Weatherly International Plc Regulatory News (WTI)

28 Jul 2005 07:00

Weatherly International PLC28 July 2005 28 July 2005 Weatherly International plc ("Weatherly" or the "Company") granted opportunity to acquire mining assets in Zambia Further to the Company's announcement on 15 July 2005, the acquisition of WMExploration Ltd ("WMEL") has completed. Under the terms of the transaction,Weatherly has secured the "right of first refusal", on terms and for aconsideration to be agreed, to acquire the rights in respect of natural resourceprojects being investigated by the WMEL Directors or companies in which they areinterested. In accordance with this obligation, the WMEL Directors have now provided theboard of Weatherly with the first of these opportunities, namely to acquire aZambian copper mining project, the relevant rights for which are held by PukuMinerals Limited ("Puku"). Puku is a Zambian incorporated private company inwhich the WMEL Directors hold, together, a controlling interest. The project wassourced and has been under investigation since 2003 by the WMEL Directors. The project comprises a de-commissioned copper mine in Luanshya situated in thecopper-belt region of Zambia and is considered by the WMEL Directors to be oneof the larger in the country with around one million tonnes of copper containedin resource and reserve categories. The WMEL Directors estimate that onre-opening, it could be capable of producing up to 40,000 tonnes of copperannually. The timing and cost of re-opening the mine is currently being assessedby Puku. At this stage, a preliminary evaluation of the assets has been presented to theboard of Weatherly, and the independent directors of Weatherly have resolved toexercise their right of first refusal over the project, although no terms haveyet been agreed for the acquisition of this project by the Company. Any suchacquisition would be subject to satisfactory due diligence, including anindependent valuation report, the raising of additional funds by the Company,and the approval of Weatherly shareholders at an EGM in accordance with the AIMrules by virtue of the size of the acquisition. The acquisition would also be arelated party transaction under the AIM rules. Weatherly Chairman, Peter Redmond, said: "We are very pleased to receive thisopportunity to acquire one of the larger copper mining projects in Zambia. Theindependent directors of Weatherly believe Rod Webster and Wolf Martinick'sextensive experience and understanding of the Zambian mining industry willenable Weatherly to enhance Luanshya's substantial reserve base even furtherusing modern mining techniques, including such approaches as the reworking ofreserves left behind during previous operations and the treatment of tailingsand dumps." For further information contact: Peter Redmond, ChairmanWeatherly International plc 020 7332 2200 Allan Piper 020 7436 7486First City Financial Public Relations 07736 064 982 Editor's Notes Weatherly, a former financial services group was rescued through a creditorsvoluntary arrangement (CVA) which raised £250,000 in January 2004. In July 2005,there was a further cash injection of £723,500 and a change in strategy with theappointments of Dr. Wolf Martinick and Rod Webster as executive directors. TheCompany is seeking to acquire, or invest, in opportunities in the naturalresources sector, particularly in Africa. Dr Martinick, 60, is a director of Sun Resources Ltd, an oil and gas explorationcompany listed on the Australian Stock Exchange ("ASX"), chairman of EzenetLimited, an ASX-listed movie distribution company, and a founder-director ofBasin Minerals Ltd, an ASX company with a world-class mineral project inVictoria, Australia. Mr Webster, 54, has over 28 years of experience in the resources industry,including more than 10 years in managing director or chief executive officerposts. His most recent positions have been as a senior executive to FirstQuantum Minerals ("FQM"), a Canadian and AIM listed company, developing andoperating copper mines in Zambia, the Democratic Republic of Congo andMauritania. Most recently, he was in charge of the company's Mauritanianactivities, but prior to this was the Chief Executive Officer responsible forthe development of the Kansanshi mine in Zambia, probably the world's mostsignificant new copper mine to come on stream in recent times. He was also anon-executive director of another major Zambian copper producer, Mopani CopperMines Ltd, in which FQM had a major interest. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange