- Agreement with Gecko Namibia (Pty) Ltd ("Gecko Namibia") to
acquire a majority interest in seven projects ranging from
exploration opportunities to near term feasibility stage
- Diversifies Namibia Rare Earths Inc.'s single commodity
focus from heavy rare earths on the Lofdal project into a broader
portfolio of critical metals and minerals crucial for electric
vehicle industry including cobalt, lithium, graphite, tantalum,
niobium, and gold
- Initial focus will be on cobalt project following discovery
of stratabound cobalt-copper mineralization on neighboring license
in northern Namibia
- Strategic partnership formed with mineral development and
mining group, Gecko Namibia, strengthens operational capacities for
mineral processing and mine development
- Pine van Wyk (NHD Met. Eng. B.Com, MBA), Managing Director
of Gecko Namibia, will be appointed CEO of Namibia Rare Earths
Inc.
- Gecko Namibia and
Gerald McConnell, Chair of the Board
of Namibia Rare Earths Inc, to complete CDN$500,000 private placement
HALIFAX, Dec. 8, 2017 /CNW/ - Namibia Rare Earths
Inc. ("Namibia Rare Earths" or the "Company") (TSXV: NRE) today
provided an update on its progress towards completing the
acquisition of a portfolio of critical metal properties (the
"Properties") from Gecko Namibia (Pty) Ltd. ("Gecko Namibia") in
consideration for the issuance of 64,000,000 common shares of
Namibia Rare Earths ("Property Acquisition") and on its progress
towards completing a $500,000 private
placement ("Private Placement") both of which were announced in the
Company's press release of November 10,
2017. Pursuant to the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange
(the "Exchange"), the Company is required to issue a news release
every 30 days following its initial news release to provide an
update on the status of the Property Acquisition.
The Company is focused on the regulatory process to obtain the
consent of the Exchange for the Property Acquisition and the
Private Placement. Exchange conditional approval of the Property
Acquisition was obtained on November 17,
2017 and the Company is working to fulfill all conditions
for final approval.
In accordance with the policies of the Exchange, the Namibia
Rare Earths shares are currently halted from trading and it is
expected that they will remain halted until receipt and review of
acceptable documentation regarding the Property Acquisition,
pursuant to Exchange listings Policy 5.3.
Property Acquisition and Private Placement
Namibia Rare Earths has entered into an agreement with Gecko
Namibia to acquire its 95% interest in a portfolio of exploration
properties consisting of 14 exploration prospecting licences
("EPLs") four of which are pending, one mineral deposit retention
licence ("MDRL") and Gecko Namibia's rights under an option
agreement to acquire a 60% interest in a further exploration
prospecting licence which interest may, subject to the terms of the
option agreement, be increased to 80%.
This transaction provides Namibia Rare Earths with a high
quality, diversified portfolio of critical metals and at the same
time has secured a highly experienced strategic partner. Gecko
Namibia and its subsidiaries are
substantial participants in the Namibian resource sector with 327
employees and a proven track record in the mining industry. The
Gecko Namibia portfolio of properties will expand the Company's
commodity base from solely rare earths to a variety of highly
critical commodities including cobalt, copper, zinc, lithium,
graphite, tantalum, niobium, nickel, and gold. Ground holdings in
Namibia will increase from 221
km2 (Lofdal) to over 6,850 km2.
In conjunction with the Property Acquisition, Gecko Namibia and
Gerald J. McConnell, Chair of the
Board of Namibia Rare Earths, have each agreed to complete a
private placement with the Company in the amount of $250,000 at $0.05
per share for total gross proceeds to the Company of $500,000 ("Private Placement"). A total of
10,000,000 common shares of Namibia Rare Earths will be issued
pursuant to the Private Placement. The Private Placement is subject
to the approval of the TSXV.
The Property Acquisition and Private Placement are expected to
close on or before January 31, 2018
and are subject to certain conditions including, but not limited
to, the receipt of all necessary approvals including the approval
and acceptance by the TSXV. Upon completion of the Property
Acquisition and Private Placement, Gecko Namibia will own
69,000,000 common shares of the Company representing 43.75% of the
outstanding common shares of the Company. The Property Acquisition
is conditional upon receipt of the approval of shareholders as
required by the TSXV which has been obtained.
The proceeds of the Private Placement will be used to carry out
work on the properties acquired from Gecko Namibia with an initial
focus on advancing the Kunene cobalt-copper project and to fund
general corporate requirements. The common shares of the Company
issued pursuant to the Private Placement will be subject to a
four-month hold period.
Namibia Rare Earths and its insiders are at arm's length with
Gecko Namibia and there are no finder's fees payable in connection
with the Property Acquisition or the Private Placement.
