20 Feb 2007 07:16
Carnegie Minerals plc20 February 2007 20th February 2007 Carnegie Minerals Plc ("Carnegie" or "the Company") Gambia Update - Agreement for Immediate Sales Highlights • Interim agreement to buy combined HMC effective immediately • Targeting 50,000 to 70,000 tonnes of combined HMC for delivery to endof June at a projected average price of USD 50/tonne for combined HMC Carnegie Minerals Plc (CME), the mineral sands resources company with productioninterests in The Gambia and an advanced exploration programme in adjoiningSenegal, is pleased to announce that it has entered into an interim agreementwith Yingkou Astron Chemical Co Ltd to supply combined heavy mineral concentrate(HMC) effective immediately. This provides the company with immediate cash flowfrom operations while construction of the concentrate upgrade plant awaitscompletion and shipment from China. The delivery of the combined HMC (i.e. gravity concentrates from the spiralplants) is effective immediately and will continue until the wet seasoncommences mid year. The concentrate upgrade plant is scheduled to becommissioned by the end of the wet season (c. October), where after the projectcan deliver magnetically separated concentrate under existing offtakeagreements. Alan Hopkins, Managing Director of Carnegie commented: "We are very pleased with these arrangements as they facilitate timely shipmentof product & generate early cash flow from our Gambian operations. With 3 of our 4 dredges already commissioned and operational, we are steadilyramping up production levels and are on track to achieve our year one productiontargets". - Ends - For further information, call: Alan Hopkins, Managing Director, Carnegie Minerals Plc Tel: 020 7831 3113John Prior, Romil Patel Corporate Synergy Plc Tel: 020 7448 4414Billy Clegg/Edward Westropp, Financial Dynamics Tel: 020 7831 3113 Notes to editors: Carnegie only listed on AIM in August 2006 and in addition to the emergingproduction in The Gambia; it recently signed a drill contractor to undertake asignificant exploration programme in adjoining southern Senegal commencing nextmonth. It has already drilled the first Niafarang prospect in southern Senegaland expects a resource estimate to be available for this stage within twomonths. All exploration in Senegal is 50% co funded by Astron Ltd (the largestindependent buyer of zircon in China), with the emerging production in TheGambia fully funded by Astron Ltd (a 50% partner in each project) by way ofinterest free loan to be repaid preferentially out of cashflow. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange