Aguia signs JV with Vicenza

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THE BOURSE WHISPERER: Potash and phosphate exploration and development company Aguia Resources has signed a Joint Venture agreement with Vicenza Mineracao e Participacoes S.A. over the company’s Mata da Corda phosphate projects (MCPP) located in the state of Minas Gerais in Brazil.

Under the terms of the agreement Vicenza now has an exclusive option to acquire 70 per cent of the MCPP over a three year period.

Vicenza can earn this interest through a combination of:

Cash payments totalling R$1 million (A$0.56 million);
 
A minimum exploration spend of R$7 million (A$3.9 million); and

The minimum exploration spend will include at least 10,000 metres of drilling.

Aguia Resources currently holds a ground position of approximately 300,000 hectares in the Mata da Corda region, which the company describes as a “province” style holding within 150km of the three largest phosphate mines in Brazil.

 

Location of the Mata da Corda project relative to operating
phosphate mines, major fertiliser bulk blenders and infrastructure
including roads, railways, power and water. Source: Company announcement

 

These include Araxá – Vale (290 million tonnes at 14.88 per cent phosphate), Tapira – Vale (744Mt at 8.35 per cent phosphate) and Catalão – Anglo/Vale (203Mt at 8.80 per cent phosphate).

These three mines account for 95 per cent of the phosphate rock production in Brazil.

Aguia Resources said it was pleased to enter into a JV agreement with Vicenza, adding that it considered the company to be a partner that can focus on rapidly advancing the Mata da Corda project.

This is anticipated to occur through an intensive drilling campaign.

“We welcome the involvement of Vicenza to further advance the projects where our technical team has done an excellent job identifying and compiling a large land package and making surface phosphate discoveries for follow-up drilling,” Aguia Resources managing director Simon Taylor said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“With this joint venture in place it will allow us to direct more effort and funds at our Rio Grande phosphate projects in southern Brazil where our first drilling program returned excellent results with further assays pending.

“We will now fast track Rio Grande through the commencement of beneficiation studies and advancing the discovery towards delineation of Mineral Resource estimate that can be reported in accordance with the JORC Code with further drilling.”

BC Iron meets production guidelines

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THE BOURSE WHISPERER: Australian iron ore producer BC Iron, along with its 50:50 Nullagine Iron Ore Joint Venture (NJV) partner Fortescue Metals Group has hit achieved a significant milestone this month by exporting over one million tonnes of ore during the first half of the current financial year.

The NJV has dispatched a further two full cape size vessel shipments during December 2011 from Fortescue’s Herb Elliott Port in Port Hedland to reach a total export of around 1.1Mt for H1 FY2012.

 

Cape Size vessel MV Nord Steel loading Bonnie Fines at Herb Elliot Port during December. Source: Comapny announcement

 

The achievement is made more noteworthy by being slightly ahead of the company’s one million tonne production guidance for H1 FY2012.

As a result, BC Iron will realise positive cash flow in the December 2011 quarter.

“I am delighted to announce this significant milestone for the Joint Venture, which has met and slightly exceeded our guidance to the market for the first six months of this financial year,” BC Iron managing director Mike Young said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“Following the achievement of reaching the three million tonnes per annum production rate in November, this is the second of four guidance targets for FY2012 that we have ticked off and confirms that we remain on track to achieve our two other targets of raising our production rate to five million tonnes per annum and exporting 3.5 million tonnes by the end of FY2012.

“It is also pleasing to note that we continue to receive strong customer support for the quality of our product and operational support from our JV partner, Fortescue.”

Ironbark shareholders okay Glencore deal

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THE BOURSE WHISPERER: Shareholders of Greenland-focused Ironbark Zinc have approved a US$50 million convertible note funding facility and offtake facility with a wholly-owned subsidiary of Glencore International AG.

Ironbark said the transaction is an exciting progression in the development of the company in that it complements the work Ironbark is undertaking to advance its Citronen base metals project in Greenland to production.

Citronen currently hosts in excess of 11 billion pounds of zinc and lead.

 

The current JORC compliant resource for Citronen. Source: Company announcement

 

The company said it anticipates the facility will place it in a strong position to build a leading international base metals company at a time when Ironbark believes considerable external growth opportunities exist.

The company highlighted the proposed strengthening of its Board of Directors and support from major industry shareholders such as Glencore and Nyrstar NV, and technical expertise of project partner China Nonferrous Metal Industry’s Foreign Engineering and Construction Co. (NFC).

Ironbark said these factors will combine with the new deal to provide it with the financial capacity and technical and commercial expertise to rapidly accelerate the company’s intent to build a leading international base metals company.

“I am delighted with the overwhelming support shown for the US$50m funding facility,” Ironbark Zinc managing director Jonathan Downes sadi in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“The current challenging market conditions make this unique funding facility very attractive, with conversion prices at 42 cents and 50 cents per share representing very attractive premiums to the current Ironbark share price.

