extract cfo - talks to the namibian

December 2

Husab ready to hit the ground running
By: JO-MARÉ DUDDY


Mark Hohnen, executive chairman of Kalahari Minerals.Nampa
THE nearly a year it took Government to grant Swakop Uranium a mining license to build one of the largest uranium mines in the world, “was not time wasted”.
It was a long process, but the company used the time to do a “huge amount of preparatory work”, including looking for investors willing to put their money into the NS$12 billion project, Peter Sydney-Smith, chief financial officer of Extract Resources, told The Namibian yesterday. Swakop Uranium is wholly-owned by Extract.
Mines and Energy Minister Isak Katali granted Swakop Uranium its mining license on Tuesday, which the company applied for last December.
The approval came days after Katali confirmed that Government, through Epangelo Mining Company, entered into an agreement with state-owned China Guangdong Nuclear Power Company (CGNPC) to secure ten per cent of the shares in Husab.
CGNPC is in take-over talks with UK-based Kalahari Minerals PLC, who owns 43 per cent of Extract. It has until December 8 to commit to the offer.
Both Sydney-Smith and Mark Hohnen, executive chairman of Kalahari, declined to speculate on the possible outcomes of the CGNPC bid.
Whichever way, Husab will be in good hands, Hohnen said. “CGNPC is a well regarded company,” he said.
Hohnen was equally at ease with Epangelo’s involvement in the project. Epangelo is a state-owned company and has the exclusive exploration and mining rights of all strategic minerals, including uranium.
“I am delighted about the participation of Epangelo,” Hohnen said. “On a commercial basis, Epangelo is a good idea,” he added.
Sydney-Smith said there is tremendous investor, supplier and potential customer interest in Husab.
“The mining license means we can now press the button on Husab,” he said.
If all goes well, construction on Husab can start as early as the second quarter of next year, Hohnen said. From then it will take 33 months to get Husab operational.
“Now all the stars are aligned,” Sydney-Smith said.
Hohnen said the sooner Husab gets off the ground, the better. “Then we can start contributing to the economy; that’s the key,” he said.


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http://www.namibian.com.na/news/marketplace/full-story/archive/2011/december/article/husab-ready-to-hit-the-ground-running/