Tiger Resource Regulatory News (TIR)

1 Jun 2006 16:16

Tiger Resource Finance PLC01 June 2006 Tiger Resource Finance PLC REPORT OF THE CHAIRMAN HIGHLIGHTS: • Total recognised gains for the year of £1,187,796 (2004 - £2,290,102) • NAV per share 4.77p at 31 December 2005 (2004 - 4.15p) I am pleased to report another excellent year for the Company. Our focus wasagain on quality in selecting new investments and this policy continues toreturn sustained gains for our shareholders. During the year, the Company purchased 16,600,000 of its own shares for aconsideration of £637,455. The total number of treasury shares held by Tiger at31 December 2005 is 35,000,000, representing 14.84 % of the Company's issuedshare capital. The resource sector of the AIM market grew both in size and capitalisation valueduring the period under review. Demand for base metals continued apace and mostmetals achieved record highs during the period. This unprecedented demand waslargely driven by China and South East Asia, where industrial activity showedlittle sign of abating. Precious metals also enjoyed sustained high pricesagainst solid fundamental demand. The high commodity prices resulted in major mining companies reportingsignificantly higher profits which in turn led to share buy-backs, windfalldividends and increasing corporate acquisition activity. The mining juniors reaped the benefit of the positive news during this periodand generally were able to strengthen their treasuries to pursue aggressiveglobal exploration programmes. During the period, no major exploration discovery was reported and indeed nosignificant discovery has been reported, arguably, since the Canadian Voisey BayNickel discovery in the mid 1990s. We expect that 2006 will see a major discovery and that the likely metals willbe Nickel and/or Copper. On the basis that exploration in this area hassignificantly increased, a major discovery will be positive for the juniorresource sector providing international investor interest and excitement duringa period of strong metal demand and record profit for the majors. Against this extremely positive background and with rapidly increasing metalprices, a widely forecasted share price correction occurred during late May.Previous cycles ended with such a correction but we believe, however, that a newset of fundamentals has emerged and that in the mid-term, most metals will be inrelative short supply until the recent exploration 'boom' has redressed thisimbalance. This period is unlikely to be less than three years. We anticipatesignificant volatility during the period but are convinced that the sector willremain well supported, notwithstanding periods of sharp corrections andchallenge from other industry sectors starting to compete for capital. In essence, the Company sees good opportunities for further NAV gains andincreased profitability and will maintain its conservative policy to maximiseoverall shareholder return. R B Rowan - Chairman 30 May 2006 TIGER RESOURCE FINANCE PLC ('Tiger') PRELIMINARY RESULTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER, 2005 PORTFOLIO REVIEW 2005 INVESTMENTS Number Cost Valuation 31/12/05 31/12/05 31/12/05 £ £ African Eagle Resources Plc 1,241,174 112,264 266,852Alamos Gold Inc 106,293 27,610 348,041Ascent Resources Plc 29,093,406 534,890 2,982,074Formation Capital Corp 2,025,000 207,043 333,043Franconia Minerals Corp - OFEX 333,333 45,432 30,000Franconia Minerals Corp - TSX 625,000 107,562 59,182Gold Fields Ltd 10,500 32,759 107,502Minmet Plc 17,471,488 241,135 218,394Nautical Petroleum Plc 9,000,000 180,000 1,012,500Pacific North West Capital Corp 566,500 107,682 84,700Pan African Resources Plc 3,333,333 100,000 100,000Ridge Mining Plc 100,000 178,477 35,250River Diamonds Plc 8,144,207 125,000 101,803Sunrise Diamonds Plc 665,000 6,650 16,625Tertiary Minerals plc 1,330,000 119,700 96,425FAIR VALUE OF UNLISTED WARRANTSAscent Resources Plc (1) 549,451 - -Franconia Minerals Corp - OFEX (2) 166,667 - -Franconia Minerals Corp - TSX (3) 312,500 - -River Diamonds Plc (4) 13,333,333 - -MIT Ventures Corp Loan Note - 40,000 40,000 _______ _______ 2,166,204 5,832,391 Warrants included in the above investment list are as follows: (1) 549,451 warrants in Ascent Resources Plc exercisable at 12p each to 22December 2007. (2) 166,667 warrants in Franconia Minerals Corp (OFEX) exercisable at C$0.45each to 11 June 2006. (3) 312,500 warrants in Franconia Minerals Corp (TSE) are exercisable atC$0.60 to the earlier of: a) 15 days after Franconia has given notice thatits share price has been equal or greater than C$0.70 for a period of 15consecutive days; and b) 14 December 2006. (4) 13,333,333 warrants in River Diamonds Plc exercisable at 1.5p each