TIDMMIO
RNS Number : 9848L
Minco PLC
01 May 2015
1 May 2015
Minco Plc - Annual Report & Accounts
Dublin, 1 May 2015 - Minco Plc (AIM-"MIO") (the Company), is
pleased to announce that its Annual Report and Accounts for the
year ended 31 December 2014 have been published today and are being
posted to shareholders.
Copies of these documents are available on the Company's website
www.mincoplc.com and will also be available on request for one
month from May 4, 2015, free of charge, from the Company's
registered office at 27 Lower Hatch Street, Dublin 2, Ireland.
In his Chairman's Letter to Shareholders, John F. Kearney
Chairman & Chief Executive, said:
"During 2014 Minco completed a preliminary economic assessment
of its 100% owned Woodstock Manganese Project in New Brunswick,
Canada, while continuing exploration drilling on its Buchans
zinc-lead project in Newfoundland and at its Pennines zinc-lead
project in Northern England.
Minco also holds a 20% interest in an Irish prospecting license
in joint venture with Tara-Boliden, adjacent to Boliden's large
Tara zinc lead mine at Navan, Ireland, and a 2% net smelter royalty
in the Curraghinalt gold deposit in Co. Tyrone, Northern Ireland,
currently being explored by Dalradian Gold.
BUCHANS BASE METAL PROJECTS
Minco has four advanced base metal properties in the Buchans
area of central Newfoundland, Canada, which contain numerous
exploration prospects. During 2014, Minco completed a four hole,
556 metre, exploration drilling program with multiple intersections
of massive sulphide mineralization with grades as high as 26.05%
combined zinc, copper and lead over 1.45 metres.
Minco's 2014 drilling programme was undertaken primarily to
assess the potential for discovery of new high-grade massive
sulphide, and the results have confirmed that potential which
remains open both down-dip to the west and at depth.
Positive results were achieved from the 2014 drilling program,
including confirming narrow but extensive extensions to the
high-grade Lucky Strike deposit as well as extending the Engine
House zone at depth to the west, where Minco intersected newly
discovered high-grade massive sulphides.
Following the positive results of the 2014 drilling, Minco
launched an eleven hole, 2,100 metre, exploration drilling
programme in April 2015. All holes will target areas where
potential exists to discover new high-grade resources.
MINERAL EXPLORATION AT NORTHERN PENNINES, ENGLAND
Between November 2012 and January 2015, Minco drilled a total of
7555 metres in 31 exploration holes, of which 17 successfully
intersected mineralisation. Minco's drilling is centered in the
vicinity of the village of Nenthead, the most prolific area of past
production within the Pennines orefield which covers a total area
of 350 square miles.
Twenty five holes were sited to explore the Great Limestone
horizon and six holes tested the deeper basal geological
succession. Minco's drilling has targeted five
structures/veins.
During 2014, on the Gudhamgill target in Cumbria, Minco drilled
a high grade zinc-lead intersection grading 19.55% Zn and 1.93% Pb
over 0.40 metres at a depth of 39.60 metres, together with 2.70
metres of zinc mineralisation grading 5.04% Zn at a depth of 91.75
metres, in hole CA-017. A second high-grade zinc intersection
grading 10.34%
Zn and 0.97% Pb over 1.00 metres was cut in hole CA-016
associated with narrow breccia hosted 'vein' associated with a
small hanging-wall fault zone.
Hole NW001, which was drilled in late 2014 to explore the
Whitewood-Barneycraig-Williams fault/vein structure in
Northumberland, intersected three separate mineral sections at
relatively shallow depths. In recent drilling, NW002 intersected
8.95 metres of zinc lead mineralisation averaging 3.82% zinc and
1.57% lead, including 5.6m averaging 5.80% zinc plus 2.13% lead,
within the Great Limestone. The Barneycraig Fault was intersected
at a debt of 230 metres within shales which were mineralised over
1.65 metres with a grade of 9.43% zinc. Above the Great Limestone,
the Firestone Sill, a massive sandstone unit, was mineralised over
8.05 metres with a combined zinc/lead grade of 3.41%.
The intersection of reasonable widths of lead and zinc
mineralization at three different levels in Holes NW001 and NW002
is considered a very positive result and indicates the mineral
potential in this large structure which was demonstrated by
historic mining to be mineralized over a strike length of 3.5
kilometres.
