Long Forgotten Uranium Bonanza Rediscovered, Kilimanjaro Unleashes Somalia Uranium Exploration Initiative
Tuesday, April 15, 2014
BELIZE CITY, BELIZE--(Marketwired - April 15, 2014) - The directors and management of Kilimanjaro Capital (GXG:KCAP)(OTC PINK:KIMJF) are pleased to provide an update on the Company's evolving interests in Somalia where Kilimanjaro Capital currently has a 5% earn in interest in the 1,161,400 acres Amsas-Coriole-Afgoi (ACA) Block.
It is all but forgotten that prior to the 1991 civil war, Somalia was one of Africa's largest suppliers of uranium with tons of proven reserves and even more undiscovered. Somali uranium powered Iraq's infamous nuclear program. Brazilian, UAE, American, and Italian companies scrambled for concessions and had big plans for the region including US major Westinghouse. Then the civil war broke out in 1991, the Ministry of Mines and its records were destroyed and all traces of uranium mining disappeared. US State Department declassified documents indicate the disastrous "Black Hawk Down" Mogadishu intervention in 1993 may also have been intended to secure uranium resources from falling into the wrong hands.
Today, the emerging focus in Somalia is on oil and gas exploration with few remembering that uranium was once king here. Uranium deposits are scattered throughout northern and central Somalia. However, most regions have not been explored. Kilimanjaro hopes to change that trend by branching out into uranium exploration logistics and support services.
Kilimanjaro CEO, Zulfikar Rashid, explains that oil exploration companies usually obtain the entire mineral rights to an exploration block but disregard them in favor of oil: "In Somalia, the mineral rights have been all but ignored. We plan to change that, the mineral rights have value in the right hands. The problem is that many uranium exploration companies are too small and lack experience in disputed regions like Somalia; this is where Kilimanjaro come into the picture by partnering with these junior mining companies and sharing our expertise in Africa, frontier investment financing, and dispute management."
Rashid's plan has three stages: "First talks are underway to partner with an initial uranium exploration company. Then we rapidly expand throughout the country to rediscover and document both old deposits and reveal potential new ones. Finally, we revitalize the Somalia uranium industry which once boasted plans for more than $500 million (in 1980 dollars) in processing plants."
The current spot price for uranium is about $34 a pound.
Kilimanjaro Capital is a Belize company conducting business in Africa in conjunction with its stakeholders and affiliates. The Company is listed on the US OTC Markets exchange under the ticker symbol KIMJF.
Source: Wall Street Journal