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Focus Delivers 47,489oz of Gold in March Quarter

April 11 in ASX Announcements, News by admin | Comments Off

FOCUS MINERALS DELIVERS 47,489oz¹ OF GOLD IN MARCH QUARTER

– Boosts gold production by 28% in March Quarter –

Focus Minerals Ltd. (ASX: FML), a leading Australian gold producer and explorer, has produced 47,489oz^{^[1]}of gold for the March Quarter — a 28% increase on the December Quarter.

Chief Executive Officer Campbell Baird said the growth was due to an improved performance from its recently acquired Laverton operations and ongoing, consistent output from its Coolgardie mines.

Mr Baird said the March Quarter production numbers underlined Focus’ growing status as a major Australian gold producer. “We are delivering strong production growth. On a quarterly production basis we are among the top tier of Australian gold producers,” he said.

Focus’ Laverton operations delivered 25,636oz¹ from its tenth ore processing campaign at the Barrick Granny Smith mill, a 50 day processing campaign. Production from the Coolgardie mines was 21,853oz as forecast, and in line with the preceding Quarter.

“We are on track to deliver consistent, stable production at Laverton and Coolgardie with operational efficiencies that will enable us to achieve margin expansion at a time of strong gold prices,” Mr Baird said.

“At Laverton we have developed three new sources of ore including the Apollo pits and are focused on delivering a structured turnaround. The improvement in performance has resulted from a combination of the number of open pits in operation giving us blended ore sources to maintain recovery and throughput. We completed Campaign 10 with over 150,000 tonnes already stockpiled on the ROM pad at a grade of 1.8 g/t in preparation for the next Campaign in the June Quarter.”

“At our Coolgardie operations we have also demonstrated our ability to develop and commission new mines, having established two new mines there in the first half of FY 2012 to grow production.”

Production for the June Quarter is targeted to remain consistent with the March Quarter for both Laverton and Coolgardie. The Laverton processing campaign at Barrick Granny Smith is scheduled to be 41 days but with mining from higher grade ore zones to sustain stable production.

Gold production for Focus Minerals in the December Quarter was 37,098oz¹^.

[1] Based on 100% of Laverton production. Focus owns 81.57% of Crescent Gold Limited and Focus’ interest in Laverton production is therefore pro-rated accordingly.

BRR: Video of Presentation to ASX Conference in New York

April 5 in News by admin | Comments Off

Please find a link to a video of Focus Minerals’ presentation to the ASX Spotlight Conference in New York in March 2012.

Click here to view

Treasure Island Drilling Update

March 21 in ASX Announcements, News by admin | Comments Off

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TREASURE ISLAND DRILLING UPDATE

Focus Minerals Ltd. (ASX:FML), a leading Australian gold producer and explorer, is pleased to update the market with preliminary results from its recent infill drilling program at its 100% owned Treasure Island Gold Project on Lake Cowan.

Assay results for 105 infill holes have been received to date, with approximately 50% of the holes returning anomalous gold. In the original regional reconnaissance program only 2-3% of the holes returned anomalous gold.

The results from the infill data indicate that Focus is beginning to define the position of a mineralised system beneath the lake, with two targets already chosen for preliminary diamond drill testing that is expected to start next week.

“The aircore program on the lake has been testing a potential thrust repeat of the Treasure Island stratigraphy,” said Treasure Island Principal Geologist Dean Goodwin.

“What we have been doing with the infill is to drill down to the base of oxidation through the lake sediment looking for gold as it spreads out away from the primary deposit in the bedrock below (Figure 1).

“A hyper-saline environment like the lake is a perfect place to look for this supergene effect where over time the gold spreads out at the base of the water table creating a blanket. What we achieved in the regional reconnaissance aircore is to find where these blankets are, and now with the infill we are starting to pinpoint where we think the primary ore bodies might be.”

Mr Goodwin said the detailed aeromagnetics show that the structural framework in this area looks very similar to what you see at St Ives.

“There’s a lot of structural complexity evident on the eastern zone, and this level of complexity along with the favourable geology increases the chance of finding gold.

“One of the holes LCAC593 returned a 4m composite grading 1.07g/t gold (part of a 9m end of hole intersection grading 416ppb), which is a significant amount of gold for an aircore program. This is a strong indicator that we are possibly close to the primary structure.” (Figure 2)

Data is required back from the whole infill drilling program before an assessment can be made of the full potential of the area. The remaining assays for the infill aircore program are expected in the coming weeks.

A lake based diamond drill rig will be on site in the last week of March.

The Treasure Island Gold Project on Lake Cowan is located 35km south-south east along strike from the major gold camp of Kambalda St Ives in Western Australia, where over 15Moz of gold has been discovered over the last 22 years.

A reconnaissance aircore program completed in November 2011 identified a continuous 4km anomalous zone 3km east of Treasure Island, This was subject to infill aircore drilling on an 80m x 40m pattern through January and February.

Focus Reports Strong Revenue & Gold Production for HY12

March 15 in ASX Announcements, News by admin | Comments Off

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FOCUS REPORTS STRONG REVENUE AND GOLD PRODUCTION FOR THE HALF YEAR

Total 1H gold production more than doubles to 80,921oz[1] (69,858oz attributable to Focus), up from 36,339oz in the previous corresponding period
Consolidated Revenue for 1H 2012 of $104.5M, 113% up from $48.8m for 1H 2011
Net Operating cash flow up 67% to $21.3M
Consolidated 1H Net Profit After Tax of $5.9M excluding non-recurring costs Focus’ operations on target for gold production of circa 175,000oz[2] for full financial year

Focus Minerals Limited (ASX: FML), a leading Australian gold producer and explorer, is pleased to report a strong result for the half year ended 31 December 2011.

Significantly, gold production for the half year increased by 122% to 80,921oz (69,858oz attributable to Focus) and operating cash flow increased 132% to $29.5 million. This production increase was driven by the ramp-up of operations at Coolgardie and the addition of the Laverton Gold Project, driving a substantial increase in revenue, up 113% to $104.5 million.

Focus’ consolidated net profit after tax for the half was $5.9 million, excluding non-recurring costs of $3.5 million. With the inclusion of these non-recurring costs, reported net profit after tax was $2.4 million.

Consolidated Results Summary	1H 2012[3]	1H 2011	% Change
Gold produced	69,858 ozs	36,339 ozs	92%
Revenue	$104.5M	$48.8M	113%
Operating Margin	$22.8M	$16.2M	41%
EBITDA	$14.0M	$14.6M	(4)%
Normalised NPAT	$5.9M	$6.2M	(5)%
Non recurring costs – Takeover costs	$(3.5)M	–	–
Net Profit After Tax (NPAT)	$2.4M	$6.2M	(62)%
Net Operating cash flow	$21.3	$12.7M	67%

“This is an excellent result and clearly shows the underlying transformational change that is being achieved by Focus Minerals,” said Focus Chief Executive Campbell Baird.

“Our acquisition of the Laverton Gold Project through the first half and expansion of our operations in Coolgardie has laid the foundations for strong growth.”

“Since we took over the Laverton operations in October 2011 we have started driving a considerable turn-around. We have developed three new sources of ore, are delivering on our production guidance and are focussed on improving operational efficiencies and stability.

“At our existing Coolgardie operations we are focused on driving stability and consistency in our operations. We have developed two new mines in the region through this period which are steadily ramping up.

“All up these developments have us on path to more than double our gold production for FY 12 and considerably increase our operating cash flow generation.”

[1] Includes 100% of production at the Laverton Gold Project. 69,858oz were attributable for the period.

[2] Based on 100% of production at the Laverton Gold Project.

[3] Includes contribution of Crescent Gold @ 81.57% holding from 5 October 2011.

FML Half Year Report and Accounts FY12

March 15 in ASX Announcements, Company Reports, News by admin | Comments Off

Download the full report here

Focus Presentation at ASX Spotlight Conference, New York

March 1 in ASX Announcements, Company Presentations, News by admin | Comments Off

Click here to download a presentation being delivered at the ASX Spotlight conference in New York.

Minesite Article on Treasure Island

February 23 in News by admin | Comments Off

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Focus Minerals Is Following In The Footsteps Of An Illustrious Predecessor With Its Work At Treasure Island

By Our Man in Oz

Not many investors react well to assay results reported in parts per billion. Not only does the conversion to a percentage involve too many noughts for comfort, but the thought of converting that again to grams per tonne is enough to cause a reasonable man to call for a stiff drink.

That’s one reason why the latest report from Focus Minerals on its exploration in a dry salt lake south of Kambalda, on a prospect optimistically called Treasure Island, was greeted with a yawn, and a modest decline in the company’s share price. And that in turn serves as a reminder that most participants in the market are blissfully ignorant of grass roots exploration techniques.

In response, what Focus might think about doing sometime soon is taking its shareholders for a trip back in time – to the era when one of Australia’s most successful explorers was unlocking the secrets of the salt lakes that blanket parts of the region known as the Eastern Goldfields. Faced with only a few rocky surface outcrops in a landscape as dazzlingly-white as a snowfield in Siberia, or a few UK towns last week, geologists from Western Mining Corporation were forced to develop entirely new techniques to peer beneath the layers of salt, gypsum and gravels which make up the dry lakes. Only then could get down to the bedrock and start the serious hunt for gold-bearing systems.

