TIDMPREM
RNS Number : 7007L
Premier African Minerals Limited
05 October 2016
Premier African Minerals Limited / Ticker: PREM / Index: AIM /
Sector: Mining
For immediate release
5 October 2016
Premier African Minerals Limited
("Premier" or the "Company")
RHA Tungsten Mining Operations - Update
Available Tonnage and Processing Plant Upgrades
Premier African Minerals Limited (AIM: PREM), the London quoted
mining exploration and production company, is pleased to report
that a review of immediately available tungsten rich material at
its RHA Tungsten Operations ("RHA") in Zimbabwe has been completed
and this review has shown that there is sufficient tonnage
immediately available both in the open pit and underground
operations to support an initial 3 years' of operations at 39,000
tons per month once the proposed use of X-Ray Transmission ("XRT")
system for ore sorting has been installed at RHA's ore processing
plant. Target date for installation is the end of November this
year.
The XRT ore sorter is expected to be supplied on a toll basis
and the company is fully funded for this RHA upgrade. At the
planned 39,000 tonnes per month of ore mined, it is estimated that
RHA should be producing about 10,000 metric ton units (mtu) of
tungsten trioxide concentrate per month, which is equivalent to
approximately US$1.12 million per month in gross revenue at the
current net price of US$112 per mtu, which would be received by
RHA. A mtu is equal to ten kilograms of tungsten tri-oxide
equivalent contained in a concentrate and is the standard weight
measure of wolframite. Tungsten concentrate prices are generally
quoted as US dollars per mtu discounted off the European price for
ammonium para-tungstate (APT).
RHA Management budgets a monthly total expenditure on an EBITDA
basis at $825,000 when XRT is fully operational and projected
tonnages, recoveries and grades are achieved.
George Roach, Premier's CEO, commented:
"The review at the Company's RHA tungsten mine indicates that we
have at least 3 years of tungsten rich material immediately
available from the open pit and underground operations. We are
targeting a mining and processing rate of 39,000 tonnes per month,
with 23,000 tonnes per month coming from the open pit and 16,000
tonnes per month scheduled from underground. The successful
installation of the XRT ore sorting unit, in combination with
sufficient tonnage able to be mined with little or no development
will result in significantly higher feed grades to the plant with
higher production at lower cost and the Company is now pushing hard
to increase production and bring the project into profit by the end
of December this year."
RHA Tungsten Mine - Processing Plant Upgrades:
X-Ray Transmission ("XRT") test work on the RHA tungsten ore was
originally commissioned back in October 2015 with an initial
sample, which showed excellent results. As a result of this
original test work further test work was subsequently conducted
earlier this year by processing specialists Cronimet Mining
Processing South Africa ("Cronimet") on a larger 7 ton bulk sample
of the RHA mine's tungsten ore. The test work showed that
run-of-mine ore with a head grade containing 1.62 kg per tonne
(0.162%) of tungsten oxide (WO(3) ) resulted in the XRT sorter
achieving a concentrate grade of the ore to the plant prior to
final processing of 86 kg (8.6%) WO(3) per tonne.
The feasibility of the installation of a 50 tonne per hour XRT
sorter into the existing crushing circuits at RHA has already been
established and the Company is in final negotiations with the
supplier of the XRT sorter to supply and install the unit at the
RHA processing plant by the end of November 2016.
RHA Tungsten Mine - Available Tonnage:
The review of resources contained in the open pit projected to a
further 20 meter depth, and bulk mined with no stripping ratio,
indicates the immediate availability of 1.030 million tonnes of
open pit resource grading at 1.5 kg per tonne WO(3) in the inferred
category as included within the SAMREC compliant resources reported
by the Company in May 2014 and October 2014 ("October 2014 Resource
Estimate").
The Company's estimate of underground material accessible from
existing underground development (without the need for further
drives or shafts), is 505,000 tonnes. RHA mined and processed
material from underground in September 2016 and the recoveries
indicated a ROM grade in excess of 4kg per tonne. The Company's
technical team is confident of the grade continuity in the known
underground system. No cut-off grades were applied to these
estimates of available tonnages due to the planned use of XRT ore
sorting.
