Noventa Limited
www.noventa.net/Description
Noventa's strategy is to be the world's largest, low cost industrial scale supplier of tantalum concentrate, a rare speciality metal widely used in the consumer electronics industry. The Jersey based Company's Marropino mine in Mozambique is currently under care and maintenance. The company is investigating how to reduce the cost of production before recommencing operations. This will be done using the existing plant with modifications or alternatively using an additional plant. The restart of operations is subject to funding having been secured.
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Recent Noventa Limited news
- 17/02/2010 Patrick Lawless to become new CEO of Noventa
- 10/02/2010 Noventa reaches new offtake agreement for morganite from Marropino tantalum mine after terminating Miranda Gems deal
- 18/01/2010 Noventa finalizes restart plan for Marropino tantalum mine, still eyes production in March 2010
- 18/12/2009 Noventa confirms restart of Marrapino mine in Mozambique in March 2010
- 17/12/2009 Noventa To Hire Deloitte’s Daniel Cassiano-Silva as new CFO
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Company Statement:
Noventa's strategy is to be the world's largest, low cost industrial scale supplier of tantalum concentrate, a rare speciality metal widely used in the consumer electronics industry.

Pure tantalum is characterised by its high melting point, its exceptional resistance to chemical attack, its capacity to store and release electrical charge and its corrosion resistance. These unique chemical properties have led to its widespread use in the electronics industry, mainly as powder and wire for capacitors in telecommunications devices and implantable medical devices. Tantalum also goes into the manufacture of super alloys, imparting strength and high-temperature resistance against cracking, for use in aerospace and energy generation.
There is currently a shortage of tantalum supply and stock levels in the industry are being run down. Noventa is in a unique position to expand production to meet the industries needs.
Noventa has a long term fixed price off-take agreement in place for sale of substantial proportion of tantalum concentrate produced from its existing operation.
Group Structure

Current Operations:
Noventa's mining assets are all located in the Zambezia Province of North Eastern Mozambique. They include the Marropino mine, the Morrua project, mining licenses over Marropino, Morrua and Mutala as well as exploration licenses over Morrua, Mutala, Ginama and Gile.
View map of concessions
Marropino
The Marropino mine is the Group's most developed project and is located approximately 350km northeast of the provincial capital, Quelimane. To date Noventa has invested over $65 million at Marropino to create the only industrial scale tantalum mine in operation in Mozambique. Open pit mining using conventional truck and shovel method is undertaken.
An electrification programme to provide grid power to Marropino and Morrua has been initiated and is targeted for completion during the latter half of 2009.
Commercial quantities of Morganite are also mined at Marropino.

Morrua
The Morrua mine is situated just 40km from Marropino. A conventional open pit operation is proposed to mine the pegamite and a plant will be constructed to produce an intermediate concentrate. Material will then be transported to Marropino where final beneficiation will take place.
Mutala
The Mutala site is an exploration and mining project which was previously mined on a small scale from the 1950’s to 1980’s. Following nationalization in 1979 and the onset of civil war, mining operations would become progressively more difficult until they were eventually abandoned in the mid 1980’s. The title areas at this site lie in the Alto Molocue District of the Zambezia Province approximately 175 km south of Nampula and north of Marropino and Morrua.
Ginama
The Ginama title area is located approximately 60km south west of Marropino. Noventa has an exploration license for this site.
The Morrua mine is situated just 40km from Marropino. The mine is currently at an advanced engineering stage with construction planned for 2009. The Morrua processing plant is expected to produce approximately 450,000 pounds per year of tantalum concentrate over the estimated 10 year mine life.
A conventional open pit operation is proposed to mine the pegamite and a plant will be constructed to produce an intermediate concentrate. Material will then be transported to Marropino where final beneficiation will take place.
Management
Eric F. Kohn, TD, BSc, FCIM, FCMI, FInstD (Chairman)
Eric F. Kohn, born 1945, is a UK and Swiss citizen. He is a Fellow of the British Institute of Management, the Chartered Management Institute, the Chartered Institute of Marketing and Institute of Directors. He has had thirty years of experience in industrial marketing, manufacturing and management in Europe and the United States. In November 1987, he founded Barons Financial Services and has been the Managing Partner since its inception. Barons Financial Services specializes in a broad range of corporate finance and investment banking advisory services. Eric plays a leading role in the company, originating and executing transactions.
