The Board of Auriant Mining AB (publ.) (the "Company") has today resolved to apply for delisting of the Company's shares from Nasdaq First North Premier Growth Market (the "Exchange"). It is expected that the application will be made not earlier than 3 months from the date of this press-release, on or about 14 January 2025. Subject to approval of the application by the Exchange, it can therefore be expected that the last date of trading in the Company's share will be set by the Exchange in the end of January 2025.
Background and reasons
Auriant Mining group is a medium-size gold producer active in the Eastern Siberian part of Russia. The Group consists of the Swedish parent company Auriant Mining AB (publ.) (the "Company") and its subsidiaries. All of the Company's business is conducted through wholly-owned Russian subsidiaries. As an entity established within the European Union and with EU ownership, the Company is therefore limited by general sanctions legislation in EU and Russia, including the sanctions specifically targeting the mining sector (although neither the Company nor any of its shareholders, Board members or management are under sanctions).
Due to the increasingly complex economic sanctions environment, the Company has been facing significant challenges, in particular as regards financing its ongoing operating expenses in Sweden while any cross-border payments related to Russia are made increasingly difficult, even intra-group. As another example of policy decisions by third parties affecting the Company, several members of the Swedish financial market no longer allow their customers to trade in the Company's shares. As a result, since 1 April 2024 when the decision to stop trading was made by several key brokers, there were no both buy and sell orders in the market during the majority of trading days, and no closings took place. Thus the liquidity of the Company's share on Nasdaq First North Premier Growth Market, which was previously already low, has become virtually non-existent.
This means that there is limited value for both the Company and its shareholders being listed on a public marketplace. At the same time, being a publicly listed company comes with significant costs for the Company. The Board estimates that the Company can save up to USD 400,000 in annual costs.
Through delisting and the consequential direct and indirect savings, the Company aims to create a more sustainable business for its shareholders. In addition, whilst delisting itself will not affect the Group's exposure to the existing economic sanctions regimes, it will give the Company more options, in particular, to restructure the Group's operations so as to reduce risks and to ensure future growth.
The decision was carefully considered by the Board in consultation with the Company's Certified Adviser.
Significance of delisting for the Company's shareholders
Delisting of the Company's share from Nasdaq First North Premier Growth Market will mean that there will no longer be a marketplace for trading in the Company's shares. Instead, any future trades in the Company's stock will be over-the-counter. This may mean that it becomes more difficult to buy and sell shares in the Company and that dealing in the Company's shares via over-the-counter transactions may require legal assistance, which the parties to those transactions will need to finance themselves.
The Board notes that some market participants currently offer to serve as a connecting point for buyers and sellers of unlisted shares, and will further investigate the possibility of engaging such service for the Company's shares upon delisting.
Following delisting, the Company will no longer be covered by, among other things, the disclosure obligations in the Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) and the set of rules that apply to companies admitted to trading on Nasdaq First North Premier Growth Market. However, the Company will continue to be covered by, among other things, the rules in the Swedish Companies Act and the Swedish Annual Accounts Act.
The Company will publish a further announcement in connection with the submission of the delisting application and a decision of the Exchange.
For more information, please contact:
Danilo Lange, CEO
Tel: +7 495 109 02 82
E-mail: d.lange@auriant.com
Company name: Auriant Mining AB
Short name: AUR
ISIN-code: SE0001337213
Website: www.auriant.com
www.facebook.com/AuriantMining/
Auriant Mining AB (AUR) is a Swedish junior mining company focused on gold exploration and production in Russia, primarily in the Republic of Tyva, Zabaikalye and the Republic of Khakassia. The company has currently four assets, including two operating mines (Tardan and Alluvial at Staroverinskaya), one early stage exploration asset and one development asset.
Since July 19, 2010, Auriant Mining's shares are traded on Nasdaq First North Premier Growth Market under the short name AUR. For more information, please visit www.auriant.com. G&W Fondkommission is Certified Adviser to Auriant, for more information please visit www.gwkapital.se.
This information is information that Auriant Mining AB is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact persons set out above, at 19:00 CET on October 14, 2024.
Cautionary Statement: Statements and assumptions made in this report with respect to Auriant Mining AB's ("AUR") current plans, estimates, strategies and beliefs, and other statements that are not historical facts, are forward-looking statements about the future performance of AUR. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, those using words such as "may", "might", "seeks", "expects", "anticipates", "estimates", "believes", "projects", "plans", strategy", "forecast" and similar expressions. These statements reflect management's expectations and assumptions in light of currently available information. They are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, (i) changes in the economic, regulatory and political environments in the countries where AUR operates; (ii) changes relating to the geological information available in respect of the various projects undertaken; (iii) AUR's continued ability to secure enough financing to carry on its operations as a going concern; (iv) the success of its potential joint ventures and alliances, if any; (v) exchange rates, particularly between the Russian rouble and the U.S. dollar. In the light of the many risks and uncertainties surrounding any gold production and exploration company at an early stage of its development, the actual results could differ materially from those presented and forecast in this report. AUR assumes no unconditional obligation to immediately update any such statements and/or forecasts.
