Zinc

[Lone Clone]

Ambitious Australian zinc miner ready to go

http://metalsplace.com/metalsnews/?a=10409

An Australian zinc miner with "world class" ambitions is gearing up for production by floating on Aim next month.

Zeehan Zinc, which has interests in western Tasmania, owns exploration licences and mining leases in areas next to regions proven to be rich in natural resources.

It bought the licences when commodity prices were cheap in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Zeehan, advised by Libertas, is looking to raise GBP9.5million from the March 6 listing.

Investors include specialist investment group RAB Capital which is not selling in the float.

Chief executive John Pollard says one mine, Comstock, is to come into production within eight weeks of listing.

Starting with 200,000 tons annually, moving up to 800,000 in each of the next two years, it will have a mine life of more than five years with reserves of 4.7million tons.

It will cost $0.61 to mine each pound of zinc.

Pollard is confident of finding more metals in the ground. The group also has two exploration projects being developed.

"We could be a worldclass mining group, " he predicted.

There is mining and processing equipment on-site and the state government of Tasmania has already built a road.

Pollard added: "We are confident of increasing our resource base through further exploration activity, which will provide investors with potentially very attractive upside in the future."