PolyMet Mining Corp. (TSX: POM) (NYSE American: PLM) announces the successful completion of its rights offering, which expired at 5:00 p.m. (Toronto time) on April 4, 2023. The company issued the full allotment of 92,606,635 common shares pursuant to the rights offering for gross proceeds of approximately US$195 million.

The proceeds of the rights offering and standby commitment have been used to repay all of PolyMet’s unsecured and secured and convertible debt owed to Glencore AG (“Glencore”) and costs related to the rights offering, and are also intended to fund the company’s portion of NewRange Copper Nickel LLC, a 50/50 joint venture the company entered into with Teck Resources Limited on February 14, 2023, that places PolyMet’s NorthMet resource and Teck’s Mesaba resource under single management, and general corporate purposes.

“We now have a balance sheet free of debt and a strong cash position to support our interest in NewRange Copper Nickel as it progresses towards a sanctioning and construction decision for the NorthMet Project and further assesses the Mesaba resource,” said Jon Cherry, chairman, president and CEO. “NewRange gives Minnesota a leading opportunity to deliver critical minerals for North America’s clean energy transition. We thank our shareholders who participated in this rights offering and appreciate Glencore’s longstanding and continued technical and financial support to make this possible.”

Glencore, who as previously disclosed, agreed, subject to certain terms and conditions and limitations, to exercise its basic subscription right in full and purchase all unsubscribed common shares in the rights offering pursuant to a standby commitment. Glencore acquired 87,798,370 common shares pursuant to the rights offering. Following completion of the rights offering, Glencore now owns 159,806,774 PolyMet common shares, which represents approximately 82.19% of the company’s total issued outstanding common shares.

The common shares were purchased at the subscription price of US$2.11 per share. Details of the results are as follows:

The shares subscribed for pursuant to the rights offering will be delivered within five business days from today, in the same form existing shares are held by Computershare, by DRS advice, or by broker, nominee or custodian.

New director named to Board

PolyMet also announces the appointment of Glencore executive John Burton to the board of directors. Mr. Burton is the company secretary of Glencore and leads a team that focuses on excellence in Glencore’s governance arrangements across a wide range of subsidiaries and joint ventures globally, and advises Glencore’s businesses on acquisitions, divestments and equity investments. His is one of three Glencore seats on the board, filling the seat recently vacated by Roberto Huby.

“We look forward to benefitting from Mr. Burton’s deep and expansive business experiences as we enter this new era with the NewRange Copper Nickel joint venture and the many opportunities that are in front of us,” Cherry said.

About PolyMet

PolyMet is a mine development company holding a 50% interest in NewRange Copper Nickel LLC, a joint venture with Teck Resources. NewRange Copper Nickel holds the NorthMet and Mesaba copper, nickel, cobalt and platinum group metal (PGM) deposits, two globally significant clean energy mineral resources located in the Duluth Complex in northeast Minnesota. The Duluth Complex is one of the world’s major, undeveloped copper, nickel and PGM metal mining regions. NorthMet is the first large-scale project to have received permits within the Duluth Complex.