Interim Results
Amur Minerals Corporation
03 September 2007
3 September 2007 AIM: AMC
Amur Minerals Corporation
('Amur' or 'the Company')
Interim Results for the six months to 30 June 2007
and Operations Update
Amur Minerals Corporation ('Amur' or the 'Company'), the AIM quoted
nickel-copper resource development company with assets in Russia, announces its
interim results for the 6 month period ended 30 June 2007:
Highlights
• Initiated the fourth exploration field season at Kun-Manie.
• Identified 2 new drill targets at Kun-Manie
• Continued in fill and resource expansion drilling with focus on the
four previously identified deposits.
• Acquired the Kustakskaya exploration and mining licence with nickel,
copper and copper-molybdenum targets located adjacent to and
immediately east of Kun-Manie
• Initiated its first field exploration season at the copper-gold
Anadjakan licence
• Completed a £2.79 million private placement of 15.5 million new
Ordinary Shares at a price of 18p per Ordinary Share
Robin Young, CEO of Amur Minerals Corporation, commented, 'The first half of
this year has been focused on increasing and consolidating our knowledge within
the Kun-Manie and Anadjakan licences. We will have some very tangible results
of this work in the coming months as our analytical results become available.
We remain confident in our ability to continue to build shareholder value
through effective exploration and detailed examination of our exploration
results. '
ENDS
Full Chairman's Statement and Financial Statements follow.
Enquiries:
Amur Minerals Corp. Fox-Davies Capital RBC Capital Markets Parkgreen Communications
Robin Young, CEO Daniel Fox-Davies Andrew Smith/Martin Eales Justine Howarth/Erica Nelson
+7 495 629 4418 +44 (0) 20 7936 5200 +44 (0) 20 7029 7881 +44 (0) 20 7851 7480
Chairman's Statement and Operations Update
Introduction
Results for the half year to 30 June 2007
As our knowledge and database expand, we continue to advance Kun-Manie toward
development with our pre-feasibility studies and additional metallurgical
optimisation expected to be ready by year end. Amur Minerals capitalised direct
project-related expenditure amounting to US$1.9 million during the period,
compared to US$616,000 during the same period in 2006. These capitalised
exploration costs will be amortised against future income once the mine is in
production. With commercial production yet to commence at any of Amur Minerals'
projects, no revenue was earned during this period. Additional expenditure of
US$1.1 million was charged as an expense. The Group ended the period with US$5.8
million in cash versus US$740,000 in accounts payable, resulting in a quick
ratio of a very healthy 7.8:1 No profits taxes were payable over the period.
Additional Financing
In April, Amur Minerals placed 15.5 million new Ordinary Shares at a price of
18p per Ordinary Share to raise approximately £2.79 million gross. The funds
invested will support the continued development of both the Kun-Manie nickel
copper project and exploration of the Anadjakan copper-gold project, as well as
other selected projects in the Russian Far East. Following the financing, Amur
Minerals has 101,703,938 shares outstanding (fully diluted, 110,995,394). Amur
is confident it will continue to identify, acquire and finance high quality
projects such as Kun-Manie and Anadjakan.
Pre-Feasibility Study
During the first half of 2006, the Company continued the work initiated in late
2005 on a pre-feasibility study for Kun-Manie. When we began the study, we had
completed a total of 12 months of field work on site at Kun-Manie, providing a
good indication of how rapidly we have advanced this challenging project. The
work undertaken during the period by the Company and our contractors has
included:
• Metallurgical test work to develop a flow sheet and material balances,
assuming standard Russian processes
• Identification of road and power access options
• On site study of rock mechanics to determine ultimate pit slope
stability parameters
• Advanced on site studies of structural geology
• Siting studies for processing plant, tailings dam and mine waste rock
dump
• Drilling to acquire samples for additional metallurgical test work to
optimise the flow sheet parameters and assess the feasibility of
additional processing on site
As we release these interim results, we have asked SRK, our primary contractor
on the pre-feasibility study, to include data from a separate study on the
preliminary commerciality of a flash smelter or electric arc furnace. This
separate scoping study, which is being compiled by a leading international
engineering firm in the metals processing business, is expected to be available
in the near term. SRK will incorporate these results in the prefeasibility
study targeted for release in October of this year.
