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Beowulf (AIM: BEM; Aktietorget: BEO), the mineral exploration and development company focused on the Kallak iron ore project in northern Sweden and its Swedish exploration portfolio, announces outstanding testwork results on ore samples from Kallak North. 

Highlights 

·    A 'super' high grade magnetite concentrate, with over 71 per cent iron content and very low levels of deleterious elements (silica, alumina, phosphorous and sulphur) was produced. 

·    The 'super' high grade and purity of the magnetite concentrate produced are valuable attributes
for key target markets: pellets; Direct Reduction Iron ("DRI") facilities in Europe and the Middle East; and in chemical industry applications, with higher quality iron units benefiting manufacturing productivity with improved economy, and high purity delivering environmental benefits.

·    The testwork results support the case for a significant price premium for 'Kallak super
concentrate' ("Kallak Super-con"), over and above much reported iron ore market benchmark prices.  As a comparison, the 65 per cent iron content pellet price was on average $40 per tonne higher than the 62 per cent iron content price in 2014.

·     High grade hematite concentrate with over 68 per cent iron content provides additional upside,
 and potential use as sinter feed blend.

·     All testwork was carried out at GTK in Outokumpu City, Finland ("GTK") on samples generated
from test mining at Kallak North in 2013. A magnetite product control sample was analysed by SGS Canada Inc. to validate the high grade results.

·     In addition to metallurgical testwork, tailings samples have been collected and sent to FLSmidth (UK) Limited for paste thickening trials.  This programme will determine the engineering properties for 'dry-stack' tailings storage, with a view to minimising the tailings footprint in the mine design. Trials are ongoing.

Kurt Budge, Chief Executive Officer of Beowulf, commented:

"With the funds raised in March 2015, we decided to commission further testwork on Kallak North ore to demonstrate the quality of the orebody, despite the delay in being granted an Exploitation Concession.

"The programme has delivered a 'super' high grade magnetite concentrate, with the added bonus of a high grade hematite concentrate, which is what our metallurgical consultants predicted.

"With an enhanced understanding of the high quality products that can be produced from Kallak, we can now build on our understanding of the positioning and pricing of 'Kallak Super-con' in the markets we are targeting, and seek to realize the significant premiums paid for higher quality iron units.

"The award of an Exploitation Concession and our advanced understanding of Kallak North, and its market attractiveness, are important foundations for bringing in a strategic partner and investor.  I look forward to updating the market further in due course."

2015 – Metallurgical testwork

The impetus for the 2015 programme was the belief that even higher grade magnetite concentrate could be produced through the application of reverse flotation, and that the results would prove the suitability of the Kallak North magnetite concentrate for use in Direct Reduction Iron ("DRI") facilities and as chemical grade raw material. 

Kallak North has three main ore types, classified as follows:

1.   'Blue' ore – magnetite rich;

2.   'Green' ore – magnetite rich with hematite; and

3.   'Red' ore – hematite rich.

The work at GTK applied reverse flotation on two of the three ore types, Blue and Green.   Flotation of the magnetite portion of the Red ore type will be done at a later stage.

Head assays for the samples used were performed using X-Ray Fluorescence ("XRF") analysis for Green, Blue and Red samples.  The main elements of interest are shown below:

Element	Green	Blue	Red
Fe %	31.9	36.5	37.9
SiO2 %	47.7	40.6	40.8
Al2O3 %	2.92	2.41	1.84
CaO %	1.2	2.51	1.05
MgO %	2.37	2.58	2.59
P2O5 %	0.068	0.096	0.081
MnO %	0.229	0.51	0.296

This work was carried out by Labtium, who have a geo-analytical laboratory in Outokumpu City and are accredited according to ISO/IEC 17025 by FINAS (Finnish accreditation service).

Concentrate product results:

The table below shows detailed product specifications for concentrates produced in 2015, and in italics the results from the previous programme in 2014:

	Fe %	SiO2 %	S %	CaO %	MgO %	Al2O3 %	TiO2 %	Na2O %	K2O %	P2O5 %	MnO %
Magnetite (SGS certified, 2015)	71.5	0.62	<0.01	0.03	0.03	0.10	<0.01	<0.01	0.01	<0.01	0.48
Magnetite (GTK, 2014)	69+	3.9	0.003	0.109	0.11	0.24	0.010	0.03	0.19	0.009	0.444
Hematite (GTK, 2015)	68.3	2.03	0.005	0.15	0.25	0.20	0.26	0.02	0.019	0.04	0.023
Hematite (GTK, 2014)	65.8	4.1	0.018	0.54	0.50	0.43	0.449	0.05	0.03	0.093	0.183

 

Key: Fe – Iron, SiO2 – Silica, S – Sulphur, CaO – Calcium Oxide, Al2O3 – Alumina, TiO2 – Titanium Dioxide, K2O – Potassium Oxide, P2O5 – Phosphate, MnO – Manganese Oxide.

