PERTH, AUSTRALIA--(Marketwired - April 29, 2014) - Bannerman Resources Limited (ASX:BMN)(TSX:BAN)(NAMIBIAN:BMN) ("Bannerman") is pleased to announce highlights from its March 2014 Quarterly Activities Report released today. The full report is available on Bannerman's website at www.bannermanresources.com and on SEDAR (www.sedar.com).
During the March 2014 quarter, Bannerman maintained its focus on cash preservation and activities that will enable fast tracking a commitment to the development of the Etango project in a rising uranium price environment.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Application in February for environmental clearance of the pilot plant program signals key next step in the development of the Etango Project.
- Post quarter end Bannerman reached agreement with its major shareholder Resource Capital Funds to fund the Etango pilot plant program.
- Two noteworthy pro nuclear developments post quarter end - the Japanese cabinet approved a new energy policy which incorporates nuclear as "an important baseload energy source" and the European Commission adopted new rules aimed to replace subsidies for renewable energy with market based schemes.
- The cash balance was A$1.86 million as at 31 March 2014.
On 8 April 2014 Bannerman announced that Resource Capital Fund VI L.P ("RCFVI") had agreed to provide a A$4 million convertible note facility to support the construction and operation of a pilot plant at the Etango Project. It is subject to, amongst other conditions, the approval of Bannerman Shareholders.
The continued support of RCF as a strategic cornerstone investor in Bannerman, through the existing investment of Resource Capital Fund IV L.P. ("RCFIV") and the proposed new investment by RCFVI, is a beneficial and positive progression of its investment in Bannerman. RCFVI is expected to still be in the early stages of its life cycle when the financing of the future development of the Etango project is required.
The pilot plant is considered a cost effective way of further de-risking the Etango project by confirming the definitive feasibility study assumptions, demonstrating the viability of the heap leaching concept to potential development partners and financiers and progressing towards the detailed engineering stage. These outcomes should maintain the Etango project's early mover advantage in a strengthening uranium price environment.
Post quarter end the Japanese cabinet approved a new energy policy that includes a recommendation to restart their nuclear reactors. To date, restart applications have been lodged for 17 of the 48 idle reactors. The first restarts could be as early as the second half of 2014. In another important development, the European Union has published new rules which will from mid-2014 replace subsidies for renewable energy sources with market based schemes. The aim of the new rules is to address the "market distortions that may result from subsidies granted to renewable energy sources".
There is growing awareness that, as positive developments continue to occur on the demand side, the looming supply shortfall will require a doubling of the uranium price to at least US$70/lb U3O8 to incentivize new supply.
Bannerman's advanced Etango Project remains one of the very few globally significant uranium projects that can realistically be brought into production in the medium term.
Len Jubber, Chief Executive Officer
About Bannerman - Bannerman Resources Limited is an exploration and development company with uranium interests in Namibia, a southern African country which is a premier uranium mining jurisdiction. Bannerman's principal asset is its 80%-owned Etango Project situated southwest of Rio Tinto's Rössing uranium mine and CGNPC's Husab Project currently under construction and to the west of Paladin Energy's Langer-Heinrich mine. Etango is one of the world's largest undeveloped uranium deposits. Bannerman is focused on the development of a large open pit uranium operation at Etango. More information is available on Bannerman's website at www.bannermanresources.com.
Technical Disclosures
Certain disclosures in this report, including management's assessment of Bannerman's plans and projects, constitute forward looking statements that are subject to numerous risks, uncertainties and other factors relating to Bannerman's operation as a mineral development company that may cause future results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. Full descriptions of these risks can be found in Bannerman's various statutory reports, including its Annual Information Form available on the SEDAR website, sedar.com. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Bannerman expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Mineral Resources that are not Ore Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.
Bannerman Resources Limited ("Bannerman") manages its drilling and assaying activities in accordance with industry standard quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) procedures. Samples are collected by Bannerman personnel and prepared in accordance with specified procedures at the relevant assay laboratories. Drill samples were analysed for uranium by the Bureau Veritas Laboratory in Swakopmund, Namibia. Bureau Veritas is an International Laboratory Group with operations in 140 countries, including Ultratrace and Amdel in Australia. Assay QA/QC involves the use of assay standards (sourced from African Mineral Standards (AMIS) in Johannesburg, made from Bannerman pulp rejects and cross-checked through umpire laboratories for which the round robin reports are available), field duplicates, blanks and barren quartz flushes. A third party "umpire" laboratory (Genalysis in Perth) is used to cross-check and validate approximately 5% of the assay results in accordance with standard procedures. Sample coarse rejects are retained and approximately 5% of samples are re-submitted for further assay verification. All sample pulps, half-core and rock-chip samples are retained at Bannerman's Goanikontes Warehouse Facility (GWS) on site.
The information in this report relating to the Ore Reserves of the Etango Project is based on information compiled or reviewed by Mr Harry Warries, a full time employee of Coffey Mining Pty Ltd. Mr Warries is a Fellow of The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and has sufficient experience relevant to the style of mineralisation and types of deposits under consideration and to the activity which is being undertaken to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the "Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves", and is an independent consultant to Bannerman and a Qualified Person as defined by Canadian National Instrument 43-101. Mr Warries consents, and provides corporate consent for Coffey Mining Pty Ltd, to the inclusion in this report of the matters based on his information in the form and context in which it appears.
The information in this report that relates to Mineral Resources or Ore Reserves was prepared and first disclosed under the 2004 JORC Code. It has not been updated since to comply with the 2012 JORC Code on the basis that the information has not materially changed since it was last reported. All material assumptions and technical parameters underpinning the estimates of mineral resources continue to apply and have not materially changed.
All material assumptions detailed in this report and underpinning the production target and forecast financial information in the DFS (as previously announced on 10 April 2012 and reported on 30 January 2014 in compliance with Listing Rule 5.16 and 5.17) continue to apply and have not materially changed.