TIDMPREM
RNS Number : 0256Z
Premier African Minerals Limited
12 December 2017
12 December 2017
Premier African Minerals Limited
RHA Update
Premier African Minerals Limited, ("Premier" or the "Company")
is pleased to provide an update on the operations at the RHA
Tungsten Mine ("RHA") in Zimbabwe.
Open Pit Review
In order to confirm the in-situ resource grade, stripping ratio
and concentrate recovery through the plant, RHA has completed the
mining phase of a large bulk sample containing 8,272 tonnes of ore
from the open pit of which 7,247 tonnes have been processed. The
results will guide future open pit operations and cost
effectiveness or otherwise, of blending ore from the open pit with
underground ore. Processing of the remaining component of open pit
ore through the plant will take place when the mining contractor
has completed fragmentation of large boulders.
Underground Operations
Underground mining and on strike development are progressing
well. The monthly target tonnage required to achieve profitable
operations at RHA at projected resource grade, remains less than
the projected 6,000 tonnes per month mining target. 3,700 tonnes of
ore from on strike development is available on the ROM and this
tonnage is expected to reach 6,000 tonnes during December 2017 and
to continue at this rate or greater for the foreseeable future.
Processing of this ore through the plant commenced on the 6(th)
December 2017. The RNS dated 29 September 2017 sets out the
parameters required to achieve breakeven throughput at RHA.
Plant Performance
Plant performance is encouraging, and the extensive maintenance
and optimisation work completed over the past few months has seen
improved plant recoveries, when plant availability maintains
satisfactory levels of performance. Plant throughput is 700 tonnes
per day and plant performance is primarily constrained because of a
high fine particle percentage in the open pit ore. Processing of
underground ore only and/or mixing of open pit with underground ore
is likely to improve plant performance as well as overall
recoveries of concentrate even further.
Finance
Capital budgets for the underground operations at RHA are fully
funded and no portion of the recent financing announced on 20
November 2017 has been used for this purpose. Premier does not
expect to provide any significant financing for future RHA
operations after the 31 December 2017. And, any further working
capital provided to RHA from the end of this year will only be
provided to bridge time between availability of concentrate to ship
and the date of payment.
To date, RHA has been sole funded by Premier and has received no
contribution from the National Indigenisation and Economic
Empowerment Board ("NIEEB"), which holds a 51% interest in RHA.
Premier is owed in excess of US$20 million before any adjustment
for the true cost of that debt. Premier continues to accrue lease
payments for the plant and equipment at RHA, which are solely owned
by Premier on a fully secured basis.
Afmine
The Company also issued today 59,756,000 new Ordinary Shares at
an issue price of 0.5 pence per new Ordinary Share to African
Mining and Exploration ("Afmine"), the principal mining contractor
at RHA as payment for services rendered by Afmine in relation to
ongoing mining operations as detailed in the announcement dated 23
November 2016 (the "Afmine Shares").
The Afmine Shares will rank pari passu in all respects with the
existing Ordinary Shares. Application will be made for the Afmine
Shares to be admitted to trading on AIM and admission is expected
to take place on or around 18 December 2017.
Following the issue of the Ordinary Shares, the Company's issued
share capital consists of 6,557,972,350 ordinary shares, with
voting rights. This figure may be used by shareholders in the
Company as the denominator for the calculation by which they will
determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a
change to their interest in, the share capital of the Company under
the Financial Conduct Authority's Disclosure and Transparency
Rules.
George Roach, Premier's CEO, commented: "With ongoing
negotiations with potential partners in regard to Zulu Lithium, and
some additional stellar drilling results imminent, RHA is
progressing as planned, and with Premier having secured further
funding, I sincerely believe that the value of Zulu and Circum
holdings should be reflective in our market capitalisation.
Regardless of the performance at RHA during December 2017, Premier
does not intend to provide any further finance to RHA for normal
operations or capital unless RHA is trading profitably and then
only for bridging finance."
This announcement contains inside information for the purposes
of Article 7 of EU Regulation 596/2014.
Enquiries
Premier African Minerals Tel: +44 (0)7734
Fuad Sillem Limited 922074
------------------ --------------------------- ------------------
Michael Cornish Beaumont Cornish Tel: +44 (0) 207
/ Roland Cornish Limited 628 3396
(Nominated Adviser)
------------------ --------------------------- ------------------
Jerry Keen/Edward Shore Capital Stockbrokers Tel: +44 (0) 207
Mansfield Limited 408 4090
------------------ --------------------------- ------------------
Beaufort Securities Tel: +44 (0) 20
Jon Belliss Limited 7382 8300
------------------ --------------------------- ------------------
Charles Goodwin/ Yellow Jersey PR Tel: +44 (0) 7747
Harriet Jackson Limited 788221
------------------ --------------------------- ------------------
Notes to Editors:
Premier African Minerals Limited (AIM: PREM) is a
multi-commodity mining and natural resource development company
focused in Southern and Western Africa with production started at
its flagship RHA project in Zimbabwe.
The Company has a diverse portfolio of projects, which include
tungsten, rare earth elements, gold, lithium and tantalum in
Zimbabwe and Benin, encompassing brownfield projects with near-term
production potential to grass-roots exploration. In addition, the
Company holds 5,010,333 shares in Circum Minerals Limited
("Circum"), the owners of the Danakil Potash Project in Ethiopia,
which has the potential to be a world class asset. At present those
shares are valued at US$10.2 million based on the latest price at
which Circum has accepted subscriptions. Premier also has an
interest in Casa Mining Limited, a privately-owned exploration
company that has a 71.25% interest in the 1.5 million ounce
inferred resource Akyanga gold deposit in the DRC.
Forward Looking Statements:
Certain statements in this announcement are, or may be deemed to
be forward looking statements. Forward looking statements are
identi ed 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 re ect 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
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
UPDEAAAFFAPXFAF
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 12, 2017 02:00 ET (07:00 GMT)
Premier African Minerals (LSE:PREM)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2024 to May 2024
Premier African Minerals (LSE:PREM)
Historical Stock Chart
From May 2023 to May 2024