Operational Update

RNS Number : 7355B

Metals Exploration PLC

08 April 2013

 



METALS EXPLORATION PLC

OPERATIONAL UPDATE TO 31 MARCH 2013

Metals Exploration plc (AIM: MTL) ("Metals Exploration" or "the Company"), the natural resources exploration and development company with assets in the Pacific Rim region, is pleased to provide an operations update on matters relating to its Runruno gold-molybdenum project ("the Project") and exploration activities in the Philippines. 

AIM Code : MTL At: 31 March 2013 Shares in Issue: 824,743,103 Options in Issue: 14,275,000 Warrants in Issue: 5,510,000 Directors: Ian Holzberger, Executive Chairman Timothy Dean Guy Walker Edward Parsons Chris Whitehouse Management: Ian Holzberger, Executive Chairman Liam Ruddy, Company Secretary  John  Stubbs, CFO Craig Watkins, GM Runruno Project Chevy Albo, Finance & Administration Rosalie Soriano, Legal Counsel Agnes Goze, Environment & Permitting Tommy Alfonso, Financial Controller Peter Clark, GM Mining Kevin Johnston, GM Infrastructure For further Information please contact: Metals Exploration plc Ian Holzberger: [phone] Liam Ruddy; [phone] Nominated Adviser: Westhouse Securities Limited Martin Davison [phone] Broker: SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP Ewan Leggat [phone] Public Relations: Tavistock Communications Edward Portman / Jos Simson [phone]	Highlights ·      Commitments received to raise approximately US$57.7 million via a share placing, subject to shareholder approval, to fund the development of the Runruno gold project. ·      Shareholders to be offered the opportunity to participate via an Open Offer which could raise an additional €4.5 million. ·      MTL in discussions with potential lenders other than Solomon Capital Limited to secure approximately US$70 million in debt funding to allow the full construction of Runruno and the acquisition of the mining fleet for post construction operations - the debt facility is expected to be agreed by the end of 2013. ·      78.9% upgrade in the Inferred JORC Resource for the Malilibeg South area to 340,000 ozs of gold at 1.4 g/t Au. ·      Runruno JORC 2012 compliant resource base increased now containing 1.73 million ozs of gold at 1.63g/t Au (combined Runruno Main and Malilibeg South resources), up from 1.58 million ozs of gold contained at 1.69 g/t Au. ·      The bulk of early construction work now complete and within budget - outstanding work expected to be concluded by the end of Q2. ·      An all-weather road constructed from the national Solano - Runruno road into the project site. ·      Permanent power will be supplied to site from the national grid; stage 1 an overhead power line from Maddiangat to Runruno (22 kms) to supply construction power is 60% complete. ·      Majority of the mining fleet purchased and is currently at port in Manila. ·      MTL to design and construct the processing plant using specialist contractors and sub-contractors after negotiations with Leighton Contractors (Asia) Limited to enter into an EC&P contract were terminated. ·      MTL's subsidiary, FCF, awarded the Presidential Mineral Industry Environmental Award for the second year running - validates the Company's commitment to being a responsible miner.
About Runruno Gold Project, Location: Central Luzon, Philippines, 320km north of Manila. Status: Development ready, Feasibility study completed May 2010. Mine life: 10.3 years. Payable Au: 1 million ozs. Annual Production: Year 1-5: 101,800 ozs Au ave. Years 6-10: 92,700ozs Au ave. Capital Cost1: US$182.8 m Operating Cost2: US$ 442/oz Au Mining: Open pit, truck and shovel operation. Operational Strip Ratio: 5.2:1 waste to ore. Processing: gravity, BIOX® oxidation and CIL to recover gold as doré bullion. 2P Reserves3: 15mt @ 1.85g/t Au and 603 ppm Mo. Mineral Resource3:   Runruno Main - 26mt @1.69 g/t Au and  453ppm Mo, including reserves. Malilibeg South - 7.55mt @1.4 g/t Au and 1,200 ppm Mo Upside: by-product molybdenum, mine life extension, highly prospective mineralised system. Notes: 1.   Capital Cost updated October 2011 - estimated in Q3 2011 US$, at US$167.8 million increased by the cost of the acquisition of the mining fleet at US$15 million 2.   May 2010 Feasibility Study - estimated in Q4 2009 US$ reduced by US$ 35 per ounce attributed to the removal of the mining fleet operation lease in favour of outright purchase. 3.   Refer to the Company website,   www.metalsexploration.com for complete Mining Reserve and Mineral Resource statements.	Ian Holzberger, Executive Chairman, commented: "The general site works at Runruno continue unabated and it is satisfying to report that the majority of the key earthworks, infrastructure and access components of the project have are close to being completed.  By the middle of 2013 the site infrastructure will be ready for the construction of the processing plant. "With that element in mind, I was buoyed by the support we received from our shareholders in relation to the recent equity raising and we look forward to committing to the full construction phase after the General Meeting in April. The task now is to obtain debt funding to complete development and move Runruno into production and I am confident that this can be achieved before the end of the year. "The exploration and resource extension work remains promising and it is very welcome to announce a significant upgrade in the Inferred Mineral Resource in the Malilibeg South area." Development of the Runruno Gold Project The Runruno gold project continues to be actively progressed with significant advances achieved in both the Project funding package and physical construction activities on the ground. Step out drilling activities to further test the potential of the Runruno Financial or Technical Assistance Agreement ("FTAA") for gold and copper mineralisation were maintained with continued success seen in the upgraded mineral resource estimated for the Malilibeg South mineralisation south of the proposed pit. Funding Package On March 26 2013, the Company announced that it had obtained commitments to raise approximately US$57.7 million (before expenses) via the issue of a total of 545,033,044 new ordinary shares of 1 pence each in the Company at a price of 7 pence per new ordinary share, from certain existing shareholders (the Placing). As a result of reaching agreement with four of its major shareholders for equity funding, the Company has discontinued discussions with Solomon Capital Limited regarding its previously announced debt funding proposal. In addition to proposed equity finance, the Company will seek to raise approximately US$70 million in debt and it is intended that the debt facility will be available by the end of 2013.  At completion the combination of these two financing sources, the Company's current cash reserves and a credit for the Project capital works completed to date will provide adequate funding for the full construction of the Runruno project, including working capital through to production and the acquisition of the mining fleet.  Previously it had been intended that the mining fleet would be funded using an operating lease structure but it is now planned to fund this US$15 million acquisition using debt.

