Ann: GENERAL: CRP: Boskalis and Chatham agree on

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• Summary: GENERAL: CRP: Boskalis and Chatham agree on next stage of CRP project
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CRP
09/07/2012 09:00
GENERAL

REL: 0900 HRS Chatham Rock Phosphate Limited

GENERAL: CRP: Boskalis and Chatham agree on next stage of CRP project

8 July 2012

Boskalis and Chatham agree on next stage of CRP project

Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V. (Boskalis) is now working on the next stage
of Chatham Rock Phosphate's undersea project, following successful meetings
in the Netherlands.

Representatives from the two companies have just concluded a number of
meetings in Papendrecht, the Netherlands with Boskalis making it clear it
wishes to proceed to the next stage of development.

CRP and Boskalis are now entering detailed discussions on agreements
detailing the way forward.

The two companies have been working together for the past year since Boskalis
was appointed as the project's technical partner to design a process to
extract phosphate nodules from the seabed.  CRP appointed Boskalis in June
2011 as a result of a selection process involving three of the four industry
leaders.

"We have developed a great working partnership with Boskalis and a wide range
of their senior managers, engineers and technical advisers," Managing
Director Chris Castle said.  "Boskalis people are very focused on the success
of this project and we are working well together.

CRP holds an offshore prospecting permit covering an area of 4726 km2 on the
central Chatham Rise. The permit area, in New Zealand territorial waters, is
located 450 km east of Christchurch and includes significant shallow seabed
deposits of rock phosphate. The initial term of the permit is two years with
rights to either extend the prospecting permit or apply for a mining licence.

Establishment of a rock phosphate industry in New Zealand territorial waters
has a significant number of economic, environmental and market benefits.

The meetings considered a detailed report from Boskalis on a proposed
extraction method for the rock phosphate resource.  The report had previously
been analysed by four international experts advising CRP who also attended
the meetings.

Also discussed were initial findings from the wealth of environmental,
geotechnical and engineering data collected during four cruises on the
Chatham Rise over 48 days during the 2011-12 summer.

The next stage of the project for the remainder of 2012 will involve Boskalis
refining its methodology for recovering and separating the phosphate nodules,
applying adapted and proven technologies.  The key considerations include
capital and operating costs, minimisation of possible environmental effects
and the optimisation of operating efficiencies.

Boskalis is also closely involved in associated environmental impact studies
presently underway.

Mr Castle said the continuing enthusiasm shown by Boskalis was an extremely
significant vote of confidence by such a major world player.

"We have established a great partnership and the breadth of skills and
experience that Boskalis can draw on internationally is something we could
never hope to tap into by ourselves."

Peter Berdowski, CEO of Boskalis: "We see the fledgling deep-sea mining
industry as an interesting growth opportunity that fits perfectly with our
position as the leading dredging and marine experts. The Chatham Rise project
allows us to draw on our wealth of expertise to contribute to the successful
development of this unique project together with our partner Chatham."

Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V. is a leading global services provider
operating in the dredging, maritime infrastructure and maritime services
sectors. Boskalis provides creative and innovative solutions to
infrastructural challenges in the maritime, coastal and delta regions of the
world including the construction and maintenance of ports and waterways, land
reclamation, coastal defense and riverbank protection. It offers a wide
variety of marine services through SMIT and has other strategic partnerships
in the Middle East (Archirodon) and in offshore services (Lamnalco).
The company holds important home market positions in and outside of Europe.
Boskalis has a versatile fleet of over 1,100 units and operates in over 75
countries across six continents. Including its share in partnerships,
Boskalis has approximately 14,000 employees.

Chris Castle - Managing Director CRP - +64 21 55 81 85 or
[email protected]
End CA:00224759 For:CRP    Type:GENERAL    Time:2012-07-09 09:00:54