Company Information for Tertiary Minerals Plc
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Company Statement
Tertiary Minerals plc ("the Company") is a UK based public mineral exploration and development company. Its shares trade on the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange (“AIM”) under the trading symbol “TYM”.
The Company aims to provide capital growth for shareholders through the costs effective exploration and development of mineral deposits.
In 2008 the Company acquired the Storuman fluorspar project, where it is advancing scoping studies having recently completed drilling and initiated a metallurgical testwork programme.
The Company portfolios includes world-class exploration targets in the politically stable Nordic countries and is in the process of conducting feasibility studies for development of the world's largest deposit of tantalum-niobium (and rare-earths) in Saudi Arabia in conjunction with its Saudi joint venture partners. The Company is currently awaiting the re-issue of an exploration license over Ghurayyah before continuing further work on this project.
The Directors' policy is to progress its “flagship” projects towards production and to maintain a portfolio of grass roots to advanced exploration projects such that the Company has, as far as is possible, mature drill-stage projects at all times and thus continuing exposure to the opportunity for the discovery of commercial ore-bodies.
The Company also works through joint venture or farm-in agreements with other mineral companies on its projects where this would allow it to accelerate exploration and/or development of a project beyond the financial resources available to it, or in order to explore further its projects at minimal cost.
In 2005 the Company sponsored the formation and AIM admission of Sunrise Diamonds plc and remains a major shareholder in that company shareholder in that company.
Current Operations
Finland
Kaaresselka
The Company holds the Kaaresselkä gold prospect in the Lappland Greenstone Belt in Northern Finland.
This greenstone belt contains numerous gold deposits including the world-class 3 million+ ounce Suurikuusikko discovery now being developed by Agnico Eagle.
Gold was first discovered at Kaaresselkä by the Geological Survey of Finland (“GTK”) which completed 10,000m of diamond core drilling in 185 shallow holes. The project area has well developed infrastructure and is accessed by a network of logging roads and is just 15km from the Pahtavaara gold mine, owned by Lappland Goldminers AB of Sweden.
Drilling to date at Kaaresselkä is reported by GTK to have intersected gold mineralisation in three separate zones – Vanha, Tienvarsi and Lampi – within an area of 1.1km by 0.6km. Drilling of the Vanha zone indicates that it is at least 650m long and broken into a number of fault blocks so that it does not outcrop continuously. In the centre of the Vanha zone there is a continuous block of mineralisation 200m long and 9-16m wide continuing to the deepest drill-hole at a depth of 55m from surface.
Rosendal
The Rosendal claim is located in south west Finland, on Keimo Island and was originally discovered by Geological Survey of Finland (GTK).
Tertiary has carried out a number of drilling programmes at Rosendal and initiated a preliminary feasibility study. CSMA Consultants Ltd completed an initial financial evaluation in 2002 as a part of the preliminary feasibility study. This work evaluated capital and operating costs for a contract mining operation feeding a gravity concentration plant producing 60,000 pounds of Ta2O5 in high-grade tantalite concentrates. The capital cost for a 125,000 tonne per annum plant was estimated at US$5.5 million.
The basis for the CSMA study was an Inferred Mineral Resource block model compiled by SRK Consulting and estimated to contain 1.05 million tonnes at a mean grade of 255ppm Ta2O5.
The results of CSMA pit-optimisation studies suggest a limited mine life based on the current block model and the low 2002 tantalum prices. CSMA concluded that a resource of 1mt at an in situ grade of approximately 390 ppm Ta2O5 would be required in addition to higher tantalum prices to progress the project further and that additional drilling at depth may be justified to increase the available tonnage of higher-grade material.
The Rosendal pegmatite is currently open at depth and contains a number of higher grade zones with potential to meet the future requirements for a commercial operation. Consideration will be given to advancing the project as tantalum prices continue to recover.
Kolari
The Kolari Iron Ore Project is a prime magnetite iron-ore target on the Company's "Sivakkalehto" claim in Kolari at the heart of Finland's main iron ore district.
The European market for iron ore is approximately 200 million tonnes and only 30 million tonnes is produced within Europe, mostly from the Kiruna mine in Northern (Arctic) Sweden which produces a similar magnetite iron ore to that found at Kolari. The balance is sourced mainly from Brazil and Australia and so there is a big economic advantage to have production within the European market with significant savings on the cost of importing iron ore from the southern hemisphere.
