TALV.L Regulatory News (TALV)

29 Apr 2008 12:35

Talvivaara Mining Company Ltd29 April 2008 Talvivaara Mining Company Plc Stock Exchange Release 29 April 2008 Interim Management Statement for the period of 1 January - 28 April 2008 Talvivaara Group's main activity during the period was the construction of theTalvivaara nickel mine in Sotkamo, Finland. The project progressed according toplan both as regards its timetable and budget. Capital expenditure during theperiod of 1 January - 31 March 2008 amounted to €62 million. Total investment inthe project through to 31 March 2008 amounted to €187 million. Key events during the reporting period: Connection to the Finnish national main grid The 110 kV power line constructed from the Vuolijoki substation to theTalvivaara mine was connected to the Finnish national main grid on 18 January2008. The 43 km power line was constructed and connected ahead of schedule.Talvivaara Project Ltd and Fingrid Oyj have entered into an agreement overTalvivaara's access to the main grid for the years 2008 - 2011. Resolution by the Vaasa Court of Appeal on the environmental permit and startingorder The Vaasa Court of Appeal issued its ruling on the appeals made against theenvironmental permit and starting order on 15 February 2008. The Court of Appealupheld the Company's original permit and the starting order, and rejected alldemands for the revocation of the permit and the starting order. Allcompensations issued by the permitting authorities remained in force. The Courtof Appeal made a few amendments and specifications to the terms of the permit,all of which in the opinion of the management are immaterial in terms of changesto the projected costs for, or the conduct of, the mining and metals recoveryoperations at the site. The ruling was open to appeal to the Supreme Administrative Court until 17 March2008. By the end of the appeal period, four appeals against the environmentalpermit and starting order had been made. It is expected that the SupremeAdministrative Court will issue its ruling on the permit in the coming months,after which the environmental permit will be final and binding. Talvivaara doesnot anticipate that the terms of the permit will change materially as a resultof the appeal process. Annual General Meeting on 14 March 2008 The Annual General Meeting of Talvivaara Mining Company was held on 14 March2008 in Sotkamo. The AGM approved the adoption of the Company's and the Group'sannual accounts for the period ended 31 December 2007 and granted discharge ofliability to the members of the Board and the Managing Director / CEO. It wasdetermined that no dividend will be paid for the year ended 31 December 2007. The AGM approved the Board of Directors' proposal to change the corporate formof the Company from a private limited company to a public limited company. It wasresolved that the new name of the Company is Talvivaara Mining Company Plc. The AGM authorised the Board of Directors to issue up to a maximum of 11,495,000shares through issuance of shares against consideration and/or special rightsentitling to shares (including stock options) in one or more issues. Theauthorisation is valid until 13 March 2013. Should the Board of Directorsutilize this authorisation in full, the number of the Company's shares issuedand outstanding would increase from 222,896,178 to 234,391,178 shares. Commencement of mining Talvivaara Project Ltd had its first operational blast of ore on 1 April 2008.The first blast marked the beginning of the extraction of ore at the Talvivaaramine according to the project timetable. Railroad project and rail transport Talvivaara Infrastructure Oy and VR-Track Ltd signed an agreement on 31 January2008 for the construction and maintenance of a 25 kilometre railroad connectionbetween the Talvivaara mine and the national railroad network. The beginning ofrail operation is anticipated in August 2009. On 11 March 2008, Talvivaara Infrastructure Oy and the Finnish RailAdministration signed an agreement for the redemption of the Talvivaara railroadby the Finnish Rail Administration after two years of operation. TalvivaaraInfrastructure Oy will be responsible for the maintenance of the railroad forthis initial two-year period. Thereafter, the railroad will become part of thenational rail network. On 29 February 2008, Talvivaara Project Ltd and VR-Group Ltd signed a multi-yeargeneral and partnership agreement regarding the Talvivaara mine railroadtransport. VR Cargo will be responsible for the railroad transport of rawmaterials and metal sulphides to and from the mine. When in full production, therequired transportation capacity will reach an estimated 1.5 million tonnesannually. Personnel and safety Talvivaara Group's number of personnel increased from 64 at the start of thereporting period to 146 by the date of this statement. The growth in personnelstemmed primarily from the completion of several tailored training programmesfor the Talvivaara mine and processing plant operators. Students who havesuccessfully completed these training programmes are employed by Talvivaara.There are currently approximately 1,200 persons working daily at the site. During 2008, there have been altogether six lost-time-injuries, none of themserious. The company will continue to place a special emphasis on safety issuesat the site. Short-term outlook The Talvivaara mine project has progressed according to plan during thereporting period and the Company considers its next key milestones, being thestart of stacking and bioheapleaching in July and the start of metal sulphideproduction in October, to be realistic. Enquiries: Talvivaara Mining Company Plc Tel: +358 20 7129 800Pekka PeraSaila Miettinen-Lahde Merlin Tel: +44 207 653 6620Tom RandellAnca Spiridon Note: The information presented in this release is unaudited. Talvivaara aims to become an internationally significant base metals producerwith its primary focus on nickel and zinc using a technology known asbioheapleaching to extract metal out of low grade ore. Bioheapleaching makesextraction of metals from low grade ore economically viable. The Talvivaaradeposits comprise one of the largest known sulphide nickel resources in Europe.The ore body is sufficient to support anticipated production for a minimum of 24years and production is expected to start in late 2008. The Company has secureda 10-year off-take agreement for 100 per cent. of its main output of nickel andcobalt to Norilsk Nickel. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange