🕐26.03.10 - 09:46 Uhr

ITOCHU acquires a 15% interest in Kalahari Minerals plc



Kalahari Minerals plc / Ticker: KAH / Index: AIM / Sector: Mining & Exploration 26 March 2010 Kalahari Minerals plc (Kalahari or the Company) ITOCHU agrees to acquire a 15% interest in Kalahari
Kalahari Minerals plc, the AIM listed resource company, was notified on 25 March 2010 that ITOCHU Corporation (ITOCHU), a major Japanese trading house, has agreed to acquire a 15% interest in the issued share capital of the Company through its wholly owned subsidiary Nippon Uranium Resources (Australia) Pty Ltd.

The board of Kalahari welcomes ITOCHU to its share register and has requested ITOCHU to nominate a director to its board to ensure this strategic relationship is maximised to the benefit of all stake holders.


Kalaharis Executive Chairman, Mark Hohnen, said, "This is yet another transformational step for Kalahari, and we welcome ITOCHUs participation on our register, which significantly solidifies and strengthens our shareholder base.

ITOCHU is a 150 year old major Japanese trading house with a long history in the uranium market as well as operating in Namibia, where it has an interest in the offshore Kudu gas field.

Indeed, it has been actively involved in the trading of uranium since 1998 and has delivered over 4,000 tonnes of uranium to the market in 2009, as one of the biggest uranium traders in the world.

It has invested in various uranium projects worldwide and has also arranged finance and off-take agreements.

In addition, ITOCHU has a strong relationship with the Japanese government, and we look forward to receiving support from the Japanese government through ITOCHU.


"We look forward to further developing our business plan and enhancing our assets with ITOCHU as a welcome new stake holder in Kalahari."
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For further information please visit www.kalahari-minerals.com or contact: Mark Hohnen Kalahari Minerals plc Tel: +44 (0) 20 7292 9110 Simon Raggett Strand Hanson Limited Tel: +44 (0) 20 7409 3494 Stuart Faulkner Strand Hanson Limited Tel: +44 (0) 20 7409 3494 Rory Murphy Strand Hanson Limited Tel: +44 (0) 20 7409 3494 Richard Chase Ambrian Partners Ltd Tel: +44 (0) 20 7634 4700 Rory Scott Mirabaud Securities LLP Tel: +44 (0) 20 7878 3360 Hugo de Salis St Brides Media & Finance Ltd Tel: +44 (0) 20 7236 1177 Susie Callear St Brides Media & Finance Ltd Tel: +44 (0) 20 7236 1177
Notes to Editors:
Kalahari Minerals plc is an AIM and NSX listed resource company with uranium, gold and base metal interests in Namibia.

Its key investment is its 40.4% holding in ASX, TSX and NSX listed Extract Resources Limited (www.extractresources.com), which is developing the Husab Uranium Project, strategically located directly south of Rio Tintos producing Rossing Mine.

Work is focussing on three main prospects within the project area, Rossing South, Ida Dome and Hildenhof, and results continue to underpin the prospectivity of the region, particularly following the world class Rossing South discovery.

Extract has reported a JORC compliant combined Husab Resource (Global Resource) in excess of 292 M lbs U3O8 at a grade of 439 ppm of which 267 M lbs U3O8 at a grade of 487 ppm is from the two zones at Rossing South at 100 ppm U3O8 cut-off.

Importantly, these are both open ended at depth and along strike.

Kalahari believes Extract has the ground and potential to deliver on Kalaharis estimates of a resource in the region of 500 M lbs U3O8.
Kalaharis other key investment is its circa 44.9% holding in North River Resources plc, an AIM listed emerging southern African focussed multi commodity resource development company.
ITOCHU Corporation
The history of ITOCHU Corporation dates back to 1858 when its founder, Chubei Itoh, commenced linen trading operations.

Since then, ITOCHU now has 150 overseas bases in 75 countries engaged in the domestic trading, import/export, and overseas trading of various products such as textile, machinery, information and communications technology, aerospace, electronics, energy, metals, minerals, chemicals, forest products, general merchandise, food, finance, realty, insurance, and logistics services, as well as business investment in Japan and overseas.
ITOCHU Announcement:
ITOCHU Corporation ("ITOCHU") has agreed to acquire a 15% share of Kalahari Minerals plc ("Kalahari") through Nippon Uranium Resources (Australia) Pty Ltd, a wholly-owned Australian subsidiary.

ITOCHU becomes the largest shareholder of Kalahari, and will be involved in its management.
Kalahari, holding an approximately 40% stake, is the biggest shareholder of Extract Resources Limited ("Extract"), which owns 100% of the Rossing South uranium deposit in Namibia.

Rossing South is positioned to become one of the leading uranium mines in the world, and is currently under a feasibility study for first production in 2013.


Uranium demand is expected to increase due to the necessity of greenhouse gas emission reduction and the expansion of global nuclear power generation.

ITOCHU, delivering approximately 4,000 tU of uranium per year (as of 2009), will remain committed to an aggressive approach in its uranium business as a leading uranium trader in the world.

ITOCHU envisions contributing greatly to the stable supply of uranium to Japan. This project is one of the largest uranium projects in the world, and is expected to receive full support from the Japanese government [Agency for Natural Resources and Energy / Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC)].
Susie Callear St Brides Media & Finance Ltd Chaucer House 38 Bow Lane London EC4M 9AY T: +44 (0) 207 236 1177 | M: +44 (0) 7976 749 561 | F: +44 (0) 207 236 1188 | www.sbmf.co.uk
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