London Mining Plc

LONDON MINING Q3 2009 RESULTS

  • Admission to AIM and placing of 37 million existing shares
  • Dispute resolved with African Minerals and Government of Sierra Leone
  • Wadi Sawawin feasibility study on track
  • 3,600m drilling programme at Isua complete
  • MOU signed with other operators on CGMR enlarged licence area
  • Cash of USD230 million at 30 September 2009

Aim Admission

 


On 2 November London Mining announced 37,239,225 existing shares had been placed at GBP1.924/share with new investors ahead of admission to AIM. Trading of London Mining shares commenced on 6 November. The admission and placing has significantly increased the free float of London Mining’s issued share capital and added over 30 high quality institutional investors to London Mining’s register.


Operating Review


London Mining made significant headway on its four principal projects over the quarter and has also embarked on several new initiatives as the Company moves towards realising its ambition to become a mid-tier developer of mines for the steel industry. These are the development of a corporate social responsibility programme and an accelerated JORC resource campaign.


Marampa (100%), Sierra Leone


During the quarter the company resolved its dispute with the Government of Sierra Leone and African Minerals and was issued with a new 13.82km2 mining licence. Testwork was also received from CDTN in Brazil which showed that either sinter feed or blast furnace feed could be produced from the reprocessed Marampa tailings using two stage Wet High Intensity Magnetic Separation (WHIMS). Production of sinter feed is possible without the installation of a milling circuit and CRU Strategies have indicated that the resulting product should capture a USD3/dmt premium to Brazilian Itabira fines if sold into the European market. The Company expects to have a JORC standard resource statement for the tailings in December 2009 and for the primary ore in June 2010. A construction decision for Marampa is expected by the end of 2009 following final ratification of fiscal incentives in the Sierra Leone Parliament.


Wadi Sawawin (50% JV), Saudi Arabia


The Company remains confident of delivering the BFS for Wadi Sawawin by the end of 2009. A 2,640m drilling campaign is underway with the aim of extending the mine life for the project from 14 to 17 years.  The joint venture has a total licence area of 211.2 km2 with the area comprising the current 230Mt resource lying within an area of 3.5km2. Initial work indicates good further exploration potential and an 8,000m drilling programme is planned to increase the regional resource.


Isua (100%), Greenland


During the third quarter,  London Mining completed 3,600m of drilling at Isua, the results of which will contribute towards an updated JORC resource statement at the end of 2009. SNC Lavalin have been appointed to complete a prefeasibility study and this expected to be delivered during Q1 2010. Also during the quarter, the owner’s team was augmented by the appointment of Dr Xiaogun Hu, an expert in glacier management and cold weather construction.


China Global Mining Resources JV (50%)


In July the CGMR JV commissioned Wardrop Engineering to estimate a resource from historical drill data (60 holes comprising an estimated 24,000m of drilling were completed on the licence area in the 1970s). Wardrop have indicated that mineralisation is pervasive throughout the licence area and at depth. A drilling campaign to confirm the historic data is currently being planned and is expected to commence towards the end of 2009 with the aim of producing a resource statement to JORC standards in 2010. The JV has entered an MOU to acquire the other operators on the expanded licence, and is progressing due diligence. The acquisition will provide an additional 0.3Mtpa of concentrate production capacity and allow the JV to begin planning for an enlarged operation.


Other Investments


London Mining acquired interests in DMC Energy Pty Ltd (DMC Energy) and International Coal Company (ICC) during 2008.


DMC Energy (effective 28%), South Africa


A definitive feasibility study for the 70% owned Rietkuil project has still yet to be delivered by DMC. Early indications show that Rietkuil can be developed on a wholly open-pit basis. The feasibility study is expected to be released ahead of DMC’s proposed listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in Q2 2010


International Coal Company Ltd (20%), Colombia


London Mining continues to review its investment in Colombia. The Company is in negotiations with ICC regarding the provision of limited funding of up to USD5 million to develop further the business plan for coke and coal production. Any such funding is likely to be made within the next few months.


Corporate development


Corporate Social Responsibilty


Further to the release of its Competent Person’s Report in October London Mining has engaged Wardell Armstrong to review its CSR performance and capability. London Mining currently meets all local Environmental, Health, Safety and Community requirements at a local level but plans to ensure that all its projects are developed in line with industry best practice.


JORC programme


London Mining has launched comprehensive mineral resource definition programme in order to better understand the geological potential of its resources under the supervision of its Manager for Resources and Development, Sergio Guedes. The Company plans to report to JORC standards in line with industry best practice. Updated resource statements for Marampa, Wadi Sawawin and Greenland are expected by the end of the year.  The Company also plans to drill a further 22,000m to further expand existing resources.

 

For more information, please contact:

London Mining

Rachel Rhodes, Finance Director  +44 20 7201 5000

Thomas Credland, Head of Investor Relations 

Liberum Capital (Broker/Nomad)

Clayton Bush/Ellen Francis  +44 20 3100 2000

GMP Securities Europe  (Broker)

Jeremy Wrathall  +44 20 7647 2800

Crux Kommunikasjon AS (Norway media)

Charlotte Knudsen +47 97 56 19 59

Threadneedle Communication (UK media) 

Laurence Read/ Graham Herring +44 20 7653 9850

 

About London Mining
London Mining Plc is a UK-based company that is developing mines for the steel industry. The company owns 100% of the Marampa hematite iron ore mine in Sierra Leone, 100% of the Isua magnetite iron ore project in Greenland, a 50% stake in on the Wadi Sawawin joint venture in Saudi Arabia and a 50% stake in the China Global Mining Resources joint venture. It also has minority interests in South Africa and Colombia.  The Company listed on the Oslo Axess, a marketplace regulated by the Stock Exchange, on 9 October 2007. It trades under the symbol LOND.NO.

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