Focus Minerals - Aggressively Expanding into a Rising Gold Price.
Focus Minerals Ltd (ASX: FML) is a profitable Australian based gold producer operating in Western Australia’s Eastern Goldfields.
Focus is pursuing an aggressive expansion programme to become one of the largest Gold producers in the region and is currently on track to produce 100,000oz of gold in calendar 2011.
With a resource base of 2.3 million ounces, Focus has three operating mines all within an 85km proximity of its own 1.3Mtpa processing plant in Coolgardie, 35km to the east of Kalgoorlie.
In addition it has two significant gold exploration projects including circa 200sq km in Coolgardie, and a further 200sq km at the world-class Treasure Island Gold Project at Lake Cowan on the Boulder-Lefroy system.
Since first production, Focus Minerals has established itself as a profitable gold producer (2009 Net Profit of A$3.15m). It recently posted a 28% rise in pre-tax profit for the half year 2011 to $6.2m (24/02/11) and delivered a pre-tax profit of $10.9m for the full year 2010. It remains debt free and hedge free.
Focus is currently in production at its Tindals Mining Centre in Coolgardie from both its established Underground Mining Operation and from its new Open Pit operations which commenced production in April 2011. Tindals is is just 5km trucking distance from its 1.3mtpa Three Mile Hill processing plant.
In addition, Focus commenced production from its new high-grade underground mine at The Mount, 85km to the south of Three Mile Hill, in March 2011.
Of note, Focus is the largest landholder in the Coolgardie gold belt with over 200sq km of tenements in an area and has been instrumental in the revival of the historic Coolgardie Gold Field, which has produced over 2.6 million ounces of gold since 1892
With strong cash flow from existing operations, an extensive pipeline of projects for development (2.3Moz of JORC compliant resources and growing) and significant regional exploration potential, Focus is perfectly positioned to take advantage of a rising gold price and become a large-scale sustainable gold producer.
