eEnergy Group Regulatory News (EAAS)

10 Mar 2009 07:00



10 March 2009

Alexander Mining plc

("Alexander" or the "Company")

Operations Update

Growing Interest in Proprietary AmmLeach® Technology as Mining Companies Look to Cut Costs

Focus on commercialisation of innovative MetaLeach technologies

Strong interest from mining industry leading to growing test-work revenues 

Ten revenue generating agreements with mining companies signed to date and discussions for many more

Cash at year end £4.9 million, equivalent to 3.7p per share 

Significant reduction in overheads implemented

Expenditure in Argentina cut to a nominal level to maintain Leon project licences

Alexander Mining plc is pleased to report that it is attracting increasing interest in its innovative MetaLeach technologies, which offer potentially substantial mine cost savings. The pressure on mining companies to reduce costs is intense. The MetaLeach technologies have become evermore attractive against the prevailing background of greatly reduced metal prices and falling operating margins.

Alexander is now solely focused on the commercialisation of its proprietary mineral processing technologies. Since the Company's interim results announcement in September 2008, the number of multinational mining groups, as well as intermediate and junior companies eager to investigate the potential of Alexander's technology has expanded. Alexander has already received test-work payments and the pipeline of amenability test-work programmes is increasing steadily.  A major campaign to grow this revenue stream is under way, with the aim of securing future royalties and/or free carried equity interests in attractive base metals projects and/or mines.

AmmLeach®, for which patents are pending, has the potential to revolutionise the extraction processes for high acid consuming copper and zinc oxide deposits. The operating cost differential between AmmLeach® and conventional heap leaching treatment methods for high sulphuric acid consuming ores is a significant order of magnitude in AmmLeach®'s favour.

The AmmLeach® process was developed as a result of Alexander's successful pilot plant demonstration at its Leon copper project in Argentina and subsequent research and development. As well as copper oxides, AmmLeach® has excellent potential for developing a new solvent extraction-electrowinning (SX-EW) process for producing high purity zinc metal or an intermediate product at the mine. 

The zinc process has been trialled successfully on a bench scale and larger scale test-work is imminent. The AmmLeach® process leaches common zinc oxide minerals with high extraction efficiencies and offers a potentially economic processing route for many zinc oxide deposits that are currently uneconomic.

The Company is expected to announce its preliminary results for the year ended 31 December 2009 by late April 2009.

For further information please contact:

Alexander Mining plc

1st Floor

35 Piccadilly

London

W1J 0DW

Tel: +44 (0) 20 7292 1300

Fax: +44 (0) 20 7292 1313

Email: mail@alexandermining.com

Website: www.alexandermining.com

Nominated Advisor and Broker

Alasdair Younie/John Prior

Arbuthnot Securities Limited

Arbuthnot House

20 Ropemaker Street

London

EC2Y 9AR

Tel: +44 (0) 20 7012 2000

Public/Media Relations

Tim Blackstone

Britton Financial PR

62 Britton Street

London

EC1M 5UY

Tel: +44 (0) 20 7242 9786

Mobile: +44 (0) 7957 140 416