| May
20, 2003
TERTIARY STEPS UP TEMPO OF SCANDINAVIAN EXPLORATION
- “Exciting”
Drill Targets Emerge In Search For Olympic Dam-Style Deposits.
- New Generation
Mobile Phones Help Strong Recovery In Tantalum Market.
- Company Boosts
Treasury Through Share Placement.
Whilst the Ghurayyah
tantalum-niobium project in Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest
tantalum-niobium deposit, remains the major project of AIM-listed
Tertiary Minerals plc, the company continues to make progress on
a number of other fronts. The tempo of exploration in Scandinavia
has increased as targets generated by the company’s past work
are being progressively drilled, says executive chairman Mr Patrick
Cheetham in the interim report for the six months ended March 31,
2003.
In particular, significant drilling targets are emerging from the
company’s search for Olympic Dam-style iron oxide-copper-gold
(IOCG) deposits. These include the Ahmavuoma target, 80km east of
Kiruna in northern Sweden, where previous drilling returned wide
intersections of copper-gold-cobalt mineralisation. In addition,
a drilling programme was recently completed on the Finnmark platinum
group metals project in northern Norway, and the Notträsk nickel-copper
target in Sweden will be drilled shortly.
Because Ghurayyah dominates Tertiary’s portfolio, the company
’s share price has continued to reflect the depressed nature
of the electronics industry, the major application for tantalum,
states Mr Cheetham. As forecast last year, however, a market recovery
is now underway. The negative impact of de-stocking in the electronics
supply chain has largely been removed and real demand is being created
from the new generation of mobile phones, he adds.
Furthermore, both Kemet and Cabot, the leading manufacturers of
tantalum capacitors and powders, are reported to have increased
sales in recent quarters. In addition, Australia’s Sons of
Gwalia, the world’s largest producer of tantalum minerals,
has announced new contracts for additional concentrate sales. Significantly,
these are in line with the company’s historical contracted
prices which are substantially higher than recent spot prices for
the metal.
A positive scoping study was recently completed on Ghurayyah, indicating
a three-year payback on capital costs of US$101m, with attractive
rates of return. Future development is enhanced by the favourable
project financing environment in Saudi where equity contribution
could be as little as 12.5p.c. of total capital costs, says Mr Cheetham.
Tertiary reports a net loss of £134,085 for the half-year
(£144,555 previously), including £24,558 in exploration
write-offs and, at the end of the period, the company held cash
resources of just over £200,000. Since then Tertiary has raised
an additional £235,000, net of expenses, through a placement
of 3.125m shares.
Further
Information: Patrick Cheetham, Tertiary Minerals:
Tel: 01625-626203; mob: 07767-458751.
Ron Marshman/John Greenhalgh, City of London PR Ltd.
Tel : 020-7628-5518 |
