TALV Talvivaara

    RNS Number : 2959X
  Talvivaara Mining Company PLC
  23 June 2008
   

    23 June 2008



    Talvivaara Mining Company Plc 
    Talvivaara signs cooperation agreement with Outokumpu Oyj to conduct a feasibility study on manganese production at the Talvivaara Mine


    Talvivaara Mining Company Plc ("Talvivaara" or the "Company") announces today that it has signed a Cooperation Agreement (the
"Agreement") with Outokumpu Oyj ("Outokumpu") to conduct a feasibility study on manganese production at the Talvivaara Mine. The feasibility
study will encompass an evaluation of the technical and commercial feasibility of employing electrowinning technology for the extraction of
manganese metal and/or manganese oxide from the leach solution generated from Talvivaara's bioheapleaching process. 

    The ore at the Talvivaara deposits has a manganese content of approximately 0.3%, which should enable annual production of more than
30,000 tonnes of manganese, according to the Company's present production plan. Over the last two years, Talvivaara has conducted a
pre-feasibility study on the extraction of manganese and obtained encouraging results for the electrolytic recovery of high-purity manganese
metal and manganese oxide from the leach solution. In the bioheapleaching process, recovery of manganese has been found to be comparable to
that of nickel and zinc. 

    Outokumpu is an international stainless steel company with production plants in Finland, Sweden, Britain and the United States, and has
a continuous need for base metal alloys such as nickel, ferrochrome, molybdenum and manganese in its production. 

    Commenting on the announcement, Talvivaara's CEO, Pekka Pera, said: "The potential to produce manganese at the Talvivaara mine is a
bonus over and above our strongly developing nickel operations and it is part of our long term strategy to expand the scope of our business.
As well as potentially generating additional cash flow to the Company, the commercial production of manganese would also reduce the
environmental burden of our operations and create savings in operating costs by eliminating manganese removal in the water purification
process. 

    We are particularly delighted to be working on this project with Outokumpu, a leading stainless steel producer with unrivalled expertise
in this area."

    "Outokumpu is very pleased to be involved in the feasibility study, because Outokumpu is a significant user of manganese", states Pekka
Erkkil EVP, from Outokumpu.


    ENQUIRIES

    Talvivaara Mining Company Ltd                       Tel: +358 20 7129 800
    Pekka Per                               
    Saila Miettinen-Lde                                

    Outokumpu Oyj
    Niilo Suutala                                                          Tel: +358  40 734 1767

    Merlin                                                                   Tel: +44 207 653 6620
    Tom Randell
    Anca Spiridon



    NOTES TO EDITORS

    Company Overview

    *     Talvivaara and its subsidiary Talvivaara Project Ltd aims to become an internationally  significant base metals producer with its
primary focus on nickel and zinc using a technology known as bioheapleaching to extract metal out of low grade ore


    *     The Company's main activity is the development and exploitation of two polymetallic deposits, Kuusilampi and Kolmisoppi, in
Sotkamo, Finland (together, the "Talvivaara deposits") using bioheapleaching technology (the "Talvivaara Project")


    *     *     The Talvivaara deposits comprise one of the largest known sulphide nickel resources in Europe with 266 million tonnes of ore
in measured and indicated resources
    *     Resources are sufficient to support anticipated production for a minimum of 24 years, expected to start in late 2008, with an
expected annual nickel output of approximately 33,000 tonnes; the Company has the potential to provide approximately 2.3% of the world's
current annual production of nickel by 2010
    *     In addition to the mining of nickel, as by-products of the process, the mine is also expected to produce zinc (approximately
60,000 tpa), copper (approximately 10,000 tpa) and cobalt (approximately 1,200 tpa)
    *     The mine site is situated close to existing energy and transportation infrastructure

    *     The Group plans to develop the Talvivaara deposits using bioheapleaching technology

    *     *     Bioheapleaching harnesses locally occurring, live bacteria for the extraction of metals from ore
    *     This technology is already widely used for other metals, notably copper and gold
    *     During the last two years, the Group has demonstrated the viability of using the bioheapleaching technology for the extraction of
nickel in large on-site pilot trials

    *     The Talvivaara orebody is well-suited for open pit mining due to the thin overburden, favourable resource geometry and a low waste
to ore ratio

    *     *     The ore has a nickel content of 0.27 per cent. and is well-suited to bioheapleaching due to both its high sulphide content
and its low pH, which enables rapid leaching with reduced need for chemical catalysis

    *     The Company has secured a 10-year off-take agreement for 100 per cent. of its main product output of nickel and cobalt to Norilsk
Nickel

    *     With good infrastructure, progressive mining laws, subsidy policies and economically and politically stable operating environment
and readily available mining expertise, Finland provides a favourable environment for operating a mine




This information is provided by RNS
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