For immediate release: 16 September 2011
Pathfinder Minerals Plc
("Pathfinder Minerals" or the "Company")
Result of AGM
Pathfinder Minerals Plc, the natural resources company with licences to mine heavy minerals sands in Mozambique, announces that all resolutions proposed at the Annual General Meeting of the Company held today were duly passed with the exception of Ordinary Resolution 6, to approve the re-appointment of Mr Gordon Dickie as a non-executive director of the Company, and Special Resolution 9, to authorise the Directors under section 570 of the Companies Act 2006 to issue ordinary shares on a non pre-emptive basis for cash up to an amount equal to the authorised but unissued ordinary share capital of the Company. Mr Dickie has retired as a director of the Company with immediate effect. Mr Dickie has been instrumental in the identification of the Mozambique opportunity and the initial development of the project and the board would like to thank him for his immense contribution.
John McKeon, Chairman, made the following brief statement at the AGM:
"The Company announced a highly successful placing in July which has enabled us to move forward, on a fully funded basis, through to bankable feasibility and leading up to the mine construction phase.
Since the fundraising, a huge amount of work has been carried out behind the scenes towards the planning and preparation of the feasibility and drilling programmes. The Company is in the process of appointing a number of specialist contractors and consultants who will contribute in multiple areas including project management, engineering, construction and logistics planning, site upgrades, topographical surveying, drilling, core sample analysis and metallurgical testwork.
We look forward to keeping shareholders informed of progress as we move through this exciting phase which will see drilling commence on the asset in the fourth quarter of this year."
Enquiries:
Pathfinder Minerals Plc
Nick Trew, Chief Executive
Tel. +44 (0)20 7399 4371
Daniel Stewart & Company Plc
Oliver Rigby or James Thomas
Tel: +44 (0)20 7776 6550
M: Communications
Ben Simons or Maria Souvorov
Tel: +44 (0)20 7920 2340 /2327
Notes to Editors
About Pathfinder Minerals
Pathfinder Minerals, through a 99.99%-owned subsidiary, has mining concessions covering approximately 32,000 hectares of land on the Indian Ocean coast of the Zambezia province of Mozambique, known to contain the heavy minerals, ilmenite, rutile and zircon.
The licences, known as Naburi and Moebase and formerly held by BHP Billiton, are over land located near the Indian Ocean coast of Mozambique. Historical reported mineral resources on the assets are estimated at 2.02 billion tonnes with a 3.55% total heavy mineral content, which is equivalent to approximately 71.7 million tonnes of contained heavy minerals. Confirmatory drilling and metallurgical test work will be required to upgrade the classification of the mineral resources.
Exploration work conducted on the licences from the mid-1980s through to 2002 has identified significant mineralisation. Bulk sampling and metallurgical test work conducted in support of prefeasibility and feasibility studies in the mid-1990s indicates that valuable heavy minerals can be recovered using conventional dredge mining, wet concentration and dry mineral separation processes.
The Company is undertaking a detailed feasibility study with a view to developing a mine for commercial extraction.
Heavy Minerals Sands
The more valuable components of a heavy mineral sands deposit include the titanium oxide minerals ilmenite and rutile, and in addition, zircon. Ilmenite and rutile are used to produce titanium dioxide pigment used in the production of paint, paper, plastic, textiles, rubber and pharmaceutical products. Zircons are commercially mined for the metal zirconium and are used for abrasive and insulating purposes.