Purchasing the mining fleet outright in lieu of using an operating lease structure will increase the headline capital cost of the project by US$15.0 million from US$167.8 million to US$182.8 million but is estimated to reduce the operating costs by around US$3.5 million per year.  Based on the average forecast gold production this equates to a saving of approximately US$35 per ounce, reducing the estimated average operating cost to US$442 per ounce. Approximately US$35.0 million has been spent on Project capital works to date, US$21.3 million on site related works and US$13.7 million on the acquisition of the mining fleet.

In the March 26 announcement the Company also advised that it plans to raise up to approximately €4.5 million through an Open Offer to existing shareholders of approximately 55 million new ordinary shares of 1 pence each in the Company at a price of 7 pence per new ordinary share. Those shareholders participating in the Placing have irrevocably undertaken not to take up their respective rights under the Open Offer.

On approval of the US$57.7 million Placing by its shareholders at the General Meeting to be held on 22 April 2013, the Company will be able to proceed with the full construction of the Runruno project whilst it finalises the US$70 million debt package.

Infrastructure Site Works

A package of early construction works on selected key infrastructure and access components of the project is well advanced and is expected to be completed over the next quarter.  This work has been completed within budget with approximately US$21.3 million of the forecast capital expenditure of US$ 182.8 million having been spent to date.  The basis has now been established for the Project to efficiently proceed into full construction.

The current development program has been proceeding on a number of work areas:

•    General site earthworks including site access roads, river crossings and the development of infrastructure pads;

•    Processing plant pad earthworks;

•    Construction of the camp and office facilities;

•    Installation of a construction power system;

•    Construction of the permanent connection to the power grid;

•    Establishment of the potable water system;

•    Erection of a concrete batching plant to support construction activities;

•    Rehabilitation of the Solano - Runruno access road;

•    Development of the pit access and tailing storage facility haul roads, the run of mine pad area and the heavy equipment workshop pad; and

•    Acquisition of selected units of the mobile fleet.

General site earthworks

The batch plant, accommodation camp and office site pads and foundations have been completed and the infrastructure built.

A permanent road dedicated to project use has been constructed from the national Solano - Runruno road into the project site.  The local access "Barangay" road has been rehabilitated for use by the local residents.

Please refer to Image 1 for a view of the Site access road looking towards the campsite and lay-down area.

Processing plant earthworks

The processing plant earthworks are now complete and the site is ready for construction of the processing plant to commence.  The pad has been independently verified as having met or exceeded the required design criteria and load bearing capacity. The finished pad is shown in image 2

Construction camp and site office

Phase I of the office facilities has been completed and occupied. Phase II, the duplication of the upper storey is approximately 85% complete and will be occupied during the next quarter.  Good progress has been made on the erection of the 650 person construction camp and the site office. Image 3 shows the office facility.

The construction camp and messing facilities are now well advanced and are approximately 70% completed, with three of five bunk house and ablution facilities and the messing facilities complete.  Two additional bunk house and ablution complexes will be erected during the quarter which will complete the camp.  The camp is designed to sleep 700 people and feed at peak in excess of 1,000. The facilities are shown in images 4 & 5.

A package sewage plant has been installed to service the camp and office facilities.

Construction power system

The construction power system has been established in the area of the permanent switchyard located in the processing plant area.  Two 1,000 kVA generator sets have been installed and overhead power lines and junction boxes established around the processing plant site to support construction.  The generating capacity has also been reticulated to the camp and office complex. Once phase 1 of the permanent grid power connection has been completed, power will be drawn from the grid with the generators being retained as a back-up supply. The facilities are shown in images 6 & 7.

Power Supply - Off Site

Permanent power will be supplied to the project from the Philippine National Grid via a connection at the Bayambong switch yard. The 69kV overhead power line connecting the switchyard to the mine site is being constructed in two stages, stage one from Maddiangat to Runruno over a distance of 22 kilometres and stage two Bayambong to Maddiangat a distance of 15 kilometres.  Stage one has been advanced and is approximately 60% complete.  The early completion of this link will enable early access to grid power initially at 13.9 kV until stage two is completed and the primary grid connection is made. 

The early connection to the grid will reduce the cost of power to the project during the construction stage. Progress is shown in image 8.

Potable Water System

A potable water system drawing water from the Lintugan River is being established.  The 3.2 kilometre pipeline from the weir and pump house has been laid, and the weir, pump house and processing facilities are near complete.  In addition to supplying the project requirements potable water will be made available to the Runruno town residents to replace the current raw water sources used for domestic supply. Laying of the water pipeline is shown in image 9.

Concrete Batch Plant

The concrete batch plant has been constructed.  Around 14,000 cubic metres of concrete will be used in the construction of the project.  The batch plant is shown in image 10.

Solano - Runruno Access Road

The first stage of upgrading the Solano - Runruno access road (a National Road) has been completed.  Twelve kilometres of the road has been fully sheeted by placing and compacting crushed rock on the platform, a new all-weather surface established and the roadside drainage improved. The remaining 16 kilometres of the road is concrete paved and in good condition.

The second stage of the upgrade involving the realignment of a number of road curves to allow large

trailers to travel along has commenced. In addition, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DWPH) is also working on the road.  The DWPH is replacing a bridge and extending the concrete surface by a further 1.5 kilometres out of its annual budget.  This work is well advanced and is due for completion during May. Upgrading work on part of the Solano - Runruno road is shown in image 11.

Mine Area

The establishment of access into the mine area has proceeded well.  The primary haul road from the run of mine pad (ROM) area to the starter pit has been established to grade and width.  A road from the starter pit to the tailings storage facility has also been pioneered and a permanent crossing across the Sulong River is being established.  Mining in the starter pit area has shown the ground conditions to be good with the exposed rock faces stand up at design angles.  All work undertaken to date has been of a pioneering nature and achieved by using 30 tonne class excavators and ridged bodied 20 tonne dump trucks. A view of the mine haul road is shown in image 12.

