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MTL Metals Exploration Plc

5.45
0.00 (0.00%)
Last Updated: 13:16:09
Delayed by 15 minutes
Share Name Share Symbol Market Type Share ISIN Share Description
Metals Exploration Plc LSE:MTL London Ordinary Share GB00B0394F60 ORD GBP0.0001
  Price Change % Change Share Price Bid Price Offer Price High Price Low Price Open Price Shares Traded Last Trade
  0.00 0.00% 5.45 5.30 5.60 5.45 5.40 5.45 1,155,252 13:16:09
Industry Sector Turnover Profit EPS - Basic PE Ratio Market Cap
Gold Ores 124.41M 8.75M 0.0042 12.98 114.23M

Metals Exploration PLC Quarterly Update to 30 September 2018 (1682F)

25/10/2018 9:31am

UK Regulatory


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RNS Number : 1682F

Metals Exploration PLC

25 October 2018

METALS EXPLORATION PLC

QUARTERLY UPDATE TO 30 SEPTEMBER 2018

Metals Exploration plc (AIM: MTL) ("Metals Exploration" or "the Company"), the natural resources exploration and development company with assets in the Pacific Rim region, today provides a quarterly update on matters relating to the development of its Runruno gold-molybdenum project (the "Project") in the Philippines.

 
                                      AIM Code: MTL                          Summary: 
                                       At: 30 Sep 2018                       The BIOX(R) circuit, after having established 
                                       Shares in Issue: 2,071,334,586        full operations early in the quarter, 
                                       Warrants: 100,000,000                 was operated continuously at reduced 
                                                                             throughput rates to match the availability 
                                       Directors:                            of sulphide concentrate feed. No material 
                                       Ian Holzberger, Executive             power issues were experienced during 
                                       Chairman                              the period. Unfortunately an error in 
                                       Guy Walker                            the software used in mine scheduling 
                                       Eduard Simovici                       caused the under-estimation of the volume 
                                                                             of waste to be removed, with the effect 
                                       Management:                           of delaying access into the ore positions 
                                       Ian Holzberger, Executive             in stage 2 of the mine. As a consequence, 
                                       Chairman                              ore feed to the processing plant has 
                                       Liam Ruddy, Company Secretary         been adjusted to compensate for the 
                                       Andrew Rodgers, CFO                   reduction in ore tonnages available 
                                       John Barnes, COO                      for processing. It is expected that 
                                       Ian Moller, GM Operations             full processing operations will re-commence 
                                       (Acting) & Country                    in December. 
                                       Manager 
                                       Roland Taganas, Legal                 Mining Operations 
                                       Counsel                                *    Overall mining operations continued to improve in Q3. 
                                       Tommy Alfonso, Financial 
                                       Controller 
                                                                              *    The mine scheduling software error identified during 
                                       For further Information                     the quarter has been resolved, verified and 
                                       please contact:                             re-scheduling commenced. 
 
                                       Metals Exploration plc 
                                       Ian Holzberger: +61 41                 *    Ore production was restricted to around 70% of 
                                       888 6165                                    forecast due to the scheduling errors. 
                                       Liam Ruddy; +44 7904 
                                       200857 
                                       Andrew Rodgers; +61 412                *    Tullingan waste dump is fully operational. 
                                       429 856 
 
                                       Nominated Adviser & Broker: 
                                       Canaccord Genuity Limited             Processing Operations 
                                       Martin Davison; James                  *    BIOX(R) operations have been stable throughout Q3 and 
                                       Asensio +44 (0) 207 523 4689                design criteria has been demonstrated. 
 
                                       Public Relations: 
                                       Tavistock                              *    Throughput feed into BIOX(R) has been reduced to 
                                       Jos Simson; Barnaby Hayward                 below 65% to compensate for the restricted tonnage 
                                       +44(0) 207 920 3150                         available and reduced sulphur in ore mix. 
 
 
                                                                             Finance 
                                                                              *    Discussions are ongoing with current lenders and 
                                                                                   external parties exploring possible ways to refinance 
                                                                                   the Group's overall debt position. 
 
 
                                                                              *    The Company remains in productive discussions with 
                                                                                   its senior lenders seeking clarification on the 
                                                                                   status of the grant of a waiver. 
 

