STIBIUM MINING

AFRICA STIBIUM MINING

Operating the largest antimony deposit in the western world

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Opportunity Stibium Mining is examining, exploring and excavating Gravelotte’s rich gold and antimony deposits, the latter said to be the biggest in the western world Project Manager: Donovan Smith

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escribed as a lustrous, silvery blue-white solid that is brittle and flaky in texture, you would be forgiven for believing antimony is an element of little value to our existence.

Gold, silver, iron, coal, bauxite, phosphate – these are all minerals that are among the most mined or sought after in the world today. Antimony will be unfamiliar at best to many a layman, more likely completely unheard of.

However, unlike many minor metals, antimony is one that has been used by humans for thousands of years.

The early Egyptians utilised it in the production of medicines and

cosmetics, while the earliest metallic applications of the element came in the mid-15th century when it was added as a hardening agent in cast metal printing.

Fast forward to the present day, and antimony is still renowned as a highly versatile material and one that is used in a variety of progressive industry processes.

Enter Stibium Mining Limited.

Founded in 2012 and based in Sydney, Australia, the company has engaged in projects across both its home country and Kosovo in Europe.

It also operates the Stibium Mopani mine, formerly ConsMurch, a site near

South Africa is home to a large deposit of antinomy, while China is thought to house about a third of the world’s supply

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Gravelotte in the northern province of Limpopo in South Africa and thought to be home to the largest deposit of antinomy in the western world.

According to Mining Indaba, the mine is thought to contain a million ounces and 280,000 tonnes of antimony in SAMREC compliant resources, the company set to implement underground drilling to upgrade resources and complete integrity reviews of the shafts and declines.

The Mopani mine also produces gold from retreatment tailings, with Stibium said to be looking into developing new resources in the form of an open cast project.

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Messina Incorporated is a firm conducting a specialised commercial legal practice from our offices situated at 269 Oxford Road, Illovo, Johannesburg, South Africa.

Proud insurance brokers and risk advisors to Stibium Mining South Africa (Pty) Ltd.

Drawing from our doctrine of “Leadership through Service”, we aim to lead the commercial law field by providing close personal attention, accompanied by specialised knowledge, balanced with agreeable rates.

We achieve the best commercial result for our clients. That is our ethos.

Our current areas of expertise are as follows:

Hamtern Financial Services is a dynamic independent short-term insurance broking business providing insurance and risk advisory services to corporate enterprises in the Mining, Industrial and Manufacturing sectors.

Tel: 011 844 3900 | Email: insurance@hamtern.co.za | www.hamtern.co.za

Commercial – drafting of all types of commercial agreements, corporate restructuring, advising on compliance and governance, and mergers and acquisitions; Mining law – general advisory on mining law, mining rights, environmental issues; section 11 applications Competition Law (antitrust) – merger and acquisition filings, competition issues, and advisory opinion; Insolvency – liquidation applications, interrogations, and business rescue; Commercial High Court litigation, corporate recoveries, and arbitrations; International law, including assisting with foreign investment in South Africa; Intellectual Property – trademark registration and disputes; Trusts and notarial bonds; Labour law; Notarial certification of documents and trade and investment in Africa Carlo Messina BComm LLB HDip Insolvency Law Company Law Competition Law Lopang Peacock LLB Manuela Hinz BComm LLB Cert Adv Corp Sec (notary) Rebecca Pereira BA LLB 269 Oxford Road Illovo P.O. Box 78907 Sandton 2146 South Africa Tel: +27114476535 Fax: +27112686179 www.messinainc.co.za

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A REGION STEEPED IN HISTORY Stibium Mining’s asset in Gravelotte is located in a region synonymous with mining heritage.

Iron mining and smelting sites in the northeast of South Africa were used as far back as 1,700 years ago, while copper was mined south of the Limpopo River more than 1,000 years ago.

The first commercial gold mining activity in modern South African history is said to have occurred at Eersteling in the mid-1870s by farmer turned prospector Jacobus du Preez.

Today mining constitutes an important part of Limpopo province’s GDP. Indeed, according to the Limpopo Province Freight Transport Data Bank, the industry contributes around 30 percent of regional income.

Further, looking at the Mopani district more specifically, the local government has estimated that mining development could contribute as much as R6.3 billion in direct investment, acting as a cornerstone of economic growth.

Investing in recent years when South Africa’s mining industry was struggling to attract capital, Stibium Mining is now part of a sector which has an opportunity to recover. It still accounts for around 10 percent of national GDP, or R300 billion, and employs approximately 450,000 people across communities all over the country.

Development of this antinomy resource could prove a crucial

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South Africa’s mining industry accounts for roughly 10 percent of national GDP

contributor to any wider recovery, and key to this is the mineral’s potential to be used in the production of solar cells and electric vehicles.

While there has been some debate surrounding the recyclability of antimony-coated solar panels, it is an important element to ensure maximum absorption of sunlight and will doubtlessly be in high demand as more and more sustainable solar

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Antinomy and gold, both mined at Mopani, are used in the production of many electrical products

projects take off around the world.

Antinomy has also been proven to boost potassium storage performance in batteries, making it a viable option for developers of products such as electric vehicles. With the rise of batterypowered cars and the commonly held view that these will one day replace petrol-powered contemporaries, it seems that antinomy will be sought after for this reason as well.

Securing finance is thus a priority for companies like Stibium Mining in order for such resources to be developed and exploited to the full. The Mopani mine could well evolve into a vital balancer of power regarding the global distribution and production of antinomy.

This is not least due to the fact that China currently dominates the market. According to a US Geological Survey, 2016 saw the Asian industrial

powerhouse produce some three quarters of the worldwide total.

However, China is only home to around a third of the estimated reserves, with other nations like Bolivia, Australia, the USA and South Africa all containing significant deposits.

Stibium Mining, therefore, could have a key role to play in the development of a sustainable, balanced supply of antimony in the future.

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