The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
Minerals firm gets £5.5m boost in bid to mine key metals
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 kickstart 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”.
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.”
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.
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 lowcarbon 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.”
CAML corporate development executive director Louise Wrathall is to join the boardroom team at Aberdeen Minerals on successful completion of the funding deal.
Ms Wrathall said: “Aberdeen Minerals is well placed to undertake exploration in an exciting area that is prospective for copper and nickel mineralisation.
“It has built an impressive land package in Aberdeenshire and has a firm foundation of strong local relationships.
“We have been impressed with the 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.”
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.
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 nickelcopper sulphides.