Chatham Rock Phosphate share price soars on key milestones

9 October 2012

Chatham Rock Phosphate share price soars on key milestones

Chatham Rock Phosphate’s shares today reached a new high price of 46c – double that of two weeks ago – on the back of several key milestones.

The company’s market capitalisation at that price is nearly $59 million, compared with $22 million before the issue of about 30 million shares on 24 September to Royal Boskalis and Subsea Investments.

Since then the company has:
• applied for a mining licence with New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals
• received a favourable report by Edison Investment Research stating the shares were worth $1.87 on an un-risked basis, and
• spent several days on Chatham Island widely consulting with a range of community and industry groups
• updated senior government Ministers on progress.

“It’s been a pretty amazing couple of weeks,” according to Managing Director Chris Castle. “It’s gratifying to see the market is recognising the potential of this unique project that could have such significant economic, environmental and market benefits for New Zealand.

“It will be a great story to tell when we present to the Underwater Mining Institute conference in Shanghai next week. It will be the third year CRP has updated the marine mining industry on the project’s progress. CRP is one of the most advanced marine mining projects in the world.

“Our visit to the Chatham Islands last week was a great opportunity to provide the community with information on our plans and to listen to their ideas. We were also able to address any concerns they had and provide information on a wide range of issues.

“We received a fantastic welcome and were able to look at potential ways the project could assist the Chatham Islands community.

CRP was granted a prospecting licence in February 2010 and plans to apply for a marine consent in the second quarter of 2013, as soon as the regulations for the EEZ legislation are complete.

CRP holds an offshore prospecting permit covering an area of 4726 km2 on the central Chatham Rise. The permit area, in New Zealand territorial waters, is located 450 km east of Christchurch and includes significant shallow seabed deposits of rock phosphate. Establishment of a rock phosphate industry in New Zealand territorial waters has a significant number of economic, environmental and market benefits.

Other achievements over recent months include:
• September: An assessment by the Institute of Economic Research valuing the project’s economic value to New Zealand at $1.3 billion
• July: Royal Boskalis taking up to 20% shareholding and right to a board seat in a world first for the underworld mining industry
• June: International phosphate industry identity Najib Moutia assuming a key strategy and marketing role within CRP
• June: CRP pegging ground offshore Namibia to develop rock phosphate deposits
• December-April: A four-leg $7 million summer research cruise programme collecting a wealth of data
• March: American equity fund Subsea taking a cornerstone shareholding.

ENDS

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