RHA Project Update

RNS Number : 4704S

Premier African Minerals Limited

08 July 2015

 

Premier African Minerals Limited / Ticker: PREM / Index: AIM / Sector: Mining

For immediate release

8 July 2015

Premier African Minerals Limited

("Premier" or the "Company")

RHA Project Update

Premier African Minerals Limited, the AIM-traded, multi-commodity mining and resource development company focused on Southern and Western Africa, provides a further update on progress at its flagship RHA Tungsten Project ("RHA") in Zimbabwe, of which Premier is the operator of RHA and holds a 49% interest.

Highlights

·     Initial fines concentrate grades exceed expectations.

·     First commercial shipments expected from 17 July 2015.

·     Minor plant upgrades expected to increase throughput.

·     Early success in supplementary water drilling campaign.

·     Plant approaching steady state production as optimisation and fine tuning continues.

George Roach, CEO, commented:

"Despite the challenges of the fast track approach taken with RHA, I am pleased to report that initial fines concentrates from our plant are running as high as 70% and that first shipments are now expected from 17 July 2015. All regulatory requirements, contracts and inspections processes necessary for export have been agreed. During the optimisation process it became clear that the downstream concentration circuits had surplus capacity in excess of the designed 16 ton per hour capacity on the crushing circuits. We have therefore ordered modifications that are expected to be incorporated into the process within the next 30 days that will both improve the efficiency of the crushing circuits and will allow better utilisation of the surplus capacity on the downstream concentration circuits. The immediate effect of this is anticipated to be an increase in the percentage of higher grade fines concentrate over the coarse concentrate, with a probable overall increase of total tonnage of concentrate produced. Capital cost is nominal."

RHA Process Plant

Following production of first concentrates on 5 June 2015, the components of the process plant have steadily undergone optimisation and fine tuning. The plant has been running on a 24 hour continuous production cycle since 26 June 2015 and first ores from areas identified in the resource model started arriving at the plant on 30 June 2015. This together with the developments of the past weeks is anticipated to see a substantial increase in concentrates produced and commencement of shipments.

Fines concentrates from the tables have exceeded grades of 67% WO₃ on a regular basis with as high as 70% WO₃ recorded to date.

Water drilling campaign

RHA has embarked on a drilling campaign to supplement the existing water supply from the RHA dam. To date four holes have been successfully completed which will be incorporated into the water supply infrastructure. Further drilling is underway.

Please visit our website to view images of the progress made with the construction of the plant at www.premierafricanminerals.com.

Qualified Person

Werner Swanepoel, Chief Operating Officer of Premier, has reviewed and approved all technical matters relating to the plant commissioning in this release.  Mr Swanepoel has 21 years' experience in the Southern African mining industry and holds a Master's degree in Mining Engineering, an MBA and Mine Manager's Certificates in both Metalliferous and Coal Mining. He is a registered Professional Engineer with the Engineering Council of South Africa.

Forward Looking Statements

Certain statements in this announcement, are, or may be deemed to be, forward looking statements. Forward looking statements are identified by their use of terms and phrases such as ''believe'', ''could'', "should" ''envisage'', ''estimate'', ''intend'', ''may'', ''plan'', ''will'' or the negative of those, variations or comparable expressions, including references to assumptions. These forward looking statements are not based on historical facts but rather on the Directors' current expectations and assumptions regarding the Company's future growth, results of operations, performance, future capital and other expenditures (including the amount, nature and sources of funding thereof), competitive advantages, business prospects and opportunities. Such forward looking statements reflect the Directors' current beliefs and assumptions and are based on information currently available to the Directors. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward looking statements including risks associated with vulnerability to general economic and business conditions, competition, environmental and other regulatory changes, actions by governmental authorities, the availability of capital markets, reliance on key personnel, uninsured and underinsured losses and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. Although any forward looking statements contained in this announcement are based upon what the Directors believe to be reasonable assumptions, the Company cannot assure investors that actual results will be consistent with such forward looking statements.

Enquiries

Pamela Hueston	Premier African Minerals Limited	Tel: [phone]
Michael Cornish / Roland Cornish	Beaumont Cornish Limited (Nominated Adviser)	Tel: [phone]
Jerry Keen/ Edward Mansfield	Shore Capital Stockbrokers Limited	Tel: [phone]
Kelsey Traynor/Dominic Barretto	Yellow Jersey PR Limited	Tel: [phone]

Notes

Premier African Minerals Limited (AIM: PREM) is a multi-commodity mining and resource development company focused in Southern and Western Africa with production started at its flagship RHA project in Zimbabwe.

The Company has a diverse portfolio of projects, which includes tungsten, rare earth elements, gold, lithium and tantalum in Zimbabwe and Togo, encompassing brownfield projects with near-term production potential to grass-roots exploration. The Company also holds 2 million shares in Circum Minerals Limited ("Circum"), the owners of the Danakil Potash Project in Ethiopia, which has the potential to be a world class asset. At present those shares are valued at US$2.5 million based on the latest price at which Circum has accepted subscriptions.

ENDS

 

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