Following the closing of the Acquisition, Gecko Namibia will
nominate two members to the five-member board of Namibia Rare
Earths with Gerald McConnell
remaining as Chair. Pine van Wyk will be appointed Chief Executive
Officer of Namibia Rare Earths based in Namibia and Donald
Burton will remain as President.
The Portfolio – Diversification into Critical Metals in
Namibia
The transaction dramatically increases the Company's exposure to
a wide variety of critical metals and minerals at various stages of
development, providing a pipeline of projects spanning the spectrum
from near-term discovery to preliminary economic assessment. All
the projects are located in Namibia, a stable mining jurisdiction in which
the Company has operated for the past seven years and where
in-coming senior management have worked for over 20 years. This
diversification will provide the Company with considerable
flexibility in targeting those commodities which can provide
immediate shareholder value. The strategic partnership with Gecko
Namibia will allow for fast tracking to mine development as
projects mature to feasibility stage. The portfolio of eight
projects, their principal commodity targets and development stage
are summarized in Table 1 and more fully described below. Project
locations are shown in Figure 1. Total expenditures of $84,000 in year one and $422,000 in year two are required to keep the
entire portfolio of properties in good standing.
1. Lofdal Heavy Rare Earth
Project
In terms of project maturity, Lofdal is the most advanced with a
43-101 resource in place and completed Preliminary Economic
Assessment[1]. In 2016 the Company completed an Environmental
Impact Assessment and filed for an Environmental Clearance
Certificate from the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, and
concurrently filed for a Mining Licence with the Ministry of Mines
and Energy.
2. Kunene Cobalt-Copper
Project
In terms of commodity interest, the Kunene cobalt-copper project
will be assigned highest priority given the high level of investor
interest in cobalt and current high cobalt prices. The Kunene
project builds upon the recent exploration success led by Dr.
Rainer Ellmies (General Manager, Gecko Exploration) to explore for
"copper belt" style deposits in northern Namibia. This work led to the first recorded
discovery of Copperbelt-type stratabound cobalt-copper
mineralization in Namibia in a
sedimentary horizon termed the dolomite ore formation ("DOF"). The
mineralization is uniformly 5 to 10 meters thick, stratabound
within a dolomitic shale horizon, and averages around 0.5% copper
and 1000-2000 ppm cobalt. The initial discovery is currently under
intense exploration by Celsius Resources (ASX:CLA) including a
15,000 meter drill program to complete a maiden JORC resource
estimate by February 2018. As per
Celsius Resources' press release dated May
18, 2017 "Data from the first 20 holes drilled across this
11 km zone has enabled the Company to generate an Initial
Exploration Target of between 33 and 41 million tonnes, grading
approximately 0.13% - 0.17% cobalt and 0.45% - 0.65% copper. It is
noted that the potential quantity and grade is conceptual in
nature, and that there has been insufficient exploration to
estimate a Mineral Resource, and it is uncertain if further
exploration will result in the estimation of a Mineral
Resource."
The Kunene cobalt-copper project comprises a very large area of
favourable stratigraphy contiguous with the DOF discovery adjacent
to the ground held by Celsius Resources. Secondary copper
mineralization over a wide area points to preliminary evidence of a
regional-scale hydrothermal system. Exploration targets on EPLs
held in the Kunene cobalt-copper project comprise direct extensions
of the DOF style mineralization to the west, sediment-hosted cobalt
and copper, orogenic copper, and stratabound Zn-Pb mineralization.
Most of the occurrences are likely spatially related to what Dr.
Ellmies' geological team has interpreted as a large hydrothermal
center termed the Steilrand hydrothermal system. There is
considerable scope for further discoveries both along strike of the
Celsius discovery and in equivalent stratigraphy elsewhere on the
property. Initial investigations will trace the western extension
of the DOF which may continue for over 10 km in the project area,
and will follow up on numerous copper-cobalt targets drilled in the
past but never analysed for cobalt.
