Overview
Profitable production funding exploration in one of the world's greatest mining provinces - join the Great Australian Elephant Hunt
Recent milestones- 65% Increase in Ore Reserves at the high grade polymetallic Que River
open cut mining project.
- Que River mining operation consistently delivering higher-than-expected tonnes and grade – generating strong cash flow to
give a December 31st 2008 closing cash position of $7.8 million.
- Binding agreement to acquire Hellyer Mill, associated infrastructure, tailings resource and Mining Lease from Intec Ltd for $4.0M plus a
Processing Royalty of $2.50/tonne processed (capped at $5.0M). The
Hellyer Mill alone has an estimated replacement value well in excess of
$100 million.
- Inaugural profit delivered in 2008 Financial Year, with NPAT of $1.8 million and earnings per share of 1.8 cents.
- High grade polymetallic resource at Hellyer Mine Project more than
doubled to 1.6 million tonnes with announcement of initial resource
estimate for Fossey Zone of 830,000 tonnes grading 9.1% zinc, 4.6%
lead, 0.3% Cu, 120g/t silver and 2.5g/t gold
- Gold resources totalling over a million ounces at Mt Charter, Hellyer Tailings and Fossey Zones
Focused on a world class mineralised district – NW TasmaniaBass Metals Ltd (ASX: BSM) is an Australian base and precious metal production company with a portfolio of high-quality assets in the world-class Mount Read Volcanic mineral belt in northwest Tasmania.
Clear growth strategy & capabilityConsolidate – Build – Grow
Consolidate - financial position with high grade ore production from Que River;
Build – up the asset base focussing on realistic mine developments, with low capital costs such as the Hellyer Mine Project; and,
Grow – to generate long term shareholder value through acquisitions and exploration.
The Company’s growth strategy centres on the development of a ‘pipeline’ of production, near-production and exploration assets in this prolific mineral belt, with strong leverage to a substantial new discovery through its extensive regional ground holding. In December 2008 Bass Metals significantly expanded its asset base with the transformational acquisition of the Hellyer Mill and associated infrastructure, which has positioned the Company as an independent, emerging mining company that is not reliant on third party ore treatment or off-take arrangements.
Bass Metals is in productionThe Company’s production hub is the 100% owned Que River base and precious metals project, mined in alliance with Mancala Pty Ltd. Stage 1 production at the rate of approximately 5,000 tonnes of ore per month commenced in September 2007 as an open pit operation. Que River ore is currently sold to the nearby Rosebery Plant under an Ore Sales Agreement with the plant’s owner/operator, OZ Minerals Limited.
In the 2008 financial year, the Company generated an audited net profit of $1.8 million – an exceptional result in light of recent cost increases and weakness in metals prices - generating positive cashflow to fund ongoing exploration. The high grades from the PQ pit generate strong operating margins even at current metal prices and exchange rates.
Production to 31 December 2008: Comparison – Mined vs. Predicted
(*OBM=Ore Body Model used for the original budget; **Tonnes are wet metric tonnes (wmt)) This mining performance led a 65 % increase in Ore Reserves from June 30th 2008. The Que River Mine Ore Reserve as at 31 December 2008 comprises:
(Subset of the Que River Mineral Resource - Refer ASX Release 10 February 2009)  Substantial resource baseThe Que River Mine generates the cash for the Company to develop its larger scale Hellyer-Fossey Mineral Resource base referred to as the Hellyer Mine project (HMP). The resources comprise high grade, polymetallic volcanic hosted massive sulphide lenses. The following table summarises Bass Metals’ total Mineral Resource inventory as at 31 December 2008, including the Que River Resources which are only 4km from the HMP.
Hellyer Mill Purchase - Fast track towards expanded, long term productionBass Metals announced a binding agreement to acquire from Intec Ltd the Hellyer Mill, associated infrastructure, tailings resource and Mining Lease for $4.0M plus a Processing Royalty of $2.50/tonne processed (capped at $5.0M).
The Hellyer Mill is a 1.5mtpa flotation concentrator within 1 km of Bass Metals’ HMP resources and well suited to treat its polymetallic ore types to produce high value metal concentrates. On completion of the acquisition Bass Metals will evaluate processing ore from a variety of its projects, such as the Hellyer-Que River mineral resources and potentially its gold resources as well as 3rd party ores, to maximise the revenue potential of this modern, well maintained, comprehensive mineral processing facility.
Significant gold resource + 1 million ouncesThe Mt Charter gold-silver project comprises 6.1 million tonnes at 1.2 g/t gold and 36 g/t silver containing 240,000 ounces of gold (7 million ounces of silver) . (Refer 2008 Annual Report). The Hellyer Tailings (under acquisition) are reported by Intec Ltd (29 April 2008) to contain 11 million tonnes grading 2.6 g/t gold, 88 g/t silver, 3% zinc and 3% lead comprising prior to it recovering lead and zinc by reprocessing 2 million tonnes; potentially 920,000 ounces of gold remain (plus 31 million ounces of silver). The Fossey resource, if outlined using a 1 g/t gold cut-off comprises 2.5 million tonnes grading 1.9 g/t gold, 66 g/t silver, 3.3% zinc and 1.5% lead containing 150,000 ounces of gold (plus 5 million ounces of silver), (refer report to ASX 30 September 2008). The contained gold, only, is 1.3 million ounces and contained silver is 43 million ounces. Metallurgical testwork to assess treatment options for this generally refractory mineralisation style is in progress and there is strong potential to increase this resource inventory.
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