Quarterly Activity Report
18 October 2007 - 5:01PM
UK Regulatory
RNS Number:8471F
Investika Ltd
18 October 2007
INVESTIKA LTD
('the Company')
Quarterly Activity Report
18 October 2007
The following is the Company's Quarterly Activity Report to 30 September 2007 that
has been released to the Australian Stock Exchange.
Enquiries to:
Chrisilios Kyriakou, Chief Executive Officer
Investika Ltd
Telephone: 020 7514 1480
James Joyce /David Porter
WH Ireland Limited
Telephone: 020 7220 1666
Berong Nickel Project, Philippines (18.7% direct interest, 6.1% indirect
interest)
A total of 90,334 wet metric tons of laterite nickel ore at an average grade of
1.57% Ni (approximately 949 tonnes contained nickel on a dry basis) was shipped
to China and Australia. Loading of a ship of approximately 50,000 tonnes
capacity was underway at the end of the quarter. Shipments have been impacted
by customer shipping schedules and the wet season on Palawan. All shipments are
sold on a 'Free on Board' basis, and customers make their own shipping
arrangements.
Total year-to-date shipments amount to 474,721 wet metric tons at an average
grade of 1.53% Ni (approximately 5,098 tonnes contained nickel on a dry basis).
A further 140,000 wet metric tons of ore is stockpiled at the coast awaiting
shipping to overseas markets.
Mining operations continued throughout the period. A total of approximately
220,000 wet metric tons was mined for the period, with record production rates
achieved for the months of July and August (averaging approximately 83,000 wet
metric tons per month). September production of approximately 55,000 wet metric
tons was impacted by the wet weather which made mine access difficult with the
rigid-bodied, single drive highway trucks being used. Four, all-wheel drive,
35-ton articulated dump trucks are planned to be acquired either directly or
indirectly through a mining contract arrangement. The majority of the ore was
extracted from the bulk metallurgical sampling area.
Rehabilitation of the areas initially mined for the metallurgical bulk samples
has commenced and a research plot prepared to determine the best tree species to
replace the trees cut during operations. To date, the following plant species
have been planted - 88,500 endemic trees, 5,100 fruit trees, 213,000 strands of
vetiver grasses, and 2,000 vegetable plants. An additional 9,000 trees were
donated to the community or used in the "bio-fence" project with the Palawan
State University.
As previously reported, an agreement was reached with BHP Billiton for the long
term supply of laterite ore to the Yabulu plant in Queensland, Australia. The
agreement is for the supply of up to 500,000 wet metric tons of ore per year,
and runs for 5 years with BHP Billiton having the option to extend this for a
further 5 years. The company has the ability to supply to BHP Billiton more ore
than the contracted quantities. Discussions are underway with several Chinese
customers for similar long term supply agreements.
Construction activities completed included the assay laboratory, crusher and
batch plant facilities, and the pedestrian footbridge over the Berong River.
Activities planned for the next quarter include construction of the permanent
office & accommodation facilities, the heavy equipment maintenance workshops,
and modifications to the causeway. The latter will involve extending and
reinforcing the causeway used for barge loading to better withstand the strong
wave action during the typhoon season.
Permit approvals continue to delay the start of construction of the Dangla Road,
a dedicated haul road without community development along its route.
As previously reported, the Company entered into a Mineral Production Sharing
Agreement (MPSA No.235-2007-IVB) with the Philippine Government covering the 288
hectare Berong Nickel Project. The current Direct Shipping Operation falls
under the MPSA and the associated Special Mines Permit. The Feasibility Study
Report for the life-of-mine operations was completed and submitted to the
Department of Environment and Natural Resources to enable the "Declaration of
Mining Feasibility" for this MPSA area. Validation of the Ore Reserves was also
undertaken.
The assessment of processing options to add value to the large lateritic
resources at Berong continued. Samples of the various ore types have arrived in
Australia and delivered to SGS Lakefield testing laboratory in Perth. A test
work programme has been developed in conjunction with SNC Lavalin, covering:
* Ore characterisation
* Agitation atmospheric leach
* High Pressure Acid leach
* Bottle roll simulation of heap leach
In addition to the above test work, a preliminary simulation of the nickel pig
iron blast furnace operation has been completed to assess the mass balance,
product quality and consumables.
Chilean Copper Project (Direct and indirect interest 69%)
The pre-feasibility study completed in the previous quarter indicated that the
Las Pascualas project was robust, planning to move to a Final Feasibility study
commenced in July and selection of Chilean companies to be involved in the study
was initiated.
A drilling campaign involving 12,000m of infill drilling and 700m of
geotechnical drilling for pit wall stability was planned. In addition, 800m of
diamond drilling to validate previous reverse circulation drilling results and
800m of large diameter diamond drilling for further metallurgical testwork were
included. Drill sites were completed in September and by the end of the
quarter, four geotechnical holes had been completed.
Water rights, adequate for the project's needs, have been acquired and
discussions commenced on power supply.
It is anticipated that a treatment plant located at Las Pascualas will attract
small local copper producers who currently transport their ore more than 120km
to the nearest government toll treatment facilities. These neighbouring
operations are being documented to assess what supplementary ore might be
available in the future.
Exploration mapping and sampling was completed at Las Nipas, a wholly owned
tenement close to Las Pascualas, where strong copper and molybdenum anomalies
within a hydrothermal alteration zone will be drill tested after completion of
the infill drilling at Las Pascualas.
Other areas within 30kms of Las Pascualas are being examined and an area close
to the national highway named Punto Colorado showing alteration and copper
mineralization has been acquired.
Belitung Lead/Zinc Project, Indonesia (42.5% interest)
A 10 hole diamond core drilling programme was completed and the following
significant assays from four of these holes are set out below. Values of the
mineralized intersections in the remaining six holes were disappointing.
BH-7
From - To Width Ag Cd Pb Zn
(m) (ppm) (ppm) (%) (%)
233.4-238.4 5.0 121 418 5.83 6.56
BH-8
From - To Width (m) Ag (ppm) Cd (ppm) Pb Zn
(%) (%)
246.40-255.15 8.75 52.67 399.47 3.29 6.90
BH-9
From - To Width (m) Ag (ppm) Cd (ppm) Pb Zn
(%) (%)
201.50-203.90 2.40 15.78 268.75 1.65 3.75
206.90-221.70 14.80 49.06 8306.04 3.59 8.61
BH-10
From - To Width (m) Ag (ppm) Cd (ppm) Pb Zn
(%) (%)
288.5-292.6 4.1 132 531 7.79 8.49
It is planned to commence a phase 2 programme of 15 diamond drillholes of a
total of around 4,100 metres, in the current quarter.
The information set out above is based on data compiled by Roger Shakesby, who
is an independent consultant engaged by the Company. Mr Shakesby is a Member of
the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and the Geological Society
of Australia. He has a B.Sc from the University of Durham in Geology and
Geography and has 45 years experience in the mining industry. His knowledge
gained in PNG, the Philippines, the USA and Chile is relevant to the style of
mineralisation and deposit formation in Indonesia.
UMC Energy Plc (20.4% interest)
To date, 45 of the 60 holes planned for 2007 have been drilled and the 2007
airborne survey was completed in early October 2007. Results will be released
as they become available.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
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