Last checked at 26 Apr 2013 11:00
26 April 2013
Alba Mineral Resources Plc
Final results for the year ended 30 November 2012
CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT
The Board of Alba Mineral Resources plc (the "Company" or "Alba", and collectively with its Subsidiary Companies, the "Group") is pleased to report the results for the year ended 30 November 2012. They incorporate the results of its subsidiary companies Aurum Mineral Resources Limited ("AMR"), Mauritania Ventures Limited ("MVL") and Alba Mineral Resources Sweden AB ("Alba Sweden") (collectively the "Subsidiary Companies").
INTRODUCTION
Alba is a committed, technically driven explorer with a commodity focus on uranium and base metals. Alba currently has a number of well researched joint venture interests.
The Company's overall corporate and exploration strategy will continue to be one of developing a portfolio of well-researched, promising and prospective exploration properties that will be pursued further, either in the Company's own right or in conjunction with other parties. To create and realise value, projects may be disposed of (in whole or part), spun off into a separate company, joint ventured to include a cash consideration and/or maintaining a 'Net Smelter Return' or developed into operating mines.
RESULTS AND DIVIDENDS
The loss of the Group for the year, after taxation, attributable to equity holders amounted to £204,869 (2011: £159,805 loss).
The directors do not recommend the payment of a dividend (2011: £nil).
REVIEW OF ACTIVITIES
Our activities in the year have been primarily focused on securing additional funding for the Group.
On 6 February 2012 the Company issued 5,280,000 ordinary shares to satisfy £26,400 of debt due to its Mauritania JV partner.
On 23 April 2012 the Company placed 18,000,000 ordinary shares to raise cash of £90,000 and issued 9,450,000 ordinary shares to capitalise £47,250 of outstanding loans.
On 10 October 2012 the Company issued 4,220,000 ordinary shares to satisfy £21,100 of debt due to its directors.
On 18 January 2013 the Company issued 4,500,000 ordinary shares to satisfy £18,000 of debt due to its Mauritania JV partner.
Ireland
On 7 December 2011 the Company announced that it had entered into an exploration option and Joint Venture Agreement (JV) with Teck Ireland Limited ("Teck"), a subsidiary of Teck Resources of Canada, on the Company's Limerick Zn-Pb-Ag property in Ireland.
Under the terms of the agreement, Teck has the option to earn a 75% interest in the Limerick project before forming a JV company, to be held 75% Teck, 25% Alba, by committing to funding US$400,000 of exploration expenditures over a maximum four year period. The exploration expenditure profile to be incurred and paid by Teck is detailed below:
Payment due on or before | Cumulative Expenditures |
30 June 2012 | US$100,000 |
30 June 2013 | US$200,000 |
30 June 2014 | US$300,000 |
30 June 2015 | US$400,000 |
As at the year end Teck has incurred US$118,377 of exploration expenditure on the drill program referred to below.
Payments due under the Option Agreement may be extended by six months to 30 December of the respective year within which the payment is due, provided that the Company is given notice prior to the date on which the payment is due. Should any payment due be not made by the date specified if no such notice has been received by the Company, or by the extended date (as the case may be), the Option Agreement shall be terminable immediately at the Company's discretion.
Alba can maintain their interest in the JV company by contributing according to their participating interest or elect to dilute to below 10% whereupon Alba will be deemed to have transferred its remaining interest to Teck and shall thereafter be entitled to a 0.5% Net Smelter Return Royalty ("NSR") during the first three years of production and 2% NSR after that date.
The project, which comprises a prospecting licence, is located in County Limerick,Republic of Ireland and work to date has confirmed the presence of geochemical soil anomalies coincident with a strong development of dolomitization, determined through drilling, within the Waulsortian Limestone Formation ("Waulsortian") near the contact with the underlying Argillaceous Bioclastic Limestone Formation ("ABL"). The Waulsortian-ABL contact is known to host base metal deposits in Ireland such as the mines at Lisheen (Co. Tipperary) and Galmoy (Co. Kilkenny) and the new exploration play at Stonepark (Teck) and Caherconlish (Xstrata). These deposits are located approximately 8 km north-northeast from the Limerick Project.
In 2012, four diamond drill holes (totalling 956.7 metres) were drilled by Teck. The holes were drilled to test the stratigraphy of the licence and the mineral potential within lower carboniferous limestone close to younger mafic lavas and intrusions (as present at Teck's Stonepark project 8 kilometres to the north). Drillhole, TC-3841-3, intercepted 6 metres of semi-massive and disseminated pyrite between 508 and 514 metres within the target limestone. A 2 metre mineralized interval within the aforementioned interval contained 0.575% Zn, and trace amounts of lead (208 ppm). The presence of pyrite is encouraging since it often indicates the presence of base metal sulphides at other properties in the Limerick basin.
