London Mining
London Mining is incorporated and registered in the UK and is developing mines to supply the global steel industry. The Company has iron ore mining, exploration and development projects located in Saudi Arabia, Greenland, Sierra Leone, Mexico and coal projects in South Africa and Colombia. London Mining has off-take agreements in place with Chinese steel producers. The company is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange.
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London Mining wins key government endorsements for Sierra Leone project
London Mining PLC (Oslo Stock Exchange: LOND) said it has received a new mining lease securing its key tailings and primary resource at its Marampa iron ore project in Sierra Leone, as well as permits for logistical aspects, and it has been granted several fiscal incentives that improve the economics of the project.
Once the company has received formal ratification from parliament of its final mining plan and fiscal incentives - expected in the fourth quarter 2009 -, construction will be initiated immediately thereafter with first production anticipated to be within 12-18 months.
The new agreements, along with the recent settlement of outstanding boundary issues with African Minerals Ltd, as reported last month, resolves a number of outstanding issues relating to the Marampa project and provides London Mining with the full backing of the government of Sierra Leone to take the project into production.
The company's operating subsidiary in the country has been issued with Mining Lease 2/09 covering an area of 13.82 square kilometres and incorporating the previously operating Marampa mine. London Mining has proposed and agreed a licence boundary which allows for practical development and operation of a tailings re-processing facility and provides the opportunity to expand operations by developing the primary ore body.
The main feature of the fiscal package relevant to the development stage of the project is a reduction in import and excise duties, including that on fuel, lubricants, all capital expenditure and spare parts. These are applicable for the duration of the mining lease and are legally enforceable with immedate effect.
The previous mine, operated by the Sierra Leone Development Company was in operation from 1933 to 1975 and formed a significant part of the Sierra Leone economy. The mine was briefly reopened by Austromineral, a subsidiary of Voest-Alpine, in the mid 1980s but has not been operated since.
London Mining plans to construct a tailings re-processing plant at Marampa able to produce 1.5 million tonnes per annum of 66 percent iron, with a view to increase production to 3 Mtpa or more through expansion of the tailings operation or development of the primary ore resource. Mining is expected to use conventional truck and shovel methods and/or hydraulic mining for parts of the tailings resource.
Concentrate will be transported to barge loading facilities at Tawfayim on the Port Loko creek for shipment to deep water for loading on to Panamax or Capesize ships. The mine is located 40 kilometres from Tawfayim, of which 22 kilometres is via existing tarmac road. The remaining 18 kilometres of laterite road has been surveyed and is under construction.
London Mining announced in July it it plans to list on the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange , seeking the benefit from the presence of established mining sector research coverage in London and improved access to global investors. The group plans to maintain its Oslo listing for the time being and review the situation after "an appropriate period of time".
Other London Mining news
- London Mining enters iron ore JV in Chile
2010-07-30 - Colombian Potential for Coking Coal Producers
2010-05-04 - London Mining's Chinese joint venture posts $6 million net earnings
2010-03-22 - London Mining AIM listing scheduled for November 2009
2009-10-16 - London Mining appoints adviser and joint stock broker to proceed with AIM listing, targets 20Mtpa production by 2018
2009-10-12