A key tool in WMC’s armoury was the simple technique known as air-core drilling, a quick and relatively simple way of extracting rock chip samples, or cuttings, especially from weathered terrains. It is not of much use in fresh rock. But it was the use of air-core rigs which first put WMC on the scent of gold deposits under Lake Lefroy and which eventually led to the development of some of Australia’s richest gold mines, including the cluster of mines around St Ives. “Air-core drilling for geochemical and regolith data is currently the main exploration tool used in areas covered by transported overburden,” wrote a team of WMC geologists more than 20 years ago, in a technical paper titled: “WMC resources exploration success in lake terrains”.

What worked then for WMC appears to be working today for Focus, though most potential investors will probably only recognise what’s happening when drilling gets serious and deep diamond-drill cores are extracted from the targets that are being identified by the early air-core work. Which is going quite well. The most recent air-core drilling results appear to reveal that the second of two established gold-bearing structures can now be traced over an eye-catching four kilometres. The man in charge of the exploration, Dean Goodwin, said in a statement released by Focus that the air-core work had enabled his team to identify the “supergene zone hot spots” that point to the potential primary ore zone beneath the lake sediments.

“What we are starting to see as we map these is not only a significant increase in the length of the gold system, but also evidence of a lot of structural complexity which is similar to what you see at St Ives”, Dean said. “Complexity is the key to finding substantial gold deposits.” He said that since the release of preliminary air-core results last November a further 12 holes had returned composite samples of greater than 50 parts per billion. “This shows a strong signature as to the existence of the gold-bearing structures beneath the lake”, Dean said. “We’re excited by the potential.”

Excited the geologists might be. Less so are investors, who do not have the advantage of being able to see the salt lakes and picture the process that is occurring. If they could, and were able to tie the work on and around Treasure Island in with what WMC did decades earlier, they might understand that a process is underway that could eventually lead to a significant gold discovery. After all, this exploration area is directly along strike from the goldfields to the south of Kambalda and St Ives.

The line on the aerial photo certainly looks enticing, as it traces the great north/south fractures that run from Kalgoorlie down to Norseman. But more important is the role Dean has played in discoveries near to where he is working today for Focus. Notches on his belt include the Redoubtable, Santa Anna, and Intrepid gold deposits on Lake Lefroy, some 35 kilometres north of Treasure Island in Lake Cowan.

And it’s worth noting that Redoubtable was discovered after air-core drilling returned a four metre composite assay at 153 parts per billion. Among the better air-core results released last November after drilling by Focus at Treasure Island was seven metres at 518 parts per billion from a depth of 32 metres, and 12 metres at 229 parts per cent billion from eight metres.

From a geologist’s perspective the Treasure Island work is following a pattern seen at earlier discoveries, and while it does not mean that Treasure Island will become another St Ives, the potential for a significant discovery gets better with each stage of the exploration process. From an investor’s perspective the challenge is to brush up on the stages of work that Focus will now undertake, keeping a close eye on the current programme of infill air-core drilling which started last month on an 80 metre by 40 metre spacing. This is expected to produce multiple targets for the next big step, diamond drilling, which should produce the cores to show mineralisation in fresh rock beneath the lake bed. Watch this space.

Boardroom Radio: ASX – Spotlight Conference Preview

February 22 in News by admin | Comments Off

Listen to the preview for Focus Minerals presenting at the ASX spotlight conference in New York – 1st March 2012.

http://www.brrmedia.com/event/93330

Drilling at Treasure Island Identifies Large Extension

February 16 in ASX Announcements, News by admin | Comments Off

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FURTHER RECONNAISSANCE DRILLING AT TREASURE ISLAND IDENTIFIES LARGE EXTENSION TO NEW GOLD SYSTEM

– Second gold bearing structure on project now estimated to be 4km long

– Infill drilling program completed; results pending

Focus Minerals Ltd. (ASX:FML) a leading Australian gold producer and explorer, said today that reconnaissance drilling at its Treasure Island Gold Project at Lake Cowan has confirmed that the recently discovered gold bearing system running through the project (see ASX Release dated 24 November 2011) appears to be significantly longer in potential strike length than initial estimates.

The Treasure Island Gold Project on Lake Cowan is located 35km south-south east along strike from the major gold camp of Kambalda St Ives in Western Australia, where over 15 million ounces of gold have been discovered over the last 22 years.

Following the receipt of final assays from a reconnaissance aircore drilling program conducted during the December Quarter, the newly discovered gold bearing system is now believed to extend for over a 4km strike length through the project, up from an initial 1.2km (Figure 1).

Treasure Island principal geologist Dean Goodwin, who discovered the gold mines of Redoubtable, Santa Anna and Intrepid on Lake Lefroy to the north of Treasure Island in the late 90s, said the latest results also showed the emergence of exciting structural complexities of the gold system.

