THE BOURSE WHISPERER: Orinoco Gold (ASX: OGX) has doubled the size of its ground position in the Faina Goldfields of central Brazil.

The deal involves no upfront payments, which Orinoco claims adds immediate value for the company by delivering an increase to the strike length of the prospective Eliseo project while also introducing several new targets in the immediate vicinity of both the Cascavel and Eliseo projects.

“As we rapidly progress the Cascavel and Eliseo projects we are also targeting attractive strategic opportunities to grow our regional tenement package around these projects in the Faina Greenstone Belt,” Orinoco Gold managing director Mark Papendieck said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“These represent potentially valuable additions to our already commanding ground position, significantly extending the strike length of the Eliseo project, building our prospective tenement position around Cascavel and adding prospective ground near what was one of Brazil’s lowest cost and highest grade mines.”

Orinoco said the new tenement package extends the Eliseo project as it has similar geology.

Rock chip samples (gold in panned concentrate from rock chips with assays pending) have extended over a strike length of more than three kilometres.

The company explained it had recently gained a greater understanding of the probable structural controls on mineralisation at Eliseo having recently completing a geophysical survey.

It now intends evaluating the resource potential of the enlarged Eliseo project.

Eliseo project map. Source: Company announcement

The newly-acquired tenements also include the Charuto target, where historic drilling defined an ore shoot and oxide zone, including 33 metres at 4.2 grams per tonne gold.

Charuto is located 5km north-west of Eliseo, and the company indicated it will be testing for repetitions and down-plunge extensions of the ore shoot defined by the historic drilling.

Orinoco can earn up to 75 per cent of the tenement package over the next two and a half years.

An interest of 60 per cent will earned by investing in exploration over 30 months and making milestone payments after 18 and 30 months.

An additional 15 per cent holding (total 75 per cent can be purchased by Orinoco at an agreed rate based upon agreed metrics.

THE BOURSE WHISPERER: Venture Minerals (ASX: VMS) has secured debt financing from BNP Paribas for the company’s Riley Direct Shipping Ore (DSO) project in northwest Tasmania.

The financing comes in the form of a $15 million, two year, revolving line of credit, which the company indicated would essentially be a standby working capital facility for its 100 per cent-owned iron ore mining operations.

Venture described the facility as competitively priced and fully flexible with both drawdown and repayments at its discretion.

BNP Paribas has completed due diligence and has received credit committee approval.

The negotiation of the debt facility follows the grant of the Riley mining lease in December 2012, and the recent appointment of Shaw’s Contracting as preferred mining contractor on the project.

Venture said securing debt financing was another step forward for the company as it workls towards becoming a one million tonnes per annum iron ore producer commencing in 2013.

“Venture is now an emerging producer with a strong cash position, which combined with the above debt facility, sees the company fully funded into production on the Riley DSO project,” Venture Minerals managing director Hamish Halliday said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“Venture is very pleased to be able to attract the calibre of BNP Paribas as project financier, which is a testament to the quality and potential of Venture’s projects in northwest Tasmania.”

Key features of the financing facility include:

i) Finance period of two years including a Revolving Cash Advance Facility with a limit of $15 million for the project financing of Riley DSO project;

ii) Revolving credit with flexible repayment and redraw availability with stepped limit reductions during the second year of the loan life;

iii) Revolving Bank Guarantee Facility for current and future bonds to a facility limit of $2.5 million;

iv) Discretionary Commodity Hedging Facility to a limit of 500,000 tonnes iron ore to be at the company’s discretion;

v) All facilities are secured over the DSO mining tenements only;

vi) Competitive facility costs and interest rate margins;

vii) BNP Paribas has completed its due diligence review of the DSO pProject and Facilities are credit committee approved; and

viii) Subject to completion of facility documents and condition precedents including project licences and approvals.

THE BOURSE WHISPERER: Silex Systems (ASX:SLX), via its wholly-owned subsidiary Solar Systems, has announced commenced operation of Australia’s largest Concentrating Photovoltaic (CPV) solar power station in Mildura, north west Victoria.

Silex said the grid-connected facility will demonstrate Solar Systems’ ‘Dense Array’ CPV solar conversion system.

The company explained that and when the facility becomes fully operational it will have a capacity of 1.5 megawatts (MW) – enough to power up to 500 averaged sized homes.

