The Rule of Law Prevails IN Botswana High Court of Botswana Renders Judgement with Respect to Gcwihaba’S Prospecting Licenses
TSODILO RESOURCES LIMITED
THE RULE OF LAW PREVAILS IN BOTSWANA
HIGH COURT OF BOTSWANA RENDERS JUDGEMENT WITH
RESPECT TO GCWIHABA’S PROSPECTING LICENSES
December 15, 2023 Trading Symbol: TSXV: TSD #12152023
TORONTO, ONTARIO - Tsodilo Resources Limited ("Tsodilo" or the "Company") (TSX-
V: TSD) (OTCQB: TSDRF) (FSE: TZO) is pleased to report that the High Court, Republic of
Botswana has rendered its judgement In re Gcwihaba Resources (Pty) Ltd. vs. Minister of
Minerals and Energy and the Attorney General of Botswana, MAHMN-000075-22, and
ordered:
The decision of the 1 st Respondent rejecting the application for the renewal of the Applicant's
prospecting license (020/ 2018) is illegal, unreasonable and or irrational;
The decision of the 1st Respondent rejecting the application for the renewal of the Applicant's
prospecting license (020/ 2018) is hereby set aside;
The 1st Respondent is ordered and directed to renew, within 14 days of this order, the
applicant's license (020/ 2018) subject only to justifiable safeguards necessary for the
protection of the heritage area. Such safeguards are not to include any further demand for
reduction or shifting of the license area or its coordinates;
Following renewal, the 1st Respondent is ordered to align the effective dates of contiguous
licenses PL 021- 026/ 2018 with that of the renewed license;
The Respondents shall pay the costs of these proceedings.
James M. Bruchs, Tsodilo’s Chairman and CEO, commented, “This is a very important
decision for Botswana as it reinforces those values and systems that establish Botswana as one
of the best democracies in the world. Its respect for the rule of law, judicial independence,
separation of powers and regular , free, and fair elections are among the tenets of democracy
which have earned Botswana this international acclaim . The High Court decision reaffirms
the basic tenant that the rule of law does indeed prevail. Since 2014, the Botswana Government
has publicly expressed its support for the Xaudum Iron Formation (XIF) project, and we look
forward to working with the Ministry of Minerals and Energy and the Ministry of Environment
and Tourism as we continue our work to bring the XIF into production. Tsodilo adopted the
International Finance Corporation's (IFC) Environmental, Health and Safety Guidelines for
Mining when IFC became a shareholder more than a decade ago and we have worked diligently
to advance the XIF project within those guidelines. Further to this, Tsodilo became a member
of the ResponsibleSteel™ organization www.responsiblesteel.org as building a sustainable
steel industry requires cooperation and mutual commitment from companies at all levels of the
steel supply chain, representatives of civil society, and other stakeholders and ResponsibleSteel
provides the forum for this multi -stakeholder approach. Their members include some of the
leading players in the industry working together to minimize the impact of steel manufacturing
on people and the planet . Working closely with Government’s Ministries and
ResponsibleSteelTM furthers our goal of becoming the supplier of an ultra-high grade +67% Fe
product to the industry and doing what we can to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by
becoming part of the "green steel" movement.”
“Our license renewal applications that make up the XIF project area were filed 2 ½ years ago
and on behalf of our Board of Directors, I would like to thank our shareholders for their strong
support over that difficult time and also our employees for their commitment and dedication
throughout this process”, commented Mr. Bruchs.
The Court’s decision is available on the Company’s litigation landing page(s): Botswana
Litigation for litigation documents and Tsodilo Resources Ltd. - MMGE for related documents.
XAUDUM IRON FORMATION (XIF)
About the XIF Project
➢ The project is located in the North-West District of Botswana and extends for a known
length of some 40 kilometers.
➢ The XIF is proximate to the Namibian border and lies twenty -two (22) miles from the
town of Divundu in Namibia. The Walvis Bay -Ndola-Lubumbashi Development
Corridor (previously known as the Trans-Caprivi) line linking Zambia and Namibia is
planned to pass through Divundu, providing access to Walvis Bay, Namibia’s deep-sea
port. The project is also located within forty-three (43) miles of the proposed Mucusso
line to Angola’s Namibe Port.
➢ Preliminary work on the X IF project has defined a CIM compliant Inferred Mineral
Resource Estimate of 441 million tonnes (Mt) with an average grade of 29.4% Fe, 41.0%
SiO2, 6.1% Al2O3 and 0.3% P for the Block 1 magnetite XIF.