John N Allan (Chief Executive Officer)
Mr. Allan has extensive experience in project management across Europe, his breadth of expertise including regulatory risk, IT, and security. Since 2002 he has worked as project manager for UBS advising on various projects including establishing a premier investment bank in Eastern Europe. This task has seen him manage the creation of a new bank in Russia and the organisation of both facilities and administration in Ukraine and Kazakhstan. He has previously provided security consultancy in UK and internationally. Mr. Allan was a member of the planning team for the mergers of SG Warburg with Swiss Bank Corporation to form SBC Warburg and subsequently SBC Warburg with Union Bank of Switzerland to form UBS Warburg. He was responsible for the year 2000 project for Warburg Dillon Read and continues to manage International Projects.
Peter J. Cox BSc Min Eng, Dip Civil Eng (Executive Director)
Mr. Cox is currently Managing Director of Goldline Global Consulting (Pty) Ltd (“Goldline”), a multi-skilled consulting engineering company serving the mining industry globally. Goldline’s activities include, inter alia, management contracts such as operating mines on behalf of owners, ore reserve valuations, feasibility studies and consulting engineering solutions including mine design. Prior to founding Goldline in 1991, Mr. Cox was a Consulting Engineer, General Manager and a director of subsidiary companies for Severin Southern Sphere Mining Ltd – a privately owned mining and exploration company from 1987 until June 1991. Peter is a qualified Civil and Mining Engineer and was first exposed to the tantalite industry at that time as the company owned a tantalite mine. Since then he has had a continuing exposure to the tantalite industry and through Goldline has consulted to and managed tantalite mining operations in Southern Africa.
Guy Coltman (Non-Executive Director)
Guy Coltman is a partner in the corporate group at Carey Olsen, a Channel Islands law firm. Guy has extensive experience in cross-border and offshore legal matters and advises a number of listed and non-listed groups. Prior to moving to Jersey, Guy worked in the City of London practising as an English solicitor for leading international law firms. Guy is a solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and Wales(non-practising) and an Advocate of the Royal Court of Jersey.
Timothy J . Griffiths (Non-Executive Director)
Mr. Griffiths has 35 years experience in international finance. He is the Founder and an Executive Director of the Chescor Capital Group. His broad experience includes senior appointments as corporate financier and professional accountant. In the 1990s he created, structured and promoted international investment funds and managed accounts for the Chescor Group, which raised over US$750 million. He advised on a number of corporate finance assignments, including both recommended and hostile takeovers of public companies in the UK, as well as undertaking a large number of business valuations in connection with investments by equity funds and as part of M & A assignments. Mr. Griffiths is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales, a Member of the Securities Institute, and registered in senior management, compliance and client facing capacities with the UK Financial Services Authority.
Dr. Joachim Martin (Non-Executive Director)
Dr. Martin is an expert in the field of tantalum and other rare metals. He was formerly General Manager; Raw Material Sourcing at H. C. Starck, one of the world's leading rare metals companies and prior to that, the Manager of the H. C. Starck Goslar Plant. He now consults widely in the rare metals field and holds a PhD in Mineralogy and Economic Geology.
Management
In addition to the above, the key personnel within the Group that will be responsible for the operation and development of the business are:
Daniel Cassiano-Silva (Chief Financial Officer)
Daniel Cassiano-Silva joins Noventa from Deloitte & Touche LLP, where he held the position of Senior Audit Manager, and most recently having been on secondment to the Company. He is a Chartered Accountant and bi-lingual in English and Portuguese (the national language of Mozambique, the site of the Company's Operational Headquarter and mining assets). His role at Deloitte & Touche involved working closely with a number of AIM quoted companies.
Dioleciano Delio Darsamo Bsc (M/phys),MDP (Engineering Manager)
A Mozambican , graduated at Uniswa and Unisa, Bsc M/Phys and MDP, respectively. Has worked in the Engineering field in projects and maintenance since 1996. Since graduating he has been directly involved in the construction, commissioning, start up and operations of two mega projects in Mozambique namely: BHP Billiton's Aluminium Smelter and Kenmare Moma Titanium Mine. He has over 12 years experience in mining in Mozambique. He has also been key to the electric power supply from Nampula to the Moma mine in design and stable power supply. He has also been involved in strategic development of key skills for the sustainability of these operations with Mozambican employees. Mr Darsamo has strategically been involved in achieving nameplate design of all the operations he was involved in with success and financial sustainability.
