Stockholm, 21 March 2023 – The mining company Eurobattery Minerals AB (Nordic Growth Market: “BAT” and Börse Stuttgart: “EBM”; in short: “EBM”, “Eurobattery” or “the Company”), today announces that the Company is exercising its option to acquire 30 per cent of the shares in FinnCobalt Oy (“FinnCobalt”), the owner of the ground and mining rights to the nickel–cobalt–copper project Hautalampi. This constitutes the Company’s second acquisition within the scope of its contracted right to acquire 100 per cent of the shares in FinnCobalt in a staged process until May 2024. Altogether, Eurobattery’s share of ownership in FinnCobalt will amount to 70 per cent after the now impending acquisition. The acquisition is of great significance for the Company’s planned development of the Hautalampi project and the goal to establish a battery mineral mine with production and sales within a mid-term horizon. The consideration for the stake acquisition will be paid partly in cash and partly through a directed issue of shares to the three founders of FinnCobalt.
“We are very pleased to continue to deliver on our strategy to provide battery minerals from Europe to Europe, now as the majority owner of the Hautalampi mine project. With the pre-feasibility study just announced we know that the economic outlook for the battery mineral mine in Finland is strong,” said Roberto García Martínez, CEO of Eurobattery Minerals.
Financial details of the stake acquisition
The Board of Directors of Eurobattery has informed the three founders and initial owners of FinnCobalt that the Company will exercise the second option of the investment and shareholder agreement entailing the option to acquire FinnCobalt in a staged process which was entered into on 11 May 2020 and which became effective on 27 May 2020. This means that Eurobattery, before 27 July 2023, should exercise said option by paying a total cash amount of EUR 250,002 and issuing shares in Eurobattery amounting to a value of EUR 1,000,002 to the three founders of FinnCobalt. These two actions will be taken parallelly and simultaneously. The cash part of the consideration will be paid from the Company’s cash. The share part of the consideration will be paid through a directed issue of shares. The subscription price in the directed share issue will correspond to the volume-weighted average price of the Company’s share on NGM Nordic SME during the ten trading days preceding the issue decision.
Effects of the acquisition
- Eurobattery will acquire 30 per cent of the shares in FinnCobalt. The Company’s stake in FinnCobalt will thereby increase from 40 per cent to 70 per cent of the capital and the votes.
- The stake acquisition of FinnCobalt is expected to be completed during the second quarter of 2023. FinnCobalt is expected to be consolidated into Eurobattery’s financial statements from the date of admission.
- As a majority owner, Eurobattery will have controlling influence on the resolutions of the Board in FinnCobalt.
- Eurobattery will also have the right, but no obligation, to nominate the Chairman of the Board and two ordinary Board members and their personal deputy members in FinnCobalt.
The Hautalampi project in brief
The Hautalampi project is located near Outokumpu, Finland, in the same spot as the well-renowned Keretti mine where approximately 28.5 million tonnes of rock with a copper content of 3.8 per cent were mined between 1912–1989. The project consists of one mining concession covering 227 hectares with exposure towards nickel, cobalt, and copper, and a nearby reservation. The area benefits from well-developed surface and underground infrastructure as well as strong local support for mining. An estimated EUR 10–15 million had been invested in the project by previous owners before the project was assumed by Eurobattery in the spring of 2020. In June 2021 Eurobattery was able to increase the project’s measured, indicated and inferred resource tonnage by approximately 100 per cent and the metal content by approximately 50 per cent. In October 2022 the Company was able to confirm a further increase in the metal content of approximately 40 per cent. On 20 March 2023, the Company published a preliminary feasibility study (PFS) for the Hautalampi project which highlighted the opportunities and potential challenges of advancing the development of the Hautalampi deposit.
About Eurobattery Minerals
Eurobattery Minerals AB is a Swedish mining company listed on Swedish Nordic Growth Market (BAT) and German Börse Stuttgart (EBM). With the vision to make Europe self-sufficient in responsibly mined battery minerals, the company’s focus is to realize numerous nickel-cobalt-copper projects in Europe to supply critical raw materials and, as such, power a cleaner world.
Please visit www.eurobatteryminerals.com for more information. Feel free to follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter as well.
Contact Eurobattery Minerals AB
Roberto García Martínez – CEO
E-mail: info@eurobatteryminerals.com
Contact Investor Relations
E-mail: ir@eurobatteryminerals.com
Mentor
Augment Partners AB is the mentor to Eurobattery Minerals AB
Phone: +46 (0) 86 042 255
E-mail: info@augment.se