“Our shareholders clearly understand that this is an important step for Ironbark in building a significant international base metals mining house which will complement the development of Ironbark’s globally significant Citronen project which is being progressed towards development in partnership with NFC.”

Select needles way into Tanzania

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THE BOURSE WHISPERER: Oddly-named Select Vaccines has signed a binding Heads of Agreement with Mauritius-based explorer Indigo Metals to acquire 100 per cent of the issued capital of two wholly owned Mauritian entities and their subsidiaries.

Select will acquire 100 per cent of the issued capital of Panama Resources and Shira Resources and their two Tanzanian subsidiaries, IBIS Resources and WTF Resources.

According to Select Vaccines the combined entities own approximately 5,412 square kilometres of prospective and potentially large-scale coal and uranium projects located in the United Republic of Tanzania, East Africa.

The combined landholding consists of thirty-two prospecting licenses, of which 16 have been granted, with the remaining 16 currently under application.

 

General overview map of the Indigo Metals licences (in red) in
relation to historically known coal occurrences and four competitor
company’s licences. Source: Select Vaccines company announcement

 

Although it may not sound like a resources-focused enterprise Select Vaccines claims an experienced board with African coal experience, including Gary Seabrooke and Mark Titchener who were involved with the acquisition and early development of the Riversdale Mining coal discoveries in Tete, Mozambique.

Through the acquisitions the company will acquire four Tanzanian projects.

The first is the 142.5sqkm Mhuhkuru project, located in the Ruvuma region of the Songea district, 90 kilometres South West of Songea in Southern Tanzania.

The land holding is situated approximately 25km south of the Mhukuru Coalfield in the far west portion of the SW Selous Basin.

The Rukwa Basin project is located in the Sumbawanga Region, Rukwa District of SW Tanzania, approximately 35km North East of Sumbawanga town and 20km West of Lake Rukwa.

The project covers a massive surface area of 2189sqkm in relatively unexplored terrain.

The Ruhuhu project is located 90km North West of the town of Songea, in the Ruhuhu basin.

The project covers a total area of 307sqkm in the Ruhuhu Basin, which Select said is known to contain eleven coalfields.

Selects said the Ruhuhu Basin is the largest Karoo Supergroup basin in SW Tanzania and covers a total area of 2200sqkm.

The Selous project covers an area of 2,774sqkm over greenfields terrain.

Select said much of this terrain is thought to be composed of the prospective Karoo stratigraphy covered by a thin veneer of younger Cainozoic sediments.
 
All four projects are located in a region that hosts significant other projects.

Kangaroo bounds into Indonesian coal agreement

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THE BOURSE WHISPERER: Kangaroo Resources has executed the deeds of transfer with Indonesian coal conglomerate PT Bayan Resources.

The execution of the deeds gives Kangaroo direct foreign ownership of five key concessions and one asset-holding company at the Pakar thermal coal project in Kalimantan, Indonesia.

Kangaroo has previously announced the acquisition of a 99 per cent interest in the project from Bayan.

 

Kangaroo Resources project location map – East Kalimantan, Indonesia. Source: Company announcement

 

It is restructuring the ownership in line with new Indonesian mining laws, introduced in 2009, which permit direct foreign ownership.

The company said its ownership of the project will be enhanced by the singing as it will clear the way for commercial development of the project to proceed.

The restructure has been effected by converting each of the five concession holding companies (with IUP licences) and one asset-holding company to Indonesian PMA companies (a foreign investment company) and transferring 99 per cent of the shares from Bayan to Kangaroo.

“We are pleased to have completed the transfer of equity for the six companies thus far,” Kangaroo Resources managing director Mark O’Keefe said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“We believe this will make a significant positive contribution and be instrumental in achieving our objectives for the Pakar project.

“With direct ownership of the five Concessions and the asset holding company secured, it will provide the company with the impetus to fully develop and commercialise the company’s cornerstone asset.”

Kangaroo said the Pakar coal project is a cornerstone to its Indonesian coal production strategy and having direct ownership will secure the company’s exposure to future cash flows to be generated by the project.

The company also said it complements its existing portfolio of thermal and coking coal projects in Indonesia.

Kangaroo Resources is currently in preliminary production at its Mamahak coking coal project and is developing its GPK project.

Bullabulling JV completes Scoping Study

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THE BOURSE WHISPERER: The Bullabulling Joint Venture (Auzex Resources and GGG Resources) has completed an initial Scoping Study at the Bullabulling gold project.

According to JV partner Auzex Resources the aim of the Scoping Study was to examine the potential economic and technical viability of a large tonnage – low grade open cut mining operation at Bullabulling.

The company said the six kilometres long Bullabulling Trend, running between the Bacchus and Bonecrusher pits, was the focus of the study and where resource drilling and assessment programs to date have been concentrated.

