TIDMALO
RNS Number : 1736A
Alecto Minerals PLC
22 March 2017
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Alecto Minerals plc / EPIC: ALO / Market: AIM / Sector:
Mining
22 March 2017
Alecto Minerals plc ("Alecto" or the "Company")
Operational Update
Alecto Minerals plc (AIM: ALO), the African-focused gold and
copper exploration and development company, is pleased to provide a
positive operational update in relation to the Mowana Copper
Project in Botswana ("Mowana" or the "Project").
-- Capital Drilling Limited (LSE: CAPD) has been awarded the
contract for Drill and Blast and is currently mobilising its
equipment to site
o In the interim, using a local contractor, the first production
blast is expected by the end of this month
-- Giant Transport Holdings Limited ("Giant"), the Company's
mining contractor for the Project for an initial period of six
months, has commenced operations
-- Appointment of Vincent (Paddy) Conran as General Manager for
the Project - over 25 years' experience in Mining and Mineral
processing
-- The conventional crushing and screening circuit has been
successfully operating for two weeks, stockpiling crushed ore
-- After initial commissioning of the process plant, test
production has now commenced, producing saleable concentrate up to
28% copper ("Cu"), which will comprise part of the first tranche of
product to be delivered to Fujax Minerals and Energy Limited, under
a five year copper offtake contract
-- The Company believes that early test production strengthens
the value proposition of Mowana and, accordingly, the estimated
timetable for re-admission has been pushed back, anticipated to
complete by the end of May 2017, to ensure that the value of this
production is accounted for and represented on re-admission
-- Latest developments reflect the Company's commitment to
establish Mowana as a significant and profitable copper mine
Mark Jones, CEO of Alecto, commented:
"We are moving at speed towards delivering continuous production
and first sales at Mowana meaning that the atmosphere on site is
buoyant, particularly given that the first blast is anticipated in
just a matter of days. It is significant that we have been able to
sign up a company of Capital Drilling's profile to provide future
Drill and Blast services, and with Giant already on site, our
stockpile is increasing. Most importantly, we have switched the
plant back on as part of a test phase and this has been a great
success, producing saleable copper concentrate.
"We are also delighted to welcome Paddy Conran to the team as
General Manager. Paddy's vast experience running mines in southern
Africa, and particularly his in-depth knowledge of the treatment
processes that are applicable to the Mowana project, further
strengthens our confidence that we will achieve our near term
goals.
"Of course, there are still some hurdles to overcome before we
can announce that we are in full scale production, but our Project
is being de-risked on a continuous basis, and we enjoy fantastic
relationships with excellent operational partners, which have the
expertise to help us deal with any challenges. These positive
developments mean that our timeline for publishing our re-admission
document will be pushed back, although we believe this puts the
Company in a stronger position. I look forward to providing further
updates and photographs regarding the first blast and additional
operational achievements on site, during what is a very exciting
time for Alecto."
Image 1: Giant undertaking mining operations (Please see
PDF)
http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/1736A_1-2017-3-22.pdf
Images 2 & 3: Mobilisation of Capital Drilling equipment to
site (Please see PDF)
http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/1736A_1-2017-3-22.pdf
**ENDS**
For further information please visit www.alectominerals.com,
follow us on Twitter @AlectoMinerals, or contact:
Alecto Minerals plc Tel: +44 (0)20 7499 5881
Mark Jones
Strand Hanson Limited Tel: +44 (0)20 7409 3494
Andrew Emmott
Matthew Chandler
James Dance
Beaufort Securities Limited Tel: +44 (0)20 7382 8300
Jon Belliss
St Brides Partners Limited Tel: +44 (0)20 7236 1177
Elisabeth Cowell
Charlotte Page
The information contained within this announcement is deemed by
the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under
the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014.
Notes to editors:
Alecto Minerals plc is an African focused, gold and copper
exploration and development company quoted on AIM with gold
exploration projects in Mali, Botswana, Burkina Faso and Mauritania
and a development project with near-term gold production in
Zambia.
In Zambia, the historical Matala and Dunrobin gold mines have,
in aggregate, a 760,000oz Au JORC Code compliant resource estimate
in the Measured, Indicated and Inferred categories at an average
grade of 2.3g/t Au. The Company is focused on bringing Matala into
low-cost production in the near to mid-term.
In Botswana, the Company is, subject to, inter alia, shareholder
approval in due course, looking to acquire a 60% interest in the
Mowana Copper Mine, a formerly producing copper mine and plant,
which can be brought back into production at a relatively low cost.
Alecto has also agreed a 10-year management contract for Mowana
with its partners and will receive management fees equal to 1.5% of
revenue.
In Mali, the Company has secured a number of joint-venture
agreements, in-line with its strategy to retain exposure to the
value in its African gold exploration portfolio for little or no
cost; the Kossanto East project, which has an inferred JORC Code
compliant resource estimate of 6.72Mt grading at 1.14g/t Au for an
aggregate of 247,000 oz Au with a cut-off grade of 0.5g/t Au, is
under a joint venture agreement with Ashanti Gold Corp; the
Kossanto West Project is under a joint venture with Randgold
Resources Limited; and the 250 sq. km. Karan gold project in
southern Mali is under joint venture with Cora Gold Limited.
Alecto also owns the Kerboulé Project, located in the highly
prospective Birrimian-age Djibo gold belt in northern Burkina Faso,
as well as the wholly owned Wad Amour IOCG Project in Mauritania
which is at an exploration stage.
Accordingly, the Company has a strong, diversified project
portfolio with exciting exploration upside potential.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
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