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LONDON (AFX) - Reefton Mining NL said it is seeking an audience with the Namibian Minister of Mines and Energy after the ministry released a statement today claiming that the company had breached Namibian law by exploring for uranium without legal rights to do so.

The ministry said the company had undertaken a drilling programme for uranium at the Erongo project without notifying the Mining Commissioner of the MME.

Last month the Namibian government refused Reefton's application for nuclear fuels to be included within the scope of permitted exploration activities on the licences covering Erongo.

In response to today's statement, Reefton said it notified the government in March that it planned to start exploratory drilling in the project, without specifying uranium as the target.

It used a geophysical technique of 'ground truthing radiometrics' to ascertain the presence of certain minerals within the project, which showed high levels of uranium.

The company said it was this survey that focused its attention on uranium as a target in its own right, leading the company to lodge an application to include uranium as a permitted target for exploration in Erongo.

The company said previous surveys that had suggested high levels of uranium in the project had not been sufficiently detailed for it to have made the element the prime target of drilling from the beginning.

Reefton said it is yet to receive any official correspondence from the Mining Commissioner regarding the reasons why its licence application was turned down.

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