As copper becomes ever hotter property and the tantalising price of $3/lb heaves into view, at least for the optimistic among us, companies with their focus on the metal naturally become more interesting. A recent newcomer to the London market, Kalahari Minerals [AIM:KAH] can offer investors no less than three copper projects, with a uranium joint venture thrown in to add piquancy to the proposition.

Altogether, Kalahari can already boast an estimated 250,000 tonnes of copper in the ground across its Namibian ground, which makes it clear that the company has moved beyond exploration and into the pre-feasibility phase with its two key projects. The area in which the company is operating was explored preliminarily by other players back in the 1970s, and a sizable portion of the presently known resources originate from this spell, but failure by those then exploring to come across any very large targets plus a deteriorating political situation in Namibia brought proceedings to a halt.



Now that the copper market looks very different and the politics of Namibia have improved, Kalaharis ground is a lot more desirable. Indeed, the companys Chairman Mark Hohnen admits that it has been lucky to have been able to stake the areas it has, which essentially amount to a large slice of the Namibian section of the Kalahari copper belt, which has some geological similarities with the much storied Zambian copper belt.

Kalaharis first order of priority is the Dordabis project, within which it has homed in on a deposit known as Koperberg. Drilling here has identified oxide and sulphide zones of mineralisation and recorded some good intersections, the highlight of which has been 5 metres graded at 3.43% copper. A small scale pilot processing plant is already recovering copper cathode on site.

The Koperberg resource is still open, and an alluring possibility raised by Hohnen is that it could conform to the Olympic Dam geological model. That is, a massive body of IOCG (iron oxide copper gold) mineralisation with significant smatterings of uranium. It is too early to tell whether this is the case or not, but such a scenario is certainly something pleasant to dream of for Kalahari shareholders, and the company has allocated funds specifically towards testing this hypothesis.

Kalaharis second key project goes by the name of Witvlei, and hosts five known copper deposits along with a number of prospects. The next step for the company will be to try and expand the existing deposits and define resources at the prospects in order to come up with a total resource of a potentially economic size.

If this resource development programme comes up with the goods, Hohnen suggests that an attractive option for Kalahari at Witvlei may be the tried and tested development model of establishing initial cash flow from oxide material before moving on to trickier-to-process sulphides. The same development path could also be worth considering at Koperberg if the Olympic Dam model is not found to hold true there.

Kalaharis only grassroots stage project is Ubib, which has been is known to host copper gold mineralisation with a hint of uranium but needs appraising more thoroughly before much more than this can be said. The project is located some 15 kilometres from Anglo Gold Ashantis Navachab gold mine, which obviously auspicates well. Current work is centred on stream sampling to help identify prospective target zones for the application of more advanced exploration techniques.

The Husab uranium project, which is a joint venture with Extract Resources [ASX:EXT] structured to give Extract 51% and Kalahari the remainder, has surprised both companies. Hohnen says that little was thought of Husab until last year, when some great radiometric anomalies were turned up. The presence of uranium along with other metals has now been confirmed, and diamond drilling to test the deposit at depth begins in the next couple of weeks.

Husab is located right between the Rossing uranium mine, owned by Rio Tinto [LSE:RIO; NYSE:RTP], and the Langer Heinrich deposit, which is being developed by the uranium darling of the Australian market, Paladin Resources [ASX:PDN]. Extract has already gained significant recognition from its constituency of investors for Husab, and if drilling confirms the joint venture partners optimism, then the project could well help win Kalahari some fans in the London market, where uranium plays are not as numerous as they could be, and hence much in demand.

Investment Outlook

Kalahari has raised 6 million by way of its AIM listing, and intends to devote the largest portion of this sum to work at Dordabis. Therefore, this is the project that investors should be keeping their weather eye on. Significant progress down the road to feasibility is sure to add value to the company, other things, such as the copper market, being equal.

But in addition to Dordabis, there is scope for either or both of Witvlei and Ubib to shape up and grab investors attention. Husab already stands out, and with a high level of market interest in new uranium projects still apparent, it is a nice asset for Kalahari to have.

EXT hitting and holding A$10 with heavy trading at present.
cyril

Looking better by the day!

Taken from today's RNS showing Prudential have increased their holding to 9.6%

RNS Number : 6545Y

16:21 Kalahari Minerals (KAH) Holding(s) in Company

07 September 2009

Prudential plc group of companies

Date on which issuer notified: 04 September 2009

7. Threshold(s) that is/are crossed or reached: 9.6%

Since the last RNS, it's interesting to see who now owns a big stake in Kalahari:

Rio Tinto 28,179,810 13.5%

Niger Uranium, Ltd 27,680,000 13.2%

M&G Investment Management 20,075,000 9.6%

Emerging Metals Limited 17,600,000 8.4%

Coronet Resources Limited 16,000,000 7.7%

Blakeney Management Limited 13,440,000 6.4%

New City Investment Managers 7,336,667 3.5%

Eden Group 6,728,694 3.2%

Regent Pacific Group 6,532,898 3.1%

Broken the 200p barrier at last!

Sarah-Jane Tasker | September 14, 2009
Article from: The Australian
PETER McIntyre was so close to fulfilling every junior explorer's dream, but the former Extract Resources boss has cruelly had to bow out and watch from the sidelines as his company steers its way into production at its world-class uranium mine.

Mr McIntyre, 53, is clearly disappointed he will not experience the joy of turning the company's Namibia discovery into a mine, but rather than enter into a public battle with major shareholder Kalahari Minerals, he has chosen to step aside.

The mining veteran of 30 years spent his last day as Extract managing director on Friday at the company's Perth office.

His success in transforming the company from a $4.5 million junior player into a $2.3 billion miner is certain to put him on the wish list of many companies.

Extract started out in late 2003 as a back-door listing through a gold project, and its interest in its flagship uranium mine in Namibia started with a 51 per cent stake in the licences, with AIM-listed Kalahari Minerals holding the remaining interest.

The junior's original focus was copper, but with the tenements neighbouring Rio Tinto's massive Rossing uranium mine, the junior soon decided to sell its gold assets and focus purely on uranium.

"When you are in a world-class address, there is the hope you are sitting on a world-class deposit," Mr McIntyre said.

The company's Husab uranium project, containing the Rossing South and Ida Dome deposit areas, quickly became its focus, and Mr McIntyre soon moved to pull the asset solely under the Extract banner. In that process, Kalahari secured its original 36 per cent stake in Extract.

Mr McIntyre said it was a good consolidation strategy, but it didn't stop there.

Around March 2007, Mr McIntyre moved to tidy up the junior's ownership structure.

Once a 1.5c stock, Extract had a large number of shares on issue that were often subject to the whims of day traders.

When shares rose to 9c, the company conducted a share consolidation to crunch the number of shares, making itself appealing to institutional investors.

With the company starting to take "corporate shape", Mr McIntyre's focus returned to the project site and the original plan to explore the uranium area.

But it was during this time a significant change for the company was born, when it decided to look elsewhere.

"We went from the known into the unknown into the oldest desert in the world," he said.

"No one had ever looked under the sand."

Extract focused on an area 5km south of Rio's hugely successful Rossing mine, where it had identified a good target and from the first line it hit in late 2007, the exciting feeling a junior explorer gets when it believes it's on to a good find began to be felt around the company's boardroom.

By February last year, the company had announced a major uranium discovery at the Rossing South exploration target, sending its shares on a steady climb.

"I have never won lotto before but there is a lot of luck in finding what we did and being at the right place at the right time," Mr McIntyre said.

He had taken his son on his first trip to the African project when the good news flowed in and "was prepared to start hiring him out as a lucky charm".

Rio Tinto had missed out on the expansion upside from its nearby project, having stopped short of extending its reach in the area because of the discovery it made more than 30 years ago.

Extract was fortunate enough to secure the licence next door to Rio's project, before the uranium price increased, fuelling renewed interest in the sector, and in September last year Rio bought 11 per cent of the explorer.

Although the global financial crisis was starting to bite and Rio was going through its own issues, it still increased its share to 15 per cent by December.

"It was an endorsement by Rio Tinto and stamped what we had and was telling the market they clearly endorsed the work we were doing," Mr McIntyre said.

The downturn that crippled many other miners didn't deter Extract's push.

"We continued to be aggressive on the project during that period and ploughed ahead, which was a defining moment for the company," he said.

But Mr McIntyre's key role in building the company into a $2.3bn emerging miner wasn't enough to keep his largest shareholder happy.

He refuses to dwell on the reasons for his decision to resign but Kalahari, which owns 38.7 per cent of the miner, moved in May to remove him as a director.

And it wanted another board seat while Extract's next two biggest shareholders, Rio Tinto and Polo Resources, also called for boardroom representation.

Mr McIntyre said he took the view that it would be better to step aside rather than go through the process of calling a public meeting, where investors would be asked to vote on his removal.

"It is not good for a company to go through these episodes and it is embarrassing for the company," he said.

"It was unfortunate and it is disappointing not to take the company to the next phase.

"It's not easy, but you're in a public company and you have to accept it."

His replacement has not been named but Mr McIntyre is positive the team in place will fulfil his dream of turning the discovery into a successful producing mine, with 2013 the target for first output.

He still owns a sizeable stake in the company, valued in excess of $56m at the time of his departure, bolstered by his decision last week to convert one million of his directors' incentive options into shares.

Mr McIntyre plans to take a break from work, but not surprisingly, he will continue to keep a close eye on the Extract story.

"When this great project comes into development, I hope I go to the opening ceremony and cut the ribbon," he said, adding that he had no plan to sell his shares. He believes the project could outshine Rio's mine and become the largest pure uranium deposit in the world.

From another BB:

Worth looking at City Natural Resources High Yield Trust (CYN) who have EXT and KAH as top 2 holdings and runs at a decent discount to NAV. Also some other goodies in there.

1. Extract Resources 6.2
2. Kalahari Minerals 4.9
3. Goldcorp 4.9
4. New Britain Palm Oil 2.9
5. Kiwara 2.7
6. Nido Petroleum 2.7
7. REA Ordinary and 9.5% Pref 2.7
8. Randgold Resources 2.0
9. FMG Finance 9.75% 2013 1.7
10. Pike River Coal 1.7
Top 10 holdings represent 32.4%

Extract still rising in Australia. Up about 5% overnight.

While a nice rise its in keeping with the ASX as a whole?
11.17 assie dollars.
cyril

EXT below A$9 now,probanly the reason for KAH's fall in the SP at 183.5p on low volume.Could be a top up time as news of Zone 3 imminent,which should start the ball rolling again?
cyril

From todays interims;

Chairman's Statement

The highlight for us during this six month period was the
confirmation from Extract Resources Limited that its Rossing South uranium
deposit is the largest uranium discovery made in recent decades. With a
current JORC resource of 267 M lb U3O8 for Zones 1 and 2 of Rossing South
alone, Kalahari maintains that Extract has the ground and potential to deliver
a total resource well in excess of 500 M lbs U3O8 from the entire Husab
Project, which places it amongst the largest uranium projects in the world.
Indeed, if the mineralisation continues at Rossing South, into further zones
south of the initial two zones, as we expect, and has been indicted in recent
announcements by Extract regarding the emergence of Zone 3, Extract will have
a uranium project which will rival BHP Billiton's Olympic Dam project. With a
circa 40% interest in Extract, this naturally bodes well for Kalahari and its
shareholders and, accordingly, I believe that it is imperative for Kalahari to
maintain, and ideally increase, this exposure to Extract. With an exciting
portfolio of additional copper, gold and other base metal assets which we are
actively looking to develop further and ascribe increased value to over the
short to medium term, I am confident that Kalahari has a very bright future.

Uranium Interest

Extract's Husab project, located in one of the world's most
prolific uranium regions, has two defined uranium resources, being Rossing
South and Ida Dome. Recent focus has centred on the world class Rossing South,
which from discovery in February 2008, already has a JORC compliant resource
of 267 M lb of U3O8 at a grade of 487 ppm from Zones 1 and 2, which are both
open at strike and down-dip. This has defined it as the highest grade
granite-hosted uranium deposit in Namibia (the grade is more than 50% higher
than Rio Tinto's operating Rossing Mine) and ranks it as the seventh top
global uranium deposit by contained metal.

Preliminary cost estimates indicate that Zones 1 and 2 could
support a profitable, long life, low cost, low technical risk uranium mine
producing 14.8M lbs U3O8 per year, making it one of the world's largest
uranium mines.

Ongoing drilling is expected to define a much larger resource with
9 km of the prospective 15 km Rossing South trend still to be explored.
Current drilling is focussed on exploring mineralisation south of Zone 2,
referred to as the newly emerging Zone 3, and is yielding exceptional results.
A drilling programme is also underway at the Salem prospect, which is 10 km
south of Zone 2 and which is also demonstrating highly encouraging
intersections.

