Letter to Shareholders

Vast Resources plc / Ticker: VAST / Index: AIM / Sector: Mining
20 February 2017
Vast Resources plc
("Vast" or the "Company")

Letter to Shareholders

Vast Resources plc, the AIM listed mining company with operations in Romania and Zimbabwe, is pleased to announce that a letter to shareholders has been posted on the Company`s website at www.vastresourcesplc.com.

The purpose of the letter to shareholders is to introduce a new programme of shareholder communication and to highlight the benefit of recent developments to new and existing investors.

OVERVIEW

  • The recent strategic investment by the SSCG Africa Holdings Ltd group ("SSA"), providing gross proceeds of US$8 million to Vast as announced on 30 January 2017, has fundamentally changed the Company

  • The Board foresee that Vast is now fully-funded through to positive cash flow* at the Manaila Polymetallic Mine ("Manaila") and the Baita Plai Polymetallic Mine ("Baita Plai"), once the relevant licence is granted

  • The Board see that there is no current need to issue new equity during 2017

  • 2017 to be punctuated with regular operational developments charting progress across the Company`s portfolio of interests

  • To reflect the evolving investment proposition of Vast, and to ensure all shareholders are communicated with in a professional manner, the Board are launching a new Vast communications programme

  • The communications programme is intended to deliver regular and reliable news flow, in addition to providing shareholders with established channels through which to ask questions, raise concerns and provide feedback

* when all conditions precedent have been fulfilled and all the cash is received from SSA

A text only version of the letter to shareholders is copied below for shareholders` reference:

Dear Vast Shareholder,

Although only in our second month of the year, 2017 has already been an active and exciting year for Vast. The strategic investment by the SSCG Africa Holdings Ltd group has fundamentally reshaped the near-term outlook for the Company, and for this reason I wanted to provide shareholders with a better sense of where I believe Vast is headed over the course of the year.

A New Phase of Growth.
In my statement on 30 January, I advised you that the SSA transaction "heralds a new phase of growth for Vast" - I strongly believe this to be true and in this letter I want to provide context and colour around this statement.

In addition to removing the concerns of shareholders regarding emergency equity raisings, the capital derived from the SSA transaction provides shareholders with comfort that Vast is now positioned to achieve positive cash flow at Manaila and Baita Plai (once the necessary licence is granted) without further equity raises. Any future fund raising activities will need to be demonstrably beneficial to shareholders and the growth of the Company, therefore shielding investors to unnecessary or value destructive dilution. I know that further dilution has been a primary concern for many long-term holders, so I want to be clear when I say that the Board`s primary focus is on building a business which offers shareholders material value increases in the long-term through sustainable and organic growth.