��� �������������������������������ANGUS & ROSS
PLC
(?A&R?
or ?the Company?)
AIM:�� AGU.L
UPDATE ON RESTART OF BLACK ANGEL MINE
WITH PRODUCTION OF ZINC, LEAD AND SILVER EXPECTED IN
2008
A&R announces that it
is making considerable progress towards the planned re-opening of the Black
Angel mine in Greenland
and the board is confident that it will be able to commence production during
2008.� A&R has been encouraged by the
response it has received in discussions with various potential sources of
development capital and other finance.
Mining
Licence application at an advanced stage
A&R submitted its
Mining Licence application in February to the Greenland Bureau of Mines and
Petroleum (?BMP?).�
The BMP has confirmed that its review of the Bankable Feasibility Study
(?BFS?) and of the mining licence application is
complete and that its report has been forwarded to the Joint Committee, for its
approval.� A&R expects the mining
licence to be issued in June.
Bankable
Feasibility Study
The BFS, prepared by Wardell Armstrong International, was based entirely on the
removal of pillars from the Angel and Cover zones and covers the first 4 years
of operations.� The project will achieve
full production during year 1 and is then forecast to produce 230,000 tonnes of
high grade ore in each subsequent year and over the 4 years, to generate
earnings, before interest and tax, of $97 million, free cash flow of $26
million and deliver an IRR of 43% at a discount rate of 10%.
Enhanced
Management Development Plan - Phase 1
The A&R management team
recognises that other available mineable resources
(not to proven resource standard) were not included in the BFS.� These include the Nunngarut
deposit, with an indicated resource of 196,000 tonnes (grading 9% zinc, 3.4%
lead and 31grams per tonne of silver) which is currently accessible for mining,
and the Deep Ice and other zones with combined indicated resources of 697,000
tonnes which will be accessible via the cable car. Mining the Nunngarut deposit in parallel with the reserves identified
in the BFS has enabled A&R to develop an Enhanced Management Development
Plan for Phase 1 which:
- accelerates cash flow
in the early stages of the project
- improves the overall
project economics
- extends the time frame to at
least 5 years before the Phase 2 development commences to exploit the
remaining indicated and inferred resource base of 2.2 million tonnes.
The BFS mine
plan is based on selective mining of Black Angel pillars for the first 18
months, at a target grade of 16% zinc, 6% lead and 25 grams of silver per tonne but subsequent production will need to be
upgraded.� The BFS assumes the use of
dense media separation for ore concentration, but recent optical ore sorting
tests have proved highly successful; this technology is now preferred and has
been incorporated into the Enhanced Management Development Plan, as it is
cheaper in terms of both capital and operating costs and is not water based.
The Enhanced
Management Development Plan is capable of generating $45.2 million of operating
cash flow each year from year 2 onwards, based on an annual production rate of
230,000 tonnes of high grade ore and applying metal
prices of $2,500 per tonne of zinc and $3,000 per tonne of lead.�
Status of Equipment
The cable car,
needed to access the Black Angel, has been purchased from Garaventa
in Switzerland
and most parts are currently on site at Maarmorilik.� The ground terminal is in the course of
construction and work has commenced on the upper terminal.� It is intended that the facility will be
fully operational before October 2008.�
Contractors have been identified for most of the site construction work
and the principal items of mobile mining equipment are currently being sourced
in South
Africa.
Recruitment
The mine manager
designate is currently in South
Africa
sourcing equipment and recruiting the initial team of experienced miners.� The Company intends to develop training programmes, to enable it progressively to recruit and train
Greenlanders.�
It is hoped that
the senior management team will be strengthened imminently by the appointment
of a Director of Mining and the recruitment of a geologist.
Exploration
Potential
An independent
review of the geological data, by Aurum (Mineral Exploration Consultants),
indicates the trending of mineralisation around the
Black Angel Mine and supports the view that there are likely to be additional
substantial resources, yet to be fully quantified.� On commencement of production at Black Angel,
it is the intention to implement an active exploration programme
to extend the resources available to mine and so extend the life of the mine
beyond the minimum of 5 years implicit in the Enhanced Management Development
Plan.
Strategy
A&R management believes
the development of Phase 1 and access to cash flow will allow it to pursue an
aggressive exploration programme and so unlock the
significant base metal potential surrounding the Black Angel Mine.� This has already been evident in the early
exploration successes in the South Lakes Glacier and ARK
deposits that have been discovered to date.�
With this strategy, A&R hopes to be able to confirm the Black Angel
as the basis for a new zinc province in Greenland.
Funding
A&R Management has
assessed the restart under the Enhanced Management Development Plan and now
believes the project requires $39 million of capital expenditure and a further
$11 million of mine development costs, giving total development funding of $50
million.�
In addition, a peak working
capital requirement of circa $33 million may be required as mined ore will have
to be stockpiled for 6 months during the winter, when the fjord is frozen over
and not accessible to shipping.� This
figure includes provision for a further 4 months to cover the time taken to
ship, process and sell concentrate.�
Consideration is being given to funding this working capital by a
facility linked to a sales off-take agreement.
Sources of funding include
a variety of debt and equity and the Company is currently working closely with
its brokers, banks and potential off-take partners to create a coordinated
funding plan.� The Company has access to
$17.5m from the Cyrus Facility it obtained in July 2007; this facility is
contingent on the BFS being satisfactory to Cyrus, in form and substance,
before October 2008.
Other debt funding sources,
such as equipment finance, export credit finance, working capital or bridging
finance and mezzanine funding from strategic investors and off-takers are being
pursued.
A&R will keep the
market informed as and when there is material progress to announce in
implementing the coordinated financing plan.
CEO
Nicholas Hall
commented:
?We have a very
special opportunity to develop a highly profitable zinc/lead mine in Greenland and, thanks
to the Enhanced Management Development Plan, we are now making good progress in
our discussions with the various stakeholders and potential sources of
development funding to meet our overall financing needs.� With the support of our broker, Fox Davies,
A&R is confident that the funding required will be forthcoming to allow us
to develop Black Angel and create a new Zinc province in Greenland.?
Enquiries:
Angus & Ross plc
Robin
Andrews, Chairman
Nicholas Hall, Chief Executive
Fox-Davies Capital
Daniel Fox-Davies
Richard
Hail
Bishopsgate Communications Limited
Nick Rome
Landsbanki Securities (UK)
Limited
Jeff Keating
Fred Walsh
|
01751 430 988
07931 709 053
0207 936 5200
0207 562 3366
0207 426 9000
|
NB: This release has been approved by the Company's technical staff in
accordance with the recent Guidance Note for Mining, Oil and Gas Companies
issued by the London Stock Exchange in respect of AIM
companies, which outlines standards of disclosure for mineral projects.
These include Dr Tom Elder,
Director, who holds a BSc and Doctorate in Geology
from Durham University,
is a Fellow and former Member of Council of The Institution of Mining and
Metallurgy and a Fellow of The Geological Society.