Production Summary

 
 
      Key Metric         Unit of       Quarter     Year to       Period       Period 
                          measure      ended 30    date 2018    to 31 Dec    to 31 Dec 
                                       Sep 2018                   2017         2016 
 
  Mining activities 
  Ore mined               tonnes       367,385    1,129,229    1,815,669     490,558 
  Waste mined             tonnes      2,418,393   5,689,822    7,644,821    7,920,205 
                      -------------  ----------  -----------               ----------- 
 
  Total material movements            2,785,778   6,819,051    9,460,490    8,410,763 
                                     ----------  -----------  -----------  ----------- 
 
  Strip ratio           waste/ore       6.58         5.04         4.05        15.15 
  Au grade mined       grams/tonne      1.55         1.59         1.62         1.42 
                      -------------  ----------  -----------               ----------- 
  Ctd(1) ounces 
   gold mined             ounces       18,325       57,688       92,363       22,396 
                      -------------  ----------  -----------               ----------- 
  S(2) grade                %           0.62         0.81         0.82         0.29 
                      -------------  ----------  -----------               ----------- 
 
  Processing activities 
  Tonnes milled           tonnes       458,254    1,318,082    1,688,254     468,170 
  S(2) feed grade           %           0.70         0.86         0.82         0.53 
                      -------------  ----------  -----------               ----------- 
  Au feed grade        grams/tonne      1.27         1.36         1.38         1.29 
                      -------------  ----------  -----------               ----------- 
  Gold recovery             %           75.3%       66.6%        47.9%        51.0% 
                      -------------  ----------  -----------               ----------- 
  Gold poured             ounces       11,665       34,617       36,006       8,166 
                      -------------  ----------  -----------               ----------- 
  Gold sold               ounces       10,522       35,353       35,697       6,489 
                      -------------  ----------  -----------               ----------- 
 
 
  Notes: (1)Ctd = Contained (2) 'S' represents 
   the element Sulphur 
 

Mining Operations

An overall improvement in the mine production performance over the quarter was unfortunately overshadowed by the discovery of errors in the software used to schedule the mining operations. The scheduling errors manifested in the underestimation of the volume of waste to be stripped from above the orebody in Stage 2 of the mine. As a consequence, ore positions expected to be mined during the second half of the quarter were not accessed as forecast (announced by Regulatory News Service on 9 October 2018). It has now been established that the errors in the software set-up caused a class of waste material to be missed in the waste mining schedule and an underestimation of the total volume of waste material to be stripped to access the ore positions. The software errors have been corrected and its function verified.

The life of mine operations are now being rescheduled with the remainder of 2018 and 2019 completed. This work forecasts that ore supply out of the mine will be restricted to around 70% of design during October and November with full ore production scheduled to resume in December and to be maintained during 2019.

The delay in accessing ore in Stage 2 of the mine, restricted the majority of ore production to deeper levels in Stage 1 with minor contributions from Stage 1.5 and limited high level Stage 2 ore positions. Stockpiled ore won in the early stages of the mine were used to supplement the ore feed to the processing operations.

The mid- life maintenance on the Company's Komatsu mine fleet is ongoing and will be continued into 2019.

Process Plant

Full BIOX(R) operations were established early in the quarter, with the circuit displaying flexibility and resilience in operation. However, in response to the restricted ore supplies and the mix of transitional to fresh ores consequential to the mining issues, feed to the circuit has been limited for most of the quarter. In management and to maintain the optimum circuit health, the feed rate has been varied between 50-80% of design to match the weekly forecast availability of the sulphide concentrate produced from the flotation circuit. No power related issues have been experienced during the quarter.

The restricted ore supplies available from the mine, a change in the mix of transitional to fresh ore supplies and the requirement to supplement those supplies with ore stockpiled from earlier in the mine life required a modified operational focus in the processing plant. Currently the plant is being fed at around 65% of design rate with a near equal mix of transitional to fresh ores.

It is forecast that full feeding of dominantly fresh ores will be resumed in December at which time it is expected that on the basis of the current health the BIOX(R) circuit will re-establish full operations within the month.

Residual Storage Impoundment ("RSI")

Normal operations with the RSI build proceeding as planned and the Tullingan waste dump is fully operational.

Occupational Health & Safety

The Runruno gold mine has maintained an impressive occupational health and safety record. No lost time accidents have been reported during 2018. The Company is fully committed to providing a safe and healthy workplace for everyone in its operations.

