Open Offer oversubscribed, Result of General Meeting & Directors'
Holdings
(Thomson Reuters ONE) - AFRICAN EAGLE RESOURCES PLC OPEN OFFER OVERSUBSCRIBED RESULT OF GENERAL MEETING DIRECTORS' HOLDINGS* Open Offer oversubscribed* Offer maximum of Euro 2.499 million (£2,136,700) raised and 53,417,500 Offer Shares issued* Placing of 30,804,500 new Ordinary Shares at 4p per share completed, raising £1.2 million before expenses* Proceeds of the Placing and Offer to fund work on African Eagle's feasibility study of the Dutwa Nickel Project and for general working capital* Directors subscribed for 250,000 shares in the Open OfferThe Board of African Eagle Resources plc ("African Eagle" or the"Company") is pleased to announce that its Placing and Open Offerhave been successfully completed, with all resolutions at the GeneralMeeting of the Company held on 6 August being duly passed.The Company is delighted to report that the Open Offer to EligibleShareholders ("Open Offer"), which closed at 11am yesterday wasoversubscribed. After scaling back, the Offer raised Euro 2,499,939,equivalent to £2,136,700 at the then ruling exchange rate of 1.17Euro to £1, and accordingly, 53,417,500 Offer Shares have been issuedat a price of 4p each.Also, the placing by Seymour Pierce of 30,804,500 new Ordinary Shareswith new and existing investors at a price of 4p each, raising grossproceeds of approximately £1.2 million, has now been completed (the"Placing").Application has been made for admission to trading on AIM of thePlacing Shares and the Offer Shares and this is expected to takeplace this morning. Application has also been made for admission totrading on AltX of the Placing Shares and the Offer Shares and thisis expected to take place on 11 August.Following the issue of these new Ordinary Shares there are296,762,128 Ordinary Shares in issue. This figure may be used byshareholders as the denominator for the calculations by which theywill determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or achange to their interest in, African Eagle under the FSA's Disclosureand Transparency Rules.Mark Parker, Managing Director of African Eagle commented, "We aredelighted with the support shown by our shareholders and by leadinginstitutional investors. Their commitment is a clear endorsement ofthe quality of the Company's prospective nickel laterite project atDutwa and our experienced executive and operational teams. We werevery keen to give as many of our shareholders as possible theopportunity to take part in this fundraising and we are thereforedelighted with the fantastic take up of the Open Offer. In order tobe able to make the Open Offer, we had to work through a raft ofcomplex rules and regulations and we pay tribute to the guidance andsupport of our advisers throughout this process, which ensured thatwe were able to include as many shareholders as possible, whilstkeeping costs to a minimum."The net proceeds of the Placing and Open Offer, after expenses, areintended to be used, in conjunction with the Company's existing cashresources, to make a start on work leading to a feasibility study onAfrican Eagle's Dutwa Nickel Project in Tanzania and for generalworking capital.Since its discovery of the Dutwa nickel deposit in June 2008, AfricanEagle has completed resource drilling; received an independentresource estimate; completed laboratory metallurgical andmineralogical tests (which revealed that the deposit could beprocessed efficiently by sulphuric acid leaching), and commissioned ascoping study which has indicated that the project is likely to beeconomically feasible.In December 2008, African Eagle decided that the Dutwa project shouldbecome its top priority, because the Directors believed that, of allthe Group's projects, Dutwa offered the greatest potential to addvalue. With the delivery of the positive scoping study in June 2009,the Company resolved to start work immediately on a feasibilitystudy.At the end of June 2009, African Eagle held net cash of approximately£1.5M. The estimated cost of the next stages of the feasibilitystudy will be approximately £1.5M to £2M, including the workingcapital the Company will need to cover its general operational andadministrative expenditures. The Board therefore resolved to raisefunds through a placing of Ordinary Shares with institutionalinvestors. DIRECTORS' HOLDINGSThe Directors have in total subscribed for 1,222,500 shares in thePlacing and 250,000 shares in the Open Offer.Details of individual Directors' subscriptions and their consequentholdings and percentages following the Placing and the Offer are asfollows: Subscription Subscription in Number of PercentageDirector in Placing Offer Ordinary of Enlarged Shares held, Share after the Capital Placing and OfferJohn Park 250,000 - 6,926,801 2.33%Euan 250,000 - 1,060,000 0.36%WorthingtonMark Parker 312,500 225,000* 4,033,857 1.36%Christopher 152,500 25,000 971,730 0.33%DaviesBevan Metcalf 137,500 - 207,500 0.07%Geoffrey 120,000 - 909,300 0.31%Cooper* to be held by Mr Mark Parker's Self-Invested Personal Pension IMPORTANT DATESAdmission and dealings in the New Ordinary Shares to 7 August 2009commence on AIMCREST accounts credited with New Ordinary Shares 7 August 2009Listing of the New Ordinary Shares on ALTx from 11 August 2009commencement of business onDefinitive share certificates for the New OrdinaryShares to be despatched (if appropriate) by 21 August 2009For further information contact:Mark