Weatherly International Plc Regulatory News (WTI)

Weatherly International plc ('Weatherly' or the 'Company')

Central Operations Update

On 12 July 2010, the Company announced its decision to proceed with the restart of production at the Otjihase and Matchless copper mines in Namibia (the 'Central Operations'). Weatherly is pleased to provide an update in respect of the production restart which remains on schedule for Q1 2011. The Central Operations are expected to produce on average 30,000 tonnes of copper concentrate annually, containing approximately 7,000 tonnes of copper and 3,000 oz of gold.

FUNDING

On 12 July the Company announced that it had received an offer of funding, subject to contract and due diligence of US$7 million from Louis Dreyfus Commodities Metals Suisse S.A., the Swiss based metal trading company and member of the Louis Dreyfus Commodities group ('Louis Dreyfus Commodities'). Louis Dreyfus Commodities Metals Suisse S.A. is a leading global trader of non-ferrous raw materials. Pursuant to that offer and following further negotiations the Company is able to announce today that its subsidiary Ongopolo Mining Limited has signed both a prepayment facility and an offtake/hedging agreement with Louis Dreyfus Commodities.

Under the agreement, Louis Dreyfus Commodities will provide US$7 million in funds to be applied to the reopening of the Central Operations.

Repayment of the facility is linked to concentrate production with monthly payments matched to the amount of concentrate produced and deducted from sales proceeds, thus reducing risk in the event of an unexpected delay to production. Repayments are scheduled to begin seven months after first drawdown of the loan.

All monies outstanding under the terms of this facility are secured against all of the assets of Weatherly's subsidiary, Ongopolo Mining Limited.

The prepayment facility contains a hedging framework which will allow Ongopolo Mining Limited to forward sell up to 35% of its output for a period of 18 months. Should Ongopolo Mining Limited elect to do this, then part of the downside risk of the project is reduced, while at the same time retaining a significant unhedged component that will benefit accordingly should copper prices increase. This is one of the hedging alternatives being considered by the Company.

The capital cost of reopening the mines is US$6.7 million. The Company's current estimate of peak funding requirements including working capital build up at assumed production and copper price assumptions is approximately US$12 million. In addition to the Louis Dreyfus Commodities facility the remaining funds will be generated through cash holdings in Namibia, the proceeds of the sale of the Kombat mine which is still awaiting Ministerial consent, and from the proceeds of real estate sales held last year. Proceeds from the real estate sales are beginning to flow as the land transfer process completes.

MANAGERIAL APPOINTMENTS

In July Weatherly announced that it was in the process of recruiting additional senior management to support the restart programme.

The Company is pleased to announce that it has made two key appointments to oversee the operations in Namibia. These are Craig Thomas, who has been appointed Managing Director of Weatherly's Namibian subsidiaries (Weatherly Mining Namibia and Ongopolo Mining Limited), and Andrew Thomson who has been appointed as his Technical Director and Country Manager. Craig Thomas is an Australian mining engineer with a strong track record in new mine developments in Australia, Papua New Guinea and Botswana. Andrew Thomson is a local geologist and former General Manager of Weatherly. 

In addition, two significant appointments have been made to strengthen the boards of Weatherly's Namibian subsidiaries. Mr. Titus Haimbili, the Chief Executive Officer of TransNamib, the Namibian national rail company and Mr. Frans Ndoroma, the Chief Executive Officer of Telecom Namibia have been appointed as non-executive directors with immediate effect. Mr. Haimbili and Mr. Ndoroma have significant corporate experience in Namibia and add considerable weight to the Namibia boards.

RESTART PROGRAM

Since the commitment was made to commence the restart programme there has been no change to the overall timetable which has both mines back in production in the first quarter of 2011. All critical equipment items have been ordered, further recruitment is underway and negotiations with key contractors are at an advanced stage.

TSCHUDI UPDATE

Metallurgical testwork on the Tschudi open pit samples is continuing at the Amdel laboratories in Perth, Western Australia. The Tschudi orebody located in northern Namibia contains 25mt grading 0.9%% Cu and 11g/t Ag to a depth of 180m and is being advanced as an open pit, heap leach project. The work is being managed by the international engineering firm Sedgman who were awarded the feasibility study earlier in the year. Metallurgical test results are now expected before the end of 2010 with the final feasibility study expected to be completed in the first half of 2011.

For further information please contact:

Rod Webster, Chief Executive Officer Weatherly International Plc

+44 (0) 20 7917 2989

Richard Greenfield / Jen Boorer, Ambrian Partners Limited

+44 (0) 20 7634 4710

Carina Corbett, 4C Burvale (Investor Relations)

+44 (0) 207 559 6615.