Katoro Gold plc (Incorporated in England and Wales)
(Registration Number: 9306219)
Share code on AIM: KAT
ISIN: GB00BSNBL022
("Katoro" or "the Company")
24 November 2017
Katoro Gold Plc ("Katoro" or the "Company")
Imweru Project's Pre-Feasibility Study Expanded to Include a LiDAR Survey
Katoro Gold Plc (AIM:KAT), the Tanzania focused gold exploration and development company, is pleased to announce that it has commissioned a Light Detection and Ranging ("LiDAR") survey at its Imweru gold project ("Imweru") in Tanzania to further strengthen the Pre-Feasibility Study ("PFS"), which remains on track to complete in the near term.
The Company is advancing Imweru through a work programme consisting of the completion of a PFS, drilling programme, a feasibility study and the application for a Mining Licence as well as an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment ("ESIA"). Accordingly, as a valuable addition to the PFS, a LiDAR survey has been commissioned without compromising the timeline or budget.
The survey will use pulsed laser light to create a highly accurate data set over the entire envisaged Imweru mining area. The survey will measure the distance to a surface target area by illuminating that target with a pulsed laser light, and in doing so measuring the reflected pulses with a sensor. In the case of Imweru, this will be used to produce a digital topographical database to enable the creation of high-resolution topographical maps which will provide high accuracy data for the final resource estimation and optimised mine design. The airborne LiDAR survey will be executed with a Piper PA-32 Cherokee 6, which is modified for this purpose and approved by the Tanzanian Civil Aviation Authority.
The approximate US$14,000 cost of the LiDAR survey will be satisfied through the issue of new ordinary shares in Katoro on delivery of the survey report, with the number of new ordinary shares to be issued to be determined based on the Katoro share price at the time of such issue.
Additionally, Katoro recently completed Phase 2 of the ESIA, used for predicting and assessing the potential environmental and social impacts of a project, evaluating alternatives and designing appropriate management and monitoring measures and has subsequently received approval from the National Environmental Management Council to proceed with Phase 3 (final phase) of the ESIA.
Louis Coetzee, Executive Chairman of Katoro commented: "We are delighted to have commissioned the LiDAR survey, which will add integrity and confidence to the PFS. Thanks to completing previous milestones at Imweru ahead of schedule, we can deliver this supplementary survey without compromising the timeline for the PFS and at no additional cash cost. Good progress continues to be made on advancing Imweru and I look forward to providing further updates in this regard over the coming months."
**ENDS**
For further information please visit www.katorogold.com or contact:
Louis Coetzee |
+27 (0)83 2606126 |
Katoro Gold plc |
Executive Chairman |
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Jon Belliss |
+44 (0)207 382 8300 |
Beaufort Securities Limited |
Broker |
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Richard Tulloch Ritchie Balmer Frederick Twist |
+44 (0)20 7409 3494 |
Strand Hanson Limited |
Nominated Adviser |
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Isabel de Salis Priit Piip |
+44 (0)207 236 1177 |
St Brides Partners Ltd |
Investor and Media Relations Adviser |
Notes to editors:
In May 2017 Katoro was admitted to trading on AIM. Katoro owns 100% of the Imweru and Lubando Gold Projects in Tanzania, which both have Mineral Resources established in accordance with the JORC (2012) Code. The total Mineral Resources stated for Imweru consist of 11.607 Mt at grade of 1.38 g/t for a Mineral Resource of 515,110 oz Au at a resource pay limit of 0.4 g/t for the open pittable material and 1.3 g/t for the underground material, while the Lubando Mineral Resources equate to 6.78 Mt at grade of 1.10 g/t for 239,870 oz Au at a pay limit of 0.4 g/t to a depth of 200 m and 1.3 g/t below the 200 m depth cut-off. The respective projects also include the earlier stage Sheba (within the Imweru Licence Portfolio and Imweru Option Portfolio), Pamba and Busolwa (both within the Lubando Licence Portfolio and Lubando Option Portfolio) projects. The JORC Code compliant Competent Person's Report for each of Imweru and Lubando are available on Katoro's website www.katorogold.com.
The Company's primary focus is on advancing and developing Imweru through a work programme which will include, inter alia, a feasibility study and a drilling programme, with the aim, subject to funding, to commence production with an initial target of 50,000 oz gold per annum within 18-24 months from admission to AIM.
Updates on the Katoro's activities will be announced as required and posted on its website www.katorogold.com.
