TIDMAFP
RNS Number : 2889X
African Pioneer PLC
25 April 2023
25 April 2023
African Pioneer Plc
("African Pioneer" or "the Company")
Award of Important Environmental Clearance Certificate
for Ongombo Copper-Gold mining project in Namibia
African Pioneer plc ("AFP"), the exploration and resource
development company with advanced projects in Namibia, Botswana,
and Zambia, is pleased to inform shareholders of the successful
completion of a key regulatory requirement, the award of an
Environmental Clearance Certificate ("ECC") for the 85% owned
Ongombo (copper-gold) Project located within Exclusive Prospecting
Licence EPL 5772, 40km NE of the capital city, Windhoek, Khomas
Region, Namibia.
Highlights
-- Award of an Environmental Clearance Certificate, the last
significant permitting hurdle in the pathway to production
-- Ongombo Mining Licence granted subject to completion of
Environmental and Social Impact Assessment ("ESIA")
-- A combined Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resource Estimate
of 12.12Mt at 1.63% CuEq as announced on 20 December 2021
-- Advanced discussions ongoing for non-equity based funding of Project capital requirements
Colin Bird, Chairman of African Pioneer said : "We are committed
to bringing the Ongombo Project into production at the earliest
opportunity to meet forecast global copper demand. African Pioneer
is well-placed to take advantage of the expected copper supply
crisis with both option and joint venture agreements in place with
First Quantum Minerals, Sandfire Resources and our own
projects."
The Ongombo Copper - Gold Project was granted a Mining Licence
(ML 240) in September, 2022 and has now been awarded an
Environmental Clearance Certificate (ECC) (No. 23000285: dated 16
April 2023 ) by the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism
(MEFT): Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA). The award of a
production-related ECC is an important step as it achieves
compliance with the Environmental Management Act No,7 (2007) and
its associated 2012 regulations, and means that the Project has now
surmounted the last significant permitting hurdle in the pathway to
production, initially by way of low-cost, open-pit extraction of
the surface copper - gold resource currently being estimated by
external resource consultants Addison Mining Services ("AMS") in
advance of a second-phase, underground mine based around a JORC
(2012) Mineral Resource Estimate of 10.47Mt.
In compliance with the requirements of the ECC, an Environmental
and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) is ongoing as is initial
delivery of the now Ministry- approved Environmental Management
Plan that is to accompany mine development and ore processing
operations.
Updated and amended design plans will now be finalised for the
initial open-pit mine and modern ore-sorting technology that will
utilise low water-demand X-ray transmission ("XTR") or gravity
extraction methods suited to the arid climatic conditions. XTR and
modern gravity technologies are both highly efficient means of
sorting and pre-concentrating crushed ore for transportation
elsewhere to allow final processing to recover the contained copper
(and gold). Both technologies also enable metal-rich waste products
to be stored safely on-site for possible reprocessing at a later
date for their remaining metal value.
Mineral Resource estimates for Ongombo, currently being updated
by AMS, provisionally support the viability of a combined open pit
and underground mining operation based on JORC-2012 Resources of
10.47 Mt at 1.4% Cu and 0.35g /t Au at a cut off of 1.0% Cu
(Indicated) together with a further 1.65 Mt at 1.37% Cu and 0.35g/t
Au (Inferred) and, additional resources to be generated from the
ongoing open pit resource estimation study.
AFP is in advanced discussions with several parties that have
expressed interest in non-equity based funding of the capital
requirements of the Ongombo Project and it is anticipated that
shareholders will be further updated with these matters, project
advancement and milestones in the near future.
African Pioneer Plc
Colin Bird
Executive Chairman +44 (0) 20 7581 4477
Beaumont Cornish (Financial Adviser)
Roland Cornish / Asia Szusciak +44 (0) 20 7628 3396
Novum Securities Limited (Broker)
Jon Belliss +44 (0) 20 7399 9400
or visit https://africanpioneerplc.com/
The information contained within this announcement is deemed by
the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under
the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014 as it forms part of
UK Domestic Law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act
2018 ("UK MAR").
Qualified Person:
The technical information contained in this announcement has
been reviewed, verified, and approved by Colin Bird, CC.ENG, FIMMM,
South African and UK Certified Mine Manager and Director of African
Pioneer plc, with more than 40 years' experience mainly in hard
rock mining.
Glossary
"JORC" the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration
Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves, as published by the
Joint Ore Reserves Committee of The Australasian Institute of
Mining and Metallurgy, Australian Institute of Geoscientists and
Minerals Council of Australia.
"JORC (2012)" the 2012 edition of the JORC Code.
A 'Mineral Resource' is a concentration or occurrence of solid
material of economic interest in or on the Earth's crust in such
form, grade (or quality), and quantity that there are reasonable
prospects for eventual economic extraction. The location, quantity,
grade (or quality), continuity and other geological characteristics
of a Mineral Resource are known, estimated or interpreted from
specific geological evidence and knowledge, including sampling.
Mineral Resources are sub-divided, in order of increasing
geological confidence, into Inferred, Indicated and Measured
categories.
An 'Indicated Mineral Resource' is that part of a Mineral
Resource for which quantity, grade (or quality), densities, shape
and physical characteristics are estimated with sufficient
confidence to allow the application of Modifying Factors in
sufficient detail to support mine planning and evaluation of the
economic viability of the deposit.
An 'Inferred Mineral Resource' is that part of a Mineral
Resource for which quantity and grade (or quality) are estimated on
the basis of limited geological evidence and sampling. Geological
evidence is sufficient to imply but not verify geological and grade
(or quality) continuity. It is based on exploration, sampling and
testing information gathered through appropriate techniques from
locations such as outcrops, trenches, pits, workings and drill
holes.
"Au" Gold
"Cu" Copper
"g/t" grammes per tonne
"Kt" thousand tonnes
"Mt" million tonnes
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African Pioneer (LSE:AFP)
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