www.ramblermines.com
Rambler Metals and Mining plc was established to invest in the base metal sector in politically stable jurisdictions. Its principal project is the Rambler copper-gold property, located on the Baie Verte Peninsula of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.
Rambler Metals & Mining's operational plan cheered by analysts
Rambler Metals & Mining's (LON:RMM, CVE:RAB) decision to begin producing gold rather than copper as it reopens the Ming mine was described as an 'excellent' move by Ocean Equities analyst Christopher Welch today.
The move highlights the flexibility of both the plant and the management team and maximises cash flow during the initial production stages, the analyst said in a note.
His comments were echoed by mining analyst Asa Bridle at Seymour Pierce who pointed out that given the relative performance of copper and gold prices in recent months, it should get the operation in Newfoundland off to a "solid" start.
Bridle has a 'buy' recdommendation on the stock and targets a price of 55 pence (current price: 25 pence).
The firm told investors this morning that the commissioning process of its Nugget Pond copper concentrator begun three days ago on October 17 with water being flushed through.
Live commissioning using lower grade copper will take four to eight weeks before full production is possible.
But crucially, Rambler said it would initially use its separate gold hydrometallurgical circuit to process ore, which has previously seen recoveries of more than 90 per cent.
This will initially involve targeting ore from the 1806 Zone, which is high-grade gold, which will be run through the hydromet.
In September, the company secured 38 tonnes of briquette style sodium cyanide with an additional 38 tonnes due for delivery in December so it has an ample supply to operate either the copper concentrator or the gold hydromet.
Anlayst Bridle noted "In parallel with the copper circuit commissioning, the company is to begin processing the precious metal rich 1806 zone ore through its separate gold plant now that sufficient stocks of sodium cyanide have been secured for processing."
He added: "The company has already begun blasting underground at the 1806 zone which should result in ore feed for the plant bearing some 7,000 ounces gold and 54,000 ounzes silver (copper grade in the zone is only 0.5 per cent).
"Assuming typical recovery rates of 90 per cent gold this should result in around 6,300 ounces of gold produced.
Welch said Ocean Equities believed that starting with gold production would push back copper production by three months and would mean that the first copper concentrate shipment would be made in the second quarter of 2012.
But he said this delay in copper production would have a "negligible effect" on the operating profit of Ming as the increased gold revenue would offset the copper revenue stream loss during the period.
"Rambler is on the cusp of becoming a producer and as such we expect the company’s share price to re-rate. The company
has demonstrated it can maintain steady development momentum at the same time as capturing profits that are made available by the abundant mineral wealth in the vicinity of its operations," he said.
The company also revealed today that it had recently completed its 9,500 wet metric tonne concentrate storage facility at the Goodyear's Cove Port.
An 850 tonne per hour conveyor system with stacker that will load the bulk ships has been ordered and is due for delivery late this year.
In addition, the company announced that it has concluded discussions with various off-takers for the sale and marketing of its concentrates and an off-taker has been chosen.
