RHA Update

RNS Number : 6242X

Premier African Minerals Limited

13 August 2018

 

Premier African Minerals Limited / Ticker: PREM / Index: AIM / Sector: Mining

For immediate release

13 August 2018

Premier African Minerals Limited

RHA Update

Premier African Minerals Limited ("Premier" or the "Company"), the AIM-traded, multi-commodity mining and natural resource development company, is pleased to provide an update on the status of the proposed restructuring of RHA Tungsten Private Limited, the owner of RHA Tungsten Mine ("RHA") in Zimbabwe in which Premier currently has a 49% interest.  

The Company has already received written confirmation from the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development (the "Ministry of Mines") that under the amended Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act, RHA is no longer required to comply with indigenisation policies and that the proposed restructuring of RHA can proceed without approval from the Ministry of Mines.

In further response to our proposal that Premier's loan account in RHA be capitalised in exchange for the issue of additional shares in RHA, such that Premier would thereafter hold 90% of the shares in issue in RHA, the Company has received a letter dated 9 August 2018 from the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Enterprise Development of Zimbabwe (the "Ministry"), which has responsibility for indigenisation, confirming inter alia that:

·   Premier's proposal as set out above has been favourably received by the relevant Ministry and relevant stakeholders; and

 ·     Progress has been made and our continued support has been requested by the Ministries.

As the RHA shares in question are part-owned by the Government, any disposal of these shares in relation to the restructuring and recapitalisation of RHA will be guided by relevant legislation, regulation and directives. In light of the reassurances received from the Ministries, Premier will continue to work with the Ministries while the procedural Governmental approvals are dealt with.  

George Roach, CEO of Premier, stated: "I would like to express my appreciation to the Ministries for their assurances and positive responses, which show their clear commitment to dealing with this process. RHA is a near fully developed mine and with a resolution to the equity situation in sight, and the recent firming of tungsten prices, has the potential to be back in production.

Based on the reassurances by the Ministries, Premier will report on the finding of the independent review to bring RHA back into production in the coming weeks and look to conclude one of the various funding options as previously announced on 20 July 2018. Simultaneous with this, Premier is also reviewing bulk tests concluded on historic tailings in 2016 based on the much-improved tungsten prices, with a view to possible mitigation of peak funding requirements to get RHA operational."

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of EU Regulation 596/2014. The person who arranged the release of this announcement on behalf of the Company was George Roach.

Enquiries:

Fuad Sillem	Premier African Minerals Limited	Tel: [phone]
Michael Cornish / Roland Cornish	Beaumont Cornish Limited (Nominated Adviser)	Tel: [phone]
Jerry Keen/Edward Mansfield	Shore Capital Stockbrokers Limited	Tel: [phone]
Jonathan Evans	Brandon Hill Capital Limited	Tel: [phone]

Notes to Editors:

Premier African Minerals Limited (AIM: PREM) is a multi-commodity mining and natural resource development company focused on Southern Africa with its RHA and Zulu projects in Zimbabwe.

The Company has a diverse portfolio of projects, which include tungsten, rare earth elements, lithium and tantalum in Zimbabwe, encompassing brownfield projects with near-term production potential to grass-roots exploration. In addition, the Company holds 5,010,333 shares in Circum Minerals Limited ("Circum"), the owners of the Danakil Potash Project in Ethiopia, which has the potential to be a world class asset. Premier also has an interest in Arc Minerals that has a number of mineral assets in Europe and Africa.

 

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