3. Black Range Graphite
Project
The Black Range flake graphite prospect was discovered in the
late 1980's and was explored by Rossing Uranium Ltd. between 1988
and 1992. Rossing interpreted the graphite horizon in a fold
structure with a total strike length of about 8 km. Based on
3,821 m of percussion drilling and
3,931 m of diamond drilling from a 1
km segment of the horizon, employing a cut-off grade of 2%
graphitic carbon and using the polygonal section method, an
historical estimate of 12.46 MT grading 4.63% graphitic carbon was
utilized by Rossing to assess the project (reference "The Black
Range Graphite Deposit, Feasibility Study Final Report" dated
August 1992). This historical
estimate does not cite reference to CIMM Definition Standards on
Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves. Additional drilling and
sampling will be required to validate the historic database. A
qualified person has not done sufficient work to classify the
historical estimate as current mineral resources or mineral
reserves and this historical estimate is not being treated as a
current mineral resource or mineral reserve. Preliminary mining
plans were drawn up and preliminary metallurgical work was carried
out by Mintek of South Africa but
the project was terminated before the flowsheet was fully optimized
when the decision was made to focus instead on the graphite deposit
at Okanjande. Okanjande was brought into production in 2017 by
Gecko Namibia in a joint venture with Imerys.
There has been insufficient exploration at Black Range to
estimate a Mineral Resource, and it is uncertain if further
exploration will result in the estimation of a Mineral Resource or
the development of an economically viable mining operation. The
data cannot be used in its present form for reporting under JORC or
NI 43-101, however a similar problem was encountered at Okanjande
and was addressed by a program of twinning of old drill holes and
assaying of the core with full QAQC. That work largely validated
the Rossing work, so it should not be necessary to re-drill all the
holes at Black Range. The near-term focus will be on metallurgical
test work and, with a viable flowsheet, the project could be taken
rapidly to a PEA stage.
4. Warmbad Lithium
Project
The Warmbad project is located in southern Namibia near the South African border in an
area of historic small-scale pegmatite mining known as the
Tantalite Valley. The Tantalite Valley pegmatites have been mined
since about 1946 for beryl, columbite-tantalite, lithium and
bismuth minerals. Mining has been re-activated by Kennedy Ventures
Plc who control African Tantatite (Pty) Ltd. and are producing
concentrates of >40% Ta2O5 being sold into
global markets. Initial production of 20M tpa concentrate is ramping up to 120M tpa. An initial lithium resource estimate is
being prepared by MSA Group for early 2018 following the sampling
of lepidolite bearing pegmatites grading >1.6% Li2O.
The mineralization hosted on the Kennedy Ventures Pic property is
not necessarily indicative of the mineralization hosted on the
Warmbad Lithium Project.
The Warmbad EPL covers 605 km2 and hosts three
pegmatite occurrences of undetermined extent from government maps.
There are no records of any systematic exploration over the EPL.
The area has recently been mapped by the Geological Survey of
Namibia and the Council of
Geosciences (South Africa) which
has provided updated geological information. A key result of the
mapping campaign is the delineation of previously unknown extensive
pegmatite swarms of up to 13 km strike length. None of these
pegmatites have ever been sampled and assayed. This new data will
be utilized to undertake systematic sampling of the pegmatites.
5. Epembe
Tantalum-Niobium Project
Epembe is an advanced stage exploration project with a
well-defined, very large multiphase carbonatite dyke that has been
mapped and sampled at surface over a strike length of 10 kilometers
of which at least 7 km of strike length is mineralised. Gecko
Namibia has completed detailed
mapping and over 11,000 meters of drilling on the dyke, with
preliminary mineralogical and metallurgical studies. The
carbonatite contains variable concentrations of pyrochlore which is
unusually enriched in tantalum. The other commodities of interest
are niobium (hosted in pyrochlore) and apatite. Drilling covered
only 15% of the pyrochlore hosting carbonatite. Grades of the
drilled portion of the carbonatite average on the order of 150 ppm
Ta2O5, 1,300 ppm Nb2O5
and 2.4% P2O5. Initial sorting tests (XRT)
indicate the potential for significant physical upgrading. Planned
work will focus on improving grade by optimizing XRT sorting and
investigating amenability to XRF sorting. Further work will
be undertaken to explore for extensions of mineralized zones along
strike and at depth.
6. Grootfontein
Nickel-PGE Project
Grootfontein is an early stage conceptual target based on
geophysical and historical evidence for a large buried
mafic-ultramafic intrusive complex. It is a poorly explored
geological complex due to the extensive coverage with Kalahari
sands and calcrete.
Based on historic drill holes and airborne magnetic survey
interpretations, Grootfontein constitutes a huge mafic complex
covering 360 km2 with the potential to host magmatic
nickel, copper, vanadium, platinum group elements and chromite
mineralisation as cumulates or late magmatic disseminations and
stockworks. Previous work by Ongopolo Mining proved that the main
intrusive phases are depleted in nickel and copper. The metals were
likely fractionated as sulphides during the intrusive phase,
gravitationally accumulated in the magma and intruded in the
adjacent, preexisting rocks. As in other mafic hosted copper-nickel
deposits such as Norilsk and Voisey's Bay, sulphidization by
scavenging of sulphur from country rocks and tectono-magmatic
concentration of the sulphide-rich melts are the key for the
formation of this type of magmatic copper nickel deposits. Only two
shallow drill fences (total of 1,386
m) were drilled by Anglo
American in 1988 leaving 55 km of strike length
untested.
