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THE Environmental Management Agency (EMA) has granted Premier African Minerals permission to operationalise its tungsten project in the Hwange area following approval of its Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).

Production at the project, which is being developed at a cost of $4.15 million and is set to create more jobs for locals, will start in June.

The RHA project is expected to process 8,000t/m of run-of-mine ore and produce, on average, 92t/m of concentrate at 63 percent tungsten trioxide over a 22-month period.

The AIM listed multi-commodity natural resource company with mineral projects across Southern and Western Africa announced the EIA breakthrough in a statement on its website yesterday.

“The Environmental Impact Assessment has been approved by the Environmental Management Agency of Zimbabwe (EMA) and permission has been granted to operate the company’s flagship RHA Tungsten Project (RHA) in Zimbabwe,” read the statement.

Premier is the operator of RHA and holds a 49 percent stake in the venture in line with the country’s indigenisation regulations.

The company’s chief executive officer George Roach said:

“Our in-house team worked in close co-operation with EMA and the granting of this permission to operate on time and under budget further demonstrates the commitment of both the National Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Board, our partners in this project and the various departments of the Zimbabwe government to see RHA into production”.

He added: “My sincere thanks to those who’ve worked tirelessly to achieve this milestone”.

According to the website, EMA has issued EIA certificate number 002092 and has granted RHA Tungsten Mine (Project number 7245) permission to operate in accordance with Part XI of the Environmental Management Act (Chapter 20:27) subject to certain specified terms and conditions that are normal for such an authority.

EIA acceptance to operate is renewable periodically.

Premier African Minerals Limited (AIM: PREM) is a multi-commodity exploration and development company focused in Southern and Western Africa with near term tungsten production at its flagship RHA project in Zimbabwe.

The company has a diverse portfolio of projects, which includes tungsten, rare earth elements, gold, lithium and tantalum in Zimbabwe and Togo, encompassing brownfield projects with near-term production potential to grass roots exploration. The company also holds two million shares in Circum Minerals Limited “Circum”), the owners of the Danakil Potash Project in Ethiopia, which has the potential to be a world class asset.

At present those shares are valued at $2.5 million based on the latest price at which Circum has accepted subscriptions.