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In the news: Metminco

Published: 10:53 05 Mar 2018 GMT

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COMPANIES

Metminco*

MNC : AU | A¢3.9 | US$3m | Speculative Buy

Announces Rights Issue and Restructuring

Metminco (ASX:MNC) has announced that it is to undertake a significant restructuring that will include a rights issue to refinance the company, a change of leadership (including a new Board and executive team) and the re-focusing of the company on the exploration of two high-impact targets — Tesorito and Chuscal — near its Miraflores gold development project in Colombia.

COMMENT: The restructuring will result in changes in both the direction and leadership of the company. Until recently Metminco had been focused on the development of the Miraflores gold deposit in Colombia, where it announced the results of a feasibility study in late October 2017, and at which work for the completion of the EIA remains ongoing. The current move is to test the large-scale, high-potential Tesorito geophysical anomaly; prior drilling intersected 384m grading 1.0 g/t from surface. This has the potential to generate some much-needed excitement around the company. We continue to recommend Metminco as a Speculative Buy.


The company plans to raise A$5.1m though a deeply discounted 7 for 2 rights issue at A$0.01/share and to raise A$190,000 through a placement at the same price. Each of the new shares issued will have one third of an option attached to it, exercisable at A$0.013/share for two years. The rights price of A$0.01/share is at a significant discount to the share price of A$0.039 prior to the announcement, and is at a 32.6% discount to the theoretical ex-rights price of A$0.0148/share.

The incoming Board and management will be led by the experienced mining executive Kevin Wilson. In addition to a re-focusing of the company’s attention on the potential of its exploration assets in Colombia, Metminco also plans to divest its non-core assets in Chile and reduce the level of its overheads.

 

The company plans to commence exploration drilling at the Tesorito prospect in April 2018, and at Chuscal — which is under option from AngloGold — later this year. Tesorito is the highest-priority exploration target within the tenements having been identified by limited drilling results, IP imaging and soil geochemistry. All three holes drilled by the project’s previous owner encountered consistent mineralisation and alteration, with the most notable intersection being TS-DH-02’s intercept of 384m at 1.0 g/t from surface. Surprisingly, and despite these results, drilling approached but failed to intersect the 700m x 500m high-chargeability IP anomaly as defined by a 2012 imaging survey. Copper and molybdenum values in TS-DH-02 were elevated towards the end of the hole and the boundary of the anomaly. Testing the main geophysical anomaly remains a priority. The company believes Tesorito has the potential to represent a sizeable gold-copper porphyry system, typical of the host Mid-Cauca porphyry belt, which houses the giant 33Moz La Colosa and 14.5Moz Marmato deposits. 

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