Trident Royalties Plc (AIM: TRR, OTC: TDTRF), the diversified mining royalty company, today announces its full year results for the year ended 31 December 2023. The Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2023 and Notice of the 2023 Annual General Meeting will be made available to download from the Company's website at www.tridentroyalties.com in due course.

Chairman's Statement
The last year has been challenging for the global financial industry: in 2022, geopolitical tensions rose with a war in Ukraine and then, in 2023, war broke out in the Middle East. Both have potential for escalation, as we have seen with the recent attacks on ships in the Red Sea. Grant Shapps, the UK Defence Secretary, described the world as moving from a post-war period to a pre-war period where "combined threats risk tearing apart the rules-based international order."

Within the mining industry, we experience these rising geopolitical tensions through an ever- shrinking field on which it is prudent to invest.

Twenty years ago, China, India and Russia were open for foreign resource investment, but this is no longer the case. In the last ten years, large parts of Africa have been effectively closed to Western investment with military coup d'etats in Sudan, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Niger, Mali, Gabon and Chad. In more recent years, several Central and South American governments have been elected by a populace more sceptical of the mining industry with Panama, in 2023, choosing to permanently close its world-class Cobre Panama Mine in the face of political protests.

Taking these factors into account, the supply side of our industry is going to face increasing challenges whether from regulatory delays, community dissent or events of expropriation. The Mining Journal's World Risk Report amply demonstrates this where the number of mining jurisdictions that are considered high risk has increased from 18 to 36 in the last five years. We can expect commodity prices to rise over time due to these difficulties, as well as the entirely appropriate, but ever-increasing, costs associated with developing mines in serenity with modern community, environmental, safety and other standards.

For most investors in junior mining companies, the height of the rising wall is believed too high to scale. Many junior mining companies have seen their shares descend in value over time in the face of repeated (and dilutive) capital raises, delays in permitting, changing commodity prices, political interference, capricious litigation and project expropriation. It is therefore unsurprising that, of the junior mining companies listed on the TSX Venture Exchange and AIM markets, approximately 60% and 35% of them, respectively, have a market cap of less than US$10m.

What does this mean for Trident Royalties?

First and foremost, it means that Trident is likely to have more and more opportunities to help provide a capital solution to our counterparties in the resource industry. Second, we must continue to be selective about which projects to back. In 2023, we demonstrated our screening process by filtering out all but four material projects that received Board approval for investment; namely, two royalties in the USA (copper and lithium), one in Mexico (silver), one in Mali (gold).

The decision to invest in our Mali asset was taken after extensive deliberation. We considered a range of factors, but ultimately concluded that the risk was justified on the basis of (i) the long term presence of the operator (B2 Gold) in Mali, (ii) the size of the operator; (iii) the importance of the Fekola mine to the operator's business (circa 600k oz per annum), (iv) the potential for near-term cash flow; (v) exploration upside, and (vi) the linkage of a substantial part of the consideration to royalty receipts.

We can assure our shareholders that we will continue to exercise prudence in our decision making. Trident has a strong and effective board, as well as a highly competent management team. The Board meets regularly, including the CEO and CFO, to consider and debate investment opportunities and strategy. The Board has a broad diversity of opinion, skills and experience, and is always conscious of its responsibility, as a fiduciary, to our shareholders.

We continue to maintain our strategy of building a diversified portfolio of royalties, which broadly mirrors the commodity exposure of the global mining sector and where the asset owner demonstrates a commitment to safe, efficient, cost-effective operations where ESG impacts are managed in a responsible manner. Over time, our business model will lead to our investors being exposed to a diversified range of commodities and a balanced exposure to geopolitical risks. Over time, our portfolio will also mature and eventually underpin a dividend when we can reliably predict strong cash flows from long-life assets. As previously stated, the Board recognises the importance of returning cash to its shareholders.

Since listing in 2020 with a single royalty, we have made good progress on this journey with our portfolio now consisting of 21 assets, of which 12 are cash flowing. In tandem, we have been able to progressively reduce our cost of capital, most recently transitioning our debt funding to a revolving credit facility, significantly lowering borrowing costs and increasing balance sheet flexibility. This improves our competitive positioning for asset acquisitions and will enhance returns to shareholders.

Finally, I would like to add my thanks to our shareholders and long-term supporters throughout a difficult year.

We believe that the next few years will be very exciting and I look forward to reporting on our progress.



Chief Executive Officer's Statement



2023 saw Trident capitalise on the wider economic landscape of softer equity markets by pursuing an aggressive acquisition strategy which added to the scale and diversification of the portfolio. Our objective of acquiring and aggregating value accretive royalties has been yielding results as evidenced in increasing revenue returns totalling US$11.0m in 2023, and we are confident in future revenue growth as portfolio assets either expand or advance into production.



Due to weak equity markets, 2023 saw mine operators increasingly seek alternative sources of financing leading to a total of four material acquisitions in the year. In the first half of 2023, we acquired royalties over the La Preciosa Silver Project, while in the latter part of the year, we announced transactions over the Paradox Lithium Project, the Antler Copper Project and the Dandoko Gold Project, further bolstering our exposure to lithium, copper and gold.

In addition to the growth of the portfolio through acquisitions, we have seen material organic growth as several key assets progress through project milestones. At the beginning of 2023, we confirmed the completion of a sale of several pre-production gold royalties acquired shortly after listing in 2020, in exchange for cash proceeds of up to US$15.55m, crystalising a 140% ROI. This strengthened our cash position and the value unlocked by this transaction supported our objective to successfully reduce our cost of capital through a restructuring of our existing debt facility. Other key acquisitions made shortly after listing in 2020 have now had time to mature, with the royalties over the Koolyanobbing Iron Ore Mine and the Mimbula Copper Mine having fully recovered their initial acquisition costs by mid-2023, with further mine life remaining at both projects.

