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Braemore Resources plc is an AIM-quoted company (Code: BRR) with the objective to develop into a top 10 international nickel and platinum group metal (PGM) producer, initially from operations in Australia and South Africa. While Braemore is not involved in mining operations directly, Braemore intends expanding its direct exposure to mining operations in the future, its distinctive competitive advantage lies in the unique process applications to which it has proprietary access.
Australia
Braemore’s Australian strategy is founded on the reclamation and processing using new technology of large tonnages of nickel sulphide residues at existing mines owned by BHP Billiton.
Braemore’s agreement with BHP Billiton began in 2005 when Western Consolidated Nickel (WCN), our wholly-owned subsidiary, was granted exclusive rights to evaluate and run pilot plant tests on nickel tailings at BHP Billiton’s three Western Australian mines – Leinster, Kambalda and Mount Keith.
Subject to the satisfactory outcome of the feasibility study, Western Consolidated Nickel (WCN) will establish and operate a plant to process Leinster’s nickel tailings, with an initial capacity in excess of 5,000,000 t.p.a. BHP Billiton has agreed to sell the tailings to WCN as they are processed at 5% of the value of the contained nickel. Subject to compliance with certain concentrate quality standards, BHP Billiton also has an exclusive right to buy the sulphide concentrates for 70% of the value of contained nickel.
Under the tailings supply agreement, BHP Billiton has the right to acquire a 50% joint venture interest in the project either at the development stage or within three years of the plant’s commissioning.
An independent evaluation has confirmed earlier assessments of 29.61 million tons of inferred and measured resources containing 136,000 tons of nickel metal at Leinster. A similar amount is expected to be produced over Leinster’s remaining mine life.
A similar though smaller-tonnage project at Kambalda is expected to follow Leinster’s development by two years. At this stage the Mount Keith tailings which have lower nickel grades than those of the other two mines have yet to be fully evaluated.
In total, the three properties’ tailings are estimated to contain some 500,000 tons of nickel, and tailings containing a further 500,000 tons are expected to be created over the mines’ remaining lives. However, as mining operations have ceased at Kambalda, it will not contribute to the future tailings deposition.
South Africa
In South Africa, Braemore’s 95%-owned Independence Platinum Limited subsidiary has an exclusive licence agreement to use an innovative roasting process developed by Mintek. This process, the ConRoast process, will be used to recover platinum group metals from ores that are not amenable to processing by the conventional smelting methods used by the major platinum companies.
This opens the way for the exploitation of vast new tonnages of platinum-bearing ores, particularly by emerging mining companies. Some 26 emerging companies have platinum mining plans or developments in progress but, until now, have been constrained by their need to deliver comparatively small tonnages of chrome-rich concentrate for blending with those from the low-chrome Merensky reef for smelting by the majors.
Two memorandums of understanding with emerging platinum miners, Tharisa Minerals and Pan Palladium, were signed towards the end of calendar 2007, and others are envisaged in the near future.
Braemore’s wholly-owned subsidiary (Independence Platinum Limited) has an exclusive license agreement to use the ConRoast smelting process developed by MINTEK.
The process will be used to recover platinum group metals (PGMs) as well as some base metals (nickel, cobalt and copper) from concentrates, which may be difficult to process using conventional smelting technology.
The ConRoast smelting process will unlock new resources which are traditionally difficult to process using conventional technology due to relatively high chrome content. An excess of 26 emerging platinum producers are in the process of studying, planning and developing new projects. Some of these projects have been constrained by the need to deliver relatively small tonnages of chrome rich concentrate for blending with concentrates from the 'low chrome' Merensky reef.
Currently two agreements have been signed with Tharisa Minerals and Pan Palladium.

Nickel sulphide tailings – Western Australia
High chrome UG2 concentrates – South Africa
High nickel concentrates – South Africa
“Difficult” concentrates / Revert tailings – South Africa
| Leon Coetzer | Managing Director & CEO (As of 1st July 2008) |
| David Russell | Joint Chief Executive Officer |
| Clayton John Dodd | Acting Joint Chief Executive Officer |
| David James Humann | Non–Executive Chairman |
| Christopher Walter Lambert | Non–Executive Deputy Chairman |
| Michael Elias | Non-Executive Technical Director |
| Anthony John Samaha | Non–Executive Finance Director |
| David Trotter | Vice President – Marketing & Business Development |
| Mark Rosslee | Chief Financial Officer |
Company AddressLevel 6
|
Additional Address/Key ContactDavid Russell |
Annual General MeetingFebruary | Year EndJune 30 |
Nominated BrokersNabarro Wells & Co | Nominated AdvisorsNabarro Wells & Co |
15/10/07 - Matrix Corporate Capital
| Atomaer Holdings Pty Ltd | 300,000,000 | 43.52 |
| Bac Mining Regions Managed Vol Fund | 67,050,000 | 9.73 |
| Spgp (Societe Privee Gestion De Patrimoine) | 35,478,167 | 5.15 |
| Spgp Emerging Commodities | 23,500,000 | 3.41 |