Strandline Resources Limited (ASX: STA) is pleased to advise that it has secured the Environmental Certificate for its Tajiri mineral sands project in Tanzania.

The grant of the Environmental Certificate by the Minister of State of the Vice President's Office represents a major milestone in the project's approval process. The Environmental Certificate is a key pre-requisite for the granting of a special mining licence (SML) and will remain valid for the life of the project. A SML is required for Tajiri due to its national significance, supported by its large-scale and ability to generate significant socio-economic benefits over a multi-decade mine life.

In late 2020, Strandline announced the results of the Engineering Scoping Study which highlighted the technical and ESG strength of Tajiri and its ability to deliver high-margin financial returns over a +23-year life. Since the completion of that study mineral sands market prices and forecasts have strengthened substantially.

Strandline Managing Director Luke Graham said securing the Environmental Certificate for Tajiri is a key milestone in Strandline's growth strategy to develop a world-class mineral sands business in Tanzania, adding to our tier-one Coburn mineral sands project in WA, where production is scheduled to start later this year.

'Tajiri is underpinned by a large titanium-dominated Resource and has the potential to competitively produce highly marketable mineral sands products over a long mine life.' Mr Graham said. 'We would like to thank the Tanzanian authorities for their support at Tajiri and we look forward to advancing to the next stage of evaluation and preparations for development.'

The Certificate marks the successful completion of the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (EIA) Report. Tanzania's environmental regulator, the National Environment Management Council (NEMC), set the guidelines and requirements of the study which was led by ERM. ERM, one of the largest global sustainability consultancy firms, completed the work in collaboration with MTL Consulting, a leading Tanzanian environmental consulting specialist.

The study included multi-disciplined seasonal environmental and social baseline studies and extensive stakeholder consultation. Strong support for the development of the Tajiri Project was received at a local village, District, Regional and National level during the stakeholder meetings. Tajiri has the potential to generate significant long-term employment and career development opportunities, as well as a range of local enterprise opportunities.

Peak workforce during construction is estimated to be 300 people (skilled and semi-skilled), with an average operational workforce during production of 150 direct skilled workers. For the regional communities, Tajiri provides an opportunity to diversify and grow their economy. Where possible, labour and supplies will be sourced locally. For every direct job created by the project, more indirect jobs are created in the local economy as employees consume goods and services (typically up to 3 times the number of direct jobs).

ABOUT TAJIRI MINERAL SANDS PROJECT

Strandline owns a portfolio of exciting mineral sands growth assets along the highly prospective coastline of Tanzania. In December 2021, the Company announced a pivotal Framework Agreement (FWA) with the Government of the Republic of Tanzania which paves the way for establishment of a world-class mineral sands business along the coastline of Tanzania.

The FWA outlines the key joint venture ownership and operating terms for the development of the advanced Fungoni project near the port of Dar es Salaam, the large-scale Tajiri project and the Company's other emerging Tanzanian mineral sands assets. The Fungoni and Tajiri projects are forecast to generate a total of more than US$1 billion of EBITDA over 30 years based on published Production Targets (or A$1.43 billion at AUD: USD 0.70). Refer previously announced engineering studies and cautionary statements in Annexure D. The Tajiri project comprises a series of higher-grade mineral sands deposits stretching along 30kms of coastline in northern Tanzania, near the port city of Tanga.

For more information on the material assumptions underpinning Tajiri's production target and financial results, refer to the ASX Announcement dated 7 October 2020. Strandline confirms that all material assumptions and technical parameters underpinning Resource Estimates, Production Targets and Engineering Scoping Studies continue to apply and have not materially changed.

Refer to the Cautionary Statement in Annexure D. For more information on the Fungoni mineral sands project, refer to the ASX Announcement dated 06 October 2017 (Original DFS) and subsequent update on 01 November 2018 (Updated DFS) for details of the material assumptions underpinning the production target and financial results. The Company confirms that all material assumptions and technical parameters underpinning Resource Estimates, Production Targets and Project Feasibility Studies, continue to apply and have not materially changed.

Contact:

Luke Graham

Tel: +61 8 9226 3130

Email: enquiries@strandline.com.au

(C) 2022 Electronic News Publishing, source ENP Newswire