LONDON (Alliance News) - Shares in Berkeley Mineral Resources PLC surged Tuesday after the company said it has received approval of the environmental impact statement for its lead-zinc recovery and copper-processing project at Kabwe in Zambia from the Zambia Environmental Management Agency (ZEMA).
The company's stock was up 14% Tuesday morning at 2.00 pence, one of the biggest gainers on London's AIM market.
In June, the company saw its share slide after it said ZEMA had decided to defer a decision on the environmental impact statement while it consulted with stakeholders. That decision was made just days after Berkeley Mineral Resources said its Enviro Processing Ltd subsidiary had been granted the approval.
In a statement Tuesday, the AIM-listed resource company said the environmental impact statement has now received ZEMA approval. It said the approval is subject to Enviro Processing Ltd implementing the project within three years.
"From now on, our focus can and will be on commencing production. We will also be concluding off-take agreements for sales of the metals into world markets," said Chairman Masoud Alikhani in a statement.
Berkeley said it now intends to carry out final metallurgical studies to determine the optimal process route for treating the lead and zinc tailings so that pilot production can commence as soon as possible. In the meantime, it said it will commence small-scale processing of copper ore secured locally.
By Rowena Harris-Doughty; rowenaharrisdoughty@alliancenews.com; @rharrisdoughty
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