Grängesberg

In May 2014, Anglesey announced that it had entered into agreements giving it the right to acquire a controlling interest in the Grängesberg Iron project in central Sweden including a direct 6% interest in Grängesberg Iron AB (GIAB), a private Swedish company which owns the mine; and, an option exercisable until 30th June 2015 to acquire an additional 51% in GIAB. Anglesey also entered into shareholder and co-operation agreements such that during the term of the option Anglesey holds management control and operatorship of GIAB and has appointed three out of five directors to the board of GIAB including the chairman – Anglesey Board representatives are John F Kearney, William Hooley and Danesh Varma.

Following a small investment in late 2019 and other investments since that date the group now holds a direct 20.0% interest in and management rights to, the Grängesberg Iron project in Sweden, together with a right of first refusal to increase its interest to 70.2%.

Until its closure in 1989 due to then prevailing market conditions, the Grängesberg mine (about 200 kilometres north-west of Stockholm) had produced more than 150 million tonnes of iron ore.

In September 2014 the following resource summary was received from RPA

Grängesberg Iron AB – Grängesberg Iron Mine

Notes: CIM definitions were followed for Mineral Resources. The values for tonnages, grades and contained iron have been rounded. Mineral Resources are estimated at a cut-off grade of approximately 20% Fe. A minimum mining width of approximately 10 m was used.

RPA concluded that the Grängesberg iron ore deposit hosts a significant iron resource that has excellent potential for expansion at depth. Geophysical interpretations from the 1960s suggest that the ore body continues to at least 1,700 m below surface. Diamond drill holes confirm the mineralization continues to at least 1,100 m to 1,200 m below surface. In RPA’s opinion, more geotechnical, metallurgical, and other engineering studies are warranted to advance this Project.

A programme has been developed to look closely at geo-mechanical and hydro-geological aspects of the site which will be critical components of the permitting regime required for the dewatering and reopening of the mine. This will include drilling boreholes into the general mine area and the capture and interpretation of key data on the physical aspects of the ground and hydrological conditions. No programme for this work has yet been fixed.

The +67% Fe high-quality product expected to be produced from Grängesberg continues to make the interest in developing the Grängesberg project more likely and potentially more attractive than many other undeveloped iron ore projects in Europe. Demand for high-quality iron ore continues to remain strong, mainly driven by solid demand from China’s steel mills and the lower carbon footprint attributed to high-grade feedstocks.