3 Jul 2012 07:00
BERKELEY MINERAL RESOURCES PLC
("BMR" or the "Company")
Signing of Chingola Joint Venture Assignment Agreement
Berkeley Mineral Resources Plc, the AIM-listed metals processing company, announced on 20 December 2011 that it had signed an Option Agreement which gave BMR the exclusive right to carry out due diligence on three areas ("clusters") each containing substantial stockpiles of copper tailings and all located within a seven kilometre radius of each other in the Chingola area in the north of Zambia. On 19 April 2012 it further announced that it had extended the Option exercise date to 9 July 2012.
BMR is now delighted to announce that it has signed an Agreement which assigns to it all the interests in an existing Joint Venture Agreement ("JVA"). The JVA is with the Zambian-registered Rephidim Mining Supplies and Technical Services Ltd ("Rephidim") in respect of a cluster containing the Luano and Mimbula stockpiles at the Rephidim mine site at Chingola. This site represents one of the three clusters under the Option Agreement.
The Luano dumps include the benefit of the small-scale Licence 8514-HQ-SML, covering some 247.1 hectares of land which is for 5 years from 30 November 2009, renewable thereafter. The land package includes the Luano-OB 18 dump.
The Mimbula dumps include the benefit of the small-scale Licence 8441-HQ-SML. This licence is valid until 31 July 2012 pending approval of a renewal application for a five year period which has been lodged by the JV with the Ministry of Mines following the lifting of the Zambian Moratorium over mine licence renewals on 1 May 2012. The land package includes dumps OB7, SP 11, one half share of dump OB14 and the Mimbula open pit ore body.
In total, BMR has secured Mining Rights over a total of 397.2 hectares of land, containing an estimated 17.5 million tons of copper tailings and all intellectual property and historical records relating to the dumps and ore bodies within the Mining Rights areas. This estimate has been made by BMR's consultants, Mineral Exploration International of Namibia, as part of BMR's due diligence, is not JORC compliant and therefore cannot be relied upon for economic assessment purposes.
Under the JVA, BMR will be the Operator of the JV. The directors of Rephidim will continue to act as consultants and Rephidim is entitled to one director on the Executive Board. BMR will provide the JV with a beneficiation plant to process a minimum of 50,000 tons of tailings a month, fund operational expenses, provide the management team and be responsible for the Environmental Management Plan.
Following the inception of processing, production and sales, Rephidim will be entitled to a Profit Share of a maximum of 20% of the net operating profit, calculated annually after all costs of financing, operations, depreciation, management charges, royalties and government levies and/or taxes have been deducted from the net sales income received.
BMR is paying a fee of US$500,000 upon Completion of the assignment of the existing JVA to BMR.
Masoud Alikhani, Chairman, commented:
"Following our successful entry into the Zambian lead and zinc processing market at Kabwe, we are very pleased to be able to make our first entry into the important copper tailings sector with the assignment to us of our share in this existing joint venture. The beneficiation plant we will provide will be designed to cater for further copper tailings clusters at Chingola for which we are currently intending to conclude acquisitions. Looking beyond Chingola, BMR's Zambian development team continues to conduct desk and field research to locate and secure further stockpiles of copper tailings in the northern Zambian Copperbelt".
03rd July 2012
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.
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