25th Apr 2006 09:05
Albidon Limited25 April 2006 Suite 1 Hillway House Albidon limited 141 Broadway Nedlands 6009 Western Australia ARBN 107 288 755 Tel:x+61x8x9389 6300 Fax:x +61x8x9389 6400 Email:xinfo@albidon.com ASX Code: ALB AIM Code: ALD via electronic lodgement Paste the following link into your web browser to download the PDF document related to this announcement: http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/9272b_-2006-4-25.pdf MINING LICENCE APPROVED FOR MUNALI NICKEL PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS • Large Scale Mining Licence for development of the Munali Nickel Project approved by the Zambian Ministry of Mines and Minerals Development. • Approval of the Mining Licence ('ML') will enable development of the Enterprise Project to proceed as soon as the Bankable Feasibility Study is completed, assuming the outcome of the BFS is positive. • The ML will be issued for a period of 25 years and is renewable. • The Mining Licence covers an area of approximately 800 km2 which will allow for the development of the Enterprise Deposit, as well as any additional deposits discovered within the Munali Intrusion or in the surrounding district. • The Bankable Feasibility Study is scheduled for completion in mid 2006. Munali Project Overview The Munali Nickel Project (100% Albidon) is located approximately 60 kilometressouth of Zambia's capital city Lusaka (see Diagram 1 in the html link above).The Munali Project area comprises the Enterprise Deposit and a number of othernickel prospects at various stages of advancement. The Company is presently conducting a Bankable Feasibility Study ('BFS') for thedevelopment of the Enterprise Deposit which has 97,000 tonnes of containednickel (JORC Inferred and Indicated Resource is 6.93Mt @ 1.4% Ni, 0.2% Cu, 0.08%Co and 1g/t PGM). Drilling is continuing with the aim of increasing the resource which remainsopen down dip and along strike to the north. The BFS is scheduled for completionin mid 2006. Approval of Mining Licence A Large Scale Mining Licence ('ML') has been approved for the Munali NickelProject by the Ministry of Mines and Minerals Development of Zambia. This is animportant milestone in the development of the project as it provides Albidonwith the right to conduct mining and mineral processing operations at Munali. The ML also paves the way for completion of a Development Agreement with theGovernment of Zambia and further, it will facilitate ongoing project financingdiscussions. The ML will be issued for a 25 year period and is renewable. The licence coversan area of some 800 sq km surrounding the Enterprise Deposit and it willtherefore enable the development of any future discoveries within the MunaliIntrusion or the surrounding district. Albidon wishes to acknowledge the cooperation of Zambia's Ministry of Mines andMinerals Development in the expeditious approval of the Company's applicationfor a Large Scale Mining Licence. Bankable Feasibility Study The BFS program for the Enterprise Deposit in the coming months will include thefollowing items, scheduled for completion in mid-year: • Completion of an updated resource estimate for Enterprise • Step-out drilling with the aim of increasing the Enterprise resource • Metallurgical improvements to optimise the quality of Ni-Cu-Co-PGM concentrates • Completion of geotechnical and hydrological studies • Documentation of Environmental Impact Assessment and Social Impact Studies • Offtake marketing discussions • Project financing • Completion of a Development Agreement with the Government of Zambia In addition to the step-out drilling at Enterprise, the ongoing drill programswill include: follow up of the Voyager discovery; testing the 700m gap betweenEnterprise and Voyager; and drilling a number of targets north of Voyager tofollow up massive nickel sulphides discovered in 2004. District-scale exploration will be continued with airborne geophysical surveysdesigned to detect new conductor targets in the broader region outside theMunali Intrusion. The Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resourcesand Ore Reserves (the 'JORC Code') sets out minimum standards, recommendationsand guidelines for Public Reporting in Australasia of Exploration Results,Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves. The information contained in thisannouncement has been presented in accordance with the JORC Code and referencesto "Indicated" and "Inferred Resources" are to those terms as defined in theJORC Code. Information in this report relating to exploration results and mineral resourcesis based on data compiled by Mike Dunbar, who is a member of The AustralasianInstitute of Mining and Metallurgy, who acts as a consultant to the Company.Mike Dunbar has sufficient experience which is relevant to the style ofmineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity whichhe is undertaking to qualify as a Competent Person under the 2004 Edition of theAustralasian Code for reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources andOre Reserves. Mike Dunbar consents to the inclusion of the data in the form andcontext in which it appears. If you have any queries please contact the Chief Financial Officer and CompanySecretary, Nicholas Day on +61 8 9389 6300 or email nickd@albidon.com. Additional information may also be viewed on Albidon's website atwww.albidon.com This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
ALD.L