Sable Mining Africa Regulatory News (SBLM)

Sable Mining Africa Ltd/ Index: AIM / Epic: SBLM / Sector: Natural Resources

4 May 2011

Sable Mining Africa Limited ('Sable Mining' or 'the Company')

Springbok Flats Coal Project Update

Sable Mining Africa Limited, the AIM listed resource company, is pleased to announce a positive update on the Springbok Flats Coal project in South Africa ('Springbok Flats' or 'the Project'). 

Formal agreements have now been signed pursuant to which Delta Mining Consolidated Limited ('DMC') will, subject to regulatory approval, acquire a 70% interest in the 9,948 hectare prospecting right held by the Bakgatla Ba Seabe Traditional Authority (the 'Ba Seabe Title') and the 24,753 hectare prospecting right held by the Bakgatla Ba Mocha Traditional Authority (the 'Ba Mocha Title'). The aforementioned titles have current non-JORC estimated coal resources of 342Mt and 998Mt respectively, which, on completion, will provide DMC with a total attributable tonnage of 938Mt. The remaining 30% interest in the Ba Seabe and Ba Mocha Titles will be held by the Bakgatla Ba Seabe Traditional Authority (15%) and the Bakgatla Ba Mocha Traditional Authority (15%).

Exploration at Springbok Flats is an important strategic step for the Company as the district remains one of a few underexplored coalfields in South Africa. The area has been the subject of various exploration campaigns in the 1970s and 1980s and DMC has a database of some 300 boreholes drilled in the immediate vicinity which have been evaluated and modelled. These formed the basis for an independent geologists' report in 2009 which tabulated 1.34 billion gross tonnes in situ ('GTIS') that underlie the combined Ba Seabe licence and the Ba Mocha licence. The exploration conducted by DMC demonstrated that the coalfield encompassed by the new licence areas could deliver coal grades ranging from coking to power station grade.

Sable Mining understands that the Ba Seabe Title is also prospective for uranium, while historical data relating to the Ba Mocha Title suggests that it may contain coal which has semi-coking properties. A Phase 2 exploration plan has been developed for this area and is underpinned by an additional 62 planned boreholes totalling some 10,000m of core drilling. The main focus of this drilling will be expansion drilling to the east where more information is needed, as well as some infill drilling to increase the reporting confidence of the total resources. Drilling will also focus on understanding the uranium mineralisation which is associated with this deposit.

Sable Mining CEO Andrew Groves said, "Our interest in the Springbok Flats Project represents a significant opportunity for Sable Mining to increase its total attributable tonnage in one of the last underexplored coalfields in South Africa. Previous exploration has demonstrated the potential for high quality coal grades, ranging from coking coal to power station grade coal, and the board intends to commence a drilling campaign as soon as practicable in order to better define the geology of the coal basin and delineate a JORC compliant resource."

The new agreements regarding the Project ('the New Agreements') replace and supersede the previously announced arrangements with respect to five prospecting rights on the Springbok Flats area. DMC previously retained a potential 51% interest in respect of these five prospecting rights. Following the signing of the New Agreements, DMC has acquired a 70% shareholding in Wandering Star Trading 22 (Proprietary) Limited ('the Project Company'), a South African company in which the Bakgatla Ba Seabe Traditional Authority and the Bakgatla Ba Mocha Traditional Authority each hold a 15% shareholding. Under the terms of the New Agreements, the Bakgatla Ba Seabe Traditional Authority and the Bakgatla Ba Mocha Traditional Authority have respectively agreed to transfer the Ba Seabe Title and the Ba Mocha Title to the Project Company, subject to receipt of approval from the South African Department of Mineral Resources ('the DMR') pursuant to section 11 of the South African Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act. Sable Mining intends to ensure that the relevant applications are made to the DMR as soon as practicable.

**ENDS**

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