Two Shields takes Cobalt Blue holding to 49pc

Investment company Two Shields Investments announced on Wednesday that, following the acquisition on 7 August of an additional 24% share capital interest to add to its 25% share capital holding acquired in November last year, it now owns 49% of the share capital of Cobalt Blue Holdings.

The AIM-traded firm said the additional investment in CBH, which holds a strategic licence position in a region of the Republic of Cameroon apparently known to hold “world class” cobalt deposits, was in line with its focus on investing in fast-moving, disruptive markets such as technology metals, specifically lithium and cobalt, cybersecurity and e-commerce.

It entered into a revised acquisition and shareholders' agreement with Cobalt Blue Associates and Cobalt Blue Holdings on 7 August, to take its share capital interest in the latter from 25% to 49%.

The acquisition of an additional 24% of the issued share capital of Cobalt Blue Holdings from Cobalt Blue Associates was for a reduced purchase price of $0.2m cash - previously $0.8m - and had been completed following the expiry of the call option, the board explained.

It said Cobalt Blue Holdings holds four prospecting licences and two prospecting licence applications in a region reportedly with a precedent of “significant” cobalt mineralisation.

Cobalt Blue Holdings’ four granted prospecting licences were said to lie contiguous to the “world class” Nkamouna and Mada deposits, where previous studies indicated a total 59.8 million tonnes grading an average of 0.24% cobalt, 0.68% nickel and 1.37% manganese.

Following the acquisition, the share capital of Cobalt Blue Holdings was held 49% by Two Shields Investments and 51% by Cobalt Blue Associates.

“Our confidence in the potential of CBH's cobalt licences underpins our decision to increase our stake in CBH to 49%,” said Two Shields chairman Charlie Wood.

“The excellent regional geology, along with its proven potential for high grade cobalt mineralisation, is highly encouraging, as are early stage exploration results which are indicative of significant similarities between CBH's licences and the proven resources of nearby world class deposits.”

Wood said increasing its interest in CBH was in line with Two Shields' investment mandate to provide shareholders with exposure to high quality battery metals and technology plays, all of which offered “significant” re-rating potential.

“The CBH investment is also highly complementary to our lithium interests in Mali and Niger.

“I look forward to updating shareholders on activity across our investment portfolio, which also includes leading cybersecurity solutions provider Brandshield and innovative social e-commerce platform WeShop, throughout the rest of the year, as we remain focused on generating significant value for our shareholders.”