PR Newswire
London, May 12
Tri-Star Resources PLC / AIM: TSTR / Sector: Natural Resource
13 May 2020
Tri-Star Resources plc ("Tri-Star" or the "Company")
Sale of first Antimony and Update
Tri-Star Resources plc (AIM: TSTR), the minerals processing company, announces an update on its investment in Strategic & Precious Metals Processing LLC (“SPMP”), an antimony and gold production facility in the Sultanate of Oman in which the Company holds a 40% equity interest. The other joint venture partners are The Oman Investment Fund Holding Company LLC (“OIF”) (40% equity holder) and DNR Industries Limited, part of Dutco Group in Dubai (20% equity holder).
First sale of Antimony
SPMP has sold and on 6 May SPMP shipped its first consignment of antimony comprising 60 tonnes of antimony metal ingots. This is an important step in the ramp-up of operations at SPMP. The management of SPMP expects the plant to be operating at 50% of capacity by the end of Q2 2020 and 100% by the end of the year.
Update on COVID-19
Following the diagnosis of an employee operating in the roaster section of the plant having tested positive for COVID-19, SPMP executed its COVID-19 mitigation protocol successfully in accordance with Ministry of Health’s published guidelines. In accordance with these guidelines, a number of employees have been placed in isolation for a period of 14 days, which will have a consequent short-term impact upon production. SPMP’s management is developing a plan to resume production on the roaster on a limited basis with the personnel allowed to remain on site.
Financing
As announced on 8 April 2020, SPMP is continuing its discussions with local banks to provide a USD60m term loan facility who expressed an interest in providing a working capital facility of up to USD45m (out of a total required of USD 60m, as announced on 3 January 2020) subject to meeting certain criteria. It should be noted, however, that until such facilities are agreed, the future financing of SPMP remains uncertain.
Arbitration
As also announced on 8 April 2020, OIF has issued a Request for Arbitration, commencing an arbitration proceeding with Tri-Star, DNR and SPMP as Respondents. A Sole Arbitrator has now been appointed but has yet to make contact with the parties.
Certain information contained in this announcement would have been deemed inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014 until the release of this announcement.
**ENDS**
For further information, please visit www.tri-starresources.com or contact:
| Tri-Star Resources plc David Facey, CEO/ CFO |
c/o SBP Tel: +44 (0)20 7236 1177 |
| St Brides Partners (Financial PR) Isabel de Salis / Beth Melluish |
Tel: +44 (0)20 7236 1177 |
| SP Angel Corporate Finance (Nominated Adviser) Jeff Keating/ Caroline Rowe | Tel: +44 (0)20 3470 0470 |
| finnCap Ltd (Broker) Scott Mathieson / Camille Gochez |
Tel: +44 (0)20 7220 0500 |
Notes to Editors:
Tri-Star’s principal interest is in an antimony and gold production facility (the “SPMP Project”). The SPMP Project is based in Sohar, Sultanate of Oman, and is being developed by Strategic & Precious Metals Processing LLC (“SPMP”), an Omani company in which Tri-Star has a 40% equity interest.
