Inauguration of Mill and First Sale of Palm Oil (1615G)
May 09 2011 - 2:00AM
UK Regulatory
TIDMPAL
RNS Number : 1615G
Equatorial Palm Oil plc
09 May 2011
9 May 2011
Equatorial Palm Oil Plc
("EPO" or the "Company")
Inauguration of Liberia's first commercial Palm Oil Mill
and
First sales of Crude Palm Oil achieved
Equatorial Palm Oil plc, (AIM: PAL), the AIM listed palm oil
development company with operations in Liberia, is pleased to
announce the inauguration of Liberia's first palm oil mill (the
'Mill') at its Palm Bay Estate in Grand Bassa County, by the
President of Liberia together with the commencement of Crude Palm
Oil ('CPO') sales.
Liberia's First Commercial Palm Oil Mill
The US$3 million Mill was inaugurated following eight months of
construction and testing, including the processing of oil palm
bunches. The plant is currently processing 30 tonnes of fresh oil
palm bunches ('FFB') daily sourced from the surrounding 3,500
hectares of existing oil palms rehabilitated by the Company over
the past 12 months. An additional 1,200 hectares are being prepared
for the 2011 planting of new oil palms currently in the
nursery.
Daily production is averaging five tonnes of CPO per day at an
extraction rate of 17%. Production is expected to rise as the Mill
reaches full capacity in July 2011 with output in the order of 15
tonnes of CPO per day.
First Sales of CPO
First sales of CPO in to the Liberian market occurred during
April and a larger sale tender process is to be undertaken during
May.
The Mill was inaugurated by the Liberian President, Ellen
Johnson Sirleaf, who attended and spoke at the event expressing her
appreciation of the work completed and the importance of this
project for Liberia. Also in attendance were other national and
local government decision makers.
During the visit to Palm Bay, the President also saw the
rehabilitated areas, land prepared for new planting, the nursery
with over 200,000 young palms and a primary school established and
operated by the Company. In the latest of several local charitable
and community development projects being undertaken to improve the
social well-being of the communities in which it operates, the
Company was pleased to present a cheque for US$25,000 towards a new
local women's market in the nearby town of Buchanan, which will
have over 100 stalls for trading of goods and local produce.
Michael Frayne, Executive Chairman, commented:
"The inauguration of the Mill and commencement of CPO sales are
two important milestones for Equatorial Palm Oil as the Company
continues with its development plans to become a significant palm
oil producer in the West African region. The Mill is a tangible
example of the Company's continued investment providing a positive
benefit for Liberia as it drives to create additional value for
shareholders.
The Company seeks to continue planting and developing additional
land areas to reach its planting target of 1,200 hectares in 2011
increasing to higher planting rates in subsequent years."
The Company will provide a further update in its statement of
results for the year ended 31 December 2010 expected to be
announced at the end of this month.
Enquiries:
Equatorial Palm Oil plc
Michael Frayne, Chairman +44 (0) 20 7766 7555
Shore Capital & Corporate
Ltd.
NOMAD and Joint Broker
Pascal Keane
Edward Mansfield +44 (0) 20 7408 4090
Mirabaud Securities LLP
Joint Broker
Peter Krens +44 (0) 20 7484 3510
Pelham Bell Pottinger
Financial / Corporate PR
Charles Vivian +44 (0) 20 7861 3126
Notes to Editors:
Information on Equatorial Palm Oil Ltd.
The Company's objective is to become a global, sustainable, low
cost producer of crude palm oil.
The Company is developing a low-cost CPO production-base sourced
from its initial land bank. The Group has acquired oil palm mills
to process the Fresh Fruit Bunches ('FFB') harvested from the
plantations in Crude Palm Oil ('CPO') and other related products.
The CPO produced is initially intended for sale into the local
Liberian and West African markets where it is a key staple food.
West Africa is currently a significant net importer of CPO. The
longer term objective is to develop sufficient scale in its
production and processing of CPO in order to widen exports to a
broader international market including Europe, where the company
will benefit from geographical advantage in freight costs and
increasing demand for a sustainable product.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
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