More delays for Beowulf Mining in Sweden

Mineral exploration and development company Beowulf Mining provided an update on the application process for Kallak North in Sweden on Wednesday.

The AIM-traded firm said it understands that the County Administrative Board for Norrbotten County has been granted an extension to 28 February 2017 by the Mining Inspectorate of Sweden to respond to the inspectorate's questions.

It said this was part of the further review of the Kallak North application as directed by the Government of Sweden, and in the light of the Supreme Administrative Court judgement in February 2016 in the case of Norr Kärr.

During the last two weeks, the company said its expert Swedish team has been preparing a paper, which analyses the formal statements made since October 2014, by different parties involved in the Kallak North application process.

The objective is to demonstrate that the company's application has satisfied the requirements of Swedish law, and that the work done by the company and the reviews by the CAB to date are in alignment with the SAC judgement in the case of Norra Kärr.

Beowulf said the paper will be completed shortly and submitted to the Mining Inspectorate and the CAB.

“While an extension of time for CAB to complete their work may disappoint shareholders, the review being conducted by the CAB is very important,” said CEO Kurt Budge.

“The legal framework over the last two years, for assessing our application, has not changed.

“The perspective of the reviews completed, covering the Concession Area, those activities necessary to support a modern and sustainable mining operation, included in our Environmental Impact Assessment, and transport options, is entirely consistent with the SAC judgement in the case of Norra Kärr.”

Budge said the company's analysis of formal statements made by parties involved in the Kallak North application process will demonstrate that it has met the requirements of Swedish law.

“I was in Jokkmokk and Luleå last week, and I will be in Stockholm next week, so I assure stakeholders that we are leaving nothing to chance as we work towards getting the Exploitation Concession for Kallak North.”