The "Sivakkalehto" target represents the strongest known magnetic anomaly in the Kolari iron district where magnetite iron ore was last worked on nearby properties in the 1980's by Finnish company Rautaruukki Oy. In assessment, the Geological Survey of Finland (GTK) has reported that geophysical interpretation of this magnetic anomaly suggests that the Sivakkalehto deposit may contain over 200 million tonnes of the iron mineral magnetite within a 2km by 300-500m broad area within Tertiary's claims.
The Sivakkalehto target sits in the heart of the Kolari-Pajala iron province which stretches over the border into Sweden where Canadian company Northland Resources is undertaking intensive exploration and feasibility studies on surrounding claims for the development of a new iron ore mine.
Vähäjoki
The Vähäjoki project comprises three claims and is one of a number of projects generated from a regional Iron-Oxide-Copper-Gold ("IOCG") exploration programme in northern Finland and Sweden which started in late 2002. Iron mineralisation was first discovered at Vähäjoki in 1938 and drilled by three different companies between 1943 and 1982.
Numerous discrete iron-oxide (magnetite)-breccia replacement deposits occur in a 1.5km x 3.5km area associated with a N-S shear zone cutting metasediments and volcanics of the Peräpohja schist belt. Whilst previously considered uneconomic as a stand alone iron resource, several drill intersections reported by earlier explorers demonstrate a clear association of copper and gold with the mineralisation.
Sweden
Storuman
Tertiary Minerals holds an exploration licence covering a major deposit of fluorspar near Storuman in the Vasterbotten district of Northern Sweden. Fluorspar is the commercial name for the industrial mineral fluorite (calcium fluoride - chemical formula CaF2).
The Storuman deposit is a flat-lying sandstone-hosted replacement deposit. It has been defined by 39 historic and 10 recent diamond drill holes and extends over an area of at least 2 km by 1.2 km where the mineralised horizon is typically 3-10 m thick.
The Storuman fluorite deposit was first evaluated by the Swedish Gränges Group in the 1970's when drilling, resource evaluation and metallurgical testwork was carried out. Subsequently the Gränges Group was taken over and broken up and the Storuman discovery was largely neglected.
No recent resource estimate has been made for the deposit. However, in 1974 Granges documented an "ore reserve" of 12.5 million tonnes grading 13.3% CaF2. Of this, 37% fell within an open-pit designed by Gränges, the rest being reportedly mineable from underground. This estimate is not compliant with any current resource or reserve code and should therefore only be used to indicate the tonnage potential of this deposit is very large.
Neither the drilling conducted by Gränges or Tertiary closed off the deposit and it is open to expansion on three sides along from, and away from, the trace of its outcrop along the side of a hill.
The Company has carried out a preliminary site evaluation, re-located the fluorspar mineralisation in outcrop and completed a 10-hole diamond drilling program. The Company's drilling programme will be used to confirm grades, to enable resource calculations and to provide samples for metallurgical testwork.
Tertiary drilled three speculative holes, each stepping-out 250-300m beyond the previously known perimeter of the deposit at its NW limits. The corresponding assay results confirm that all holes intersected fluorite mineralisation with hole 08TS011 returning 1.75m grading 12.8% fluorite. This hole, which stopped in mineralization due to drill rig problems, is of particular interest as it suggests potential large extensions to the mineralisation on the west side of the highway not previously explored by Gränges.
Metallurgical testwork carried out by Gränges was successful in producing acid grade (min. 97% CaF2) fluorspar concentrate with very good recoveries after fine grinding.
The deposit is located in an area with well established infrastructure. It is located adjacent to a sealed highway and only 25 km from the regional town of Storuman which is connected by rail to the city and port of Umeå on the Gulf of Bothnia. The sealed highway road continues in the opposite direction to the port town of Mo I Rana in Norway. There are also sealed highway routes to the major regional port of Skellefteå. Each of these three named ports are roughly 250km from the project site.
