THE BOURSE WHISPERER: OZ Minerals (ASX: OZL) has completed a gold trial at its Prominent Hill processing plant.

The company said the trial had confirmed the plant’s ability to process existing gold ore stockpiles in a blend with copper ore at 8.7 million tonnes per annum as well as identifying optimisations that will result in an estimated blended throughput of 9.5 million tonnes per annum.

As part of the mine plan to prioritise copper production, maximise the efficiency of the open pit mining contract and keep the processing plant at or near full capacity until at least 2022, OZ Minerals has built up a sizeable stockpile of gold ore as a by-product of mining copper ore.

In December 2015, the company carried out a one week trial at Prominent Hill to process an ore blend containing approximately 60 per cent gold ore, which it explained to be indicative of the expected plant ore feed from 2020 to 2022.

The trial was conducted to assess the impact of a high gold ore blend on plant throughput and recovery.

The results outshone a previous trial completed held in 2013 and highlighted a potential optimised circuit that could push throughput of 60 per cent gold ore to 9.5 million tonne per annum.

Although it is relatively low in grade, the stockpile has been mined as the company accesses the higher grade copper ore first, therefore the cost of creating the stockpile is a sunk cost.

OZ Minerals considers the gold ore stockpile will be an excellent de-risked source of cash flow between 2020 and 2022.

“These strong trial results reaffirm our ability to run Prominent Hill at or near full capacity until 2022,” Oz Minerals managing director and CEO Andrew Cole said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“The cost of building this stockpile has already been incurred so we expect to generate significant cash flow from processing the stockpile in addition to our underground ore in future years.”

As at 30 June 2015, gold ore on the stockpile was estimated at 11 million tonnes of Proved Ore Reserves at 0.7 grams per tonne gold, 2.4g/t silver and 0.1 per cent copper.

Recoveries of gold and silver were broadly in line with existing recovery metrics returning a book value of the gold ore stockpile at 30 June 2015 of $142 million.

Website: www.ozminerals.com

THE BOURSE WHISPERER: Doray Minerals (ASX: DRM) has moved to a 60 per cent interest in the Horse Well project in the north eastern goldfields of Western Australia.

Doray is currently exploring for a new standalone gold project at Horse Well, under a farm-in agreement with Alloy Resources (ASX: AYR).

The company has advised Alloy it has earned 60 per cent interest in the Horse Well project having spent the required $2 million on the project to date.

Work carried out by Doray at Horse Well has confirmed the potential for the project to host substantial gold mineralisation as well as a new greenfields gold discovery at the Dusk ‘til Dawn prospect.

Alloy now has the option of contributing pro-rata to exploration expenditure up to delivery of a PreFeasibility Study at the project, or diluting further to 20 per cent.

Upon delivery of a PFS, Alloy has the option of contributing to the project or diluting to a one per cent Net Smelter Return royalty.

Website: www.dorayminerals.com.au

THE BOURSE WHISPERER: Straits Resources (ASX: SRQ) informed the market it will be renamed Aeris Resources Limited (ASX: AIS), a change that is expected to occur within the next week.

The name change was approved by the company’s shareholders at an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM).

The meeting also voted in the affirmative for a longer‐term debt structure with the company’s major lender, Standard Chartered Bank and the introduction of a new strategic partner, Special Portfolio V Limited (PAG SPV).

After the meeting Straits Resources (soon to be Aeris Resources) executive chairman Andre Labuschagne said the cumulative results of the EGM marked a new era for the company and an important step towards the conclusion of an extensive corporate and operational restructuring process.

“Over the past three years we have made some difficult but necessary decisions and worked diligently to turn the business around,” Labuschagne said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“We have divested the majority of the company’s non‐core assets, exited our Indonesian operations, reduced corporate overheads and focussed on returning the Tritton operations to reliable production and positive cash flows.

“With a strengthened financial outlook, we believe it is appropriate to start the next chapter under a new brand.”

Labuschagne outlined a clear, two‐pronged growth strategy for the newly-minted Aeris, which will include investmeent in near‐mine exploration to advance an extensive pipeline of known prospects within its landholding in the proven Tritton copper region to leverage existing infrastructure at its Tritton operations.

Labuschagne indicated Aeris would also pursue appropriate merger and acquisition opportunities with the support of its new strategic partner.

“I would like to thank our shareholders for supporting these changes which cements our position as a significant Australian copper producer and to realise our clear growth potential,” Labuschagne said.

Website: www.aerisresources.com.au

THE BOURSE WHISPERER: Altech Chemicals (ASX: ATC) has been granted exploration licence E70/4718, also known as the Kerrigan project, located approximately 20 kilometres south of the Western Australian wheat belt town of Hyden and 335km south east of Perth.

The licence covers an area of approximately 480 square kilometres on freehold agricultural land.

It contains Inferred Kaolin Mineral Resources of 85 million tonnes at 85.1 per cent brightness (JORC 2004).

The Kerrigan project has the advantage of being 15km from the Hyden to Lake Grace railway line, which connects to the port city of Albany, as well as established sealed roads from Hyden to Perth and the ports of Albany, Bunbury, Esperance and Fremantle.

In 2011, previous owner, CRA Exploration conducted various mineral and chemical analysis on kaolin samples from various outcrops, diamond drill core and air core within the Kerrigan project.

“Based on this analysis, which returned results showing the samples had low levels of impurities (such as iron and sodium) and were high in alumina, the company is considering undertaking its own sampling and analysis campaign for the project,” Altech Chemicals said in its ASX announcement.

“The project may present an opportunity to provide kaolin as complementary high-grade feedstock for the company’s proposed Malaysian HPA project.”

Email: info@altechchemicals.com

Website: www.altechchemicals.com

THE BOURSE WHISPERER: Antipa Minerals (ASX: AZY) has swallowed up ground that used to belong to Newcrest Mining Limited in Western Australia.

In January 2015 Newcrest Mining relinquished mining leases M45/247 and M45/248.

These are located approximately 40 kilometres north of the Telfer gold mine and mineral processing facility, and within Antipa Minerals’ North Telfer project area.

Antipa subsequently applied for amalgamation of this ground within its existing exploration licenses, which have now been granted.

“The company is in the process of concluding its technical review and validation of the historic data and expects to be in a position to update the market shortly,” Antipa Minerals said in its ASX announcement.

The North Telfer project covers approximately 1,300 square kilometres of granted mineral exploration licences adjoining its current Citadel project landholding and extending south to within 20km and 30km of Newcrest’s Telfer gold-copper-silver mine and O’Callaghans tungsten and base metal deposit respectively.

Email: admin@mzi.com.au

Website: www.antipaminerals.com.au