Tanzanian Royalty Exploration announced that Jinchuan Mining has agreed to participate in the exploration and development of the Company's Kabanga nickel properties in northwestern Tanzania.
Following the recent conclusion of an option agreement with Beijing Songshanheli Mining Investment Co Ltd, which previously held the properties under an exclusive agreement with Tanzanian Royalty, Jinchuan Mining has agreed to act as operator and hold complete financial responsibility for all exploration activities on the nickel exploration licenses.
Jinchuan Group Limited, the parent company of Jinchuan Mining, is a large integrated non-ferrous metallurgical and chemical engineering enterprise engaged in mining, concentrating, metallurgy and chemical engineering. It produces nickel, copper, cobalt, rare and precious metals and also some chemical products such as sulphuric acid, caustic soda, liquid chlorine, hydrochloric acid and sodium sulphite, together with some further processed nonferrous metals products.
The Chinese joint venture partners will hold the right to earn a 100% interest in the Kabanga nickel properties for time-sensitive payments including staged exploration expenditures and a 30-year 3% net smelter royalty in favour of Tanzanian Royalty upon achieving commercial production.
Tanzanian Royalty's Kabanga properties comprise a project area of 4,200 square kilometres, with targets for nickel, cobalt and PGM mineralization. The project area is situated to the north of the high grade Kabanga nickel deposit which is currently under development by a joint venture consisting of Barrick and Xstrata.
Mr James E. Sinclair chairman & CEO of Tanzanian Royalty said “The joint participation of these two respected Chinese companies in our Kabanga project is tangible recognition of the potential of this emerging nickel belt and the prospects for further discoveries. When we acquired the Kabanga licenses several years ago, we recognized the cyclical nature of metal markets and realized that base metal prices including nickel would rebound based on demand from developing economies - especially China. Time has confirmed this observation and we expect to develop a close working relationship with our Chinese partners whose level of integration from exploration to smelting and refining is highly regarded within the global metals industry.”
Mr Sinclair emphasized “When the Kabanga properties were first acquired by the Company, individual licenses were selected proximal to strong aeromagnetic anomalies and known gabbro/norite bodies that are believed to represent important stratigraphic controls for the nickel, copper and PGM mineralization in the region. History shows that nickel deposits like Kabanga rarely occur alone.”
Exploration work on the nickel licenses is expected to begin early this year, with Tanzanian Royalty providing logistical and related assistance to Jinchuan and Beijing Songshanheli in several key areas including government relations, license maintenance, corporate filings and the importing of heavy equipment.
The group's output of nickel and platinum group metals respectively accounts for more than 90% of Chinese production. Jinchuan Group is situated in Jinchang, an industrial city in the eastern portion of the Hexi Corridor of Gansu Province. Jinchuan Group is the largest producer of nickel and cobalt in China and its namesake is honoured as the "Nickel City" of China.
http://www.steelguru.com/news/index/2010/02/01/MTMwOTg0/Jinchuan_takes_stake_in_Tanzanian_Royalty_nickel_project.html
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Jinchuan takes stake in Tanzanian Royalty nickel project
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