AGM Statement
SERABI MINING plc ("Serabi" or "the Company")
AGM Statement
Speaking at today's Annual General Meeting, Mr. Graham Roberts made
the following statement:
During recent weeks we have extensively reviewed our performance and
outlook in a number of releases and the annual report, I would
therefore like to make only a few brief additional comments today on
these matters, with a focus on our future plans and strategy. We
will of course be happy to consider any questions informally at the
end of the meeting.
We believe we are approaching some interesting and potentially
important times for the Company and its future developments. After a
period of establishment, culminating in the achievement of commercial
production at the Palito gold mine last October and accompanied by
progress on a number of other fronts, Serabi is now well placed for
the next move in growing the company. We recognise the need to
increase and develop resources and production as the central theme
for the Company's future and, in addition to the fundamental
achievements, are now able to take advantage of the current
favourable market conditions to expedite this growth and development.
This means maximising revenue potential whilst metal prices are high,
seeking new near term production opportunities and developing the
value of our asset portfolio through focussed exploration.
The potential of the Tapajos should not be overlooked. The region is
thought to have produced some 30 million ounces from alluvial and
artisanal operations, already ranking it as one of the largest gold
areas in the world. With as yet, very limited modern exploration and
only one 'hard rock' mine established to date - Palito - the
remaining potential also ranks very high. It is with this potential
in mind that we have been building our land position and recently
announced we now hold around 273,000 hectares of land, an increase of
165% since our listing in May 2005. The regional geology exhibits
features similar to other major producing areas of the world, a fact
not lost on the major mining groups, a number of whom were present at
the inaugural Tapajos Gold Symposium held last month in Itaituba,
which was supported by Serabi.
We would welcome an increased presence in the area of new and larger
companies. Their interest could potentially hasten the arrival of
additional service groups, thus providing improved independent
support and so aiding exploration and evaluation for all. Should
these companies decide to invest in the region we feel that given
Serabi's achievements to date, we might consider collaborative
arrangements over selected areas which would allow us to more rapidly
evaluate and develop our land portfolio. With the ability to tap
into their exploration budgets, high-tech tools and global experience
we would envisage that detailed screening and evaluations could be
carried out in a much shorter time frame than could be achieved by a
junior company working alone.
In the meantime we have existing production from the Palito Main Zone
at our Palito Mine, which provides cash-flow and a sound base for
future development, and a strong and prospective land position in the
Tapajos.
We are very encouraged by recent exploration results around the
Palito Mine, which are yielding strong indications of the presence of
multiple satellite ore-bodies, notably to date at Ruari's Ridge and
Chico do Santo. The challenge for us is to rapidly identify and
develop all those satellites which are of adequate size to be
commercially exploited and can form part of an expanded operation.
With existing infrastructure and plant we have the basis to
fast-track these developments and achieve growth, but this must be
set against the need to ensure that any resultant expansions are
properly scoped in order to achieve the best technical plan, optimise
capital expenditure and the return on that investment.
Against this background, we continue to believe that the Palito
environs have potential to boost our production there above 100,000
ounces per annum within a relatively short time frame.
Our longer term goal to become a mid-tier producer, that is with
annual production of more than 200,000 ounces, can be derived by two
routes:
* Exploration success from our existing portfolio
* Seeking new near term production opportunities
One of the greatest challenges to any exploration company is the
transition to producer, a step which many never attempt. We have
established a management team with such development and production
experience, placing the company in a strong position to take new
projects to that next stage in the future, or growing existing
production opportunities with good potential.
Thus we will now seek to grow organically, through selective
acquisitions and may, where appropriate consider strategic
collaboration. In this regard, although we will maintain our focus
on the highly prospective Tapajos, we are also looking at
opportunities beyond this region of Brazil.
Serabi is now very well placed to benefit from these potential
developments, as well as build from its established asset base. I
look forward to reporting the continuing success of the Company
during 2007.
Enquiries
Serabi Mining plc
Graham Roberts Tel: 020 7220 9550
Chairman Mobile: 07768 902 475
Clive Line Tel: 020 7220 9550
Finance Director Mobile: 07710 151 692
Email: contact@serabimining.com
Website: www.serabimining.com
Numis Securities Limited
John Harrison Tel: 020 7260 1000
James Black Tel: 020 7260 1000
Parkgreen Communications
Clare Irvine Tel: 020 7851 7480
Shannon Wiseman Tel: 020 78517480
Notes to Editors
The Tapajos region of northern Brazil encompasses an area of
approximately 100,000 km², primarily situated in south-west Para
State. It has a significant history of alluvial gold production with
estimated gold production of some 30 million ounces having being
recovered, primarily from artisanal workings.
Present in the Tapajos since 1999, Serabi has established the only
'hard rock' mine in the region to date at its Palito gold mine, which
produced 39,197 ounces of gold equivalent in 2006. Commercial
production was achieved last October at Palito, with cash costs for
the fourth quarter of 2006 reported at $252 per ounce of gold
equivalent.
Serabi already has a significant exploration programme focused on the
Tapajos region, owns and operates four surface drilling rigs and has
its own assay laboratory.
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