Ida Dome, the second key area within Husab, has a current JORC
resource of 25.1m lbs U3O8 within the Garnet Valley, New Camp and Ida Central
zones. These areas have not as yet been closed off and are expected to
continue to grow along with future resource drilling on Holland's Dome, which
is also within Ida Dome. We expect that additional drilling programmes at Ida
Dome will define a resource in excess of 40 M lb U3O8, adding to Extract's
already enormous resource at Rossing South, also within the Husab Uranium
Project.

As we strive to ensure that Extract delivers exceptional operating
performance and maximise the value of our investment, we have become involved
in a number of key decisions. During the period, we successfully instigated
various board changes at Extract, marking a significant strengthening of the
leadership team and bringing a strong Namibian representation, which we
believe is important given the geographical location of Extract's projects.
These appointments include the Namibian national Inge Zaamwani-Kamwi, who
joined as a Non-executive Director, along with additional new Non-executive
Directors, John Main, Stephen Dattels and Chris McFadden.

Copper and Base Metals Assets

Kalahari maintains an exciting portfolio of copper and base metal
assets across Namibia. It is currently analysing data generated from drilling
programmes at these projects during 2008 with the aim of defining +250,000
tonnes of copper metal at its two key projects, Dordabis and Witvlei, and
bringing the Namib zinc lead mine back into production.

Whilst results from all these projects have been encouraging, the
Board is aware that little value is being attributed to them by the market. We
are therefore reviewing various options available to the Company to maximise
each project's potential to the benefit of our shareholders.

Financial Overview

Recognising our need to maintain and increase our position in
Extract, on 1 May 2009 we announced that a placing of 17,890,000 new Ordinary
Shares to raise GBP17.89 million at 100 pence per share had been completed for
the use of maintaining, or if possible increasing, our position in Extract
Resources which at that time stood at 38.50%. At the period end, Kalahari's
cash position was GBP6.36 million.

Post period end we raised additional funds through a placing of
11,764,706 new Ordinary Shares to raise approximately GBP20 million at 170 pence
per share, and the issue of convertible loan notes to raise a further GBP10
million. The intended use of the proceeds of the placing and convertible loan
notes was to satisfy the Company's commitments with regard to the proposed
A$91 million equity raising announced by Extract on 26 August 2009 so as to
maintain our circa 40% shareholding.

Over the period we have welcomed major new institutions to our
shareholder base, whilst also maintaining our strong relationships with our
established shareholders.

Corporate Overview

We strengthened our team with the appointment of two new
Non-executive Directors, Neil MacLachlan and David de Jongh Weill, who both
have exceptional qualities and experience and have already given the Company
valuable advice and support. We are delighted to welcome them to the team.

Outlook

Rossing South remains of considerable importance to Kalahari, and
we therefore look forward to results from its exploration and resource
definition drilling, aimed at defining the full potential of the project.
Extract is, with Kalahari's full support, pushing for the completion of the
Feasibility Study on Zones 1 and 2, which is being conducted with the
intention of bringing the project into production in the shortest possible
time frame.

We have maintained a robust balance sheet and outstanding
shareholder register, which has continuously supported our vision, all factors
which stand us in good stead for the future. We are confident that the
fundamentals of our commodities remain attractive and that significant value
can be added to them, which in turn will be reflected in our share price.

Mark Hohnen

Executive Chairman

30 September 2009

cyril

Flying again at 205p.
cyril

Yes,......a real sudden jump...

RNS...high grade uranium found...

Excellent news from 40% owned stake in Extract lifts KAH, a more muted response from PRL (9% stake)atm.
2517

Kalahari Minerals reveals 'spectacular' results which confirm a new high grade zone of mineralisation at the Rossing South project.
It said the results from Extract Resources - in which Kalahari's subsidiary, Kalahari Uranium, has around a 40.5% stake - showed significant mineralisation.
Kalahari chairman Mark Hohnen said these results were spectacular and confirmed that a new high grade zone has been discovered on the Rossing South prospect.
He added: "With a further zone of mineralisation, Extract's results continue to reinforce our position that Extract has the potential to deliver well in excess of 500 M lb U308.

sp now breaking into new all-time high ground ..... if maintained, then could signal further (significant?) strength

The thing is to get this gem into production now.....even though uranium is dangerous (unless monitored) it is the only way forward for the human race to produce enough electricity....coal and oil just pollute the planet.....KAH can help.

