LONDON (Alliance News) - Berkeley Mineral Resources PLC saw its shares slide Tuesday after it said the Zambian Environmental Agency has decided to defer its environmental impact statement for its subsidiary at the Kabwe project in Zambia while it consults with relevant stakeholders.
Berkeley Mineral Resources shares were down 36% to 1.55 pence, making it the biggest decliner on the AIM All-Share Tuesday afternoon.
The news comes days after the company said its Enviro Processing Ltd subsidiary had been granted environmental approval for its processing operations at Kabwe in Zambia. The confirmation was revealed in the Zambian press, and the company said that, following a formal notification, it would look at commencing processing as soon as possible.
"It has taken time to secure what are very significant assets, ensure that the company is protected from historic environmental claims, and then to receive the approval for processing, but we are now there, and shareholders can look forward to steadily growing cashflow over a number of years," said Chairman Masoud Alikhani in a statement on Friday.
However, the AIM-listed resource company has now said that the Kabwe decision has been deferred.
Despite this, Berkeley said it expects formal approval to be granted shortly.
By Tom McIvor; tommcivor@alliancenews.com; @TomMcIvor1
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