ParkerManaging DirectorAfrican Eagle+44 20 7248 6059+44 77 5640 6899Nicola MarrinSeymour Pierce Limited, LondonNominated Adviser+ 44 20 7107 8000Charmane RussellRussell & Associates, Johannesburg+27 11 8803924+27 82 8928052Ed Portman / Leesa PetersConduit PR, London+44 20 7429 6607+44 77 3336 3501About African EagleAfrican Eagle is a diversified mineral exploration and developmentcompany operating in eastern and central Africa. The Company'sprincipal advanced assets are the Dutwa nickel laterite discovery inTanzania, where the Company completed a scoping study in June 2009,and its 49% interest in the Mkushi Copper Mines joint venture projectin Zambia, for which a draft feasibility study was completed in Q42008.African Eagle is evaluating a second promising nickel lateritedeposit at Zanzui in Tanzania and has defined a JORC gold resourceestimated at half a million ounces at its Miyabi gold project inTanzania. The Company holds a well-balanced portfolio of promisingearlier stage gold, copper, platinum and uranium projects, includingthe Ndola and Mokambo projects in the Zambian Copperbelt and theIgurubi gold project in Tanzania.Zambia, Tanzania and Mozambique, the sites of African Eagle'sprojects, are all countries which have highly prospective geology,relatively low above-ground risks and track records of successfulmajor investments in the metals and minerals industries.In December 2008, African Eagle resolved to prioritise the Dutwaproject, because the Board believes that, of all the Company'sprojects, it offered the greatest potential to add value. To take itsother discoveries into production, African Eagle is seeking industrypartners with records of successful mine development, by means ofjoint ventures, farm-ins, spin-outs or other mechanisms.About the Dutwa ProjectAfrican Eagle has discovered a significant nickel laterite deposit inthe Dutwa project area in the Lake Victoria Goldfield. WithinTanzania, the project is favourably situated 100km east of therailhead at Mwanza and close to the main Mwanza-Nairobi trunk road, amajor power line and the shore of Lake Victoria.Since the discovery of the Dutwa nickel deposit in June 2008, AfricanEagle has explored the project very quickly and cost-effectively,including resource drilling and an independent resource estimate;laboratory metallurgical and mineralogical tests which revealed thatthe deposit could be processed efficiently by sulphuric acidleaching. On 24 June 2009, the Company announced the results of its"proof of concept" scoping study. The study, by GRD Minproc of Perth,Western Australia, indicated that the project can be economicallyviable, and African Eagle has now begun work towards a definitivefeasibility study.For the study, GRD Minproc reviewed information provided by AfricanEagle relating to the geology, resources, setting, mineralogy andmetallurgy of the deposit, and the infrastructure in Tanzania andneighbouring countries, combining this information with its owninternal data and experience, to develop and calculate the economicsof ten alternative mining and process plant options. Costs wereestimated in US dollars, to an accuracy of ±30%. The economicmodelling was an iterative process, feeding back into the miningplans and the process designs.GRD Minproc used Whittle mine modelling to optimise the mining planand cut-off grade for each process option, based on the deposit modeland JORC compliant resource of 31 million tonnes at 1.1% nickel and0.034% cobalt produced by SRK in November 2008. GRD Minproc added a50% upside, to take into account the nearby Ngasamo laterite, whichadds a potential 15-20 million additional tonnes.The study showed that the optimum process option is likely to beatmospheric tank leach, but the project may also be viable using heapleaching. High-pressure acid leach with direct solvent extraction ofthe nickel is also potentially economically feasible.The financial modelling showed that at today's nickel prices, theproject can be expected to generate a net cash-flow (EBIT) of US$ 53million to 130 million per year over a mine life of 15 to 20 years,depending on the processing method. The detailed results are set outin the table below.The study also shows a good investment case for the project, with apost-tax internal rate of return (IRR) of 15% and a net present value(NPV) of US$110 million, using a base case of a 10% discount rate of10%, a US$7/lb nickel price, with the best processing option(AL/MSP). The pre-tax NPV is US$200 million.The cost of reagents, especially sulphur and lime, will be a majorcomponent of operating costs and sensitivity analysis shows thatreturns can be considerably increased if these costs can beminimised. Also, as anticipated, transport costs will form asignificant contribution to operating costs and the Company willinvestigate ways to minimise them. The base case used transport costsof US$0.08 per tonne per km; the NPV rises to $210 million (post-tax)or US$350 million (pre-tax) and the IRR increases to 15.5% if thetransport costs can be reduced by 25% and an 8% discount rate isused.The study demonstrated that further feasibility studies are nowjustified and the Company has commenced work on these. The initialwork will be directed towards investigating ways to reduce costs andincrease revenues, together with drilling the adjacent Ngasamodeposit, improving the resource model and refining the metallurgicalinformation. A start has already been made on the additionalmetallurgical