Half-yearly report
Anglesey Mining plc Interim Report 2006 LSE:AYM
A period of major developments - Poised for production
Chairman's Statement
The last six months have been a period of major developments and significant
progress for the company. This has been coupled with a period during which the
prices of our major commodities, zinc, copper and iron ore have soared to record
heights.
Under the direction of our strengthened management team, we carried out a
detailed review of the development options for the Parys Mountain project in
North Wales. As a consequence of that review we have directed exploration
efforts to locating sources of ore that will allow for early mining and
development of the property. We believe we have been particularly successful in
these endeavours and, subject to financing, this should now lead to mine
development commencing in 2007 with the first production and commercial sale of
concentrate minerals occurring in 2008.
At the same time we have completed a detailed initial feasibility study on our
Labrador Iron Project in Canada. The results from that study have been very
positive and have encouraged us to target initial production in 2008.
In the last few weeks prices of the metals of importance to the company have
soared to new heights. Zinc is now selling at a price around $US2.00 per pound,
copper at over $US3.00 per pound and lump hematite iron ore at $US65-70 per
tonne. These prices are driven by surging Chinese demand and appear to be
supported by growing needs elsewhere, including India and Brazil. Whilst there
are always risks associated with the economies of developing nations, the
outlook for metal prices remains excellent.
Regrettably it appears that our progress has been largely unnoticed by the
investment community and has not been reflected in the company's share price. We
believe that once investors and shareholders understand the achievements that we
have made this year, and recognise that the company is poised to become a
producer on two continents, a significant re-rating in the share price should
take place.
Parys Mountain and the White Rock Mine
Our new management team spent some time examining options for the development of
Parys Mountain. The original plan had been to develop the mine through the
existing Morris Shaft and at an early stage to deepen that shaft to access the
major resource blocks located around and below the bottom level of the shaft. It
had always been considered that a minimum production rate of 1,000 tonnes per
day would be required to sustain the capital expenditure for this plan. The new
plan developed by the team will be based on developing a mining operation from a
decline tunnel using underground trucks to haul ore to the mill.
Exploration efforts were concentrated on the White Rock zone located 200 metres
east of the Morris Shaft which appeared to offer the most promise to locate
shallow resources. This area is shown in the plan on the company's website. .
A programme of closely spaced drilling on the upper portions of this zone during
the summer of 2006 has been very successful in this respect. The following
table shows the results from all the current year drill holes that intersected
economic mineralisation:
DRILL HOLE From To Width Cu Pb Zn Ag
(m) (m) (m) (%) (%) (%) (ppm)
Main Lens
WD1 40.1 47.5 7.4 0.45 3.30 6.06 36
WD2 44.0 49.0 5.0 0.15 1.08 2.10 25
WD3 25.1 49.5 24.4 0.16 1.02 2.18 39
WD4 21.6 50.4 28.8 0.47 3.71 6.05 46
WD5 26.9 32.7 5.8 0.16 1.17 1.13 9
WD7 72.8 84.1 11.3 0.27 2.58 4.98 40
WD8 59.6 82.0 22.4 0.53 3.97 7.07 101
Upper Lens
12.8 17.6 4.8 0.16 1.02 2.18 39
WD5 13.5 16.2 2.7 0.88 3.22 7.56 50
WD7 16.8 23.9 7.1 0.34 1.71 2.99 20
WD7 39.5 58.2 18.7 0.27 2.05 3.37 18
A continuous block of ore at economic grades with a strike length of around 60
to 70 metres, and a core width of around 20 metres has been identified from
surface down to at least the lowest level of the shaft. The section on the
company's website shows this block of ore in relation to the surface elevation.
A revised resource estimate is currently being prepared on this White Rock zone
and will be published in due course.
We have designated this new development as the White Rock Mine. This will be
accessed through a decline tunnel to be driven from the currently permitted
decline portal site. Subject to funding we would expect to commence this decline
in the first half of 2007 and to be in a position to bring ore to surface within
a few weeks of commencement.
