Mar 26 2015
Kombat Copper Inc. ("Kombat" or the "Company") has made the strategic decision to divest the town of Kombat as well as the five non-core Exploration Prospecting Licences owned by Kombat in the Otavi Mountainlands region of Namibia through the sale of two subsidiaries, Congo Namibia Trading (Proprietary) Limited ("Congo Namibia") and Grove Mining (Proprietary) Limited ("Grove").
The Town of Kombat
Kombat has entered into an agreement to sell Grove, the company holding ownership rights to the town of Kombat and related infrastructure to a local Namibian private entity. The town is situated 42 km from Otavi, Namibia and on the southern boundary of the Kombat Mine Property. The town has historically been utilized as the mining camp for Kombat during its various periods of operation and hosts a Post Office, Police Station, Public Clinic, residences and other establishments. This strategic divestment is for nominal consideration and will transfer all responsibility for the maintenance and security of the town to a local company without affecting any current mine operations, assets or property.
Exploration Prospecting Licences
Kombat has also decided to divest all involvement with its five Exploration Prospecting Licences (EPLs) located in the surrounding Otavi Mountainlands region through the sale of its interest in Congo Namibia. The Company has made the decision to cease its involvement in these EPLs so that it can put its entire focus and efforts into the past producing Kombat Mine. Kombat will continue to maintain its five Mining Licences (MLs) which comprise the historic Kombat Mine, the Gross Otavi mine and Harasib mine. The definitive agreement regarding this sale is expected to be executed shortly.
Bill Nielsen, President and CEO of Kombat Copper, commented "We continue to sharpen our focus on the goal of getting the Kombat Mine back into production, and in doing so we have made some important and strategic decisions about the assets of the Company. Our divestment of the town of Kombat was an important move that will allow us to offload a number of expenses associated with running the town while also ensuring that it is properly maintained as we will come to rely on this important infrastructure following any production decision." Mr. Nielsen continued: "We have also made the decision to move away from exploring on our EPLs so that we can effectively manage our resources to support our production goals."
Water Off-Take Agreement
Negotiations are underway with the Namibian water authority to significantly increase the off-take of water from the mine workings, specifically at the #1 Shaft area. The Company's local engineer, a former employee of Kombat Mine, is currently formulating a cost analysis and schedule to be presented to the Namibian authorities. Subsequent meetings are scheduled for the near future and Kombat will report on these proceedings as they progress. Kombat Copper hopes to benefit from any agreement by having the mine dewatered at little to no cost which is a great advancement to the long-term plan for getting the mine back into production.
About Kombat Copper
Kombat Copper (TSX VENTURE:KBT) is a publicly traded Canadian exploration and development company with its core operations focused on copper resources in Namibia, one of the world's most prospective copper regions, where it has substantial assets in place with significant upside.
The Company holds an 80% interest in five Mining Licenses. Within these licenses are three past-producing mines including the Company's flagship property: the past-producing Kombat Mine. The Kombat Mine's extensive infrastructure includes an 800m production shaft which was opened in 2006, two additional recently-operational shafts, three ramp systems, extensive underground workings, mine buildings, a tailings facility, a mill and concentrator. The Kombat Mine opened in 1962 and historically produced 12.46 million tonnes of ore grading 2.62% copper over a period of 45 years. It is linked to vital existing infrastructure, including power, water, roads, and rail with close proximity to the port of Walvis Bay and to one of only five commercial-grade smelters in Africa located in Tsumeb, located 100 road kilometers away from Kombat.
Qualified Person
F. W. Nielsen, P.Geo., President and CEO of Kombat Copper, is a "qualified person" as such term is defined in National Instrument 43-101 and has reviewed and approved the technical information and data included in this press release.