Name and Location
Kwale mineral sands project, Kenya.

Client
Base Resources.

Project Description
The project is located about 50 km south of Mombasa and 10 km inland from the Indian Ocean. The Kwale processing plant is designed to process ore, recover ilmenite, rutile and zircon products, and generate several reject streams.

A dozer-trap mining unit has been selected as the optimum mining method, instead of a large bucket-wheel excavator.

A port facility will also be built at Likoni, 50 km north of the project site, on the southern side of the existing shipping channel that services the Port of Mombasa.

Value
The project is estimated to cost $310-million.

Duration
Kwale produced its first ilmenite and rutile concentrate in December 2013.

Latest Developments
Base Resources has announced an upgrade and increase in mineral resources for its 100%-owned Kwale project, in Kenya.

The updated mineral resource estimate – which reveals a combined overall increase of 5% for total material tonnes and 2% for heavy mineral (HM) tonnes at the mine’s Central and South dune deposits – is the product of new drilling, assaying and mineralogical testwork, bulk density testwork and updated resource estimation work.

Base says that despite depletion caused as a result of mining about 360 000 t of HM from the Central deposit, the mine’s total measured and indicated material resource has still increased to 152.7-million tonnes from the 146-million tonnes reported in May 2011.

Further, Kwale’s HM resources now amount to 7.25-million tonnes, up from the previously reported 7.1-million tonnes.

The company notes that, excluding depletion by mining to June 30, 2014, these figures represent an overall increase in the Kwale project mineral resources of 8% for material tonnes and a 7% increase for HM tonnes on the previously reported mineral resources at the start of the project.

Base adds that there has been an increase in the confidence of the Kwale mineral resources, with 81% of the material tonnes and 88% of the HM tonnes falling in the Joint Ore Reserves Committee measured category.

These updated mineral resources will form the basis for the preparation and reporting of updated Kwale project ore reserves over the next couple of months, the company has stated.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
SRK Consulting and Barclays Capital, Standard Chartered Bank, West LB and Caterpillar Finance (underwriters); Ausenco (main contractor – detailed design and engineering, and engineering, procurement and construction management contract); Actom (power station) and Lamco (port facility).

On Budget and on Time?
The project remains on schedule to make the first bulk product shipments in January 2014.

Contact Details for Project Information
Base Resources MD Tim Carstens, tel +61 8 9322 8910 or email tcarstens@baseresources.com.au.
SRK Consulting, tel +27 11 441 1111, fax +27 11 880 8086 or email johannesburg@srk.co.za.
Barclays Capital press office, tel +44 20 313 418 886 or email Corporate.Communications@barclayscapital.com.
Ausenco, tel +61 7 3169 7000, fax +61 7 3169 7001 or email investor.relations@ausenco.com.
Actom, tel +27 11 820 5111 or fax +27 11 820 5100.