There are major advantages to this plan for the White Rock Mine: in particular
production can be achieved in a shorter time frame than through the shaft and
the initial production rate can be set at a level allowing for a lower initial
capital expenditure. We currently expect this initial rate to be around 500
tonnes per day.
We envisage that the White Rock Mine will have a life of five to seven years.
The second phase of this plan will involve connecting the decline with the
current shaft at a number of levels including the lowest level in the mine. This
will enable the shaft to be refurbished and deepened from underground and will
permit the current indicated resources, including both the deeper White Rock
zone and the adjacent larger Engine zone, to be accessed using operating cash-
flow thereby reducing capital expenditure requirements. The plan will enable
production to be built up to the original planned rate over a number of years.
This will extend the life of the mine by a further five to seven years.
It is planned to drive development headings to the east to access the original
inferred resources as well as the exciting new discoveries in the Garth Daniel
area that were announced earlier this year. The following table shows the
resource as estimated in 1990.
Million Cu Pb Zn Ag Au
Tonnes (%) (%) (%) (ppm) (ppm)
Indicated 2.251 1.43 3.43 6.72 78 0.7
Inferred 4.198 2.83 2.16 4.62 22 0.3
Total 6.449 2.34 2.60 5.35 41 0.4
It should be noted that these estimates do not include any resources in either
the Garth Daniel zone or in the White Rock zone as a result of drilling carried
out in 2005 and 2006.
The next steps in the development of the White Rock Mine will involve the
revised resource estimate which is currently under way, a pre-feasibility study
to be followed by a bankable study, establishment of a portal, driving a decline
and acquisition or construction of a mill.
We believe that this new plan for the White Rock Mine, based on the recent
success in White Rock exploration, has completely re-written the future for
Parys Mountain, and will be viewed by the investment community as major step to
production, and to re-rating of the company.
Labrador Iron Mines - Decision to proceed towards production
We have also been working very hard to increase our understanding of our iron
ore properties in western Labrador and to develop a plan for their successful
development through to production. In addition to a programme of field work and
exploration drilling on six of the properties, we engaged several reputable
consulting groups to assist in a number of specialist areas.
The major activities that have been undertaken include a detailed review of the
upper section of the existing railroad which connects the properties at
Schefferville to the port of Sept Iles; a resource modelling study on the first
property likely to be developed; a programme of metallurgical test-work on
material from a number of the properties to better understand the upgrading
characteristics; a review of the likely capital and operating costs to develop
and produce from the properties; an environmental base-line study brought
forward to ensure that there will be no production delays due to environmental
data gathering requirements; and discussions with various First Nations
communities.
Additionally we engaged specialist geologists and drilling contractors on a
targeted exploration programme during the summer. The drilling programme
although limited in scope enabled us to gather substantial data and knowledge on
these properties.
All of this work culminated in the production of an initial Feasibility Study at
the end of September. This study indicated that there are no technical or
physical areas of concern that would prevent the project moving to production as
originally considered. Further the Study indicates that the economics of the
project are viable.
On the basis of this work the company made an election to continue with the
development of the properties by committing to put them into production.
Following this election and as a result of meeting minimum expenditure levels,
the company, through the Labrador joint venture, has now consolidated its prior
option status on the properties into a direct ownership of the mineral rights.
At the same time the company increased its holding in the joint venture to 80%.
These developments have been very important and place us in a prime position to
create the first new iron ore mine in Canada for many years and to benefit from
the current extremely strong market for iron ore products. We intend to pursue
this objective as rapidly as possible during the coming year to meet our
declared aim of initial production during 2008.
Financial results
The loss for the six month period was £230,918 (2005 - £151,102) the increase
being due to resulting in higher levels of activity and management expense. The
charge for share based remuneration in the period was £44,116 compared with
£70,852 for the same period last year. Development expenses capitalised amounted
to £721,344 of which £450,964 (2005 - nil) was in respect of Labrador and
£270,380 (2005 - £144,142) was in respect of Parys Mountain.