test work at Mintek Laboratories in South Africa,including column and tank leach tests, sizing analysis and physicaltest work to establish more definitively the optimum processingroutes.African Eagle acquired the Dutwa project for its gold potential, butthe Company's exploration team quickly recognised that there wassignificant nickel laterite potential. There is very little outcrop,so the Company conducted extensive ground magnetic surveys to revealthe underlying structure and geology. The Company also compiledhistorical data, including detailed geological maps and trenchresults dating from 1956, when rock chip samples from the trenchesover the ultramafic rocks were reported as yielding up to 1.9% nickeland 10% chromium.In all, African Eagle has explored a total area of more than 750km²in the Dutwa project area. The Company holds a 90% interest, withoption to acquire 100%, over the Dutwa laterite deposit itself. InApril 2009, African Eagle signed a Letter of Intent for an option andjoint venture over another nickel laterite at Ngasamo, 5km west ofthe Dutwa deposit.Greenstones and granites underlie the project area. The greenstones,of Archaean Nyanzian age, are mostly metamorphosed volcanic andsedimentary rocks, with some banded iron formation in the east.Several large ultramafic bodies occur within the greenstones and thenickel laterites form a blanket up to 60m thick on top of these.To investigate the nickel discovery, the Company undertook trialdrilling in June 2008. The results were very encouraging and a139-hole reverse circulation (RC) drilling programme was completed todelineate the resource. African Eagle also undertook a 10-holediamond drill programme to obtain core samples for metallurgicaltesting and density measurements.In November 2008, African Eagle announced an initial Inferred MineralResource estimate of 31 million tonnes at an average grade of 1.1%nickel and 0.034% cobalt. At a cut-off grade of 0.5% nickel, thisgives Dutwa a contained metal endowment of some 340,000 tonnes ofnickel and 11,000 tonnes of cobalt. The estimate was prepared byindependent consultants SRK Consulting (UK) Ltd in line with theAustralasian Code for Reporting of Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves(the JORC Code). A little additional drilling and more advancedgeostatistics and deposit modelling will be needed to upgrade theresource to Indicated category.Ngasamo Hill, 5km west of the Dutwa deposit, is geologically verysimilar and holds a laterite deposit of the order of 15 to 20 milliontonnes, which would increase the global resource at Dutwa from thecurrently defined 31 million tonnes at 1.1% nickel, to some 45 - 50million tonnes. Drilling and metallurgical tests will be needed toconfirm the size, grade and compatibility of Ngasamo. Under itsagreement with Ngasamo's owners, (Safina a.s. of the Czech Republicand its Tanzanian subsidiary Precious Metals Refinery Company Ltd),African Eagle can earn an interest of at least 50% and up to 75% inNgasamo by carrying out exploration and evaluation work, up to afeasibility study.Mintek Laboratories in Johannesburg investigated the mineralogy andmetallurgy of mineralised drill samples from the deposit, includingextended 'bottle roll' sulphuric acid leach tests to investigatemetal recoveries and acid consumption. Mintek also carried outmineralogical characterisation by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanningelectron microscopy (SEM) and polished section work.The bottle roll test results showed nickel extractions of 70-90% withan average of 83%. Cobalt extractions were mostly in the range 70 to85%. The acid consumptions, averaging 209kg/t, are very low comparedto other Ni laterite ores worldwide.The mineralogical investigations show that the laterite is extremelysilica-rich, with low iron and magnesium content, indicating thatDutwa is not a typical laterite nickel deposit. Mintek believes thatmuch of the nickel and cobalt occurs in "wad" with manganese contentof 20-60%, nickel content of up to 20% and cobalt content of up to10%.The unusual mineralogy of the deposit is highly beneficial, as itresults in lower acid consumption and is expected to give good heapleach permeability or favourable liquid-solid separation in tankleaching. The concentration of nickel and cobalt in the manganese wadoffers the possibility that mechanical selection of high-gradematerial may allow reduced throughput and hence a lower costprocessing plant.The Company is also investigating other potential nickel lateritedeposits in Tanzania, and has completed a trial programme of RCdrilling to test a laterite at its Zanzui project, 60km to the southof Dutwa. Results included 42m at 1.05% nickel (including 6m at2.80%) and 33m at 0.91% nickel (including 9m at 1.41%).---END OF MESSAGE---This announcement was originally distributed by Hugin. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
Datum: 07.08.2009 - 08:00 Uhr
Sprache: Deutsch
News-ID 4471
Anzahl Zeichen: 0
contact information:
Town:
London
Kategorie:
Business News
Diese Pressemitteilung wurde bisher 313 mal aufgerufen.
Die Pressemitteilung mit dem Titel:
"Open Offer oversubscribed, Result of General Meeting & Directors'
Holdings"
steht unter der journalistisch-redaktionellen Verantwortung von
African Eagle Resources PLC (Nachricht senden)
Beachten Sie bitte die weiteren Informationen zum Haftungsauschluß (gemäß TMG - TeleMedianGesetz) und dem Datenschutz (gemäß der DSGVO).
