The South African Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) has accepted a mining right application submitted by Lesego Platinum Uitloop, a subsidiary of URU Metals.
The application had been submitted over the three prospecting rights that form the Zebediela Project. Lesego Platinum holds the prospective rights of the project.
It was submitted over various portions of the farms Amatava 41 KS, Bloemhof 4 KS, Piet Potgietersrust Town, Townlands 44 KS and Uitloop 3 KS located in the Mogalakwena local and Waterberg district municipalities of the Limpopo province in South Africa.
The application will be processed by DMR and the company will receive the mining rights after the conclusion of all necessary requirements.
Following the approval, Lesego Platinum is responsible for conducting a public consultation process. It will also have to check for any land claims and consult the Department of Land Affairs.
The company must also share certificates and shareholder registers, submit the signed shareholder agreements, and provide details of the funding of the mine and any other necessary agreement before 4 October 2019.
URU metals CEO John Zorbas said: “We remain extremely excited by the highly prospective Zebediela Project, and the acceptance of the mining right application grants us the flexibility to develop the existing nickel resource into a mine, and to continue developing the newly discovered Ni-PGE resource found adjacent to and in the footwall of the existing nickel resource.”
Lesego Platinum is also required to conduct environmental studies and obtain environmental approvals in accordance with mining rights.
With this right, the company will be able to mine nickel and platinum group minerals, cobalt, gold, vanadium, chromite, copper and iron ore for 30 years.