Mauritania
MVL holds one exploration permit, No 1328, in northern Mauritania for uranium and radioactive materials.
The permit lies within the eastern half of a former permit where we had previously announced several uranium anomalies. The largest airborne uranium anomaly identified is approximately 1 km wide and 8 km in length, and grab samples from shallow pits within the anomalous area returned grades up to 0.29% U3O8. The mineralization is hosted within weathered granite, and calcrete- and silcrete- nodules, interpreted to be a paleowatercourse or ephemeral lake.
Further geophysical work was conducted in September 2012 and we are currently waiting for the assay results from this work to be completed.
Other Development Projects
Alba also continues to review and discuss other opportunities, which have been brought to us by contacts and other possible reverse opportunities that may have value enhancing potential.
We also intend to commit time to library research with the objective of identifying and licensing new ground and projects directly.
OUTLOOK
Our ability to finance exploration activities continues to be difficult and the Company continues to manage cash tightly and would draw your attention to the going concern discussion included in note 2 below.
The exploration and development of mineral deposits involves significant financial risks over a prolonged period of time, which even a combination of careful evaluation, experience and knowledge may not eliminate. While discovery of a mineral structure may result in substantial rewards, few properties that are explored are ultimately developed into economically viable operating mines. Furthermore, the Group may be affected by economic, political, judicial, administrative, taxation or other regulatory factors, as well as other unforeseen matters. In particular in Mauritania, in common with other countries in South Africa, there are potential political risks that the Group is exposed to and in Ireland environmental regulations.
The Company will continue to look to raise additional funds in the near future to enable it to continue to advance the development of its projects. During this accounting period being reported on, directors' fees have been accrued but not paid. All available funds have been spent to preserve our assets and maintain our listing.
Michael Nott
Chairman and Managing Director
Enquiries:
Alba Mineral Resources Plc | 020 7495 5326 | |
Michael Nott | ||
Northland Capital Partners Limited (Nominated Adviser) | 020 7796 8800 | |
Luke Cairns | ||
CONSOLIDATED INCOME STATEMENT
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 NOVEMBER 2012
2012 | 2011 | |||
£ | £ | |||
Revenue | - | - | ||
Cost of sales | - | - | ||
Gross loss | - | - | ||
Administrative expenses | (186,340) | (129,181) | ||
Operating loss | (186,340) | (129,181) | ||
Finance costs | (19,189) | (30,667) | ||
Loss before tax | (205,529) | (159,848) | ||
Taxation | - | - | ||
Loss for the year | (205,529) | (159,848) | ||
Attributable to: | ||||
Equity holders of the parent | (204,869) | (159,805) | ||
Non-controlling interests | (660) | (43) | ||
(205,529) | (159,848) | |||
Loss per ordinary share | ||||
Basic and diluted | 0.16 pence | 0.14 pence | ||
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 NOVEMBER 2012
2012 | 2011 | |||
£ | £ | |||
Loss after tax | (205,529) | (159,848) | ||
Foreign exchange movements | 27,983 | - | ||
Total comprehensive loss | (177,546) | (159,848) | ||
Total comprehensive loss attributable to: | ||||
Equity holders of the parent | (176,886) | (159,805) | ||
Non-controlling interests | (660) | (43) | ||
(177,546) | (159,848) | |||
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION
30 NOVEMBER 2012
2012 | 2011 | |||
£ | £ | |||
Non-current assets | ||||
Intangible fixed assets | 644,965 | 618,797 | ||
Property, plant and equipment | - | - | ||
Total non-current assets | 644,965 | 618,797 | ||
Current assets | ||||
Trade and other receivables | 111,294 | 70,358 | ||
Cash and cash equivalents | 562 | - | ||
Total current assets | 111,856 | 70,358 | ||
Current liabilities | ||||
Bank overdrafts | - | 211 | ||
Trade and other payables | 726,514 | 630,820 | ||
Financial liabilities | 378,027 | 413,048 | ||
Total current liabilities | 1,104,541 | 1,044,079 | ||
Net liabilities | (347,720) | (354,924) | ||
Capital and reserves | ||||
Called up share capital | 984,901 | 947,951 | ||
Share premium account | 1,125,201 | 977,401 | ||
Retained losses | (2,855,972) | (2,651,103) | ||
Merger reserve | 200,000 | 200,000 | ||
Foreign currency reserve | 170,413 | 142,430 | ||
Equity attributable to equity holders of the parent | (375,457) | (383,321) | ||
Non-controlling interests | 27,737 | 28,397 | ||
Total equity | (347,720) | (354,924) | ||
CONSOLIDATED CASH FLOW STATEMENT
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 NOVEMBER 2012
2012 | 2011 | |||
£ | £ | |||
Cash flows from operating activities | ||||
Operating loss | (186,340) | (129,181) | ||
Foreign exchange revaluation adjustment | 27,983 | - | ||
Increase in creditors | 95,694 | 108,879 | ||
Increase in debtors | (936) | (1,750) | ||
Net cash used in operating activities | (63,599) | (22,052) | ||
Cash flows from investing activities | ||||
Payments for deferred exploration expenditure | (26,168) | (52,313) | ||
Net cash used in investing activities | (26,168) | (52,313) | ||
Cash flows from financing activities | ||||
Net proceeds from the issue of shares | 50,000 | - | ||
Proceeds from borrowings | 40,540 | 63,547 | ||
Net cash generated from financing activities | 90,540 | 63,547 | ||
Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents | 773 | (10,818) | ||
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period | (211) | 10,607 | ||
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period | 562 | (211) | ||
The comparatives have been amended to be consistent with the current year presentation. (The 2011 cash flow included accrued interest of £30,677 in both operating loss and proceeds from borrowings; the revised comparatives above properly exclude this non-cash transaction.)