Historically, the Company reported resources at RHA in the
October 2014 Resource Estimate in regard to lodes 1 and 2 systems
only. The available tonnage estimate in the underground workings is
in respect of lode systems 4 to 7 and relates only to material
contained off existing developed drives and semi-developed stope
areas from 100 meters below the 870 level to surface. No SAMREC
compliant resource estimate has yet been prepared or reported in
respect of lode systems 4 to 7. This ore body remains open on
strike and at depth and ongoing underground sampling and lateral
drilling expected to commence this quarter, may significantly
increase the confidence and size of the target underground resource
as and when a SAMREC compliant resource estimate on this section is
reported.
Qualified Person:
Gerard Evans, Resource Geologist for Premier African Minerals,
has reviewed and confirmed the statements related to open pit and
underground resources set out herein. Gerard Evans has 25 years'
experience in mining industry specialising in resource geology and
holds a B.Sc Hons degree in geology from the University of the
Witwatersrand. He is registered member of SACNASP (400015/08), GSSA
and GASA.
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.
This announcement contains inside information for the purposes
of Article 7 of EU Regulation 596/2014.
Glossary of Technical Terms
"(Fe, Mn) Chemical composition of wolframite
WO(4) "
"Indicated That part of a Mineral Resource for
Resource" which tonnage, densities, shape, physical
characteristics, grade and mineral
content can be estimated with a reasonable
level of confidence. It is based on
exploration, sampling and testing
information gathered through appropriate
techniques from locations such as
outcrops, trenches, pits, workings
and drill holes. The locations are
too widely or inappropriately spaced
to confirm geological and/or grade
continuity but are spaced closely
enough for continuity to be assumed
"Inferred That part of a Mineral Resource for
Resource" which tonnage, grade and mineral content
can be estimated with a low level
of confidence. It is inferred from
geological evidence and sampling and
assumed but not verified geological
and/or grade continuity. It is based
on information gathered through appropriate
techniques from locations such as
outcrops, trenches, pits, workings
and drill holes that may be limited
or of uncertain quality and reliability
"kg/t" Abbreviation for kilogramme per tonne
"Lode" Previous workers identified continuous
to semi-continuous mineralised quartz
veins as Lodes
"Measured That part of a mineral resource for
mineral resource" which quantity, grade or quality,
densities, shape, and physical characteristics
are so well established that they
can be estimated with confidence sufficient
to allow the appropriate application
of technical and economic parameters,
to support production planning and
evaluation of the economic viability
of the deposit. The estimate is based
on detailed and reliable exploration,
sampling and testing information gathered
through appropriate techniques from
locations such as outcrops, trenches,
pits, workings and drill holes that
are spaced closely enough to confirm
both geological and grade continuity
"Mineral resource" Concentration or occurrence of diamonds,
natural solid inorganic material or
natural fossilized organic material
including base and precious metals,
coal, and industrial minerals in or
on the Earth's crust in such form
and quantity and of such a grade or
quality that it has reasonable prospects
for economic extraction. The location,
quantity, grade, geological characteristics
and continuity of a mineral resource
are known, estimated or interpreted
from specific geological evidence
and knowledge
"SAMREC" South African Code for Reporting of
Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves
"Tungsten" Metallic element known also as wolfram
with the chemical symbol W and atomic
number 74
"wolframite" Mineral name for iron-manganese tungstate;
(Fe,Mn)WO(4,) an ore of tungsten.
The ratio of iron to manganese varies;
iron-rich wolframite is known as ferberite
FeWO(4) , manganese-rich wolframite
is known as hübnerite MnWO(4)
"WO(3) " Tungsten trioxide
"XRT technology" X-ray sorting technique where specific
mineral (e.g. wolframite) bearing
rock can be separated from specific
mineral-poor rock and other impurities.
This upgrades in metal terms the material
feed to the plant energy and lowers
the tonnage of rock requiring processing
which results in substantially improved
the economics for mineral processing
operations.
Enquiries:
Premier African Minerals Tel: +44 (0)7734
Fuad Sillem Limited 922074
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Michael Cornish Beaumont Cornish Tel: +44 (0) 207
/ Roland Cornish Limited 628 3396
(Nominated Adviser)
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Jerry Keen/Edward Shore Capital Stockbrokers Tel: +44 (0) 207
Mansfield Limited 408 4090
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Charles Goodwin/Aidan
Stanley /Dominic Yellow Jersey PR Tel: +44 (0) 7584
Barretto Limited 085 670
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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 includes
tungsten, rare earth elements, gold, lithium and tantalum in
Zimbabwe and Benin, encompassing brownfield projects with near-term
production potential to grass-roots exploration. The Company also
holds 2 million 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$4 million based on the latest price at which Circum
has accepted subscriptions.
ENDS
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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