Australia's junior explorers - The ASIA Miner

INTERNATIONAL diversified resource company
Astra Resources, through its joint venture
in Cagayan River Construction and
Development Corporation (CRCDC), will
begin dredging its iron sands project later this
year. The Babuyan Channel Ir on Sand Lode
in the province of Cagayan, northeast Luzon,
is estimated to contain more than 31.3 billion
tonnes in the Mineral Pr oduction Sharing
Agreement areas (MPSA), which is only a
fraction of the lode.
Through its subsidiary Astra Philippines Pty
Ltd, Astra beneficially owns 90% of the joint
venture company CRCDC, a Philippine registered
company. The ultimate goal of
CRCDC is of f-shore mining of magnetite
sand with a top monthly pr oduction of
300,000 tonnes on a floating plant.
Astra’s CEO Dr Jaydeep Biswas says commencement
of the project is pursuant to a Memorandum
of Agr eement by and between
BEZANT Resources has signed an option
agreement with Gold Fields Netherlands Services
for the potential disposal of its Philippines
subsidiary Asean Copper Investments
Limited which has the Mankayan Copper -
Gold Project on Luzon. In light of Gold Fields
recent further part exercise of their options
with Lepanto Consolidated Mining and Liberty
Express Assets to acquire up to 60%
of the adjacent Far South East pr oject, Bezant
believes there is a good probability that
the option will be exercised.
Under the terms of the agr eement, Gold
Fields paid a non-r efundable upfront cash
payment of US$7 million to Bezant, with a
further cash sum of US$63 million becoming
payable, should the option be exercised prior
to its scheduled expiry on January 31, 2013.
Bezant’s chairman Gerry Nealon says, “In
the event that the option is exercised and the
sale and transfer of the issued shar es in
Asean is completed, the company anticipates
that approximately 50% of the gross sale proceeds
will potentially be available for distribution
to shareholders. Of the 50% of funds
retained, all taxes will be paid out of this sum
with the remainder being retained to progress
the company’s copper/gold exploration portfolio,
particularly in Argentina.”
Iron sands dredging by the end of 2012
CRCDC and the Provincial Government of Cagayan,
which was ratified by the Pr ovincial
Board on May 4, 2012. “This grants CRDCD
the authority to dr edge, extract and utilize
‘quarry resources’, sand particles and other
materials of commercial value such as magnetite
iron sands from the Cagayan River Delta.”
The authority to dredge the assigned area, a
200 metre by 12km strip along the mouth of
the Cagayan River, located in Aparri, was stipulated
to be for a period of 25 years, with production
expected to reach annual gross sales
of about 1 million tonnes by 2014. The initial
estimated resource is 135 million tonnes.
Astra’s managing director Silvana De Cianni
says Astra is in the process of acquiring additional
mining areas alongside MPSA 1, 2, 3
and 4 to add to the joint ventur e. “This site,
to be secured from the Department of Environment
and Natural Resources, has inferred
resources of 13 billion tonnes.”
It is expected that this business partner -
ship will significantly enhance the Economic
Development Program, particularly in the
mining industry sector, in the Philippines.
Astra, through its joint ventur e interest in
CRCDC, has successfully arranged all r equirements
to start full operation by the end
of 2012. Top level discussions will be held
in Manila for a corporate review of the requirements
before full implementation.
Astra Resources’ global portfolio includes
gold interests in South East Asia, coal in
Africa, iron ore in India, Norway and the Philippines,
carbon efficient and commodity businesses,
the pr oduction of high-str ength
T-Steel technology in Hungary , clean coal
technology and the provision of mining services
housing in Rockhampton, Queensland,
and a large agricultural focus on creating Australia
as the food bowl for the Asian r egion
through Astra Agricultural Resources.
Bezant signs option on Mankayan project
The Guinaoang porphyry copper/gold deposit,
or Mankayan pr oject, is in the Mankayan-Lepanto
mining district, an ar ea of
porphyry copper belts in the Philippines. It is
240km north of the capital and 6km east of
the copper/gold mine owned and operated
by Lepanto Consolidated, and is accessible
by both road and air.
The Mankayan project of Bezant Resources is in a mineral-rich area of northwest Luzon.
Philippines
July/August 2012 | ASIA Miner | 15