4 Feb 2013 07:00
BERKELEY MINERAL RESOURCES PLC
("BMR" or "The Company")
Update on the copper processing programme at Ndola
Management Team expanded
Berkeley Mineral Resources Plc, the AIM listed resource company engaged in the processing of tailings dumps in Zambia, provides details of the progress of its copper processing pilot programme at Ndola, northern Zambia, first announced on 24 October 2012.
BMR has now secured the Industrial Zone site needed to carry out the processing pilot programme. The site is located within a kilometre of the tailings at Bwana Mkubwa and is centrally positioned to provide direct road connections to all the copper tailings in the Ndola area owned by the Company and its Joint Venture partners. Copper processing has been formerly carried out there. BMR retains an option to buy the site which is supplied with power and water and other infrastructure.
The Company has commenced operations within its Joint Venture arrangements with the Bwana Mkubwa Consortium. The five Artisanal licences have been converted into a formal Small Scale licence which allows the immediate processing of the tailings concerned. The plant for the pilot programme will be designed with a production capacity of 150 tonnes a month of high grade copper cathodes and can be expanded.
BMR has also appointed a leading South African consultant, Johann Steynberg, BSc (Hons) Metallurgy, to its management team in Zambia. Johann has over 48 years of experience in metallurgical work in Africa, Asia and the Americas, including consulting, process development and optimisation, plant design and commissioning both in the hydro-and pyro-metallurgical fields. Prior to becoming a consultant, Mr Steynberg was Processing Divisional Manager for the Palabora Mining Co. He has consulted on many projects including for SRK, Rio Tinto, Namaqua Copper, Mwana Africa, Goldfields and African Copper in Botswana.
Masoud Alikhani, Chairman, commented:
"We are pleased to see the copper processing programme under way now that the site has been secured and are delighted that Johann Steynberg, an acknowledged authority on copper plant design and processing, will be leading the metallurgical studies in developing BMR's copper projects in Northern Zambia".
This release has been reviewed by Dennis Human, B.Sc. (Hons), Bus. Admin (Hons), MGSSA, Consulting Geologist to the Company, who is a Qualified Person in accordance with the guidance note for Mining, Oil & Gas Companies issued by the London Stock Exchange in respect of AIM Companies.
04th February 2013
For further information please contact:
Berkeley Mineral Resources Plc
Masoud Alikhani, Chairman
020 7408 1181
Seymour Pierce
Stewart Dickson / Julian Erleigh (Corporate Finance)
Jeremy Stephenson / Richard Redmayne (Corporate Broking)
020 7107 8000
Lothbury Financial Services
Michael Padley /Gary Middleton
020 3440 7620