Last checked at 8 May 2012 07:00
Ferrex plc / Index: AIM / Epic: FRX / Sector: Mining
8 May 2012
Ferrex plc ('Ferrex' or 'the Company')
Strengthens Senior Management Team through Appointment of General Manager in West Africa
Ferrex plc, the AIM quoted iron ore and manganese development company focused in Africa, is pleased to announce that it has strengthened its senior management team through the appointment of Mr. Justin Longley as General Manager focused on West Africa.
Mr. Longley's extensive experience evaluating and developing commercial mining and processing operations in Africa will be highly beneficial as the Company continues to fast-track its Nayega manganese project in northern Togo, towards the publication of a maiden resource in Q2 2012, with the view of advancing it into production in the near term. Additionally, Ferrex continues to evaluate other potential assets in West Africa in line with its strategy of acquiring further synergistic iron ore and manganese projects requiring low capital expenditure and close to infrastructure, to complement its solid portfolio which includes the Malelane iron ore project and Leinster manganese project in South Africa.
Justin Longley, aged 46, has a B.Sc. in Geology from University College London and an MBA from Imperial College London. During his 20 years in Africa he has managed the development of a range of mining and processing operations through to production status. His consultancy role will allow him to continue assessing projects on behalf of private equity investors in parallel with his role at Ferrex. Previous managerial roles include Diamondworks in Angola, Oryx Natural Resources in the DRC, and Mukuba Resources in Zambia. Justin has worked extensively with governments and local communities to develop mining operations and build mutually beneficial relationships.
Ferrex Managing Director Mr. Dave Reeves said, "I am delighted to welcome Justin as General Manager of West Africa during this exciting time of development at our Togolese Nayega manganese project where we are on target to produce a maiden JORC compliant resource by the end of June 2012. This is a highly prospective asset, which geology suggests is suitable to a shallow open pit operation with a total exploration target of 6-8.5Mt @14-25.5% Mn, which we believe offers shareholders near term value uplift potential. We also continue to assess a range of prospective assets in the West African region in line with our strategy to acquire low-capex, close to infrastructure iron ore and manganese projects with mid-term production potential, and I am confident that Justin's extensive experience in evaluating and developing mining projects will prove highly advantageous to the Company on both an operational and corporate level going forward."
**ENDS**
For further information please visit the Company's website www.ferrexplc.com or contact the following:
Dave Reeves | Ferrex plc | + 61 (0) 420 372 740 |
Russell Lamming | Ferrex plc | + 44 (0) 781 0870 587 |
Colin Aaronson / David Hignell | Grant Thornton Corporate Finance | +44 (0) 20 7383 5100 |
John Prior / Sebastian Jones | Canaccord Genuity Limited | +44 (0) 20 7523 8350 |
Felicity Edwards | St Brides Media and Finance Ltd | +44 (0) 20 7236 1177 |
Notes
Ferrex plc is an AIM quoted exploration and development company focused on advancing low capex iron ore and manganese projects in Africa through the development cycle and into production. Our current property portfolio comprises iron ore (Malelane) and manganese (Leinster) projects in South Africa and a manganese project (Nayega) in Togo, all of which offer the potential for significant near-term value uplift.
The Company's growth strategy is centred on advancing its current assets, utilising its Board and management team's considerable experience in developing resource projects across Africa and expanding its portfolio through acquisitions to build Ferrex into a mid-tier, low-cost producer of iron ore and manganese.