The next focusIR Investor Webinar takes places on 14th May with guest speakers from Blue Whale Growth Fund, Taseko Mines, Kavango Resources and CQS Natural Resources fund. Please register here.
The USA porphyry copper exploration programme continues. The Company announced that it had encountered mineralisation at its McGhee Peak target in February 2012 and a diamond drilling programme is planned at that target to determine economic viability. Drilling has not yet commenced due to scheduling problems from permitting delays and as the Company looks to protect its financial resources during these challenging economic times. The Company has also drilled two additional targets to date this year, Peg Leg and Railroad, but with negative results. The Company intends to drill further targets following the completion of the diamond drilling programme at McGhee Peak http://www.lse.co.uk/share-regulatory-news.asp?shareprice=VML&ArticleCode=kuguu71h&ArticleHeadline=Half_Yearly_Report
...to see that Vane have removed the U3O8 news from the website and replaced it with a gallery. It's good to see what we're invested in. http://www.vaneminerals.com/gallery/
do you have a link for the article?
Copper prices rallied on Friday, with benchmark London and Chinese contracts at their highest in up to five months, after the U.S. Federal Reserve launched a new round of aggressive stimulus that could boost demand for industrial metals. Optimism in financial markets lifted Asian shares and drove the euro to a four-month high against the dollar after the Fed said it would pump $40 billion into the world's largest economy each month until it saw a sustained upturn in the weak jobs market. "The announcement of the Fed to introduce a bold bond buying program triggered further gains in commodity prices," said Credit Suisse in a research note, adding that industrial metals could extend their gains in the next few days, with investors expected to focus on U.S. industrial output data later in the session. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange hit a fresh four-month peak, rising 3.5 percent to its session high of $8,355 a metric ton, the highest since May 2, before giving up some gains to trade at $8,313 by 0409 GMT. London copper is on track for a weekly increase of more than 4 percent, which would bring its gains over two weeks to almost 9 percent -- its biggest two-week rise since November last year. http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/09/14/us-markets-metals-idINBRE88C17D20120914
UPDATE 1-UK Stocks-Factors to watch on Sept 14 Tweet Link this Share thisdiggEmailPrintFri Sep 14, 2012 7:44am BST * Britain's FTSE 100 index is seen opening up as much as 73 points, or 1.3 percent, on Friday, according to financial bookmakers, after the U.S. Federal Reserve announced aggressive stimulus measures that are set to fuel the market's sharp three-month rally.
LONDON (MarketWatch) — A decision on Sept. 12 by the German Constitutional Court could derail efforts to stem the euro-zone debt crisis, resulting in a significant market collapse, not only in Europe, but globally. The Court on Wednesday is to opine as to whether to issue an injunction which, if granted, would prohibit the president of Germany from signing a bill, previously passed by the Bundestag (the German parliament), on the creation of a 500 billion euro zone permanent bailout fund, the European Stability Mechanism. http://www.marketwatch.com/story/euro-zones-judgment-day-is-here-2012-09-11
I suppose it's the reason most PI's lose money. Too much emotion and not enough patience
678k bought vs 776k sold
Some brisk trading again this morning
VANE Minerals (LON:VML) became the top performer on the London Stock Exchange after posting its maiden first half profit. For the first six months of the year, the small cap mining company posted a profit of £177,470 as revenues soared 174 percent to £3.4 million. The revenues and profits were generated by the Mexico gold and silver operation, which processed 16,217 tonnes of ore in the first half, compared with 15,642 tonnes in the same period last year. At midday, shares in VANE traded at 1.18 pence, up 27 percent from Thursday’s close.
