Cornish Metals has announced its intention to float on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) of the London Stock Exchange.
The Canadian miner is also seeking UK investment as it looks to raise up to £5m ($6.8m) to advance the development of its United Downs underground copper-tin exploration project in Cornwall, England.
Cornish Metals said it expects that admission onto the AIM market will become effective in February 2021, while the company’s common shares will continue to be listed and trade on the TSX Venture Exchange in Canada.
Cornish Metals CEO Richard Williams said: “I am delighted to share our decision to bring Cornish Metals to the London market.
“This is an opportunity for us to partner with investors from the UK, to work towards becoming a domestic supplier of technology metals fundamental to the world of e-vehicles, battery technology, renewable energy, 5G internet, computing, data storage, robotics, etc.”
Cornish Metals plans 8,000m drilling programme at United Downs following AIM market listing
Following the acquisition of its South Crofty tin project in July 2016, Cornish Metals also purchased additional mineral rights that cover an area of about 15,000 hectares throughout Cornwall, which includes the United Downs project.
United Downs is located about 8km east of South Crofty and lies within a densely mined district, historically referred to as Gwennap – an area that is believed to have been one of the richest copper producing regions in the world in the 18th and early 19th centuries.
Subject to completion of the AIM listing and funding, the company’s plan is to conduct an 8,000m drilling programme at United Downs to define the resource potential over a 1,000m+ strike length of the main target zone.
Williams said: “United Downs is one of the most exciting exploration projects in the country. The commencement of a drilling programme will mark the start of a strategy to create a mining company with a Cornwall focus.
“There is an opportunity for Cornish Metals to become a domestic source of metals to the UK’s high-tech sector, where copper, tin and lithium are important.”
Subject to continued success at United Downs, the company’s strategy is to capitalise on the existing planning permission for the construction of a mineral processing plant at South Crofty, which could serve as a central processing facility for projects within transport distance of the South Crofty mine site.
Cornish Metals said researchers and analysts project the world is entering a period of “sustained growth in demand” for metals such as copper, tin and lithium – which are important to the high-tech sector – and that there is “growing demand” for domestically sourced materials.
The miner believes that Cornwall has the potential be a “significant contributor” to the UK’s needs in this regard.