The Scoping Study base case has indicated to the JV a large scale open pit mining and carbon-in-leach operation producing 7.5 million tonnes per year of ore with a run of mine grade of 1.04 grams per tonne gold, could potentially generate approximately 2.1 million ounces of gold at a cash cost of $968 per ounce.

 

Bullabulling Mineral Resource (3rd August 2011) at a 0.5 g/t cutoff

“The results of the Scoping Study are exciting and positive for the Bullabulling gold project,” Auzex Resources managing director John Lawton said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“As would be expected from a high tonnage – low grade project, the economics are particularly sensitive to recovered grade and operating costs, and we are of the view that with further studies the project will see improvements in these areas from the current estimates which will impact positively on the overall economics and cash costs in particular.

“The pre-feasibility study is now well in hand and will be based on an upgraded resource, which will form the basis of the maiden reserve, due to be finalised during the first quarter of 2012.”

The Auzex release said the main results from the study indicate that:

–    The project has sufficient resources to establish an operation with a minimum 10 year mine life target;

–    The metallurgy has no issues and recoveries for the operation should range from 92.5 per cent to 94.0 per cent;

–    Annual production should average around 230,000 ounces over the 10 year period with a life of mine production of 2.1 million ounces;

–    Operating costs of approximately $30 per tonne of ore treated, with potential for significant improvements;

–    Capital costs of approximately $366 million, again with potential for improvement;

–    Using a 6 per centdiscount rate and gold price of A$1,500 per ounce, the NPV is $389 million with an IRR of 29 per cent (at A$1,700oz the NPV is A$703M with an IRR of 42 per cent);

–    There are no apparent environmental or social issues to developing the project; and

–    Current infrastructure including water bores, haul roads and pit voids are in good condition and can be used for the proposed operation.

Auzex said the JV is progressing with a pre-feasibility study, which it expects to complete by the third quarter of 2012.

The new study is being based on a new resource model that will be upgraded to include the current infill drilling results from the current program of approximately 70,000m.

This will allow the establishment of a maiden reserve for the project.

Minbos increases Cabinda phosphate Resource

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THE BOURSE WHISPERER: Emerging phosphate developer Minbos Resources has announced Inferred Resource Estimates for the company’s Chivovo and Chibuete deposits.

The new estimatyes have, in-turn, increased in the total resource estimate for Minbos’ Cabinda phosphate project located in the Republic of Angola.

The Chivovo deposit contains a JORC compliant inferred resource of 6.7 million tonnes at 20.3 per cent phosphate.

The Chibuete deposit contains a JORC compliant inferred resource of 150Mt at 8.3 per cent phosphate.

Total JORC compliant resource for the Cabinda project now stands at of 304Mt at 11.5 per cent phophate comprising resources from the Chivovo, Chibuete, Mongo Tando and Chibuete deposits.

 

Location of Cabinda project. Source: Company announcement

“The announcement of a JORC compliant resource of 304 million tonnes at 11.5 per cent phosphate for the Cabinda posphate project is yet another important milestone for Minbos,” Minbos resources executive chairman Peter Richards said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“The Cabinda project can now be benchmarked against other world class phosphate projects and should result in a significant increase in the valuation of Minbos.

“Bayovar, currently being developed by Vale is a good example of such a project, containing  approximately 40 million tonnes of phosphate versus 35 million tonnes of phosphate already defined for the Cabinda project; based on a recent corporate transaction Bayovar has a valuation of over $US 1.1 billion.

“Equally significant is the feasibility study for the development of a high grade Direct Shipping Ore operation at Cacata and Chivovo which is underway.

“The 1.5 tonne ore sample for detailed metallurgical testwork obtained via diamond drilling is ready for dispatch and the environmental and port studies are progressing.

“The company is confident that the very robust financial numbers presented in the CRU scoping study will be confirmed and that the project will be fast tracked into production.”

Since November 2010, Minbos has completed approximately 20,000 metres of aircore drilling across five previously identified deposits that lie within the Cabinda phosphate license area.

The company has announced resource estimates for four of these five deposits.

Wolf signs up big money

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THE BOURSE WHISPERER: Specialty metal exploration and development company Wolf Minerals has appointed UniCredit Bank AG (UniCredit Corporate & Investment Banking), ING Bank N.V. and Caterpillar Financial SARL to provide senior debt finance facilities totalling GBP£55 million (AUD$80.1 million).

The company will use the monies to fund the commercial development of its Hemerdon tungsten and tin project in Southwest England.

 

Location of the Hemerdon project. Source: Company

“The appointment of UniCredit, ING Bank and Caterpillar Financial to provide senior debt finance facilities for the Hemerdon project represents a major milestone for the company and the development of the project,” Wolf Minerals managing director Humphrey Hale said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“All three are leading providers of finance to the mining sector and their appointment provides further strong validation of the Hemerdon project’s potential to become a major specialty minerals mining operation.”

