Stockholm February 20, 2025
Year-end report for the full year (January - December) 2024
The Board of Directors of Arctic Minerals AB (publ) ("Arctic Minerals", the "Company" or the "Parent company" and together with its subsidiaries the "Group") (the "Board") hereby submits Year-end report for the full year January - December 2024.
Second half year (July - December) 2024
- On October 7, 2024, Arctic Minerals announced the acquisition of Rare Earth Energy Metals PTY LTD ("REEM" or "Rare Earth Energy Metals"). For further information, see Acquisition of Rare Earth Energy Metals.
- On October 7, 2024, Arctic Minerals announced the completion of a directed issue of units, raising proceeds of approximately MSEK 13.6. For further information, see Directed Issue of Units in Arctic Minerals.
- Results after tax for the period was MSEK -4,1 (-5.3).
- Earnings per share for the period amounted to SEK -0,02 (-0.04).
- Cash and bank position amounted to MSEK 13.0 (4.6) at end of period.
Full year (January - December) 2024
- Results after tax for the period was MSEK -5.8 (-11.3).
- Earnings per share for the period amounted to SEK -0.03 (-0.08).
Significant events during the second half of 2024
- On October 7, 2024, Arctic Minerals announced the acquisition of Rare Earth Energy Metals. For further information, see Acquisition of Rare Earth Energy Metals.
- On October 7, 2024, Arctic Minerals announced the completion of a directed issue of units, raising proceeds of approximately MSEK 13.6 before transaction costs. For further information, see Directed Issue of Units in Arctic Minerals.
- On November 5, 2024, Arctic Minerals announced that the acquisition of all shares of Rare Earth Energy Metals has been completed. For further information, see Acquisition of Rare Earth Energy Metals.
- On November 6, 2024, Arctic Minerals gave notice of an Extra General Meeting to be held on December 9, 2024 (the "EGM") to where Robert Behets and Peter George were proposed as new directors of the Board of Arctic Minerals. For further information, see New Directors to the Board of Arctic Minerals as well as Extra General Meeting in Arctic Minerals.
- On November 18, 2024, Arctic Minerals announced that the Company has established an Advisory Committee including Lars-Eric Aaro, Duncan Large
and Erik Lundstam. For further information, see Advisory Committee in Arctic Minerals.
- On November 22, 2024, Arctic Minerals presented an updated company presentation describing in more detail the new Swedish projects acquired through the acquisition of Rare Earth Energy Metals.
- On December 9, 2024, Arctic Minerals held an Extra General Meeting where Robert Behets and Peter George were elected as new directors of the Board. On the EGM, a set-off and a directed share issue totalling MSEK 2.5 was also resolved. The EGM also resolved on a reverse split 1:10 in Arctic Minerals. For further information, see Extra General Meeting in Arctic Minerals.
Significant events after the period ending
- On February 5, 2024, Arctic Minerals announced that Jonas Lindholm, an experienced Swedish-Australian entrepreneur and international business facilitator, has joined the Company's Advisory Committee. For further information, see Advisory Committee in Arctic Minerals.
Message from the Chairman
2024 saw Arctic Minerals complete the acquisition of the private Australian company, Rare Earth Energy Metals. The Board believes this is a truly transformational deal for Arctic Minerals which will lead to significant value creation for our shareholders.
The acquisition of REEM gives Arctic Minerals 100% ownership of the Hennes Bay copper-silver deposit in western Sweden, which has a historical mineral resource of 25 million tons. We believe that Hennes Bay has outstanding exploration potential, and we are also confident that the existing resource can be significantly increased by further drilling.
The acquisition also gives Arctic Minerals control of the Swan Lake copper-gold- silver discovery in northern Sweden. This is a very promising discovery hosting multiple outcrops of copper-gold-silver mineralisation which have yet to be tested by drilling. The discovery is located on the same geological trend as Boliden's Aitik mine, one of Europe's largest copper mines.
As part of the transaction, REEM's management will also join the Arctic Minerals team. REEM's management are highly experienced mining executives with a track record of creating shareholder value in excess of USD one billion.
Following the acquisition, Arctic Minerals is now positioned as a significant copper exploration company in the Nordic region. The Company has four high quality copper assets in Sweden, Norway and Finland. These assets combine two identified deposits, Hennes Bay and Bidjovagge, with a strong pipeline of high- quality advanced exploration targets at Swan Lake, Tavast and Kuusi. I am confident that this asset portfolio will create substantial shareholder value as we advance our projects in the coming months.
Stockholm, February 20, 2025
Peter Walker
Chairman Arctic Minerals AB (publ)
Nordic mineral exploration company
Arctic Minerals is a mineral exploration and development company exploring for copper and critical metals in the Nordics (Sweden, Norway and Finland).
By December, 2024 Arctic Minerals holds 13 exploration permits in Sweden totalling 540 km2 (54,000 ha).
In Finland, Arctic Minerals holds two exploration reservations totalling 452 km2 (45 200 ha) and in addition one registered exploration permit applications totalling
29.7 km2 (2,970 ha). Arctic Minerals also holds one granted exploration permit totalling 3 km2 (310 ha).
In Norway, Arctic Minerals holds nine extraction permits totalling 7 km2 (700 ha), six applied extraction permits totalling 0.7 km2 (73 ha) and 17 granted exploration permits totalling 30 km2 (3,036 ha).
Acquisition of Rare Earth Energy Metals
On October 7, 2024 Arctic Minerals announced the acquisition of all shares in the Australian company Rare Earth Energy Metals. The acquisition of all shares in REEM was completed on November 5, 2024. The purchase price for all shares in REEM was paid in the form of seller promissory notes of approximately SEK 45.0 million, which was offset against 166,485,291 newly issued shares in Arctic Minerals, at a subscription price of SEK 0.27 per share.
Through the acquisition of REEM Arctic Minerals gains control of two outstanding copper projects in Sweden, Hennes Bay and Swan Lake. The Hennes Bay copper- silver deposit has a historical mineral resource of 25 million tons, which the Company believes can be significantly increased by further drilling. Swan Lake is a very promising discovery hosting multiple outcrops of copper-gold-silver ore, located on the same geological trend as Boliden's Aitik mine, one of Europe's largest copper mines. For further information on the new projects, see Hennes Bay project (Sweden) and Swan Lake project (Sweden).
New Directors to the Board of Arctic Minerals
On December 9, 2024 Arctic Minerals held an Extra General Meeting. At the EGM, Robert Behets and Peter George were elected as new Directors to the Board of Arctic Minerals.
Robert Behets, born 1965, is a founder and chairman of Rare Earth Minerals. He is a geologist with over 35 years' experience in the mineral exploration and mining industry in Australia and internationally. Robert Behets has had extensive corporate and management experience and currently holds directorships in several listed companies in the resources sector. He has a strong combination of technical, commercial, and managerial skills and extensive experience in exploration, feasibility studies and mining operations across a range of commodities. Robert Behets is a Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, a Member of Australian Institute of Geoscientists, and was previously a member of the Australasian Joint Ore Reserve Committee. He holds a Bachelor of Science (Honours) from the University of Queensland.
Peter George, born 1973, is a highly skilled and experienced Board Member, Executive, Mining Engineer and Mineral Economist with thirty years' experience founding and leading exploration and mining companies, operations and contracting/consulting organisations in Australia and Scandinavia. With diverse experience in board positions, executive management, technical and entrepreneurial ventures in the private and public sectors, Peter has had significant involvement in all facets of a resource company's' lifecycle from exploration, feasibility, construction, operations and closure. As a leader, Peter is organised and committed, with a strong drive for achieving technical excellence and successful outcomes for shareholders and stakeholders alike. Peter also has excellent collaborative and interpersonal skills, is fluent in both English and Swedish, and enjoys working in a team setting to achieve project goals collectively. Prior to founding and managing REEM, Peter was Managing Director of ASX listed Exploration company Alicanto Minerals Limited with interests in Sweden.