“This drilling program has enabled us to identify the supergene zone hot spots that point to the potential primary ore zones beneath the lake sediment,” said Mr Goodwin. “What we are starting to see as we map these is not only a significant increase in the length of the gold system, but also evidence of a lot of structural complexity which is similar to what you see at St Ives. Complexity is the key to finding substantial gold deposits.”

Mr Goodwin said that since preliminary aircore results were announced to the ASX on 24 November 2011, a further 12 holes had returned composite samples of greater than 50ppb (parts per billion). “This shows a strong signature as to the existence of the gold bearing structures beneath the lake. We’re excited by the potential.”

Infill aircore drilling started in January 2012 on a 80m x 40m spacing and is expected to produce multiple targets, which will then be tested by diamond drilling. Results from this infill program are expected in approximately one month’s time.

December Quarterly Activities Report

January 31 in ASX Announcements, Company Reports, News by admin | Comments Off

QUARTERLY ACTIVITIES REPORT: DECEMBER 2011 (Download here)

CORPORATE

Group gold production for the Quarter was 34,211oz, inclusive of an attributable12,779oz from the Laverton operations.
Coolgardie delivered revenue of A$33.3M from gold sales of 19,922oz at an average price of A$1,670/oz.
Laverton delivered gross sales revenue of $26.3M from sales of 15,666oz produced in the December Quarter at an average price of $1,676/oz.
Capital investment and exploration expenditure at Coolgardie for the Quarter totalled $10.48M, comprising $6.23M of mine capital development and $4.25M of exploration expenditure.
At the end of the Quarter, Focus had cash and bullion equivalents of $14.3M and remains hedge free.

OPERATIONS

Coolgardie, Western Australia

Coolgardie Operations produced 21,432oz at a cash cost of $1,076/oz compared to a cash cost of $977/oz in the previous Quarter. Operating costs were adversely affected by an unscheduled mill reline and shutdown costs incurred during December.
Second best Quarter on record mining 231,878t @ 3.15g/t for 23,463oz.
- The Mount delivered its best Quarter since entering production mining 6,047oz, a 29% increase on the September Quarter.
- The commencement of development of the Big Blow open pit saw the Tindals Open Pits deliver 3,967oz, despite the impact of unseasonal rain which impacted 15 days production during October and November.
- The Tindals underground mine delivered 13,449oz for the Quarter with the month of December being the strongest in the 2011 Calendar Year for ounces produced.
13,859m of infill and resource/reserve extension diamond drilling was completed at Tindals Underground with 5,015m drilled at surface targets at Tindals.
The Three Mile Hill mill delivered another solid Quarter with 298,876t processed at an average gold recovery of 95.4%.
During the Quarter, Focus commenced a major capital works program to expand the tailings dam at Three Mile Hill.

Laverton

The Laverton operations mined 445,120t @ 2.53g/t for gold in ore of 36,229oz in the December Quarter.
A total of 411,012t @ 1.32g/t was processed over the 32 day campaign under the Ore Purchasing Agreement at Barrick Granny Smith (a daily gold production of 490oz, equivalent to 98,000ozpa based on Crescent’s allocated 200 processing days per calendar year).
This saw the Laverton operations produce a total of 15,666oz of gold with 12,779oz attributable to Focus.
Crescent achieved an average gold sale price of A$1,676/oz to deliver gross sales revenue of $26.3m.
Cash operating costs for the Quarter were $1,467/oz, a reduction of $129 on the September Quarter’s costs of $1,596/oz.
Commenced pre-strip and development of the Apollo pits, where Crescent has an Ore Reserve of 1.06Mt @ 1.9g/t for 64,000oz.
Stockpiled 353,800t @ 1.84g/t at the ROM pad at Granny Smith by the end of the Quarter in preparation for Campaign 10. The 50 day campaign commenced on 8 January 2012.
Development studies focused on the Apollo, Eclipse, Calypso, Aurora, and Lord Byron deposits with 8,529m of RC and 780m of diamond drilling.

EXPLORATION

Coolgardie

Drilling in the Undaunted area confirmed depth extensions with best intersections including: 11m @ 5.4g/t; 14m @ 4.8g/t; 4m @ 6.5g/t; 5m @ 6.0g/t; 8m @ 4.8g/t and 2m @ 15.8g/t.
Drilling at the Norris Project, 15km southwest of Coolgardie identified at least two sub parallel mineralised zones.
Extensive target generation exercise undertaken across the northern half of the Coolgardie tenement package identifying numerous targets for which Heritage surveys were completed for many of the targets.

Treasure Island

Preliminary results from aircore programme identified second gold bearing system running through the project.
In fill reconnaissance drilling commenced late in the Quarter with a second aircore rig on site to test a palaeochannel system to the north of the island.

Laverton

Regional geochemistry sampling continued on selected tenements and areas plus a small drilling programme located on the southern extensions of the Chatterbox Shear system.