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Block Commodities Ltd
Block Commodities Ltd: Shareholder Update
30-Nov-2018 / 07:00 GMT/BST
The information communicated within this announcement is deemed to
constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse
Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014. Upon the publication of this announcement,
this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.
*BLOCK COMMODITIES LIMITED *
("Block Commodities" or the "Company")
Block Commodities Limited / Epic: BLCC / Sector: Mining
*Shareholder Update*
Block Commodities Limited, the innovative commodity trader operating in
Africa, is pleased to provide an update to shareholders.
*Overview*
*- *The Company advises that it has successfully completed the preliminary
due diligence phase with The Eelleet Network Corp. ("*TEN*") and will
continue to progress the legal and technical aspects of this transaction
(the "*TEN Transaction*") over the coming weeks.
- To streamline workflows and reduce costs in relation to the TEN
Transaction, the Company has taken the decision to delay the publication of
its Annual Report for the year ended 30 June 2018. As a result, the
Company's Annual Report for the year ended 30 June 2018 will be published no
later than 31 December 2018.
*- *Recent months have seen steady progress in the implementation and
expansion of the Company's "Farmer 3.0" ecosystem with a pilot project
underway in Uganda and an agreement in place to carry out a similar project
in Zambia.
*TEN Transaction Progress*
Further to the announcement made on 21 September 2018, in which the Company
announced that it had signed a non-binding letter of intent for the
acquisition of the entire issued share capital of Block Commodities by TEN,
the Company advises that it has successfully completed the preliminary due
diligence phase of the TEN Transaction.
The Company and TEN will continue to progress the legal and technical
aspects of the transaction over the coming weeks and the Company will
provide further updates to the market as and when appropriate.
*Trading Update*
*- *Uganda - the Company's "Farmer 3.0" pilot project was launched in Uganda
in September 2018 where local smallholder farmers, selected by Pure Grow
Africa, will be provided with access to:
- "token"-based loans to purchase fertiliser
- technology to disseminate information concerning best agricultural
practice to improve yields
The project is being overseen by Block Commodities' local Head of Africa
Operations to ensure a successful roll-out. Furthermore, the Company is
seeking further applications of its ecosystem where they it might help
farmers address the challenges they face.
Due to positive results in the first few months of the pilot's
implementation, Block Commodities and its partner, Pure Grow Africa, are
planning to roll out the pilot to up to 1,000 smallholder farmers. Pure Grow
Africa, will act as the agricultural produce off-taker and purchase the
product.
- Zambia - As predicted by Block Commodities, the Zambian Government has
been unable to fully fund the roll out of its e-Voucher program. The Company
is proud to be addressing this shortfall with its Blockchain based
Ecosystem.
Block Commodities has entered into a memorandum of understanding with a
sizeable local milling company to off-take agricultural outputs from 300ha,
and to co-ordinate a series of transactions with small-scale Zambian farmers
operating under the Company's "Farmer 3.0" ecosystem. Each farmer will be
provided with a loan denominated in the Dala token on the Wala financial
inclusion App. The Dala will be exchanged for an input pack comprising
fertiliser, seed, agrochemicals and crop insurance provided by Block
Commodities. During the growing season, the farmer will receive support and
advice from the Company's local team. At harvest time, the farmer will
deposit their produce at the Company's managed warehouses. Part of the crop
will be used to repay the Dala loan and interest, with the surplus crop,
being aggregated with the other farmers produce for onward sale, thereby
improving the price received. Block Commodities will receive a commission
and the off-taker will pay the bulk market price at the time. Whilst small
in scale, it is hoped that this project will be an excellent springboard for
future growth.
*The Vipa* *Transaction *
Further to the announcement on 14 March 2018, the Company announces that it
is continuing its work with Vipa Holdings (Pty) Ltd to develop a speciality
blending operation. In addition, we continue to work with the Vipa
management team to explore new opportunities in the speciality fertiliser
sector and to source product for our "Farmer 3.0" ecosystem. Further updates
will be made in due course.
*Lac Dinga*
In accordance with the Company's farm-out agreement with African Agronomix
limited ("*AAX*"), AAX became the operator of the Lac Dinga Potash project
(the "*Project*") with effect from 17 October 2017.
The second term of the Project license expired on 25 April 2018. The
application for a renewal of the license for a further two years was
submitted in early 2018 in line with the provisions set out in the Mining
Code,.and is now awaiting formal cabinet approval by the Government of the
Republic of Congo.
The farm out agreement states that the licence must be renewed before AAX
commence work on the Project.
*Joint Venture with SG Inc.*
Further to the announcement made on 1 December 2017. Block Commodities and
SG Inc. have undertaken an initial prefeasibility study into a project to
develop mineral opportunities and downstream resources in the Republic of
Congo. The Company is seeking additional investment partners to enable this
project to move forward.
*FarmCoin *
Implementation of the FarmCoin project, announced on 14 May 2018, has been
delayed pending definitive determination of the US regulatory position as
regards cryptoassets. Recent regulatory statements regarding the regulation
of crypto-assets have given some clarification and the Management of the
SWARM fund, who are issuing the token, are reviewing how the FarmCoin
project may be impacted.
Chris Cleverly, Chairman of Block Commodities commented: "This has been a
fruitful year for Block Commodities. We have established key partnerships to
allow our African strategy to come to life and have launched pilot projects
in Uganda and Zambia. We have other exciting prospects to work on in the
year to come."
The Directors of the Company accept responsibility for the content of this
announcement.
*For further information, please contact:*
+----------------------------------+---------------------------+
|Block Commodities Limited | |
+----------------------------------+---------------------------+
|Chris Cleverly |info@blockcommodities.com |
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| | |
+----------------------------------+---------------------------+
|NEX Exchange Corporate Adviser: | |
+----------------------------------+---------------------------+
|Alexander David Securities Limited| |
+----------------------------------+---------------------------+
|David Scott - Corporate Finance |+44 (0) 20 7448 9820 |
+----------------------------------+---------------------------+
|James Dewhurst - Corporate Broking|+44 (0) 20 7448 9820 |
+----------------------------------+---------------------------+
| | |
+----------------------------------+---------------------------+
|Public and Investor Relations: | |
+----------------------------------+---------------------------+
|Cassiopeia Services - Stefania |stefania@cassiopeia-ltd.com|
|Barbaglio | |
+----------------------------------+---------------------------+
Dissemination of a CORPORATE NEWS, transmitted by EQS Group.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
End of Announcement - EQS News Service
753103 30-Nov-2018
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 30, 2018 02:00 ET (07:00 GMT)
