16 November 2015
Strategic Minerals Plc
("Strategic Minerals" or the "Company")
Commencement of Extraction of Bulk Sample, Tatu Coal Mine
The Board of Strategic Minerals Plc (AIM: SML; USOTC: SMCDY) is pleased to announce that it has now received all required regulatory authorities for, and has commenced extraction of, a bulk sample from the proposed Tatu coal mine on the North Island of New Zealand. The extraction is being conducted under the supervision of the mine manager, Lincoln Smith and Strategic Minerals' project manager, Vince Martin.
While the Company was undertaking the work to ensure that the planned extraction complied with statutory requirements, the Company undertook the external works related to site access, although this has been intermittently interrupted by bad weather. With the provision of regulatory approval last week, the health and safety plans now in place, and the upgrading of the access road completed, the Company is now proceeding with extraction of the bulk sample.
The bulk sample will be accessed via an at-surface section of the coal seam after removing top cover of approximately 1.5 metres of overburden. The location of the bulk sample is likely to be the access point for underground operations once the decision to proceed to commercial production is made.
Additionally, the Chairman of Strategic Minerals, Mr Alan Broome, is in New Zealand to attend the New Zealand Coal Board, of which he is a member, and is to visit the proposed Tatu coal mine site to observe part of the extraction process. Thereafter, Mr Broome shall be taking the opportunity to check on both the intended laboratory review of the coal extracted and discuss with major potential customers the use of the coal in their operations, once analysis of the bulk sample confirms historical coal quality data.
Commenting, Alan Broome, Non-Executive-Chairman of Strategic Minerals, said:
"The Company has been working towards the commencement of the bulk sample extraction as a key step in completing its assessment for the commissioning of the mine works at Tatu. Accordingly, the commencement is an important and exciting step for the Company, which plans to lever off this information to identify potential customers for the produced coal and assess their interest in future purchases.
"The Company considers the likely timing of the proposed Tatu coal mine is of particular interest to New Zealand north island coal users in light of the recent uncertainty associated with Solid Energy's voluntary administration and the announced closure of the Huntly East coal mine.
"Upon completion of the laboratory work associated with the bulk extraction, the Company will access its New Zealand network to ascertain likely product demand and to review expected project profitability. At the same time, the Company continues to review funding alternatives, which will be clarified once more definitive data on likely sales volumes, prices and customer demand are obtained."
For further information, please contact:
Strategic Minerals plc John Peters Managing Director |
+61 (0) 414 727 965 |
Allenby Capital Limited Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker Jeremy Porter James Reeve |
+44 (0)20 3328 5656 |
Cornhill Capital Limited Joint Broker James Sheehan Colin Rowbury |
+44 (0)20 3700 2516 |
Yellow Jersey PR Financial PR Dominic Barretto Alistair de Kare-Silver |
+44 (0)7738 076 304 |
Notes to Editors
Strategic Minerals plc is an AIM quoted, diversified mineral development and production company, with projects in the United States of America and New Zealand. The Company is focused on acquiring and developing cash generative, high quality projects which meet local market demand for commodities.
In September 2011, the Strategic Minerals purchased, its first cash generating asset, the Cobre magnetite tailings dam project in New Mexico, USA which it brought into production in 2012 and which continues to provide a revenue stream for the Company. The portfolio was expanded in March 2015 with the acquisition of the Tatu coal Mine located in North Island, New Zealand. Strategic Minerals is now developing this project with the expectation it will make its first thermal coal sales by H1 2016.
