Anglesey Mining PLC (AIM:AYM) deal to increase its interest in the Grängesberg iron asset is “very positive” news, that’s according to analysts at stockbroker WH Ireland.
The London-listed firm this morning announced it would acquire a further 29.8% of the Grängesberg iron ore project in Sweden, taking its stake to 49.75%.
Roslagen Resources is selling the stake in project owner GIAB for £525,000, comprising £87,000 in cash and 14.5mln new shares at 3p each, which will result in it holding a 4.9% stake in Anglesey. The deal also sees the transfer of 40% of the debt Rosaglen is owed by GIAB to Anglesey for a nominal sum.
An update to a pre-feasibility study for Grangesberg last July indicated a post-tax NPV (net present value) of US$688mln at an iron ore price of US$120/tonne.
WH Ireland analyst Paul Smith, in a note, said: “Grängesberg is under appreciated and today’s news is very positive for Anglesey.
“Grängesberg appears to us to be a quality project with established infrastructure close to the heart of industrial Europe.
“For less than £550,000, Anglesey has acquired 29.8% of a project that we value on a 100% DCF basis at over US$440mln.
“We will monitor progress of the agreement and review our valuation in due course.”
In this morning’s statement, Anglesey chief executive Jo Battershill commented: “We are very excited to agree this transaction with Roslagen, increasing Anglesey’s holding in Grängesberg.
“We continue to believe the Grängesberg project has the potential to be restarted as one of Europe’s largest individual producers of iron ore concentrates.
“When combined with the high-grade nature of the concentrate and proximity to European steel mills, the asset clearly demonstrates highly strategic positioning."
“As we have previously communicated, the opportunity for Anglesey Mining is now to advance the project through to a Financial Investment Decision.
“This could be completed along with securing a strategic investor, offtake partner, separate listing, or a combination of these options.
“However, we recognise that there is still a lot of work to complete at Grängesberg, including updating both the resource and reserve models and undertaking environmental assessment studies as preliminary steps to preparing a Feasibility Study.”