Frontier have a plant that has come online late this year and will produce around 5000T of high grade copper next year and have its capacity increased to 10,000Tpy. That's possible revenue next year of $40M and $80M the next with costs around $3500pt incl. taxes. No, £40M mcap is not high.
I went to the AGM and have just returned from it. The AGM Resolution RNS was issued during the Q&A, presumably it was tee'd up before hand and given the shareholding concentration with the BoD there was only one way it could go. Erlan is not selling and has not intention of selling, his holding has been transferred to a family member who is legally allowed to hold them on his behalf. His debt facility is also unaffected. Finance is not an issue, I expect there will be an update on this, possibly as early as next week that will put all shareholders at ease, I also wouldn't be surprised to see director dealings after all this news is out. Ambrian are very positive (as they should be some of you may think), they have just done a site visit and were stunned by the quality of the plant and the over management team on the ground. Recovery grades have also hit over 75% during testing and the management is training the team on the ground to ensure this grade is consistently hit next year. Costs are also coming in as expected with $3500pt incl. taxes mentioned today. All in all it was a positive meeting after the official proceedings were out of the way, they are aware of what they need to do to improve shareholder communication and will work on that while delivering production next year in line with expectations.
I've been here since 2009... The reality is we are at the bottom of a risk off commodity cycle and also in August which is a notoriously bad month since everyone is on holiday. Once Southern Europe is sorted out a Germany stops kicking its "partners" and allows the ECB to limit sovereign debt yields through bond purchasing then China and the US will start to accelerate growth and the cycle will turn upwards with growth stocks like FML coming to the fore. This could happen anytime, AIM miners are in the worst shape they have been for a while and once money starts coming back in the sector will rerate. THis is not a unique problem to FML either, look at CAML, RMM, KMR and WTI - all producers yet getting battered and nowhere near their fundamental value.
I can't see a share buy back being initiated while there is so much debt and additional Capex needed. This was published yesterday on Proactive: http://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/47050/frontier-mining-looks-to-exciting-future-as-reaches-milestone-first-production-at-benkala--47050.html Frontier Mining looks to exciting future as reaches milestone first production at Benkala
Is well under way. Instead of producing a tiny amount straight away and risking the EW circuit not going to capacity, it looks like they are waiting until the full leach cycle is complete and hit it with high concentrate and go straight in at full capacity: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.413826258653526.81736.147910881911733&type=1& Also available via the FML website. Girls have been selling while the big boys accumulate, it has been sentiment that has driven the SP lower this week, last week the SP stayed flat when sentiment was positive. A picture tells a thousand words, that lake of deep blue copper rich solution tells me all I need to know... ATB! ;)
08 May 2012 FRONTIER MINING LTD ("Frontier" or "the Company") Benkala Mining Operations Update Frontier Mining Ltd (AIM: FML), the AIM quoted copper exploration and development company focused on Kazakhstan, is pleased to provide an update on its Benkala Copper Project. The Company confirms that its mining operations have now consistently achieved the 8,000 tonnes of ore per day target for normal operations for the Benkala Project. Frontier remains on track to achieve the stated 2012 target Copper production level of 3,500 to 5,000 tonnes, with the plant operating at its design capacity of 7,000tpa.
Declaring a maiden JORC, or similarly compliant resource, at Baitemir of 800kt and increasing the JORC-compliant sulphide resource to the equivalent of that estimated by Wardell Armstrong, would add an extra 3.5p to our target price based on our calculations. • Current target price: 8.5p/share • Target price with 2.6Mt JORC-compliant sulphide resource: 10.6p/share • Target price with 0.8Mt JORC-complaint Baitemir resource: 9.9p/share • Target price with both: 12p/share All looking good from here! ;)
Some more detail: 20 April 2012 Strong Buy Standing on the edge of a new frontier... With the promise of further positive news flow from Frontier in the coming months, we reiterate our Strong Buy rating and highlight the potential for an additional 3.5p to be added to our 8.5p TP. Benkala, the 1.56Mt JORC compliant flagship copper project, is expected to enter production in June, with output guided to 3.5-5.0kt of cathode-grade copper in 2012. Frontier’s other assets, such as the Benkala sulphide deposit and the Baitemir copper project, are also expected to add considerable value in the near and longer term. As JFK once said, “we stand today on the edge of a new Frontier.” Valuation Frontier is trading on a price/sales multiple of 1.5x and 0.9x, respectively, based on our estimates for 2012 and 2013. By comparison, Central Asia Metals (CAML.L), which is due to enter production at its Kounrad copper project, and is also in Kazakhstan, is trading on comparable consensus estimates of 5.3x and 2.4x, for 2012 and 2013, respectively. Opportunities • At a price of 5.1p/share, Frontier is trading on FY2012E and FY2013E price/sales multiples of 1.5x and 0.9x, respectively. As Benkala enters production, and given that it is the company’s flagship project, we would expect to see the share price rerate further. At our target price of 8.5p/share, Frontier would still only be trading on 2.3x and 1.5x, based on the same multiples for 2012 and 2013. • Benkala