Solidcore Resources finishes share exchange on MOEX

On Sept. 30, Solidcore Resources, a Kazakhstani gold mining company formerly known as Polymetal, announced that it completed a 10-month share exchange program on the Moscow Exchange (MOEX). The company has exchanged 9.5% of the total number of its listed securities, or 66% of the restricted securities, Solidcore said in a statement. 

«The last Eligible Shares will be transferred from Nominated Brokers to the Company Securities Account on 30 September 2024, with the last (sixth) tranche of Exchange Shares to be issued on AIX shortly thereafter, but not later than Oct. 31, 2024.» the release announced.

The proposal for exchange has been active since December 2023. The enterprise decided to take such a move to restore shareholders’ rights, such as voting rights and dividend entitlement, which were restricted following the sanctions against the National Settlement Depository (NSD) and other Russian depositories the EU imposed in 2022. During the exchange, investors were supposed to exchange one old share for a new one. 

This exchange isn’t the first one since the sanctions were imposed. In the fall of 2022, the company’s board announced the initial exchange program, when 41.6 million shares, or roughly 8% of the total voting shares, were exchanged.

The current deal allowed Solidcore Resources to exchange 45.2 million shares, while 4.6% of the assets are still restricted in the NSD.

MOEX will remove the remaining Solidcore shares from its official list and halt on-exchange trading starting October 15, 2024. Solidcore announced its intention to delist from MOEX back on June 25, stating that shareholders who meet the necessary requirements will be able to exchange their MOEX assets for AIX ones. The decision to exit MOEX was made in response to U.S. sanctions against various entities in Russia, including the stock exchange.

In March 2023, Solidcore Resources completely got rid of its Russian assets represented by its sanctioned Polymetal, selling it to Mangazeya Plus, a business structure controlled by Russian businessman Sergey Yanchukov, for $3.69 billion.

The enterprise executed the redomiciliation from the British island of Jersey to the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) in the summer of 2023 following the announcement made in the fall of 2022. In October 2023, it was included in the AIX Qazaq Index. Solidcore Resources plans to double its gold production to one million ounces by 2029. In addition, the company wants to enter the markets of Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia and Oman.

Omani Maaden International Investment, a subsidiary of a consortium of investors controlled by the state-owned Mercury Investments International, holds 23.9% of the company’s shares, making them the biggest shareholder of Solidcore. Other shares are floating on the AIX (75%) and roughly 4% are held by BlackRock, an American investment company, which decreased its share in the structure.

In the second quarter of 2024, Solidcore’s sales volume surged by 118% year-on-year, reaching 176,000 ounces of gold equivalent. For the first six months, the total sales reached 292,000 ounces, marking a 42% increase compared to the same period last year.