21st Feb 2007 10:34
Mwana Africa PLC21 February 2007 Mwana Africa plc BASE METALS UPDATE: KATANGA EXPLORATION Joint Venture - Democratic Republic of Congo London, 21st of February 2007 - Mwana Africa plc, the pan-African resourcecompany, is the 100% beneficial owner of the 9,700 km2 SEMKHAT explorationlicence in the copper belt area of the Katanga Province, Democratic Republic ofthe Congo. Mwana's significant land holdings in this area were selected fortheir high potential for discovery of base metals, and cover what are believedto be extensions to the world class mining properties on the Congo part of theLufilian Arc - home to such major copper orebodies as Tenke Fungurume, KOV,Kamoto and lead / zinc orebodies such as Kipushi. Mwana is pleased to announce that it has reached agreement in principle with thewholly-owned subsidiaries of Anglo American Plc ("Anglo") on the principal termsof a proposed agreement in terms of which Anglo would conduct explorationactivity on a farm-in basis on two portions of the SEMKHAT licence area, namelythe NorthWest Block and the Lombe property. The proposed agreement would replacean existing agreement signed between the parties in 2003. A Term Sheet drawn upjointly by the parties proposes that a formal Joint Venture Agreement (the"Agreement") be signed by 15 April 2007. The NorthWest Block is primarily a grass-roots target for stratabound high-gradecopper-cobalt deposits, while Lombe is a zinc prospect, on which historicaldrilling has intercepted wide zones of high-grade mineralisation. The total areaof the NorthWest Block represents approximately 12% of Mwana's prospective basemetal land holdings in the Katanga Province. Under the proposed terms of the Agreement, Anglo would earn a 70% interest inthe two target areas by expending an aggregate $6M over four years from the dateof signing the Agreement including a minimum commitment to spend $1.5M withinthe first 18 months. Kalaa Mpinga, CEO of Mwana Africa, commented, "We are pleased to have agreed theexpected terms under which Anglo American will enable us to progress explorationon this property. This strategy will allow Mwana to retain significant interestin these areas while also allowing us to focus on targets in which we wish tomaintain our sole ownership. This shared approach to exploration will complementour efforts to develop these assets more quickly than we would have done alone.We look forward to the results of this partnership." Enquiries: Oliver Baring, Executive Chairman Tel: 020 7654 5588Mwana Africa plc Tom Randell / Maria Suleymanova Tel: 020 7653 6620Merlin Mark Williams Tel: 020 7050 6500Canaccord Adams Limited This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
Asa Resources