Kibo commences program on Haneti Nickel

RNS Number : 9885B

Kibo Mining Plc

10 April 2013

 

Kibo Mining Plc

(Incorporated in Ireland)

(Registration Number: 451931)

(External registration number: 2011/007371/10)

Share code on the JSE Limited: KBO

Share code on the AIM: KIBO

ISIN: IE00B61XQX41

("Kibo" or "the Company")

Kibo commences with work program on Haneti Nickel JV with Brazilian major Votorantim

Dated: 10 April 2013

All conditions precedent for Kibo's joint venture agreement with major Brazilian industrial conglomerate Votorantim Metaís Participações Ltda for the further exploration of its Haneti Nickel Project have been fulfilled.

JV Agreement now unconditional

Kibo Mining plc ("Kibo" or the "Company") (AIM: KIBO), (JSE: KBO), the Tanzania focused mineral exploration and development company, is pleased to report that all outstanding conditions precedent (See RNS dated 4 December 2012) to the joint venture agreement ("Joint Venture") with Brazilian Votorantim Metaís Participações Ltda, a member of Votorantim Group, ("Votorantim") to conduct a joint further exploration work program on its Haneti properties ("Haneti Project") prospective for nickel and other base and precious metals have now been fulfilled.

First Joint Venture draw down approved, commencement of work program

The first drawdown against the GBP 2,7 million funding package to be provided by Votorantim for the agreed work program on the Haneti Project has now been approved, and fieldwork will commence forthwith. It is the intention of the Joint Venture to direct the work program with a view to establishing a JORC compliant mineral resource at Haneti, where after the Joint Venture will consider the further development of the project on the merits of the exploration results achieved.

About Votorantim

Votorantim is one of the largest industrial conglomerates in Latin America. A Brazilian company with operations in 24 countries worldwide, Votorantim Group's activities are focused on key sectors of the economy that demand capital intensive and high scale production processes in commodities and products including aluminium, nickel, zinc, and steel. In 2012, Votorantim Industrial which is the holding entity for the industrial part of the Group's business had net revenues of US$ 12,4 billion. Its cash generation (EBITDA) amounted to US$ 2.5 billion, whilst investments reached US$ 1.9 billion, earmarked for capacity expansion projects, operating improvement and acquisition of companies. Votorantim Metals is the mining and metallurgy arm of Votorantim Industrial. Votorantim Group is rated as Investment Grade by the world's top three credit rating agencies - Standard & Poor's (BBB), Fitch Ratings (BBB-) and Moody's (Baa3). This achievement is attributed to the Group's leadership in the markets where it operates, its management model, and its governance and transparency policies.

Commenting on the commencement of the work program, Kibo CEO Louis Coetzee said:

" We are pleased that the legal and administrative formalities in respect of the Joint Venture have finally been concluded and we are looking forward to pursuing the promising initial exploration results achieved on the Haneti Properties further with our Brazilian partners. "

Louis Coetzee	[phone]	Kibo Mining plc	Chief Executive Officer
Andreas Lianos	[phone]	River Group	Corporate Adviser and Designated Adviser on JSE
Jon Belliss	[phone]	XCAP	Joint Broker
Matthew Johnson	[phone]	Northland Capital Partners Limited	Joint Broker
Stuart Laing	[phone]	RFC Ambrian Limited	Nominated Adviser on AIM
Matt Beale	[phone]	Fortbridge	Investor Relations

Updates on the Company's activities are regularly posted on its website www.kibomining.com

General Background & Strategy

Kibo was established in early 2008 to explore and develop mineral deposits in Tanzania, East Africa and was admitted to AIM in London on 27 April 2010 and AltX in Johannesburg on 30 May 2011.  The Board of Kibo is composed of professionals whose experience include mineral exploration, mine development, mining finance, tax, law, mergers and acquisitions, and financial control of public companies. It is supported by a competent and motivated Tanzanian staff that operates from Kibo's operations office in Dar es Salaam.

The mineral assets of the Company comprise five projects areas in Tanzania - Haneti (nickel, PGE and gold), Morogoro (Gold), Lake Victoria (Gold), Rukwa (Coal) and Pinewood (Coal & Uranium).

The Haneti project is the subject of a joint venture with Brazilian Votorantim Metais Participações Ltda, a member of Votorantim Group. The Rukwa and Pinewood projects are situated close to the Mtwara Corridor, an area where the Tanzanian Government has committed to significant infrastructure development and which has seen recent multi-million dollar investment in coal and coal-fired power stations and uranium exploration.

The Rukwa project is substantially more advanced than Kibo's existing exploration projects, with a significant Mineral Resource of thermal coal already defined. The project enjoys strong support expressed by the Tanzanian Government for the expedited development of a coal mine and mine-mouth coal-fired power plant.

Kibo's objective is to build shareholder value in a sustainable manner.  This objective will be pursued primarily through active exploration of its own projects and by using the Company's experience in Tanzania to acquire attractive exploration and development assets on competitive terms that can be moved swiftly up the value curve by using the Company's own skills base whilst also seeking to benefit from strategic collaborative relationships with industry leaders who have special skills and competencies within their chosen fields of focus.  Kibo will undertake continual risk assessment of its projects and take whatever actions it believes are necessary to ensure that these risks are mitigated.

Johannesburg

10 April 2013

Corporate and Designated Adviser

River Group

 

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