Advisory Committee
Arctic Minerals has established an Advisory Committee to the Board of the Company. The Advisory Committee is comprised of Lars-Eric Aaro, Duncan Large, Erik Lundstam and Jonas Lindholm all prominent, highly experienced, and well- regarded businessman and technical experts with extensive resources sector, and broader industry, networks in Europe and the Nordics in particular.
Lars-Eric Aaro is an industrial advisor and Board member of numerous Swedish, Finnish and Norwegian companies. He is currently the Chairman of Blastr Green Steel AS, INDTech companies, PREDGE AB and Mobilaris AB, and a Director of Rana Gruber ASA and the infrastructure builder NYAB. He is a former Chief Executive Officer of Europe's largest iron ore producer, the Swedish state-owned LKAB, and has previously held the roles of Divisional Manager for Boliden AB's (BOL:STO) underground mines, Mine Superintendent of the Aitik copper-gold open pit mine, and Mine Superintendent of the Viscaria copper mine. He has a Master of Science in Mining Engineering from Luleå University of Technology, a Honorary Doctorate in Technology from Luleå University of Technology, and is a Fellow of Royal Swedish Academy for Engineering Science.
Jonas is a Swedish-Australian entrepreneur and international business facilitator. With over 20 years of experience in creating new business, mainly in Australia and Sweden, Jonas has managed a number of international projects with complex relationships with government agencies, private companies and financial institutions, which has been crucial in completing large-scale capital acquisitions. Jonas holds a MBA Degree from Lund University (with a year at UCSD in San Diego USA) and has worked as a Management Consultant in Sweden and Europe. Jonas worked for 9 years at the Swedish Trade Commission in Sydney where he was in charge of facilitating Swedish business opportunities across both Private and Political interests. Before starting his own company KingHill in 2016, Jonas was the Swedish Trade Commissioner for 4 years looking after Australia and New Zealand.
Duncan Large is a highly experienced geologist with more than 40 years of experience in mining and exploration globally. He was formerly the regional
Manager for Eurasian Minerals Inc. in the Balkan countries, based in Belgrade. In 2008, he established a new office and team working on project generation in Sweden and Norway. He remained active in the Balkans as Technical Advisor to Reservoir Minerals Inc and Nevsun Resources during the discovery phase of the Timok South project. He holds a Bachelor degree in Geology from the University of Oxford, a Master of Science in Mineral Exploration from Imperial College London and a Doctorate of Natural Sciences in Economic Geology from the Technical University of Braunschweig.
Erik Lundstam is a highly experienced geologist with 25 years of exploration experience in various geological settings including volcanic massive sulphide and sedimentary style deposits. He is credited with significant discoveries in Sweden whilst working for Boliden AB (BOL:STO) and Alicanto Minerals Limited (AQI:ASX). He holds a Master of Science in Geoscience from Stockholm University.
Projects in Sweden
Arctic Minerals has two projects located in Sweden, one of Europe's major mining economies. The country has a long mining history and is home to one of Europe's largest copper producers, with proximity to end markets.
Sweden has extensive infrastructure network (roads, rail, ports, air, communications) and hydro and nuclear base load power.
The country ranks in the Top 20 mining jurisdictions globally, with the government is supportive of mining, low taxes (20.6% corporate tax rate) and royalties (0.2%). The government has a stated ambition to be a leader in the Green Industrial Revolution with an acceptance that mining is required to provide critical metals.
In terms of exploration potential, Sweden has massive metal endowment and little to no modern exploration has been undertaken outside of known deposits. Arctic Minerals' first class team of explorers and developers have extensive operating experience and recent success in Sweden.
Hennes Bay project (Sweden)
Figure 1 - Hennes Bay and Swan Lake Project Locations
The Company's 100% owned Hennes Bay Project, comprising eleven granted exploration permits covering approximately 322km2, is located in the Dalsland region of southwest Sweden (Figure 1).
The Project is located in a largely unexplored part of the Grenville Orogeny - mountain building system which gave rise to world class sediment-hosted copper deposits including Kamoa-Kakula and Tenke-Fungurumi (Democratic Republic of Congo) and White Pine (USA) (Figure 2).
