Lonrho plc (AIM: LONR) who established a joint venture for Africa with Countermine plc, ("Countermine") in May 2007 to develop opportunities for landmine clearance in Africa, is pleased to announce that, following presentations in Luanda, they have been invited by 'CNIDAH' ( Comissao Nacional Inter-Sectorial de Desminagem e Assistencia Humanitaria ), the Angolan Government body responsible for landmine clearance, to supply an ORACLE 2 landmine clearing machine for evaluation and appraisal in conjunction with the Angolan Government.
The ORACLE 2 allows previously unusable areas of land suspected of being contaminated by landmines to be rehabilitated for productive purposes safer and faster than manual land clearance methods.
General Petroff, the Presidente da Comissao of CNIDAH, confirmed in the invitation that Angola has 1,500 square kilometers of land that are currently rendered useless due to the presence of landmines. He confirmed that the current clearance rate, using manual demining practises is only 10 square kilometers per year.
CNIDAH has undertaken to fast-track the evaluation process, and will provide a mined area of land for the process, facilitate all approvals and licences required for the importation of the equipment, and to ensure that all relevant civilian and military expertise partakes in the test.
Following this, the CNIDAH has agreed to rapidly produce a report on the results of the evaluation for all the relevant authorities.
David Lenigas, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Lonrho commented :
'We are delighted that in less than three months of Lonrho agreeing the African rights to the Countermine ORACLE system, Lonrho has delivered a tangible and exciting opportunity to assist Angola with its landmine issues.
The invitation from the Angolan Government is a significant step and permits the ORACLE 2 to demonstrate its abilities. Angola is a rapidly developing country and it is a fundamental part of the development progress that the country's landmines are relegated to history as soon as possible. I am confident that the ORACLE 2 will help expedite this process.
Lonrho is committed to providing services and products that support the development of African infrastructure, helping to re-invigorate local communities. Lonrho views the strategic partnership with Countermine as a significant development in the implementation of its strategy.'
ORACLE MINE CLEARENCE
Countermine produces the ORACLE mine clearance machine. At the forefront of mine clearance technology ORACLE is the fastest and most cost effective system available for landmine clearance. Only the ORACLE can move forward at an efficient rate and cost, while tilling the land to a depth of at least 50cm preparing it for agricultural use. The ORACLE technology is tried and tested, having been contracted to the Croatian Government (CROMAC) since 2000, performing beyond expectations in clearing active minefields.
The ORACLE mine-clearing system is the safest land mine clearance method currently available and is approximately 100 times faster and more effective than manual clearing techniques. The Spitfire tool within the machine hits the mines at such a high speed that it destroys the mines before detonation. The physical destruction from the mine clearance neutralizes mines and disperses the explosives into the soil meaning that the land is immediately ready for agricultural or other development.
Antipersonnel mines pose a massive threat to safety in all corners of the globe, claiming new victims every day, with between 15,000 and 20,000 new casualties caused by landmines and unexploded ordnance every year.
A local company will be established in Angola to oversee the management and operation of the project. The majority of the personnel will be recruited and trained locally in each country, supporting local job creation as well as utilising the intimate local knowledge of the areas that are targeted.
LANDMINES IN AFRICA
The presence of landmines has rendered huge expanses of land in sub-Saharan Africa unusable. The presence of two or three landmines or even the suspicion of their presence can result in a large patch of land being avoided and left derelict.
Enquiries:
- Lonrho +44 (0) 20 7016 5105
- David Lenigas, Chief Executive +44 (0)7881 825 378
- Emma Priestley, Executive Director +44 (0)7867 785 177
- Countermine Lars Nylin +44 (0)1233 641 084, +46 (0)70 416 9600
- Pelham PR Charles Vivian +44 (0) 20 7743 6672, +44 (0) 7977 297 903
- Alisdair Haythornthwaite +44 (0) 20 7743 6676, +44 (0) 771 472 1379
Notes to Editors:
About Lonrho:
Lonrho, listed on the London Stock Exchange's (LSE) Alternative Investment Market (AIM), is in the process of re-establishing a significant presence on the African continent. Its investment and acquisition strategy, which was adopted following the appointment of David Lenigas as Chairman and Chief Executive and subsequent shareholder approval in February 2006, focuses on the infrastructure, transport, natural resources, leisure and agribusiness sectors. Lonrho's executive team has considerable experience across these industries in a wide range of countries. Lonrho announced investments in Luba Freeport, Norse Air, Fly540 and Nare Diamonds Ltd in 2006 and an investment in Swissta Water, through Strenner Holdings and Agua da Namaacha in 2007.
About Countermine:
Countermine, is a UK based demining company, produces the state of the art ORACLE mine clearance machine. The Company has a positive track record having worked successfully with the Croatian Government in a series of on-going mine clearance contracts since 2000. Looking to expand its client base, Countermine is now looking to jointly explore opportunities in sub-Saharan Africa with Lonrho. The Company is focussed on maximising returns through the use of highly efficient technology with the added benefit that land is returned to agricultural use far sooner than through the use of more conventional methods. Countermine offers a full spectrum of services that it believes are essential to large scale mine clearance. These services range from manual de-mining, explosive detection dogs and mechanical de-mining.
About ORACLE:
Mechanical mine clearance is faster, safer and cheaper than manual means. The operating method of the flagship ORACLE is to 'rotovate', or till, the land and to destroy the mines by impact and disintegration before they can explode. If they explode, however, the 53 tonne machine is substantial enough, particularly the tungsten metal rotating tool at the front, to withstand the blast from all types of mines. A considerable amount of power is required to clear mines at depth while maintaining an efficient rate of advancement. Due to its available power, the ORACLE can dig deeper and at higher forward speed than any competitive system. In the high-cost mine clearance industry time is money and the capability of the ORACLE to clear mines rapidly is fundamental to the business case. When clearing mines to normal UN-specified depths, the ORACLE can produce a practical clearance rate of 15,000 m2/h clearing to a depth of 50cm, which very few other machines can achieve. ORACLE´s power and efficiency makes it the most powerful and cost effective system available.
