Overview of Focus Minerals Ltd. Projects
Focus Minerals is on track to producing 100,000 ounces of gold in 2011. The assets through which the company will achieve this are:
- Three Mile Hill Processing Plant – Focus owns and operates the 1.3Mtpa Three Mile Hill Processing plant in Coolgardie, less than 5km trucking distance from the Tindals Mining Centre. The mine was commissioned by Focus in December 2009, after completing a $22m refit. It has a replacement value of >$100 million and can be expanded in line with business needs.
- Tindals Mining Centre: Underground Mine – The Tindals Mining Centre underground operation has been the engine room of the Focus business. It features 5 main ore bodies and a gold endowment of 2,500 ounces per vertical metre with significant underground mining potential at depth.
- Tindals Mining Centre: Open Pits – Focus will commence the first phase of mining from the Tindals Open pits in the June quarter 2011. The Tindals Open Pits comprise 13 deposits along a 2km strike that have been tested to depths of just 400 metres. With a 608,000 ounce surface resource, Focus is delivering on a strategy to develop a sustainable surface production resource to compliment that of the established underground Mine.
- The Mount Underground Mine – The Mount will spearhead the next stage of Focus’ expansion. The Mount is a wholly new, high-grade underground mine that has been built by focus from cash flow. It currently has a resource of 2.1Mt @ 5.5g/t. It commenced production in March 2011.
In addition to these operations in or nearing production, Focus also has a strategic land holding in the greater Coolgardie area and at Lake Cowan to the south both of which offer significant upside:
- Greater Coolgardie – Focus has a 700,000oz Resource in the Greater Coolgardie area with 1 million tonnes and 60,000oz in reserve and ready for immediate start-up. With the resources all within a 30km trucking distance of Focus’ Three Mile Hill treatment plant, the Greater Coolgardie region presents as a significant upside opportunity for business. Within the Greater Coolgardie area, Focus also owns the Nepean Nickel Project which has a current inferred resource based on the mine’s remnant, transitional and fresh mineralisation measures 591,300t @ 2.2 per cent Ni, for 13,250t contained Ni.
- Treasure Island Gold Project – Treasure Island is a world class gold project that is situated on the southern end of the Boulder-Lefroy fault which has delivered over 100 million ounces of gold over the years. The project is an absolute greenfields exploration site, from which Focus has already reported exceptionally high-grade surface sampling. The company will be ramping up exploration at Lake Cowan with a specific focus on the Treasure Islands project through 2011.
