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FORTUNA METALS LTD — Board/Management Information 2008
Feb 5, 2008
64952_rns_2008-02-05_8bedde6b-ee58-4aae-a16e-eab82f734032.pdf
Board/Management Information
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ADDRESS PHONE EMAIL PO Box 7996 +61 (07) 5592 2274 [email protected] Gold Coast Mail Centre FAX WEBSITE Qld 9726 Australia +61 (07) 5592 2275 www.frontierresources.com.au
ABN 96 095 684 389 ASX Code : FNT
6th February 2007
ASX Limited Company Announcements Office
Announcement
CORPORATE AND STRATEGY UPDATE
KODU LICENSE RENEWAL UPDATE
Frontier Resources is pleased to announce new developments for the Company in terms of Corporate Strategy, Board Composition and Management.
- A strategy has been determined to accomplish the continued exploration and possible development of the Kodu Deposit. This strategy will also allow Frontier to further progress and benefit from exploration and drilling success on its excellent Tasmanian and prospective PNG tenements, without the ‘uncertainty’ of the Kodu Deposit and its ‘issues’ weighing on the Company’s share price.
Kodu requires approximately A$15 million for the Bankable/ Definitive Feasibility Study that was commenced in November 2008. This funding will likely be obtained by listing Exploration License 1348 on the Toronto or TSX-V Stock Exchange and raising funding in North America. Frontier expects to retain or obtain a major equity in the company (to be called ‘Koiari Copper’ in honour of the landowners’ and districts’ ethnicity), a majority of the Board of Directors and a cash reimbursement of some costs to date.
- To enable the implementation of the above Strategy and to generally assist Frontier with its other advanced projects (Wart Hill, Narrawa and Andewa), highly valuable Mining Engineering and Financial Expertise has been added to the Board. Frontier proudly introduces Mr H.David Swain and Mr Ces E. Iewago whose details are given below. Both new Directors also have very significant to life long Papua New Guinea operational experience.
Mr Hugh David Swain has been appointed the role of Director - Mine Development. Mr Swain is an accomplished Mining / Civil Engineer with 44 years experience, including 7 years as Chief Mining Engineer at Bougainville Copper Limited in Papua New Guinea. David was the author of the Kodu Deposit Conceptual Mining Study released to the ASX 19/11/07 and Frontier management believes his acceptance reflects very positively on the potential of Kodu and other Frontier Projects.
Mr H. David Swain – B.Eng. (Mining) 1964, M.Eng. (Civil) 1972 – University of Sheffield, has over 40 years professional experience in the mining industry in Africa, Australasia and SE Asia and has held senior and management positions both operating and technical. He is a Fellow of the AIMM and of the IMM (UK).
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His operating and management experience includes; Mine Superintendent and Chief Mining Engineer at Bougainville Copper Limited in Papua New Guinea 1973-1980, General Manager, Rossarden Tin Mines, Tasmania in 1981 until closure of the mine in 1982, Executive Manager, Goldsworthy, Goldsworthy Mining Limited 1982-1984. In 1986, he was a Director of Great Victoria Gold Mines WA.
Mr Swain established Swain Associates (Consulting Mining Engineers) in 1984 and has evaluated a range of projects in Australia, Myanmar, China, Fiji, Gabon, Guinea, New Zealand, Philippines and Thailand, each containing one or more of the following metals : copper, gold, lead, iron, molybdenum, silver, zinc. He has also evaluated oil shale & coal deposits in Australia and overseas and was a Director involved with establishment of Arcourt Mining Ltd in Vietnam during 1991-92. Mr Swain has provided technical advice & and has designed Plant and Equipment for the Mining Industry.
Mr Ces E Iewago is a PNG citizen and has been appointed a Non-executive Director. Ces trained as an accountant, holds a Master of Business Administration, is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and has over 20 years experience in business banking, financial services and investments sectors in Papua New Guinea.
Mr Iewago previously served as Managing Director of Public Offers Superannuation Fund, the largest super fund in PNG (2000 to 2003). He was Country Director and General Manager of Investment Bank, Merrill Lynch in PNG (1997 to 2000) and was responsible for its corporate and retail business. He also held the position of Deputy Managing Director of PNG's first Merchant Bank, Resources & Investment Finance Ltd (1990 to 1996) responsible for Marketing, Corporate Business and Portfolio Management. He is a director of New Guinea Gold Corporation and a number of PNG companies.
