17 Jan 2013 07:00
AIM: FOX 17 January 2013
Fox Marble Holdings Plc
("Fox Marble" or the "Company")
Acquisition of Quarry Rights
Extraction of grey marble planned to begin in Q2 2013
Fox Marble (AIM: FOX), the AIM listed company focused on marble quarrying in Kosovo, announces that it has signed an agreement to acquire rights to extract marble from a quarry in the west of Kosovo, close to the Company's red marble quarry at Cervenilla.
The agreement has been signed with Drini Company Sh.p.k., a Kosovan business that has been using the Drini quarry for aggregates extraction. Under the terms of the agreement, Fox Marble has the rights to extract marble from the 2.5 hectare site for a 20 year period.
Dr. Ing Orlando Pandolfi, Fox Marble's quarry strategist, has surveyed the Drini quarry and concluded that the marble in the Drini quarry is of good quality, with sufficient quantities for commercial exploitation.
Fox Marble intends to begin extracting blocks from the quarry within a few weeks of the onset of snow free conditions, ie subject to weather conditions. Based on current available data, the illustrative market price of a processed cubic metre of grey marble is €2,100. Under the agreement, Fox Marble will pay a royalty of €20 per cubic metre extracted from the site to Drini Company Sh.p.k.
The chain of title to the Drini quarry has been confirmed by Fox Marble's lawyers in Kosovo and the exploitation licence is in good standing. The underlying licence runs until 20 August 2013 and is expected to be renewed in the ordinary course.
The Drini quarry contains a similar quality of grey marble as is located at Fox Marble's Verrezat quarry, which is currently the subject of a licence dispute as announced on 3 December 2012. Fox Marble continues in its efforts to remedy the current situation with respect to four of its five licences which were unilaterally "annulled" last month and is pursuing its legal remedies in accordance with the law on Mining and Minerals in Kosovo.
Chris Gilbert, CEO of Fox Marble, commented: "We are very pleased to acquire the rights to the Drini quarry, where we can begin to extract grey marble following the onset of snow free conditions. The Drini quarry is part of the same marble deposit as Cervenilla, where we have already extracted high-quality red marble."
Enquiries
For more information on Fox Marble, please visit www.foxmarble.net, or contact:
Fox Marble Holdings Plc | |
Christopher Gilbert, Chief Executive Officer | Tel: +44 (0) 20 7380 0999 |
Fiona Hadfield, Chief Financial Officer | |
Fox Davies Capital Limited (Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker) | Tel: +44 (0) 20 3463 5000 |
Susan Walker | |
Daniel Fox-Davies | |
Merchant Securities (Joint Broker) | Tel: +44 (0) 20 7375 9036 |
Lindsay Mair | |
Buchanan | Tel: +44 (0) 20 7466 5000 |
Mark Court / Fiona Henson / Sophie Cowles | www.buchanan.uk.com |