Management Update on Kallak

The information contained within this announcement is deemed to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations ("MAR") (EU) No. 596/2014. Upon the publication of this announcement, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.

3 February 2020

Beowulf Mining plc

("Beowulf" or the "Company")

Management Update on Kallak

Beowulf (AIM: BEM; Spotlight: BEO), the mineral exploration and development company, provides a management update on the Company’s business areas.

Kallak Iron Ore Project (“Kallak”)

The Beowulf Board will meet in Stockholm on 12 February 2019 to discuss the continuing and unacceptable delays in getting a decision from The Government of Sweden (the “Government”) on the Company’s application for an Exploitation Concession (the “Concession”) for Kallak. The Board is already in receipt of a paper detailing options, prepared by the Company’s lawyers, and actively considering ring-fencing funds for legal action. 

The CEO has not received a response to his letter, sent on 19 December 2020, written again to Minister Ibrahim Baylan, the Minister for Business, Industry and Innovation.

In response to the CEO’s previous letter, sent last September, Minister Baylan explained that the CEO's request for a meeting at the time "concerns a forthcoming Government decision - a dossier that is currently under preparation", and that the Government is unable to meet or comment with regard to its "ongoing review".

At the recent 'Roundtable on mining in northern Sweden' hosted by Länsstyrelsen Norrbotten, Länsstyrelsen Västerbotten, Boliden and LKAB, the Government’s representative, the State Secretary to the Minister for Business, Industry and Innovation, was also unable to shed any light on the handling of the Company’s application by the Government, nor the timing of a decision.

The Company understands that the Government has received and registered the concluding statement (the "Statement") for Kallak sent to the Government on 8 November 2019, prepared by the law firms Mannheimer Swartling and Fröberg & Lundholm. No further communication has taken place.  The Statement did not include any new facts in the Kallak case, as all necessary and relevant facts have already been established as part of the application process. Rather, the Statement summarises the circumstances relevant to a judicial review of whether Beowulf should be awarded the Concession for Kallak.  The Statement concludes that Beowulf should be awarded the Concession.

Kallak Exploration in 2020

As announced previously, Beowulf is a partner in the European Union ("EU") funded PACIFIC Project ("PACIFIC"), launched in June 2018.   The project has received €3.2 million from the EU's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme and has a 36-month programme of activities being coordinated by Université Grenoble Alpes.

The aim of PACIFIC is to develop a new, low-cost and environmentally friendly tool for exploring for sub-surface mineral deposits. The PACIFIC consortium is conducting fundamental and applied research to develop two radically new and complementary mineral exploration techniques, both based on passive seismic imagery.  See project website for more information: https://www.pacific-h2020.eu/

Kallak, including Kallak North, Kallak South and the Parkijaure licence, has been chosen as one of two PACIFIC test sites.

In September 2019, Phase 1 work took place at Kallak, which included testing the multi-array method, using an array of receivers at surface, over the known magnetite ore at Kallak South to provide background data, the seismic properties for the iron ore and to correlate findings with the geological model for Kallak.

In Autumn 2020, Phase 2 work will commence testing the multi-array method in parallel with drilling at Kallak South, with noise from drilling providing a passive seismic source. Testwork will determine if a 3D seismic model can be constructed, using the established seismic characteristics of the Kallak deposit, and whether the 3D model can be used to identify previously undiscovered magnetite mineralisation for the Kallak South Exploration Target areas and for Parkijaure.

In anticipation of the Concession being awarded for Kallak North, the Company would then consider a follow-up programme of drilling at Kallak South and Parkijaure. The Company was awarded an Exploration Licence for Parkijaure nr 6, covering almost 1,000 hectares immediately to the south of the Kallak deposits, and similarly prospective for magnetite iron ore, on 24 October 2019.