On Going Exploration
Exploration drilling continues within existing drilled targets. Both in fill
and step out drill programmes are being conducted. The work is designed to
increase the Company's confidence in the continuity of the mineralisation and to
define the limits of mineralisation. This work is focused within the
Vodorazdelny, Ikenskoe and Maly Krumkon deposits. Results will be utilised in
the first filings with the State Committee on Reserves (GKZ) to convert the
exploration licence into a mining licence.
New Drill Targets at Kun-Manie
During the first half of 2007, we announced that two new drill targets at
Kun-Manie have been identified. These new areas are known as Yan Hegd and
Kubuk. Yan Hegd is located 8 kilometres north of the Ikenskoe deposit and is
the Company's first discovery outside the main Krumkon Trend opening new terrain
for discovery potential.
In Yan Hegd, geophysics, geochemistry and geology are mutually supportive over
an area covering at least two square kilometres. We have 48 rock chip samples
averaging 0.18% Ni with grades up to 0.4% from the leached surface outcrops,
while our geological mapping indicates that the formation in the area is
vertical. The next phase of exploration will include detailed geological
mapping, ground based geophysics and additional geochemical sampling, with later
exploratory drilling to confirm the structure and near-surface potential to host
nickel-copper mineralisation.
Kubuk is located four kilometres to the east of the Ikenskoe deposit. Detailed
geological mapping has identified a series of three to four, layered shallow
dipping ultramafic sills extending along the Krumkon Trend. Anomalous rock chip
samples as well as stream sediment samples indicate grades up to 1.0% nickel.
Within one of the sills, two channel sampled trenches located about 170 metres
apart confirm the presence of nickel mineralisation similar to that derived in
the previous sampling programmes. Both trenches begin and end in strong
mineralisation indicating the zone could be thicker exposed in the trenches.
The first trench contains 33.9 metres averaging 0.63% Ni and 0.17% Cu while the
second has a mineralised length of 11.0 metres at 0.51% Ni and 0.12% Cu.
Anadjakan
This year sees our first field work at the Anadjakan copper-gold project. We
completed a site visit, including specialists from SRK, to certify the field
procedures we are to use. In late May, we began a comprehensive soil sampling
programme designed to confirm historical data in the area and to assess
previously untested areas. The programme for the year also includes geological
mapping.
Kustakskaya
Kustakskaya was acquired for 6.3m Russian Roubles (US$240,000) in February 2007,
to explore for nickel, copper, platinum and associated metals. Located near to
the Kun-Manie project, the area contains two separate geological terrains. The
southern half of the licence exhibits the same geologic settings and contains
the same types of rock and similar nickel mineralization observed along the
Krumkon Trend. The northern half of the licence is characterised by Mesozoic
porphyry copper style intrusions that have seen little historic exploration.
The licence was registered in April 2007 and runs for 25 years. Exploration will
be conducted in a phased approach with work on the ground beginning in 2008.
Outlook
As of the date of this announcement, we have drilled approximately 4,000 metres
of this year's programme and are awaiting the final analytical results. During
the autumn we will complete the pre-feasibility study at Kun-Manie with an
expanded scope assessing the potential of producing a final saleable nickel
copper product on or near the site. This includes examining the viability of
using a flash smelting and / or electric arc furnace to produce a nickel matte.
We will also make the first filings to the Russian State Committee for Reserves
(known as GKZ) to have parts of the Kun-Manie licence area classified as C1 and
C2 reserves under the Russian system. As with previous years, we will compile
an updated resource estimate and valuation taking into account the results of
this year's exploration work. We will also review the data collected from an
extensive sampling programme undertaken at Anadjakan. Results will be used to
guide the planning for the appropriate follow-on exploration phases to be
conducted in 2008 and ensuing years. The results of this work will be a clear
roadmap for getting Kun-Manie from the development stage to production.
Robert W. Schafer
Chairman
3 September 2007
Notes to Editors
About Amur Minerals
Amur Minerals Corporation (AMC) is a rapidly-growing mineral resource
exploration and development company focused on base metal projects located in
the far east of Russia. Growth has been the result of the acquisition of an
additional exploration property and the continued exploration within the
Kun-Manie nickel copper flagship property. The Company has three properties in
the region with its principal asset being the Kun-Manie sulphide nickel, copper
project located in Amur Oblast. The associated JORC compliant resource contains
more than a quarter of a million tonnes of contained nickel, Kun-Manie is one of
the five largest new nickel sulphide discoveries since Voisey's Bay.
AMUR MINERALS CORPORATION AND ITS SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET
AS OF 30 JUNE 2007
(Amounts in '000s US Dollars)
Note 30 June 31 December
2007 2006
________ ________
NON-CURRENT ASSETS
Capitalised exploration costs 7,993 6,275
Property, plant and equipment 103 12
________ ________
Total non-current assets 8,096 6,287
________ ________
CURRENT ASSETS
Cash and cash equivalents 5,836 2,999
Other receivables 579 61
________ ________
Total current assets 6,415 3,060
________ ________
Total assets 14,511 9,347
________ ________
CURRENT LIABILITIES
Trade and other payables 740 15
________ ________
Total current liabilities 740 15
________ ________
SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY
Share capital 8 12,719 7,143
Share premium 8,310 8,838
Accumulated losses (8,279) (7,121)
Options reserve 9 1,021 472
________ ________
Total shareholders' equity 13,771 9,332
________ ________
Total liabilities and shareholders' equity 14,511 9,347
________ ________
Approved on behalf of the Board on 31 August 2007.
Robin Young David Wood
The accompanying notes form an integral part of these financial statements.
AMUR MINERALS CORPORATION AND ITS SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET
AS OF 30 JUNE 2007
(Amounts in '000s US Dollars)
Note 6 Months ended 6 Months ended
30 June 2007 30 June 2006
________ ________
Administrative expenses (873) (731)
Grant of options 9 (349) (373)
________ ________
Operating loss (1,222) (1,104)
Investment provision - (110)
Foreign currency exchange adjustment 33 26
Bank interest received 31 42
________ ________
Loss before tax (1,158) (1,146)
Taxation - -
________ ________
Loss for the period (1,158) (1,146)
________ ________
Loss per share: basic & diluted USD (0.01) USD (0.02)
The accompanying notes form an integral part of these financial statements.
AMUR MINERALS CORPORATION AND ITS SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET
AS OF 30 JUNE 2007
(Amounts in '000s US Dollars)
6 Months ended 6 Months ended
30 June 2007 30 June 2006
Note
________ ________
Cash flow from operating activities:
Net Loss before Taxation (1,158) (1,146)
Adjustments to reconcile loss before tax to net cash used in
operating activities:
Depreciation 4 5
Grant of options 9 349 373
Interest income (31) (42)
Investment provision - 110
Decrease/(increase) in accounts receivable 114 (117)
Increase / (decrease) in accounts payable 66 (595)
________ ________
Net cash used in operating activities (656) (1,412)
________ ________
Cash flow from investing activities:
Exploration expenditure (1,692) (1,043)
Purchase of property, plant and equipment (95) (10)
Interest received 31 42
Investment - (110)
________ ________
Net cash used in investing activities (1,756) (1,121)
________ ________
Cash flow from financing activities:
Proceeds from issue of share capital 5,283 6,433
Repayment of prepaid share capital - (125)
Financing costs associated with share issues* (35) (746)
________ ________
Net cash from financing activities 5,248 5,562
________ ________
Net change in cash and cash equivalents 2,836 3,029
Cash and cash equivalents brought forward 2,999 2,042
________ ________
Cash and cash equivalents carried forward 5,836 5,071
________ ________
Material non-cash transactions
Proceeds from issue of shares retained by broker 293 686
Expenses paid by broker (293) (686)
________ ________
* Includes commissions paid on financing raised and costs associated with
listing.
The accompanying notes form an integral part of these financial statements.
