RNS Release - Appointment of Coal Processing Specialist

9 July 2012

Beacon Hill Resources Plc / ASX: BHU / AIM: BHR/ Sector: Mining

Beacon Hill Resources Plc ('Beacon Hill' or 'the Group')

Appointment of Coal Processing Specialist

Beacon Hill Resources is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Nathan Culkin as General Manager Coal Processing and Quality, Minas Moatize Limitada.  Mr. Culkin will be responsible for the day to day operations and development of the mine processing and coal quality functions at the Minas Moatize Coal Mine and at the Group's coal loading facility at the port of Beira. 

Nathan is a qualified extraction metallurgist with twelve years management experience in the mineral processing industry.  Nathan has most recently held the position of Plant Manager at Mineral Resources Development in South Africa and has previously held various project management and mineral processing roles at Sedgman South Africa Limited and BHP Billiton.  Whilst at Sedgman, Nathan was a Project Delivery Manager for Riversdale's Benga Project. 

Justin Lewis, Chairman of Beacon Hill, commented, "I am pleased to formally welcome him to the Group, together with his many years of experience in the coal processing industry.  Nathan's experience and understanding of coal processing and Mozambican coal will be a significant asset to the Group as we continue to grow our operations in Mozambique." 

**ENDS**

Notes

Beacon Hill Resources

Beacon Hill Resources Plc is focused on building a portfolio of near-term production projects in commodities relating to the steel production industry.  Beacon Hill is dual listed on London's AIM Market (Code: BHR) and the Australian Securities Exchange (Code: BHU). 

Beacon Hill has three projects:

1.    Minas Moatize Project, Mozambique

2.    Changara Coal Project, Mozambique

3.    Arthur River Magnesite Project, Australia

Minas Moatize Project

Beacon Hill, through its subsidiary Minas Moatize Limitada, owns and operates the Minas Moatize Coal Mine, which is one of three operating coal mines producing and selling coal in the Tete Province of Mozambique. 

In February 2012, Beacon Hill published the DFS for the Minas Moatize Expansion, which demonstrated strong economics for the project.  Financial modelling, based on a 4Mtpa ROM operation producing on average 2.2Mtpa of saleable coking and thermal coal using a 13% discount rate, demonstrates a pre-tax NPV₁₃ of US$662 million and a post-tax NPV₁₃ of US$428 million. 

The Minas Moatize Expansion is being undertaken in three phases:

*Rail will be used when available.  Existing trucking operation will be sufficient to transport Phase II production

Changara Coal Project

Beacon Hill acquired majority ownership in a joint venture to explore and develop the Changara Coal Project in the Tete Province of Mozambique in December 2011.  The Changara Coal Project covers a licence area of 184km², which is 70 times the size of Minas Moatize.  The project is located in the heart of the highly prospective coking coal basin of the Songo Area of the Tete Province. 

The joint venture is a further step in Beacon Hill's wider expansion strategy in the globally significant coking coal region of Tete and will provide the Group with an opportunity to invest in a longer term development project that has the potential to considerably enhance its resource base. 

Arthur River Magnesite Project

Beacon Hill has recently completed the Preliminary Scoping Study for the Arthur River Magnesite Project in Tasmania, Australia.  The Study has indicated that the Project has robust financial potential and provides a strong platform to move forward towards a full Feasibility Study and securing a joint venture ('JV') and / or off-take partner to fund the development of the Project. 

Financial modelling, using a discount rate of 10% (real), demonstrates a pre-tax NPV of A$42 million based on a mine life of 17 years and a 292,000dtpa ROM operation producing on average 100,000tpa of calcined magnesia. 

More details on Beacon Hill can be found at www.bhrplc.com.