21st Jun 2010 07:00
FRONTIER MINING LTD
("Frontier" or the "Company")
KazCopper LLP Signs Technical Design Contract with Calder Projects Services
Frontier Mining Ltd (AIM: FML), the AIM listed gold and copper exploration and development company focused on Kazakhstan, announcesthat KazCopper LLP ("KazCopper"), its 50% owned joint-venture company managing its Benkala Copper development project, has signed a Consulting Engineering contract with Calder Maloney Pty Ltd.
The Consulting Engineer, Calder Maloney Pty Ltd - trading as Calder Projects Services ("CPS") - in conjunction with Miller Metallurgical Services Pty Ltd, willprovide the Technical Design to Kazcopper for their SX-EW plant at the Benkala Copper Project in Kazakhstan. CPS is an experienced design and engineering group based in Brisbane, Australia. As part of the contract, CPS has agreed to take an equity stake in Frontier equal to 20% of the contract value.
The SX-EW process plant will be developed in two stages. Phase 1 will have a production capacity of 25 tonnes per day (7,000 tonnes per year). Following successful commissioning, operation and production at that rate, Phase 2 of development will commence, whereupon the plant will be expanded to 75 tonnes per day (21,000 tonnes per year). The SX-EW plants will be designed to allow easy expansion of the phase 1 plant to meet the capacity of phase 2 without any major effect on the operability and capital cost of phase 1.
Erlan Sagadiev, CEO of Frontier, commented: "The Benkala project is progressing in line with our strategic plans. Calder Projects is an experienced design company, having previously constructed a large number of SX-EW plants, and we are looking forward to working together."
Jim Calder, Director of Calder Projects, stated: "KazCopper's plans are highly impressive and the solid progress made to date at Benkala is very encouraging. We are therefore delighted to be sharing in the future success of Frontier. Taking shares as part payment demonstrates our confidence in a successful outcome."
Enquiries:
Frontier Mining Ltd |
George Cole |
+44 (0)20 7898 9019
|
Libertas Capital |
Sandy Jamieson |
+44 (0)20 7569 9695
|
Walbrook PR |
Bob Huxford / Leah Kramer |
+44 (0)20 7933 8780 |
Notes to Editors:
About Frontier Mining Ltd:
Frontier Mining Ltd. is a mineral exploration and development Company that was incorporated in the state of Delaware, USA, on 5 August 1998 for the purpose of exploring and developing gold and copper deposits in the Republic of Kazakhstan. Through its subsidiaries and affiliates, Frontier locates, evaluates, acquires, explores and develops mineral properties.
Frontier currently has an interest in two licenses in Kazakhstan. They are the Naimanjal exploration and mining licence, held by FML Kazakhstan, and the Benkala licence, in which the Company has a 50% interest. FML Kazakhstan is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Frontier Mining Ltd. Frontier has one producing gold mine, Naimanjal; one pre-feasibility stage gold project, Koskuduk; and the recently acquired 50% interest in the Benkala copper mine.
Frontier also has a potential copper porphyry deposit with associated gold and molybdenum, Baitimir; and several copper/gold prospects along a 25-km trend including both VMS and porphyry types. Metallurgical tests on its Beschoku and Yubileiny copper projects confirm the oxide copper ore is amenable to extraction using low cost SX-EW technology.
Frontier owns a 50% interest in KazCopper LLP, the joint venture company that owns the Benkala copper-molybdenum-gold deposit located in north-western Kazakhstan within the Urals gold/copper ore belt.
A Competent Persons Report ("CPR") valuation on the oxide section of the Benkala project completed by Wardell Armstrong International ("WAI") in June 2010 has resulted in an NPV of $191 million using a 10% discount rate and based on a 0.36% average copper grade, 63% recovery and US$6,000 per tonne copper price. The oxide copper project represents development of approximately 10% of the total resource at Benkala and Frontier will use the production platform of the SX-EW project to finance further evaluation and technical studies required to advancedevelopment of the significant Benkala sulphide resource.
Issued Share Capital
Frontier Mining's shares are traded on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange.
Frontier now has 917,336,219 issued and 21,812,009 reserved options giving 939,148,228 fully diluted ordinary shares.
For further information please visit; www.frontiermining.com
About Calder Projects Services:
Calder Projects Services is a specialist metallurgical process engineer and project management consultant based in Brisbane in the state of Queensland, Australia. Calder has a long association with Miller Metallurgical Services who provides specialist SX-EW process design inputs to the Calder engineering team. Calder and Millermet's principal Graeme Miller have successfully collaborated on a number of successful international SX-EW projects including Wetar in Indonesia, S & K in Myanmar and Nifty in Western Australia as well as numerous scoping and feasibility studies. MMS has designed 25 SX plants and 12 Copper EW plants over a period of 20 years and is a leading provider of technology to the global industry.
For further information please visit; www.calderprojects.com
Related Shares:
FML.L