REG - African Pioneer PLC - Ongombo Project, Namibia - Environmental Clearance

African PioneerAnnouncement

25/04/2023 07:00

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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

+44 (0) 20 7581 4477
 Colin Bird

 Executive Chairman
 Beaumont Cornish (Financial Adviser)    +44 (0) 20 7628 3396

Roland Cornish / Asia Szusciak
 Novum Securities Limited (Broker)

 Jon Belliss                             +44 (0) 20 7399 9400

+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/ (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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