Strategic Cornerstone Investor Secured for Major Manganese Sulphate Growth Phase

Firebird Metals Limited (ASX: FRB, “Firebird” or “the Company”) is pleased to announce that it has received firm commitments to raise A$8 million (before costs) through a strongly supported, heavily oversubscribed Placement at $0.125, which represents a 14% discount to the last close of price of $0.145 on Friday 13 October 2023.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Firm commitments received to raise A$8 million through heavily oversubscribed Placement.
• Equity raising provides Firebird with funding to advance key LMFP battery activities in China and ongoing development of the flagship Oakover Manganese Project, located in Western Australia.
• A$1.7 million cornerstone investment by China-based Canmax Technologies Co., Ltd (Canmax), becoming FRB’s biggest shareholder through a 9.9% holding post Placement completion.
  • Canmax is a committed investor in the Electric Vehicle battery space.
  • Canmax is a diverse industrial conglomerate, that has rapidly become China's leading lithium chemical producer supplying both Chinese and International Li-ion battery producers.
• Follow-on investment from Mr Tolga Kumova to remain a 9.5% shareholder in FRB post Placement completion.
• Firebird Directors have applied for $1.68 million in the Placement, subject to shareholder approval, along with strong support from sophisticated investors and the existing top 20 shareholders.

As part of the Placement, Firebird has secured a:

1. Cornerstone investment of A$1.7 million from Canmax Technologies Co., Ltd (Canmax). Following completion of the Placement Canmax will become the Company’s biggest shareholder with a 9.9% interest; and

2. Follow-on investment from Mr Tolga Kumova to maintain his 9.5% holding in the Company.

Firebird Managing Director Peter Allen said, “This Placement puts Firebird in a very strong position to deliver on our LMFP battery growth strategy and execute our vision of becoming a global leader in the manganese industry with both mining and downstream processing to deliver into the Li-ion and Na-ion battery sectors.

“We received an enormous amount of interest in the Placement and it was very well supported by leading institutional investors, our current top 20 investor base including Tolga Kumova, the Board and most importantly, Canmax. I would like to formally welcome Canmax as our largest shareholder and look forward to the contribution they can make to the success of our Company.

“I, along with Firebird Executive Director and CFO Mr Wei Li, have spent a lot of time in China over the past few months, as we completed our due diligence on the LMFP strategy, plant locations in China and meeting with potential in-country team members. The completion of the investment by Canmax, along with the significant levels of interest in our Placement by existing and new shareholders, highlights that Firebird is on a very promising path and that the next phase of our growth strategy has been well received by industry professionals and the broader market.

“The global importance of manganese and more specifically LMFP within Li-ion batteries continues to grow rapidly. LMFP technology delivers a cheaper, safer and higher-density battery. We have spent a lot of time assessing the LMFP market and see a strong wave of demand in coming years.

“We are now in a very strong position to execute key work programs on the ground in China, along with the continued development of Oakover. We are fully focused on maintaining this strong momentum and look forward to delivering on a very busy 12 months ahead.”

Firebird Growth Strategy

Firebird is successfully executing its growth strategy to position the Oakover Project as a manganese hub for the supply of a high-quality product into two key markets:

1. Manganese sulphate for use in the lithium-ion battery market; and

2. Manganese ore/concentrates for consumption in the global steel industries

Both areas of focus will be advanced through to completion of a Pre-Feasibility Study from funds raised through this Placement.

In early September 2023, the Company announced the next phase of strategic growth, which is focused on manganese sulphate production in China.

The LMFP growth strategy is driven by:

• The use of manganese in batteries continues to rise, particularly in LMFP battery technology.
• Opportunity to position Firebird as a key cathode producer for LMFP batteries.
• Advanced planning underway for a potential processing plant location in China and assembling a highly experienced, in-country team of manganese sulphate experts.
• Firebird is well positioned to leverage the growing manganese battery market as one of few ASX-listed manganese developers.

The LMFP growth strategy followed a successful two years of exploration and development of Oakover, which culminated in the recent release of an updated Oakover DMS Concentrate

Scoping Study, which confirmed the Project as a long-life, high-quality operation, supported by the following key results:

• 18-year Life-of-Mine.
• ~Approximate A$741.3 M NPV at a discount rate of 8%.
• Impressive IRR of 73.1%, with a 16-month payback period.
• ~4Mt annual processing, ~1.2 Mt of 30-32 % manganese (Mn) concentrate annually.
• Capex estimated of A$123 million.
• Low mine strip ratio of 0.45:1.
• Indicated material accounts for 99.2% of the material processed.

Refer to ASX announcement dated 30/8/2023 for full details.

Click here for the full ASX Release

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