NOTES
1. Basis of preparation
The financial information set out in this announcement does not comprise the Group's statutory accounts for the year ended 30 November 2012 or 30 November 2011. The financial information has been extracted from the statutory accounts of the Company for the year ended 30 November 2012 and 30 November 2011. The auditors reported on those accounts; their report was unqualified and did not contain a statement under either Section 498 (2) or Section 498 (3) of the Companies Act 2006. The auditor's report for the year ended 30 November 2011 did include emphasis of matter paragraphs relating to (a) the status of a license renewal in respect of the Group's exploration assets and (b) the uncertainty as to whether the Group can raise sufficient funds to continue to develop the Group's exploration assets. The auditor's report for the year ended 30 November 2012 did include emphasis of matter paragraphs relating to (a) the ability of the Group and Company to continue as a going concern and (b) the uncertainty as to whether the Group can raise sufficient funds to continue to develop the Group's exploration assets.
2. Going Concern
The net liability position of the Group as at 30 November 2012 was £347,720 (2011: £354,924). On 23 April 2012 the Group issued ordinary shares for consideration of £90,000, of which £50,000 was received by the reporting date with the remaining £40,000 to be received during 2013. In addition, subsequent to the year end the Directors have secured further debt facilities of £50,000.
Based on financial projections prepared by the Directors, the Group is reliant upon its continuing ability to manage the timing of settlement both of its current liabilities, many of which are overdue, and future liabilities as they arise. Future fundraising may be required in the immediate to short term.
The Directors recognise these matters represent a material uncertainty, which may cast significant doubt upon the Group's and the Company's ability to continue as a going concern and realise the Group's and Company's assets and discharge liabilities in the normal course of business. Nevertheless after making enquiries and considering this uncertainty and the measures that can be taken to mitigate the uncertainty, and based on the continuing support of the directors through deferral of their remuneration, the Directors have a reasonable expectation that the Group and the Company will have adequate resources to continue in operational existence for twelve months from the date of approval of these financial statements. For these reasons they consider that the use of the going concern basis is appropriate and continue to adopt this basis in preparing the annual report and financial statements. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that would result if the Group and Company was unable to continue as a going concern.
3. Continuation of exploration activities
Notwithstanding the Directors' going concern considerations set out above, to continue to develop the Group's exploration assets, with a carrying value of £644,965 and support the Company's value of the investment in subsidiaries supported by those assets, with a carrying value of £1,555,350, the Group is dependent on securing further funds to continue exploration activities.
Under current market conditions the Directors believe that there is a material uncertainty, which may cast significant doubt upon the ability of the Company to raise sufficient funds to continue to develop the Group's exploration assets.
If it is not possible to raise sufficient funds, the carrying value of the exploration assets of the Group and the investment of the Company in its subsidiaries are likely to be impaired.
4. Taxation
No charge for corporation tax for the period has been made due to the expected tax losses available.
5. Loss per share
Basic loss per share is calculated by dividing the loss attributed to ordinary shareholders of £204,869 (2011: £159,805) by the weighted average number of shares of 131,782,465 (2011: 110,320,416) in issue during the year. The diluted loss per share calculation is identical to that used for basic loss per share as the exercise of warrants would have the effect of reducing the loss per ordinary share and is therefore not dilutive under the terms of IAS 33 "Earnings per Share".
6. Report and accounts
The statutory accounts for the year ended 30 November 2011 have been delivered to the Registrar of Companies, whereas those for the year ended 30 November 2012 will be sent to shareholders of the Company in due course and will be delivered to the Registrar of Companies following the Company's Annual General Meeting, which will be held on 28 May 2013. The report and accounts will also be available on the Company's web site: www.albamineralresources.com