There is also potential for zinc-lead-vanadium mineralisation of
the Berg Aukas type where dolomite-hosted deposits bordering the
mafic complex, which according to historical records, produced 1.6
MT of ore grading 16.77% Zn, 4.04% Pb and 0.93%
V2O5 during the period 1967-1975.
7. Otjiwarongo
Carbonatite Project
Otjiwarongo is another early stage conceptual target based on
remote sensing data in proximity to known alkaline intrusive
complexes, most notably the Okorusu complex which hosts the Okorusu
fluorspar deposits. The area of interest is completely hidden by
cover. The circular anomaly measures one kilometer in diameter and
can be easily tested by drilling to determine if in fact a
carbonatite body is the source and what styles of mineralization
might be associated with it (fluorspar, rare earths, tantalum,
niobium etc.).
8. Erongo Gold
Project
The Erongo gold project covers an area of over 600
km2 within the Navachab-Ondundu gold trend. There are
numerous mineral occurrences within the project area including at
least two gold occurrences. The area has been prospected but not
systematically explored. Potential targets include skarn and
greisen gold-(copper-bismuth) and tin-tungsten mineralization;
pegmatites formed during the late Damaran orogeny hosting lithium
minerals and semi-precious stones and structurally controlled gold
mineralisation. Historical figures indicate small scale mining for
all of those deposit types on the property.
Project Management Strengthened – Operational Experience
Focused on Namibia
Operations in Namibia for all
projects will continue under Namibia Rare Earths (Pty) Ltd., the
Namibian operating company of Namibia Rare Earths. Project
management will be streamlined through utilization of Gecko
Namibia's in-country administrative and service and the appointment
of Pine van Wyk as Chief Executive Officer.
Pienaar-Schalk (Pine) van Wyk (NHD Met. Eng. B.Com, MBA),
Managing Director of Gecko Namibia will be appointed Chief
Executive Officer of Namibia Rare Earths based out of Namibia. Pine joined Gecko in 2008 bringing
over 25 years of extensive process and project management
experience to the Gecko Group. Prior to joining Gecko Namibia he
worked for Rossing Uranium as Engineering Manager and later with
Paladin Energy at the Langer Heinrich uranium mine where he held
the positions of Operations Manager and Business Development
Manager. As Managing Director for Gecko Namibia, Pine has developed
a strong network of contacts throughout the mining sector and with
government agencies in Namibia. In
addition to his professional qualifications as a Metallurgical
Engineer from Tshwane University of Technology (Pretoria), Pine holds a Bachelor of Commerce
from the University of South
Africa and Masters of Business Administration from
University of Bloemfontein with a focus on project management.
About Gecko Namibia – A Strategic Partner
Gecko Namibia is a private,
Namibian-owned, fully integrated exploration and mining company
with diversified interests in Namibia. Headquartered in
Windhoek, the company and its
subsidiaries operate with a work force of 327 employees with a
professional management team of 24 people dedicated to every stage
of mineral resource development including exploration, mining,
mineral beneficiation and processing, and the provision of mine
services (drilling, blasting, laboratories, plant construction,
processing and contract mining).
Gecko Namibia and its sister
company Genet South Africa (Pty) Ltd. ("Genet") were founded by
Kobus Smit who is the Chairperson of both groups. Genet is a
similar resource focused company providing mining and mineral
processing services in South
Africa with 703 employees and a team of 20 professional
managers. Genet Mineral Processing introduced an innovative dry
process, using air clarification to upgrade coal for the South
African market, including to clients like Exxaro and Eskom. Mr.
Smit's entrepreneurial spirit has led to the establishment of a
diversified portfolio of business interests that include some of
the most valuable mining and tourism assets in private ownership
within the Southern African region. The group also employs 285
people in its various tourism related businesses.
Most notably, in 2003 Mr. Smit and his partners established a
new coal mining company, namely Umcebo Mining, which grew into a
significant coal producer in South
Africa with annual production of approximately 9MT. Over a
period, 7 coal mines were developed as greenfield projects, all
with in-house capacity. The success of Umcebo was mainly the result
of innovative technology in coal processing developed in-house that
gave Umcebo Mining a significant competitive advantage over other
coal producers. In 2011 Glencore acquired a 41% share in Umcebo
Mining. Umcebo Mining was valued R2.2 billion at that time. During
2017, Mr. Smit disposed of all his interest in Umcebo Mining in
order to focus on the expansion of his business interests in
Namibia.