In the ROM area the site for the heavy vehicle workshop has been readied for the construction of the facility.  Construction will commence during this quarter.

The Komatsu branded mining fleet comprising 6 HD 785-7 dump trucks, a PC 2000-8 hydraulic excavator, a PC 1250-8 hydraulic excavator, 2 D 475A-5 bulldozers and a GD 825A-2 motor grader has been purchased and is currently at port in Manila.  It is expected that the fleet will be transported to site and assembled and commissioned over the next three months.  Once commissioned the mining fleet will be used to pre-strip the ore-body with the waste material to be used in establishing the tailings storage facility retaining wall. Selected pieces of equipment are shown in images 13 & 14.

Process Plant Construction Contract

The Company has terminated all negotiations with Leighton Contractors (Asia) Limited in relation to its previously advised intention to enter into an Engineering and Construct contract and a Procurement contract ("EC&P") for the design and construction of the Runruno processing plant. After twelve months of work and negotiation in an open book environment the parties were not able to reach agreement on all of the commercial terms nor agree a gross maximum price formula.   

It is now planned to "self-execute" the design and construction of the processing plant using specialised contractors and sub-contractors to execute the works. PIE, a specialist engineering firm, has been retained to assist the Company with managing this process and to assemble the expert team required to support the activities and that construction will commence early in Q3 2013. Detailed engineering using Contromation Energy Services, a specialist design engineer based in Jakarta, is well advanced.

Environment

Environmental works are ongoing with the Company actively mitigating silt runoff and rehabilitating cut surfaces as the site works progress.  Routine ongoing environment and social monitoring programs have been maintained.  The Company is an active participant in the Mining Forest Program and the Greening Philippines program.  At Runruno, the Company is working with property owners to re-establish previously logged forests by planting large stands of trees endemic to the area.  To date the project has planted in excess of 1.07 million trees and coffee seedlings in its various programs.

Once again the Company's Philippine operating subsidiary, FCF, was recognised for its environmental and rehabilitation work at Runruno and its community work in the host communities by being identified as an outstanding achiever at the 2012 Presidential Minerals Industry Environmental Awards by being awarded the 2012 Presidential Mineral Industry Environment Award (Exploration Category).  This is the second year running that the Company has achieved this prestigious award.

The award is a clear demonstration of the Company's commitment to being a responsible miner and is shown in image 15.

Government

On 28 February 2013, the Company advised the market that it was taking advice on the impact and effect of the publication from the Philippines Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) of a Revenue Memorandum Circular No 17-2013 (RMC17).

On 15 February 2013, RMC17 was issued by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue on the subject: "Clarifying the Taxes Due from Financial or Technical Assistance Agreement (FTAA) Contractors During 'Recovery Periods' ". RMC17 casts doubt upon the Company's ability to avail itself of any fiscal exemptions expressly provided for in its FTAA to the extent it states FTAA Contractors are liable to pay the taxes due under the National Internal Revenue Code.

This is contradictory to the provisions provided in the Company's FTAA, a legal contract with the Philippine Government. It is also our contention the substance of RMC17 is an erroneous interpretation of the Mining Act, its rules and regulations

The Company continues to work with the Authorities to resolve this matter.

Writ of Kalikasan

In November 2012, the Company announced that its subsidiary FCF Minerals Corporation (FCF) owner of the Runruno gold project in the Philippines, The Department of Environment and Natural Resources, The Mines and Geosciences Bureau and the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples were jointly served with an application for a Writ of Kalikasan, seeking any number of remedies from a restraining order through ordering the payment of additional compensation to termination of the Runruno FTAA.  At that time FCF advised that it believed the basis of the writ was flawed with significant inaccurate "facts", and has a vexatious element.  This continues to be the case.

The application for the Writ has now been in the court system for five months with a number of submissions made and court appearances completed.  To date all of the applications by the petitioners including injunctive relief have been denied by the Court but the substantive matters in their application remain to be heard.  The Court has however granted FCF permission to have the application for a Writ to be determined as a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPP) matter on the basis that it is frivolous and vexatious and seeks to use a court action for an improper purpose. The court is yet to hand down its decision in this application but if it is successful the application for a writ of Kalikasan will be dismissed.

FCF continues to believe that the Writ will not be successful, and therefore no quantitative value of its impact has been made.

Regional Exploration  

Exploration work designed to systematically assess the FTAA for additional Runruno style gold mineralisation and also for porphyry copper-gold mineralisation has continued. Activities included diamond drilling, geological mapping and regional geochemistry.  Drilling activities were confined to the south of the planned pit area (resource extension).  Two diamond drill rigs were committed to the program.

 

Runruno Mineral Resource Extension

Diamond drilling south of the proposed Runruno open pit continued in an area now known as Malilibeg South testing the exploration model of a wide flat-dipping mineralised structure at depth has been successful with the strike length of the mineralisation extended further south.  The zone now extends around 700 metres south of the proposed Runruno pit and has been identified on both the eastern and western sides of the Malilibeg Fault structure towards the southern extents of the known area.  The mineralisation remains open to the south and in the east at the southern end of the zone.  Drilling will continue to better define the full extent of the mineralisation.

The results of all of the completed diamond drill holes drilled into and proximal to the mineralised zone have now been incorporated into the geological model and Mining Associates were retained to re-estimate the mineral resource.

The JORC 2012 categorised Mineral Resource for the Malilibeg South Deposit has been classified in the inferred confidence category on a spatial, areal and zonal basis and is summarised in the following table and more completely reported in Mining Associates Report set out in Appendix 1 to this report.

Malilibeg South Mineral Resource Estimate, March 2013

Resource		Grades		Contained Metal
Category	M Tonnes	Au g/t	Mo ppm	Au M oz	Mo M lb
Inferred	7.55	1.40	1,200	0.34	19.98

Drilling activities to test the southern and eastern extensions to more fully define a zone of higher grade material located around the Malilibeg Fault Structure will continue throughout Q2.

 Summary Notes to Accompany Malilibeg South Inferred Resource Estimate

1.     This information should be read in conjunction with Appendix 1  Table 1 of the report  Runruno Project , Malilibeg South Resource  prepared by Mining Associates which is provided as Appendix to this report.

2.     The Runruno project is operated by FCF Minerals Corporation ("FCF") under a Financial or Technical Assistance Agreement (FTAA) No 4-2009-II.

3.     FCF is a Philippine incorporated company and a subsidiary of AIM (London) listed Metals Exploration Plc ("MetalsEx"). MetalsEx owns 100% of FCF.

4.     The resource estimate is based on diamond drilling results and assays received to the end of December 2012 in an area to the south of the existing Runruno resource.

5.     Mineralisation style and lithologies are similar to the main Runruno deposit and drill holes have intersected the mineralised structures at depths predicted by the geological model. 

6.     A total of 30 diamond drillholes (7,220m) have been used to inform the estimate

7.     All analyses undertaken by Intertek, an internationally accredited independent laboratory.

8.     Gold analysis by classical 1kg screen fire assay analysis.

9.     Molybdenum analysis by mixed acid digest and ICP-OES.

10.   Block model estimation block sizes of XYZ 20x20x5m. Sub-blocking for volumes only to 5x5x1.25m. Screened for topography by sub-block.

11.   Geological model constrained by sub-block with 4 domains based on lithology, structure, alteration, and a minimum sample grade of 0.3 g/t Au, includes minor internal dilution. Each sub-block can only belong to one domain.

12.   Drill intercepts within each domain flagged in a database table and composited 2m downhole giving 256 informing samples from 30 drillholes.

13.   A gold grade cap was applied to informing 2 metre composites to remove minor outliers. Only the main structure had sufficient intercepts to determine a suitable grade capping strategy. Gold was capped at 9.5g/t (99.5%ile) and molybdenum was capped at 7090ppm (98%ile).

14.   Routine bulk density measurements undertaken on drill core by FCF show that it varies mainly according to weathering (fresh, transition, and oxidised) and lithology (crystal lithic tuff, tephrite porphyry, monzonite).

