7 Feb 2012 07:00
BERKELEY MINERAL RESOURCES PLC
("BMR" or the "Company")
Further update on the Options to acquire remaining assets at Kabwe
Further to the announcements made on 14 July and 14 December 2011, BMR is pleased to report that, following the exercise of options and completion of due diligence in connection with the acquisition of Silverlining Ventures Ltd ("Silverlining") and Alberg Mining and Mineral Exploration Ltd ("Alberg"), the transfer of the Large Scale Mining Licence and the assignment of the land title are both proceeding satisfactorily.
Alberg owns the mining rights to 703 hectares at Kabwe which contain all the residual partly mined or un-mined underground ore bodies remaining at the former Kabwe mine, together with existing shafts and other infrastructure assets.
Licence transfers have been delayed by a moratorium on transfers by the Zambian state authorities which has now been lifted. Mining Licence ML1 was first granted to the Broken Hill Zinc and Lead Company prior to the commencement of open pit mining at Kabwe in 1904; underground mining commenced in 1940. The parastatal Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines ("ZCCM") closed the mine in 1994.
The current Large Scale Mining Licence (6990-HQ-LML), issued in succession to the historic ML1, now rests with Alberg and is to be transferred to Enviro Processing Ltd ("EPL"), BMR's Zambian-registered wholly-owned subsidiary. The transfer has been approved by ZCCM and the Ministry of Mines and Natural Resources.
The transfer is contingent on the authorisation of the Zambian Competition and Consumer Protection Council ("CCPC") to the change of ownership of the mining rights and associated assets to EPL. Upon receipt of this authorisation, which is expected during February 2012, EPL will transfer the purchase payment of US$3m due by Alberg to ZCCM; this sum has already been deposited in Zambia by BMR.
Certification of the assignment of the title to the relevant surface rights for the Stands concerned by the Commissioner of Lands is also expected during February 2012.
To the best of its knowledge, BMR has complied with all the statutory and regulatory provisions in terms of the laws of Zambia and all commercial conditions in terms of the Option Agreement, to be able to take transfer of the licence.
Masoud Alikhani, Chairman, commented:
"The transfer of the historic Licence and land title to our Zambian subsidiary will finalise BMR's consolidation of its ownership of the entire resources at the former Kabwe mine site. They will allow us to proceed with final verification of the resources and our planning of the beneficiation processes prior to commencing cash-generating processing and production of the lead, zinc and the other metals still to be exploited at Kabwe".
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.
07th February 2012
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
Notes for Editors
BMR is a minerals company with a primary strategy of investing in tailings processing. By accessing above-ground dump deposits with known grades and metallurgy, it avoids exploration or mining costs, has a secure licence and fixed environmental criteria, and can produce concentrates according to viability at current market prices.
The Kabwe deposits, located approximately 110km north of the Zambian capital Lusaka, were discovered in 1902. From 1906, Kabwe was a significant mine. By the time it closed in 1994, due to depletion of the massive sulphide mineralisation and lowered metal prices, it had produced about 1.8m tonnes of zinc, 800,000t of lead, 7,800t of vanadium pentoxide and lesser quantities of cadmium, silver and copper.
After closure, most of the mine complex was sold off on a piecemeal basis. BMR's overall strategy is to re-assemble the Kabwe dumps site into a single entity operating under a single Large Scale Mining Licence.
In May 2011 BMR signed a MOU with Ng'wena Mining Resources under which it could acquire 76% of the copper tailings from the former Roan Antelope mine at Luanshya, 145 km north of Kabwe.
In December 2011 BMR completed its due diligence for its options to acquire from Silverlining Ventures Limited and Alberg Mining Limited the remaining partly mined or unmined ore bodies and other assets at Kabwe. Completion of this acquisition is subject to the re-issue of the appropriate licence by the new Zambian government.
In December 2011 BMR signed an Option Agreement which has given BMR the exclusive right to carry out due diligence on substantial stockpiles of copper tailings located in the Chingola area in the north of Zambia, about 220km from Kabwe. The Option is in respect of stockpiles at three separate areas located within a 7km radius of each other.