RNS Number : 7912J

Sable Mining Africa Limited

22 December 2015

Sable Mining Africa Ltd / Index: AIM / Epic: SBLM / Sector: Natural Resources

22 December 2015

Sable Mining Africa Ltd ('Sable' or 'the Company')

Interim Results

Sable Mining Africa Ltd, the AIM listed company focused in the mining sector in sub-Saharan Africa, announces its results for the six months ended 30 September 2015.

Sable Mining Chief Executive Andrew Groves said, "Due to shifting commodity demand fundamentals, during the six months ended 30 September 2015 we focussed on ensuring prudent allocation of resources, enabling us to reduce capital outlay. During the period we signed an important Memorandum of Understanding with CITIC Construction Co., Ltd relating to the development of a coal fired power plant at our Lubu coal project and finalised certain key technical studies relating to our Nimba project. We remain convinced that there remains future value in Nimba and are constantly evaluating options to ensure that maximum value accrues to our shareholders. Whilst we operate in this uncertain and depressed environment we are also evaluating additional projects that have potential to generate shareholder value."

Chairman's Statement

Sable Mining's current project portfolio covers two commodities, iron ore and coal. Whilst the resource sector has been hit by unparalleled turbulence in recent times, the Company has continued to look to add value to its iron ore and coal assets, further advancing the Nimba Iron Ore Project in South East Guinea ('Nimba') toward full feasibility and signing a development agreement relating to its coal assets in Zimbabwe. However, the Board is conscious that the current price environment for its commodity portfolio is not favourable. The Board is therefore reviewing activities to suit the current environment and to ensure that the existing cash is deployed in a manner consistent with current global trends.

Nimba was discovered by the Company's geologists in early 2012 and has been proven to be a high-grade, low-capital intensity asset. That said and as investors will be very well aware, the appetite for iron ore development projects has waned over the past two years, and there is reducing optimism for a near term recovery. Accordingly, during the period under review the Company has pursued certain key studies relating to Nimba in readiness for completion of a bankable feasibility study at the appropriate time, whilst ensuring that available funds are deployed in the most advantageous manner. As previously reported, during this period, where work is focussed on refining these necessary studies, our non-core workforce in country has been reduced to conserve funds pending an improvement in the macro-economic environment.

During the period, metallurgical testwork from analysis conducted on Plateau 2 was finished, thereby providing the basis for detailed mine scheduling, which demonstrated a potential life of mine of more than 20 years, with high and medium grade products (grades of 63.33% and 62.11% Fe were returned from the lump and fines product respectively, and the mechanical and thermal properties of the proposed premium lump were proven to be excellent). There remains potential upside from further exploration and development work at the additional two plateaux. Indeed, the mine scheduling completed suggests that in the right pricing environment, revenue could be generated from this initial mine site to support the continued development of the wider project, including Plateau 3 and the larger Plateau 1, which has, to date, been the subject of only limited reconnaissance drilling. With the current market conditions as they are, the timescales for completion of further studies are under evaluation and further updates will be provided in due course.

We maintain that Nimba has inherent future value, because of its unique combination of characteristics, namely favourable geology, metallurgy and access to infrastructure. Nimba has a current JORC Compliant Resource Estimate of 205.2 million tonnes ('Mt') at an average in-situ grade of 57.8% iron ('Fe') at a Fe cut-off of 40%, with 195.0Mt falling within the higher confidence Measured and Indicated category, which places it as one of the largest unexploited high grade iron ore deposits in Africa.

With regards to our coal interests, these are located in the Mid Karoo Zambezi coal basin in the established Hwange mining district of north-western Zimbabwe (being the Lubu Coal Project, which has an initial modelled in-situ seam tonnage of 786 million tonnes) and in the adjacent Lusulu area of the Kariba Coal Basin (being the Lubimbi Coal Project, which has a suggested in-situ tonnage of 550 million tonnes). With Zimbabwe and the wider southern Africa region experiencing a power deficit, Sable Mining has identified an opportunity to address the shortage as a potential coal producer and in respect of power plant development.

In September 2015, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed with CITIC Construction Co., Ltd ('CITIC'), a subsidiary of CITIC Group, a Chinese based construction and services provider with a view to developing a 600MW coal-fired power plant at the Company's Lubu Coal Project. Under the terms, Sable Mining and CITIC will explore the opportunities of using their respective expertise to work together to develop a commercial coal-fired power station at Lubu, with the intention of using coal mined at the Company's Lubu Coal Project supplying the station.

