About us

Focus Minerals is an ASX-listed exploration and development company with significant advanced gold and nickel projects in the highly prolific Western Australian Goldfields.

It has achieved a historic amalgamation of tenements through a wide sweep of the Coolgardie gold producing region, 40km south of Kalgoorlie and is well positioned to commence near-term mining of both nickel and gold.

Focus Minerals’ nickel portfolio includes the 100% owned Nepean Nickel Project, centred on the historic Nepean Nickel Mine, located 25km south of Coolgardie.

Nickel

The Nepean Project - located 25km south of Coolgardie - is centred on the historic Nepean Nickel Mine, which produced 32,303 tonnes of mined nickel at an average recovered grade of 2.99% Ni over a 17 year period to 1987. The current inferred resource based on the mine's remnant, transitional and fresh mineralisation measures 591,300t @ 2.2% Ni, for 13,250t contained Ni.

Focus Minerals commenced trial mining at Nepean in April 2008 with a view to commencing commercial scale mining in the second half of 2008, following completion of a feasibility study which is currently underway.

Several additional and significant areas of Kambalda-style nickel sulphide mineralisation have been identified by mapping, VTEM, detailed aerial magnetics and limited drilling along sections of a 30km strike length within the project's boundaries.

A Bankable Feasibility Study comprising grade control infill drilling, mine design and processing engineering studies, and the negotiation of off-take Expressions of Interest, is scheduled for completion in mid-2008

Results from drilling carried out as part of the current Feasibility Study have provided further confirmation of the excellent potential of the Nepean Nickel Project to contain a substantial, high-grade and shallow nickel resource.

Significant intersections from the recent drilling include:

6m @ 2.82% Ni from 53m;
3m @ 9.93% Ni from 49m;
1m @ 3.18% Ni from 59m;
4m @ 6.63% Ni from 46m;
1m @ 11.41% Ni from 54m;
3m @ 12.53% Ni from 37m; and
4m @ 2.76% Ni from 38m.

Focus is also in discussions with the owner of an operating gold processing plant, 10km north of Nepean, regarding upgrading the facility's existing nickel circuit to accommodate production of nickel concentrate.

Gold

The Coolgardie Gold Project consists of an extensive resource inventory within multiple deposits totaling 20.6 million tonnes at 2.48g/t Au for 1.65 million ounces, the fully permitted 1.2mtpa Three Mile Hill gold processing facility, and a highly prospective 210km² tenement package offering an outstanding pipeline of exploration and development opportunities.
Focus Minerals commenced maiden commercial gold mining at the Coolgardie Gold Project in April 2008 through ore sourced from the Company's flagship Perseverance deposit.

Perseverance Deposit

Production commenced at the high-grade Perseverance Project in April 2008 after the completion of a positive Feasibility Study in December 2007.

This Project is forecast to yield production of 76,500 ounces over 21 months with upside to more ounces and a higher gold price.

Ore from Perseverance will be treated through a third party mill, the nearby Greenfields gold plant, however Focus' broader development strategy is to refurbish the 100%-owned Three Mile Hill plant as a centrally located gold treatment facility to provide long-term cost effective processing capability in the region. It is expected that refurbishment will commence in October 2008 and be finished six months later.

The Milling Agreement with the Greenfields Plant has recently been signed and is based upon a priority processing position for up to 480,000 tonnes at favourable milling charges until 2010, followed by a further 7 year extension to the Agreement should Focus wish to continue to use the Greenfields plant.

Coolgardie Development

Other key deposits at Coolgardie will be progressively developed with ore treated at Three Mile Hill; commencing with the broader Tindals Mining Centre surrounding the Perseverance deposit. Work is continuing at Tindals at the Countess, Empress and Cyanide (Tindals East) deposits, in order to fast-track further delineation and development of the broader area.

Gold production is targeted to deliver approximately 5,300 ounces in FY2008 (reflecting start-up production from Perseverance from April 2008), increasing to ~65,000 ounces in FY2009, ~75,000 ounces in FY2010 and then ramping up to a sustainable level of 100,000 ounces per annum from FY2011 onwards from projects currently within the development pipeline.

  • Resources exceeding 1.65 million ounces of gold and 100% ownership of 1.2mtpa Three Mile Hill processing plant
  • the 900ha The Mount Gold-Nickel Project, also located near Coolgardie.
  • Completion of Bankable Feasibility Study (BFS) in late 2007 year confirms the economic viability of the Perseverance Gold Project
  • Targeting 80-100,000oz pa gold production through accelerated development program.
  • Continued development and exploration drilling in surrounding area has demonstrated potential to discover additional high-quality ore bodies.