A commercial power purchase agreement for power off-take onto the local Mildura grid was signed with Diamond Energy in December 2012.

“The commencement of operations at our Mildura Demonstration Facility is a significant milestone in the commercialisation of Solar Systems’ unique ‘Dense Array’ CPV technology,” Silex Systems chief executive officer Dr Michael Goldsworthy said in the copany’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“The first array consisting of 10 dish systems has been successfully commissioned and is operational, with the remaining three arrays of 30 dishes to be brought online progressively over the next few weeks.

“We are very excited about the commercial prospects for this technology, which will potentially provide very low cost electricity from large utility-scale solar power station projects planned for deployment around the world.”

Mildura CPV demonstration facility. Source: Company announcement

The Mildura Demonstration Facility and associated product development program has received financial support from the Victorian State Government to the tune of a $10 million funding package.

It has also received additional financial support from the Australian Federal Government.

Silex said the planning phase for the next stage of the project, the 100MW Mildura solar power station project, is scheduled to commence construction late in 2014, subject to successful operation of the Mildura Demonstration Facility and finalization of funding arrangements.

Construction of a 1MW demonstration plant at the Nofa Equestrian Resort near Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, is expected to be completed in the third quarter 2013.

This will be the first offshore demonstration facility using Solar Systems’ ‘Dense Array’ CPV Dish technology.

THE BOURSE WHISPERER: Azure Minerals (ASX: AZS) has received commitments from participants in a share placement of 58.75 million fully paid ordinary shares at 4 cents each to raise $2.35 million.

The placement was supported by Drake Private Investments, a prominent New York-based investment fund, which recently became a substantial shareholder of the company.

Drake took subscribed for 25 million shares ($1 million).

Azure indicated the funds raised will be used to conduct follow up drilling at the company’s Cascada prospect in Mexico which recently returned a drill intercept of 70 metres at 2.7 per cent copper equivalent (CuEq) (1.6 per cent copper, 0.9 grams per tonne gold and 35 grams per tonne silver).

The funds will also be used to pay for advancing feasibility studies for the Promontorio high-grade copper-gold-silver deposit, and on-going exploration on the recently acquired Loreto and Panchita projects.

“The capital raising went very well with strong demand and it closed substantially over-subscribed, exceeding our expectations,” Azure Minerals managing director Anthony Rovira said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“I am particularly pleased with Drake’s commitment and their strong and continued support.

“Funds raised fully capitalise Azure for planned drilling at Cascada as well as on-going exploration activities at Loreto and Panchita.

“The next few months promise to be very exciting for the company with drilling soon to commence at the Cascada and La Tortuga projects, further exploration and results are expected from Loreto and Panchita, and the results of the updated Mineral Resource for Promontorio, which remains on track to be released this month.”

The company now has logistical preparations for the planned drilling programs in progress and expects to be drilling at La Tortuga and Cascada within one month.

Meanwhile exploration teams have remobilised to the Loreto and Panchita projects where further surface exploration is continuing.

THE BOURSE WHISPERER: Exterra Resources (ASX:EXC) has submitted a Mining Proposal and Mine Closure Plan for the company’s 100 per cent-owned Second Fortune gold project at Linden in Western Australia to the Department of Mines and Petroleum.

The company’s environmental consultants, MBS, completed all of the environmental studies required for the lodgement of documentation with the DMP, claiming no obvious impediments existed to granting of a Mining Approval.

“The submission of the Mining Proposal and Mine Closure Plan is an important step in the development of the Second Fortune Gold Mine,” Exterra Resources managing director John Davis said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“We look forward to moving into the financing stage with the project on track for development in the second half of 2013.”

Exterra said its Development Timetable for Second Fortune was on schedule having either completed or having underway the following targets:

–    Appointment of experienced project manager;

–    Mining proposal and mine closure plan lodged with DMP;

–    Detailed mine design and scheduling near completion;

–    Term sheet for off-site ore treatment received;

–    Underground mining contractor discussions advancing;

–    Water abstraction licence for on-going dewatering of the mine lodged; and

–    Debt and hybrid financing discussions underway.

Exterra is now in the final stages of completing an update of operating and capital costs for the Second Fortune mine development.

The mine schedule has been updated and revised with an emphasis on achieving ore production as soon as practicable.

The company also claim to be close to finalising an agreement with regards to the initial offsite treatment of ore from Second Fortune.