André de Goede, B.Compt, B.B, A (Hons), MBA (Administration Manager)
Andre joined the Group in March 2008 as the Administration Manager : Marropino Mine. In addition to being responsible for the day to day administration at the mine he is also responsible for overseeing the running of the Camp (i.e. canteen and accommodation), Security and the Clinic. Prior to Andre joining the Group he worked in the auditing profession as an independent business consultant. André is a registered member of the Institute for Administration and Commerce.
Mário José (Pit Manager)
Mario Jose, born in Mozambique, is a multi-faceted mining professional with 21 years of valuable experience in the safe operation of development, production, construction, shaft and mine services. Effective leader and communicator transferrable to other industries and world based mining projects. His career include Mining Operations Supervisor Vale – Inco; Supervisory leadership at Barrick Gold Corporation and Shift Supervisor. Mario is fluent in Portuguese, Spanish and English, written and verbal. Since joining the mining industry Mario has been fundamentally involved in establishing safe working practices and adherences to safety guidelines by his team members. He has implemented best practice blasting procedures in his career resulting in an excellent safety record.
Neville Norris (Metallurgical Manager)
Neville Norris has 22 years mining experience. This experience includes three start up operations one Gold Plant and two Minerals Sands Mines. In these environments he was instrumental in the commissioning, training, ramp ups and taking these projects to full production and beyond. His experience includes ten years in Gold with five of these years served in a senior management roles, ten years Mineral Sands and two years in Diamond mining. He is experienced in Crushing, Milling, Leaching, Thickeners, CIP, Electrowining, Gold Smelting, Hydraulic mining, Dredge mining, Gravity separation, Dry magnetic Separation, Wet Magnetic Separation, and Dry Mineral Processing Plants. He has been working as an expat in Mozambique for the last three and a half years in remote, difficult and challenging environments.
David Whitehouse, BSc (Hons) Mech Eng (Chief Projects Officer)
David has 33 years experience of multi disciplinary project management and development, having been involved in the implementation of major projects from conception and feasibility study, through detail engineering and construction to completion. After 25 years in engineering contracting, David joined BHP Billiton in 2000 as Senior Manager, Project Management before moving to the Bateman Group in 2002 as Chief Operating Officer. David left Bateman at the end of 2003 to work as a consultant to the mining industry, including Noventa, before joining the Group in 2007.
Major Shareholders
|
Significant shareholders |
||
| Name |
Number of
Ordinary Shares |
|
|
Highland African Ventures |
79,373,079 |
33.86% |
|
Fidelity Investments Limited |
18,000,000 |
7.68% |
|
BlackRock World Mining Trust plc |
12,239,902 |
5.22% |
|
JMM Trading |
7,500,000 |
3.20% |
Highland African Ventures Limited is owned by a trust whose trustee is Fleming Family & Partners Liechtenstein and Mr. R J Fleming is one of the potential beneficiaries. Fleming Family & Partners Liechtenstein has a total interest, including through Highland African Ventures Limited, in a total of 86,708,892 shares (36.99% of the issued shares). Mr. R J Fleming has an interest, including through Highland African Ventures Limited, in a total of 85,208,892 shares (36.35% of the issued shares).� There are no restrictions on the transfer of the company's AIM securities. As the company is incorporated in Jersey, the rights of shareholders may be different from the rights of shareholders in a UK incorporated company.
Contact Information
Third Floor
Mielles House
La Rue des Mielles
St Helier
Jersey JE2 3QD
Tel: +44 (0) 1534 869 403
Fax: +44 (0) 1534 866 859
Email: info@noventa.net
Grange Corporate Services Limited
Tel: +44 (0) 1534 866 858
Fax: +44 (0) 1534 866 859
Email: companysecretary@noventa.net
Eric F Kohn TD
Chairman
Email: efk@noventa.net
Dan Cassiano-Silva
Chief Financial Officer
Tel: +258 21 485 340
Fax: +258 21 485 343
Mob: +258 84 860 5568
Email: dcassianosilva@noventa.net
Corporate Information
Nominated Adviser
Blomfield Corporate Finance Limited
1 - 3 College Hill
London EC4R 2RA
United Kingdom
Broker
Religare Hichens, Harrison plc
Bell Court House
11 Blomfield Street
London EC2M LB
United Kingdom
Registrars
Capita Registrars (Jersey) Limited,
Postal address
PO Box 532
St Helier
Jersey
JE4 5UW
Independent Technical Adviser
SRK Consulting (South Africa) (Pty) Limited,
SRK House
265 Oxford Road
Illovo
Johannesburg 2196
South Africa