➢ Block 1 is a fraction of the potential XIF magnetite resource. An extrapolated
exploration target has defined the XIF to be in the order of 5 to 7 billion tonnes at 15 -
40% Fe. This exploration target was generated by inversion modelling of ground
magnetic geophysical data which was compared and moderated to volumes from drilling
data within Block 1 and its potential quantity and grade is conceptual in nature. To date,
there has been insufficient exploration to define a mineral resource other than in Block
1 and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in the target being delineated as a
mineral resource. See, Press Release of 6/02/2014 on the Company’s website for further
details.
➢ Metallurgical magnetic separation results (Davis Tube Recovery) show that an average
concentrate of 67.2% Fe, 4.2% SiO2, 0.5% Al2O3, 0.07% P is obtained at P80 grind
size of 80 microns, although higher grades are possible at finer P80’s. See, Press Release
of 12/17/2013 on the Company’s website.
➢ Further exploration will be focused on Block 2a where the Company expects an increase
in the resource.
➢ Additional informational of the project can be found on the Company’s website at
https://tsodiloresources.com/s/Metals.asp.html and further technical information can be
found in a report prepared by SRK Consulting (UK) Ltd. for Gcwihaba Resources (Pty)
Ltd. titled “Mineral Resource Estimate for the Xaudum Iron Project (Block 1), Republic
of Botswana” with an effective date of August 29, 2014, and filed on SEDAR under the
Company’s profile at www.sedar.com.
About Tsodilo Resources Limited
Tsodilo Resources Limited is an international resource exploration company engaged in the
search for economic metal and diamond deposits at its Gcwihaba Resources (Pty) Limited
("Gcwihaba") and Bosoto (Pty) Ltd. ("Bosoto) projects in Botswana. The Company has a
100% stake in its Gcwihaba project area consisting of five metal (base, precious, platinum
group, and rare earth) prospecting licenses all located in the North -West district of Botswana.
The Company has a 100% stake in Bosoto (Pty) Ltd. which holds the BK16 kimberlite project
in the Orapa Kimberlite Field (OKF) in Botswana. Tsodilo manages the exploration of the
Gcwihaba and Bosoto projects. Overall supervision of the Company's exploration program is
the responsibility of McDonald Kahari (Pr. Sci. Na t.) a "qualified person" as such term is
defined in National Instrument 43-101. This press release has been reviewed and approved by
Mr. Kahari.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
James M. Bruchs Chairman and Chief Executive Officer [email protected]
Head Office Telephone +1 416 572 2033 Facsimile + 1 416 987 4369
Website http://www.TsodiloResources.com
This press release may contain forward -looking statements. All statements, other than
statements of historical fact, that address activities, events, or developments that the Company
believes, expects, or anticipates will or may occur in the future (including, without limitation,
statements pertaining to the use of proceeds, the impact of strategic partnerships and
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that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on the Company. Factors that could
cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include, among
other things, changes in equity markets, changes in general economic conditions, market
volatility, political developments in Botswana and surrounding countries, changes to
regulations affecting the Company's activities, uncertainties relating to the availability and
costs of financing needed in the future, exploration and development risks, the uncertainties
involved in interpreting exploration results and the other risks involved in the mineral
exploration business. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is
made and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, the Compan y disclaims
any intent or obligation to update any forward -looking statement, whether as a result of new
information, future events, or results or otherwise. Although the Company believes that the
assumptions inherent in the forward -looking statements are reasonable, forward -looking
statements are not a guarantee of future performance and accordingly undue reliance should
not be put on such statements due to the inherent uncertainty therein.
Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause
the actual results of the Company to differ materially from those discussed in the forward -
looking statements and, even if such actual results are realized or substantially realized, there
can be no assurance that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on, the
Company. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current
expectations include, among other things, uncert ainties relating to availability and cost of
funds, timing and content of work programs, results of exploration activities, interpretation of
drilling results and other geological data, risks relating to variations in the diamond grade
and kimberlite lithologies; variations in rates of recovery and breakage; estimates of grade
and quality of diamonds, variations in diamond valuations and future diamond prices; the state
of world diamond markets, reliability of mineral property titles, changes to regulations
affecting the Company's activities, delays in obtaining or failure to obtain required project
approvals, operational and infrastructure risk and other risks involved in the diamond
exploration and development business. Any forward -looking statement speaks only as of the
date on which it is made and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, the
Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether
as a result of new information, future events, or results or otherwise. Although the Company
believes that the assumptions inherent in the forward -looking statements are reasonable,
forward-looking statements are not a guarantee of future performance and accordingly undue
reliance should not be put on such statements due to their inherent uncertainty.
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this news release. This news release may contain assumptions, estima tes, and other forward-
looking statements regarding future events. Such forward-looking statements involve inherent
risks and uncertainties and are subject to factors, many of which are beyond the Company's
control, which may cause actual results or perfor mance to differ materially from those
currently anticipated in such statements.