holds 183kt of oxide resource and 1,378kt of sulphide resource. The current valuation for the sulphide deposit is based on a peer comparison methodology. As Frontier demonstrates the economic viability of the whole project through its exploration programme, and with Benkala already mining the oxide deposit, we would expect the current valuation of $72m for the sulphide deposit to increase. • We currently ascribe no value to Frontier’s copper projects in the Naimanjal Licence Area, the most advanced of which is Baitemir. Frontier is due to publish a JORCcompliant maiden resource for that project in 2012. • Frontier’s initial estimates have also suggested that Baitemir could produce c.19kt copper pa. Together with full ramp-up of production of the Benkala oxide deposit, we estimate this could take Frontier’s total annual production to close to 40kt copper. • The company is due to publish a bankable feasibility study (BFS) on Benkala. The BFS will provide an up-to-date review of operations and of ways to improve operating efficiencies. It may also provide an opportunity for a further restructuring of Frontier’s debt; there is c.$54m currently of interest bearing debt and credit. Part 2 to follow
Made it onto Fox as well: http://www.foxbusiness.com/news/2012/03/01/kazakhmys-mulls-all-options-for-enrc-still-planning-mkm-sale/
I am intrugued to hear your version of ramping, ordinarily the iii board has a lot of knowledge on it and bullishness based on fundamentals should not be confused with unqualified ramping - the Current Market Cap of FML is just £65M against an NPV for the oxide zone of the Benkala deposit of $191M - which is just 10% of the total deposit. In a nutshell, the SX-EW plant is in the final stages of construction (you can see this on the website under operations\benkala\2012 gallery) and will commence operations to crush and heap once the thaw kicks in with first cathode production expected in June. The weather should not pose a problem from that point on as the chemical reaction that occurs is exothermic, ie. it produces heat, so next winter heaps that are built and saturated prior to the freeze will be able to continue producing throughout the winter. Normally a BFS would be produced prior to production as that is normally one of the key documents for obtaining funding, but since this is no longer a problem the BFS is not as critical at this stage. The primary reason for the hold up, as advised by the company, is the move from a model based on 2M tall heaps to 6M tall heaps which will make a significant difference over winter - the economics remain the same as outlined by Wardell Armstrong at ~$2300 per tone production costs. The BFS will serve as a useful guide for Institutions that may wish to invest for the long term - FML's ability to deliver against the metric's within will be crucial in gaining support for future projects.
Those figures shoudl be 17p and 11.5p respectively after conversion from USD to GBP...
Have a look at these: NPV For the Secondary zone based on todays prices: http://gyazo.com/f5acc6d3e00698098f9d2f59383e7a2c Remember the Secondary resource (Oxide Cap) is only 10% of the total resource. And this Revenue Calculator may help with forecasts: http://gyazo.com/17a5d90808cdd5fb67c507cf15be15e5 If you take just the NPV10 at todays costs, we could be valued at 27p, changing the values to $7000pt copper price and costs of $2500pt still leaves us with 18p on a NPV valuation basis only.
Since the announcement in Nov, has always been scheduled for Spring. This announcment is significant in that it provides the capital early to expand the plant which means they can start signing contracts to get the required compnents now rather than waiting until they have the income stream later after the thaw. Going to be a good year for FML, final the long suffering will be rewarded for their patience... ATB! ;)
Was from Thursday...
You pay 12/15% per anum on loans and normally have the freedom to repay early without financial penalty. The loans FML have are due to mature at the end of 2012 so if they can refinance at say 10% PA then they save 5% on the biggest loan ($20M) which is not to be sniffed at. FML is not financially distressed at all, they have cash in the bank and a plant that is undergoing initial commissioning and as a result are significantly derisked from the position they were in when they took out the loans.
The project is fully funded through a number of debt providors, some of them being at a rate of 15% although others at 12%. The refinancing has been mentioned in several releases and looks like it will repay all of the existing debt at much more favourable rates.
Unless you are trying to ride the GKP train then you may end up missing the inital moves of FML. We are still awaiting the BFS and importantly, I understand the company is close to an announcement on a refinance package with a banking major which will add a significant element of credibility to the company. Final OK's from the local government in early 2012 will also add further impetus.
All in line with expectations. Production will not be until at least April when the frost thaws and the heap can be saturated - Leaching operations cannot commence until then as the solution will simply freeze before starting the process. Of course next winter this wont be an issue as the heaps will be built and the process already underway and producing heat to keep it from freezing over winter (this is why the 6m heaps are important). Kick off will be April/May for commercial production, everything between now and then will be testing and satisfying the local authorities that the plant is safe and effective so we can hit the ground running. GLA! ;)
Xaviers got the boot from here too... He got thrown off iii a while back and after reporting his posts this morning he got the boot here too - probably move on to ADVFN now...
Stop being a clown, if you are so dismayed sell up and jog on. Do some rudimentary research as well before making stupid claims...