15.   Grade interpolated into a constrained block model by domain using Ordinary Krige estimation in 2 passes with parameters based on variography by domain. Estimates validated against informing samples and with nearest neighbour and inverse distance squared block estimation on a global basis and by swath plots.

16.   Resources have been classified in compliance with the JORC Code as Inferred. Geological evidence is sufficient to assume geological continuity. The drill density is insufficient to assure grade continuity though it is assumed and is based on limited sampling.

17.   Lower cut-off grade of 0.5g/t gold applied to blocks in reporting the resource estimates.

18.   Molybdenum grades are reported along with the gold grades by resource categories but a consistent laboratory bias low in molybdenum assay standards of 12% to 20% is recognised by FCF but has as yet not been addressed.

19.   Drilling, logging, sampling, and assaying techniques used were similar to those used to produce the Runruno deposit resource and reserve estimate of March 2011.

20.   Routine bulk density measurements (which show little variation according to oxidation state or lithology) were undertaken on drill core by FCF. The bulk density of 2.5 used for tonnage estimates was the same as that used to produce the Runruno resource and reserve estimate of March 2011.

 

Magnetite Creek

Previously reported drilling in the Magnetite Creek area, 2 kilometres south-east of Runruno, had intersected encouraging zones of copper and gold mineralisation associated with the brecciated parts of a west dipping north-westerly-trending monzonite-monzodiorite intrusive.

A geological consultant experienced in porphyry copper-gold deposits was retained to review these results and assist in targeting further testing.  He recently completed his review which included a period of time at the site and confirmed that the Magnetite Creek prospect hosts alkaline porphyry copper-gold mineralisation similar to that being mined at the nearby Didipio copper-gold deposit.  However he is of the opinion that drilling to date has shown the mineralisation to occur in restricted zones probably linked to individual monzonite and syenite intrusions.  This form of occurrence lessens the potential at Magnetite Creek for a large scale open-pittable copper-gold deposit close to the surface.

However the geological consultant considers that the presence of alkaline-porphyry-related mineralisation at Magnetite Creek makes the entire Runruno licence area highly prospective for similar styles of mineralisation.  In particular he highlighted the potential for a copper-gold porphyry deposit to be present at depth beneath the main Runruno deposit.

No further immediate work is planned in the Magnetite Creek area however targets will be defined for drill testing to better delineate the copper-porphyry gold potential identified.

Regional Exploration

Regional exploration activities in the southern part of the FTAA area included creek and ridge mapping and geochemical sampling.  A soil and stream geochemistry program has recently been completed and a follow up trenching activity will commence shortly to test the anomalous gold values returned.

Six drill holes were bored to test chargeability anomalies defined in the 2011 ground geophysical survey in the Cabinuangan-Cabocbocan area. One of the holes, TUD041, 120m south of Tulingan Creek and east of the Sulong River, intersected significant gold and molybdenum mineralisation which has been interpreted as being related to mineralisation intersected further north.  A notable feature of the mineralisation is the exceptional molybdenum content within the structures.  The intersections reported from this hole are shown in the following table:

Hole ID	Metres from	Metres to	Width (metres)	Au  g/t	Mo ppm
TUD041	106	108	2	0.71	875
	125	127	2	0.79	999
	136	137	1	0.92	1,260
	152	163	11	1.16	5,548
	201	213	12	2.56	6,735
	217	219	2	7.49	1,277

Follow-up drilling aimed at confirming a connection between the mineralisation intersected in TUD041 and the Malilibeg South mineralisation will commence during the next quarter. 

 

 

Drill Hole Location

The location of the drill holes referred to in this report is shown in the tables below.

Hole No	UTM Grid East	UTM Grid North	Collar Elevation (m)	UTM Azimuth (deg)	Dip (deg)	Depth (m)
TUD041	321557	1813867	455	090	-44	250

Approval

Mr Ian Holzberger, a director of the Company, who has been involved in the mining industry for more than 40 years, is a Member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and the Australian Institute of Geoscientists, has compiled, read and approved the technical disclosure in this regulatory announcement.

