North River Resources plc, the AIM quoted resource company, has told DirectorsTalk it has received from the Ministry of Mines and Energy in Namibia a Notice of Preparedness to Grant the mining licence for the Namib Lead-Zinc Project . The Notice is dated 28 January 2016.
As shareholders are aware, the mining licence is a critical step towards taking the Namib project toward to an investment decision and into construction. The area covered by the Mining Licence application (ML185) is located within Namib Lead and Zinc Mining (Propriety) Limited’s 100% owned EPL2902.
The Minerals (Prospecting and Mining) Act No.33 of 1992 requires that the Company submit a written acceptance of the Notice by 28 February 2016. If no acceptance is filed, or the period for acceptance has not been extended, the application for a mining licence is deemed to have lapsed. Further, the Notice contains a number of supplementary terms and conditions relating to matters including, inter alia, the work programme, production, environment and Namibian participation in the Project that will apply to the mining licence. Acceptance of the Notice by North River triggers a further 60 day period during which the Company must submit to the Ministry a proposal on local ownership of the Project, participation by historically disadvantaged Namibians in management of the Project, and the Company’s corporate social responsibility strategy. Shareholders should note that the supplementary terms and conditions, and the proposal referred to above, must be agreed between the Company and the Ministry before the mining licence is issued.
Further announcements will be made in due course in relation to the licence application and progress on the ongoing work programme at site.
North River CEO, James Beams, said, “We are delighted to receive the notification of preparedness to grant the application for the Namib Mining Licence. This represents an important first step towards the issue of the Mining Licence for Namib. We now look forward to defining and agreeing the final terms and conditions with all concerned stakeholders.”
