GoviEx to appeal cancelled uranium license in Zambia
Canada’s GoviEx Uranium Inc. (TSX-V: GXU) said on Wednesday it would appeal Zambia’s decision to terminate its Chirundu mining license.
The company acquired the permit in late 2017 from African Energy Resources, and it included the Njame and Gwabe deposits. Both assets, GoviEx said, were subsequently included in the preliminary economic assessment (PEA) for the company’s Mutanga uranium project.
Due to the smaller scale and higher cost nature of the two deposits, they were scheduled to be mined in the later stages of the PEA and were not included in the mine plan, GoviEx said.
The Vancouver-based uranium explorer said Njame and Gwabe’s exclusion is expected to have low to no impact on the project economics.
Unfair decision
Since acquiring the Chirundu mining permit, GoviEx said it had “ensured all statutory reports and payments” were made. It also noted it had expanded its community and social responsibility programs to cover the villages within the Chirundu licenses, including the reconstruction of a school and the commencement of an adult education program.
“We are disappointed by the decision made by the Mining Cadastre with regards the Chirundu license and do not believe this decision is fair or in the interests of our Zambian stakeholders,” chief executive Daniel Major said in the statement.
Under the Zambian Mines and Minerals Development Act of 2015, GoviEx has thirty days to appeal the government’s decision.
The news comes only a day after the miner highlighted significant gold anomalies identified near its Falea uranium-copper-silver project in Mali.
The find, the company said, shows the potential extensions of the Sirabaya West and the Siribaya-Bambadinka gold trends through, and possibly intersecting within the Falea project.
GoviEx Provides Zambia Update on Chirundu License (Press release)
Vancouver, British Columbia–(Newsfile Corp. – July 7, 2020) – GoviEx Uranium Inc. (TSXV: GXU) (OTCQB: GVXXF) (“GoviEx” or “Company“), has received a letter from the Mining Cadastre Department of Zambia notifying the company that it has terminated the Chirundu Mining License (12634-HQ-LML). Under the Zambian Mines and Minerals Development Act of 2015, GoviEx is provided thirty days to appeal this decision, which the Company has every intention to do.
The Chirundu Mining License was acquired from African Energy Resources Ltd. in October 2017 and includes the Njame and Gwabe mineral deposits. These deposits were subsequently included in the technical report titled, “NI 43-101 Technical Report on a Preliminary Economic Assessment of the Mutanga Uranium Project in Zambia”, dated November 30, 2017, prepared by SRK Consulting (UK) Limited for the Company (the “PEA“). The PEA reported a Net Present Value (“NPV“) at long-term uranium price of US$58/lb U3O8 and a 9% mining royalty rate, an after-tax NPV of US$112 million (at 8% discount rate) with an internal rate of return (IRR) of 25%.
The PEA is preliminary in nature, it includes inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves, and there is no certainty that the PEA will be realized.
Due to the smaller scale and higher cost nature of the Gwabe and Njame deposits, they were scheduled to be mined in the later stages of the PEA. As a result, the exclusion of these deposits from the mine plan is believed to have a low to no impact on project economics.
Since acquiring the Chirundu Mining Permit, GoviEx has ensured all statutory reports and payments have been made, and, in addition, has expanded its Community and Social Responsibility programs to cover the villages within the Chirundu Mining Licenses, including the reconstruction of a school and the commencement of an adult education program.
“We are disappointed by the decision made by the Mining Cadastre with regards the Chirundu license and do not believe this decision is fair or in the interests of our Zambian stakeholders. We will appeal the decision within the allotted time frame and hope to rectify any misunderstandings we believe were included in making this decision. Zambia has indicated its strategy diversify its heavy weighting towards copper, and with Zambia considering nuclear energy long term and with the uranium price showing signs of recovery we will stress that the decision should to be reconsidered,” stated CEO Daniel Major.
Qualified Person
The scientific and technical information disclosed in this release has been reviewed, verified, and approved by Dr. Rob Bowell, a chartered chemist of the Royal Society of Chemistry, a chartered geologist of the Geological Society of London, and Fellow of the Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Materials, who is an independent Qualified Person under the terms of National Instrument 43-101 for uranium deposits.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
About GoviEx Uranium
GoviEx is a mineral resource company focused on the exploration and development of uranium properties in Africa. GoviEx’s principal objective is to become a significant uranium producer through the continued exploration and development of its flagship mine-permitted Madaouela Project in Niger, its mine-permitted Mutanga Project in Zambia, and its other uranium properties elsewhere in Africa.
