. This made some marginal improvements, but production
rates were nevertheless greatly reduced, with the drilling
equipment and manpower being utilised just as much for ground
support activity as they have been for production. During February
2022, the decision was made to stop the long hole method on the
Julia Vein, and introduce selective open stoping, with air-legs, as
used in most areas of the Palito orebody. This will bring improved
grades by minimising dilution through greater selectivity. However,
this is not an overnight change. It is slower, and therefore needs
preparation time, but continuing with long hole mining is not a
viable option. A consequence is that 1,000 ounces of production
scheduled from São Chico in February by long hole, was delayed and
will now be mined selectively during both the second quarter and
over the rest of the year.
This decision to move away from long hole to
selective mining methods means the reliance on production ounces
will, in the near term, move away from the São Chico orebody to the
Palito orebody, with operations at São Chico focusing far more on
mine development with a view to a return to normal production in
2023. In parallel to this, during the second half of 2022, we will
be increasing production from the Palito orebody. As a result, it
is unlikely that we will be able to maintain quarterly production
at a level of around 9,000 ounces, and we will focus on producing
profitable ounces and maximising operational cashflow rather than
production growth for the rest of the year. This has required us to
lower our production guidance for 2022 to be in the region of
30,000 ounces but expect a return to previous levels once access
has been gained to the new working areas.
I am pleased to say that these decisions are
beginning to bear fruit with some much-improved grades and daily
production in March and April. We will make every effort to exceed
the revised guidance and have already taken and implemented the
decision to bring in 34 specialised selective miners to help
accelerate the transition back to selective mining at São Chico and
increase production from Palito. There are multiple smaller,
higher-grade areas in upper levels, that require minimal
development and access, but lend themselves to selective mining and
these can provide additional ounces. This transition to the more
selective mining method going forward to emphasise quality over
quantity, means an increased focus on reducing costs, moving less
volume and optimising the operation rather than just chasing scale.
The real scale change will be driven by the successful start-up of
Coringa.
Exploration results from the Palito Mine have
been very encouraging. The Ipe and Mogno veins in the Chica da
Santa sector, which was a key part of the Palito production during
2021, have demonstrated the depth potential and continued high
grades of the sector. Lateral extensions of the deposit comprising
the Piaui sector to the southwest and Pele sector to the northeast
also bode well with both sectors expected to support resource
replenishment, growth and future production at the Palito Mine
while ensuring a successful future for this long-life asset. The
drilling into Piaui has really opened up the deposit to the
southwest. The Piaui sector hosts two veins, which have now been
drilled over a strike length of 500m and 200m vertical depth. Plans
are now being finalised to cross cut to this sector from the Senna
Vein later this year.
The potential of Palito both along strike, at
depth and now laterally is very evident. From Pele in the east and
Piaui in the west, the deposit now comprises a series of veins
within a 1,000m wide corridor. Over the next 12 months, we will be
expanding the Palito orebody considerably as we access these new
sectors.
The reduction in revenues that we will
experience in 2022 will impact the level of cash that can be
generated and have necessitated restricting discretionary
expenditure including exploration activity. I hope that this will
be temporary and that we can pick up on some of exciting
exploration opportunities with funding being provided by
operational cash-flow as gold production grows.
Whilst the last two years have been tough
operationally due to global supply chain issues and impacts of
Covid, we are confident in Serabi’s future. The Palito orebody
remains the engine room to our production base but with a
turnaround expected at São Chico this year and the material growth
from Coringa, our strategy remains to turn Serabi into a
multi-asset gold miner with production approaching 100koz within
the next few years.”
Directorate Change
Mr Sean Harvey, who has served as a Director of
Serabi since 2011 and was Chairman of the Company for the period
from March 2011 to June 2017, has advised his intention to step
down from the Board at the AGM. Sean’s knowledge and experience has
been a significant asset to the Company over the last eleven years
and has always ensured lively and insightful debate at Board
meetings. On behalf of the Board, we are grateful for the time and
effort he has contributed to Serabi, the assistance and guidance he
has provided to management and I am sure that he will continue to
be a strong supporter of the Company.
Recommendation and importance of
vote
The Directors consider that the resolutions set
out in the Notice being put to the AGM are in the best interests of
the Company and its Shareholders and are most likely to promote the
success of the Company for the benefit of the Shareholders as a
whole.
Accordingly, the Directors unanimously recommend
that Shareholders vote in favour of the proposed resolutions as
they intend to do in respect of their own holdings, where relevant,
amounting to an aggregate of 1,262,345 Ordinary Shares,
representing approximately 1.67% of the Company's Ordinary Shares
in issue at the date of this document.
(Signed) "Nicolas Bañados"
Nicolas Bañados
Non-executive Chairman”
ENDS
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