REG - Central Asia Metals - Further update regarding Sasa’s TSF4

Central Asia MetalsAnnouncement

28/09/2020 07:00

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RNS Number : 2176A  Central Asia Metals PLC  28 September 2020

28 September 2020

 

CENTRAL ASIA METALS PLC

('CAML' or the 'Company')

Further update regarding Sasa's Tailings Storage Facility 4 ('TSF4')

Central Asia Metals plc (AIM: CAML) today announces an update following the 14
September 2020 leakage at its Sasa Tailings Storage Facility TSF4.

Impact on the environment and local community

Surveyors have now accurately calculated a total volume of leaked material
from TSF4 of 8,000m(3), of which 3,000m(3) is the coarse fraction of the dam
wall and the remainder comprises water and the fines fraction.

A detailed survey of the river has been undertaken to define the lateral
extent and depth of the tailings along the water course. This survey will be
submitted to the relevant authorities along with a technical document that
defines the physical methods for clean-up and disposal of the tailings. The
clean-up of an initial high-priority section of the Kamenica River commenced
last week with the agreement of the authorities.

Wardell Armstrong Limited has been engaged together with local consultants,
EcoMosaic to assess the social and environmental impact on the full length of
the river (approximately 14 kilometres) and lake. EcoMosaic will lead the
Environmental and Social Damage Assessment and Wardell Armstrong will produce
a Remediation and Mitigation Report. These consultants will be on site this
week to agree the work programme, which should commence in early October.
 

Along the river, 17 sampling points have been established and samples have
been taken daily since 14 September 2020 and sent to an independent accredited
laboratory. Samples analysed in the days after the event have demonstrated
that lead, iron, arsenic and cadmium are all within the allowed levels of
Sasa's mining licence terms at all sampling points along the length of the
river. While zinc and manganese levels are slightly elevated, this is also the
case up-stream before the river enters the Sasa mining licence area and recent
readings are in line with typical historic trends. In addition, there has been
no material impact on dissolved oxygen levels at any of the monitoring
stations.

Sasa management team has been informed that the Ministry of Environment and
Physical Planning ('MoEPP') has quantified a €65,000 fine for the
environmental impact associated with the leakage at TSF4. This will be settled
within the week.

Regular meetings have been held with the local mayor who, along with community
representatives in the town closest to the Sasa mine, Makedonska Kamenica, has
been kept informed throughout the past two weeks of progress on the river
remediation plans as well as the status of TSF4 and its impact on the Sasa
operation.

Production

As announced on 17 September 2020, the authorities granted Sasa permission to
dispose of tailings for a period of 10 days into the prior storage facility,
TSF3.2. This permission has now expired and Sasa has temporarily stopped the
processing of ore. Mining operations have continued, with ore being stockpiled
on surface for the time being.

The physical repairs to the tailings dam are now complete and the necessary
engineering improvements to ensure the long-term safe storage of tailings have
been agreed amongst the Company's technical team and external advisers,
including Knight Piésold Limited. It is expected that these improvements,
together with amendments to the operating procedures, should be complete in
approximately one week.

In the meantime, Sasa management are working closely with the relevant local
authorities in order to obtain the necessary permissions to re-commence the
deposition of tailings into TSF4. The Company's production guidance for Sasa
will therefore remain under review until it is clearer when the processing of
ore can re-commence.

CAML's CEO, Nigel Robinson, is in North Macedonia with the Group's Chief
Operating Officer and Sustainability Director in order to liaise with the
technical consultants at site and meet with both local community
representatives and government ministers, including the Prime Minister, Zoran
Zaev.

Further updates will be provided in due course.

For further information contact:

 Central Asia Metals                               Tel: +44 (0) 20 7898 9001
 Nigel Robinson, CEO
 Gavin Ferrar, CFO
 Louise Wrathall, Director of Corporate Relations  louise.wrathall@centralasiametals.com

 Peel Hunt (Nominated Advisor and Joint Broker)    Tel: +44 (0) 20 7418 8900
 Ross Allister
 David McKeown

 BMO Capital Markets (Joint Broker)                Tel: +44 (0) 20 7236 1010
 Thomas Rider
 Neil Elliot

 Blytheweigh (PR Advisors)                         Tel: +44 (0) 20 7138 3204
 Tim Blythe
 Megan Ray
 Rachael Brooks

Note to editors:

 

Central Asia Metals, an AIM-listed UK company based in London, owns 100% of
the Kounrad SX-EW copper project in central Kazakhstan and 100% of the Sasa
zinc-lead mine in North Macedonia.

For further information, please visit:  www.centralasiametals.com
(http://www.centralasiametals.com/) and https://twitter.com/CamlMetals

 

 

 

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