28 July 2026
Premier African Minerals Limited
Operational and Corporate Update
Premier African Minerals Limited ("Premier" or the "Company") provides this update on the ongoing stockpiling and optimisation programme at the Zulu Lithium and Tantalum Project ("Zulu") and the ongoing discussions regarding an extension of the Long Stop Date under the Company's prepayment and offtake arrangements as announced on 25 June 2026.
Graham Hill, Managing Director, commented, "We had previously anticipated recommencing plant operations during July, however, this will only occur once the ongoing and constructive discussions with Canmax Technologies Co., Ltd ("Canmax") regarding the requested Long Stop Date extension have concluded and the agreed terms have been formally announced.
Subject to agreement being reached, Premier intends to commence the planned continuous operating campaign as soon as possible, with a revised operating timetable to be confirmed thereafter to shareholders".
ROM Stockpile and Ongoing Optimisation Programme
During the June processing operations, several opportunities to improve the operability and reliability of the plant were identified. These matters have subsequently been addressed with the engineering team implementing various modifications, upgrades and changes as well as carrying out regular maintenance throughout the processing plant.
Mining and stockpiling activities at Zulu remain ongoing. Given the current reduced scale of mining operations, the Board continues to maintain that building an adequate ore inventory on the ROM pad before recommencing the plant represents the most efficient use of available resources and will maximise the value of the next sustained optimisation campaign. The ore inventories continue to be built, and the Company will provide a further update on the available ROM stockpile when it confirms the revised operating timetable.
The extended time required to conclude the ongoing discussions with Canmax regarding an extension of the Long Stop Date has resulted in some additional time being required to finalise the arrangements that are expected to support the campaign, meaning that the Company no longer expects to recommence plant operations during July 2026. A revised timetable for the next production and optimisation run will be announced once discussions with Canmax have been formally concluded.
Long Stop Date Discussions
The Company remains in constructive discussions with Canmax regarding a further extension of the Long Stop Date under the existing prepayment and offtake arrangements. As part of its review, Canmax is assessing the latest operational and commissioning data from the upgraded flotation circuit, together with the broader technical progress achieved at Zulu. While the Company remains confident that a positive outcome can be achieved, there can be no guarantee that an extension will be agreed or, if agreed, on what terms.
Further details regarding the Long Stop Date and the existing prepayment and offtake arrangements are set out in the Company's announcements dated 5 January 2026 and 26 June 2026.
The proposed extension, together with the successful completion of the next phase of the production and optimisation campaign, will represent an important step in demonstrating sustained plant performance and supporting the Company's ongoing engagement with potential strategic investors in relation to the continued development and operation of Zulu. The Company will provide a further update once discussions have concluded or upon any material development.
Market Abuse Regulations
The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014 as it forms part of UK Domestic Law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 ("UK MAR").
The person who arranged the release of this announcement on behalf of the Company was Graham Hill.
A copy of this announcement is available at the Company's website, www.premierafricanminerals.com.
Enquiries:
|
Graham Hill |
Premier African Minerals Limited |
Tel: +27 (0) 100 201 281 |
|
Michael Cornish / Roland Cornish |
Beaumont Cornish Limited (Nominated Adviser) |
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7628 3396 |
|
Douglas Crippen |
CMC Markets UK Plc |
Tel: +44 (0) 20 3003 8632 |
|
Toby Gibbs/Harry Davies-Ball |
Shore Capital Stockbrokers Limited |
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7408 4090 |
Nominated Adviser Statement
Beaumont Cornish Limited ("Beaumont Cornish"), which is authorised and regulated in the United Kingdom by the Financial Conduct Authority, is acting as nominated adviser to the Company in connection with this announcement and will not regard any other person as its client and will not be responsible to anyone else for providing the protections afforded to the clients of Beaumont Cornish or for providing advice in relation to such proposals. Beaumont Cornish has not authorised the contents of, or any part of, this document and no liability whatsoever is accepted by Beaumont Cornish for the accuracy of any information, or opinions contained in this document or for the omission of any information. Beaumont Cornish as nominated adviser to the Company owes certain responsibilities to the London Stock Exchange which are not owed to the Company, the Directors, Shareholders, or any other person.
Forward Looking Statements
Certain statements in this announcement are or may be deemed to be forward looking statements. Forward looking statements are identified by their use of terms and phrases such as ''believe'' ''could'' "should" ''envisage'' ''estimate'' ''intend'' ''may'' ''plan'' ''will'' or the negative of those variations or comparable expressions including references to assumptions. These forward-looking statements are not based on historical facts but rather on the Directors' current expectations and assumptions regarding the Company's future growth results of operations performance future capital and other expenditures (including the amount. Nature and sources of funding thereof) competitive advantages business prospects and opportunities. Such forward looking statements reflect the Directors' current beliefs and assumptions and are based on information currently available to the Directors. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements including risks associated with vulnerability to general economic and business conditions competition environmental and other regulatory changes actions by governmental authorities the availability of capital markets reliance on key personnel uninsured and underinsured losses and other factors many of which are beyond the control of the Company. Although any forward-looking statements contained in this announcement are based upon what the Directors believe to be reasonable assumptions. The Company cannot assure investors that actual results will be consistent with such forward-looking statements.
Notes to Editors:
Premier African Minerals Limited (AIM: PREM) is a multi-commodity mining and natural resource development company focused on Southern Africa with its RHA Tungsten and Zulu Lithium projects in Zimbabwe.
The Company has a diverse portfolio of projects, which include tungsten, rare earth elements, lithium and tantalum in Zimbabwe encompassing brownfield projects with near-term production potential to grass-roots exploration.
Ends