Competent Person

The information in this report that relates to Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves is based on information compiled by Ian Taylor, who is a Member of The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. Mr. Taylor is an employee of Mining Associates Pty Ltd and has sufficient experience which is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity which he is undertaking to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the "Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves‟. Mr Taylor consents to the inclusion in this report of the matters based on this information in the form and context in which it appears.

Forward Looking Statements

Statements relating to the estimated or expected future production, operating results, cash flows and costs and financial condition of Metals Exploration plc, planned work at the Company's projects and the expected results of such work are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by words such as the following: expects, plans, anticipates, forecasts, believes, intends, estimates, projects, assumes, potential and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements also include reference to events or conditions that will, would, may, could or should occur. Information concerning exploration results and mineral reserve and resource estimates may also be deemed to be forward-looking statements, as it constitutes a prediction of what might be found to be present when and if a project is actually developed.

These forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable at the time they are made, are inherently subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties which could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those reflected in the forward-looking statements, including, without limitation: uncertainties related to raising sufficient financing to fund the planned work in a timely manner and on acceptable terms; changes in planned work resulting from logistical, technical or other factors; the possibility that results of work will not fulfil projections/expectations and realize the perceived potential of the Company's projects; uncertainties involved in the interpretation of drilling results and other tests and the estimation of gold reserves and resources; risk of accidents, equipment breakdowns and labour disputes or other unanticipated difficulties or interruptions; the possibility of environmental issues at the Company's projects; the possibility of cost overruns or unanticipated expenses in work programs; the need to obtain permits and comply with environmental laws and regulations and other government requirements; fluctuations in the price of gold and other risks and uncertainties.

Technical Notes and Glossary of Technical Terms

"assay"             qualitative or quantitative analysis of a metal or ore to determine its components

"Au"                 chemical symbol for gold

"block model"    a computer based representation of a deposit in which geological zones are defined and filled with blocks which are assigned estimated values of grade and other attributes.  The purpose of the block model (BM) is to associate grades with the volume model. The blocks in the BM are basically cubes with the size defined according to certain parameters.

"bulk density"    the dry in-situ tonnage factor used to convert volumes to tonnage. Bulk density testwork is carried out on site and is relatively comprehensive, although samples of the more friable and broken portions of the mineralised zones are often unable to be measured with any degree of confidence, therefore caution is used when using the data.  Bulk density measurements are carried out on selected representative samples of whole drill core wherever possible.  The samples are dried and bulk density measured using the classical wax-coating and water immersion method.  The average bulk density for the mineralisation has been estimated at 2.5 using more than 3,000 measurements on drill core.

"cut-off grade"    the lowest grade value that is included in a resource statement. Must comply with JORC requirement 19: "reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction" the lowest grade, or quality, of mineralised material that qualifies as economically mineable and available in a given deposit.  May be defined on the basis of economic evaluation, or on physical or chemical attributes that define an acceptable product specification. 

"g/t"                  grammes per tonne, equivalent to parts per million

"g/t Au" grammes of gold per tonne

"grade cap"        the maximum value assigned to individual informing sample composites to reduce bias in the resource estimate.  They are capped to prevent over estimation of the total resource as they exert an undue statistical weight. Capped samples may represent "outliers" or a small high-grade portion that is volumetrically too small to be separately domained.

"JORC" or "JORC 2012"

                        The Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves, 2012 (the "JORC Code" or "the Code").  The Code sets out minimum standards, recommendations and guidelines for Public Reporting in Australasia of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves.  

The definitions in the JORC Code are either identical to, or not materially different from, those similar codes, guidelines and standards published and adopted by the relevant professional bodies in Australia, Canada (NI43-101), South Africa, USA, UK, Ireland and many countries in Europe.

"JORC Inferred Resource"          

that part of a Mineral Resource for which tonnage, grade and mineral content can be estimated with a low level of confidence.  It is inferred from geological evidence and assumed but not verified geological and/or grade continuity.  It is based on information gathered through appropriate techniques from locations such as outcrops, trenches, pits, workings and drillholes which may be limited or of uncertain quality and reliability.

