TSX Venture: NKL
TORONTO, Oct. 28, 2019 /CNW/ - Conic Metals Corp.
("Conic" or the "Company") is pleased to announce its
creation as part of the completed plan of arrangement under the
Business Corporations Act (British
Columbia) (the "Arrangement") between Cobalt 27
Capital Corp. ("Cobalt 27") and Pala Investments
Limited on October 25, 2019.
Conic is a base metals company offering direct exposure to
nickel and cobalt, both being critical to electric vehicles
("EVs") and energy storage systems. Pursuant to the
Arrangement, Cobalt 27 has transferred certain assets to Conic,
including the 8.56% joint-venture interest in Ramu, a low-cost,
long-life, producing nickel-cobalt mine and integrated refinery; a
royalty portfolio on future projects; and certain equity positions
including equity in Giga Metals Corporation. Conic has 83,465,472
common shares outstanding with approximately 8% held by management
and directors of Conic.
The TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSX-V") has conditionally
approved the listing of Conic common shares and it is anticipated
that the Conic common shares will commence trading on the TSX-V in
early November under the symbol "NKL" upon final acceptance of
Conic's Form 2B Listing Statement and subject to Conic fulfilling
all of the requirements of the TSX-V.
Justin Cochrane, Chief Executive
Officer of Conic, commented: "We are pleased to announce the
creation of Conic and to offer investors direct exposure to the EV
and battery storage revolution. The Conic name represents a
combination of cobalt and nickel, two battery metals that are
crucial to the emerging EV and battery storage revolution."
As previously announced, the governance arrangements for Conic
are as follows:
- Justin Cochrane to serve as
Chief Executive Officer;
- Anthony Milewski to serve as
Chairman of the Board of Directors; and
- Board audit, compensation, nomination and governance committees
to be comprised solely of independent directors.
The strategic vision of Conic is to be an EV-themed, low debt,
multi-asset, multi-commodity, and multi-jurisdiction company. The
initial asset portfolio of Conic reflects this strategic vision. In
the near term, Conic's strategic focus will be to bring forward
free cash flow from Ramu and repay project-level partner debt,
resulting in improved cash flow and a valuation rerating. The
long-term strategic focus of Conic is to become a leading battery
metals investment vehicle through opportunistic investments in
nickel and cobalt.
Conic's key asset is the 8.56% joint-venture interest in the
high quality, producing Ramu nickel-cobalt mine and integrated
refinery. Ramu consistently ranks in the 1st quartile of
the global nickel cost curve1. In 2019, Ramu is
forecasted to produce 34,000 tonnes of nickel and 3,300 tonnes of
cobalt in the form of an intermediate nickel-cobalt hydroxide
product which is highly sought after by battery and cathode
producers. At current commodity prices of approximately
US$7.60/lb of nickel and
approximately US$18/lb of cobalt, the
operation and Conic's joint-venture interest is generating
significant free cash flow which will be used to reduce the JV
partner debt. The current balance of the partner debt is
approximately US$114 million at the
joint-venture level. This debt is non-recourse to Conic; under the
current structure, Conic will pay down the debt with cash sweeps
semi-annually.
Conic also holds a royalty portfolio on future projects,
including the Turnagain royalty, one of the largest undeveloped
nickel sulphide projects globally; a royalty on the
shovel-ready Dumont nickel project in Canada; as well as royalties on the
Flemington, Nyngan, Triangle, Rusty
Lake, Professor & Waldman, North Canol, and Sunset
properties. The Conic management team believes there is strong
value potential as each of the diverse underlying projects advances
in the future.
Footnotes
(1) Ramu cost curve
positioning according to Wood Mackenzie.
About Conic
Conic Metals Corp. is a base metals company offering direct
exposure to nickel and cobalt, both being critical elements of
electric vehicles and energy storage systems. Conic holds an 8.56%
joint-venture interest in the long-life, world-class Ramu operation
which currently delivers near-term attributable nickel and cobalt
production. Conic also manages a portfolio of 11 royalties.
Additional Information
None of the securities issued pursuant to the Arrangement have
been or will be registered under the United States Securities Act
of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), or any
state securities laws, and all of the securities issued in the
Arrangement were issued in reliance upon the exemption from such
registration requirements provided by Section 3(a)(10) of the U.S.
Securities Act and applicable exemptions under state securities
laws. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or the
solicitation of an offer to buy any securities.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains certain information which constitutes
'forward-looking statements' and 'forward-looking information'
within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Any
statements that are contained in this news release that are not
statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking
statements. Forward looking statements are often identified by
terms such as "may", "should", "anticipate", "expect", "potential",
"believe", "intend" or the negative of these terms and similar
expressions. Forward-looking statements in this news release
include, but are not limited to statements with respect to: the
business and assets (including their implied value) of Conic and
its strategy going forward; statements pertaining to the adoption
of electric vehicles and battery storage globally; the timing for
trading commencement of Conic common shares on the TSX-V;
developments at the Ramu mine and the expected impact thereof on
future operations, product and sales; and statements pertaining to
future events or future performance. Readers are cautioned not to
place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Forward-looking
statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, most
of which are beyond the Company's control. Should one or more of
the risks or uncertainties underlying these forward-looking
statements materialize, or should assumptions underlying the
forward-looking statements prove incorrect, actual results,
performance or achievements could vary materially from those
expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements.
The forward-looking statements contained herein are made as of
the date of this release and, other than as required by applicable
securities laws, the Company does not assume any obligation to
update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances. The
forward-looking statements contained in this release are expressly
qualified by this cautionary statement.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services
Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX
Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or
accuracy of this release. No securities regulatory authority has
either approved or disapproved of the contents of this news
release.
View original content to download
multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/creation-of-conic-metals-corp-300946412.html
SOURCE Conic Metals Corp.