18 Nov 2010 09:56
18 November 2010
Bellzone Mining plc
("Bellzone" or the "Company")
Kalia Oxide Drilling Programme and Guinea Update
Bellzone Mining plc (AIM:BZM), the iron ore and nickel/copper company developing the Kalia Iron Mine in the Republic of Guinea, West Africa, is pleased to announce that the drilling programme for the maiden oxide JORC resource was completed on schedule this week. The drilling programme consisted of:
·; 21,530m of reverse circulation drilling covering an area of approximately 2km2 of identified oxide ore at the Kalia I prospect
·; 6,828 samples have been sent for assay at an independent laboratory in Perth, Australia
CSA Global UK, the independent geologists have been contracted to establish and certify the company's maiden JORC complaint oxide resource for Kalia. The Company expects to make an announcement on the maiden JORC oxide resource early in 2011.
The first phase of the drilling programme for the maiden JORC oxide resource has been confined to the area that directly overlays the magnetite JORC resource of 3.74 billion tonnes on the central zone of the Kalia I deposit established along approximately 6km of Bellzone's 19km Kalia I strike. The ongoing oxide resource development programme will delineate and expand the maiden oxide JORC resource and define the potential of the large detrital fields at Kalia I and Kalia II.
In addition, the Company announces that the 5,300 metre drilling programme at the Sadeka nickel/copper prospect located approximately 150km south-east of Kalia was mobilised on schedule with the preparation of drill pads and access roads to the 12 highly prospective nickel-copper targets that have been identified through:
·; Geology mapping totalling 39.5km2 of prospective targets;
·; Analysis of 3,709 samples collected on grids in each prospect at 250m x 50m spacing; and
·; NSAMT electrical surveys.
Guinea elections
On the 15th November 2010, Guinea's National Independent Electoral Commission announced that initial results showed Alpha Conde had won the second and final round of the democratic elections. While both independent observers and UN officials witnessed a peaceful and fair voting process, as has been reported in the media, the last 48 hours has seen sporadic unrest following the results. As a result, Guinea's interim president General Sekouba Konate has declared a state of emergency until the proclamation of the definitive presidential election results by the Supreme Court. The state of emergency effectively means any protest gathering is forbidden and that movement between 18.00 and 06.00 is not allowed. This has been seen as a precautionary measure to prevent any escalation of violent protesting and criminal behaviour.
Nik Zuks, Chief Executive Officer commented: "The development activities at Kalia, our fully funded flagship project, and Sadeka continue on schedule despite the post election political tensions we are experiencing in Guinea, our operations and staff have not been affected in any way and we expect that once the Guinea Supreme court has legally declared a winner the unrest Guinea is currently experiencing will settle down and it will be business as usual"
I think it is very important to note that Bellzone's project is extremely well known in Guinea and has universal political support. Together with the people of Guinea, we are united in the vision of all of Guinea benefitting through unlocking and realising the country's obvious mineral wealth to provide employment and generate revenues through royalties and taxes.
We have excellent and regular communication with our in-country management team, which continues to operate normally. They have reported that the isolated incidents of unrest and the conditions of the state of emergency have not impacted our operations or personnel in any way.
Our entire leadership team has previous experience with projects in environments similar to this and as such are cognisant of the challenges that may arise. We believe this unrest is temporary and poses no threat to our operations however, we continue to closely monitor the situation."
Enquiries:
Bellzone Mining plc Graham Fyfe/Terry Larkan |
+61 8 9420 8900end_of_the_skype_highlighting |
Canaccord Genuity Limited Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker to Bellzone Andrew Chubb/Tarica Mpinga
|
+44 (0)20 7050 6500 end_of_the_skype_highlighting |
Renaissance Capital Limited Joint Broker to Bellzone Simon Matthews/Thomas Beattie
|
+44 (0)20 7367 7777
end_of_the_skype_highlighting |
Conduit PR Jos Simson/Paul Youens |
+44 (0)20 7429 6603 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting +44 (0)7899 870 450 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting end_of_the_skype_highlightingend_of_the_skype_highlighting |
Bellzone Mining plc
Bellzone Mining plc is an exploration and resource development company with iron ore and nickel / copper permits in the Republic of Guinea, West Africa.
The Company's flagship project, the Kalia Iron Mine has a JORC resource of 3.74 billion tonnes, located on the Kalia I prospect. Drilling results and internal estimates indicate that Kalia Prospect has the potential to host more than 10 billion tonnes of magnetite and 2.55 billion tonnes of oxide at surface.
Exploration work continues to further define the potential at Kalia I on both the magnetite and oxide at surface.
Bellzone is committed to the staged development of the Kalia Iron Project, which includes a 50mtpa iron ore facility, rail and port, with initial production scheduled in 2014. Stage one is planned to bring online 20mtpa direct shipping ore ('DSO') capacity in 2014 and a 10mtpa magnetite concentrator in 2015. Stage two increasing the DSO output to 30mtpa in 2017 and doubling the concentrate capacity to 20mtpa by 2018.
Bellzone signed an Infrastructure Accord with the Republic of Guinea giving the Company exclusive rights to the designated port and rail areas for purposes of conducting studies for the development of the infrastructure leading to the signing of a convention and concession. The infrastructure forms a key part of the Guinea Government's infrastructure strategy and will support the development of iron ore, bauxite and other minerals in Guinea through its availability for 3rd party use.
On 2 August 2010, Bellzone signed definitive agreements with China International Fund ('CIF'). CIF will finance and develop the rail and port infrastructure and offer a finance package to Bellzone for the development of the Kalia Mine in exchange for the first right to purchase 100% of the off-take of the Kalia Mine at market price.
An exploration programme is currently underway at the Forecariah Iron Permits that lie between 40 and 80kms from the Guinea coast. Bellzone and CIF will jointly develop these permits which are prospective for oxide and magnetite. The oxide has the potential to deliver cash flow from a Direct Shipping Ore project in the short term.
Bellzone has competed an intensive mapping and surface sampling programme and has defined highly prospective drilling targets at its Sadeka Nickel/Copper Project and will commence a drilling programme on these targets in Q4 2010.