MKANGO PROVIDES UPDATE ON WORK PROGRAMME FOR THE SONGWE HILL RARE EARTHS DEPOSIT AND OTHER CORPORATE DEVELOPMENTS
Songwe Hill Rare Earths Deposit
Following receipt of the £6 million investment by Talaxis Limited (“Talaxis”) in January 2018, the initial phases of the feasibility study for Songwe have commenced.
Preparation is well advanced for the largest diamond drilling programme to date at Songwe. Drilling is targeted to commence within the next month, once all drill roads and pads are completed.
· The programme is for a minimum of 5,000 metres and will be focused on infill, step-out and geotechnical drilling, the latter for the purposes of mine design.
· The drill plan is based on a refined geological model developed in-house by Mkango’s technical team in consultation with The MSA Group and Bara Consulting, who have been appointed resource and mining consultants, respectively.
· Cartwright Drilling has been appointed as drilling contractor, with a combined Canadian and Malawian drilling team to operate two diamond drill rigs both running 24 hours.
· Over 50 drill pads are being constructed for the drill programme, as well as an enlarged camp to accommodate the larger team versus previous drill programmes.
· Mkango has run two successful drill programmes at Songwe in 2011 and 2012, culminating in a maiden Mineral Resource Estimate, also previously working with Cartwright Drilling, the MSA Group and Bara Consulting.
· Mkango is targeting completion of an updated Mineral Resource Estimate by the end of 2018.
In terms of other aspects of the feasibility study, metallurgical optimisation is underway at laboratories in Australia and Canada. The work programme has been scaled up following receipt of the Talaxis funding and is focused on flotation, hydrometallurgy and acid regeneration.
The Environmental, Social and Health Impact Assessment is underway and being completed in accordance with World Bank Standards and Equator Principles.
Appointment of Alternative Resource Capital
Mkango has appointed Alternative Resource Capital as Joint Broker and corporate sponsored research provider, effective May 2, 2018.
Alternative Resource Capital is a trading name of Shard Capital Partners LLP (“ARC”), which is authorised and regulated by the FCA. ARC is a London based broker with a focus on small to mid-cap listed resource companies. Under the terms of the agreement (“Agreement”), ARC will provide corporate broking and research services to the Company, and provide general market intelligence, feedback on the market’s view of the Company and on market activity in the shares. The Agreement provides for a monthly fee of £2,083 per month in connection with the provision of research services and runs for an initial term of 12 months with a two month notice of termination provision.
