THE CONFERENCE CALLER: With the 2019 Gold Coast Investment Showcase closing fast, The Resources Roadhouse continues its look at companies that will be in attendance.
Altech Chemicals (ASX: ATC) has Stage 1 construction at the company’s high purity alumina (HPA) project site in Johor, Malaysia, progressing well.
The company has completed advanced design and engineering that has allowed permits and approvals to be issued.
The site development order was approved allowing site works to commence and activities at site have transitioned from the establishment phase well into the construction phase.
Initial site establishment activities are completed, with the site fully fenced and secured.
Other work has included the completion of a site construction office, a security post, a vehicle wash down bay with sediment control, a site weather monitoring station, and temporary ablutions have been installed.
As far as actual mining goes, removal of topsoil from the site, bulk earthworks and site levelling has been undertaken with soil compaction in most areas close to being finalised.
A foundation piling rig established the foundation piling for the workshop building and the concrete footings for this building are also nearing completion.
The first steel was recently raised in plant construction anger, representing the culmination of the above-mentioned series of achievements at the project over the last six months.
Winchester Energy (ASX: WEL) is set to spud a step-out well in July at the company’s Mustang prospect, located in the Permian Basin of Texas, USA.
Winchester Energy explained the step-out well is to spud 420 metres from the previous Mustang Prospect well White Hat 20#3, which returned initial production (IP) of 306 barrels of oil per day (bopd) and continues to produce consistently.
The new well, White Hat 20#4, is a development well on the newly discovered Mustang Oil Field and is designed as a low risk well which, if successful, will further increase Winchester’s net oil production.
Winchester is planning a drilling program to develop the central lobe of the Mustang prospect that will include approximately 15 well locations.
The Mustang prospect has a Prospective Resource target best estimate P50 of 1.43 million bbls recoverable and a high estimate P10 of 3.76 million bbls recoverable from the Strawn Sand.
“The impending spud of White Hat 20#4 builds on the success of the White Hat 20#3 which returned exceptional flow rates of 306 barrels of oil per day,” Winchester Energy managing director Neville Henry said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.
“White Hat 20#4 represents a low risk opportunity to further increase oil production and also increased confidence in the newly discovered Mustang Oil Field.
“We hope to extend the play further to the north and south and expect a series of large basin-floor sand lobes to occur within the Mustang area.
“The company intends to execute its Mustang development plan which focusses on relatively low risk locations initially stepping out from White Hat 20#3.
“This should see Winchester steadily expand its oil production and cash flow and with the El Dorado and Spitfire prospects representing yet more genuine upside for the company.”
King Island Scheelite (ASX: KIS) released results of an updated Feasibility Study and Revised Mineral Reserve Estimate for the redevelopment of the company’s 100 per cent-owned Dolphin tungsten project in King Island, Tasmania.
The probable reserves, in accordance with JORC 2012 code, have estimated to be 3 million tonnes at 0.73 per cent tungsten oxide WO3 (Cut‐off 0.2%).
King Island Scheelite reported the study outlined the Dolphin Open‐cut project is planned to mine and process approximately 400,000 tonnes per annum of ore for eight years to produce approximately 3,500 tonnes of tungsten concentrate per year.
This concentrate will be sold into a market the company expects to be of growing demand and constrained supply.
The Dolphin processing plant has been substantially modified since a Reserve Estimation carried out in 2015.
Processing will now be conducted through, primarily, a gravity circuit followed by a small flotation circuit to which some of the gravity tails will report.
The company has carried out further site infrastructure engineering works, resulting in capital and operating cost savings from the previous estimation.
King Island indicated its relatively advanced engineering studies and proposed methodology based on a modular design, has allowed its engineering consultants to determine that detailed design, procurement, construction and commissioning could be achieved within a fifteen‐month period after financial close.
The company is confident that once financial close has been reached, commissioning of the mine and processing plant can be achieved within the stated fifteen month period, meaning that should financial close can be achieved in the second half of 2019 then first shipment of product could be achieved in the first quarter of 2021.
“Having recently secured the first of a number of multi‐year offtake agreements, together with the flexibility in the operating site and supportive local community, we now look forward to achieving frequent operational milestones as we proceed to tungsten production, anticipated in 2021,” King Island Scheelite chairman Johann Jacobs said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.
“The King Island Scheelite team has actively progressed and de‐risked the 100 per cent-owned Dolphin tungsten project, both technically and commercially.
“As part of this process, we commissioned independent consultants to provide inputs into a financial model to prepare scenario analysis to assist in interpreting the net present value ranges, potential returns and expected payback period, associated with the Dolphin open‐cut project.
“The impressive indicative economics reiterate that we have chosen to develop the right project with the right commodity in the right place and time.”
