TIDMCMET

RNS Number : 3490J

Capital Metals PLC

12 December 2022

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION AS STIPULATED UNDER THE UK VERSION OF THE MARKET ABUSE REGULATION NO 596/2014 WHICH IS PART OF ENGLISH LAW BY VIRTUE OF THE EUROPEAN (WITHDRAWAL) ACT 2018, AS AMENDED. ON PUBLICATION OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT VIA A REGULATORY INFORMATION SERVICE, THIS INFORMATION IS CONSIDERED TO BE IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN.

12 December 2022

Capital Metals plc

("CMET" or the "Company")

Notice received from the GSMB in connection with the shareholding structure of

Sri Lankan Subsidiary

Capital Metals plc (AIM: CMET), a natural resources company focused on the development of the Eastern Minerals Project located in the Eastern Province in Sri Lanka (the "Project"), one of the highest-grade mineral sands projects globally, announces that notice has been provided by the Geological Survey and Mines Bureau ("GSMB") to the Company's Sri Lankan subsidiary Damsila Exports Pvt Limited ("Damsila") that they consider it necessary for the current shareholding structure of Damsila to have been approved by the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka (BOI) and as Damsila has not obtained such approval they will be carrying out proper investigations regarding the ownership structure of Damsila, and that in the meantime the two Industrial Mining Licences ("IMLs") which were issued to Damsila are temporarily suspended.

CMET has been working with the GSMB to clarify any concerns around the structure, which was set up in 2016 and has been made clear to the GSMB throughout its mutual dealings, including the applications and granting of the Company's exploration licences, environmental permits (EIA) and the IMLs themselves. There appears to be some uncertainty within the GSMB (and perhaps the BOI) around the application of the Foreign Exchange Act of Sri Lanka that governs investment in shares in companies incorporated in Sri Lanka by non-residents. Damsila, is a subsidiary company of a Sri Lanka resident company, Redgate Lanka (Pvt) Limited. The ultimate parent of Redgate is CMET .

The Company has made several submissions to the GSMB and relevant authorities based on the advice of its well regarded in country legal counsel, Varners, which has provided its opinion to the Company that the current shareholding structure of Damsila is in conformity with the Regulations published under the Foreign Exchange Act and that BOI approval is not required by Damsila for the issuance of shares to Redgate which is a company incorporated in Sri Lanka even though its ultimate parent is CMET.

Damsila, after successfully concluding its best practice exploration activities under the exploration license E1L68 issued by the GSMB, completed the EIA, which went through several technical assessments and two public hearings. The company has invested over Sri Lankan Rupees 500 million which has been remitted to Sri Lanka in foreign currency to date. The extensive EIA process was supervised by the Department of Coast Conservation and Coastal Resource Management (CCD) and was finally approved in November 2021 and a permit to mine was issued after satisfying all the conditions put forward by the CCD. The company has submitted nine IML applications to the GSMB. The GSMB in August 2022 issued two IMLs for the land area under the CCD. The Company has completed a number of mining technical studies over several years and is now moving towards mine development and operations. The Development Study and Preliminary Economic Assessment completed by international consultants, IHC Mining in May 2022, estimated the Project will have a total capital investment of US$80 million, which will create significant local employment, become a new significant export earner of foreign currency for Sri Lanka and generate direct payments of Sri Lankan Government royalties and taxes of over US$100 million within the first 10 years of operation.

The Company has also been made aware, and as reported in mainstream media, that the Chairman of the GSMB has been removed with immediate effect as of 8 December 2022 and the Director General has been sent on compulsory leave. We anticipate that this could potentially cause some delay to the resolution of the matter, but we continue to work closely with the internal departments of the GSMB including mining, geology, laboratory and the GSMB technical services group, which have been providing services to the Company. We have also been receiving complete cooperation in our dealings with the CCD as well as the Sri Lankan Port Authority regarding the lease of the port for future operations.

The Company will continue discussions in a cooperative manner with the relevant Sri Lankan Government authorities to resolve this issue as soon as possible.

For further information, please visit www.capitalmetals.com or contact:

 
 Capital Metals plc 
  Michael Frayne (CEO)                               Michael.frayne@capitalmetals.com 
  James Mahony (CFO)                                 j ames.mahony@capitalmetals.com 
 SPARK Advisory Partners (Nominated 
  Adviser) 
  Neil Baldwin / James Keeshan                     +44 (0) 20 3368 3554 
 Tavira Financial (Joint Broker) 
  Jonathan Evans / Oliver Stansfield               +44 (0) 20 7100 5100

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