RSS UpdatesCompany Information for Kalahari Minerals Plc
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 AIM; KAH
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Company Statement
Kalahari Minerals (AIM: KAH) is an emerging exploration company with a diverse portfolio of uranium, copper and base metal interests in Namibia. Its key investment is its circa 40% shareholding in ASX and TSX listed Extract Resources whose primary value driver is the world class Rossing South uranium deposit.
Rossing South has a current JORC resource of 267 M lb of U3O8 at a grade of 487 ppm from Zones 1 and 2, and is open at strike and down-dip. Preliminary cost estimates indicate that these zones could support a profitable, long life, low cost, low technical risk uranium mine producing 14.8M lbs U3O8 per year, making it one of the world’s largest uranium mines.
Importantly, exploration lines in the newly identified Zone 3 have also yielded some exceptional results, which reinforce the potential of a third zone of mineralisation along the same trend as Zones 1 and 2. These outstanding results from Rossing South, in addition to encouraging results from the Salem anomaly 10km south of Rossing South, support Kalahari’s confidence that Extract has the ground and potential to deliver a resource well in excess of 500 M lbs U3O8.
Kalahari’s portfolio also includes 100% interests in various copper and base metals projects, at which the Company is undertaking development and exploration programmes aimed at identifying the feasibility of commencing one or more mining operations. Two of these, Dordabis and Witvlei, are prospective for sediment hosted copper mineralisation consistent with the world class Zambian Copper Belt, whilst a third project, Ubib, is believed to be prospective for gold mineralisation and is nearby the operating Navachab gold mine. Kalahari also hopes that the prospective Namib Lead Zinc Project centred on the old Namib Lead Mine can rapidly be taken into production.
Current Operations
Uranium
Extract’s Husab project is located in one of the world’s most prolific uranium regions, flanked by projects such as Rio Tinto’s Rossing Mine, Paladin Resources’ Langer Heinrich Mine, UraMin/Areva’s Trekkopje Project, Deep Yellow’s Tubas Project, Forsys Minerals’ Valencia and Bannerman’s Goanikontes Deposits. Within the Husab project, two key areas have defined uranium resources – Rossing South and Ida Dome.
Rossing South has been defined as the highest grade granite-hosted uranium deposit in Namibia, with grades circa. 50% higher than neighbouring Rio Tinto’s operating Rossing Mine. Anomalous uranium grades have been defined over 4.4km of target zone and the Rossing South prospect has a current JORC resource of 267 M lb U3O8 at average grades of 487ppm. It is expected that with additional exploration and verification, Rossing South will become one of the top five global uranium deposits by contained metal.
Preliminary cost estimates indicate it could support uranium mine producing 14.8 M lbs U3O8 per year, almost double the annual production of Rio’s Rossing Mine, making it one of the world’s largest uranium mines.
Ongoing drilling is expected to define a much larger resource with 9km of the prospective 15km Rossing South trend still to be explored. Current drilling is focussed on exploring mineralisation south of Zone 2, referred to as the newly emerging Zone 3, and is yielding exceptional results. A drilling programme is also underway at the Salem prospect which is 10km south of Zone 2, and is also demonstrating highly encouraging intersections.
Having previously been drilled by Anglo American in the 1970s, Extract initiated its drilling campaign at the Ida Dome project in April 2006. A maiden resource was announced in August 2008 for Ida Dome of 25.1m lbs U3O8 within the Garnet Valley, New Camp and Ida Central zones. These areas have not as yet been closed off and are expected to continue to grow along with future resource drilling on Holland’s Dome, which is also within Ida Dome.
Copper and Base Metals
Located within the heart of the prospective Kalahari Copper Belt, which was discovered in the 1960s, Kalahari wholly owns two project areas; the Dordabis project the Witvlei, which combined cover a total area of 1532 km². Kalahari is currently undertaking an exploration programme to define +250,000 tonnes of copper metal at these projects.
Kalahari also owns 100% of the Ubib Copper/Gold Project which is located 15km south-west of Namibia’s longest producing gold mine, the four million ounce Navachab Gold Mine. A 1.4km of laterally continuous gold in soil anomaly has been identified within a ferruginous shear zone. Best rock chip assay from the targeted drill area returned 10 g/t Au and 1.6 g/t Ag.
Kalahari holds 100% of the Namib Lead Zinc Project, which is centred on the previously producing Namib Lead Mine, which was in operation from 1965-1992. The underground mine remains semi-developed and preliminary metallurgical test work undertaken yielded favourable results indicating good separation of lead and zinc with high recoveries and grades.
Geographical Spread
Board of Directors and Key Management
| Mark Hohnen | Executive Chairman |
| Neil MacLachlan | Non-executive Director |
| Glyn Tonge | Non-Executive Director |
| David de Jongh Weill | Non-executive Director |
| Richard Lockwood | Non-Executive Director |
| Janis Nugawela | Joint Company Secretary |
| Duncan Craib | Chief Financial Officer and Joint Company Secretary |
| Sadike Nepela | General Manager |
| Keith Webb | Regional Exploration Manager |
Company Address1b, 38 Jermyn Street
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Additional Address/Key ContactFinancial Public Relations |
Capital178,912,255 Ordinary Shares |
Year End31st December |
Nominated BrokersAmbrian Partners Limited | Nominated AdvisorsAstaire Securities Plc |
Major Shareholders
| Rio Tinto International Holdings Australia Pty Ltd | 28,267,310 | 14.36% |
| Niger Uranium, Ltd | 27,680,000 | 14.06% |
| Emerging Metals Limited | 17,600,000 | 8.94% |
| Coronet Resources Limited | 16,000,000 | 8.13% |
| Blakeney Management Limited | 15,840,000 | 8.05% |
| M&G Investment Management | 10,700,000 | 5.43% |
| Goldman Sachs | 9,244,850 | 4.70% |
| Eden Group | 7,337,027 | 3.73% |
| New City Investment Managers | 7,336,667 | 3.73% |
Related News
12/10/09 - Kalahari Minerals Hives Off Its Namibian Gold And Base Metals Assets Into North River Resources17/08/09 - A Bright Future Beckons For Kalahari Minerals As Extract’s Uranium Resource Base Continues To Grow And Grow
05/02/09 - Rio Tinto Adopts Some Questionable Tactics In Its Efforts To Get Its Hands On The Rossing South Uranium Discovery
17/12/08 - Mark Hohnen of Kalahari Minerals Sees Real Value In His Stake In Extract Resources And Will Not Let It Go Cheaply
15/09/08 - Kalahari Minerals Escapes The Frying Pan, As Rossing South Tempts In Rio Tinto
18/06/08 - Kalahari Continues To Get More Credit For Its Uranium Investments Than For Its Own Projects
Most Recent Statement
12/03/10 - Update on Rossing South Feasibility Study05/03/10 - Directorate Change
01/03/10 - Extract Appoints Chief Executive Officer
18/02/10 - Outstanding Chemical Assay Results from Rössing South
15/02/10 - Appointment of Kalahari Representative to Extract Board
12/02/10 - Update on All-Share Takeover Bid for Coronet Resources