PROJECT UPDATE & PLACING

RNS Number : 1505D

Kibo Mining Plc

24 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")

24 April 2013

PROJECT UPDATE & PLACING

Korean Government Owned Power Company To Participate in Kibo's Rukwa Coal to Power Project

&

Placing for £780,000

The board of Kibo Mining Plc ("Kibo" or the "Company") is pleased to report that, pursuant to the decision by the Tanzanian Government to include the Company's Rukwa Coal to Power Project as a key component of the Tanzanian National Energy Strategy ("NES"), it has now concluded its selection of Korean East-West Power Co. Ltd ("EWP") as the preferred strategic participant in the Rukwa Coal to Power Project and negotiations are currently under way towards finalizing a formal joint venture agreement between the parties.

The Company has also now received the consent of EWP to disclose:

·    EWP's previously confidential letter of intent dated 21 February 2013 confirming its intention to participate in the Company's Rukwa Coal to Power Project; and

·    the disclosure by the parties of EWP's stated intent to the Tanzanian Ministry of Energy and Minerals ("MEM") and the Tanzanian Electricity Supply Commission ("TANESCO") prior to the Project's inclusion in the NES.

EWP is a global power producer owned by the Korean Government and it currently owns and operates power plants in Korea with a total generation capacity of 8,816MW. EWP has extensive experience and expertise in the power generation business and is currently also actively engaged in developing and operating power plants in more than 10 countries including the United States of America, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam.

Placing

The board of Kibo is also pleased to announce that it has received commitments to a share placing to raise £780,000, before expenses, (the "Placing") through the issue of 19,500,000 new ordinary shares of Eur0.015 ("Ordinary Shares") at 4p per share (the "Placing Shares"). The net proceeds of the Placing will be used by the Company to undertake the scoping study at Rukwa as the Company looks to complete the joint venture agreement between parties.

Application will be made for the Placing Shares to be admitted to trading on AIM and dealings are expected to commence on 1 May 2013 ("Admission"). On Admission, the Company will have 105,592,969 Ordinary Shares in issue

Louis Coetzee, Chief Executive Officer of the Company commented: "We are honoured at the opportunity to collaborate with our colleagues at EWP in developing the regionally important Rukwa Coal to Power Project as one of the key components of the Tanzanian Government's National Energy Strategy. Their very considerable experience and skills acquired over many years are vital components required by a successful turnkey power generation project intended to play an important and even pivotal role in the region. Our colleagues at EWP are respected industry veterans with a proven understanding of their chosen fields of operation, and we are honoured to have this opportunity to continue to build value for our respective shareholders and the people of Tanzania." 

"We are also pleased to have raised further capital in the placing from new and existing investors, which allows us to progress the scoping study at Rukwa as we look to conclude the joint venture, as well as provide additional working capital to the Company."

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
Stuart Laing	[phone]		RFC Ambrian Limited	Nominated Adviser on AIM
Matt Beale	[phone]		Fortbridge	Public 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, and is further enhanced by the recent selection of Korean Government owned Korean East-West Power Co. Ltd ("EWp") as Kibo's development Partner for the Rukwa Project. 

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

24 April 2013

Corporate and Designated Adviser

River Group

 

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