Considering the very real problem of energy deficits in Southern Africa and the increasing importance placed on energy security worldwide, the Board believes that the development of a coal-fired power station in Zimbabwe would be a major step forward in tackling this crisis and one which would receive governmental support. The Company is currently evaluating opportunities to move forward with these development plans and will update the market in due course with further updates although at this stage it is difficult to provide a clear timetable with confidence.

Financial Review

Sable Mining is reporting for the six months ended 30 September 2015 a pre-tax loss on continuing activities of US$1.27m (2014: pre-tax loss on continuing activities of US$3.32m). As at 30 September 2015 cash balances were US$5.0m (2014: US$11.5m).

Outlook

The challenging market conditions currently facing the resource industry have meant that the Board has had to review and refine its development strategies during the period under review, including implementation of a cost reduction programme and reduction of capital outlays to ensure funds are effectively and strategically utilised. The Board continue to assess the best way to generate and maximise shareholder value both from its current asset base and other opportunities as they arise.

I would like to thank our shareholders for their continued support during this turbulent time in the resources market and look forward to providing further updates in due course.

Jim Cochrane

Chairman

21 December 2015

For further information please visit www.sablemining.com or contact:

Condensed Consolidated Income Statement

For the six month period ended 30 September 2015

Condensed Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income

For the six month period ended 30 September 2015

Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet

As at 30 September 2015

Condensed Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows

For the six months to 30 September 2015

Notes to the Unaudited Interim Consolidated Financial Statements

For the six months to 30 September 2015

Sable Mining Africa Limited is incorporated in the British Virgin Islands under the British Virgin Islands Business Companies Act 2004. The address of the registered office is Commerce House, Wickhams Cay 1, PO Box 3140, Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands. The Company was incorporated on 27 April 2007.

The Company is listed on the AIM Market of London Stock Exchange plc.

The unaudited interim consolidated financial statements for the six months ended 30 September 2015 were approved for issue by the board on 21 December 2015.

The figures for the six months ended 30 September 2015 and 30 September 2014 are unaudited and do not constitute full accounts. The comparative figures for the period ended 31 March 2015 are extracts from the annual report and do not constitute statutory accounts.

The interim consolidated financial statements have been prepared in US Dollars as this is the currency of the primary economic environment in which the Group operates.

The basis of preparation and accounting policies set out in the Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2015 have been applied in the preparation of these interim condensed consolidated financial statements. These are in accordance with the recognition and measurement criteria of International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRSs") as adopted by the European Union ("EU") and with those of the Standing Interpretations issued by the International Financial Reporting Interpretations Committee ("IFRIC") of the International Accounting Standards Board ("IASB"). References to "IFRS" hereafter should be construed as references to IFRSs as adopted by the EU.

The accounting policies and methods of calculation adopted are consistent with those of the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2015.

4. Segment reporting

The directors consider that the Group's continuing activities comprise one business segment, exploration and other unallocated expenditure in one geographical segment, Africa.

The segment items included in the income statement for the period are as follows:

The segment assets and liabilities at 30 September and the capital expenditure for the period then ended are as follows:

Segment assets comprise intangible assets, property, plant and equipment, trade and other receivables and cash and cash equivalents. Segment liabilities comprise operating liabilities.

Capital expenditure comprises additions to intangible assets and to property, plant and equipment.

The disposal of subsidiary relates to the sale of the Company's 60% shareholding in Salmec Limited in August 2015 for $700k. The profit on disposal of $691k was arrived at by deducting legal fees relating to the sale of $6k and the $3k net asset value of Salmec at the time of sale.

6. Discontinued activities

The discontinued operation was as a result of the strategy to move away from the bio-ethanol related assets and this segment's trading results are included in the income statement as a single line below the loss after taxation from continuing operations. Foreign exchange movements relating to the bio-ethanol related assets resulted in a gain of $293,000 during the year. However, this has been offset against the loss on the sale of Delta Mining Consolidated of $8,244,000 (see below) to give a net loss for discontinued activities of $7,951,000.

The asset held for sale that is listed as a single line item under discontinued operations in 2015 represents the Group's share in the loss of Delta Mining Consolidated Limited up to its sale in August 2015 and the loss generated by the sale. More information about the results of this disposal asset are given in Note 7.

The results for the discontinued operations are as follows:

All the above loss after taxation is attributable to the owners of the parent.

There were cash outflows of $62,000 from discontinued operations relating to DMC included in the consolidated statement of cash flows (Sept 2014: $81,000).

