3 Apr 2012 07:00
BERKELEY MINERALS PLC
("BMR" or "THE COMPANY")
Final Authorisation of BMR's Acquisition of the Kabwe Mine Assets received
As announced on 14 July 2011, 14 December 2011 and 7 February 2012, BMR has been negotiating for the acquisition of the underground un-mined or partly-mined ore bodies at the former Kabwe lead and zinc mine in Zambia in addition to the tailings stockpiles it already holds.
The Company can now announce that the Zambian Competition and Consumer Protection Commission ("CCPC") has issued a final conditional authorisation for the acquisition of the Kabwe Mine Assets of ZCCM-Investments Holdings Plc ("ZCCM-IH") by Alberg Mining and Mineral Exploration Limited ("Alberg") and the subsequent assignment of the right, title, interest and obligations in terms of the relevant Mining Licence, Intellectual Property and Mining Assets to Enviro Processing Ltd ("EPL"), BMR's wholly owned Zambian subsidiary. The Mining Assets include all the underground ore bodies and any further mineral tailings stockpiles at the Kabwe mine.
In addition, the Immovable Property consisting of the mine infrastructure including shafts, ancillary buildings, mine machinery and equipment and offices is to be assigned to BMR's other Zambian-registered subsidiary, Enviro Props Limited. The final authorisation is conditional that Alberg and the Company shall:
(i) endeavour to engage local firms and suppliers;
(ii) support government policy on citizen empowerment; and
(iii) avoid carrying out any environmentally unsound practices and ensure compliance with the Environmental Management Act No.12 of 2011.
The Company expects to be in compliance with these conditions with immediate effect.
As a result of the acquisition of the Kabwe Mine Assets, the Company will now hold the revised Large Scale Mining Licence ML1 (6990-HQ-LML) giving surface rights over the 703 hectares of the Kabwe Lead and Zinc mine. Licence ML1 was first issued upon the opening of the mine in 1904. The Company already holds the Small-scale mining licence 7880-HQ-SML in respect of the tailings stockpiles acquired by BMR from Sable Zinc Kabwe Ltd in June 2011.
Zambia's Mines Development Department has also confirmed to Alberg that the transfer of the Large Scale Licence ML1 (6990-HQ-LML) from it to Enviro Processing Ltd is not subject to the country's moratorium on licence transfers of 20 October 2011.
In issuing its authorisation the CCPC noted that there were no competition issues as Kabwe was the only lead and zinc mine in Zambia; that the transfer will benefit the Zambian economy by EPL becoming an exporter of zinc and lead to international markets once the mine is operational; that EPL will become a substantial employer of local people and suppliers; and that the initiative taken by BMR through its Zambian subsidiaries transforms one of the most polluted mining areas and waste dumps into an economically viable re-opening of a closed mine site.
In consideration for the acquisition, BMR is paying Dorset Solutions Limited ("Dorset"), the holding company of Alberg, £1m in cash and the issuance of 70 million Ordinary Shares in the Company (which have a market value of £3.2m at the closing price on 2nd April 2012, the day before this announcement). The Company is also paying ZCCM-IH US$3m in cash.
Application will be made for the admission of 70,000,000 ordinary shares of 1p each in the Company ("New Ordinary Shares") to trading on AIM ("Admission"). The New Ordinary Shares will rank pari passu with existing Ordinary Shares and it is expected that admission will occur at 8.00 a.m. on 11th April 2012.
Following Admission, the total number of voting rights will be 1,083,039,792 Ordinary Shares. This figure may be used by shareholders as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in, the share capital of the Company under the Disclosure and Transparency Rules.
Revised Underground Mineral estimates
BMR has also received from The Mineral Corporation a further technical review of the potential underground ore resources at the Kabwe mine covered by the Large Scale Mining Licence (6990-HQ-LML). The Mineral Corporation reviewed the historical reports compiled by Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines (" ZCCM") after the time of closure of the mine in 1994.
ZCCM compiled estimates of the mineral resources and ore reserves. The Mineral Corporation has reviewed these estimates and established the tonnage potential for the main selected ore bodies as follows:
Ore body | Ore max depth (m) | Total tonnes | Grade Zinc (%) | Grade Lead (%) |
Old Airfield | 150 | 46,460,000 | 2.23 | 0.80 |
Speaks | 200 | 1,944,000 | 12.00 | 2.00 |
No.2 ore body | 470 | 1,905,159 | 12.86 | 1.77 |
Mine Club | 200 | 666,000 | 11.77 | 0.83 |
Total |
| 50,975,159 | 3.12 | 0.89 |
These estimates have not been compiled to a recognised international reporting standard such as JORC and cannot therefore be relied on.
The bulk of the mineralisation is primarily oxide material and is largely characterised by low Lead and Zinc contents. BMR will be undertaking metallurgical testing, scoping and techno-economic studies to further determine the resource potential and subsequent exploitation of the resources covered by the Large Scale Mining Licence.
Masoud Alikhani, Chairman, commented:
"We are delighted that our efforts over the last three years have finally secured the historic Licence and achieved the valuable consolidated ownership of the entire mineral resources at Kabwe, both above and below ground, especially as our consultants have now considerably upgraded the underground potential tonnages. We would like to thank the relevant authorities in Zambia and our local management there for their co-operation in making this possible.
Management can now concentrate on commencing metal production and generating cashflow, starting with delivering the Pre-Feasibility Study for the stockpiles, including the preferred processing route, which has already been put in hand and is due to be completed shortly".
03 April 2012
This release has been reviewed by Dennis Human, B.Sc. (Hons), Bus. Admin (Hons),
Consulting Geologist in accordance with the guidance note for Mining, Oil & Gas
Companies issued by the London Stock Exchange in respect of AIM Companies.
For further information please contact:
Berkeley Mineral Resources Plc
Masoud Alikhani, Chairman
020 7408 1181
Seymour Pierce
Stewart Dickson / Jonathan Wright (Corporate Finance)
Jeremy Stephenson / Richard Redmayne (Corporate Broking)
020 7107 8000
Lothbury Financial Services
Michael Padley / Gary Middleton
020 7868 2010