JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Aim-listed Berkeley Mineral Resources (BMR) has acquired Enviro Mining, which owns the remaining stockpiles of lead and zinc tailings at the Kabwe mine, in Zambia.

The miner on Monday reported that it acquired Enviro Mining from NLL Minerals for $2,5-million in cash and the issue of 80-million shares in BMR, or a further cash payment of £4,8-million, or a combination of cash and shares.

Chairperson Masoud Alikhani said the company could now complete the verification of the leach plant dumps to Joint Ore Reserves Committee-standard, commission the beneficiation plant and proceed to supplying the lead and zinc to world markets.

Enviro Mining would, at completion, own the leasehold rights and title to the stockpiles at Kabwe until June 2075, the contents of all the tailings dumps and the small-scale mining licence relating to lead, zinc, copper and cobalt minerals for ten years from October 2010. This licence allowed the company to process the tailings without restriction on volume.

BMR reported that the site would benefit from the existing infrastructure at Kabwe, including good roads, water supply, ample power, local labour and direct on-site rail connections to overseas markets through international railways to South Africa and to Indian Ocean ports.

To allow the company to target other acquisitions, one of which was in Zambia and primarily comprised copper tailings, BMR induced the exercise of 52-million warrants at an exercise price of 6p a share, raising £3,125-million in cash.

Alikhani said the exercise of the warrants has allowed BMR to potentially fund another acquisition and also to fund due diligence on a number of potential further acquisitions at minimal dilution to shareholders.

The company intended to retain a tailings treatment organisation to design, build and operate a new beneficiation plant at Kabwe to process the stockpiles.