Asiamet Resources (LON:ARS) has released a further positive update on its progress towards completing a feasibility study for the Beruang Kanan Main (BKM) copper project in Indonesia. The latest announcement relates to metallurgical and geochemical testwork for the design of the crushing circuit.
The tests show that the majority of the ore has a low crushing energy requirement and low wear-metal consumption which will benefit operating costs. Therefore there is also no need for additional equipment for the processing of harder ores and we believe that only a single stage crusher would be required benefitting the project’s capital cost.
In total 79 ore samples were tested with ten sent for metal content and short term metal leaching tests. These tests confirmed previous results which demonstrated that the leach material can be considered Potential Acid Forming. This reduces operating costs as it limits the volume of acid which must be imported and transported to site.
The latest announcement further underpins our confidence that the feasibility study will confirm the potential for the development of a low cost copper project.
We reiterate our Speculative Buy recommendation and target price of 6.2p/sh.