One of Trident's cornerstone assets, our portfolio of gold offtakes, performed well across 2023, delivering increased year-on-year revenues across all four quarters buoyed by strong gold prices and volatility. With the Greenstone Gold Project targeting first production in H1 2024, we expect the growth in ounces delivered to Trident to continue into 2024. At Thacker Pass, we were delighted to note favourable court rulings at the start of the year allowing the project, the largest known lithium resource in North America, to commence construction. The project reaffirmed its status as a Tier 1 asset, with the operator Lithium Americas announcing it had secured US$650m in funding from General Motors and recently announcing it has received a conditional commitment from the U.S. Department of Energy for a US$2.26 billion loan under the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program.

As Thacker Pass advances through the construction phase, we have looked to increase our interaction with North American investors and were pleased to be admitted to trading on the OTC market allowing us to increase accessibility and strengthen our engagement with US investors. This strategy was further strengthened with two further acquisitions over royalties located in the US in 2023 and is a focus for 2024.

Following the completion of several deals in the latter half of the year, we were able to further reduce our cost of capital with a new debt facility which also provides greater flexibility in managing our cash and increases our potential borrowing capacity. By lowering our cost of capital, we have directly increased our competitiveness with regards to making new acquisitions.

I would like to thank our shareholders for their continued support throughout a difficult year for equity markets across the sector. I stand confident in our investment strategy and believe that the material organic growth we are seeing across our portfolio, as well our active acquisition of value-accretive royalties, will continue to drive long-term revenue growth and deliver shareholder returns.



Operational Review



Lithium

Lithium's primary use is in the manufacture of batteries, supporting the transition away from fossil fuels and enabling vehicle manufacturers across all industries to electrify their fleets in order to meet stringent net zero carbon emission targets.

Governments globally have brought in legislation to accelerate the transition to EVs, including Europe and UK's targets to ban the sale of petroleum powered cars. This rapid transition has resulted in an increase in demand for lithium batteries. As well as uses in electric vehicles, lithium is also used in mobile phones, laptops and other electronic devices.

Trident is exposed to lithium through its acquisition of 60% of a royalty over the Thacker Pass Lithium Project in Nevada, which is the largest known lithium resource in the USA. Trident has also secured the right to acquire an indirect 1.5% Gross Revenue Royalty over the Sonora Lithium Project, Mexico and holds a 2.5% NSR over the Paradox Basin Project in the USA.



Copper

Due to copper's electrical and thermal conductivity, it is used in most electrical systems including the battery and wiring required for the charging of electric vehicles. EVs require up to four times more copper than traditional petrol or diesel vehicles, and renewable energy systems use up to six times more copper than fossil fuel systems therefore global demand for copper has significantly increased.

The development of electric transport, electricity transmission grids and renewable power generation is forecasted to have pushed global demand for copper up to 55Mt/year by 2040[1].

Trident is exposed to copper through its royalty over the advanced Pukaqaqa Asset in Peru, the Antler Project in USA, and the producing Mimbula Mine in Zambia.



Mineral Sands

Mineral sands, also commonly known as 'heavy mineral sands', contain concentrated amounts of economically important minerals such as zircon and titanium minerals, including rutile and ilmenite.

Mineral sands are used most frequently in household products such as suncream, inks, paints and tiles but are also used in medical devices, welding materials, purification systems as well as other industrial uses.

Trident has exposure to minerals sands through its acquisition of a 0.25% Free on Board royalty over the Kwale Mineral Sands Project in Kenya.



Iron Ore

Iron ore is the essential component of the global iron and steel industries with 98% of mined iron ore being used in the production of steel.

The construction and transport industries are reliant on the iron ore and steel industry, and it is critical to the development of energy infrastructure such as the production of wind turbines.

Trident is exposed to iron ore through its 1.5% Free on Board royalty over certain tenements at the Koolyanobbing Iron Ore Mine in Australia.



Silver

As well as the traditional investment into this precious metal as a hedge against inflation, silver due to its conductivity, is now a key component in electrical systems including solar panels and those used in electric vehicles such as automatic braking, power steering and navigation systems. The increase in demand for electric vehicles and the move to autonomous driving vehicles has significantly increased the global demand for silver.

Trident is exposed to silver through its 1.25% NSR Royalty and 2.00% GVR Royalty over certain tenements at the La Preciosa Project in Mexico.



Gold

Gold offers investors a hedge against inflation and in 2023 the global gold price increased by 13%. Trident holds a portfolio of gold offtake contracts over 10 mines. An offtake contract is a contract in which the operator agrees to sell, and the purchaser agrees to buy, refined gold produced from the mine over which the offtake is granted. Offtake returns are driven by the direction and volatility of gold prices but like royalties are not impacted by operator capex or operating costs.

The key commercial terms of the contract are stated in the table below. A positive margin can normally be made on the resale of the gold. The average margin is typically larger during periods of increased volatility and higher/rising gold prices.

Trident also hold a 1% NSR royalty over the Dandoko Gold Project, operated by B2 Gold in Mali, and a 1.5% NSR over the Lincoln Gold Mine, USA.

Further details of the Group's investments are provided on its website at www.tridentroyalties.com.

Gold Offtakes, worldwide

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