WOODSTOCK MANGANESE PROJECT
In July 2014, Minco announced the results of the positive
Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") of its wholly owned
Woodstock electrolytic manganese metal project, located 5 km west
of the town of Woodstock and the junction of the Trans Canada and
I-95 Highways in west-central New Brunswick, Canada.
The PEA's base case indicates a project life of 40 years, based
on a 3,000 tonne per day open pit mining, hydrometallurgical and
electrowinning operation, with average annual production of
approximately 80,000 tonnes (176 million pounds) of electrolytic
manganese metal and operating costs anticipated to be the lowest in
the world.
Minco was very pleased with the preliminary economic assessment
results for the Woodstock manganese project which clearly
demonstrates the potential value of the project and which indicates
that Woodstock holds great promise to emerge as potentially one of
the lowest cost EMM producers in the world. Woodstock Project has
good potential to become an economically attractive future mining
and processing operation.
Given the large scale of the Woodstock project, Minco is
currently seeking a qualified partner to continue the development
of the project.
XTIERRA INC.
Minco holds 30 million shares (26%) in Xtierra Inc. ("Xtierra"),
a company listed on the TSX Venture Exchange. Xtierra holds mineral
properties located in the State of Zacatecas in the Central Mineral
Belt of Mexico that has generated the bulk of Mexico's silver
production and hosts many world class precious and base metal
deposits.
In April 2014 Runge Pincock Minarco delivered an independent
Preliminary Economic Assessment on the Bilbao Project. Economic
results of the pre-tax cash flow model indicated an Internal Rate
of Return (IRR) of 13.2% and a Net Present Value (NPV) of US$11.0
million at a 10% discount rate and a NPV of US$18.7 million at an
8% discount rate, using metal prices of Zinc $0.92/lb, Lead
$1.00/lb and Silver $30.38/oz.
In 2014 Xtierra initiated a strategic review to consider
alternatives for the development of the Bilbao Project, including
the sale of all or a portion of Xtierra's interest in the Bilbao
Project or a corporate transaction. Xtierra has reported that the
strategic review has not, to date, identified any acceptable
development or financing proposals.
Xtierra also conducted a desktop analysis of an alternative
development scenario of extracting only the higher grade portion of
the Bilbao resource and milling of the ore mined from Bilbao at an
existing mill within a reasonable trucking distance. By focusing
only on the higher grade portion of the resource, this alternative
development scenario would reduce the projected mining and
processing rate, and concentrate and metal production, but maintain
an eight year mine life. This scenario would reduce the projected
capital costs by reducing the amount of mine development required
and eliminating the proposed mill at Bilbao.
In April, 2015, Minco and Pacific Road Group of Funds, Xtierra's
major shareholders, agreed to extend the due dates of the secured
notes of $965,000 from April 30, 2015 to August 31, 2015, and to
provide further advances up to $15,000 each to fund Xtierra's
property maintenance costs and working capital, to give Xtierra
additional time to assess its strategic alternatives.
FINANCIAL RESULTS 2014
For the year ended 31 December 2014 Minco reported a
consolidated net loss of US$2,667,000 compared to a loss of
$4,422,000 in 2013. The loss in 2014 included a foreign exchange
gain of $873,000, and share of loss of associate Xtierra of
$2,283,000.
During the year ended 31 December 2014, the Company invested
$2,833,000 in exploration and development expenditures. At 31
December 2014, Minco held mineral properties with a book value of
$13,176,000.
At 31 December 2014, Minco held $5,901,000 in cash and cash
equivalents and had a working capital surplus of $5,497,000,
compared to a working capital surplus of $9,739,000 at 31 December
2013."
For further information of Minco refer to Minco's website at
www.mincoplc.com
For further information, www.mincoplc.com or contact:
John Kearney: Chairman and Chief Executive +1 416 362 6686
Danesh Varma: CFO & Company Secretary +44 (0) 8452 606 034
Peter McParland: Director - Ireland +353 (0)46 907-3709
Warren MacLeod: Director,- President Buchans +1 902 472 3520
John Frain/Alan Connolly: (NOMAD) Davy +353 (0)1 6796363
Sanif Janjua (Broker) Beaufort Securities +44 (0)20 7382 8387
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
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