Shaft Sinkers : Additional Work Awarded

Shaft Sinkers Holdings Plc



23 July 2014

Shaft Sinkers Holdings plc

("Shaft Sinkers" or the "Company")

Additional Work Awarded - Afplats

Shaft Sinkers Holdings plc (LSE:SHFT), the international shaft sinking and underground construction group, is pleased to announce that it has been awarded additional work by Afplats (Pty) Limited (Afplats) on its Leeuwkop project.

The scope of work under the new contract includes the continuation of sinking activities on the main shaft from a depth of 984 metres to 1,307 metres as well as the construction of two station breakaways for the establishment of horizontal tunnels to access the ore body at 1,207 meters and 1,237 meters respectively. The additional work, which commences immediately, is scheduled to be completed in the second half of 2015 and has a total value of GBP7 million. The contract is priced on a rates basis.

Afplats have awarded the Leeuwkop sinking contract in a number of phases, with Shaft Sinkers commencing work on the project in June 2011.  The Company completed pre-sink and mobilisation work in April 2012 with main sinking activities commencing concurrently. Shaft Sinkers were awarded further additional contracts at Leeuwkop in August 2013 and December 2013. The intended final depth of the main shaft is 1,561 metres.

The additional work is in line with management's expectations for potential future project developments and contract extensions to be secured during the 2014 financial year.

Speaking today, Alon Davidov, Chief Executive, said:

"The award of further work by Afplats, a long-standing client, reflects the continued confidence our partners have in Shaft Sinkers' ability to complete critical sinking and engineering works efficiently and safely. We will continue to work closely with Afplats to maintain high operational and safety standards over the remainder of the Leeuwkop project."

Ends

For further information:

Shaft Sinkers Holdings plc[phone]

Alon Davidov, Chief Executive Officer

Chris Hall, Chief Financial Officer

Media enquiries:

Aura Financial                                                               [phone]

Andy Mills

Notes to editors

Shaft Sinkers

Shaft Sinkers Holdings specialises in the sinking of particularly deep and wide vertical and decline shafts and the development of underground infrastructure, used primarily in mining and hydropower applications.

The Group is a world leader in vertical shaft sinking with a focus on particularly deep and/or wide vertical shafts. It has the capability to sink shafts through all types of rock strata, including running sands and clay. The Group works principally for established mining and infrastructure companies.

Historically, the Group has completed projects in over 20 countries worldwide across Africa, Europe, South America, the Middle East, Asia and Australia. The Group was responsible for sinking one of the deepest ever man and material South African shafts, a secondary shaft at the Western Deep Levels to a depth of 3,131 metres below bank.

Major current projects and customers include the Shaft 17 complex for Impala Platinum, Leeuwkop for Afplats, the Styldrift project for Anglo Platinum and Royal Bafokeng Resources, the Karee 3, Hossy and Saffy projects for Lonmin as well as Rampura Agucha for Hindustan Zinc Limited and Kibali Goldmines for Randgold Resources.

Afplats Proprietary Limited (Afplats)

Afplats (Pty) Limited (Afplats) is a subsidiary of Impala Platinum Holdings Limited (Implats). Headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa, Implats operates six main units: Impala, Zimplats, Marula, Mimosa, Two Rivers and Impala Refining Services. It is principally in the business of producing and supplying platinum group metals (PGMs) to industrial economies. The primary operational unit, Impala, has operations situated on the on the western limb of the world-renowned Bushveld Complex near Rustenburg in South Africa.

Implats produces approximately 22% of the world's supply of platinum with a workforce of 57 000, including 17 000 contractors. The Group produces approximately 3.2 million ounces of PGMs, including 1.582 million ounces of platinum.

This information is provided by RNS

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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