MOU Signed with Korean East West Power

RNS Number : 5594J

Kibo Mining Plc

18 July 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: 18 July 2013

MOU Signed with Korean East West Power

Kibo Mining plc ("Kibo" or the "Company") (AIM: KIBO), (JSE: KBO), the Tanzania focused mineral exploration and development company, is pleased to announce that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Korean East-West Power Co. Ltd ("EWP") on the Rukwa Coal to Power Project.

This follows the Company's announcement of the 24^th April 2013 on the selection of EWP as its preferred strategic partner to jointly develop a 300-350 megawatt mouth-of-mine thermal coal plant based on its Rukwa coal deposit in southern Tanzania. The MOU provides for the general terms of the partnership including terms on the scope of co-operation, sharing of information and confidentiality. This MOU is a major step towards finalizing the formal joint venture agreement between the parties which is scheduled to be completed following a site visit and technical due diligence by EWP at the beginning of August 2013.

EWP is a global power producer owned by the Korean Government and it currently owns and operates power plants in Korea with a total generation capacity of 8,816 megawatts. EWP has extensive experience and expertise in the power generation business and is currently also actively engaged in developing and operating power plants in more than 10 countries including the United States of America, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam.

Louis Coetzee, Chief Executive Officer of the Company commented:  

"We are extremely pleased to progress Kibo's relationship with EWP. This is the result of positive talks with the company in Korea at the end of June and is a further endorsement of the Rukwa Coal to Power Project following its inclusion in the Tanzanian Government's National Energy Strategy. We are looking forward to hosting EWP on a site visit to Rukwa within the next few weeks and hope to finalize the Joint Venture shortly afterwards."

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	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 which is further enhanced by the now formal relationship between the Korean Government owned Korean East - West Power Co. Ltd. ("EWP")  and Kibo. In this relationship the parties have entered into a formal MOU which states the parties' respective commitments towards the joint development of the Rukwa Coal to Power Project ("RCPP"), where EWP will be responsible for developing and operating the power generation side of the RCPP and Kibo will be responsible for developing and operating the mining side of the RCPP.

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
18 July 2013

River Group

Corporate and Designated Adviser

River Group

 

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