Beowulf Mining PLC
31 January 2006
BEOWULF MINING PLC
NEWS RELEASE
Beowulf Mining plc (AIM:BEM), the AIM listed mineral exploration company,
announces that it has been gifted 5,000,000 ordinary 1p shares in All Star
Minerals PLC (All Star).
All Star is a company with 30,000,000 ordinary shares in issue, of which the
directors are currently Bruce Rowan and Dr Robert Young who is also Managing
Director of Beowulf. Dr Robert Young is interested in 5,900,000 ordinary shares
of All Star and Bruce Rowan is interested in the remaining 19,100,000 ordinary
shares. The directors of All Star intend for All Star to obtain an OFEX Listing
and become involved in the exploration and development of thorium, an element
that the directors believe is the near-term future of nuclear fuel.
In the February 2005 US Geological Survey annual report on rare earths it said
on page seven that, 'In the future, thorium's use as a non proliferative nuclear
fuel is considered a likely replacement for uranium, especially in a world
concerned with the threat of terrorism. As demand for thorium increases,
monazite would resume its role as a leading source of rare earths.'
Thorium was first discovered in 1828 by the Swedish chemist, Jons Jakob
Berzelius, who named the metal after Thor, the Norse god of war. Thorium, which
is represented on the periodic table by the symbol Th, has been recognised for
its ability to power reactors since nuclear energy emerged in the 1950s. Thorium
makes up around 0.0007% of the earth's crust, making it roughly three times more
abundant in the earth's crust than uranium, its more radioactive counterpart.
However, thorium has been largely ignored for nuclear energy due to its atoms
being difficult to split, which is the fundamental requirement of a fission
reactor.
Thorium is composed of a common single stable isotope, 232Th, which can absorb
neutrons and convert to 233U (uranium-233). From this point 233U undergoes
fission to generate energy. As well as generating power, a further advantage
from using thorium is the significantly lower level of transuranic waste that is
produced compared to a reactor powered by uranium or plutonium.
For further information contact :-
Dr. Robert Young, Chairman
Beowulf Mining plc Tel: +44-(0)1353 649 701
Gavin Burnell
Ruegg & Co. Limited Tel: +44-(0)207 584 3663
Nick Bealer
King & Shaxson Tel: +44-(0)207 426 5986
Gary Middleton
St Swithin's Public Relations Tel +44 (0) 207 429 4391
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange