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Copper processing facility adjacent to Gunnison:
What an opportunity!This facility is worthless to others but could be gold for Excelsior in many ways. It would also be gold to regulatory types because other wise there is no one to take care of the environmental issues at Johnson Camp.
Mon Nov 24 18:38:00 2014 EDT
TUCSON, AZ, Nov. 24, 2014 (Canada NewsWire via COMTEX News Network) --
Nord Resources Corporation (OTCQB: NRDS), which is producing copper at its Johnson
Camp Mine in Arizona, today announced that effective November 18, 2014, with the
agreement of Nord, the principal secured lender of Nord has appointed Christopher
G. Linscott of Keegan, Linscott & Kenon, PC as the receiver of Nord Resources
Corporation. The appointment of Mr. Linscott follows the termination of discussions between
the Company and the principal secured lender of Nord's $52 million secured loan
facility. The discussions, the commencement of which was initially disclosed in
September 2009, were unsuccessfully concluded after the secured lenders rejected
the Company's proposal to provide additional liquidity and further extend the
time necessary to refinance the Company. Wayne Morrison, the Company's Chief Executive Officer, said, "the
recent deterioration of Nord's financial condition is primarily attributable
to two factors: a reduction in copper production due to lack of operating solutions
and a weakening in the copper price. As a result, the Company has been unable to
generate sufficient cash to service its working capital requirements. The Company's
management and its principal shareholders have made every effort to continue Nord's
operation as a going concern including searching for potential investors and attempting
to come to a rescheduling agreement with its secured lenders. Regretfully, all
these efforts have been unsuccessful; resulting in the Company's secured lenders
appointing a receiver." About Nord Resources Nord Resources Corporation is producing copper at the Johnson Camp Mine,
the company's primary asset, which is located in Dragoon, Arizona, approximately
65 miles east of Tucson. For further information, please visit our website at nordresources.com. Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains certain forward-looking statements and other information
(collectively "forward-looking information") about our current expectations,
estimates and projections. Forward looking information is often identified by words
Hydrological Program started:
Excelsior Mining Corp (2) (TSX-V:MIN) Shares Issued 102,912,055 Last Close 10/27/2014 $0.255 Tuesday October 28 2014 - News Release Mr. Mark Morabito reports EXCELSIOR COMMENCES HYDROLOGICAL PROGRAM Excelsior Mining Corp.'s hydrological drilling program has commenced at the Gunnison copper project
in Arizona. The primary component of the hydrological program will comprise 26 hydrology test wells totalling approximately
28,000 feet. Extensive geophysical logging and long-term pump tests will be conducted on all holes with
the objective of characterizing aquifer properties and the variations that control the movement of fluids
through the mineralized bedrock. Because hydraulic conductivity, effective porosity and aquifer continuity
are critical in the mining process, the investigations of potential conduits or barriers to groundwater
flow will prove invaluable to the ultimate design and success of the production well field. Results
will be used to construct a numerical groundwater flow and transport model to simulate the planned in
situ recovery operations, and to demonstrate hydraulic control during operations. Additional long-term
aquifer testing will also be conducted on previously constructed wells. Hydrological data and modelling will be used for both the permitting application process and the feasibility
study. All drilling, data interpretation and modelling are expected to be completed in the second quarter
of 2015. Commenting on the hydrological program, Stephen Twyerould, president and chief executive officer, stated:
"The economic advantages of the Gunnison project are based largely upon the hydrology elements that
define the project. The results of the hydrological program will represent the largest and perhaps the
most important component of our feasibility study. We look forward to reaffirming that the conditions
at Gunnison are optimal for safe and effective in situ recovery copper mining." Dr. Stephen Twyerould, fellow of AusIMM, president and chief executive officer of Excelsior, and a qualified
person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical information
disclosed in this news release.
Metallurigical drilling done:
Wed Nov 05 06:47:00 2014 EDT
Excelsior Mining Corp (2) (TSX-V:MIN) Shares Issued 114,801,562 Last Close 11/4/2014 $0.24 Wednesday November 05 2014 - News Release Mr. Mark Morabito reports EXCELSIOR MINING CORP.: SUCCESSFUL METALLURGICAL DRILL PROGRAM CONCLUDES AT GUNNISON Excelsior Mining Corp.'s metallurgical drill program has ended successfully at the Gunnison copper project
in Arizona. Ten diamond drill holes were completed totalling 5,899 feet of diamond drilling (11,306 feet in total
drilling). Excelsior has submitted a total of 23 samples for metallurgical testing. The samples will
be crushed and categorized by geologic factors; the tests are estimated to last 120 to 160 days based
on separate leach cycles. Open-cycle column leaching will include mature raffinate generated in previous
column leach tests on ore from the North Star deposit or from the Johnson camp mine which is adjacent
to the North Star deposit. Testing will be conducted by the independent laboratory, MAG (Minerals Advisory
Group) of Tucson, Ariz., under the supervision of Dr. Ronald J. Roman, an independent consultant, who
is a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. Additional box leach and separate acid
consumption tests will also be completed as part of the overall metallurgical program. The results of these metallurgical tests will be used to determine copper extraction rates, acid consumption
rates, and rinsing procedures and rates. Results will be used for both the permitting application process
and the feasibility study. For further information please see the company's previous news release dated Sept. 15, 2014, "Excelsior
Provides Details on Metallurgical Drill Program." Commenting on this news, president and chief executive officer, Stephen Twyerould, stated: "Each metallurgical
sample can weigh as much as 350 pounds; these are robust samples from which we will be able to gather
feasibility-level data for the critical components that will drive our project: namely acid consumption
and copper recovery rates. We fully expect that the results of this comprehensive metallurgical program
will continue to support the potential for industry leading economics combined with environmental excellence." Dr. Stephen Twyerould, fellow of AusIMM, president and chief executive officer of Excelsior, and a qualified
person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical information
disclosed in this news release. We seek Safe Harbor.
Greenstone closes second traunch.
Greenstone is run by smart ex Xtrata guys. Their due diligence was sublime.
MIN Excelsior Mining 11,889,507-share private placement
Mon Nov 10 16:06:00 2014 EDT
Excelsior Mining Corp (2) (TSX-V:MIN) Shares Issued 114,801,562 Last Close 11/10/2014 $0.24 Monday November 10 2014 - Private Placement The TSX Venture Exchange has accepted for filing documentation with respect to a brokered private placement
announced Aug. 13, 2014.
Second tranche Number of shares: 11,889,507 shares
Purchase price: 34 cents per share
Number of placees: One placee Insider: Greenstone Excelsior Holdings LP (Michael Haworth, Mark Sawyer and Dale McNutt), 11,889,507
SID(SW02225886CMIN)
MIN-AC MIN-CC MIN-VC
_250 _C
**CS-H-07
More Mark Smith:
Sorry if this has been previously posted.
bids;
25k .59
11.5k .58
10k .57
15k .56
34.5k .55
offers
119.5 .60
67k .61
16.5 .62
5k .63
23k .64
Scandium,
Maybe we'll get both sides of the market! :)
Phase 3 Drilling.
From what I understand the phase 3 drilling was required because the amount of ore they had was insufficient for the pilot plant studies. The stock pile of core has been split for assays, split and sent to two different labs, and still needs some of it to be retained. The tonnage needed for the pilot plant is larger than was expected. I think a much larger drill rig is onsite and pulling larger diameter core from various areas of the deposit to be representative.
PR today saying 43-101 is filed.
Housekeeping news
"The Company has filed the complete NI43-101 compliant report on SEDAR and it will be available shortly on the Company's website."
PP should be very near closing.
Funds for it came out of my brokerage account today. I agree that some of the overhang should dissipate after that. I hope and expect so.
Not a fluff piece.
How soon we forget. Niocorp without Mark Smith wouldn't be able to start unlocking the value in the deposit. I think that SA piece was bang on. The junior markets have been in very tough shape over the past 2 months and pulling this financing off is very impressive and is the author's point. They have my substantial subscription. Bet on the people and the deposit. You need both. You can't just have one.
Oct 30th is not etched in stone.
So don't be concerned if we don't hear tomorrow.
They said:
The closing of the Offering is expected to occur on October 30, 2014 and is subject to certain conditions including, but not limited to, the receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals including the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange.
That said, I expect it to be close to that date and well subscribed for. That would be a great accomplishment in an otherwise tough jr. resource market.
I would assume the MS buy was a partial fill. It was done on the come back day (not on the way down). My guess the bid was for decent size and came in too late to get any substantial amounts at that price. Still a good sign - he's doing his bit for price protection of the PP and limiting dilution - even though he is likely the biggest investor in the PP!
HFT's
As an observer of the markets I feel confident in saying that HFT's were in a large way were substantially responsible for the volatility we have seen. I wish they would unplug them.
2/3 is impressive in the backdrop of this weak market. October is always tough it seems.
I would assume that could take the company quite far along the pilot plant path and with some good news and market co-operation we should be able to top up at a later date, or with even better luck, just use the warrants to complete financing needs to FF. Perhaps they could consider putting a forced conversion clause in there. For example: if the wt's are at 0.70 and the stock is above 0.80 for 30 days you use em or lose em.
To me, the Niobec sale is one very good development of late. It shows that there are big $$ eyes on the space.
propjoe
If they push back the PP then work has to stop. Employees,contractors and consultants need to be paid. Be careful for what you wish for I guess.
The fact is the TSX.V has dropped 20% in the last month and Niocorp did as well. We don't like it but it is what it is.
IMG sale.
I can see how it makes sense for the purchaser and the seller. IMG needed the cash badly.
The purchasers are expert operators and can likely get every cent of their investment back or more in time without a large capex expansion. Down the road (10 years?)they will be in for freeish, have more data about the expansion possibilities, and can make a call on spending $1.2 / $1.5 B at that time.
Who knows, maybe Magris Resources will want to be a prime player in the Nb market. They perhaps could look at acquiring Niocorp. They seem to have the backing, the expertise, and would not have the anti trust issues of CBMM. Be the big Nb dog on the North American market? Then Elk Creek can bankroll Niobec's expansion down the road. Makes sense to me as long as the resource gets difinitive (very probable it seems to me) and the pilot plant rocks it.
That and 2 bucks gets you a coffee.
As evidenced today there are major miners willing to get into the Niobium space. So I still believe a buy out at some point is possible.
CBMM won't be it though. They would have anti-trust issues. Buying NB just to mothball it (since they abundant low cost production themselves) won't happen.
Just my humble opinion.
Very solid results.
They have yet to miss and its getting better. Now get that financing done!
Thanks for your post. I think it's a public education process. Stephen has been hosting community consultations. The 200 or so people in Dragoon are being very much kept in the loop. And there are many ways that the people in the area can benefit that are in play - not just talking jobs. There are many aspects to the process and let me assure you that Excelsior is on top of it. Also, there is a large limestone structure adjacent to the project. Limestone will neutralize acid - period.
Also, I did extensive research into what Callinan researched prior to committing to the royalty arrangement. Callinan people did extensive DD and then they hired Snowden who did a 62 page engineering report to do it all again. It gave Rollie Callinan the confidence to advance $6MM so far with more to come.
Greenstone's DD was ultra exhaustive. They also hired local consultants to do a 3rd party review who are of the highest order. It also included meeting with officials from the various agencies that will be doing the permitting.Then they put in $10MM at a 40% premium.
I added to my position by buying a significant amount yesterday.
I spent a day on site at the project this week and have a decent understanding of how it's done. Comparing this to Florence is not a fair comparison. That said I do believe Florence will be permitted.
Florence has:
part of the project zoned commercial - its virtually in town.
parties have water right at the site - so they have to keep the water table above the deposit pristine.
Native issues.
Excelsior has:
No Native issues - the site has been surveyed by an archaeologist and a report done. The county has no bands.
No water user issues.
Very favorable geology.
It's remote while at the same time having great infrastructure.
The containment of the acid (it's weak like vinegar)is a readily understood and a simple methodology. Many ISL mines are operating in Arizona.
An extremely strong technical team.
$16MM in cash and no debt.
after tax NPV of $825MM as per the pre fease report.
$0.68 cents a lb. copper cost.
Compared to CUV's take out by Taseko MIN should be well over a dollar. CUV has about $25MM in debt as well.
Impressive comeback indeed in this market.
Niobec expansion is much more that $750MM
Pre-production Capital Expenditures $976 million
Growth and Sustaining Capital over 46 years $965 million
Doesn't include $30MM for engineering studies.
And this is from the Spring of 2012.
Good points Seawolf.
