Kastan Mining PLC (“Kastan”) joins consortium to develop renewable energy projects in Tanzania

DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania - May 26, 2014 - PRLog -- Kastan announced today that the Company has entered into a consortium with Continental Energy Corporation  (“Continental”), Pan African Management and Development Company, Inc. (“Panafra”), and Kitonga Power Electric Company (“KEPOCO”) to form a renewable energy company in Tanzania.  The new company, Ruaha River Power Company Limited (“Ruaha Power”) is based in Dar es Salaam, and will initially focus on developing small-scale, distributed hydropower and solar PV energy solutions in underserved rural markets in Tanzania where existing commercial incentives make such developments attractive.

John Tate, Kastan CEO, remarked, “We believe we have assembled a group that is uniquely positioned to build a business model that has enormous upside potential in delivering energy solutions to customers in underserved rural markets.  Our first project as Ruaha Power will include a series of Run-of-River hydropower facilities and a network of 5 to 10MW solar PV farms that are expected to power an industrial park that Kastan is developing in the Morogoro region and to electrify 15 villages, bringing power for the first time to about 40,000 rural villagers in the project area.”

Richard McAdoo, Continental’s Chairman and CEO, continued, “Continental’s core business has been centered on oil and gas exploration in SE Asia; however recently the Company began diversification into a broader range of energy provider activities.  We believe the opportunity our participation in Ruaha Power brings will strengthen Continental’s diversification strategy and extend our technical and international expertise into new markets.  The rural electrification needs and energy profiles in Tanzania and SE Asia have great similarity.  We fully expect to leverage the lessons learned in Tanzania as we explore similar alternative energy generation opportunities in SE Asia with our Ruaha Power co-venturers over the next 12 to 18 months.”

Ibrahim Nzowah, KEPOCO, CEO also noted, “We are excited about the opportunity to work with our partner companies.  Since our team first identified the proposed hydropower locations we have been convinced that a strategic partnership would accelerate development.  The villagers in the target area have been very supportive and are encouraging us to begin as soon as possible.   Many challenges remain ahead of us as we launch this initiative, however, we are convinced that the success we achieve with this first project will serve as a template that we can replicate in many other rural Tanzanian locations.”

About Kastan - www.kastanmining.com
Headquartered in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, Kastan Mining PLC is a copper mining, exploration, and processing company with several initiatives underway at various stages of development ranging from early exploration to full production.

About Continental Energy Corporation - www.continentalenergy.com
Continental is  an emerging international energy investment company headquartered in Jakarta, Indonesia with operations in Southeast Asia and Norway.

About Pan African Management and Development Company, Inc - www.panafra.com
Panafra is an Delaware based Company with equity investments in the mineral, construction, and power sectors in Tanzania.

About Kitonga Power Electric Company Limited
KEPOCO is a Dar es Salaam based energy company.

This press release contains statements which constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the US securities laws. and may be (but are not necessarily) identified by the use of phrases such as “will”, “expect”, “anticipate”, “believe” and “envisage”.  By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the future and may be outside Kastan’s control. Actual results and developments may differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements because of a number of factors, including levels of demand and market prices, the impact of foreign currency exchange rates on market prices and operating costs, operational problems, political uncertainty and economic conditions in relevant areas of the world, the actions of competitors, activities by governmental authorities such as changes in taxation or regulation and other factors over which Kastan has limited control.