1 August
2024
Premier African Minerals
Limited
Zulu Lithium Plant
Update
Premier African Minerals Limited
("Premier" or the
"Company") is pleased to
provide a further update on the commissioning progress of the
recently installed scrubber unit at the Zulu Lithium and Tantalum
Project ("Zulu") as
announced on the 17 July 2024.
Zulu Float Plant
Premier confirms that the suppliers
of the float plant have firmly stated that they have full
confidence in the ENPROTEC flotation units' capabilities to
effectively produce SC6.
As previously announced, the plant
has already produced a spodumene concentrate at 6.2%
Li2O,
effectively better than SC6. The suppliers of the float plant have
confirmed that they are committed to determine what input changes
can and need to be implemented to the plant operation to produce
the required grade at the required recovery at target output and
will apply these changes first on a laboratory scale to fully
understand the effects of each and how to then implement these
changes in the plant within the shortest time frame
possible.
Anticipated changes relate to points
at which reagents are dosed, agitation speeds and flow rates
between components, slurry densities and cell resident times and
Premier does not contemplate any additional plant or equipment at
this time.
George Roach, CEO, commented, "On the one hand Premier is pleased that we are at the back end
of the optimisation process, but frustrated that real optimisation
of the float circuit could only properly start after Q1 2024 after
commissioning of the new mill and subsequent installation of the
scrubber.
The progress made this year on the
most complex part of this plant is actually very good and we should
not lose sight of the fact that this initial plant at Zulu is
likely only the beginning of a long and exciting development for
this project.
Premier would like to take this
opportunity to remind shareholders that Premier's internal estimate
(including Zulu) of the all- in-projected cost, which has not been
independently verified, on a delivered China port basis, inclusive
of all administrative and overhead costs is less than US$750 ton
SC6 when plant output reaches 4,000 tons per month.
This cost per ton excludes any
recovery of tantalum, excludes a potential double expansion of the
float section of the plant based on the over-capacity in the
comminution circuit, excludes any potential from high purity quartz
and excludes the potential in the additional claims established in
the EPO region."
ENPROTEC
ENPROTEC have reviewed and approved
this release to the extent that reference is made to the
commissioning of the scrubber unit and
expected performance of the scrubber unit.
ENPROTEC is a Multi-disciplinary
Engineering Applications Group that Offers End-to-end Solutions to
the Mining & Mineral Processing Industry. ENPROTEC aim to
extract ore optimally and derive tangible value for its clients
from their operations while eliminating environmental risks.
ENPROTEC is a global partner in the mineral processing industry,
offering a diverse range of solutions and technologies.
Market Abuse Regulations
The information contained within
this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside
information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU)
No. 596/2014 as it forms part of UK Domestic Law by virtue of the
European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 ("UK MAR").
The person who arranged the release
of this announcement on behalf of the Company was George
Roach.
A copy of this announcement is
available at the Company's website, www.premierafricanminerals.com
Enquiries:
George Roach
|
Premier African Minerals Limited
|
Tel: +27 (0) 100 201 281
|
Michael Cornish / Roland Cornish
|
Beaumont Cornish Limited
(Nominated Adviser)
|
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7628 3396
|
Douglas Crippen
|
CMC
Markets UK Plc
|
Tel: +44 (0) 20 3003 8632
|
Toby Gibbs/Rachel Goldstein
|
Shore Capital Stockbrokers Limited
|
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7408 4090
|
Nominated Adviser Statement
Beaumont Cornish Limited
("Beaumont Cornish"), which
is authorised and regulated in the United Kingdom by the Financial
Conduct Authority, is acting as nominated adviser to the Company in
connection with this announcement and will not regard any other
person as its client and will not be responsible to anyone else for
providing the protections afforded to the clients of Beaumont
Cornish or for providing advice in relation to such proposals.
Beaumont Cornish has not authorised the contents of, or any part
of, this document and no liability whatsoever is accepted by
Beaumont Cornish for the accuracy of any information, or opinions
contained in this document or for the omission of any information.
Beaumont Cornish as nominated adviser to the Company owes certain
responsibilities to the London Stock Exchange which are not owed to
the Company, the Directors, Shareholders, or any other
person.
Forward Looking Statements
Certain statements in this
announcement are or may be deemed to be forward looking statements.
Forward looking statements are identified by their use of terms and
phrases such as ''believe'' ''could'' "should" ''envisage''
''estimate'' ''intend'' ''may'' ''plan'' ''will'' or the negative
of those variations or comparable expressions including references
to assumptions. These forward-looking statements are not based on
historical facts but rather on the Directors' current expectations
and assumptions regarding the Company's future growth results of
operations performance future capital and other expenditures
(including the amount. Nature and sources of funding thereof)
competitive advantages business prospects and opportunities. Such
forward looking statements reflect the Directors' current beliefs
and assumptions and are based on information currently available to
the Directors. A number of factors could cause actual results to
differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking
statements including risks associated with vulnerability to general
economic and business conditions competition environmental and
other regulatory changes actions by governmental authorities the
availability of capital markets reliance on key personnel uninsured
and underinsured losses and other factors many of which are beyond
the control of the Company. Although any forward-looking statements
contained in this announcement are based upon what the Directors
believe to be reasonable assumptions. The Company cannot assure
investors that actual results will be consistent with such forward
looking statements.
Glossary
|
"Li2O"
|
Lithium Oxide (Lithia) - an
inorganic lithium compound used to assess lithium
minerals.
|
"SC6"
|
spodumene concentrate.
|
|
Notes to
Editors:
Premier African Minerals Limited (AIM: PREM) is
a multi-commodity mining and natural resource development company
focused on Southern Africa with its RHA Tungsten and Zulu Lithium
projects in Zimbabwe.
The Company has a diverse portfolio of
projects, which include tungsten, rare earth elements, lithium and
tantalum in Zimbabwe and lithium and gold in Mozambique,
encompassing brownfield projects with near-term production
potential to grass-roots exploration. The Company has accepted a
share offer by Vortex Limited ("Vortex") for the exchange of Premier's
entire 4.8% interest in Circum Minerals Limited ("Circum"), the owners of the Danakil
Potash Project in Ethiopia, for a 13.1% interest in the enlarged
share capital of Vortex. Vortex has an interest of 36.7% in
Circum.
Ends