Outlook
We truly believe that we are now at a most exciting stage in the company's
development. During this last year we have evolved from being a single property
evaluation company to where we now have well developed plans to bring two
properties into production in a very short time frame. Coupled with the
continuing strength of our major metals this should enable the company to be
significantly re-rated. Naturally it will be necessary for the company to
finance these developments through equity and other sources; discussions on
these matters with our financial advisors are underway.
We look forward to the coming months and years being particularly exciting and
beneficial for all our shareholders
John F Kearney
Chairman
15 December 2006
CONSOLIDATED INCOME STATEMENT unaudited
for the six months ended 30 September 2006
All operations are Six months Six months Year ended
continuing Notes ended 30 ended 30 31 March
Sep 2006 Sep 2005 2006
£ £ £
Revenue - - -
Administration expenses 5 (213,288) (125,175) (242,243)
Provision for impairment - - (194,065)
Operating loss (213,288) (125,175) (436,308)
Investment income 19,496 9,356 22,545
Finance costs (37,126) (35,283) (103,642)
Loss before tax (230,918) (151,102) (517,405)
Tax - - -
Loss for the period (230,918) (151,102) (517,405)
Loss per share
Basic and diluted loss per 2 (0.2)p (0.1)p (0.4)p
share
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET unaudited
30 30 31 March
September September 2006
2006 2005
£ £ £
Notes
Assets
Non-current assets
Mineral property 5, 7 6,292,378 5,441,743 5,571,034
development costs
Property, plant and 186,522 185,352 185,102
equipment
Deposit 112,779 110,476 111,679
6,591,679 5,737,571 5,867,815
Current assets
Other receivables 8,012 6,724 10,800
Cash and cash equivalents 479,542 303,720 1,201,381
487,554 310,444 1,212,181
Total assets 7,079,233 6,048,015 7,079,996
Liabilities
Current liabilities
Trade and other payables (666,372) (441,448) (627,945)
(666,372) (441,448) (627,945)
Net current (178,818) (131,004) 584,236
(liabilities)/assets
Non-current liabilities
Loans (1,372,918) (1,295,650) (1,336,392)
Long term provision (42,000) - (42,000)
(1,414,918) (1,295,650) (1,378,392)
Total liabilities (2,081,290) (1,737,098) (2,006,337)
Net assets 4,997,943 4,310,917 5,073,659
Equity
Share capital 6 6,898,914 6,789,247 6,885,914
Share premium 7,189,359 6,080,931 7,090,049
Share-based remuneration 3 204,825 132,799 160,709
reserve
Currency translation (5,876) - (4,652)
reserve
Retained losses (9,289,279) (8,692,060) (9,058,361)
Total shareholders' equity 4,997,943 4,310,917 5,073,659
Consolidated cashflow - unaudited
- for the six months ended 30 September 2006
Six Six Year
months months ended 31
ended 30 ended 30 March
Sep 2006 Sep 2005 2006
£ £ £
Operating activities
Loss from operations (213,288) (125,175) (436,308)
Adjustments for:
Depreciation of plant & - 250 500
equipment
Provision for impairment - - 194,065
Share-based remuneration 44,116 70,852 98,762
Operating cashflow before
movements in working capital (169,172) (54,073) (142,981)
Increase in payables (10,306) (13,002) (2,790)
Decrease/(increase) in 3,557 (4,721) (9,998)
receivables
Cash utilised by operations (175,921) (71,796) (155,769)
Interest paid (600) (283) -
Net cash used in operating
activities (176,521) (72,079) (155,769)
Investing activities
Interest received 17,627 7,487 20,676
Mineral property
development (673,835) (135,543) (323,166)
Purchase of tangible assets (1,420) - -
Net cash used in investing
activities (657,628) (128,056) (302,490)
Financing activities
Proceeds from issue of 112,310 459,785 1,615,570
shares
Net cash from financing activities 112,310 459,785 1,615,570
Net (decrease)/increase in cash (721,839) 259,650 1,157,311
Cash and cash equivalents at 1,201,381 44,070 44,070
beginning of period
Cash and cash equivalents at end 479,542 303,720 1,201,381
of period
Capital and reserves reconciliation - unaudited
Six Six Year
months months ended 31
ended 30 ended 30 March
Sep 2006 Sep 2005 2006
£ £ £
At beginning of period 5,073,659 3,931,382 3,931,382
Share based remuneration 44,116 70,852 98,762
Shares issued for cash 112,310 459,785 1,565,570
Exchange differences (1,224) - (4,652)
Loss for the year (230,918) (151,102) (517,403)
Total shareholders' equity 4,997,943 4,310,917 5,073,659
Significant accounting policies and notes to accounts
1. BASIS OF ACCOUNTING: The unaudited interim financial statements have been
prepared under the historical cost convention, on a going concern basis and in
accordance with the accounting policies employed in the company's accounts at 31
March 2006. There are no minority interests or extraordinary items.