very nice rise, I missed all the fun. I've been in meetings all morning. @Blackbag McGhee is looking very nice indeed GLA
The Company intends to continue development work on the Rosario JV with the aim of growing the joint venture through identifying additional mineable resources to justify increasing milling capacity and will invest its resources accordingly. The USA porphyry copper exploration programme continues. The Company announced that it had encountered mineralisation at its McGhee Peak target in February 2012 and a diamond drilling programme is planned at that target to determine economic viability. Drilling has not yet commenced due to scheduling problems from permitting delays and as the Company looks to protect its financial resources during these challenging economic times. The Company has also drilled two additional targets to date this year, Peg Leg and Railroad, but with negative results. The Company intends to drill further targets following the completion of the diamond drilling programme at McGhee Peak. The uranium exploration programme in Arizona continues through the joint venture arrangements that are in place with Uranium One Exploration U.S.A. Inc. The joint venture has an NI 43-101 compliant confirmed resource of 1.118m lbs of eU3O8 contained in 71,000 tons with an average grade of 0.79% eU3O8 at its Wate target. The project has moved to the pre-development phase and preparation of the documents necessary to obtain the Mineral Lease (for exploitation) from the State of Arizona continues. There are no drilling programmes underway at present as the Company scales back its uranium activities to help preserve cash resources following the withdrawal of over 1 million acres of federal lands from all mining activity by the US Government. As announced on 6 June 2012, the Company has joined legal proceedings against the US Government. VANE still holds substantial land holdings on state lands, including its principal Wate and Rose projects, which are not affected by the withdrawal. During the period, the Company also repaid £0.5 million of loan notes and re-negotiated the facility for the remaining £1 million of loan notes that are still outstanding. Outlook We shall continue to work towards improving the profitability of the Company's producing precious metals assets in Mexico and drive forward the U.S. porphyry copper exploration programme and the Wate project. Sir Richard Needham
Uranium portfolio · VANE assumes management of Wate Mining Company LLC (Member companies VANE and Uranium One each holding 50%) which includes NI 43-101 compliant inferred resource of 1.118m Ibs eU3O8 at Wate breccia pipe project · Wate Mineral Development Report, a requirement for the Mineral Lease application, in progress · U.S. Government confirms withdrawal of over 1 million acres of federal lands from mining activity. VANE has initiated legal action seeking redress · Uranium exploration programme placed on care and maintenance David Newton, CEO of VANE Minerals said; "These are very pleasing results; the operational team should be congratulated for delivering the Company's maiden profit, which in these financially challenging times, is a significant and impressive achievement. It also reflects the importance of our relationship with our Mexican joint venture partners, in which we have invested in excess of $300,000 alone on developing the La Colorada asset since we entered into the joint venture legal contract. This is in addition to a wider investment in the building and development of our Merrill Crowe facility, the ongoing development of our SDA mill, the identification of a resource at La Colorada and further preparatory work on the assets within the joint venture area." CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT I am pleased to report on the interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2012. During the period, the Company has worked hard to improve the profitability of its Mexican-based gold and silver production facilities whilst continuing to implement its exploration programme on its copper assets. The uranium exploration programme has been scaled back following the formal withdrawal of the federal lands by the US Government in order to help protect the Company's cash resources. We have seen Minerales VANE SA de CV, significantly increase its revenues and profitability (as compared with the period ended 30 June 2011), as a result of processing ore from our new joint venture. Ore grades and recovery rates have improved materially leading to greater profitability. Production of ore is running ahead of schedule and exceeding expectations due to improved performance by our operational team and our joint venture partners and the Company is also in the process of completing the mining of some final high-grade ore from its Diablito Mine, ahead of its proposed closure, which is expected to take place before the end of the year. The Company has invested significantly in its Mexican Rosario Joint Venture through continuing investment in its SDA Mill, the building and operation of its Merrill Crowe facility, ongoing development at the La Colorada Mine where at least one year of future production has already been identified and plans development work for the Saltito Mine.
VANE Minerals plc (AIM:VML) is pleased to announce its maiden profit as part of its interim report for the six months to 30 June 2012. Highlights for Period · £3,400,665 revenue, a rise of 174% (H1 2011: £1,240,651) · £177,470 profit after tax, representing 0.04 pence per share (H1 2011: £1,032,981 loss as restated, representing (0.32) pence per share) · Repayment of £500,000 of convertible loan stock with remaining £1 million of convertible loan stock re-negotiated for a further five years at a coupon of 8% and a conversion price of 1.25p per Ordinary Share · £1,096,024 group cash balance at period end (H1 2011: £1,525,014) Silver/gold production and milling, Mexico · Increased revenues and profitability at operations · 16,217 tonnes processed in period (108% of target) (H1 2011: 15,642 tonnes) · Average metal price received on sales of concentrates was $31.04/oz silver and $1,650/oz gold (H1 2011: average prices of $38.08/oz silver and $1,525/oz gold) · Average recovery rate of 80% Au and 77% Ag (H1 2011: 69% Au and 67% Ag) · 2,208 oz. Au and 48,311 oz Ag produced in H1 2012 at a direct production cost of $652.94 equivalent per oz Au; or $11.92 equivalent per oz Ag (Year ended 31 December 2011: 2,706 oz Au and 73,384 oz Ag produced at a direct production cost of $743.45 equivalent per oz Au; or $16.23 equivalent per oz Ag) Copper portfolio · Copper-molybdenum porphyry system successfully drilled at McGhee Peak. Two mineralised targets have been identified, located approximately one mile apart, within a clearly identified porphyry system, containing copper, molybdenum and zinc. A diamond drilling programme is planned · Peg Leg and Railroad drilled with negative results · Property positions also established at Bouse, Lone Hills and Cherry Creek · Initial exploration work at Bouse has produced strong anomalous gold and copper values
Hopefully good news on the copper porphry soon
Not that I'm aware of but I think an RNS may be on the way
news on the way? We're overdue for a drilling update
In summary, the current share price of 0.8p represents a discount to cash reserves, a considerable discount to net assets, and assigns no value to the potential for a Cu porphyry discovery (estimated by Edison Investment Research at 2p-104p per share). The illiquidity and under-the-radar status of Vane's shares contribues to this undervaluation, and it is anticipated that newsflow catalysts will be needed to lift the valuation. The major newsflow catalysts for Vane include: - 1. Rotary drilling results from Railroad Cu exploration (est: Q3 2012). 2. Diamond drilling result from McGhee Peak Cu exploration (est: Q3-Q4 2012). 3. Delivering on the potential to increase gold/silver revenues up to 3-fold by deploying a 200 tpd ball mill owned by Vane and currently in storage. 4. FY 2012 financial results highlighting the dramatic increase in revenues. 5. Potential merger and acquisition activity related to Vane's significant uranium portfoilo (with EFR making recent acquisitions in the immediate vicinity). 6. Potential macroeconomic events (e.g. QE3) enhancing precious metal values, further increasing Vane's gold/silver revenues.
