An Aberdeenshire firm’s quest to launch commercial production of key metals needed for the energy transition has been given a multi-million-pound boost.
Aberdeen Minerals, based in Ellon, is hoping to kick-start a new industry on its doorstep.
And Alternative Investment Market-listed Central Asia Metals (CAML) is willing to invest up to £5 million to help it.
CAML has copper operations in Kazakhstan, and a zinc and lead mine in North Macedonia.
It has conditionally agreed to a £3m investment in Aberdeen Minerals, in return for a 28.7% stake.
The deal proposed would also see the London-based metals producer receive warrants to invest a further £2m, taking its total shareholding to 37.8%.
Meanwhile, an “entitlement offer” to existing shareholders in Aberdeen Minerals is expected to raise up to an additional £500,000.
CAML has said its mammoth cash injection gives it “low-cost entry into a focused junior exploration company which is actively exploring the Arthrath Project in Aberdeenshire”.
Big ambitions for valuable new metals industry in the north-east
The company added: “This investment complements CAML’s existing portfolio, further augmenting the company’s exposure to the base metals market, which is essential to facilitating the green energy transition.
“Aberdeen (Minerals) has already demonstrated the presence of scalable copper-nickel-cobalt mineralisation at Arthrath, encouraging drilling and geophysics results, and a compelling exploration model for high grade base metal sulphides at depth.”
It could mean new jobs for the region
A recently completed second phase of drilling on farmland at Arthrath, four miles north of Ellon, will deliver important clues about the viability of commercial production of base metals such as nickel, copper and cobalt in the north-east.
It could pave the way for a valuable new industry and jobs for the region.
Read more: Aberdeenshire’s ancient rock may kick-start valuable new industry
By last November Aberdeen Minerals had collected nearly 7,000ft of core samples and encountered “significant” deposits of base metals.
At the time, Fraser Gardiner, the company’s chief executive, said: “We think we have a really exciting business model that has the potential to demonstrate there is something here that has a viable future.
“These are essential raw materials for the energy transition.”
Nickel and cobalt in particular will be in growing demand from battery-makers as electric vehicles and other low-carbon technologies become the norm.
Welcoming the potential £5.5m investment in Aberdeen Minerals, Mr Fraser said: “We are delighted to have secured a major, cornerstone investment from CAML, a UK company which has a track record in successful mineral production and delivering benefits for its host communities, employees, and shareholders.
“Their backing is a solid endorsement of the technical merits of our projects and our team’s exploration proposals.
“We look forward to working closely with them and sharing in future exploration success.”
He added: “The funding… provides a strong financial platform to progress our mineral
exploration and development work in partnership with Aberdeenshire landowners, and to pursue local economic growth directly linked to the raw material needs of an energy transition.”
CAML corporate development executive director Louise Wrathall is to join the boardroom team at Aberdeen Minerals on successful completion of the funding deal.
Aberdeen Minerals has built an impressive land package in Aberdeenshire.”
Louise Wrathall, Central Asia Metals
Ms Wrathall said: “As a focused junior explorer with its CEO and exploration team based in north-east Scotland, Aberdeen Minerals is well placed to undertake exploration in an exciting area that is prospective for copper and nickel mineralisation.
“Aberdeen Minerals has built an impressive land package in Aberdeenshire and has a firm foundation of strong local relationships.
“We have been impressed with the Aberdeen Minerals team and its approach to exploration, and we look forward to working together to discover the extent of the base metal potential in this area of Scotland.”
Aberdeen Minerals is grateful to the landowners and community in the project area for their cooperation and support, as well as to Aberdeenshire Council and the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) for their constructive engagement ahead of the drilling programme.
— Aberdeen Minerals Limited (@AberdeenMin) June 8, 2023
What will Aberdeen Minerals do with the cash?
CAML’s investment is expected to fund about 32,800ft of further drilling in two phases at Arthrath.
This could pave the way for a mineral resource estimate and “scoping” financial studies.
The cash would also support Aberdeen Minerals’ exploration of other sites in the area.
Completion of CAML’s investment plan is subject to “customary closing conditions”, as well as regulatory clearances and the approval of shareholders in Aberdeen Minerals.
Previous funding for Aberdeen Minerals
Privately-owned Aberdeen Minerals was established in 2018.
Its drilling programme follows helicopter surveys in 2022. The north-east’s first airborne geophysical survey scoured land around Ellon, Balmedie, New Deer, Methlick and Maud.
Last year, Aberdeen Minerals announced it had raised about £1.1m from new and existing UK and international investors to further its work exploring for and evaluating nickel-copper sulphides.
The firm also received a grant of £294,000 from the UK Government’s Automotive Transformation Fund, set up to support large-scale industrialisation and the transition to net-zero.
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