Vast Resources Plc
VAST:LN
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Overview
Company Profile
Vast Resources plc is a United Kingdom AIM quoted mining company with mines and projects in Romania, Tajikistan, and Zimbabwe.
In Romania, the Company is focused on the rapid advancement of high-quality projects by recommencing production at previously producing mines.
The Company's Romanian portfolio includes 100% interest in Vast Baita Plai SA which owns 100% of the producing Baita Plai Polymetallic Mine, located in the Apuseni Mountains, Transylvania, an area which hosts Romania's largest polymetallic mines. The mine has a JORC compliant Reserve & Resource Report which underpins the initial mine production life of approximately 3-4 years with an in-situ total mineral resource of 15,695 tonnes copper equivalent with a further 1.8M-3M tonnes exploration target. The Company is now working on confirming an enlarged exploration target of up to 5.8M tonnes.
The Company also owns the Manaila Polymetallic Mine in Romania, which the Company is looking to bring back into production following a period of care and maintenance. The Company has also been granted the Manaila Carlibaba Extended Exploitation Licence that will allow the Company to re-examine the exploitation of the mineral resources within the larger Manaila Carlibaba licence area.
The Company retains a continued presence in Zimbabwe. The Company is re-engaging its future investment strategy in Zimbabwe and has commenced discussions with further mining concessions in-country alongside its wider portfolio.
Vast has an interest in a joint venture company which provides exposure to a near term revenue opportunity from the Takob Mine processing facility in Tajikistan. The Takob Mine opportunity, which is 100% financed, will provide Vast with a 12.25 percent royalty over all sales of non-ferrous concentrate and any other metals produced.
Also in Tajikistan, Vast has been contracted to develop and manage the Aprelevka gold mines on behalf of its owner Gulf International Minerals Ltd (“Gulf”) under which Vast is entitled, inter alia, to 10% of the earnings that Gulf receives from its 49% interest in Aprelevka in joint venture with the government of Tajikistan. Aprelevka holds four active operational mining licences located along the Tien Shan Belt that extends through Central Asia, currently producing approximately 11,600oz of gold and 116,000 oz of silver per annum. It is the intention of the Company to assist in increasing Aprelevka’s production from these four mines closer to the historical peak production rates of approximately 27,000oz of gold and 250,000oz of silver per year from the operational mines.
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Corporate
Board of Directors
Brian Moritz
Chairman
Brian is a Chartered Accountant and former Senior Partner of Grant Thornton UK LLP, London; he formed Grant Thornton’s Capital Markets Team which floated over 100 companies on AIM under his chairmanship. In December 2004, he retired from Grant Thornton UK LLP to concentrate on bringing new companies to the market. He specialises in natural resources companies, primarily in Africa, and was formerly chairman of Metal Bulletin plc, African Platinum plc and Chromex Mining plc as well as currently being chairman of several junior mining companies.
Andrew Prelea
Chief Executive Officer
Andrew has been involved with Vast since 2013 and has spearheaded the development of the Company’s Romanian portfolio. Beginning his career in the early 1990s as a bulk iron ore and steel trader in Romania, he then went on to develop his career in the property and earthmoving sector in Australia before returning to Romania in 2003, initially to focus on the development of properties for the Romanian Ministry of Defence and latterly, private sector developments. Throughout his 26-year career, Andrew has developed extensive investor and public relations experience and has advised the Romanian government on wide ranging high-level topics including social housing and economic policy. He has built a strong network of contacts across the mining and metals industries and Europe and southern Africa, in addition to policy makers and governmental authorities.
Nick Hatch
Non-Executive Director
Nick has 35 years’ experience in mining investment banking, primarily as a mining analyst and in managing mining & metals research and equities teams. He was most recently Director of Mining Equity Research at Canaccord Genuity in London. Nick’s experience includes researching and advising on mining companies and projects across the globe and across the commodity spectrum and includes companies of all sizes. Nick left investment banking in 2017, and has recently set up his own company, Nick Hatch Mining Advisory Ltd, to provide mining research, business development and financing advice. He holds a degree in Mining Geology and is a Chartered Engineer.
Roy Tucker
Executive Director
Roy is a Chartered Accountant with 43 years of high level and broad spectrum professional and business experience. He has been the founder of a London banking group, served on bank boards and had a position as a major shareholder of a substantial London commodity house. He is also the founder of Legend Golf and Safari Resort in South Africa. He has substantial investment in the Romanian property sector.
Paul Fletcher
CFO
Paul has 25 years’ experience working in the commodity and financial services industries. He has held a variety of senior international finance and operational roles in trading, processing, and financial businesses in the US, Europe, and Asia, most recently with Bunge, the US agribusiness and food company, as Global CFO & Controller of Bunge Financial Services, a Bunge group business unit providing financing and risk management solutions, and as Treasury and Trading Product Line Controller. Prior to joining Bunge, Paul held various senior roles within Cargill’s energy business and internal audit, PepsiCo Snacks and KPMG.
Nigel Wyatt
Non-Executive Director
Nigel is a chartered engineer and a graduate of the Camborne School of Mines. He has held senior positions in several mining and engineering companies primarily in Southern Africa including CEO of Chromex Mining Plc, group marketing director of a De Beers subsidiary group and commercial director of Dunlop Industrial Products (Pty) Ltd, South Africa. He has wide ranging experience in ore and diamond recovery technologies and the manufacture of electronic sorting equipment with a specific focus on the design and erection of ore sorting and treatment plants.
James McFarlane
None-Executive Director
James McFarlane is a globally experienced technical mining professional, with a strong background in UK and European mining operations. James has held senior roles in active mining operations in England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland and Australia, and also as a mining consultant supporting exploration and project development studies (Mineral Resource Estimates, Ore Reserve Estimates and Feasibility Studies), across a range of commodities worldwide including gold, copper, and other base and critical metals. James holds a MSc from the Camborne School of Mines in Mining Geology, is a Chartered Geologist, Chartered Engineer and Registered Professional Geoscientist in the fields of Mining and Mineral Exploration. He is a Fellow of the IOM3, Geological Society of London, the Institute of Quarrying, the North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers and is also a Member of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists.
Senior Executives
Nicolae Turdean
Romanian Country Manager
Nicolae works alongside the Romanian mine management teams and in conjunction with Andrew Prelea, CEO, in the advancement of Vast’s wider strategic objectives in the country. Nicolae has 40 years’ experience in the Romanian mining industry. He was most recently President of the National Agency for Mineral Resources. Prior to this, Nicolae was the Chief Executive of Cupru Min SA, the Romanian state-owned copper producer. Nicolae has worked closely with the Ministry of Economy and Commerce, the Minister of Economy and Finance, and the World Bank, as well as serving on the Board of Administration for a number of companies. Nicolae holds both a Bachelor of Mining Science and a MSc. in the Management of Mining Activities from the Technical University of Petrosani in Romania.