Uranium and gold developer Neo Energy Metals has provided an update on the regulatory transfer process for the Beatrix 4 Shaft Mining Area (New Beisa Node) in South Africa’s Free State province.

The company confirms that Mineral and Petroleum Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe has granted Sibanye-Stillwater’s wholly owned subsidiary Sibanye Gold the consent required in terms of Section 11 of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA) to take transfer of the Southern Free State (SOFS) mining right from Witwatersrand Gold Consolidated.

The New Beisa uranium/gold project, to be known as the New Beisa Node, is a brownfield uranium and gold development located on the Beatrix 4 shaft property near Virginia in the Free State Goldfields, a high-grade uranium-bearing region.

This Section 11 consent represents the first of three sequential regulatory steps required to complete Neo Energy’s acquisition of the New Beisa Node.

Separately, the Section 102 consents under the MPRDA, relating to the separation of the New Beisa Node from the remainder of the Sibanye-Stillwater Beatrix mining operation, which were filed by Sibanye-Stillwater simultaneously with the above Section 11 consent, are currently being processed by the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources (DMPR).

These consents are a precursor to the Beisa Node Mining Right being transferred to Neo Energy, and the company says it continues to engage with the relevant authorities to progress these applications.

Following the Section 102 consents being granted, Neo Energy will file a Section 11 application to take transfer of the New Beisa Node mining right.

The company’s Section 11 is finalised and ready for submission to the department for Ministerial approval, Neo Energy points out.

The company expects to lodge this application once the Sibanye-Stillwater Section 102 has been approved by the department.

This news follows the Neo Energy announcement on June 4, where Neo Energy and Sibanye-Stillwater signed an agreement to extend the deadlines for the approvals of the Sibanye-Stillwater Section 11 Consent and Section 102 consents to December 6, and therefore extend the approval for Neo Energy’s Section 11 Consent to June 6, 2027.

Neo Energy explains that its position across these regulatory approvals remains that the asset is “world-class”, the transaction is fully supported by both parties and the regulatory framework is well understood.

The company says its operational planning and project preparation activities continue uninterrupted, and first production of gold remains targeted for December 2027, followed by uranium.

On July 24, Neo Energy signed a site access and contractorship agreement with Sibanye-Stillwater, granting the company access to the mining area to begin a self-funded assessment programme while regulatory transfer of the Beisa Node mining right continues.

“The granting of the Section 11 consent to Sibanye-Stillwater is a clear and welcome milestone in the sequential regulatory process for New Beisa, and reflects the constructive engagement between Neo Energy, Sibanye-Stillwater and the DMPR.

“With site access now in place and our assessment programme underway, we are using this period productively to advance our technical and operational readiness ahead of Neo Energy's own Section 11 application. Our objective remains first gold production in December 2027, which is dependent on the results of the implementation assessment,” says Neo Energy CEO Theo Botoulas.