THE BOURSE WHISPERER: Perth-based gold producer Crescent Gold has raised $8 million in convertible debt. Due to overwhelming demand a further $844,000 was raised through a share placement using the company’s existing 15 per cent capacity.

The issue has been placed with sophisticated and professional investors and was closed heavily oversubscribed.

The $8M Convertible Note facility has a maturity date of 30 June 2012, a 7% coupon rate, and is convertible into ordinary fully paid shares at the lower of $0.05 or 85% of the 5 day Volume Weighted Average Price (VWAP) prior to conversion with one option for every two shares subscribed for.

The Key Terms of the Convertible Notes are as follows:

– Issued at a Face Value of 5 cents;
– Interest Rate of 7% per annum until redeemed or converted;
– The Maturity Date is 30 June 2012; and
– The Notes are convertible at any time before maturity with the conversion price being the lower of $0.05 per share or 85% of 5 day VWAP prior to receipt of conversion notice, with one option for every two shares subscribed for.

The Convertible Note facility will be subject to shareholder approval.

Besides the Convertible Note facility Crescent Gold also announced the successful completion of a placement of 16.88 million shares at an issue price of five cents per share to raise a further A$844,000.

This also received very strong support from sophisticated investors.

The combined funds raised will be used for development programs in the company’s projects within the Laverton region of Western Australia, the costs of the security issues, and for general working capital requirements.

“This funding agreement demonstrates the strong support from investors for Crescent’s gold production operations and gold development and exploration operations in the Laverton region of WA,” Crescent Gold managing director Mark Tory said in an announcement.”

“The company has rebounded from a difficult start to the year operationally, to be on track to exceed its previously forecast quarterly equivalent gold production for the June 2011 quarter.

“The company is progressing well with negotiating a new long-term financing facility to fund further capital development requirements of new open pits in the regions.”

 

THE BOURSE WHISPERER: Platinum Group Metals hopeful Realm Resources has strengthened its existing portfolio of platinum group metals projects in South Africa.

Realm has signed a farm-in agreement) with Nkwe Platinum (Rooderand) (Pty) Ltd; a company in which ASX-listed Nkwe Platinum Limited holds a 70% interest.

Under the terms of the farm-in agreement, Realm can earn a 51% interest in the prospecting rights for platinum group metals, gold, silver, nickel, copper and cobalt granted in respect of Nkwe’s Rooderand prospect by spending $2 million in expenditure over a two year period.

“The addition of Rooderand is a good fit within our portfolio of PGM assets, and will enhance our near surface resource base both in terms of grade and ounces and improve our ability to realise value from our PGM portfolio,” Realm Resources managing director Richard Rossiter said in a company announcement.

Nkwe’s Rooderand prospect covers 535 hectares and is located on the Western Limb of the Bushveld Igneous Complex adjacent to Platinum Australia Limited’s Rooderand platinum project and Platmin Limited’s Pilanesberg open pit platinum mine.

Upon renewal of the prospecting rights for PGM, gold, silver, nickel, copper and cobalt granted in respect of the Rooderand prospect, Realm has a two year, Sole Funding Period, in which it can earn an undivided 51% interest in said prospecting rights.

It can do this by either spending $2 million on exploration and development; or by paying Nkwe an amount equal to the difference between $2 million and the amount of expenditure spent by Realm during the Sole Funding Period.

Realm has agreed to issue 5,000,000 shares to Nkwe, or its nominee, within five business days of the date of the farm-in agreement.

During the Sole Funding Period, Realm will be the manager of the Rooderand prospect.

The company will also be solely responsible for its administration and maintenance and will comply with any minimum annual expenditure requirements.

If Realm fails to spend $2 million in expenditure on the Rooderand prospect or pay Nkwe the adjustment amount during the Sole Funding Period, the farm-in agreement will terminate and Realm will have no interest in the Rooderand project.

Upon Realm acquiring a 51% interest in the prospecting rights granted in respect of the Rooderand prospect, Realm and Nkwe will enter into a joint venture on the terms and conditions set out in the agreement.

 

THE BOURSE WHISPERER: Diversified resources play Venus Metals Corporation has purchased a containerised, modular diamond processing plant for its Argyle Smoke Creek alluvial diamond project.

Smoke Creek is located downstream of the nearby Argyle Diamond Mine in the Kimberley region of Western Australia.

The project contains a JORC compliant Inferred Resource estimated at 17.9 million tonnes at an average grade of 28 carats per hundred tonnes for 5,000,000 carats using a cut‐off of 10CPHT.

Alluvial diamonds were first discovered at Smoke Creek 1979, which subsequently led to the discovery of the world-class Argyle diamond deposit.

“The Venus Smoke Creek Alluvial diamond Project contains the same diamondiferous gravels to those already mined by Argyle at upper Smoke Creek,” Venus Metals said in an announcement.

“Venus’ Argyle Smoke Creek Alluvial Diamond Deposit potentially provides a new source of genuine, Kimberley Process compliant, issue‐free Australian diamonds including the rare pinks.”

Venus geologists have selected over 40 primary target pits for excavation during the 2011 dry‐season in the Kimberley region.

The gravels excavated will be hauled to a set‐down area before being presented to the process plant.

The recently purchased processing plant comprises three modules incorporating a Scrubbing & Screening module, a 10 tonne‐per‐hour Dense Medium Separation (DMS) module and a dual‐X‐Ray diamond recovery module.

Each module in the plant produces potentially diamond‐bearing material or waste material not containing diamond.

Module 1 cleans the gravels and separates the very large or very small sizes not required. Material in the required size range is passed to Module 2 for further processing. Waste material is returned to the pits.