to 28October 2008. African Eagle Resources plc (AIM - AFE) www.africaneagle.co.uk Tiger holds 1,241,174 shares in African Eagle Resources plc ("African Eagle").African Eagle recently announced the final results from its 2005 drillingprogramme of the Mkushi copper project located in central Zambia where theresults have confirmed the existence of wide zones of copper mineralization.These results justify the company's decision to fast-track the Mkushi Project toeconomic feasibility. Drilling results and recent geophysical surveys completedon the Miyabi project based in Tanzania identified new high-grade ore shoots.African Eagle is planning an expanded drilling programme for 2006, aimed atdefining additional mineralised zones at Miyabi. Tiger believes that theTanzanian Gold and the Mkushi Copper projects have good prospects for enhancingshareholder value. Alamos Gold Inc. (TSX - AGI) www.alamosgold.com Tiger holds 106,293 shares in Alamos Gold Inc. ("Alamos"). The construction ofthe Mulatos mine within the company's wholly owned Salamanda property inNorthern Mexico has now been completed. The design capacity of the mine is toproduce 150,000 oz of gold p.a. over ten years. Current early production isaveraging at a cost of up to US$225 per oz, although this is expected to fall asthe project matures. Exploration within the property continues to add to theresource. Tiger sees the future performance of this investment linked tooperator capability and gold price. Ascent Resources plc (AIM - AST) www.ascentresources.co.uk Tiger holds 29,093,406 shares in Ascent Resources plc ("Ascent"), an oil & gasinvestment company. The majority of the company's portfolio is in Europeanexploration, including the Italian Latina and Po valleys, Dutch North Sea, NorthEast Hungary and Switzerland. The company has also brought into existingproduction sharing agreements and exploration interests in Gabon. Ascent hasperformed very well since admission to AIM in November 2004. Formation Capital Corporation (TSX - FCO) www.formcap.com Tiger holds 2,025,000 shares in Formation Capital Corporation ("Formation"),which is a now a well established mineral exploration, development and refiningcompany. The company is making good progress with its feasibility study andreceived its preliminary Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the high gradeIdaho Cobalt Project in early 2006. Production for this project is projected tobe 2.6 million lbs of cobalt per year representing approximately 15% of USconsumption. The company also owns and operates the Big Creek HydrometallurgicalComplex and Sunshine Precious Metals Refinery which currently processes thirdparty concentrates, but will be expanded to process its own cobalt. Once theenvironmental licensing process is completed this investment is a call-option oncobalt since it is destined to be a cobalt producer. Franconia Minerals Corporation (TSX/OFEX - FRA) www.franconiaminerals.com Tiger holds 625,000 TSX and 333,333 OFEX listed shares in Franconia MineralsCorporation ("Franconia"), a company which is focused on the exploration ofPlatinum Group Metals ("PGM") and zinc/copper in the USA. The Birch Lake,Minnesota PGM property acquired in 2004, received positive results, following anindependent technical review undertaken in the year. The company continues toexplore for Zinc in Utah and has, in 2005, added the Red Knoll Copper project inArizona to its portfolio. Franconia has agreements with Teck Cominco AmericanInc. on both of these base metal projects. Tiger will monitor expenditure andexploration results, but currently believes the company has good potential. Gold Fields Limited (JSE - GFI) www.goldfields.co.za Tiger holds 10,500 Gold Fields Limited ("Gold Fields") shares. This companyremains one of the predominant un-hedged producers of gold. Current attributableproduction is in the region of 4.2 million oz p.a. Gold Fields has attributablemineral reserves of 64.8 million ounces and mineral resources of 174.5 millionounces. The combination of the Harmony bid and costs of South Africanoperations attributable to the strong Rand have adversely affected margins in2005, however future earnings and profitability appear sound. Minmet plc (AIM - MNT) www.minmet.ie Tiger holds 17,471,488 Minmet plc ("Minmet") shares. The company holds aninteresting and diversified portfolio through joint ventures and strategicinvestments. The recent completion and sale of an exclusive option over theBjorkdal Gold mine and the sale of the Barsele/Norra Gold project has enabledMinmet to expand its activities in the natural resource sector. The company hasimplemented a strategy as an incubator and promoter of a number of new andexisting projects and opportunities