"JORC Indicated Resource"

            that part of a Mineral Resource for which tonnage, densities, shape, physical characteristics, grade and mineral content can be estimated with a reasonable level of confidence.  It is based on exploration, sampling and testing information gathered through appropriate techniques from locations such as outcrops, trenches, pits, workings and drill holes.  The locations are too widely or inappropriately spaced to confirm geological and/or grade continuity but are spaced closely enough for continuity to be assumed.

"JORC Measured Resource"       

that part of a Mineral Resource for which tonnage, densities, shape, physical characteristics, grade and mineral content can be estimated with a high level of confidence.  It is based on detailed and reliable exploration, sampling and testing information gathered through appropriate techniques from locations such as outcrops, trenches, pits, workings and drill holes.  The locations are spaced closely enough to confirm geological and grade continuity.

"JORC Proven Reserve"

            is the economically mineable part of a Measured Mineral Resource. It includes diluting materials and allowances for losses which may occur when the material is mined. Appropriate assessments and studies have been carried out, and include consideration of and modification by realistically assumed mining, metallurgical, economic, marketing, legal, environmental, social and governmental factors. These assessments demonstrate at the time of reporting that extraction could reasonably be justified.

"JORC Probable Reserve"

            is the economically mineable part of an Indicated, and in some circumstances, a Measured Mineral Resource. It includes diluting materials and allowances for losses which may occur when the material is mined. Appropriate assessments and studies have been carried out, and include consideration of and modification by realistically assumed mining, metallurgical, economic, marketing, legal, environmental, social and governmental factors These assessments demonstrate at the time of reporting that extraction could reasonably be justified.

A Probable Ore Reserve has a lower level of confidence than a Proved Ore Reserve but is of sufficient quality to serve as the basis for a decision on the development of the deposit.

"kriging neighbourhood analysis, or KNA"

The methodology for quantitatively assessing the suitability of a kriging neighbourhood involves some simple tests. It has been argued that KNA is a mandatory step in setting up any kriging estimate. Kriging is commonly described as a "minimum variance estimator" but this is only true when the block size and neighbourhood are properly defined. The objective of KNA is to determine the combination of search neighbourhood and block size that will result in conditional unbiasedness.

"Km"                 Kilometres

"lb"                    Avoirdupois pound (= 453.59237 grammes). Mlb = million avoirdupois pounds

"M"                   Metres

"Mineral Resource"        

a concentration or occurrence of material of intrinsic economic interest in or on the Earth's crust in such form, quality and quantity that there are reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction.  The location, quantity, grade, geological characteristics and continuity of a Mineral Resource are known, estimated or interpreted from specific geological evidence and knowledge. Mineral Resources are sub-divided, in order of increasing geological confidence, into Inferred, Indicated and Measured categories when reporting under JORC.

"micron (µ)"        a unit of length (= one thousandth of a millimetre or one millionth of a metre).

"Mining Reserve"           

the part of a mineral resource which is economically and technically feasible to extract.

"2P Mining Reserve"      

Proven and Probable Reserves.

"Mo"                  chemical symbol for molybdenum

"Monzonite-monzodoirite"

A course grained intrusive igneous rock intermediate between syenite and diorite

"oz"                   Troy ounce (= 31.103477 grammes). Moz = million troy ounces

"ROM"               Run of mine

"screen fire assay"        

a method of analysing gold through separating the coarse and fine grained particles then assaying them to produce a weighted average.

"strip ratio"        the ratio of the amount of waste which needs to be extracted in order to remove 1 unit of ore.

"Syenite"           A course grained intrusive igneous rock belonging to the alkali series

"t"                     tonne (= 1 million grammes)

For the associated images (Images 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14 & 15) please click on, or paste the following link into your web browser, to view the PDF file:

http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/7355B_-2013-4-5.pdf

For the associated Appendix referred to in the 'Summary Notes to Accompany Malilibeg South Inferred Resource Estimate' on page 7 above please click on, or paste the following link into your web browser, to view the PDF file:

http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/7355B_1-2013-4-5.pdf

 

END

 

 

MSCBUGDSCUGBGXU