THE BOURSE WHISPERER: Doray Minerals (ASX: DRM) has announced construction of the company’s 200,000 tonnes per annum gravity and CIP gold processing plant at the Andy Well gold project has reached Practical Completion.

The company said it had reached this milestone under budget and ahead of schedule.

Commissioning of the processing plant is well advanced and ahead of schedule while treatment of stockpiled ore from the Stage 1 open pit and initial underground mining has commenced.

Doray said it anticipated first gold production within the next fortnight.

“We are very pleased to be able to announce that our processing plant was completed within the contract budget set for the project and also ahead of our revised schedule following final permitting and commencement of site works in November 2012,” Doray Mineals managing director Allan Kelly said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“This is a very significant achievement for Doray and I congratulate all those involved in the project so far, especially GR Engineering Services, who have done a great job.”

Doray said the final remaining piece of site infrastructure, a 4.2MW diesel-fired power plant, is currently being installed and is scheduled to be commissioned in early August.

In the meantime, the processing plant, site offices, and underground mine will continue to run on temporary hire generators.

THE BOURSE WHISPERER: Encounter Resources (ASX: ENR) has entered into an agreement that will expand the company’s ground position in the Paterson Province in Western Australia.

The agreement is with Midas Resources (ASX: MDS) and relates to two granted exploration licenses and an area of 316 square kilometres, located to the north and west of Encounter’s Yeneena project.
 
According to Encounter the tenements hold prospective ground along the McKay and Vines Fault copper corridors.

This ground addition will result in Encounter controlling over 75 strike kilometres of the Vines Fault and 60kms of the McKay Fault corridors.

 

Yeneena project leasing, key structures and target areas. Source: Company announcement

 

Encounter stated its exploration activities at Yeneena to date have outlined copper mineralisation between these two corridors, in particular, its BM1 and BM7 copper discoveries.

“Encounter has considerable operating experience in the Paterson Province and has developed significant in-house knowledge about the copper systems in the region,” Encounter Resources managing director Will Robinson said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“Expanding our strategic footprint and applying our deposit understanding and targeting skills into these prospective regions is a logical extension to our existing copper exploration activities.”

The Yeneena project now covers 1,900sqkm of the Paterson Province.

It is located 40km from the Nifty copper mine and 30km from the Telfer gold-copper deposit.

Encounter claims the targets it has identified are located adjacent to major regional faults and have been identified through electromagnetics, geochemistry and structural targeting.

The targets are hosted within sediments of the Broadhurst Formation in a similar geological setting to Straits Resources’ Nifty copper deposit (total resource of 148.3 million tonnes at 1.3 per cent copper).

During 2012 and 2013 Encounter added to its ground position along the prospective corridor adjacent to the Yeneena project by completing earn-in agreements with St Barbara, Independence Group and Midas Resources.
 
In April 2013, the company completed an earn-in agreement with Antofagasta Minerals Perth, a wholly owned subsidiary of Antofagasta PLC, one of the world’s largest copper producers, where the South American major may earn a 51 per cent interest in two tenements within the Yeneena project by incurring expenditures of US$20 million over a five year period.

THE BOURSE WHISPERER: The regular game of musical chairs continues within the boardrooms across the resources industry.

New Board appointment

Base Resources (ASX: BSE) has appointed Malcolm Macpherson to its Board.

The company said the appointment brings additional mineral sands, African and corporate development experience to the company.

Macpherson spent 25 years from 1978 at Iluka Resources Limited, the world’s largest mineral sands company, rising from mine manager to managing director and chief executive.

Macpherson has spent the last decade as a company director and consultant.

He is currently chairman of Pluton Resources and a director of Bathurst Resources, Bathurst Resources (New Zealand) and Titanium Corporation Inc., a Canadian‐listed technology company.

He has previously held the position of chairman with Azumah Resources and Western Power Corporation and been a director of Portman Mining and Minara Resources.

Macpherson has also been the senior vice president of the Minerals Council of Australia, president of the Western Australian Chamber of Minerals & Energy, and a member of Senate at Murdoch University.

He has had active roles in research and innovation, including an advisory role to CSIRO.

New managing director

Carpentaria Exploration (ASX: CAP) announced the appointment of Quentin Hill as managing director, with Nick Sheard becoming non-executive chairman responsible for the company’s strategic direction.

The appointment will be effective from September 1, 2013.

The management change follows the establishment of the new Joint Venture for the Hawsons project with partner Pure Metals, which assumed management of the project and is focused on delivering a successful Bankable Feasibility Study and subsequent project development.

Carpentaria maintains its core exploration and opportunity based focus and will maintain an active interest in the development of Hawsons without the immediate need to contribute to funding.

Carpentaria will focus on advancing its other projects including the Braemar Iron project in South Australia, the Yanco Glen tungsten project near Broken Hill and its gold projects in the Lachlan Fold Belt, whilst seeking further opportunities in its geographical focus of eastern Australia.
 

Director appointment

Metals X (ASX: MLX) announced the appointment to its Board of Paul Cmrlec as an independent non-executive director.

Cmrlec is currently the managing director of Pacific Niugini and was previously a non-executive director of Westgold Resources and group mining engineer for Harmony Gold Australia and Metals X.

His recent experience also includes the general management of several major feasibility studies including the Wafi copper-gold deposit in Papua New Guinea, and Metals X’s Wingellina nickel-cobalt deposit in the Central Musgraves region of Western Australia.

Resignation of chairman

Yancoal Australia (ASX: YAL) announced that Weimin Li has resigned as chairman and as a director of the company.