2. LOSS PER SHARE: The calculation and reporting of basic and diluted loss per
share (LPS) are in accordance with IAS 33. Basic loss per share is computed by
dividing the loss of £230,918 attributable to ordinary shareholders by
137,915,722 - the weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue during the
period. Since there is a loss for the year, basic and diluted LPS are the same.
3. SHARE-BASED PAYMENTS: IFRS 2 "Share-based Payment" requires the recognition
of share-based payments (which in the case of the group during the period are
share options only) at fair value at the date of grant. Prior to the adoption of
IFRS 2 for the 30 September 2005 accounts, the group did not recognise the
financial effect of share-based payments. The fair value of the options to be
expensed has been determined by a Black-Scholes option pricing model using a
volatility factor of 70% and an option life of 3 years as the significant
assumptions.
4. DEFERRED TAX: The group has accumulated losses for taxation purposes of
£3.7 million up to 30 September 2006. There are also capital allowances,
including mineral extraction allowances, exceeding £9 million unclaimed and
available. Because the recoverability of any taxation relative to these amounts
from future operations is uncertain, no deferred tax asset is reflected in the
financial statements.
5. BUSINESS AND GEOGRAPHICAL SEGMENTS: All activities relate to the group's
principal activity which is the exploration and development of mining properties
and hence only the geographical segments have been disclosed below:
Unaudited UK £ Canada £ Total £
Direct property expenses 270,380 450,964 721,344
Overhead expenses:
Corporate salaries & related costs 169,172 - 169,172
Share-based remuneration 44,116 - 44,116
213,288 - 213,288
483,668 450,964 934,632
Less:
Capitalised to mineral property
development costs (270,380) (450,964) (721,344)
Amount charged to income statement 213,288 - 213,288
6. CHANGES IN SHARE CAPITAL: During the period 600,000 shares were issued in
respect of the discharge of a liability and 700,000 shares were issued in
respect of the exercise of share options.
7. DEVELOPMENT EXPENDITURE: Mineral development expenditure incurred by the
group is carried in the financial statements at cost less an impairment
provision. The recovery of this expenditure is dependent upon the successful
development of the Parys Mountain and Labrador projects which is itself
conditional on finance being available to fund those developments.
8. FINANCIAL INFORMATION: This financial information does not constitute
statutory accounts within the meaning of section 240 of the Companies Act 1985.
Statutory accounts for the year ended 31 March 2006 which were prepared under
International Financial Reporting Standards, have been delivered to the
Registrar of Companies. The report of the auditors on those accounts did not
contain a statement under Section 237 of the Companies Act 1985 and was not
qualified, but did contain a reference to fundamental uncertainties.
9. BOARD APPROVAL: These interim results were approved by the board on 15
December 2006.
For further details:
Ian Cuthbertson, Finance Director + (44) 1248 361333
Bill Hooley, Executive Director + (44) 1492 541981
John F. Kearney, Chairman + (1) 416 362 6686
Cathy Malins / Annabel Leather,
Parkgreen Communications + (44) 20 7493 3713