Last checked at 9 Aug 2016 07:00
Ortac Resources Ltd / Epic: OTC / Market: AIM / Sector: Mining & Exploration
ORTAC RESOURCES LTD
("ORTAC" OR THE "COMPANY")
Zamsort Update
Ortac Resources Ltd ("Ortac"), the AIM listed exploration and mine development company, advises that it has exercised its right and issued a request to Zamsort Limited ('Zamsort') to convert the Secured Convertible Loan Notes (as announced on 30 March 2015) and the No.2 Loan Notes (as announced on 25 August 2015), into 19.35% of the issued share capital of Zamsort.
Zamsort has advised the Company that they may wish to make changes to their share capital structure in order to facilitate further funding. This matter is at present under discussion. Ortac has advised Zamsort that it would be cooperative should a reorganisation be of benefit to the financing of Zamsort, and in the best interests of Ortac and its shareholders.
Vassilios Carellas, Ortac's CEO, commented: "Since Ortac entered into the funding arrangement with Zamsort at the end of March last year, a significant amount of progress has been made, with Zamsort being on the cusp of completing its initial commercial scale demonstration plant to produce copper and cobalt. Furthermore, we can confirm that the exploration ground is in our view highly prospective. This is borne out by the significant interest that has been generated from the mining community."
About Ortac Resources
Ortac Resources is an AIM listed exploration and development company focused on natural resource projects. The Company's flagship asset is the 1.32 million ounce gold project in Slovakia. It has also diversified its portfolio through its strategic investment in Andiamo Exploration Limited, a private company with gold and copper exploration projects in Eritrea; Zamsort Limited, a private company with copper and cobalt licenses in Zambia and CASA Mining Limited, a private company with 1.2 million ounce gold project in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
About Zamsort Limited
Zamsort is a private Zambian registered company. The Kalaba Cu-Co Project, 100% owned by Zamsort and located approximately 900 km from Lusaka, in Mwinilunga, North Western Province, is well within the trending arm of the major geological structure known as the Lufilian Arc (copper belt), on the western flank of the Kabompo Dome.
The project consists of a 4km2 Small-Scale Mining Licence ('SML') over the Kalaba Cu-Co mineral resource enclosed within a 999.28km2 Large Scale Prospecting Licence ('LPL'). This was previously explored by Equinox Minerals Limited ('Equinox') and Anglo American Prospecting Services ('AAPS') by way of the Zambezi Joint Venture ('JV') through AAPS's affiliate Zamanglo Prospecting Ltd ('Anglo American') during the late 1990s as part of the Kabompo Property. The current LPL encompasses 7 of the top 10 high priority exploration targets identified through the JV prior to Anglo American exiting the country in 2001.
In order for Zamsort to maintain the SML in good standing it has undertaken seasonal mining from the oxide copper resource exposed on surface. Zamsort has estimated that approximately 70,000 tonnes of material has been mined to date from Kalaba. At present, it has estimated that it has approximately 33,000 tonnes of screened ore grading at 3.5% ASCu stockpiled on site and ready to be shipped and toll treated at one of the local facilities in the copper belt where non-exclusive off-take agreements are already in place.
The estimated Kalaba Cu-Co oxide resource of 16.59Mt @ 0.94% Cu equivalent is exposed on surface and has been generated in-house by Zamsort's Chief Geologist. Although the resource has been registered by Zamsort with the Geological Survey and Ministry of Mines in Zambia, at present it is not considered to be code compliant.
Zamsort has started the construction of a commercial scale demonstration plant expected to produce copper cement (precipitated copper) and cobalt hydroxide filter cake from the Kalaba Cu-Co resource in the SML.
Contacts
Ortac Resources Ltd Vassilios Carellas (CEO)
| +44 (0) 20 7389 9050 |
SP Angel (Nominated Adviser & Broker) Ewan Leggat / Laura Harrison
Beaufort Securities (Joint Broker) Jon Belliss / Elliot Hance | +44 (0) 20 3470 0470
+44 (0) 20 7382 8300 |
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Yellow Jersey (Media Relations) Dominic Barretto | +44 (0) 7768 537 739 |
Appendix
ASCu - Acid Soluble copper
Co - Cobalt
Cu - Copper
Lufilian Arc/copper belt - The Lufilian Arc / copper belt is a region of Central Africa running through northern Zambia and the southern Democratic Republic of Congo known for copper mining
Not Code Compliant - Not compliant to any internationally recognised method for estimating and calculating ore resources, such as JORC or National Instrument 43-101