Modern Mining April 2016

MINING News

Galane settles Galaxy’s ‘legacy’ issues

Galane Gold, listed on the TSX-V (and owner of the Mupane gold mine in Botswana), has announced that the company and its subsidiary, Galaxy Gold Mining Limited, have entered into a full and final settle- ment agreement with Traxys Europe SA, Mine2Market and certain others (collec- tively the ‘Traxys parties’) with respect to various outstanding claims arising from the time period when the Traxys parties oper- ated Galaxy’s mining operations. Galaxy was acquired by Galane last year. As a result of the settlement, the Traxys parties have unconditionally and irrevocably cancelled and waived all claims in relation to the various contract mining, off-take and tail- ings agreements and indebtedness entered into or owed by Galaxy and/or its subsid- iary, Galaxy Gold Reefs Proprietary Limited. The Traxys parties have also released their security interests against Galaxy’s assets including its plant and mining licences. In connection with the settlement, the Traxys parties have agreed to settle their claim for US$4,3 million of indebtedness owing by Galaxy and Galaxy Gold Reefs in exchange for the issuance by Galane Gold of unsecured convertible debentures in the aggregate prin- cipal amount of US$3,2 million.

rehabilitation field are invited to submit abstracts for the conference. The Kimberley venue is appropriate for a conference which will include cov- erage of mining rehabilitation. The area’s rich mining heritage has resulted in a long and distinguished rehabilitation history. Rehabilitation approaches have included conversion of kimberlite lay down pads to game parks; dedicated conservation of indigenous trees; focused management of alien invasive plant species across dis- turbed mining and agricultural lands; management of artisanal miners; as well as rehabilitation of pans historically used for storage and evaporation of dirty pro- cess water, which now provide important roosting and feeding sites for birds. Further information is available from: Glaudin Kruger, LaRSSA 2016 Conference Coordinator, Kruger & Associates, tel: 028- 316-2905, e-mail: kruger@krugerassociate. com . Details of the conference are also available at www.larssa.co.za .  Galaxy’s mining assets, located on the Barberton Greenstone Belt (BGB) approxi- mately 10 km to the west of the town of Barberton in Mpumalanga, include several historical mining operations on the BGB as well as tailings storage facilities comprised of previously mined and processed material. To date, the mining assets have produced over one million ounces of gold with min- ing operations having first started in the 1880s. Galaxy’s existing processing plant is designed to treat 16 000 tonnes of ore a month but is in need of refurbishment. The facility can be expanded through refurbish- ment and the introduction of larger mills and flotation equipment.  “We are pleased to have completed this settlement with the Traxys parties,” com- ments Galane’s Chief Executive Officer, Nick Brodie: “This settlement is a significant step in our process of cleaning up legacy issues with Galaxy and removes one of the final hurdles to recommencing production. The exchange of a sizeable amount of short- term indebtedness of Galaxy into long term indebtedness and the cancellation of the security on the assets should provide addi- tional financial flexibility to implement our strategic vision for Galaxy.”

Kimberley to host land rehabilitation conference The Land Rehabilitation Society of Southern Africa (LaRSSA) has gone from strength to strength since its inception in 2012, with membership numbers still rising and a growing interest in its ac- tivities on the part of other organisations. After three very successful conferences, LaRSSA is ready to host its fourth annual conference in Kimberley, Northern Cape, from 13-16 September 2016. A one-day pre-conference training workshop is planned, as well as post-conference tech- nical visits.

The theme for the 2016 conference is ‘The Rehabilitation Business Case’. Conference topics will include: improving ecosystem function for long-term gain; harnessing the intrinsic value of reha- bilitation for communities; improving the economic gains from rehabilitation; understanding the business indicators for successful rehabilitation; and identifying sources of funding. Scientists and practitioners in the

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