Atalaya Mining Regulatory News (ATYM)

30 Sep 2009 07:00



AIM: EMED 30 September 2009

UPDATE ON STATUS OF RIO TINTO MINE RESTART 

EMED Mining Public Limited ("EMED Mining" or "the Company") is pleased to announce an update on its progress in its plans to restart the Rio Tinto Mine ("Proyecto Rio Tinto") in Spain.

At a site inspection today at the Rio Tinto Mine the Company reported the following to visiting media and financial industry analysts:

The Company and the Junta de Andalucia today approved the following statement: "The Junta de Andalucia and EMED Tartessus (EMED Mining's wholly-owned subsidiary) are working in close collaboration on Proyecto Rio Tinto with the goal of starting operations as soon as possible and always in strict compliance with the legislation in force."

All local communities now support the Company's plans. 

The Administration is demonstrating its effort via the collaboration of its technical experts with those of the Company.

The "International Media and Analyst Presentation of 30 September 2009" has been uploaded to the Company's website. 

Other matters highlighted in the presentation include that:

The site tour included briefings on the re-emergence of the Iberian Pyrite Belt as an important metals supplier to Europe, with base metals mines starting up in recent months at the Las Cruces Project and the Aguas Teñidas Project, both nearby to Rio Tinto Mine.

The Company is considering the merits of a dual listing on ASX. 

Managing Director, Mr Harry Anagnostaras-Adams said "The Rio Tinto Mine is a project of great importance to the communities in the local region and, obviously, to our Company's plans and prospects. We are pleased to be able to announce support and collaboration from the Junta de Andalucia but understandably they are taking a cautious approach to the permitting process. This is because we have been confronted with intense interference by past project controllers and landholders seeking unreasonable benefits. It also means that it will continue to take much longer to trigger employment and production than would normally be expected for an otherwise relatively straightforward mining project. We greatly appreciate the patience and support of our shareholders and I thank our highly dedicated team for its professional integrity and tenacity. We target start-up of production at the end of 2010."

Enquiries

Notes to Editors: About EMED Mining Public Limited

EMED Mining was admitted to trading on AIM in May 2005. The Company is based in Cyprus and has a strong commitment to responsible development of metal production operations in Europe, with an initial focus on copper and gold. 

The Group's region of interest are the tectonic belts spanning across Europe and over to the Middle East. The strategy is to evaluate exploration and development opportunities in several jurisdictions throughout this quality mineral belt and to promote sustainable development practices through the implementation of European Union and other leading-edge international standards. The Company strictly implements its Environmental & Community Policies which includes:

Integrating environmental management into its business, planning and reporting processes.

Promoting a strong environmental ethic throughout the Company and the community.

Complying with, as a minimum, all applicable local and European Union laws and regulations.

Communicating with community stakeholders in a responsible and transparent manner.

EMED Mining has now established a strong position in the following selected zones:

Exploration areas in Slovakia are centred on a cluster of volcanic centres. Low-detection geochemical methods are being applied to these areas for the first time together with open-pit bulk mining concepts. The principal targeted mineralisation style is low-grade, bulk-mineable porphyry gold. The Company has announced a significant gold discovery at Biely Vrch and the identification of many targets with apparently similar geological characteristics, in its wholly-owned exploration licenses in Central Slovakia. 

The mines in Cyprus and those at Rio Tinto in Spain located in the Iberian Pyrite Belt, are probably among the best known in the world for their base metal endowment. EMED Mining's goal is to restart copper production at its projects in both of these well-endowed, historical mining districts. Both Spain and Cyprus are progressive members of the European Union and EMED Mining has been made to feel welcome in both host countries. The styles of mineral deposits and production techniques are similar in both mining districts. 

Exploration areas in Turkey were vended into 32%-owned KEFI Minerals Plc which was admitted to AIM in December 2006. KEFI Minerals owns carefully selected licence areas in Turkey, as well as an extensive proprietary database of regional and specific exploration data providing a pipeline of further projects to evaluate. It is the operator of joint ventures in Turkey with Centerra Gold Inc of Canada and in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with local construction and investment group ARTAR. See www.kefi-minerals.com. 

For further information on the Company's activities, visit www.emed-mining.com or www.emed.tv.