Last checked at 10 Jun 2020 17:01
Premier African Minerals Limited / Ticker: PREM / Index: AIM / Sector: Mining
For immediate release
10 June 2020
Premier African Minerals Limited
Acquisition of Zimbabwe and Mozambique Lithium Portfolio
The Board of Premier African Minerals Limited ("Premier" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that the Company has entered into a conditional sale and purchase agreement to acquire a portfolio of hard-rock lithium assets located in Zimbabwe and Mozambique from Lithium Consolidated Ltd ("Li3") following Li3's strategic shift of focus to their Australian based projects.
Highlights
· Zimbabwe claims are prospective for lithium and have historic production of beryl and tantalite
· Complement our existing operations in Zimbabwe
· Demonstrate our commitment to our Zimbabwe operations
· Mozambique project carries similar mineralisation to Zimbabwe and has gold prospects
George Roach, Chief Executive of Premier commented, "These properties in Zimbabwe are completely complementary to our existing operations and may have potential for small scale early production, something very important to our Company, as much as adding to our lithium inventory.
The project in Mozambique has recently been identified as being potentially prospective for other mineralisation including gold".
Sale and Purchase Agreement ("SPA")
Premier has conditionally agreed to purchase the Li3 African projects for a gross consideration of AUD$ 150,000, (approximately US$104,000) which will be satisfied through issuance of new ordinary in Premier ("Settlement Shares"). The SPA is subject to a 30-day due diligence period ("Period").
The issue price of Settlement Shares will be based on a 5-day VWAP prior to completion of the Period unless otherwise agreed in writing. Application will be made for the Settlement Shares, which will rank pari passu with the Company's existing Ordinary Shares, to be admitted to trading on AIM and a further announcement will be made in due course.
Project overview and history
The information below has been provided by Li3 and makes direct reference to the regulatory news released by Li3 today.
Zimbabwe
Originally acquired by Li3 in 2018, the 1500 hectares of licences are retained within the Mutare Greenstone Belt, located close to the eastern border with Mozambique. The area was deemed prospective for LCT-type pegmatites based on target generation work completed by Douglas Haynes.
The Mutare Greenstone Belt ("MGB") is an arcuate belt approximately 100km long with a NE-SW trend. The belt is a syncline made up of ultramafic, mafic and banded-iron formation of the Bulawayan Group on the flanks, and younger metasediments of the Shamvaian Group in the core. Granitoid intrusions are present to both the north and south of the belt.
A number of LCT pegmatites are located within the MGB including the Grand Duke, Portree and Bepe deposits. The pegmatites have been historically mined for beryl and tantalite, and several companies in the region are currently conducting exploration for both tantalite and lithium.
Mozambique
The 100-hectare block located within the Alto Ligonha Pegmatite Province of Mozambique was acquired by Li3in 2019.
The Alto Ligonha Pegmatite Province ("ALPP") is largely located in the NNE - SSW trending Namama Thrust Belt which extends from Mocuba in the southwest to approximately 100km northeast of Alto Molocue in the northeast in the Zambézia Province of northern Mozambique.
The area is well known for its gemstone producing pegmatites. Pegmatites from these zones were historically exploited for their beryl, rare-earth minerals and gem contents making the country the second largest beryl producer in the world during the 1960's.
More recently, artisanal workings have also been identified within the project which have produced gold.
About Li3
Li3 is an ASX-listed mineral exploration company with a diversified portfolio of projects in Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Western Australia. In December 2019, Li3 secured 510km2 of projects in Western Australia highly prospective for gold and base metals.
This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of EU Regulation 596/2014. The person who arranged the release of this announcement on behalf of the Company was George Roach.
Enquiries:
Fuad Sillem | Premier African Minerals Limited | Tel: +44 (0)7734 922074 |
Michael Cornish / Roland Cornish | Beaumont Cornish Limited (Nominated Adviser) | Tel: +44 (0) 20 7628 3396 |
Jerry Keen/Edward Mansfield | Shore Capital Stockbrokers Limited | Tel: +44 (0) 20 7408 4090 |
Notes to Editors:
Premier African Minerals Limited (AIM: PREM) is a multi-commodity mining and natural resource development company focused on Southern Africa with its RHA Tungsten and Zulu Lithium projects in Zimbabwe.
The Company has a diverse portfolio of projects, which include tungsten, rare earth elements, lithium and tantalum in Zimbabwe, encompassing brownfield projects with near-term production potential to grass-roots exploration. The Company holds 5,010,333 shares in Circum Minerals Limited, the owners of the Danakil Potash Project in Ethiopia, which has the potential to be a world class asset.
In addition, the Company holds a 12% interest in MN Holdings Limited, the owner and operator of the Otjozondu Manganese Mining Project in Namibia.
Glossary | |
"Beryl" | A beryllium silicate (Be3Al2(Si6O18)), the most important beryllium ore. |
"Tantalite" | A tantalum oxide ((Mn,Fe)(Ta,Nb)2O6), the most important tantalum ore. |
"LCT pegmatite" | A coarse-grained igneous rock containing economic quantities of lithium ("L"), caesium ("C") and tantalum ("T"). |
"Greenstone" | A field term applied to any compact dark-green altered or metamorphosed basic igneous rock that owes its colour to the presence of chlorite, actinolite, or epidote. Greenstone belts are often prospective for gold, iron, LCT pegmatites and others. |
"Syncline" | A fold in which the core contains the stratigraphically younger rocks; it is generally concave upward. |
"Mafic" | Pertaining to, or composed dominantly of, the ferromagnesian rock-forming silicates, especially pyroxenes, amphiboles, olivine and biotite; mostly used with igneous rocks. |
"Ultramafic" | Igneous rocks that contain more than 90 vol-% mafic minerals are called ultramafic. |
Forward Looking Statements:
Certain statements in this announcement are or may be deemed to be forward looking statements. Forward looking statements are identified by their use of terms and phrases such as ''believe'' ''could'' "should" ''envisage'' ''estimate'' ''intend'' ''may'' ''plan'' ''will'' or the negative of those variations or comparable expressions including references to assumptions. These forward-looking statements are not based on historical facts but rather on the Directors' current expectations and assumptions regarding the Company's future growth results of operations performance future capital and other expenditures (including the amount. nature and sources of funding thereof) competitive advantages business prospects and opportunities. Such forward looking statements reflect the Directors' current beliefs and assumptions and are based on information currently available to the Directors. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements including risks associated with vulnerability to general economic and business conditions competition environmental and other regulatory changes actions by governmental authorities the availability of capital markets reliance on key personnel uninsured and underinsured losses and other factors many of which are beyond the control of the Company. Although any forward-looking statements contained in this announcement are based upon what the Directors believe to be reasonable assumptions. The Company cannot assure investors that actual results will be consistent with such forward looking statements.
ENDS