With multiple other drilling targets in the pipeline, including the fully permitted targets at Railroad and Bouse, the potential reward for Vane investors is considerable. Downside risk on the other hand should be largely mitigated by revenues from Mexico, obviating any need for dilution – a true rarity for a junior exploration company.At the time of writing, the market capitalization of VML stands at £3.32m. Given its indicated margins on anticipated annual revenues of $11m, and its cash position of $2.8m, on a fundamental basis Vane represents remarkable value. By trading close to cash value, the market is essentially not attaching any value to the cashcow gold/silver operations, nor the considerable upside potential from any Cu porphyry discovery, nor the other assets including a NI 43-101 compliant uranium breccia pipe resource at Wate (despite recent merger and acquisition activity in the area). Fair value for Vane would include consideration of its revenues, assets, and exploration potential. As Vane is committed to creating shareholder value primarily through exploration success, the majority of free cash flow is re-invested to fund drilling campaigns. This makes common metrics for the valuation of junior gold producers (e.g. P/E ratios) less suitable, so here a price-to-sales ratio (PSR) is applied. Currently, Vane's PSR is 0.5 (share price of 0.8p divided by revenues per share of 1.6p). This compares to a precious metals sector average of 5.27 (based on a basket of 84 gold producers). Given the relatively small scale of Vane's gold/silver mining operations (~5 koz pa Au, ~100 koz pa Ag) and its 80/20 profit sharing joint-venture, a discount to this PSR should be applied; here, a PSR of 2 is suggested, corresponding with a share price of 3.2p at current levels of production. This increases by 0.2p for each $100 increase in the price of gold over $1600 (assuming proportionally higher silver prices). Additionally, if Vane's potential to triple production is realized, this would suggest a 9.6p share price (increasing by 0.6p for each $100 increase in POG). Secondly, Vane's assets include a portfolio of ~270 uranium breccia pipe projects in Arizona on lands intended for mining, a wholly owned mill capable of processing 2700 tonnes per month, and a cyanide leach/Merrill Crowe recovery plant. Vane estimates the total value of these assets at £7.34m, with cash reserves estimated at £3.5m (Q3 2012), and debt of £1m in the form of a convertible loan note. Additionally, the NI 43-101 compliant uranium resource of 1.118m lbs (Wate) can be assigned an in-situ value based on lbs uranium outlined. Octagon Capital calculated a sector average for junior uranium explorers of $3.09/lb, suggesting an in-situ value for Wate of $3.45m (£2.2m). Taken together, the net asset value of Vane is estimated at £12m GBP, or 2.7p per share.
Vane Minerals -- Self-funded exploration, the Holy Grail the story did not quite play out as was hoped. The Mexican Diablito mine which generated revenues for Vane produced disappointing grades, resulting in revenues covering only part of expenses, leading to inevitable dilution. Concurrent macroeconomic events, including the 2008 global debt crisis, further punished Vane's share price, while the Fukushima nuclear disaster caused another sell-off at a time when Vane's efforts were geared towards exploration and development of its uranium breccia pipe portfolio. Vane suffered another setback as the US government made a decision to withdraw 1 million acres from new mining claims near the Grand Canyon, effectively placing a 20-year moratorium on a large portion of Vane's uranium assets. In four years, Vane's share price fell from a high of 34p to today's levels of around 1p (market cap. £4-5m). The market was pricing Vane to go bust. In marked contrast to the challenges of previous years, the last three quarters have witnessed Vane delivering transformational progress. A new joint-venture agreement with the Ruiz brothers has seen Vane processing ore from the higher grade La Colorado mine, resulting in typical quarterly revenues of $2.77m with low cash costs (~$582/oz Au, ~$10.7/oz Ag). The additional processing of high-grade concentrates from the now closed Diablito mine is anticipated to add an additional $100-150k in revenues per month for another year. With anticipated full year revenues of $11m in 2012, and an existing cash position of $2.8m, VML is enjoying a period of financial security not previously experienced. The early excitement over the prospect of a self-funded exploration company which sent Vane's shares soaring after its IPO has only now been realized, yet the company remains under the radar and valued close to cash value. This improved financial position has empowered Vane to do what it does best: exploration. Now focusing on the discovery of copper porphyry deposits in Arizona and New Mexico, USA, each with a typical in-situ value of $2 to $40 billion, Vane has already met with exciting early results from its low-cost and rapid drilling campaigns ($100-150k and ~4 weeks per hole). At McGhee Peak, rotary drilling confirmed anomalous Cu/Zn mineralization and favorable alteration, which prompted Vane to plan a Phase 2 drilling campaign with a diamond rig. Allenby Capital were quick to release a new note, suggesting an economic Cu porphyry discovery could be worth between 2p and 104p per share depending on resource size.