Environment and Compliance

The operations maintained compliance with all environment and regulatory requirements. No material incidents recorded. The Runruno gold mine maintains very high environmental standards.

Community & Government Relations

Productive relations with both the community and the government continue.

Finance (Unaudited)

-- 10,522 ounces of gold were sold during the quarter at an average realised gold price of US $1,333.32 per ounce;

   --      Interest payments of US $1.263 million were made to the senior lenders in the quarter; 

-- Capital payment due to senior lenders on 29 December 2017, 29 March 2018, 30 June 2018 and 30 September 2018 totalling US $27.54 million have not been made and discussions are productive and ongoing with the lenders on these payments;

-- The Company continues its discussions with financial lenders to restructure the Group debt facilities;

   --      Total interest-bearing liabilities as at 30 September 2018 were US $96.9 million; 

-- Total short term shareholder loans included in the US $96.9 million as at 30 September 2018 were US $6.0 million; and

   --      Cash at bank at 30 September 2018 was US $2.54 million. 

The movement in cash balances during the quarter is summarised as follows:

 
 Cash movements & balances           Quarter 
  (unaudited)                        ended 30 
                                     Sep 2018 
                                       US$M 
 Receipts from gold sales            14.029 
 Operating expenditure              (15.639) 
 Short term loan facility 
  proceeds                            4.000 
 Corporate costs/receipts            (0.552) 
 
 Cash flows before finance 
  costs                               1.838 
 
 Interest and financing costs 
  paid                               (1.263) 
 Gold hedge and interest rate 
  swap settlements                    0.015 
 
 
 Net movement for quarter             0.590 
 
 Cash balance at start of 
  quarter                             1.949 
 Cash balance at end of quarter       2.539 
                                   ---------- 
 

The Company's discussions to obtain a waiver on the outstanding capital payments have been productive with its senior lenders and further information will be provided in due course.

   -       END    - 

Mr Ian Holzberger, a director of the Company, who has been involved in the mining industry for more than 45 years, is a Member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and the Australian Institute of Geoscientists, has compiled, read and approved the technical disclosure in this regulatory announcement.

Forward Looking Statements

Statements relating to the estimated or expected future production, operating results, cash flows and costs and financial condition of Metals Explorations, planned work at the Company's projects and the expected results of such work are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by words such as the following: expects, plans, anticipates, forecasts, believes, intends, estimates, projects, assumes, potential and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements also include reference to events or conditions that will, would, may, could or should occur. Information concerning exploration results and mineral reserve and resource estimates may also be deemed to be forward-looking statements, as it constitutes a prediction of what might be found to be present when and if a project is actually developed.

These forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable at the time they are made, are inherently subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties which could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those reflected in the forward-looking statements, including, without limitation: uncertainties related to raising sufficient financing to fund the planned work in a timely manner and on acceptable terms; changes in planned work resulting from logistical, technical or other factors; the possibility that results of work will not fulfil projections/expectations and realize the perceived potential of the Company's projects; uncertainties involved in the interpretation of drilling results and other tests and the estimation of gold reserves and resources; risk of accidents, equipment breakdowns and labour disputes or other unanticipated difficulties or interruptions; the possibility of environmental issues at the Company's projects; the possibility of cost overruns or unanticipated expenses in work programs; the need to obtain permits and comply with environmental laws and regulations and other government requirements; fluctuations in the price of gold and other risks and uncertainties.

For further information please visit or contact www.metalsexploration.com

 
 
    Ian R. Holzberger (Executive Chairman)         +63 (0) 9189 795 992 
                                                   +61 (0) 418 886 165 
 
    Liam A. Ruddy (Company Secretary)              +63 (0) 918 979 2931 
                                                   +44 (0) 7904 200857 
 
     Andrew Rodgers (Chief Financial Officer)      +61 412 429 856 
 
 
 
    Nominated Adviser and Broker: CANACCORD GENUITY LIMITED 
    Martin Davison, James Asensio                  +44 (0) 207 523 4689 
 
 
 
    Public Relations: TAVISTOCK 
    Barnaby Hayward, Jos Simson                    +44 (0) 207 920 3150 
 
 

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.

END

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 25, 2018 04:31 ET (08:31 GMT)

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