Haneti Project Update

RNS Number : 3420H

Kibo Mining Plc

19 June 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")

Dated: 19 June 2013

Haneti Project Update

·    Phase 1 of 2013 Haneti JV field exploration program in progress

·    Samples already produced and prepared for laboratory analysis

·    First batch of samples delivered on Tuesday 18 June

·    Initial results expected by end of August 2013

Kibo Mining PLC ("Kibo" or the "Company") (AIM: KIBO), (JSE: KBO), the Tanzania focused mineral exploration and development company, is pleased to report that the 2013 Haneti field exploration program is now under way and that the first batch of samples has been produced and prepared for analysis.

Subsequent to the Company's earlier announcement that the joint venture agreement with Brazilian industrial conglomerate, Votorantim, is no longer subject to any conditions precedent, the initial tranche of exploration funding for 2013 was duly received into the JV. This was followed by the prompt mobilisation and deployment of the field teams, with the first batch of samples delivered on Tuesday 18 June 2013. Subject to available laboratory capacity, the first lab-results from Phase 1 are expected by the end of August 2013.

Phase 1 of the current field exploration work programme will be aimed at:

·    Final preparation of existing drill targets

·    Converting new prospects, identified from results of earlier exploration work within the target area, into additional drill targets for follow up during Phase 2.

·    Expansion of the current drill target area through further field reconnaissance of adjacent areas.  

The CEO, Kibo Mining PLC remarked: …" The deployment of the field team has been a significant milestone in this initial phase of the Haneti JV, and we have been pleased to see the commencement of active ground work in this very exciting JV-project with Brazilian major Votorantim. Following thorough analysis by Kibo and Votorantim of previous exploration at Haneti, work on site has proceeded apace with the first samples already produced and ready for laboratory analysis. We look forward to releasing initial results around the end of August this year"

Contacts

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	Investor 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 ("EWC") 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

19 June 2013

Corporate and Designated Adviser

River Group

 

END

 

 

MSCBRGDLLDBBGXI