- Environmental Clearance Certificates issued by the Namibian
Ministry of Environment and Tourism for proposed mining and
processing operations at Lofdal, and for proposed power and water
line corridor
- Certificates have a three-year period of validity and
provide environmental clearance for the proposed Mining Licence
application lodged with the Ministry of Mines and Energy
- Proposed Mining Licence application remains pending
- Exchange conditional approval received for acquisition of
critical metals property portfolio from Gecko Namibia (Pty)
Ltd.
HALIFAX, Dec. 18, 2017 /CNW/ - Namibia Rare Earths
Inc. ("Namibia Rare Earths" or the "Company") (TSXV: NRE) today
announced it has received Environmental Clearance Certificates
("ECCs" or "the certificates") pertaining to its application for a
Mining Licence on the Lofdal Heavy Rare Earth Project ("Lofdal") in
northern Namibia. The
certificates, which are issued by the Office of the Environmental
Commissioner in the Ministry of Environment and Tourism ("MET") are
required in support of the Mining Licence application for Lofdal
which is being processed by the Ministry of Mines and Energy
("MME"). The certificates have a three-year period of validity from
date of issue. The Mining Licence application (ML 200) was
submitted to the Ministry of Mines and Energy in late 2016 and
remains pending. The issuance of an ECC is a condition
precedent for the granting of any Mining Licence in Namibia and represents an important step in
the overall process undertaken by the Ministry of Mines and Energy
in making a determination for the granting of a Mining Licence.
Namibia Rare Earths engaged SLR Environmental Consulting
(Namibia) Pty. Ltd. in early 2015
to carry out an Environmental Impact Assessment ("EIA") for Lofdal
to ensure compliance with all relevant regulations and to develop
appropriate Environmental Management Plans for the proposed mine
development at Lofdal. The EIA process was conducted over an
18-month period and included extensive baseline environmental
studies and formal community consultations. Final reports were
submitted to MET in June 2016 in
support of the application for an Environmental Clearance
Certificate. The application for a Mining Licence was subsequently
filed with MME in November
2016.
The ECCs pertain to the development of an 840,000 tons per annum
open pit mining operation at Lofdal together with processing
facilities, waste rock dumps and tailings storage facility to
produce heavy rare earth concentrates at site. Environmental
clearance has also been provided for the construction of a +/-40 km
long 66kV overhead powerline from the national power grid with a
parallel water pipeline to deliver power and water to site.
Provision has been made to consider installation of a supplemental
photovoltaic solar powerplant at site.
The Company continues to assess flowsheet optimizations and
downstream processing opportunities for the project as it awaits a
decision on the issuance of a Mining Licence.
Consents Pending Regarding Acquisition of Critical Metals
Properties
Further to Company press releases of November 10, 2017 and December 8, 2017, Namibia Rare Earths is in the
process of completing the acquisition of a portfolio of critical
metal properties ("Property Acquisition") from Gecko Namibia (Pty)
Ltd. and completing a private placement which was recently
increased to Cdn$550,000 ("Private
Placement"). The Company is focused on the regulatory process to
obtain the final approval of the Exchange for the Property
Acquisition and the Private Placement. Exchange conditional
approval of the Property Acquisition was obtained on November 17, 2017 and the Company is working to
fulfill all conditions for final approval. Shares of Namibia Rare
Earths are currently halted from trading and it is expected that
they will remain halted until receipt and review of acceptable
documentation regarding the Property Acquisition, pursuant to TSX
Venture Exchange listings Policy 5.3.
Donald M. Burton, P.Geo. and
President of Namibia Rare Earths Inc., is the Company's Qualified
Person and has reviewed and approved this press release.
About Namibia Rare Earths Inc.
Namibia Rare Earths Inc. is focused on the accelerated
development of the Lofdal Rare Earths Project and on building a
critical metals portfolio in Namibia. The common shares of Namibia Rare
Earths Inc. trade on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol
"NRE".
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services
Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX
Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or
accuracy of this release.
The foregoing information may contain forward-looking
information relating to the future performance of Namibia Rare
Earths Inc. Forward-looking information, specifically, that
concerning future performance, is subject to certain risks and
uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially. These
risks and uncertainties are detailed from time to time in the
Company's filings with the appropriate securities commissions.
Web site: www.NamibiaRareEarths.com
SOURCE Namibia Rare Earths Inc.