Wolf said it will use the funding to support the planned construction of the Hemerdon project, based on the recently completed Definitive Feasibility Study.

The study confirmed the robust economic viability of the project and estimated a net present value of GBP£74 million.

Wolf also said it is in continuing discussions with potential off-take partners to provide subordinated debt.

The total debt facilities will enable Wolf to minimise the equity component of the funding package required to put the Hemerdon project into production.

UniCredit Bank AG, ING Bank N.V. and Caterpillar Financial SARL were appointed following the completion of a competitive process facilitated by Optimum Capital.

This process incorporated a technical due diligence review undertaken on behalf of the financiers by Micon International and a further independent marketing study by Roskill Consulting Group.

According to Wolf this review process supported the findings of the Definitive Feasibility Study and the robust economics of the project.

Provision of the senior debt finance facilities is subject to completion of the project finance documentation and the usual credit approvals and conditions precedent customary for a financing of this nature.

The current timetable is for the lenders to obtain credit approval for the facilities in February 2012.

Bassari makes increase at Makabingui

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THE BOURSE WHISPERER: Melbourne based gold explorer Bassari Resources has reported an increase to the Mineral Resource for its Makabingui gold project in Senegal, West Africa.

The Makabingui project is located in the Kenieba Inlier, Eastern Senegal, where multimillion ounce gold discoveries are currently being mined and developed.

 

Bassari permits – Kenieba Inlier, Senegal. Source: Company announcement

 

Bassari has completed a new Global Mineral Resource estimate of 10.8 million tonnes at 1.6 grams per tonne gold for a total of 543,000 ounces of gold at 0.2 grams per tonne gold cut-off grade for the Makabingui project.

The company said this represents a 126 per cent increase in contained ounces.

Contained within the Global Mineral Resource is 6.1 Mt at 2.6 g/t gold for a total of 503,000 ounces of gold at a 0.5 g/t gold cut-off grade.

According to Bassari this is an increase of 110 per cent on the maiden resource the company announced in May of 3.3 Mt at 2.3 g/t gold for a total of 240,000 ounces of gold.

“The increased resource and the upside potential at Makabingui reinforce our view that the current gold resource is part of a much larger mineralised system,” Bassari Resources managing director Jozsef Patarica said in the comp[any’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“Substantial increases to the resource are anticipated when drilling, both at depth and along strike, is undertaken.

“Our strategy to maximise resource growth and to expand prospectivity is well underway with this significant upgrade to the Makabingui resource and with drilling advancing on our high quality prospects on the Moura permit.”

Metaliko enters JV with KMC

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THE BOURSE WHISPERER: Perth-based gold explorer Metaliko Resources has entered into a mining and treatment Joint Venture agreement with Kalgoorlie Mining Company at the former’s Anthill gold project.

Metaliko has defined a gold resource of 160,600 ounces of contained gold at Anthill from five million tonnes at a grade of one gram per tonne gold.
 
The principle terms of the JV agreement are as follows:

–    Metaliko will complete the mining approval process and prepare the project for mining;

–    KMC will undertake the development, mining, transport and treatment of Anthill on behalf of the JV parties;

–    The JV parties will share the proceeds of gold sales equally after deductions of costs on an open book basis and agreed ore blending and recovery parameters;

–    Annual mining and treatment rates for Anthill ore will be approximately 300,000 tonnes; and

–    Ore treatment from Anthill will commence as soon as practicable after commissioning of the Bullant Plant.

KMC currently operates the Bullant underground mine, which is located six kilometres south of Anthill.

 

Locations of the Anthill and Bullant projects. Source: Company announcement

Ore from Bullant is presently being treated at the Kanowna Belle plant owned by Barrick Gold.

KMC intends to have its own treatment plant operational at Bullant during the fourth quarter of 2012.

The company also expects the crushing circuit of the plant to be operational by March 2012.

“Metaliko believes the proximity between Bullant, Anthill and other synergies will afford both parties significant benefits and ensure the maximum economic resource recovery from Anthill,” Metaliko Resources said in its ASX announcement.

“Metaliko looks forward to working closely with KMC under this arrangement.”

Metaliko said it is conducting resource drill outs and project development studies on areas of known gold mineralisation, like the Anthill project, that it terms Mine Truck and Treat (MTT) projects.

“In the Eastern Goldfields the existing treatment plant and haul road infrastructure means that even modest resources can have commercial value,” Metaliko explained.

“MTT projects offer the potential for low capital early cash flow that can then enhance the Company’s major exploration initiatives.”

Metaliko is also advancing its Goongarrie MTT and anticipates mining to commence there by third quarter 2012 subject to the company receiving necessary regulatory approvals.