Graphite Mine in Production
Gecko Namibia was instrumental
in bringing the 500,000 tpa run of mine Okanjande Graphite Mine
into commercial production in 2017 through a joint venture
partnership with Imerys, a global leader in the production of
mineral-based, high value specialty products. Gecko Namibia re-designed a portion of the crushing,
milling and flotation facilities at the Okorusu Mine for graphite
processing of up to 20 000 tpa of graphite concentrate.
Fluorspar Mine and Processing Facilities
Gecko Namibia acquired all the
mine and processing facility assets of the Okorusu Fluorspar Mine
from Solvay in 2016. A comprehensive test program has been
developed with the objective of re-opening the fluorspar operations
at Okorusu. Okorusu produced close to 1.8 million tons of fluorspar
concentrates over a 27-year period between 1998-2014, when Solvay
made the corporate decision to close down its global mining
division.
Various Salts and Limestone Operations
Gecko Salt, a subsidiary of Gecko Namibia, operates a
small-scale salt production plant located approximately 120
kilometers north of the coastal town of Swakopmund. The project is
currently operating at a rate of 200,000 tpa and targeting to
increase to 1,000,000 tpa. The first shipment of 25,000 t of salt
for the North American market was exported in August 2017.
An internal assessment has been completed over portions of the
Otjivalunda salt pans, located north of Etosha National Park, which
comprise natural deposits of burkeite, thenardite and sodium
sulphate. Gecko Salt intends to initially produce approximately
100,000 tpa of sodium sulphate as well as washing powder, soap and
other salt products for sale into the South African market.
An internal resource of 5 million tons of high-quality white
marble with >98% calcium carbonate has been defined by drilling
near Swakopmund together with an internal resource in excess of 25
million tons of calcitic marble rock for a calcining project. An
Environmental Impact Assessment for the project has been completed
and the company has received the Environmental Clearance
Certificate.
Industrial Corporate Vision
Gecko Namibia envisions
substantial industrial growth for Namibia, in part through the realization of
its multi-faceted resource portfolio. To this end, Gecko Namibia
has initiated two high level projects related to industrial
development in the Swakopmund-Walvis Bay area.
An application for the development of a 200 ha industrial park
named Nonidas Industria to be located 11km east of
Swakopmund is at an advanced stage. The site is uniquely situated
between the B2 National Highway and the main TransNamib railway
leading inland from Walvis Bay and Swakopmund. The Vision
Industrial Park (VIP) is a much larger concept that has been
proposed by Gecko Namibia to develop a new deep-water port with an
associated industrial development zone to be situated 25 km north
of Swakopmund. The Namibian Cabinet awarded Gecko Namibia the right
to develop a private port together with 700 ha of industrial land
for the development of chemical and mining related industries. The
port will be designed to accommodate Panama size vessels and have the capacity to
handle 5-10 million tons of cargo volume per annum. The concept is
very similar to the Coega Project of South Africa where an industrialized
development zone was created with a dedicated port facility in
2009. Since its inception, Coega has attracted 54 industrial firms
that have brought in over R30 billion in investments.
Donald M. Burton, P.Geo. and
President of Namibia Rare Earths Inc., is the Company's Qualified
Person and has reviewed and approved this press release.
About Namibia Rare Earths Inc.
Namibia Rare Earths Inc. is focused on the accelerated
development of the Lofdal Rare Earths Project and on building a
critical metals portfolio in Namibia. The common shares of Namibia Rare
Earths Inc. trade on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol
"NRE".
Web site: www.NamibiaRareEarths.com
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services
Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX
Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or
accuracy of this release.
The foregoing information may contain forward-looking
information relating to the future performance of Namibia Rare
Earths Inc. Forward-looking information, specifically, that
concerning future performance, is subject to certain risks and
uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially. These
risks and uncertainties are detailed from time to time in the
Company's filings with the appropriate securities commissions.
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1
Preliminary Economic Assessment on the Lofdal Rare Earths
Project Namibia dated October 1, 2014 authored by David S.
Dodd, B. Sc (Hon) FSAIMM - The MDM Group, South Africa, Patrick
J.F. Hannon, M.A.Sc., P.Eng. and William Douglas Roy, M.A.Sc.,
P.Eng. - MineTech International Limited, Canada, Peter Roy
Siegfried, MAusIMM (CP Geology) and Michael R. Hall, B.Sc (Hons),
MBA, MAusIMM, Pr.Sci.Nat, MGSSA - The MSA Group, South
Africa
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SOURCE Namibia Rare Earths Inc.