Kodu License (EL1348) Renewal Update
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Frontier is still awaiting the renewal of EL 1348 from the PNG Minister of Mining. No official written or verbal correspondence has been received in relation to this issue for several months and apart from being a political football, its renewal status is unknown. Frontier has complied with all license renewal conditions and expended more than K8million on the license, which vastly exceeds the statutory expenditure commitment. Failure to renew would seriously reflect on the PNG Governments commitment to security of mining tenure in PNG. This view is supported by the PNG Chamber of Mines and Petroleum in a recent letter to the Minister
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Landowners state that ‘mining at Kodu and tourism on the Kokoda Track should proceed harmoniously together for the benefit of all stakeholders’ and they are becoming increasingly frustrated and agitated by the lack of the EL renewal. The landowner’s attitude is ‘NO EXPLORATION AND MINING AT KODU – NO TOURISM ON THE KOKODA TRACK’, but they, like Frontier hope rationality, compromise and reasonableness will prevail in the immediate future.
The Panguna Deposit on Bougainville is the same type of deposit as Kodu and it also had /has a history of difficulties that ultimately resulted in militant landowners shutting down the mine causing a major and continuing Sovereign Risk issue for the nation of Papua New Guinea. The main difference in that case was that the PNG National Government was ‘onside’ and the Panguna landowners were definitely ‘offside’. At Kodu, the landowners are 5% equity partners and most definitely ‘onside’ and the PNG government is vacillating / bending to the will of a foreign power (the Australian Government) and is apparently considering creating another avoidable Sovereign Risk issue.
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Mining and tourism can and do co-exist in the world, but this fact and compromise seems to be lost on the Australian and Papua New Guinean Governments. Worse than being ‘lost’, it appears completely irrelevant to the self serving and contradictory attitude and approach taken by the Australian Government under both Mr Howard and Mr Rudd, that will seriously damage PNG’s Sovereign Risk. In addition the Australian Government’s attitude ignores the wellbeing, aspirations and advancement of the landowners. Development of the Kodu Deposit is the only way the Landowners will obtain a better life, better education, employment and health and reward them for their parent’s assistance to Australian soldiers during World War 2.
For additional information relating to the Company and its projects please visit our website at www.frontierresources.com.au or feel free contact me.
FRONTIER RESOURCES LTD
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P.A.McNeil, M.Sc. MANAGING DIRECTOR
The information in this report that relates to Exploration Results and Mineral Resources is based on information compiled by, or compiled under the supervision of Peter A. McNeil - Member of the Aust. Inst. of Geoscientists. Peter McNeil is the Managing Director of Frontier Resources, who consults to the Company. Peter McNeil has sufficient experience which is relevant to the type of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration to qualify as Competent Person as defined in the 2004 Edition of the Australasian Code of Reporting Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Resources. Peter McNeil consents to the inclusion in the report of the matters based on their information in the form and context in which it appears.
About Frontier Resources
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Frontier is focused on exploring the highly mineralised Pacific ‘Rim of Fire’, Papua New Guinea and the major Kodu copper – gold – molybdenum Deposit. The Company is also successfully exploring the Andewa gold Project, Elo and Bukuam copper +/- gold/moly porphyries, plus the SMRV zinc-lead–silvergold Project in the highly prospective Mt Read volcanics of Tasmania.
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Frontier’s objective is to advance, develop and mine the Kodu Deposit rapidly and cost effectively.
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The Company has a 100% interest in 3 Exploration Licences (Kodu, Likuruanga and Andewa) covering approx. 804 km[2] of quality copper and gold properties in PNG and 5 Exploration Licences + 2 Retention Licences covering 211 km[2] in Tasmania.
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The portfolio offers excellent mineral deposit potential, with primary Targets being World Class copper/gold/molybdenum porphyry, gold/silver epithermal and polymetallic VMS (zinc/lead/silver/gold) deposits.
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The projects all have high-grade exploration results in rock, trenches and/or drill hole and are in the same or similar geological terranes as existing World Class and/or major mines.
