Bindura Nickel Smelter Restart Set for First Half of 2015

Mwana Africa plc (LSE:MWA) announced that it has finished an independent study on an accelerated restart plan for a nickel smelter belonging to Bindura Nickel Corp., its 76.3-percent-owned subsidiary.

Highlights include:

• Study represents a technical and economic assessment of the potential refurbishment and restart plans of the smelter complex in Bindura
• The plans are confirmed to offer significant financial and strategic benefits to BNC
• Based on the independent study, the Company plans to have the BNC smelter in operation during H1 2015, and contributing to cash flows during calendar 2016
• Key benefits include reduction in transport costs associated with selling concentrates and potential to increase revenue by producing and selling higher-value nickel leach alloy
• Overall capital cost to execute  the restart is estimated to be US$26.5 million
• Approximately half of the capital cost will be funded through debt finance, with the remainder to be financed from existing BNC cash flow and Company cash balances
• Estimated operating cost is US$251/ton concentrate
• The installed power for the furnace is 14MW, and concentrate throughput will be approximately 160 000tpa. Trojan concentrate production will be 106 677WMT per annum and therefore there will be spare capacity on the smelter to treat third-party material

Kalaa Mpinga, CEO of Mwana, commented:

This study outlines the costs and key milestones required to restart the smelter, and we look forward to updating the market on financing and development of the accelerated smelter restart plan as it evolves over the coming months.

Click here to read the full Mwana Africa plc (LSE:MWA) press release.