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Quarterly Report

31 Jan 2014 07:44

RNS Number : 9258Y
Wolf Minerals Limited
31 January 2014
 



Quarterly Activities Report

 

For the period ended 31st December 2013

 

Specialty metals exploration and development company, Wolf Minerals Limited (ASX: WLF, AIM: WLFE) (Wolf or the Company) is pleased to provide the following update on the Hemerdon tungsten and tin project in Devon, UK, for the three month period to 31st December 2013.

 

 

Highlights from the December quarter include:

ü Pre-construction update at Hemerdon Project, subsequent to quarter end

o Capital and operating costs updated

o Tungsten price forecast to strengthen

o Project is 'construction-ready' - construction to begin in February.

 

ü Class A Mining Environmental Waste Permit granted for Hemerdon Project.

 

ü Completion of property acquisitions required for development of project.

 

ü Russell Clark appointed Managing Director.

 

ü Nick Clarke appointed to board as Non-executive Director, subsequent to quarter end.

 

 

NOTE:

A Metric Tonne Unit (mtu) is equal to ten kilograms and is the standard weight measure of the tungsten trade.

 

 

Pre-construction update provided for Hemerdon Tungsten-Tin Project

 

Subsequent to the quarter (ASX announcement, 20 January 2014) the Company provided a pre-construction update covering recent and planned activities at its world class Hemerdon tungsten and tin project in Devon, in the southwest of England.

 

Highlights of this update are provided below;

 

Project Milestones

· In May 2011, Wolf announced results of its Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) for the Hemerdon Project and has now advanced the project to being 'construction-ready', with the following key milestones achieved in recent months:

o A US$75 million Bridge Finance Facility secured from major shareholder, Resource Capital Funds, to commence design and construction work;

o Senior Project Finance Facilities of £75 million from ING, Unicredit and CAT Financial established;

o £75 million fixed price, fixed term EPC contract awarded to GR Engineering Services (ASX: GNG) for the design and construction of the process plant;

o £85 million Mining Services contract awarded to CA Blackwell Ltd to mine the open pit and build the mine waste facility;

o All major permits to proceed with development have been received, and all properties required to be acquired as a condition of the project's Planning Permission have been purchased.

 

Project Timetable

· The Project remains on schedule to commence earthworks next month with construction scheduled to commence during Q2 2014.

 

Capital Costs

· Since announcing the positive results of the DFS, detailed design for the project has been undertaken and capital costs have been updated to reflect this work and to account for any variance in costs in the period of time since the initial costs were estimated in the DFS.

· The updated capital cost of the project is £123.2 million of which £106.7 million remained as at 1 December 2013.

 

Operating Costs

· As previously reported, the Company has appointed a mining contractor, an EPC contractor and has also recruited a local management team. With these key components now in place, the Project's operating costs have also been updated from those reported in the DFS to reflect current costings.

· The updated average C1 cash cost for the operation is US$109 per mtu tungsten (mtu = metric tonne unit = 10kg) net of by-products.

 

Financing

· The US$75 million Bridge Finance Facility is due to repaid by 7 June 2014 and first draw-down of the £75 million Senior Project Finance Facilities is subject to completion of conditions precedent (many of which have been satisfied) customary for a financing of this nature, including repayment of the Bridge Finance Facility.

· Wolf is now finalising the arrangements to complete project funding in parallel with project site activities.

 

Tungsten Market

· The Tungsten market has strengthened since the release of the DFS in 2011, with the current price range of US$370 - 390 per mtu. As announced on 20 January 2014, the Company commissioned an independent review of forecast tungsten prices with the following results:

 

Year

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

Real (2012) APT price forecast - US$/mtu

375

428

471

481

446

466

 

 

Wolf Minerals Managing Director, Russell Clark, said:

 

"During 2013 the Company worked through the numerous financing, permitting, property purchases and lease negotiations with great success. With these critical aspects now complete, our focus in 2014 is to construct the project and ensure that funds are in place to support construction in-line with our timeline for the commencement of production in 2015. The review of capital and operating costs, combined with the updated tungsten price forecasts have reaffirmed the Board's view that the project remains financially attractive and provides confidence to embark on the construction program. The forecast imbalance between tungsten supply and demand in the short to medium term may lead to an increase in tungsten prices, and is expected to coincide with the commencement of production at Hemerdon."

 

Class A Mining Waste Facility Environmental Permit issued for Hemerdon Project

 

In December (ASX announcement, 16 December 2013) the Company reported a major milestone in the development of the Hemerdon Project, with the granting of a Category A Mining Waste Facility Environmental Permit for the project.

 

The Mining Waste Facility Environmental Permit is a pre-requisite to the commencement of construction on the project and was the final major permit required to proceed with development and construction. The permit was also the first of its type to have been issued in the UK.

 

 

Wolf submitted its Mining Waste Facility Environmental Permit application to the Environment Agency ("EA"), the UK government's principal environmental body for England and Wales, in May 2013. The EA conducted a two month public consultation period and received reviews by partner organisations, including Natural England, Devon County Council and others.

 

As a result of this process the EA had sufficient information to publish a draft permit, which was subject to a one month public consultation period. This period was successfully completed and the Mining Waste Facility Environmental Permit was issued.