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Kodu copper- gold –molybdenum Deposit Resources:
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The Total Resource (Indicated + Inferred) at the 0.2 % copper equivalent cutoff contains 1,241,000 tonnes of copper equivalent* grading 0.45%, within 276 million tonnes grading 0.27% copper + 0.30g/t gold + 77ppm molybdenum + 1.7g/t silver. This equals 754,000 tonnes of copper, 83.4 tonnes of gold, 21,200 tonnes of molybdenum and 475 tonnes of silver (or 1.66 billion pounds of copper, 2.68 million ounces of gold, 46.7 million pounds molybdenum and 15.3 million ounces of silver).
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An Indicated Resource has now been estimated for the first time at Kodu at the 0.2 % copper equivalent cutoff and it contains 507,000 tonnes of copper equivalent* grading 0.48%, within 105 million tonnes grading 0.30% copper + 0.35g/t gold + 68ppm molybdenum + 2.0g/t silver.
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The revised Inferred Resource contains 171 million tonnes (in addition to the Indicated Resource), at the 0.2 % copper equivalent cutoff and it contains containing 734,000 tonnes of
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copper equivalent* grading 0.43%, consisting of 0.26% copper + 0.27g/t gold + 82ppm molybdenum + 1.6g/t silver.
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The Total Resource (Indicated + Inferred) at the 0.3% copper equivalent cutoff contains 1,080,000 tonnes of copper equivalent* grading 0.51%, within 213.6 million tonnes grading 0.31% copper + 0.35g/t gold + 78ppm molybdenum + 1.8g/t silver.
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Frontier’s Directors and management team have more than 300 years combined experience in PNG and Australia to serve the interests of the Company and its shareholders.
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Frontier operates with a general policy of ‘DRILLING’ our quality projects using our purpose built and self manufactured, cost effective, environmentally friendly, man-portable diamond core rigs. We ‘own’ and operate all the major required means of exploration including a long term and very competent human resources team, drilling, earth moving and transport equipment, magnetic surveys, to maximise exploration success, while minimising costs in a very competitive environment.
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The Company is an ASX listed junior mineral explorer whose shares also trade on the Frankfurt, Berlin and Munich Stock Exchanges.
Notes:
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*Copper Equivalent is the contained copper, gold, silver and molybdenum that are converted to an equal amount of pure copper and summed (based on assays of mineralised rock and actual metal prices).
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Zinc or Gold Equivalents are the same, except metals are converted tho the equivalent amount of zinc or gold, respectively.
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Equivalents are used to allow interpretation of the possible theoretical ‘value’ of mineralised rock, without consideration of the ultimate extractability any of the metals.
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Copper Equivalent herein is based upon metal prices of US$3.69/lb Cu, US$749/oz Au, US$32/lb Mo (57% MoO3 conc.) & US$13.67/oz Ag (11/10/2007). The formula used is Cu Equivalent % = Cu(%) + (Au(g/t) x 0.2958) + (Mo(ppm) x 0.00101) + (Ag(g/t) x 0.00540).
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Island Arc porphyry copper– gold– molybdenum deposits such as Kodu typically recover contained Cu, Au, Mo and Ag (subject to metallurgical characteristics and prevailing metal prices).
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It is the Company’s opinion that each of the elements included in the copper metal equivalents calculation has good potential to be recovered if the project proceeds to mining, as per extraction rates documented in the Conceptual Mining Study (ASX release dated 19/11/2007).
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Zinc Equivalent herein is based upon metal prices of US$0.53/lb Zn, US$0.42/lb Pb, US$7.50/oz Ag, US$425/oz Au (5/6/2005). The formula used is Zn Equivalent % = Zn(%) + (Pb(%) x 0.7928) + (Ag(g/t) x 0.02055) + (Au(g/t) x 1.16952).
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Volcanic Hosted Massive Sulphide Deposits (VHMS) such as Wart Hill, typically recover contained Zn, Pb, Ag and Au (subject to metallurgical characteristics and prevailing metal prices).
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The ASX requires a metallurgical recovery be specified for each metal, however, no testwork has ever been undertaken at Wart Hill and recoveries can only be assumed to be typical for VHMS deposits.
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It is the Company’s opinion that each of the elements included in the zinc metal equivalents calculation has good potential to be recovered if the project proceeds to mining.
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