Saudi Arabia
Ghurayyah
Ghurayyah is a world-class deposit containing valuable tantalum, niobium, rare-earths, zirconium and yttrium with a last estimated Inferred Mineral Resource of nearly 400 million tonnes grading 245 grammes/tonne (0.024%) tantalum pentoxide (Ta2O5), 2,840 grammes/tonne (0.28%) niobium pentoxide (Nb2O5), 8,915 grammes/tonne (0.89%) zirconium oxide (ZrO2), and 1,270 grammes/tonne (0.13%) yttrium oxide (Y2O3).
Following on from favourable metallurgical testwork a Scoping Study for development of the Ghurayyah tantalum-niobium deposit in Saudi Arabia was completed in 2003 with positive results. The Study included financial modelling of a number of alternative processing flow sheets over an initial 20-year mine life with costs estimated to an accuracy of +/- 30%. On a 100% equity funded, un-escalated basis the four main flow sheets were all economically attractive. Each produced pre-tax Internal Rates of Return (IRR) in excess of 25% and Net Present Values (NPV) in the range $55-285 million using discount rates between 10 and 20%.
Following the successful Scoping Study further activities have been carried out as part of a Pre-feasibility study including further metallurgical testwork, an environmental scoping study, a location trade-off study and additional resource investigation work.
The process flowsheet being evaluated will consider the hydrometallurgical separation of the metals following flotation and magnetic separation of ore after crushing/grinding. Further processing of Niobium into Ferro-niobium remains the preferred route for this metal.
The conceptual mining rate is 1.52 million tonnes ore per annum over an initial 20 year period although at this rate the known resources should be sufficient for over 200 years of operations.
The project is being funded jointly by Tertiary (Middle East) Ltd together with the consortium of Saudi investors (AH Algosaibi Bros Co and Al Nahla Trading & Contracting Co).
At present work on the project is currently suspended pending the re-issue of an exploration license over the deposit in the names of Tertiary (Middle East) Ltd - a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company (50%); AH Algosaibi Bros Co (25%); Al Nahla Trading & Contracting Co (25%).
Geographical Spread
Tertiary Minerals is a mineral exploration and development company operating in Saudi Arabia and the Nordic countries
Board of Directors and Key Management
| Patrick Cheetham | Executive Chairman |
| Donald McAlister | Non-exec |
| David Whitehead | Non-exec |
| Colin Fitch | Company Secretary |
| Andrew Dixon | Project Manager |
Company AddressSunrise House, Hulley Road
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CapitalIssued Share Capital: 88,334,641 |
Annual General MeetingJanuary | Year End30 September |
Nominated BrokersSeymour Pierce Limited | Nominated AdvisorsSeymour Pierce Limited |
Major Shareholders
| Major Shareholders | Holding | % |
| Ronald Bruce Rowan | 8,000,000 | 9.06% |
| Patrick Lyn Cheetham | 7,533,288 | 8.53% |
| Lynchwood Nominees Limited | 6,029,928 | 6.83% |
| Ahmed Hamed Algosaibi and Brothers | 4,088,548 | 4.63% |
| Mrs Carole Rowan | 2,954,499 | 3.34% |
| Pershing Nominees Limited GWCLT Acct 2 | 2,852,000 | 3.75% |
| Karen Elizabeth Cheetham | 2,843,625 | 3.22% |
Related News
09/02/10 - Tertiary Minerals Benefits From Renewed Strength In The Fluorspar Market04/11/09 - Tertiary Ploughs On With Fluorspar In Sweden, But There’s Still No Sign Of A Licence For The Ghurayyah Tantalum Project In Saudi Arabia
06/08/09 - Tertiary Minerals Ticks A Major Box In Its Development Of The Storuman Fluorspar Deposit In Sweden
14/05/09 - Slow And Steady Wins The Race For Tertiary Minerals On Its Storuman Fluorspar Deposit In Sweden
12/11/08 - Tertiary Minerals May Be Onto A Fluorspar Winner At Storuman
20/05/08 - Stepping Out With Fluorspar: Tertiary Minerals Enjoys A Bounce
Most Recent Statement
07/12/09 - ANNOUNCEMENT OF AUDITED FINANCIAL YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 200917/11/09 - Storuman Tonnage/Grade Estimate
11/09/09 - Update re Vahajoki Project
06/08/09 - Storuman Scoping Study Update
24/07/09 - Directors' Share Issue
02/07/09 - Placing of 12,000,000 New Ordinary Shares