Except for Niobec's expansion cost is wrong. Last they said it was over $1.5 billion (IIRC). So a buyer would be looking at $2 billion to get a 30 year mine. If things continue as they have buying NB's Elk Creek would be far cheaper,and make a ton more sense in the long run. Buyers in that league are sophisticated. At this point I believe all we need the metallurgy nailed down.
Cheers
Aley location.
The proposed mine in on a mountain top above tree line. This is a tough part of the world to operate in. The tailings are proposed to be in a steep creek bed that flows down to Williston Lake. Not quite Elk Creek for infrastructure by a long shot (aside from grade etc) Here are some photos:
http://mineralsnorth.ca/images/uploads/pdf/Taseko_Aley.pdf
https://www.google.ca/maps/place/Aley+Cr,+Peace+River+B,+BC+V0C/@56.4940072,-123.7993887,39703m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m2!3m1!1s0x538d2fce6e4c3767:0x9dca461bf1107d34
Also:
Who would lend them the almost $1 billion (probably more since this appears to be internal) when mine development at Elk Creek is happening. I believe Elk Creek will have the second lowest production costs in the world. Niobec shuts down at a point where Elk Creek is making bacon. Aley: not in the same ballpark. All IMHO.
PS I've known about Aley for years and it concerns me zero.
Gary 15.
Taseko's property will never be mined in my mind for many reasons.They cherry picked stuff for that news release IMO. Actual grade is half of Niocorp's. Cap cost will be high.
5.5 year payback = non starter these days. And who came up with these numbers? Is there a pre-fease done? I don't see one. It's internal? These guys are arrogant and unliked. Natives hate them. BC just had a giant tailing pond disaster. Getting permitted here right above a reservoir is highly suspect. They just want to have that asset on their books at that value to give Taseko a better book value.
At a 0.2% Nb2O5 cutoff, the Measured and Indicated Resource is 286 million tonnes with an average grade of 0.37% Nb2O5 plus 144 million tonnes of Inferred Resource with an average grade of 0.32% Nb2O5. The 0.20% Nb2O5 cut-off assumes a niobium price of US$50/kilogram and a 50% process recovery rate.
http://www.tasekomines.com/aley/ID539906
Their prosperity project was rejected by the government.
http://www.protectfishlake.ca/mining.php
It's near here:
https://www.google.ca/maps/place/Aley+Cr,+Peace+River+B,+BC+V0C/@56.4940072,-123.7993887,39703m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m2!3m1!1s0x538d2fce6e4c3767:0x9dca461bf1107d34
Shawn doesn't start brawls. He finishes them. Have you met him?
Nice. Those are great results. They keep delivering. It seems quite obvious that this program is going to do wonders to the resource calculation. And it remains open for down the road...
Now that Greenstone has closed on the first and larger traunch my confidence has gone way up.
With the CUV take over (remember CUV is about $25MM in debt so you have to add that into its mkt cap) which could be described as a theft price due to the non arm's length nature of the Hunter Dickenson aspect done I think apples to apples we should be about $1.20. NPV CUV is 775MM. NPV MIN is 1.25B.
Looking good indeed.
Now that Greenstone has closed on the first and larger traunch my confidence has gone way up.
With the CUV take over (remember CUV is about $25MM in debt so you have to add that into its mkt cap) which could be described as a theft price due to the non arm's length nature of the Hunter Dickenson aspect done I think apples to apples we should be about $1.20. NPV CUV is 775MM. NPV MIN is 1.25.
Looking good indeed.
Cayden (CYD) gets bought out.
CYD has no resource calculation. Agnico-Eagle pays $205mm and this was Sept 8th, 2014. Recent enough example Seawolf? ;)
There have been many takeovers done without even a resource calculation.
Virginia Gold taken over by Goldcorp for $420MM in stock ($10.20 per share_
Arequipa Resources taken over by Barrick for $800MM. ($27 per share)
There have been many, many others. Aquiring companies can and will plug in data themselves and try to get a target company earlier (cheaper).
Nb has a program designed to move indicated to inferred and have not missed. What does that tell you? Phase 1 drilling's goal was just that.
Just two that popped into my head.
I have been investing in resource stocks since the mid 80's and I just so happen to work across the street from Niocorp's Vancouver office (not that I expect there to be one for long - this is a Denver company in time). I wouldn't read much into that as Vancouver is a hub for many hundreds or more junior resource companies. However, I have been following Niocorp's development as closely as I can for a few years. I'm a sucker for a great resource trading at a discount. Hence, my ability to comment on some people's clear misunderstandings on certain fairly basic points. Once the homework is done it's easy. I'm not that smart but I've dug so many times that it's second nature now.
Gary 15.
Here's a couple points. One is that you can't always determine the price a company is sold for. The bids can be hostile and if the acquiring company receives sufficient shareholder support then its sold. These often result in competing bids so that's a yay. Mind you I know Mark Smith loves mining so who knows - maybe I'll be collecting dividends when they are feeding me pablum. ;)
Second is that the carbonatite is outlined on slide 13 of the current corporate presentation on Niocorp's website.It is highly unlikely that it follows the Yellow Brick Road to Kansas. Nor does Niocorp control the mineral rights all that way out. It's mute. The Golden Road is right here. It does seem huge already and open for wayyyy down the road for expansion of the deposit size. All we need to do is to have what we clearly seem to have demonstrated to have in hand be unlocked. I believe we have the team to do it.
http://niocorp.com/
protohype back to grade school.
I actually think 2018 is a more realistic time frame for operations. Assuming that things, as they have been, continue well. But clearly you don't understand mines, mining valuations, etc. For quite some time now all the lower priced shares have been free trading. They are clearly in the hands of those who have a long term vision or have been rolled into the considerable volume available and therefore into better and newer hands. If you haven't been exposed to real accumulation then make this chart your case study. We are one cent from ever highs today after your cautionary post.
If the investment community is shown that the NPV is an x number and the stock is trading at 1/15th of x while showing that a world class management team is in place to unlock the NPV there will be buyers - as has been demonstrated.
Right now my personal back of napkin is a $1.5 B NPV (but they keep getting bigger, richer, and are open in three directions) and that is carefully considered. The company value is about 1/15th of that. I do know further dilution will occur. So I'm thinking (just my personal 2 bits) that we are about 1/7th of our conservative potential. Some big mining co could do the same math and say hey - if we bid $2.00 or $3.00 for the company we could steal it. We'll see.
Where is that other guy who said Niocorp was going to flame and burn?
SRSR pink sheets is one cent and has virtually no Nb.
http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/srsr
From their website: 18 – 20 short tons grading 0.47 % Nb2O5
Niocorp has 100 million tons at 50% higher grade. Minimum.
Puhhhhhleeeeeese. I think I have some Nb in an old sock drawer as well.
For news releases from this company check here:
http://sarissaresources.com/news/
I know for a fact you can buy Nb nuggets and jewellery on Ebay.
Sorry, next.
If things continue to go well Mark Smith said on his recent CEO interview on BNN that mining 2017 is his target.
So targets as I understand it:
43-101 updated and upgraded to indicated to show a 30? year mine from phase 1 drilling in about 1 month - maybe sooner. The deposit and potential mine life will actually be much larger but this is all we need for now.
Economic process flow sheet in about the same time frame.
Additional funding secured for $5 to $10MM via equity.
Pilot plant constructed and showing positive results in Q4.
Full feasibility study done Q1 2015 (let's say Q2).
Funding arranged for mine development and permitting started etc. In 2015.
Once permitting (I understand this will be not over difficult with the underground mine and Mr. Smith's plan to use dry stack tailings - as he said in Nebraska,the tremendous local support, the fact that it is on private land, etc) is granted construction begins.
It's an extraordinarily fast and ambitious track. A lot of ground work has been done and they are moving on multiple fronts.
Personally, I feel a buy out is very likely somewhere along that line if things keep unfolding positively.
Protohype.
This is what gives. Those were great results a few years ago. Then the junior resource market hit a 3 year nuclear winter. No funding meant no work. Many companies disappeared and still continue to. We have to give Peter Dickie credit for keeping the doors open and the relationships on the ground intact. The very most important thing that has changed is that Mark Smith just came on board last winter. That was a game changer. Look at the team he has been building. These are people he has close relationships with and respect for. To be sure it indicates his complete faith that they can continue making this a success.
It IS about the deposit AND having the team in place to move it forward. You need both.
Thanks for your interest.
Nice summary Inversor. I hope we get another detailed CEO interview once the flow sheet is done. 43-101 shouldn't be too far out either. Looking for bigger, richer, indicated.