By: Creamer media

Also provided by Neo, headed by CEO Theo Botoulas, was additional information on the development of the New Beisa project and the Henkries Complex mining right application.

The New Beisa project aims to restart uranium and gold mining operations at the former Beatrix 4 shaft while a Henkies Complex mining right application to South Africa’s Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources (DMPR) is expected to be approved by December 2026 – a timeline in accordance with the contractual agreement reached with Desert Star Uranium.

The initiatives span South Africa’s Free State and Northern Cape provinces.

Access to the New Beisa Complex, Neo stated, would allow certain preparatory work to begin while a Section 11 approval process is under way. Section 11 approval involves mandatory written consent from the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy for the transfer of mining and prospecting rights in terms of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act.

Security contractors already appointed are reportedly liaising directly with Sibanye-Stillwater's management amid mineral rights specialists working with Sibanye-Stillwater in parallel to support the implementation of the Section 11 process.

Unnamed quantity surveyors, project managers and contractors are reportedly appointing entities with requisite mining engineering, process engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, environmental, health and safety, and tailings management expertise needed to achieve the targeted medium-term production timeline date of December 2027.

Sibanye-Stillwater Section 11 and Section 102 applications have, Neo reported, been submitted to the DMPR, with approvals required to be completed by June 6. A Section 102 application is a formal request to amend, vary, or extend existing permissions, including prospecting rights and mining rights.

In accordance with the contractual process, the second Section 11, being Neo's own application, would be submitted following approval of Sibanye-Stillwater’s Section 11 application process, which the agreement stipulates must be completed by December 6.

To support this, unnamed professional mineral rights consultants had been appointed to ensure that Neo's documentation for the Section 11 application was properly prepared for immediate submission.

While the Section 11 process is under way, executive management is finalising a Neo-Sibanye contracting agreement, which is intended to provide immediate site access to begin certain on-site work as well as analyses to enable Neo to meet the targeted December 2027 medium-term production timeline.  

As part of the implementation assessment, Neo is also updating resource statements to reflect the improved operating and price environment.

New excutive appointments 

A new head governance and legal has been appointed by Neo to support compliance with regulatory and legislative requirements, the establishment of clear policies, and assistance with South Africa and UK secretarial functions.

Two line managers have been appointed, one for the Northern Cape Henkries Complex and another for the Free State New Beisa Complex, and notification was given that the management team would continue to be strengthened and expanded as the company developed.

Incorporated are three new subsidiary companies to complete the implementation assessment at New Beisa, and assist with efficient administration of Henkries.

May is the proposed month for Neo’s upcoming AGM in London, where shareholders will be asked to vote on a number of resolutions and have the opportunity to meet and discuss operational and corporate progress with the executive management and board members.

The New Beisa and Henkries projects were well within the capability of the team, Botoulas stated, and the current executive team well positioned to implement the growth strategy being formulated.

“The executive team remains mindful of shareholders' concerns and seeks to address these wherever they fall within our direct control and ability to do so. We also recognise the importance of ensuring that all shareholders have appropriate access to information. Accordingly, we intend to provide shareholders with structured quarterly updates on progress going forward,” Botoulas added.

Also listed on South Africa’s A2X, Neo has a 70% interest in the Henkries uranium project and a 100% interest in the Beisa North and Beisa South uranium/gold projects, which are located north and south of the previous producing Beisa uranium mine and existing Beatrix 4 Shaft, processing plant and associated infrastructure.

Beisa has measured and indicated resources of 1.2-million ounces of gold and 26.9-million pounds of uranium. Its acquisition was concluded on 6 December 2024, with completion to occur within 24 months. Outstanding conditions precedent are the Sections 11 and 102 approvals.

As reported by Mining Weekly in January, a funding agreement with an unnamed UK investment group provided £8-million in support of Neo’s advance of the Beisa uranium and gold project.

At the time the investment group advanced £1.5-million following the placement of 166-million new ordinary Neo shares at a price of £0.09 apiece. The placing of a further 111-million ordinary shares at the same issue price to raise a further £1-million was also outlined.

The investment group has the right to invest a further £6.5-million of convertible loan funding within ten days of necessary regulatory approvals being obtained.

Funds raised will be used to advance a four-phase implementation assessment programme.

Resources 

Beatrix Shaft 4, which was placed on care and maintenance late in 2023, has measured and indicated resources of 1.2-million ounces of gold and 27-million pounds of uranium.

The first two phases under the implementation assessment programme include site re-establishment, shaft refurbishment, workforce recruitment and shaft equipment upgrade assessments. It will also involve underground development work reviews, gold plant recommissioning and uranium circuit design work finalisation.

Neo’s website reports the total inferred resources in the Beisa reef contain 53.57-million tonnes at an average grade of 780 parts per million (ppm) uranum octoxide (U₃O₈) for 89.23-million pounds of contained U₃O₈. Beisa North uranium has grades of up to 3 400 ppm U₃O₈ and Beisa South uranium grades of up to 2 200 ppm U₃O₈.

The total in-situ value of the inferred uranium and gold resources is reported as being $17-billion.

An additional Beatrix Reef orebody present on the Beisa South uranium project has an inferred resource of 1.54-million gold ounces.

There is plant capacity to process 120 000 t of ore a month and infrastructure in place includes hoisting capacity for 140 000 t a month and a tailings storage facility.