Module 2 is the DMS which utilises a proven heavy medium process to achieve controlled densimetric separation based on the differing densities of diamond and its accompanying gravels. Material selected in this process is passed to Module 3 for further processing. Waste is pumped to a drying pond pending return to the pits.

Module 3 contains two X‐Ray sorters developed and produced in South Africa by Flow Sort. Their operation is based on the X‐ray induced luminescence of diamonds, which enables the machine to separate diamond from non‐diamond rapidly. Module 3 operates within a high‐security locked container.

Although recently purchased the plant is not brand new having been constructed in South Africa in 2008 for an alluvial diamond project, which did not proceed. The plant has been in in storage since then.

It is currently in transit from South Africa and is scheduled to hit the dock in Fremantle early‐June, from where it will make its way up to the Smoke Creek camp with a bulk sampling program scheduled to commence at the end of June.

 

 

Australian uranium exploration play Aura Energy has received promising results from an initial drilling program on its Kallsedet uranium project in Sweden.

The four-hole diamond drilling program, for a total of 419 metres, revealed thick, mineralised intersections varying from 12m to 98m in cumulative thickness.

According to Aura the results confirm a widespread occurrence of uraniferous shale in the project area and the potential for the company to establish another significant uranium deposit in Sweden.

Three holes were drilled on Aura’s Olden permit and one hole on the Hamborg permit – both permits are 100 % owned by Aura.
 
Results include one drill hole intersecting 60m at 144 parts per million uranium (U3O8), including 6m at 224ppm uranium.

The company said these results confirm the potential for thick, higher grade zones of mineralisation within the licence areas.

Aura Energy managing director Dr Bob Beeson said the early results met the high expectations Aura had for the project area.

“We are pleased that the drilling results confirmed our belief that the project area holds large developments of thick uranium mineralisation,” Beeson said.

 “The thicknesses of mineralisation found in our drilling were greater than the surface mapping indicated.

“Aura holds 90 square kilometres of permits with the Kallsedet Project, and the company considers that significant proportions of this area are underlain by mineralised Alum Shale.”
 
Beeson concluded by saying the next step for the company is to undertake further drilling to explore the potential of the outcropping alum shale in Aura Energy’s permit zones.

Aura has substantial landholding covering the uraniferous Alum Shale near Kallsedet, close to the Norwegian border in Sweden.

The project area is a key prospect in Aura’s strategy to develop a pipeline of uranium projects in Sweden.

Aura has resources of 291 million pounds of U3O8 in its Häggån project located approximately 120km southeast of Kallsedet, where it has just completed a drilling program to further expand these resources.

 

ASX 200 member CuDeco has entered into a conditional Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the lease up to 900 hectares of land located outside the south-east boundary of the township of Cloncurry in Queensland.

The land has been earmarked for the construction of a multi-user, multi-purpose rail load-out facility.

The area of land under question is located in close proximity to the current Townsville/Mt Isa/Duchess rail line network & the Flinders Highway.

The conditions for the MOU if fully implemented will entitle CuDeco to a lease over the land for 40 years.

Should the construction of the facility go ahead it will no doubt become the envy of the country’s other mining power-house state, Western Australia, where the subject of third party access to railway infrastructure continues to be a rock on the tracks of progress.

The new CuDeco train set is destined to become not only a crucial aspect for the company but also for other companies operating within the north-west Queensland region, as it is being designed specifically with third-party users in mind.

If realised the rail and load-out facility will be utilised for the rail shipment of products from CuDeco’s Rocklands Group copper project, which is forecast to commence production in late 2012.

Rocklands is expected to export up to around 350,000 tonnes of concentrates per year.

Third parties that find themselves fortunate enough to be invited to use the new CuDeco rail network will be required to construct their own storage sheds in allocated areas.

Additionally third parties will be invited to utilise CuDeco’s Port Facility at Townsville, which is in the final stage of granting approval of the Development Licence to construct a 200,000 tonne storage/rail unloading and ship loading facility.

CuDeco’s phone has already been running hot with the company intimating that it has already received several enquiries from interested third parties eager to participate in both the Cloncurry and Townsville rail load and unload rail facilities.

The company is fairly confident that, if implemented, the new rail facility will be fully tenanted by the forecast completion date.

Companies that fail to get on the first round should not fret as the design will incorporate room for further possible expansion to meet any additional output from new operations that may kick off in the coming years.

There is little doubt this proposed facility will be a boon for mining in the region, especially considering the number of new copper/lead/zinc/molybdenum/gold/ phosphate mines expected to be commencing production in the next one to three year time frame.

There is also increased superphosphate and sulphuric acid transport, all within the Cloncurry region of Queensland and transportation of these mineral products are not currently catered for.

The closing of the Mt Isa Copper Smelter combined with Xstrata’s announcement that Mt Isa copper concentrates will now have to be shipped overseas has highlighted the need for such a facility.

CuDeco’s infrastructure team have been in negotiations with a number of Queensland Government Departments over the past six months discussing the proposal and the facility management.

Part of the early phases of development will be to seek necessary government approvals and co-ordination agreements with the current state rail operators.

CuDeco has engaged infrastructure and engineering consultants, Robert Bird Group (RBG) to assist with the facility’s development.

RBG design group already has Phase 1 of the development underway, which includes survey and engineering assessment of site layouts, general engineering arrangements, and operational requirements and methodologies

The outcome of this developmental stage will be scrutinised by CuDeco’s infrastructure and logistical team to enable the company’s expectations and requirements to be incorporated into the project.

The projected facility will be able to store more than 1.5 million tonnes of product at any one time, with the rail loop component able to allow for much greater cargo tonnages to be achieved on the existing Mt Isa / Townsville line.