The NRRP is seen as positive and of clearing the decks for a buy out of KAH for it's RS assets?
i've put some info on the URU thread,hope it helps??
cyril

Extract Inundated by Potential Namibia Uranium Mine Partners

By James Paton

Oct. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Extract Resources Ltd., a uranium explorer whose shares have surged almost eightfold in Australia this year, said it has been inundated with requests from companies proposing to join or take over its Namibian project.

Were looking at options to see whether one of the big players would want to come in on a strategic partnership level, Chairman Steve Galloway said in an Oct. 13 telephone interview from Namibia. Extract is being advised by Rothschild, the largest family owned bank, and may ask shareholders in November to consider proposals to bring its Rossing South mine to production, he said. He didnt name any potential partners.

Extract, 15 percent owned by Rio Tinto Group, has gained more this year than any other stock in Australias S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index as investors bet countries will turn increasingly to nuclear power, using fuel derived from uranium, in response to climate change. Drilling at Rossing South suggests it could become one of the worlds largest uranium mines, Galloway said.

Investors are jostling for a piece of the action, said Gavin Wendt, an independent resources analyst who has followed Extract for three years and met with executives from the explorer in the southwest African country about two months ago. A joint venture, possibly with Rio, may be the most likely scenario, he said, adding that the stocks remarkable ride has driven up the potential acquisition cost.

Extract Resources has told suitors were not for sale, Galloway said. Rio Tinto doesnt comment on market rumors or speculation, Tony Shaffer, a spokesman for the company, said by phone from Melbourne yesterday.

Fund Raising

The stock traded at A$10 at 11:10 a.m. in Sydney, valuing the company at almost A$2.4 billion ($2.2 billion), compared with about A$311 million at the end of last year.

The Perth-based explorer may sell more than $700 million in shares and debt in 2011 to bring the Rossing South mine into production, Galloway said. Thats in addition to A$91 million it raised this year by issuing equity.

The Australian company has appointed a chief executive to run its Swakop Uranium subsidiary and oversee development of the mine. Galloway declined to name the person before an announcement due today. Extract also expects to replace Managing Director Peter McIntyre, who stepped down in September, by early next year, he said.

Extract said Oct. 9 it found new high-grade mineralization at Rossing South and estimated the total uranium resource could reach 500 million pounds. The deposit is about 7 kilometers (4.4 miles) from Rio Tintos Rossing mine and approximately 30 kilometers from Paladin Energy Ltd.s Langer Heinrich project.

No Bad News

We keep finding better and better resources, said Galloway, a former mineral economist with the Namibian government. We havent seen bad news yet.

London-based Kalahari Minerals Plc, which owns about 41 percent of Extract, said Oct. 9 the project potentially could rival the worlds biggest known uranium deposit at BHP Billiton Ltd.s Olympic Dam. BHP wouldnt provide an estimate in pounds.

Even before the latest drilling results, Brock Salier, an analyst at Ambrian Partners Ltd. in London, said in research notes that he was confident Extracts resource could exceed 560 million pounds. In an e-mail yesterday, he wrote that the update from Extract showed not only some of the widest, but highest grades, weve seen to date.

Rossing South may be able to produce more than 15 million pounds of uranium oxide a year, a huge amount, Galloway said.

Profitable Business

A possible risk to profits is that a lot of other uranium comes on stream, curbing gains in the price of the nuclear fuel, he said. But I think, over the long run, uranium will be a very profitable business.

The uranium market will have a surplus next year for the first time in at least three years as producers increase output faster than demand rises, the London-based World Nuclear Association said in a Sept. 10 report. Secondary sources such as stockpiles will supply 18,711 metric tons in 2010 compared with 17,620 tons this year, the report showed.

Uranium prices, which peaked at $136 a pound in 2007, rose 5.7 percent in a week to $46 a pound on Oct. 12, Ux Consulting Co. said in an Oct. 13 report.

Extract expects favorable supply and demand conditions when Rossing South is projected to begin production in 2013, Galloway said. By 2013, 2014 there will be a space for new uranium on the market.

Some 440 commercial nuclear power reactors operate in 30 countries, with a further 30 under construction and another 90 planned, the World Nuclear Association said in a March report posted on its Web site.

Galloway said the company is at a crossroads as it explores partnership options and considers whether to expand beyond a single project in a single country. For now were trying to get on with developing the resource as fast as we can, he said.

To contact the reporter on this story: James Paton in Sydney jpaton4@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: October 15, 2009 20:31 EDT