Marenica granted mineral deposit licence

Marenica granted mineral deposit licence Prospective uranium producer Marenica has been granted a mineral deposit retention licence on its Marenica Deposit.

The licence will enable Marenica access to the site without a need for any exploratory work as uranium producers all over the world anticipate a positive price move .

Making the announcement, its CEO Murray Hill said, “Marenica Energy Limited is pleased to announce that the ministry of mines and energy (MME) has granted a mineral deposit retention licence (MDRL) on its Marenica Uranium Project in Namibia. The MDRL replaces the current EPL (exclusive prospecting licence). The MDRL shall endure for a period of five years from the date of issue (December 2016) with no exploration expenditure obligations.”

Said Hill: “This provides the company certainty and confidence to move forward with the project over the next five years. MDRL's are applicable to projects, such as the Marenica Uranium Project, which are not profitable at the current market conditions but will become profitably exploitable when conditions change for the better and the commodity price reaches a certain level.”

The governor of the Bank of Namibia Ipumbu Shiimi recently expressed concerned over the price at which uranium was trading, and indicated that it could curtail growth significantly in the mining sector. Another issue of concern was the expected increased output from the Husab mine.

Said Shiimi: “If commodity prices fall, especially uranium, the situation will not be good for Namibia. The uranium price is quite important for Namibia and if the price falls further, it will become quite an obstacle for the other [two existing] uranium mines.

“We hope the price will pick up,” he said.



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