This follows Li’s resignation as chairman of Yanzhou Coal Mining Company, the controlling shareholder of Yancoal.

The company said a further announcement regarding the appointment of a new chairman of Yancoal will be made in due course.

Appointment of non-executive director

Exalt Resources (ASX: ERD) has advise that Robert Crossman has been appointed as a non-executive director.

Crossman is the managing director of Corpac Partners which he founded in 2001.

He has over 20 years of experience in mergers and acquisitions, equity capital markets, project finance, and corporate advisory, principally in the mining and energy sectors.

Crossman has acted as lead adviser in several landmark transactions across the energy, resources, infrastructure, and telecommunications sectors.

Prior to founding Corpac, Crossman was head of investment banking at Hartley Poynton, the managing director of ABN Amro Rothschild and a managing director in investment banking at N.M. Rothschild & Sons.

Appointment of non-executive director

Uranex (ASX: UNX) announced the appointment of Peter Sarantzouklis as a non-executive director.

Sarantzouklis has held executive roles within the banking industry with wide ranging experiences over the past 19 years.

Currently, he is the chief financial officer of the St George Banking Group.

Sarantzouklis previously worked in Westpac New Zealand, sitting on the New Zealand executive team.

“It is with great pleasure that we welcome Peter to the Board, his skills and experience will be a huge asset as we progress our exciting Nachu graphite project,” Uranex chairman Johann Jacobs said.

“We look forward to a long productive association with him.”

THE BOURSE WHISPERER: Australia Minerals and Mining Group (ASX: AKA) is about to commence a Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) for the company’s 100 per cent-owned South West High Purity Alumina project, located in the south west of Western Australia.

AMMG has appointed a Perth-based metallurgist and process engineering company to complete the DFS with the aim of addressing the following processing technology criteria:

Data Review

–    Flowsheet Review; and
–    Pilot data and equipment.

Process engineering

–    Revised Process Design Criteria development;
–    SysCAD Model development;
–    Plant layout design;
–    Process Flow Diagram development;
–    Equipment List and Capital Expense;
–    Piping and Instrumentation Diagram and Control Philosophy;
–    Operational Expense;
–    Plant Layout design; and
–    Safety and Operational Philosophy.

“The DFS is the next stage of development for this project as it will detail the design, construction, capex and opex costings necessary for pursuing financing options for a HPA pilot/mini-production plant,” AMMG managing director Ric Dawson said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“The appointment of this highly-experienced metallurgical/process engineering company is based on their previous success in the optimisation and management of efficient laboratory and processing plant operations both in Australia and overseas.

“The DFS is scheduled for completion in September 2013; subsequent to this and provided the securing of the necessary funding requirements occurs, a tendering process would ordinarily follow, with commencement of operations anticipated around mid to later next year.”

AMMG previously announced production of 99.99 per cent (4N) high purity alumina (HPA) using its processing technology.

The company stated it is confident it will be able to produce higher 5N or 6N purity levels, subject to further successful development of the process.

AMMG has lodged three patent applications to protect the intellectual property of its processing technology.
 
The company considers the DFS to be the next stage of development in this project as it will scope the design, construction and financing requirements for a HPA production plant.

AMMG is currently targeting potential investors and off-take customers.

THE BOURSE WHISPERER: Equatorial Resources (ASX: EQX) has released the results of a recently-completed Scoping Study for the company’s 100 per cent-owned Mayoko-Moussondji iron project, located in the south-west of the Republic of Congo.

Equatorial has a three stage development plan for Mayoko-Moussondji and says the Scoping Study has focused on optimising the feasibility of the project for an initial 2 million tonne per annum hematite based operation (Stage 1 and Stage 2).

Key Scoping Study results for Stage 1 and Stage 2 include:

–    An initial Mine Life 23 years;

–    A production target profile (steady state Stage 2) of 2 million tonnes per annum;

–    Capital cost to initial production of US$114 million;

–    Total capital cost (mine, rail, and port) of US$231 million;

–    Operating costs (LOM average cash costs Free On Board (FOB)) US$41 per tonne;

–    Product quality 64 per cent iron Mayoko Premium Fines; and

–    A timeline to initial production of 15 months from Final Investment Decision.

“The Scoping Study has identified an immediate pathway to a two million tonne per annum hematite mining operation producing a premium product transported by the existing railway and port facilities,” Equatorial Resources managing director and CEO John Welborn said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“The study demonstrates that our project has a number of advantages: the potential for a high-quality product, low capital requirements, competitive operational costs, and a short timeframe to production based on access to existing rail and port infrastructure.

“These advantages, and the potential for future expansion, make Mayoko-Moussondji a stand-out development opportunity.”

The company indicated it plans to produce a Mayoko Premium Fines iron product grading 64.1 per cent iron from the project, commencing at 500,000 tonnes per annum during Stage 1 and ramping up within 18 months to two million tonnes per annum during Stage 2.

Based on the initial Hematite Resource the operating life of mine is estimated at 23 years.

The first six years of mining are based on indicated mineral resource (representing 25 per cent of the total mineral resource inventory), with the remainder being inferred material.

Operating cash costs are expected to average US$41 per tonne FOB Pointe-Noire over the life of the mine.

The initial capital expenditure required for first production has been estimated at US$114 million.

The total capital cost required to achieve 2Mtpa is estimated at US$231 million.

The total capital cost could be reduced through leasing arrangements on rolling stock, improvements in tailings management and through partnership opportunities with neighbouring company Exxaro Resources.