| Mon 21 Nov 2011, 13:30 | | PET - Petmin Limited - Press release - 21 November 2011 |
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PET
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PET - Petmin Limited - Press release - 21 November 2011
PETMIN LIMITED
Incorporated in the Republic of South Africa
Registration Number 1972/001062/06
Share Code JSE: PET & ISIN: ZAE000076014
Share Code AIM: PTMN
("Petmin" or "the Company")
PRESS RELEASE - 21 NOVEMBER 2011
Petmin`s joint venture partner in the North Atlantic Iron Corporation
(NAIC), which is developing an iron sands and pig iron project in
Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, issued the following statement to
Canadian media on Friday 18 November.
Labrador Iron Sands Project Announces Partners for $400 Million Project
For Release November 18, 2011
Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada Grand River
Ironsands Incorporated (GRI) has formally announced its joint venture
with South African and Canadian partners in the North Atlantic Iron
Corporation (NAIC), a $400 million iron sands mining operation and pig
iron plant in Happy Valley-Goose Bay.
After five years of developing the iron sands project in north eastern
Canada, GRI has joined forces with diversified mining company Petmin
Limited and the iron making expertise of Cardero Resource Corporation
Ltd.
Petmin will invest $25 million in the project over three defined phases.
The company has mining experience, capital-raising abilities and an
internationally-recognised management team. Cardero has engineering
skills and expertise in environmentally-friendly pig-iron production.
This technology approach will be the basis for a new approach to iron
making.
"After five years of diligently developing this high potential iron sands
and pig iron project, we now have two world class partners with mining,
capital raising and iron-making skills and experience, said GRI President
Francis MacKenzie. We now have the investment to advance to a Bankable
Feasibility Study along with the iron making expertise that will make
this project a leader and set the bar a notch higher."
"GRI, Petmin and Cardero, along with our Innu First Nation partners and a
number of community stakeholders in Happy Valley-Goose Bay (HVGB), are
ready to further advance this project to production. The iron sands
resource will be a low-cost feedstock for making a high purity pig iron
product to supply foundries and steel mills. NAIC is meeting the request
from Happy Valley-Goose Bay community leaders to add-value to the iron
sands, bringing additional economic benefits to the community and to be
an environmental leader which meets or exceeds global mining and iron
making standards."
Bradley Doig, the Petmin executive responsible for international
projects, said the company had identified the iron sands around Happy
Valley-Goose Bay as a resource with significant economic and value
creation potential for investors, partners and the local community.
"What stood out was the quality and strength of the commitment to the
NAIC project by Innu First Nation and community leaders. Our collective
goal is to have the community embrace the mining along with the value-
adding pig iron facility. This opportunity has the basis to reward all
stakeholders and fits well with our business model and strategy."
While mining the iron sands for export is possible, the focus will be on
value-adding in the production of pig iron. Environmentally-efficient
hydroelectricity rather than fossil fuels will be used to power the iron
making process.
NAIC anticipates 120-140 new jobs and careers in the pig iron production
process, with 40-60 jobs in mining operations. Significant spin-off jobs
will be created along with economic benefits for the local community from
investment in the pig iron plant and related infrastructure.
Glenn Hoffman, CEO of Cardero Iron Ore, said: "After more than 35 years
in the iron business, rarely do we see a mining project with all the key
elements in one location, resource, full service community, low cost
hydro and a port."
"This is an exceptional opportunity and by using ??green??
hydroelectricity this iron making process will potentially be a world
class leader environmentally in making iron."
The NAIC joint venture is planning to extract a 7,000 tonne sample of
sands for processing locally into an iron ore concentrate which will be
shipped to a furnace for a demonstration level test. "This will be a new
application using a proven technology, so we are confident of delivering
success," Hoffman said. "With the tests already done on the local
ironsands at the laboratory level, we are confident of positive outcomes
with the next phase of testing at the demonstration level."
Phase one of the iron making process will be to produce 500,000 tonnes of
high purity pig iron. The product is expected to have a market in the
United States and Europe where most ports are less than seven days by sea
from Happy-Valley-Goose Bay.
