- Release Date: 05/02/13 13:44
- Summary: S/HOLDER: CRP: Shareholder Update
- Price Sensitive: No
- Download Document 5.63KB
CRP 05/02/2013 11:44 S/HOLDER REL: 1144 HRS Chatham Rock Phosphate Limited S/HOLDER: CRP: Shareholder Update Dear Shareholder You only have until 13 February to subscribe to the share purchase plan. We enclose an application form in case you have misplaced the one sent to you before Christmas. Our project continues to achieve significant momentum and we are pleased with our operational progress as well as the recognition from investors and the interest shown by the wider New Zealand public as an initiative of national importance. There is a steady flow of new qualified investors subscribing for private placements. Since Boskalis and Subsea Investments secured cornerstone shareholdings in September we've received about $1.1 million in private placements, with more in train. All up we've raised about two thirds of our original target for $25 million, but we have a challenging programme of work planned for the next 2-3 years and we need ongoing capital to finance that. Due to the level of investor interest and our high public profile in New Zealand we are also reconsidering the possibility of a local Initial Public Offering. And once we have raised sufficient working capital the Canadian compliance listing will proceed forthwith. We're delighted with the ongoing interest but we do need more funds to maintain our work programme at the current rate We also want to ensure that existing shareholders, who have supported Chatham Rock Phosphate, especially over the past three years, continue to have the opportunity to invest at these levels. We thought it would be useful to recap on the progress we've made since our interim report last year: Board strengthened We're delighted with our announcement over the past few days that we have strengthened our board with three highly qualified directors. Ko de Blaeij is a senior Boskalis executive who has been a great supporter of the project. Robin Falconer, as our Principal Scientist, has been central to the successes we have achieved. Robert Goodden, a member of our technical advisory panel, brings a lifetime of commercial experience in marine mining and strong engineering skills. They complement my skills and those of our existing directors Jill Hatchwell and Linda Sanders as we work towards the next phase of the project's development. Low cadmium In January we announced that the levels of heavy metal cadmium in our rock phosphate has been tested to be among the lowest in the world - averaging 2.2 parts per million compared with a New Zealand voluntary limit of 280 parts per million. This will be a major plus for the potential purchasers of our product. Low runoff Another benefit of our rock phosphate is its ability to drastically reduce run off in farm waterways. CRP evaluated some of the studies undertaken which compare the use of rock phosphate and super phosphate on New Zealand farmland. The studies show that when applied directly reactive rock phosphate (RPR) is both a very effective sustained release fertiliser and resistant to leaching. Boskalis moves to next stage Just before Christmas, after a week of meetings in the Netherlands, Boskalis agreed to go to the project's next stage involving final detailed designs of a system for extracting rock phosphate nodules. This phase is a commitment estimated to cost around EUR4 million and is scheduled to be completed by 30 June this year. Media coverage We're very pleased with the coverage the company is getting in the media. Among the recent highlights was a long feature on Radio New Zealand's summer report on 7 January that looked at the potential benefits our project could accrue for the Chatham Islands. A couple of months ago Kapiti investment adviser Chris Lee wrote a detailed critique of our company's prospects, which he circulated to his subscribers.Links to those items and other media items of interest are on our website on the news page. Encouraging turbidity tests In November we received the interim results from turbidity tests being conducted by Dutch modeling organisation Deltares. The results of the tests are very important because our key focus is potential environmental impacts especially that caused by turbidity or plume. The initial tests show only small amounts of disturbed or re-deposited sediment do not settle and that concentrations outside the mining area are low. We're encouraged by the potentially low environmental impacts predicted by the models. Beneficiation also promising Tests to beneficiate the rock phosphate also hold some promise. Beneficiation is a process to raise the level of phosphate in the rock that can increase its value and extend its variety of uses. Scientists at Victoria University working under contract for CRP have already succeeded in beneficiating the rock from 21.6% to 28.5% P205. These studies are continuing. The issue to be decided is whether the costs of beneficiation are worth the investment in the additional process. Coming up As the new year gets into full swing we are advancing the project on a range of fronts. Our project team is working extremely effectively across the country and the globe. Good communications mean we are in instant contact whether it's our Canadian-based sales and strategy expert Najib Moutia, the engineering project team at Boskalis near Rotterdam or our investors in New York, Hong Kong, or wherever they are. It means we are able to tap into the best talent wherever it is located. Our key milestones this year are (hopefully!) receiving our Mining Licence approval and submitting our environmental consent application. We'll keep you posted on our progress. Chris Castle Managing Director End CA:00232636 For:CRP Type:S/HOLDER Time:2013-02-05 11:44:03
Add to My Watchlist
What is My Watchlist?
