Pan African Resources Plc 21 Day Lockdown and Suspension of Production Guidance
March 24 2020 - 2:35AM
UK Regulatory
TIDMPAF
Pan African Resources PLC
(Incorporated and registered in England and Wales
under Companies Act 1985 with registered number
3937466 on 25 February 2000)
Share code on AIM: PAF
Share code on JSE: PAN
ISIN: GB0004300496
("Pan African Resources" or "the Company" or "the Group")
ANNOUNCEMENT REGARDING SOUTH AFRICAN 21-DAY LOCKDOWN AND SUSPENSION OF 2020
PRODUCTION GUIDANCE
Shareholders are referred to the South African Government directive of Monday
evening, 23 March 2020, enacted in terms of the South African Disaster
Management Act (the "Order"), which requires a 21-day national lockdown,
effective midnight 26 March 2020 to midnight 16 April 2020 (the "National
Lockdown"), in order to contain the spread of the COVID-19 (coronavirus)
pandemic. The full Government announcement can be found at http://
www.thepresidency.gov.za.
The National Lockdown requires all non-essential businesses and activities to
be suspended, with people confined to their homes. The lockdown will therefore
impact all South African mining operations, including the operations of Pan
African Resources. Under the Order, "companies whose operations require
continuous processes such as furnaces or underground mine operations will be
required to make arrangements for care and maintenance to avoid damage to their
continuous operations".
The health and safety of its employees and communities are of paramount
importance to Pan African and the Group has already implemented a number of
measures to mitigate the risk of the Covid-19 virus spreading at its
operations. The Group is implementing contingency plans to ensure that all
operations are safeguarded and secured during the National Lockdown period.
The Group is also engaging with all stakeholders, including the South African
Government, to obtain further detail on permitted activities during the
National Lockdown.
The Group's liquidity position is robust, with immediately available facilities
of U$20m. In addition, Rand Merchant Bank has already agreed, subject to final
credit approval, to defer the last three tranches of the existing gold loan's
redemption, constituting 5000 ounces (U$7.8m), to the first quarter of the 2021
financial year. Furthermore, the Group has access to an additional gold loan
facilities of approximately U$11m, should it be required. In the event that the
National Lockdown is extended for a prolonged period, the Company will look to
reschedule its short term senior debt obligations. The Company's banking
Consortium has also confirmed its support for the Group should further
liquidity be required during this period.
In consideration of the National Lockdown and its impact on the Group's
operations, FY2020 production guidance is suspended until the Company is in a
better position to quantify the full impact of the lockdown. The Company will
continue to monitor the situation, and will inform shareholders as new
information becomes available.
Cobus Loots, CEO of Pan African Resources, commented: "Pan African supports all
measures to limit the impact of COVID-19 on the people of South Africa. Even
though the National Lockdown will impact negatively on our operational
performance in the short term, our Group is well positioned and our operations
robust. In South African Rand terms, the gold price is now at a record level,
and we look forward to resuming full-scale operations to the benefit of all of
our stakeholders as soon as it is possible and safe to do so".
Rosebank
24 March 2020
For further information on Pan African, please visit the Company's website at
www.panafricanresources.com
Contact information
Corporate Office Registered Office
The Firs Office Building Suite 31
2nd Floor, Office 204 Second Floor
Cnr. Cradock and Biermann Avenues 107 Cheapside
Rosebank, Johannesburg London
South Africa EC2V 6DN
Office: + 27 (0)11 243 2900 United Kingdom
info@paf.co.za Office: + 44 (0)20 7796 8644
Cobus Loots Deon Louw
Pan African Resources PLC Pan African Resources PLC
Chief Executive Officer Financial Director
Office: + 27 (0)11 243 Office: + 27 (0)11 243 2900
2900
Phil Dexter/Jane Kirton John Prior
St James's Corporate Services Limited Numis Securities Limited
Company Secretary Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker
Office: + 44 (0)20 7796 8644 Office: +44 (0)20 7260 1000
Ciska Kloppers Ross Allister/David McKeown
Questco Corporate Advisory Proprietary Peel Hunt LLP
Limited Joint Broker
JSE Sponsor Office: +44 (0)20 7418 8900
Office: + 27 (0)11 011 9200
Julian Gwillim Thomas Rider/Neil Elliot
Aprio Strategic Communications BMO Capital Markets Limited
Public & Investor Relations SA Joint Broker
Office: +27 (0)11 880 0037 Office: +44 (0)20 7236 1010
Website: www.panafricanresources.com
END
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