Buy rating31 May 2016 22:58
METMINCO*†
ASX:MNC | A¢0.4 | US$10.25m | Speculative Buy
Completion of Colombian Gold Portfolio Acquisition
Metminco has announced the completion of the acquisition of Minera Seafield, 100% owner of the Colombian Quinchia Gold Portfolio, from RMB. Settlement, pursuant to South African Reserve Bank clearance, is expected within the next two weeks, upon which Metminco will issue RMB with 350m ordinary shares, and reimburse RMB for A$170,000 of expenses (as per the terms of the Sale and Purchase Agreement). Settlement will satisfy near-term acquisition commitments, enabling funds to be applied to the progression of feasibility study work at Miraflores, and potentially high-impact exploration drilling at Tesorito.
Near-term development potential at Miraflores — Prior owner Seafield had reached near-completion stage on a feasibility study on the project, with the latest Technical Report numbers outlining a 42,000oz pa 12-year LoM operation with already attractive AISC of US$682/oz, capital intensity of US$164/oz, and post-tax NPV8 of US$47m at a US$1,200/oz gold price. The company sees scope for NPV optimisation due to the recent reductions in mining and capital costs seen across the industry, combined with a planned boost to production to increase the IRR. A work programme will be undertaken over the coming months to incorporate these planned savings and their impact on feasibility study parameters, with the finalised study currently anticipated by 1Q17.
Prospective large-scale exploration target at Tesorito — Despite the early-stage nature of the Tesorito target, 800m to the SE of Miraflores, the company sees it as the highest-priority exploration play within the Quinchia Portfolio. Of the three holes drilled so far, all have encountered consistent mineralisation and alteration, with the highlight being TS-DH-02’s intercept of 384m at 1.0 g/t Au starting from surface. The company believes Tesorito has the potential to represent a substantial gold-copper porphyry system, typical of the host structural trend (the Mid-Cauca porphyry belt), which already houses giant deposits such as AngloGold’s 33Moz La Colosa and Gran Colombia’s 14.5Moz Marmato.
Post-acquisition outlook — Given that the company remains in negotiations to secure a strategic partner to alleviate the capex commitment to reach the PFS and DFS stages at the large-scale Los Calatos Project (estimated at US$15m and US$25m respectively), and the access rights dispute at Mollacas remaining ongoing, we believe the Quinchia Gold Portfolio acreage represents a near-term fundable development opportunity in the current improving gold price environment. Following on from the closing of the transaction, we anticipate two streams of near-term newsflow from Quinchia, involving feasibility study re-optimisation work at Miraflores running parallel with exploration results from Tesorito. Both of these have the potential to act as catalysts for M