in the oil & gas and minerals sectors.Following several transactions completed in recent months Minmet holdssignificant shareholdings in Gold-Ore Resources Ltd and Northland Resources Inc.in addition to its existing holding in GoldQuest Mining Corp. Minmet hasinvested considerable management time and expertise in restructuring thecompany. Tiger believes that Minmet, although challenged, has a strongmanagement team capable of producing improved results. Nautical Petroleum plc (AIM - NPE) www.nauticalpetroleum.com Tiger acquired 9,000,000 shares in Nautical Petroleum plc ("Nautical"), apetroleum exploration company created in April 2005 through the ReverseTake-Over ("RTO") of Bullion Resources plc. Nautical develops heavy oil assetsin the UK and Europe. The company significantly increased its acreage portfolioduring the year through the acquisition of Alba Resources and awards in the 23rdSeaward Licensing Round. The company has interests in eight blocks on the UKcontinental shelf including three traditional and five promoter licenses. Thecompany has increased its proven and probable resources to 76 mmbo and hasfurther upside with shallower reservoirs in the Mariner discovery. Nauticalalso owns specialist heavy oil production process equipment. Tiger is pleasedwith this investment and believes Nautical to be well placed in the junior oilsector. Pacific North West Capital Corp (TSX - PFN) www.pfncapital.com Tiger holds 566,500 shares in Pacific North West Capital Corp (PFN), which isfocused on PGM and base metal exploration. At River Valley, Ontario, PFN hasidentified a combined mineral resource (measured and indicated Pt+Pd+Au) of1.1million Oz. This resource is held in a joint venture with Anglo Platinum inOntario. The company's West Timmins nickel project is a joint venture withNoranda/ Falconbridge and is immediately adjacent to the Montcalm nickel mine.Tiger believes the company's portfolio may well result in increased shareholdervalue. Pan African Resources plc (AIM - PAF) www.panafricanresources.com Tiger purchased 3,333,333 shares for £100,000 in Pan African Resources plc ("PanAfrican"), a gold exploration company with properties in Africa. In Mozambique,the company's Manica project has an inferred resource of 800,000 oz at 4.84g/t,with considerable additional potential. In October 2005, Pan African acquiredan interest in the Central African Republic (CAR), positioned in two of the fourrecognised Major Green Stone Belts of the CAR. The company's joint venturelicences contain a number of shallow intercepts with the most promising twobeing 19 m at 17.38 g/t and 20 m of 5.05 g/t. Tiger believes Pan African has acompetent and focused management team which could produce a good return oninvestment. Ridge Mining plc (AIM - RDG) www.ridgemining.com Tiger holds 100,000 shares in Ridge Mining plc ("Ridge"), a company focused ondeveloping PGM properties in the South African Bushveld Complex. The mostadvanced project, Sheba's Ridge, is a joint venture with Anglo Platinum, where aPre-Feasibility Study completed in 2005 estimated a mineral resource of 19million oz PGM and 1.4 million tonnes nickel. Ridge and its other joint venturepartner Imbani Holdings (Pty) Ltd have engaged a consortium of South Africanbanks to arrange loan finance of ZAR650 million to finance the company's BlueRidge project. The provision of the facilities is subject to equity funding tothe project of approximately ZAR 440 million, legal and technical due diligence,all of which are expected to be completed by mid 2006. Tiger will monitor thisproject closely since positive due diligence and decision to mine willundoubtedly lift the share price. River Diamonds plc (AIM - RVD) www.riverdiamonds.co.uk Tiger now holds 8,144,207 shares in River Diamonds plc ("River Diamonds"), whichhas diamond exploration and prospecting projects in Brazil and Sierra Leone. Thefocus is on kimberlitic exploration targets with 3 highly prospective diamondprojects in its portfolio. During 2005, the company entered into an optionagreement with a wholly owned subsidiary of Rio Tinto to explore and ifappropriate develop two of River Diamonds' properties in Brazil. The company hasalso entered into a joint venture to acquire 51% of the Panguma Dykes, anadvanced exploration target in Sierra Leone. The company intends to fund thiswork with the proceeds of a £1.5 million placing completed in January 2006.This investment has disappointed but the potential for upside remains in SierraLeone. Sunrise Diamonds plc (AIM - SDS) www.sunrisediamonds.com Tiger acquired 665,000 shares at a cost of £6,650 in Sunrise Diamonds plc ("Sunrise Diamonds") through an entitlement issue to existing Tertiaryshareholders. The company was formed in