 

Property acquisitions required for development of Hemerdon Project finalised

 

Also during the quarter (ASX announcement, 25 November 2013) the Company announced another key milestone in Hemerdon's development timeline with the finalisation of all property acquisitions required for the project's development.

 

Under the conditions of the Planning Permission for the Hemerdon project, Wolf was required to purchase 15 properties adjacent to the proposed mine development, prior to the commencement of mine development on the site. The Company has now purchased all 15 properties required under the Planning Permission for the development of the project.

 

Russell Clark appointed Managing Director

 

In October (ASX announcement, 16 October 2013) Wolf Minerals announced the appointment of experienced senior resource sector executive Russell Clark as the Company's new Managing Director, replacing inaugural Managing Director Humphrey Hale. The appointment was in line with the Company's transition strategy, as it moves from exploration and development into mine construction and production, at the Hemerdon Project.

 

Mr Hale continued to work with Wolf in a consultancy capacity for three months to ensure an efficient transition in the Company's leadership and has now formally left the Company.

 

Further details on Mr Clarke's career achievements are outline in the ASX announcement of 16 October 2013.

 

Nick Clarke appointed Non-executive Director

 

Subsequent to the quarter (ASX announcement, 7 January 2014) the Company strengthened its board with the appointment of highly experienced and successful resource sector executive Nick Clarke as an independent Non-executive Director.

 

 

Mr Clarke's appointment was effective from the date of announcement, and he replaced Jim Williams, who stepped down from the Board to pursue other interests in his retirement.

 

Further details on Mr Clarke's career achievements are outline in the ASX announcement of 7 January 2014.

 

Planned upcoming activities

 

In the March 2014 quarter, Wolf will continue to progress its operations at the Hemerdon project. Details of proposed activities are set out below and will be funded from cash balances and the Bridge Finance Facility of which US$40 million was utilised as at 31 December 2013.

 

Quarterly Activities

§ Commencement of construction activity by EPC contractor at Hemerdon Project site.

§ Continuation of detailed design and procurement of the plant and infrastructure.

§ Continuation of work to finalise Hemerdon project funding.

§ Continuation of Archaeological work at the Hemerdon site. Outcomes of this program of work will be released in due course, as they become available.

§ Continuation of recruitment of personnel.

 

Corporate

 

The Company recently released a new corporate video, which provides an update on the Hemerdon Project and the tungsten market. It is available to view on the home page of the Wolf company website, at www.wolfminerals.com.au.

 

The Company's latest Investor Presentation is now also available, via the following link

http://wlf.live.irmau.com/IRM/Company/ShowPage.aspx/PDFs/1266-23353238/Wolfpresentation.

 

 

 

Mining Tenements

 

As at 31 December 2013, the Company has an interest in the following projects:

 

Tenement

Location

Interest

Status

Grant Date

Hemerdon

United Kingdom

100%

Option granted

04/12/2007

 

All tenements are held by Wolf Minerals (UK) Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company. No farm-in or farm-out agreements are applicable. No mining or exploration tenements were acquired or disposed of during the quarter.

 

ENDS

 

Russell Clark

Managing Director

Email: info@wolfminerals.com.au

 

Competent Persons Statement

 

The information in the report to which this statement is attached that relates to Exploration Results and Mineral Resources is based on information compiled by Phil Jankowski, who is a Member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. Phil Jankowski is a full-time employee of SRK Consulting (Australasia) Pty Ltd ("SRK"), and has sufficient experience which is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity which he is undertaking to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2004 Edition of the 'Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves'. Phil Jankowski consents to the inclusion in the report of the matters based on his information in the form and context in which it appears. This information was prepared and first disclosed under the JORC Code 2004. It has not been updated since to comply with the JORC Code 2012 on the basis that the information has not materially changed since it was last reported.

 

The Ore Reserve estimate is based on work completed by Mr Quinton de Klerk, who is a Member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. Mr de Klerk is a full time employee of Cube Consulting and has sufficient experience which is relevant to the activity which he is undertaking to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2004 edition of the 'Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves'. Mr de Klerk consents to the inclusion in the report of the matters based on his information in the form and context in which it appears. This information was prepared and first disclosed under the JORC Code 2004. It has not been updated since to comply with the JORC Code 2012 on the basis that the information has not materially changed since it was last reported.

 

 

 

 

 

 

For further details please contact:

Wolf Minerals Limited

Russell Clark

 

+61 8 6364 3776

Investec

Chris Sim/George Price/David Anderson

 

+44 (0) 20 7597 4000

Newgate Threadneedle

Graham Herring

 

+44 (0) 20 7653 9850

 

 

About Wolf Minerals

 

Wolf Minerals is a dual listed (ASX: WLF, AIM: WLFE) specialty metals company. With global demand for tungsten rising and future global production expected to be constrained, Wolf Minerals is developing the third largest global tungsten resource at its Hemerdon project, located in the South West of England (see Project location map). The Company has strong cornerstone investors and project finance and environmental permitting in place. Wolf has also secured all major contracts for the project, with GR Engineering appointed the EPC contractor and CA Blackwell being awarded the Mining contract. Production is expected to commence in mid-2015, and the project will produce approximately 3,500 tonnes of tungsten in concentrate and 450 tonnes of tin in concentrate per annum. Offtake contracts are also in place.

 

This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
 
END
 
 
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