Earlier metallurgical testing

2010

Metallurgical bench scale tests, including Davis Tube Recovery (DTR) tests were completed in 2010 by MINPRO AB ("MINPRO") of Stråssa, Sweden (www.minpro.se) on ore grade material from drill holes on the Kallak North deposit. The tests were directed towards the production of a high grade magnetite pellet feed product. Traditional treatment of the ore material by fine grinding and wet magnetic separation resulted in a clean magnetite pellet feed product containing 68.0 per cent iron corresponding to a recovery of 85.1 per cent. The head grade ore material contained 39.8 per cent iron, 33.1 per cent silica (SiO2), 0.57 per cent manganese (MnO), 0.09 per cent phosphorous (P2O5), 0.10 per cent titanium (TiO2) and 0.007 per cent sulphur. Further testing by MINPRO, using flotation techniques combined with wet magnetic separation, resulted in a final, high grade pellet feed product containing 70.4 per cent iron with low levels of contaminants such as phosphorous, manganese, sulphur and titanium.

2012

In 2012, Jokkmokk Iron Mines AB ("JIMAB"), Beowulf's Swedish subsidiary, commissioned MINPRO to perform further DTR tests, as well as bench scale grinding and magnetic separation, on composite samples extracted from six separate sections across the Kallak North deposit guided by advice from consultants Micon. The main scope of the test work was to establish a variability pattern in the mineral processing versus standardised test work, with the results obtained used to plan for JIMAB's test mining and sampling programme in 2013 and the subsequent mineral processing tests, laboratory and pilot scale, conducted in early 2014.

The 2012 DTR tests, grinding to liberation and using wet low-intensity magnetic separation techniques ("WLIMS") produced high grade concentrate 68.9-70.3 per cent iron suitable for pellets.

2013/2014 – Pilot scale test work on Kallak North material

In late 2013, approximately 500 tonnes of ore from the test mining sampling programme completed on a defined area of the Kallak North deposit in summer 2013 was transported to a test facility in Outokumpu City, owned by GTK. The main portion of the material was a general composite bulk sample, representing all of the test mined sections at Kallak North in proportion to their respective occurrence.

GTK's initial report in respect of its test work was received in Q1 2014. Approximately 60 tonnes of the general composite bulk sample were tested during a two-week pilot campaign, primarily focusing on establishing recovery and product quality parameters for the magnetite content. Average iron content for the submitted sample was 29.5 per cent. The proportion of magnetite to hematite in the sample was established to be approximately 3.4:1.

The magnetite beneficiation circuit was conventional and straightforward consisting of rod milling with rougher-scavenger cobbing low-intensity magnetic separation ("LIMS") pre-concentration, followed by ball mill re-grinding together with six cleaner LIMS stages to achieve the final magnetite product. The grade and recovery levels were excellent. The amount of dry magnetite concentrate produced for downstream testwork was approximately 2.7 tonnes, grading at 69.4 per cent iron at a magnetite recovery of approximately 95 per cent. Average silica content in the final product was 3.9 per cent and the levels of sulphur and phosphorous were insignificant, being below 0.01 per cent. The end product fineness was 80 per cent passing 25 microns.

The secondary objective, to produce a concentrate of the hematite content, was successful in respect of the quality aspect. A sample of 0.36 tonnes of dry hematite iron concentrate was produced, at an average grade of 66.6 per cent iron, containing 3.3 per cent silica, 0.03 per cent phosphorous and less than 0.02 per cent sulphur. The fineness was 80 per cent passing 175 microns. Several different flow sheet options were tested in order to maximise the hematite recovery, without fully reaching optimised levels. The best beneficiation result was achieved using a combination of spiral separators, supported by SLon High-Gradient Intensity Magnetic Separator ("HGIMS"), recovery remained at below 30 per cent. The short test work programme did not enable optimisation of the hematite beneficiation section. Process mineralogy studies proved that the hematite losses were mostly occurring in the very fine particle sizes.

Enquiries:

Beowulf Mining plc
Kurt Budge, Chief Executive Officer	Tel: +44 (0) 20 3771 6993
Cantor Fitzgerald Europe
Stewart Dickson / Jeremy Stephenson / Carrie Lun	Tel: +44 (0) 20 7894 7000
Blytheweigh
Tim Blythe / Megan Ray	Tel: +44 (0) 20 7138 3204

Qualified Person Review

Dr. Bo R. Arvidson, MSc Mining/Mineral Processing, PhD Mineral Processing (equivalent), both read at the Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, has reviewed and approved the technical information contained within this announcement in his capacity as a qualified person, as required under the AIM rules.  Dr. Arvidson has over 47 years relevant experience in the minerals industry, and has developed over 80 new applications within the industrial minerals and iron ore areas.

Cautionary Statement

Statements and assumptions made in this document with respect to the Company's current plans, estimates, strategies and beliefs, and other statements that are not historical facts, are forward-looking statements about the future performance of Beowulf. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, those using words such as "may", "might", "seeks", "expects", "anticipates", "estimates", "believes", "projects", "plans", strategy", "forecast" and similar expressions. These statements reflect management's expectations and assumptions in light of currently available information. They are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, (i) changes in the economic, regulatory and political environments in the countries where Beowulf operates; (ii) changes relating to the geological information available in respect of the various projects undertaken; (iii) Beowulf's continued ability to secure enough financing to carry on its operations as a going concern; (iv) the success of its potential joint ventures and alliances, if any; (v) metal prices, particularly as regards iron ore. In the light of the many risks and uncertainties surrounding any mineral project at an early stage of its development, the actual results could differ materially from those presented and forecast in this document. Beowulf assumes no unconditional obligation to immediately update any such statements and/or forecasts.

About Us

The Kallak North iron ore deposit is located about 40km west of the Jokkmokk municipality centre in the Norrbotten County in Northern Sweden.

Local infrastructure is excellent with all-weather gravel roads passing through the project area and all parts are easily reached by well used forestry tracks. A major hydroelectric power station with associated electric power-lines is located only a few kilometres to the south east. The nearest railway (the 'Inland Railway Line') passes approximately 40km to the east. This railway line is connected at Gällivare with the 'Ore Railway Line', which is used by LKAB for delivery of their iron ore material to the Atlantic harbour at Narvik (Norway) or to the Botnian Sea harbour at Luleå (Sweden).

The total Kallak project area is approximately 80km2 in size, and includes the Parkijaure licence granted in 2010 and the Ågåsjiegge nr2 licence granted in 2014.

The Kallak North and Kallak South orebodies are centrally located and cover an area approximately 3,700m in length and 350m in width, as defined by drilling.  The mineral resource estimate for Kallak North and South is based on drilling conducted between 2010-2014, a total 27,895m drilled, including 131 drillholes. 

The latest resource statement for the Kallak project was finalised on the 28 November 2014, following the guidelines of the JORC Code 2012 edition, summary as follows:

	Category	Tonnage Mt	Fe %	P %	S %
Kallak North	Indicated	105.9	27.9	0.035	0.001
	Inferred	17.0	28.1	0.037	0.001
Kallak South	Indicated	12.5	24.3	0.041	0.003
	Inferred	16.8	24.3	0.044	0.005
Global	Indicated	118.5	27.5	0.036	0.001
	Inferred	33.8	26.2	0.040	0.003

The Ballek Joint Venture project comprises two exploration permits over a total area of 18.3km2, located in the Norrbotten County in Northern Sweden. In September 2008 Beowulf reported a maiden JORC Code compliant Inferred Resource estimate for the Lulepotten copper-gold deposit of 5.4Mt, grading 0.8% Cu and 0.3g/t Au.

Other attractive portfolio assets include the Nautijaure licence with potential for IOCG, Grundträsk gold project and the Munka licence area, which covers approximately 800 hectares and hosts Sweden's largest, drill confirmed deposit of molybdenum.

 

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Neville Registrars are delighted to welcome Idox plc as the newest addtion to its list of client companies.

Idox plc is a supplier of specialist information management solutions and services to the public sector and to highly regulated asset intensive industries around the world in the wider corporate sector.

Further information can be found on the Company's website: http://www.idoxgroup.com/

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Neville Registrars are delighted to welcome Helios Underwriting PLC as the newest addition to its list of client companies.

Helios Underwriting provides access to a limited liability direct investment into the Lloyd’s insurance market through listed securities.

More information on the Company can be found on the Company's website: http://huwplc.com/

 

 

 

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·      Aurasian Minerals and Lao company Sahamit to form joint venture

·      Partner shares 70% Aurasian and 30% Sahamit

·      Partnership will undertake exploration and mineral development activities in Laos

Aurasian Minerals PLC (AIM:AUM) is pleased to announce that it has agreed to form a Joint Venture with Lao investment company Sahamit Phattana ("Sahamit") to undertake exploration and mineral development activities in Laos.

The board of Aurasian has identified Laos as an area having high mineral development potential, and is under-explored by modern systematic exploration methods. Successful mineral development also offers great economic, social and community benefits for Laos, when carried out responsibly to high standards.

Sahamit is a Lao investment company with activities in Agriculture, Aquaculture, Real Estate, Construction, Mining, Hydropower, and Renewable Energy. Its President is Khuanchai Siphakanlaya, who is also President of Lao Consulting Group, a well-established and respected infrastructure contractor in Laos. Khuanchai Siphakanlaya has high standing in the Lao business community and he will be a valuable partner to the Company as it implements its strategy.

Aurasian and Sahamit intend to establish a joint venture company, incorporated in Laos, in which Aurasian will hold a 70% equity stake and Sahamit 30%. The parties will contribute to all exploration and development programs and all in-country costs on a pro-rata basis. Of Sahamit's 30% stake 10% will be financed by Aurasian through a loan to be made to Sahamit upon terms to be agreed. Such loan will be repayable by Sahamit out of its share of any dividends paid by the joint venture company. The remainder of Sahamit's contribution will be self-funded.

Bruce Kay, Chairman of Aurasian said: "We are delighted to be forming this partnership with Sahamit, a highly respected and capable group with excellent in-country contacts. Through the Aurasian team's deep knowledge of the area based over 20 years' experience in the country we believe that we are now in a very good position to take advantage of the highly prospective mineral potential of Laos."

Khuanchai Siphakanlaya, President of Sahamit said: "We are delighted to be partnering with an organisation as professional and experienced as Aurasian Minerals, and we look forward to working with Aurasian in pursuing exploration and mineral development activities in Laos where we believe that successful exploration by experienced companies like Aurasian is the key to unlocking the mineral wealth of the country"

 

Enquiries:

Aurasian Minerals Plc

Christopher Goss                                                           christopher.goss@aurasianminerals.com

Jon Loraine                                                                    jon.loraine@aurasianminerals.com

finnCap Limited – nominated adviser

Christopher Raggett/Scott Mathieson                               +44 (0) 20 7220 0500                

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LightwaveRF plc ("LightwaveRF" or the "Company"), the creator of the LightwaveRF Smart Home Platform and products for the Internet of Things enabling households and businesses to remotely operate and control applications including lighting, power, heating and security using smartphones, tablets, PC and MAC applications, today announces it has filed its third patent application this year.

This latest patent application is for a Super Smart TRV. This thermostatic radiator valve product combines the advantages of state of the art electronic control with the power saving of passive devices. This dramatically reduces battery consumption and operating noise.

Commenting John Shermer the LightwaveRF Chief Technical Officer said:  "One of the biggest challenges for smart radiator valve manufacturers is battery life. Our new innovation will, we believe, give up to five times the  battery life compared to  other products currently on the market. This will be a major benefit particularly in commercial applications.

The valve will also operate silently in a similar way to conventional valves consumers are used to. This will be significantly different to other products on the market that typically rely solely on motor driven valves for remote control."

 

For further information:        

Contacts:
LightwaveRF Plc	www.lightwaveRF.com
Mike Lord, CEO Tom Sykes, CFO	+44 (0)  121 250 3625
WH Ireland Limited	www.wh-ireland.co.uk
Mike Coe/Ed Allsopp (Corporate Finance)	+44 (0) 117 945 3470
Jasper Berry (Institutional Sales)	+44 (0) 20 7220 1666

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Nanoco Group plc (LSE: NANO), a world leader in the development and manufacture of cadmium-free quantum dots and other nanomaterials, is pleased to announce the commencement of trading in its ordinary shares at 8.00am today on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange and admission to the premium segment of the Official List of the UK Listing Authority. The commencement of trading on the Main Market is simultaneous with the cancellation of the Company's shares on AIM.

The commencement of trading on the Main Market is the final condition for the completion of the Placing, initially announced on 31 March 2015, of 19,047,619 new ordinary shares at a price of 105 pence each, raising gross proceeds of £20 million.

Highlights

·    The net proceeds of the Placing of £18.65 million will enable Nanoco to fund its Business Expansion Strategy of accelerated research, development and commercialisation in its four key target markets – electronic display, LED lighting, solar power and biological imaging.

·    Use of the proceeds are planned to include:  

–   Improved working capital to support increased capacity and continued optimisation of Nanoco's CFQD® quantum dot production processes

–   Hiring additional research and development staff and enhancing the senior management structure to re-organise the business into four distinct business divisions, reflecting the key target markets

–    Broadening the Company's research capabilities in solar through the appointment of a specialist solar panel manufacturer to prove Nanoco's technology on larger solar panels

–    Investment in laboratory space and the enhancement of the Company's intellectual property portfolio

·   The transition from AIM to the Main Market is expected to provide a more appropriate platform for the continued growth of the business, raise its profile and improve the trading liquidity of the Company's shares

·    As previously announced, Robin Williams, a Non-executive Director of Nanoco, through his SIPP, subscribed for 9,523 ordinary shares in the Placing at 105 pence per share. Therefore, on Admission, Robin is interested in of 9,532 ordinary shares,  representing to 0.004% of the enlarged issued share capital of the Company

Michael Edelman, Nanoco's Chief Executive Officer, commented: "Nanoco's transition from AIM to the Main Market comes at an exciting point in the Company's development and marks an important step in the Company's evolution towards its goal of becoming a leading, global materials science business.

"I would like to thank the new and existing investors who subscribed for shares in the Placing which accompanied our move to the Main Market. The proceeds from the Placing will allow us to accelerate the commercialisation of our technology through the funding of further R&D and through the formation of four distinct business divisions focused on our key target markets of electronic display, LED lighting, solar power and biological imaging.

"We are very excited by our commercial progress in the display market. We expect, the first LCD TVs to incorporate our technology to be launched in the near future and our worldwide licensing partner Dow is close to commissioning its mass production plant in South Korea, where Nanoco quantum dots will be manufactured in much larger quantities."

Total voting rights

The total number of ordinary shares in the Company immediately following admission, including the New Ordinary Shares, is 236,378,002 each with equal voting rights. This total voting rights figure can be used by shareholders as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine whether they are required to notify their interest in the Company under the Disclosure and Transparency Rules of the Financial Conduct Authority.

All capitalised terms in this announcement have the meaning given to them in the Circular posted to shareholders on 31 March 2015. The Circular, and the Prospectus, are available at the investor relations section of Nanoco's website, www.nanocotechnologies.com.

For further information, please contact:

Nanoco	Tel: +44 (0) 161 603 7900
Michael Edelman, Chief Executive Officer
Mark Sullivan, Interim Chief Financial Officer
Canaccord Genuity – Sponsor and Joint Broker	Tel: +44 (0) 20 7523 8000
Simon Bridges
Cameron Duncan Mark Whitmore
Liberum – Joint Broker	Tel: +44 (0) 20 3100 2000
Simon Atkinson
Richard Bootle
Buchanan	Tel: +44 (0) 20 7466 5000
Mark Court / Sophie Cowles / Stephanie Watson

 

Notes for editors:

About Nanoco Group plc

Nanoco is a world leader in the development and production of cadmium-free quantum dots and other nanomaterials for use in multiple applications including LCD displays, lighting, solar cells and bio-imaging. In the display market, it has an exclusive manufacturing and marketing licensing agreement with The Dow Chemical Company.

Nanoco was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Manchester, UK. It has production facilities in Runcorn, UK, and a US subsidiary, Nanoco Inc, based in Concord, MA. Nanoco also has business development executives in Japan, Korea and Taiwan. Its technology is protected worldwide by a large and growing patent estate.

Nanoco is listed on the main market of the London Stock Exchange and trades under the ticker symbol NANO. For further information please visit: www.nanocotechnologies.com.

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Neville Registrars are delighted to welcome Surgical Innovations Group plc as the newest addition to its list of client companies.

Surgical Innovations specialise in the design and manufacture of creative solutions for minimally invasive surgery (MIS). The Company was awarded the Small/Medium Employer of the Year at the Leeds Apprenticeship Recognition Awards 2012, the Queen’s Award for Enterprise under the Innovation category in 2011 and SME Manufacturer of the Year 2011 – Yorkshire Post Excellence in Business Awards.

Further information can be found on the Company's website: http://www.surginno.com/

 

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The Innis & Gunn BeerBond is now live!

For more details and to find out how to invest, please visit the BeerBond website at: https://www.innisandgunnbeerbond.com/

 

 

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