12 May 2010 07:00
12 May 2010
Bellzone Mining plc
("Bellzone" or the "Company")
Operational Update
Highlights
·; Lodging of the Basic Convention for the Kalia Iron Project
·; Commencement of Socioeconomic ('SEIA') and Environmental studies ('EIA') for the Kalia mine site
·; Commencement of the downhole survey for extension and upgrade of the 2.4 billion tonne magnetite JORC resource and commencement of the oxide exploration programme
Bellzone Mining plc (AIM:BZM), the iron ore company developing the 2.4 billion tonne JORC magnetite Kalia Iron Project ('Kalia') along the estimated 13 billion tonne Kalia magnetite deposit in Guinea, West Africa, today announces an update on activities.
On the 22nd April 2010, the Company lodged the Basic Convention application with the Guinea Government. The Basic Convention, once approved, contains the life of mine obligations for the development, operations, financial terms and infrastructure rights under which the Kalia Iron Project will be developed. The statutory approval is currently underway and the Ministry of Mines and Geology has already appointed the statutory technical and legal teams to lead the negotiations and approval process.
Bellzone will also shortly lodge the Mining Concession application, which grants the licence to mine the Kalia resources. The Company aims to receive approval of the Mining Concession in parallel with the Basic Convention application.
Bellzone has awarded a contract to SGS Environment to undertake the Socioeconomic and Environmental studies at Kalia. These studies form part of the long lead items of the bankable feasibility study and are expected to be completed in mid 2011. SGS Environment is established in Guinea and has a proven track record in the country with other major international companies. In addition, SGS Environment guarantees the involvement of Guinean nationals at all levels.
The Company has awarded the contract for a downhole survey at Kalia to Surtron Technologies ('Surtron'), which commenced in April 2010. Surtron will collect directional data from drillholes as well as technical information including density and magnetic susceptibility. Directional data is used to locate the drillholes in three dimensions and is a prerequisite in calculating the extension and upgrade in the 2.4 billion tonne magnetite JORC resource at Kalia which is expected to be published Q2 and Q3 2010 respectively.
To support the downhole survey contract, the Company has contracted local licenced surveyors "Service De Topographie et D'Ingenierie" to provide survey controls for the down hole survey project. The scope of work includes establishing survey control base stations and providing survey controls on drillhole collar locations and infrastructure developments.
In addition, Bellzone has appointed a drilling contractor to undertake the drilling activities required to develop a JORC classified resource for the oxide ore. Bellzone expects to announce initial oxide JORC resource details in December 2010.
Bellzone would like to welcome Alex Fairbairn to the team as the Kalia site manager. Mr Fairbairn joins Bellzone from African Aura Mining Inc. where he has successfully managed several large projects in Cameroon, Sierra Leone and Liberia. His role will be to manage the deliverables on the exploration programme, maintain the Company's HSE standards and facilitate the site activities of consultants and visitors related to the project development.
Nik Zuks, Managing Director of Bellzone Mining plc, commented: "I am pleased to report an update on progress at our Kalia Iron Project in Guinea. Following the recent IPO we now have the funds in place to accelerate work on increasing and upgrading the magnetite JORC resource as well as establish a maiden resource for the oxide at surface. In addition we have now started the SEIA and EIA studies which form the long lead items of the bankable feasibility study."
Enquiries:
| Bellzone Mining plc Nik Zuks |
+61 439 420 893 |
|
Canaccord Adams Limited Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker to Bellzone Andrew Chubb/Tarica Mpinga |
+44 (0)20 7050 6500 |
|
Renaissance Capital Limited Joint Broker to Bellzone Simon Matthews/Thomas Beattie |
+44 (0)20 7367 7777 |
|
Conduit PR Jos Simson/Charlie Geller |
+44 (0)20 7429 6603 / +44 (0) 7899 870 450 |
Bellzone Mining plc
Bellzone Mining plc is an iron-ore exploration and development company with assets in Guinea, West Africa. The Company's flagship project, the Kalia Iron Project, is underpinned by its 100% owned Kalia iron deposit which has a maiden inferred magnetite JORC resource of 2.4 billion tonnes. Previous drilling results and internal estimates indicate that the Kalia iron deposit has the potential to host more than 13 billion tonnes of magnetite ore and 2.9 billion tonnes of oxide ore at surface. Exploration work continues to further delineate and increase the resources at Kalia with the SEIA and EIA studies underway to support the completion of the Bankable Feasibility Study.
Bellzone intends to develop a 50 million tonnes per annum ('mtpa') iron ore production through a two staged approach. First production is expected in 2014 at 20mtpa which is expected to fund the ramp up period to 50 mtpa in 2018.
The Company has established a separate subsidiary, 'Bellzone Infrastructure', to facilitate funding and operations of the infrastructure for the Kalia Iron Project, which includes a multi-user 286km rail and port facility.
Bellzone is listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange under the ticker 'BZM'.