Figure 2 - Hennes Bay: Geological Setting and Analogues
Copper mineralisation occurs primarily as chalcopyrite disseminations at the contact between a quarzitic sandstone and overlying shales of the 1.2-1.0Ga Dalgroup formation.
The sedimentary rocks are generally weakly folded, resulting in a gentle dip and undulous geometry of the ore horizon throughout most of the region. Both historic and recent fieldwork have identified the copper mineralised horizon at numerous locations throughout the Project area, confirming the large scale of the system.
Fieldwork and assessment of historic data have shown the copper mineralisation to be of variable thickness, ranging from several meters to locally up to 11.5m. Re- assaying of historic drill core has further highlighted the presence of several critical metals e.g. gallium, germanium, vanadium, and rare earth elements, that were previously not tested for.
The Dalgroup Formation is locally covered by thin sheets of granitic thrusts that often form prominent topographic highs in the region.
Historic drilling through the thrusts and recent fieldwork have demonstrated the copper mineralisation continues underneath these granitic nappes, thereby further extending the Project's scale (Figure 3).
Figure 3 - Hennes Bay: Cross section at the Dingelvik prospect showing the extensive 'blind' potential for continuity of mineralisation underneath the granite nappe.
Figure 4 - Hennes Bay: Dingelvik prospect historic drilling.
Two prospects within the Project area host historical resource estimates (non-JORC compliant) of 12Mt @ 1.00% Cu, 28g/t Ag (Dingelvik) and 13Mt @ 0.86% Cu, 27g/t Ag (Henneviken). Historical mining (~1900) was also undertaken at Stora Strand, with production totaling 215,000 tonnes @ 1.3% Cu, 25g/t Ag, 0.8g/t Au.
Numerous high-grade, outcropping mineral occurrences have been identified within or proximal to the Project area by Arctic Minerals' geologists during recent field work, providing support to the larger system hypothesis (Figure 5).
Figure 5 - Hennes Bay: Historical resource areas (yellow) represent <5% drill testing of prospective target horizon
A first pass interpretation of historical airborne geophysical data over the entire Dalsland formation provided substantial insights to the stratigraphy and structural evolution in the region which have been incorporated into the Company's conceptual geological model and exploration targeting criteria for Hennes Bay. Interpretation of whole rock lithogeochemistry from drill core and outcrops has also been completed to aid in distinguishing key stratigraphic markers, as well as to give a preliminary assessment of future vectoring methodologies.
The Company's view is that there is significant potential for resource growth and new discoveries, as well as the potential to vector in towards more proximal and higher grade and/or thicker zones of mineralisation within the larger system.
The focus of ongoing work at Hennes Bay will be on resource growth and advancing the project systematically through the various feasibility study stages, commencing with a preliminary economic assessment.
Resource growth will be the product of geophysical surveys and targeted drilling aimed at extending the known historical resource areas and discovering new higher grade and/or thicker zones of mineralisation.
As noted above, the Company has developed a conceptional geological model for Hennes Bay, which includes interpreted controls on the distribution, thickness and grade of mineralisation. This geological modelling, combined with the results of planned geophysical surveys, will generate a suite of priority targets for resource extensions and higher grade and/or thicker zones of mineralisation to be drill tested commencing in 2025.
Swan Lake project (Sweden)
The Swan Lake Project, comprising two granted exploration permits covering approximately 218 km2, is located in the Southern Norrbotten region in northern Sweden (Figure 1).
Northern Sweden has a well-established mining industry, with multiple base and precious metal mines currently operating in the Northern Norrbotten and Skellefte Field ore districts. The Swan Lake project is located between these two historic ore districts, 20km northwest of the emerging industrial town of Boden.
Access to the project is excellent through a network of sealed and well- maintained forest roads. Notably, the ore train connecting the mining operations in Kiruna and Gällivare with all-year port facilities in the coastal city of Luleå runs through the centre of the Project area.
The tenements form part of an earn-in agreement ("EIA") between the Company's wholly owned subsidiary (Rare Earth Energy Metals Pty Ltd, "REEM") and Boden Prospektering AB ("Boden"). REEM earned an initial 51% interest in 2023 and has the right to earn up to 80% by spending a total of