Direct Nickel Limited Update

RNS Number : 8092X

Regency Mines PLC

13 February 2013

 



REGENCY MINES PLC

("Regency" or the "Company")

Update on Direct Nickel Limited - Pilot Plant Stage 1 commissioning

13 February 2013

Regency Mines plc, a mining exploration and mineral investment company with interests in nickel and other minerals in Australia, Africa, and Papua New Guinea is pleased to announce an update on progress at Direct Nickel Limited ("DNi"), a company in which Regency is a shareholder and its joint venture partner in a nickel-cobalt laterite project ("Mambare Project") in Oro Province, Papua New Guinea.

DNi (ASX:DIR) has announced an update on hot commissioning of the DNi test plant in Perth, Western Australia. Hot commissioning on laterite material from Indonesia commenced in mid-January, and will continue for most of 2013. The plant has finished its second ten day campaign with leaching, solid/liquid separation, and intermediate product precipitation operating satisfactorily. The first two campaigns were carried out on, respectively, 100% saprolite ore and on a 50%-50% saprolite-limonite mix. The next campaigns will now commission the reagent recovery circuit, previously successfully trialled in Charlotte, N Carolina in 2010.

The full text of the announcement is available at:  

http://www.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20130213/pdf/42d01x5f3bc3r9.pdf

Regency Chairman Andrew Bell comments: "It is good news that from the beginning the testwork is performing well both chemically and metallurgically. We look forward to further news as the testing continues."

Enquiries:

Andrew Bell	020 7402 4580 or    07766 474849	Regency Mines plc	Chairman
Sandra Spencer	020 7402 4580 or 07757 660 798	Regency Mines plc	Public and Investor Relations
Gerry Beaney/ Daniela Amihood	020 7383 5100	Grant Thornton Corporate Finance	Nominated Adviser
Nick Emerson	01483 413500	Simple Investments Ltd	Broker

Note to Editors: DNi is a public company incorporated in Australia. It is currently demonstrating a potentially revolutionary process with attractive economics for treating laterite nickel ores (the "Direct Nickel Process" or the "Process").

The Direct Nickel Process is a hydrometallurgical process for the treatment of nickel laterites with unprecedented efficiency and environmental benefits. It is designed to operate with tank leaching at atmospheric pressure, and is the first to treat both limonite and saprolite ores with a single flowsheet. The Process recycles its novel reagents, offers high cobalt and nickel recoveries with short residence time, produces mixed hydroxide precipitates ("MHP") or sulphide concentrate, has substantially lower capital and operating costs than competing processes and is fully scalable.

 

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