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UPDATE - Kopara investment bolsters Zamsort’s plans, says Ortac

Last updated: 11:17 01 Oct 2015 BST, First published: 07:56 01 Oct 2015 BST

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Zamsort has the rights to a significant swathe of ground at Kalaba on the eastern end of the famous Zambian copper belt

---ADDS SHARE PRICE AND CEO COMMENT---

Ortac Resources (LON:OTC) was London's top share riser on Thursday as it said Zamsort's copper mining plans had been boosted -  after the local Zambian firm raised a further US$2 million from Kopara Investments.

Ortac shares raced up 66.67% to 0.075p at the time of writing.

It means Kopara's interest in Zamsort is lifted to 20% and extends the right for Kopara to appoint a director to its board.

Ortac last month exercised a US$600,000 call option taking its interest in Zamsort to US$1.2mln and on conversion of Zamsort loan notes would take Ortac’s stake in Zamsort to 19.35%.

Zamsort has the rights to a significant swathe of ground at Kalaba on the eastern end of the famous Zambian copper belt and has recently  renewed its small-scale mining licence at the Kalaba deposit for another ten years and put together a design for a demonstration processing plant.

Ortac's chief executive Vassilios Carellas, told investors today: "Kopara's investment is an endorsement of the quality and potential of Zamsort's licenses and stands in stark contrast to the prevailing market.

"It provides further support for Ortac's US$1.2 million investment into Zamsort loan notes, which if converted will provide Ortac with a 19.35% interest in the share capital of that company.

"Over the last six months, Zamsort has raised US$3.2 million in order to develop its licenses located in the copper belt.

"Zamsort is now better positioned to rapidly proceed with the development of a mining operation at its Kalaba deposit and commence initial exploration activities in the rest of its exploration licence."

Speaking to Proactive earlier this week, the Ortac boss reaffirmed the prospectivity of Zamsort's licence area.

Its location is in the part of the Zambian copper belt, which is the current focus of development, and three big new mines have opened up there in the last decade, he explained.

"They contribute 80% of Zambia's copper roughly," he said.

Zamsort have been mining intermittently over the last decade but with investment are now looking to approach it more professionally, he added.

Carellas said it has been obligated, via the mining renewal to get a small plant up and running by year end.

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