AMUR MINERALS CORPORATION AND ITS SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET
AS OF 30 JUNE 2007
(Amounts in '000s US Dollars)
Share Accumulated Options
Share capital premium account losses Reserve Total
Notes _________ _________ _________ _________ _______
Balance at 31 December 2005 15 10,108 (5,613) - 4,510
_________ _________ _________ _________ _______
Net loss for the period - - (1,146) - (1,146)
Shares issued 7,128 - - - 7,128
Premium on shares issued - 334 - - 334
Premium on share options - - - 621 621
Costs associated with issue
of share capital - (1,586) - - (1,586)
_________ _________ _________ _________ _______
Balance at
30 June 2006 7,143 8,856 (6,759) 621 9,861
_________ _________ _________ _________ _______
Net loss for the period (362) - (362)
Costs associated with issue
of share capital - (18) - - (18)
Adjustment to premium on
share options - - - (149) (149)
_________ _________ _________ _________ _______
Balance at
31 December 2006 7,143 8,838 (7,121) 472 9,332
_________ _________ _________ _________ _______
Net loss for the period - - (1,158) - (1,158)
Shares issued 8 5,576 - - - 5,576
Premium on shares issued - - - - -
Costs associated with issue 8 - (328) - - (328)
of share capital
Issue of options 9 - (200) - 549 349
_________ _________ _________ _________ _______
Balance at 30 June 2007 12,719 8,310 (8,279) 1,021 13,771
_________ _________ _________ _________ _______
The accompanying notes form an integral part of these financial statements.
AMUR MINERALS CORPORATION AND ITS SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET
AS OF 30 JUNE 2007
(Amounts in '000s US Dollars)
1. REPORTING ENTITY
Amur Minerals Corporation (the 'Company') is a company domiciled in the British
Virgin Islands. The condensed consolidated interim financial statements as at
and for the six months ended 30 June 2007 comprise the Company and its
subsidiaries (together referred to as the 'Group').
The consolidated financial statements of the Group as at and for the year ended
31 December 2006 are available upon request from the Company's registered office
at Kingston Chambers, P.O. Box 173, Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands,
from offices of RBC Capital Markets, One Queenhithe EC4V 4DE, London or at
www.amurminerals.com.
2. STATEMENT OF COMPLIANCE
These condensed consolidated interim financial statements have been prepared in
accordance with International Accounting Standard (IAS) 34 Interim Financial
Reporting. They do not include all of the information required for full annual
financial statements, and should be read in conjunction with the consolidated
financial statements of the Group as at and for the year ended 31 December 2006.
3. SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Except as described below, the accounting policies applied by the Group in these
condensed consolidated financial statements are the same as those applied by the
Group in its consolidated financial statements as at and for the year ended 31
December 2006.
In preparing the financial statements of the Group, transactions in currencies
other than the entity's functional currency (foreign currencies) are recorded at
the average rates of exchange prevailing during the month of the transactions.
At each balance sheet date, monetary items denominated in foreign currencies are
retranslated at the rates prevailing on the balance sheet date.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Group has recorded the receipt of proceeds,
which were denominated in British Pounds for the placement of shares on 15 March
2006 and 27 April 2007 at the prevailing exchange rates on those dates, which
were US$1.74 and $1.99 / GBP, respectively.
The following new standards are effective but are considered not applicable to
the Group:
• Amendment to IAS 19, 'Actuarial gains and losses, group plans and
disclosures'
• Amendment to IAS 39, Amendment to 'The fair value option'
• Amendment to IAS 21, Amendment 'Net investment in a foreign operation'
• Amendment to IAS 39, Amendment 'Cash flow hedge accounting of forecast
intragroup transactions'
• Amendment to IAS 39 and IFRS 4, Amendment 'Financial guarantee contracts'
• IFRIC 4, 'Determining whether an arrangement contains a lease'
• IFRIC 5, 'Rights to interests arising from decommissioning, restoration and
environmental rehabilitation funds'
• IFRIC 6, 'Liabilities arising from participating in a specific market
- waste electrical and electronic equipment'
The following new standards, amendments to standards and interpretations have
been issued but are not effective for 2007 and need not be early adopted:
• IFRS 8, 'Operating Segments'
• IFRIC 7, 'Applying the Restatement Approach under IAS 29'
• IFRIC 8, 'Scope of IFRS 2'
• IFRIC 9, 'Reassessment of Embedded Derivatives'
Management has considered the above standards and interpretations and decided
not to adopt them for the year ended 31 December 2007, and hence they have not
been adopted in these interim financial statements.
AMUR MINERALS CORPORATION AND ITS SUBSIDIARIES
Condensed consolidated balance sheet
AS OF 30 June 2007
(Amounts in '000s US Dollars)
4. SEASONALITY OF OPERATIONS
Due to the seasonal nature of exploration work in the region where the Group
operates, prepayments have been made at 30 June 2007, which will be capitalised
in the second half of the year, when the work is performed.
5. ESTIMATES
The preparation of interim financial statements requires management to make
judgments, estimates and assumptions that affect the application of accounting
policies and the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, income and expense.
Actual results may differ from these estimates.
The most significant assumption in the preparation of these financial statements
relates to the recoverability of capitalised exploration costs included in
non-current assets. Management have prepared a cashflow, estimating costs of
development of the mine and net profits once the mine has been put into
operation. The main estimates required in calculating the future cashflows are:
• Development costs to date of operations
• Future sale price of metals extracted
• Amount of reserves available for extraction
• Operating expenses per tonne of metal extracted
Based on the cashflow prepared, there is no impairment of the capitalised
expenditure to date. However, the exploration is still at an early stage and a
change in any of the above areas could result in a significant impact on the
estimated future cashflows.
6. FINANCIAL RISK MANAGEMENT
The Group faces exposure to currency fluctuations of the US Dollar (the Group's
functional currency) against both the British Pound and the Russian Rouble. The
Group buys and holds on deposit Roubles and Pounds in order to cover a
proportion of the current year's anticipated expenditures in those currencies.
7. CAPITAL COMMITMENTS
The Group entered into a contract for geological works with Dalgeophysica in
March 2007. The total value of the contract is approximately USD 3.5 million.
As at 30 June 2007, the Group had incurred USD 850 thousand in respect of this
commitment (2006: USD 563 thousand of a total contract value of USD 1.9 million)
8. SHARE CAPITAL
30 June 2007 31 December 2006 30 June 2006
____________ ____________ ____________
Number of Shares (no par value):
Authorised 150,000,000 150,000,000 150,000,000
____________ ____________ ____________
Issued and fully paid 101,703,938 86,203,938 86,195,938
Issued but not fully paid - - 8,000
____________ ____________ ____________
Total issued 101,703,938 86,203,938 86,203,938
____________ ____________ ____________
AMUR MINERALS CORPORATION AND ITS SUBSIDIARIES
Condensed consolidated balance sheet
AS OF 30 June 2007
(Amounts in '000s US Dollars)
8. share Capital
Share Placement
On 27 April 2007 the Company issued 15,500,000 ordinary shares of no par value
at GBP 0.18 each in a private placement to institutional and select qualified
retail investors raising financing of USD 5.6 million. These shares have been
admitted to the AIM market of London Stock Exchange plc. The resultant number
of shares in issue is 101,703,938. The costs associated with the issue of USD
328 thousand have been taken to the share premium reserve.
9. SHARE-BASED PAYMENTS
30 June 2007 30 June 2006
Vesting of share options declared in 2006 62 373
Share options issued in May 2007 (see below) 287 -
Grant of options included in Income Statement 349 373
In May 2007, 1,472,000 share options were granted to executive and non-executive
directors and employees. In addition, 775,000 share options were granted to
Fox-Davies Capital pursuant to an engagement letter for fundraising dated
February 2007. The exercise price of the options of GBP 0.18 is equal to the
price at the share placement in late April 2007. There are no vesting
provisions for the options. The fair value of the options is estimated at the
grant date using a Black-Scholes model, taking into account the terms and
conditions on which the options were granted. The contractual life of each
option is five years. There is a 'best efforts' cash settlement option which
does not obligate the Group to settle the options in cash. The fair value of
options granted during the six months ended 30 June 2007 was estimated on the
grant date using the following assumptions:
Share price: 18p
Exercise price: 18p
Expected volatility: 39%
Option life (expressed as weighted average life used in the modeling 5
under Black-Scholes model)
Expected dividends 0
Risk free rate (US treasury 5yr) 4.59%
The resulting charge for 2,247,000 options is USD 487 thousand, of which USD 287
thousand is recorded in administrative expenses and USD 200 thousand has been
recorded as a charge against share premium.
10. RELATED PARTIES
Key management personnel and directors received total compensation of USD 547
thousand for the six months ended 30 June 2007 (six months ended 30 June 2006
USD 582 thousand), including the value of options granted (see note 9). As at
30 June 2006, there were no balances owing to directors or management.
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