MELBOURNE, Australia, June 6, 2023
/CNW/ - Kincora Copper Limited (ASX: KCC) (TSXV: KCC),
(Kincora or the Company) wishes to advise of the
receipt of several unsolicited enquiries from corporate and other
entities expressing interest in the Company's wholly owned
Mongolian asset portfolio.
Given this interest, the Board of Kincora has decided to
undertake an externally lead strategic review process of the
Company's Mongolian asset and license portfolio with the view of
maximising shareholder value. This review process will consider a
range of potential partnering, funding and other asset
initiatives.
Assets within the portfolio include:
- a large Mineral Resource Estimate and Exploration Target
reported under the JORC Code by Resilience Mining Mongolia
Limited1 for the West Kasulu prospect, which includes a
small portion of one of three extensive, from surface and
underexplored copper-gold intrusive complexes (the majority hosted
on an existing 30-year mining license);
- a year-round field camp; and,
- a proprietary Mongolia wide
project generation database.
Further details are provided in an Appendix to this release.
Different commercial options are being considered. The Company
has appointed Cerberus Advisory to assist in facilitating the
review process and provide recommendations to the Board, which will
include the expressions of interest Kincora has received to date.
The review will have no effect on the Company's current ongoing
drilling program in Australia,
which seeks to test a total of 13 gold and copper discovery
opportunities across 5 projects in Central Western
NSW2.
The Company has not made a decision at this stage with respect
to terms and a deal structure that it would be prepared to
consider, and therefore makes no assurances that a transaction will
eventuate. Kincora cautions shareholders not to make any investment
decisions about the Company's shares on the assumption that a
transaction will proceed.
Further market updates will be provided following any material
development arising to the Company's Mongolian asset portfolio.
This announcement has been authorised for
release by the Board of Kincora Copper Limited (ARBN 645 457
763)
Appendix
Kincora notes recent non-binding interest from various unrelated
parties for the Company's Mongolian portfolio. This comes at a time
of recent significant investment in the Mongolian critical and
strategic minerals sector, including the Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold
porphyry project being on track to become the world's fourth
largest copper mine by 2030.
In the last 12 months, BHP, Rio Tinto and Zijin Mining have made
investments, increasing or initiating Mongolian exposure, with
Xanadu Mining recently commencing one of the largest current
porphyry exploration drilling programs in the world with
54,000m of drilling at the Kharmagtai
copper-gold project located in the Southern Gobi copper-gold
belt.
In Mongolia, Kincora retains a
100% interest in one of the largest land positions and porphyry
complexes in the Southern Gobi copper-gold belt.
The Company's Mongolian portfolio assets include:
- Bronze Fox mining license (the eastern license of the Bronze
Fox project),
- Tourmaline Hills exploration license (the western license of
the Bronze Fox project)
- Red Well exploration license (on
trend from the 26km strike Oyu Tolgoi mineralised system),
- White Pearl field camp (year round facility), and,
- one of (if not) the largest project generation databases for
Mongolia.
In July 2022, the Company
announced a maiden Inferred Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) and
updated Exploration Target for the West Kasulu prospect within the
Bronze Fox project reported under the JORC code and prepared by
Resilience Mining Mongolia Limited1. Both the MRE and
Exploration Target are open in all directions1.
The majority of the MRE and Exploration
Target1 are situated within the existing Bronze Fox
mining licence with the balance being on the adjoining Tourmaline
Hills exploration licence (collectively the Bronze Fox project).
The MRE1, initial metallurgical analysis, desktop
studies and mining license grant support the potential for a near
term, near surface oxide SX-EW project.
The West Kasulu prospect is hosted within a small portion of the
much larger mineralised Bronze Fox Intrusive Complex, which is one
of three so far identified near surface and under explored large
porphyry complexes at the wider Bronze Fox project.
The Company continues to defend a tax assessment that was relied
upon to complete a merger in 2016, with a Mongolian Supreme Court
hearing in May 2023 resolving to
return the case back to the first instance court for another round
of review and discussion3.
Please refer to Kincora's website and contact the Company or
Cerberus Advisory for further details.
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Footnotes
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1 The
Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) and Exploration Target have been
prepared by independent consultant DG & JG Larsen Consulting
Pty Ltd and are reported in accordance with the Australasian Code
for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore
Reserves 2012 (JORC Code) and is not based on Canadian Institute of
Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM) definitions, and as a result
the estimate is not recognized under National Instrument 43-101 of
the Canadian Securities Administrators (NI 43-101).
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The MRE and Exploration
Target were commissioned and paid for by Resilience Mining Mongolia
Limited, an unrelated party, meeting a condition precedent
from a Joint Venture and Acquisition Agreement, and subsequent
extension agreement, with Kincora that was subsequently terminated.
The MRE and Exploration Target were based on data and geological
information supplied by Kincora and Resilience Mining Mongolia
Limited. Kincora retains a 100% interest in the project, data and
reports pertaining to the MRE and Exploration Target (see the July
8, 2022, release "Kincora provides corporate update for
Mongolian portfolio" for further details).
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The MRE and Exploration
Target were reviewed by Kincora's geological staff under the
supervision of Paul Cromie (BSc Hons. M.Sc. Economic Geology, PhD,
member of the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and
Society of Economic Geologists), Exploration Manager Australia, who
is the Qualified Persons for the purpose of NI 43-101.
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Further details and
disclosures included in the July 26, 2022 press release "Mineral
resource and updated exploration target for Bronze
Fox".
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The Company is not
aware of any information which materially affects the information
included in the announcement referred to above and, in the care of
the MRE and Exploration Target, all material assumptions and
technical parameters underpinning the estimates in that
announcement continue to apply and have not materially
changed.
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2 For
further details on current drilling activities in NSW please refer
to Kincora's latest exploration update press release "Extensive
multiple system porphyry complex confirmed at Trundle" (May 10,
2023)
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3 Kincora
press release "Mongolian tax dispute heads to the Supreme
Court" (March 3, 2023)
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For further details relating the Mongolian licenses please refer
to the Company's website (www.kincoracopper.com) and ASX listing
prospectus, including the Mining Associates Technical Export
Report (February 25, 2021).
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain information regarding Kincora contained herein may
constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of
applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements may include
estimates, plans, expectations, opinions, forecasts, projections,
guidance or other statements that are not statements of fact.
Although Kincora believes that the expectations reflected in such
forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance
that such expectations will prove to have been correct. Kincora
cautions that actual performance will be affected by a number of
factors, most of which are beyond its control, and that future
events and results may vary substantially from what Kincora
currently foresees. Factors that could cause actual results to
differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include
market prices, exploitation and exploration results, continued
availability of capital and financing and general economic, market
or business conditions. The forward-looking statements are
expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement.
The information contained herein is stated as of the current date
and is subject to change after that date. Kincora does not assume
the obligation to revise or update these forward-looking
statements, except as may be required under applicable securities
laws.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its
Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the
policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) or the Australian Securities
Exchange accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of
this release.
SOURCE Kincora Copper Limited