Kurt Budge, Chief Executive Officer of Beowulf, commented:

“Last year, the Board noted Aura Energy’s (“Aura”) written notification to the Swedish Government under the Energy Charter Treaty seeking compensation over the uranium ban introduced in Sweden on 1 August 2018 and the financial loss to Aura resulting from this decision. An example of the goalposts being moved after a company has made a significant investment in a mining project in Sweden.

“It has never been the Company’s preferred option to ‘go legal’, but the Government’s handling of the Kallak application is seemingly inept, and for all the talk of the current Minister and his predecessor, words have shown to mean very little. The absence of a transparent and predictable process is forcing the Company to consider legal options in moving the application forward.

“At the event I recently attended in Luleå, convened by the Governors of Norrbotten and Västerbotten, Beowulf played its part in the debate on the permitting of mines in Sweden, a shared vision of a fossil free, modern, sustainable and transparent mining industry – a world leader. To have a sustainable mining industry you need to permit new mine developments to supply the raw materials that society needs. Iron ore is part of Sweden’s mining heritage, a core business activity of the State, and security of a sustainable source of future supply, such as defined at Kallak, should be permitted.

“In Jokkmokk, during my time as CEO, Beowulf has shown respect for its stakeholders and sought to develop Kallak in partnership with the community, safeguarding all interests, including reindeer herding. Our ambition remains to develop the most modern and sustainable mining operation to showcase the best of Swedish design, engineering and innovation, and give Jokkmokk the thriving, diversified and sustainable economic future that realistically only Kallak would deliver.

“Every job counts in Jokkmokk.  Kallak could create 250 direct jobs at the mine, and 300 indirect jobs, over a mine life of 25 years or more, with sequential mining of Kallak North and South, and the prospect of discovering more iron ore at Parkijaure.”

“The first exploration licence at Kallak was granted in 2006 and Beowulf has invested over SEK 80 million to date. We have even been granted an Exploration Licence for Parkijaure in October last year, so obviously, we are not operating in a ‘no go’ area.

“Over the last five years, the Company has sought to address any outstanding matters with our application, of which there have been none since late 2014.  Last November, we submitted a concluding statement for Kallak to the Government.  The Statement summarises the circumstances relevant to a judicial review of whether the Concession should be awarded and concludes that the Concession should be awarded.

“Beowulf has voluntarily provided more information than required to be awarded an Exploitation Concession, and yet, the scant regard given to the Company and its shareholders by the Government, the apparent disregard for our investment, and the absence of any communication that informs on how our application is being handled and the timeline to a decision, continue to shock me, and to question whether any junior explorer/developer should consider Sweden as a country to invest in. 

“The mishandling of the Kallak application has constrained the Company delivering on its ambitions, putting pressure on the Company’s share price and the efficiency with which we can raise capital.  The ‘opportunity cost’ of the last five years for the Company, its shareholders and the community of Jokkmokk is significant.

“Whatever happens with Kallak this year, the Company will stay committed to the project.

“I look forward to keeping the market updated on further developments with Kallak, with Fennoscandian Resources and Vardar Minerals.”

Enquiries:

Cautionary Statement

Statements and assumptions made in this document with respect to the Company's current plans, estimates, strategies and beliefs, and other statements that are not historical facts, are forward-looking statements about the future performance of Beowulf. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, those using words such as "may", "might", "seeks", "expects", "anticipates", "estimates", "believes", "projects", "plans", strategy", "forecast" and similar expressions. These statements reflect management's expectations and assumptions in light of currently available information. They are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to , (i) changes in the economic, regulatory and political environments in the countries where Beowulf operates; (ii) changes relating to the geological information available in respect of the various projects undertaken; (iii) Beowulf's continued ability to secure enough financing to carry on its operations as a going concern; (iv) the success of its potential joint ventures and alliances, if any; (v) metal prices, particularly as regards iron ore. In the light of the many risks and uncertainties surrounding any mineral project at an early stage of its development, the actual results could differ materially from those presented and forecast in this document. Beowulf assumes no unconditional obligation to immediately update any such statements and/or forecasts.