JSE juniors strike out for fresh resources

Business Day Final, Companies & Markets
by Charlotte Mathews, Resources Editor
Published 27 Jun 2006

TWO of the JSE's junior mining companies, a gold explorer and a diamond explorer, are proceeding with exploration projects - undeterred by signs of global investors withdrawing from commodities and emerging markets.

The time it takes to turn an exploration project into a successful mine is lengthy and fraught with risk. Expansion opportunities in the gold sector in particular are restricted by a lack of exploration expenditure in the previous commodities upturn.

Diamond explorer Tawana Resources said yesterday it had appointed South African and Australian mining engineers to help with the trial mine design at Kareevlei Wes, where it was still awaiting a new order mining right. Its application had been accepted by the minerals and energy department.

It had started trial mining at Perdevlei, where it expected to report results from the processing of gravels and kimberlite in the third quarter of this year.

Tawana and BHP Billiton had amended the terms of their joint venture at the Daniel project to reflect the type of kimberlites found in this area, Tawana said.

The partners had started drilling on 20 targets identified using BHP Billiton's proprietary Falcon technology and had applied for additional prospecting licences so as to drill more targets.

Wits Gold, which holds rights over a number of prospective gold properties in the Witwatersrand Basin, said yesterday it had been granted two more rights to prospect for gold.

The first is on 9 804ha across 12 farms in the Potchefstroom Goldfields, which consolidates the areas held into 54462ha. The total inferred resource held by Wits Gold in the Potchefstroom Goldfields is 75,8-million ounces of gold.

The second prospecting right was granted over 1 230ha across three farms in Free State, bringing the total amount of prospecting land held by Wits Gold in the Klerksdorp Goldfields to 13 302ha. Wits Gold's total inferred resource of gold in the Klerksdorp Goldfields is 39,5-million ounces.

Wits Gold's immediate aim would be to improve the definition of the resources and bring at least one project to pre- feasibility stage in the next three years, it said.

Tawana's share price was flat at 170c on the JSE yesterday, while shares in Wits Gold traded 3,13% weaker to R62.