7. Assets Held For Sale

The company entered into an agreement to sell its 63.5% shareholding in Delta Mining Consolidated Limited (DMC) on 29 May 2014. Before completion could occur various consents had to be obtained from the South African Ministry of Mines and Reserve Bank. These consents were obtained in August 2015 and the sale went ahead for a cash consideration of $1.281m. Consequently DMC was classified in the group accounts as an asset held for sale disposal group under discontinued operations until its sale.

In accordance with IFRS 5 the assets and liabilities of DMC were held at fair value less costs to sell. This means that whilst DMC was held in our books at $219k at the time of sale, as stated above, the Company actually received a cash consideration of $1.281m when the deal completed. However, the Company recorded a nominal loss on the sale of its shares in DMC because of the release of accumulated foreign exchange losses of $9m (previously held in the Foreign Exchange Translation Reserve) to the Income Statement.

The group has a contingent asset of $18.5m (2014: $18.5m) relating to the loan from Tanaka Investments Ltd to Delta Mining Consolidated Limited that will be repaid once the purchasers of DMC have the mine in operation. The loan will be repaid over a number of years based on a quasi-royalty per tonne produced model. The directors have not included this as an asset on the Balance Sheet due to the uncertainty over the timing of when the purchasers of DMC are likely to bring the Rietkuil Coal mine into operation.

The calculation of basic and diluted loss per share is based on the following data:

No dilution arises as a result of the total loss and the loss on continuing activities for the period (2014: nil).

On 29 May 2012, 50,000 ordinary shares were issued pursuant to the exercise of warrants under the block admission dated 29 May 2012 with an exercise price of 2p. £1,000 cash was received for these shares.

On 5 October 2012, 50,000 ordinary shares were issued pursuant to the exercise of warrants under the block admission dated 29 May 2012 with an exercise price of 2p. £1,000 cash was received for these shares.

On 16 October 2012, 100,000 ordinary shares were issued pursuant to the exercise of warrants under the block admission dated 29 May 2012 with an exercise price of 2p. £2,000 cash was received for these shares.

On 7 January 2013, 150,000 ordinary shares were issued pursuant to the exercise of warrants under the block admission dated 29 May 2012 with an exercise price of 2p. £3,000 cash was received for these shares.

On 8 February 2013, 200,000 ordinary shares were issued pursuant to the exercise of warrants under the block admission dated 29 May 2012 with an exercise price of 2p. £4,000 cash was received for these shares.

On 3 June 2013, 450,000 ordinary shares were issued pursuant to the exercise of warrants under the block admission dated 29 May 2012 with an exercise price of 2p. £9,000 cash was received for these shares.

On 5 November 2013, 180,000,000 ordinary shares were issued fully paid for cash at 9.5 pence per ordinary share.

The Company has one class of ordinary share which carries no right to fixed income.

Share Options

At 30 September 2015, the following options over ordinary shares of the Company had been granted and not yet exercised:

Warrants

At 30 September 2015, the following warrants are in issue and have vested:

10. Share based payment

Equity-settled share option plan

The Group unapproved share option scheme was established to provide equity incentives to the directors of, employees of and consultants to the Company. The scheme is administered by the Board. Awards to directors are recommended by the Remuneration Committee. The options are exercisable during a period (being not less than one year), such period to commence on a date determined by the Board, but not longer than five years from the date that they first become exercisable. Options are forfeited if the employee leaves the Group before the options vest.

At 30 September 2015, the following options over ordinary shares of the Company had been granted and not yet exercised:

At 30 September 2015, the weighted average remaining contractual life of the options outstanding was 1.57 years (2014: 2.56 years)

Equity settled warrants

At 30 September 2015, the following warrants have been issued and remain unexercised:

Warrants not issued

Ely Place Nominees Limited holds an additional 2,000,000 warrants to be distributed among the employees of, directors of and consultants to the Company as instructed by the Board.

In addition, Monford Holdings Limited holds an additional 18,000,000 warrants to be distributed among the employees of, directors of and consultants to the Company as instructed by the Board and Letsun Limited holds an additional 5,000,000 warrants to be distributed among the employees of, directors of and consultants to the Company as instructed by the Board.

At 30 September 2015, the weighted average remaining contractual life of the warrants outstanding was 0.19 years (2014: 0.59 years).

The fair value of the options and warrants was determined using the Black-Scholes option pricing model using the following assumptions:

Risk free interest rate is based on the 5 year gilt rate at the date of grant. Annual dividend yield is based on management's immediate intention to re-invest operating cash flows. Expected volatility was determined by calculating the historical volatility of the Group's share price over the previous year. The expected period until exercise is based on management's best estimate, for the effects of non-transferability, exercise restrictions and behavioural considerations.

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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