The heavy minerals in the sands will be extracted and the vast majority
(approximately 90%) of the sands will be returned to the land. The heavy
minerals will be separated through an established spiral separation
process that uses water and gravity along with magnets. Blasting,
crushing and the use of chemicals are all avoided. NAIC will build on its
presence in the community with a commitment to an office and additional
personnel in 2012. The next key steps with the project include seeking
and gathering input from a number of community teams to understand and
manage the opportunities for environmental and archaeological
stewardship, reclamation approaches and economic development. The NAIC
iron sands and pig iron project will complete a Resource Estimate in Q1
of 2012 with the related drilling already completed in 2011. This will be
followed by a demonstration level melt test in Q2 of 2012. Efforts
towards the engineering of the iron-making operation will also begin in
2012. The goal will be to work closely with the community and key
stakeholders, along with regulatory and permitting authorities. An
Impacts and Benefits Agreement must be negotiated with the Land Claim
holders, the Innu First Nations.
Further, an agreement will be negotiated with the Mayor and Town Council
on behalf of the community to deliver local benefits. Should these
efforts meet with acceptance, the target date for production is targeted
for 2015 - assuming approvals in 2013.
About
Grand River Ironsands Incorporated a privately owned company based in
Nova Scotia that has invested approximately $7 million to date in
advancing the ironsands. The key asset of GRI has been the ironsands with
quantities of magnetite, titan magnetite, zircon and garnet in the
mineral resource. The ironsands of Labrador were first discovered in 1896
and are located near the Town of Happy Valley- Goose Bay, NL. The 1,800
staked mineral claims cover an area of 450 square kilometres and include
sands in the Churchill River east of Muskrat Falls and lands to the south
and west. www.grandriverironsands.com
Petmin Limited (JSE: PET and AIM: PTMN) a mining company listed on the
Johannesburg and London Stock Exchanges. The company has an operational
metallurgical anthracite mine in KwaZulu, South Africa, and exploration
projects in Canada, Turkey and Liberia. Petmin has a proven and
experienced management team with an exceptional track record in mining
operations, value creation and development of projects at home and
internationally. www.petmin.com
Cardero Iron Company is a subsidiary of Cardero Resource Corp. (TSX: CDU,
NYSE-A: CDY, Frankfurt: CR5) strives to maximize shareholder value by
utilizing managements strong regional network and geological and
operational expertise to implement the most economically sound and
environmentally friendly approach to building its business. Carderos
focus has increasingly been on iron ore and iron- making technologies.
Cardero continues to hold iron ore resources at the Iron Sands Project in
Peru and iron-titanium interests in Minnesota, USA. Cardero acquired
Coalhunter Mining Corp. which holds a 75% interest in the Carbon Creek
Metallurgical Coal deposit in northeastern British Columbia.
www.cardero.com
Happy Valley-Goose Bay, NL (pop 7,572) is a full service community that
is referred to as the Hub of Labrador and is located 400 kilometres east
of several major Canadian iron ore producing deposits, 320 kilometres
south of Voiseys Bay nickel project and 250 km east of the 5,424 MW Upper
Churchill hydroelectricity plant; the community is also 30 km away from
the proposed Lower Churchill Hydroelectricity Dam (824 MW). The community
can be accessed by air with direct flights from the provincial capital of
St. Johns and Halifax in less than 90 minutes. The airport was developed
as an airbase in 1941 and later became an NATO airbase. www.happyvalley-
goosebay.com
For Additional Information Contact: Liz MacKenzie, Grand River Ironsands
(902) 233-7255 info@grandriverironsands.com Bradley Doig, Petmin +27 824
597 818 Nancy Curry, Corporate Communications, Cardero (604) 408-7488
info@cardero.com
Enquiries:
Petmin
Bradley Doig (COO) +27 824 597 818
www.petmin.co.za
Nominated Advisor (AIM)
Numis Securities Limited +44 207 260 1000
Stuart Skinner
Sponsor and Corporate Advisor (JSE)
River Group
Andrew Lianos +27 834 408 365
Johannesburg
21 November 2011
Date: 21/11/2011 13:30:01 Produced by the JSE SENS Department.
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