MINING WELCOME 欢迎采矿 - The ASIA Miner

Philippines
Mining Group to acquire 80% Comval stake
AUSTRALIAN exploration company Mining
Group Limited is acquiring an 80% interest in
the Comval Copper-Gold project from Canadian-based
Cadan Resources. Comval is in
the established copper and gold producing
region of the Compostela Valley on Mindanao
with potential for large-scale copper gold
porphyry mineralization.
Proven copper/gold mineralization has
been identified from historical mining, extensive
and exploration adits, trenches and surface
sampling. On completion of the
acquisition, Mining Group intends to undertake
a comprehensive reinterpretation and review
of all available data with a view to
designing an infill drilling program.
Cadan will retain a 20% interest which is
free and carried until Mining Group has incurred
a minimum of Aus$48 million of expenditures
on the project. Mining Group will
also be granted an option to acquire an 80%
interest in the Batoto Gold/Silver Project, with
a nine month exercise period from settlement
of the Comval acquisition.
Mining Group’s managing director Andrew
Maurice says that the proposed Comval acquisition
is consistent with the company’s
objective of acquiring commercially significant
mineral properties that can readily be
brought into production. “Having evaluated
a number of opportunities in Australia and
offshore, this represents Mining Group’s first
offshore project and builds on the company’s
existing gold and base metal tenements
in Western Australia.
“Comval’s tenement area covers 4310
hectares, and has had more than 24,000 metres
of drilling completed which we intend to
review with the aim of defining a JORC resource.
The Philippines provides a stable investment
environment, and given its scale
and location, with a number of major copper
and gold deposits in the same geological
belt, the Comval Project has the potential to
transform Mining Group.”
Comval consists of two exploration permits
which are prospective for copper and gold. It
is about 90 km north of the Mindanao capital,
Davao and is within the East Mindanao
Ridge, a world-class copper/gold province
which hosts major deposits such as Kingking,
Dilwalwal and CoO.
The project has three main targets - Tagpura,
Maangob and Kalamatan - with numerous
other early stage targets having been
previously identified as prospective for both
copper and gold. Work completed previously
includes surface mapping and sampling,
trenching, diamond and RC drilling, geophysical
surveys (IP and magnetic) and preliminary
metallurgical studies. The majority of data exists
over the Tagpura target, with about
20,000 metres of the drilling having been
completed there.
Cadan’s president and CEO Robert
Butchart says the sale will enable Cadan to
focus its resources and efforts to the advancement
of its core asset - the T’Boli goldsilver
project and mine.
Agata studies yield positive results
KEY development studies on Mindoro Resources’
Agata Nickel-Cobalt Project have
yielded positive results, underpinning the company’s
strategy for a two-stage development
and enhancing the prospects for near-term
cash flow. The studies confirm that Agata is a
robust, 20-year project with key strategic advantages
that allow Mindoro to pursue a lower
risk path to fast-track production, as well as
demonstrating the value of the low-operating
cost downstream processing developments.
The stage 1 scoping study indicates improved
economics for direct shipping ore
(DSO) production and the potential to produce
a high-value, upgraded, nickel-iron concentrate.
The stage 2 hydrometallurgical project
pre-feasibility study (PFS) confirms a low operating
cost (US$2.60/lb nickel), 20-year project
with a post-tax NPV of US$380 million and IRR
of 14% assuming US$10/lb nickel, 8% discount
rate, including estimate contingency of
14% but excluding project contingency.
On the basis of these positive results Mindoro
plans to pursue feasibility and permitting
of DSO and pilot scale thermal-upgrading prior
to advancing hydrometallurgical processing
options to pilot-scale testing and feasibility
study. In order to progress these options the
company is seeking a strategic partner.
It has developed a series of priorities:
• The near-term cash flow from the proposed
low capital cost (US$8 million) DSO operation
will help fund further studies and pilot
scale testing of downstream processing options
as well as assist future permitting
needs under the staged development plan.
• Initial infrastructure established for stage
1, including roads, stockpile areas, wharf,
camps, etc, will contribute towards capital
requirements for the proposed stage 2 hydrometallurgical
processing project.
Mindoro has engaged Deloitte Corporate
Finance as its financial advisor to assist the
company to secure a strategic partner to advance
and finance these objectives.
Meanwhile, the company has received final
results from infill and extension drilling of the
Southwest Breccia (SWB) epithermal gold
shoot at Lobo deposit of the Batangas project.
Two near-surface holes intersected highgrade
gold with best results being 4.9 metres
from 4.8 metres @ 11.1 grams/tonne gold, including
2 metres @ 21.1 grams/tonne, and
7.75 metres from surface @ 4.67
grams/tonne, including 1.95 metres @ 11.8
grams/tonne. A deeper drill hole, drilled at low
angle to the lode, intersected 18.35 metres @
1.52 grams/tonne gold from 91.95 metres including
1.0 metre @ 5.72 grams/tonne and
1.0 metre @ 5.25 grams/tonne.
The eight drill holes at SWB have completed
the infill program to an approximate 15
metre x 15 metre grid which will allow the
company to upgrade the resource estimate.
Checking nickel laterite samples from Mindoro Resources’
Agata project.
44 | ASIA Miner | January/February 2012