Kiruna, May 18, 2022
JANUARY – MARCH 2022
- Capitalized exploration assets at the end of the period amounted to KSEK 500,981 (358,013).
- Loss for the period amounted to KSEK -3,839 (-5,102).
- Earnings per share amounted to SEK -0.01 (-0.01)
- Cash flow for the period was KSEK 181,383 (114,909).
- Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the period totaled KSEK 305,674 (115,861).
- Total assets at the end of the period amounted to KSEK 841,679 (478,616).
- Equity at the end of the period increased 69% to KSEK 768,183 (455,539).
SIGNIFICANT EVENTS DURING THE PERIOD
- In February 2022, a directed share issue of SEK 1.08 per share was completed through an accelerated book building procedure, raising proceeds of MSEK 147.9 before transaction costs.
- In March 2022, a directed share issue of SEK 1.14 per share was completed to the established investors, Thomas von Koch and Christian Kinch, thereby raising proceeds for the company of MSEK 80.9 before issue costs.
- In March 2022, Copperstone submitted an environmental permit application for the Viscaria mine.
SIGNIFICANT EVENTS AFTER THE PERIOD
- The 2021 Annual Report was published in April.
- Norrlandsfonden continues to support Copperstone, this time with MSEK 5.5 at STIBOR 5% annual interest rate and a conversion rate of 1,54 SEK/share until April 2027.
CEO COMMENTS
A highly intense and stimulating start has been made to 2022. The application for an environmental permit submitted to the Land and Environment Court on schedule at the end of March means we have now taken a major and important stride toward the goal of reopening the Viscaria mine in Kiruna. Ambition levels have been high from the start and I am very proud of the work effort, and naturally, also of our application which I dare say is very cogent, diligent and transparent. A permit application of this dignity encompasses numerous different areas. For several years, we have conducted thorough investigations of how the mining operation will affect the environment and other interests and have thus identified the measures needed to ensure responsible mining for the environment and for everyone in Kiruna and the surrounding area. Now the process commences with the public and authorities taking a stand on what we propose. Finally, the Land and Environmental Court will grant a permit for our future operations and decide under what conditions we can conduct future operations. We have set a bold timetable that is also realistic and achievable. If everything proceeds according to plan, we can start mining in summer 2023, already before the processing plant is up and running. In that case, we will either build a raw materials warehouse or deliver the raw material to an external processing plant. Two years thereafter, our processing plant will be ready to produce high-grade copper and magnetite concentrate.
Continued preparatory work
Even if the environmental permit application consumed substantial time, energy and resources, we are maintaining a high pace of preparatory work with a continued high rate of investment. Our in-depth studies on water purification technology have enabled us to bring forward the pumping of mining water. This will save us both time and investments after being awarded an environmental permit. Work is now commencing on establishing a pilot facility toward the end of 2022, for a period of one to two years. This means we will be able to improve water quality in the area prior to receiving an environmental permit. We will also start the groundworks for our own bridge over the railway (Malmbanan) to improve accessibility for the Viscaria area.
Investments in expanding mineral resources
Another priority investment area is core drilling in order to secure and expand the mineral resources. Viscaria remains our primary focus and core drilling is expected to continue throughout 2022. We have also identified the possibility of developing our project in Arvidsjaur in parallel with Viscaria. In March, a core drilling campaign was restarted in Arvidsjaur that is expected to total some 2,500 meters drilled. In February, we applied for an exploitation concession for the existing tailing pond at Viscaria, as there is a possibility of re-processing the sand from the previous mining operations. This is fully in line with our goals for a sustainable business. We have completed extensive studies of the tailing pond and confirmed the economic potential in terms of the levels of copper, gold, zinc, cobalt and silver.
Financial reinforcement
Despite the high pace of investment, we remain financially strong. In the first quarter, we completed two funding rounds with directed share issues to highly qualified investors raising total proceeds of around MSEK 228 before transaction costs. This shows that qualitative investors see the potential in and the importance of the re-opening of Viscaria. This is an advantage since project financing will remain a key issue for the company going forward.
Favorable and sustainable preconditions
We are also proud to present our fundamental sustainability initiatives in our Annual Report that was published in April. It comprises seven focus areas with accompanying goals that span the areas where we will have the greatest impact and how we can best contribute to sustainable development. In other words, we are continuing to take clear strides forward in our vision to conduct responsible mining for a sustainable future. The world needs metals and, above all else, substantial quantities of copper to enable the necessary transition if we are to minimize CO2 emissions from fossil fuels. Even if we were to recycle all of the copper that has ever been extracted, it would fall far short of the accelerating demand. We have identified a substantial shortfall as early as 2025, which we want to be part of meeting. The deposit’s high copper grade assessed mineral resources and geographical location provides extremely favorable preconditions for delivering high quality and sustainably produced copper for many years.
Anna Tyni, CEO Copperstone Resources
VISION
Responsible mining for a sustainable future.
THE COMPANY IN SHORT
Copperstone Resources AB is a company now scaling up to become a modern mining company with responsible production through the reopening of the Viscaria mine in Kiruna, Sweden. The deposit’s high copper grade assessed mineral resources, geographical location and growing team of experts provides good prerequisites for Copperstone to become a key supplier of high quality and responsibly produced copper – a metal that plays a critical role in Sweden’s and Europe’s climate transition toward an electrified society. In addition to the Viscaria mine, Copperstone holds a number of other exploitation concessions and exploration permits in Arvidsjaur (Eva, Svartliden, Granliden) and Smedjebacken (Tvistbo mine), all in Sweden. The Parent Company’s shares are traded on the Nasdaq First North Growth Market (ticker COPP B). Augment Partners is the company’s certified adviser, info@augment.se, +46 8 604 22 55.