early 2005 to take over the explorationlicences of Tertiary Minerals plc's Kuusamo Kimberlite Cluster in Finland. Thecompany was admitted to AIM in June 2005 and has since discovered several newkimberlite bodies and five micro-diamonds from a core sample at Kimberlite 45 atthe Kuusamo exploration area in northern Finland during the course of its 2005drilling campaign. In December 2005, Sunrise Diamonds obtained exclusive rightsto BHP Billiton's diamond exploration data base for Finland. Tiger will monitorthis small investment with interest. Tertiary Minerals plc (AIM - TYM) www.tertiaryminerals.com Tiger holds 1,330,000 shares in Tertiary Minerals, an exploration company withinterests primarily in Scandinavia and Saudi Arabia. During 2005, the companyfocused on preliminary metallurgical test work and scoping studies at Rosendalin Sweden. In Saudi Arabia, scoping studies have been conducted prior to abankable feasibility study for development of the Ghurayyah tantalum deposit.Tertiary has agreed a financing of US$ 7 million with a Saudi consortium for thecompletion of this bankable feasibility study. The Company continuesexploration programmes on its other interests, for which it seeks joint venturepartners. Tiger hopes that the management, having successfully created SunriseDiamonds will now focus on adding value to its tantalum interests. PROFIT AND LOSS ACCOUNTYEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2005 2005 2004 £ £ Administrative expenses (400,076) (332,892)OPERATING LOSS (400,076) (332,892)Profit on sale of fixed asset investments 298,958 340,014Investment income 619 690Other Income 25,000 7,500Interest receivable 226,692 134,048PROFIT ON ORDINARY ACTIVITIES BEFORE TAXATION 151,193 149,360Tax on profit on ordinary activities (46,441) 65,374PROFIT ON ORDINARY ACTIVITIES AFTER TAXATION FOR THE YEAR 104,752 214,734Basic and diluted earnings per share 0.05p 0.09p All profits are derived from continuing operations. Profit on ordinaryactivities after taxation would have been £2,139,502 on a historical cost basis(2004 - £1,469,778). STATEMENT OF TOTAL RECOGNISED GAINS AND LOSSESYEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2005 2005 2004 £ £Profit for the year after taxation 104,752 214,734Unrealised gains on fixed asset investments 2,523,551 3,100,122Unrealised losses on fixed asset investments (830,841) (655,545)Tax on gains/losses on fixed asset investments (609,666) (369,209)Total recognised gains 1,187,796 2,290,102 BALANCE SHEETAS AT 31 DECEMBER 2005 2005 2004 £ £FIXED ASSETSInvestments 5,832,391 5,732,891CURRENT ASSETSDebtors 10,439 11,755Cash at bank 4,456,745 3,732,178 4,467,184 3,743,933CREDITORS: amounts falling due within one year (718,871) (446,461)NET CURRENT ASSETS 3,748,313 3,297,472 TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT LIABILITIES 9,580,704 9,030,363Represented by:CAPITAL AND RESERVESCalled-up share capital 2,358,819 2,358,819Share premium account 1,554,856 1,554,856Revaluation reserve 3,666,188 4,008,228Profit and loss account 2,000,841 1,108,460EQUITY SHAREHOLDERS' FUNDS 9,580,704 9,030,363 CASH FLOW STATEMENTYEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2005 2005 2004 £ £Net cash (outflow) from operating activities (368,306) (345,032) Returns on investment and servicing of financeInterest received 224,118 131,548Other income and investment income received 25,619 8,190 249,737 139,738TaxationCorporation tax paid (411,577) (264,234) Capital expenditure and financial investmentPayments to acquire fixed asset investments (816,540) (512,562)Receipts from sale of fixed asset investments 2,708,708 2,097,996Net cash inflow from capital expenditure and financial investment 1,892,168 1,585,434 FinancingPurchase of own shares for treasury (637,455) (374,783)Net cash (outflow)/inflow from financing (637,455) (374,783) Increase in cash in the year 724,567 741,123 This preliminary statement is not the company's statutory accounts. Thestatutory accounts for the year ended 31 December 2005 have been approved by thedirectors and have received an audit report which was unqualified, did notinclude a reference to any matters which the auditors drew attention by way ofemphasis without qualifying the report, and did not contain statements unders237(2) and (3) of the Companies Act 1985. These statutory accounts have notbeen delivered to the Registrar of Companies and will be sent to shareholders on2 June 2006. The statutory accounts for the year ended 31 December 2004 have been deliveredto the Registrar of Companies and have received an audit report which wasunqualified and did not contain statements under s237(2) and (3) of theCompanies Act 1985. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange