Australian Gippsland’s 100 percent-owned subsidiary Tantalum International has executed a Shareholders Agreement with the Egyptian Geological Survey & Mining Authority (EGSMA) in relation to the Abu Dabbab Tantalite-Feldspar project in Egypt's eastern desert.
Under the agreement, Tantalum Egypt shall enjoy numerous benefits including but not limited to free export trade of products, customs import duty relief and exemption from a number of taxes including stamp duty and land tax. The agreement also provides the project a twenty-year exemption from profits taxation.
“Based upon the initial planned production of one million tons of tantalum per year, the agreement will stand for 40 years however it may be extended as new opportunities become available to Tantalum Egypt since Gippsland has an exclusive 60 year right to the resource," said Gippsland’s Chairman, Jack Telford.
Tantalum Egypt, a 50:50 joint venture agreement between EGSMA and Tantalum International was created to manage the project. Abu Dabbab is a world-scale deposit containing some 10.2 million pounds of tantalite.
The in-situ resources also include 10.2 million pounds of niobium oxide and 35,000 tons of tin, however most significantly the project is likely to yield approximately 32 million tons of high-grade ceramic feldspar.
The company is presently completing the Abu Dabbab Bankable Feasibility Study based upon an annual production of approximately 420,000 pounds of tantalum oxide and 800,000 tons of feldspar per year.
Some 80 percent of the ore mined will be converted to ceramic grade feldspar. The project's operation costs are likely to be well below those incurred by present tantalum producers both within Australia and elsewhere.
The Company has received strong interest from European ceramic manufacturers regarding the purchase of the feldspar output from Abu Dabbab. The Company has appointed an experienced feldspar sales agent to negotiate on the company's behalf in relation to these feldspar pre-sale agreements.
In relation to the pre-sale of the tantalum production, the Company is continuing its negotiations with the world's major tantalum consumers. — (menareport.com)
© 2003 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
