MRC is saying that it will go alone but me thinks that the big...

MRC is saying that it will go alone but me thinks that the big boys will pounce as this project is too valuable to miss out on. If MRC won't let them in on a J/V MRC will probably be aquired. The directors might well be prepared fight a hostile bid givin the amount of shares they own (currently 20%) but at what price? and especially because they feel the projects are worth $2.80 a share???Anyway with only 45 million shares this stock could really soar if things get interesting! Just my views. Do your own research!

Aussie minnow sitting on valuable HM resource

By: Peter Gonnella


Posted: 2003/05/01 Thu 05:00 ZE8 | © Mineweb 1997-2003


PERTH – Aussie-based junior Mineral Commodities [ASX: MRC] is planning to progress the Xolobeni project to a bankable feasibility study (BFS) later this year following the release of a significant resource upgrade.
The company is deep into the pre-feasibility study into the proposed US$200 million development of Xolobeni, in the heavy minerals (HM) province on the east coast of South Africa.

However, while the big-ticket version of the development blueprint, which includes a mineral separation plant and downstream smelter, was the one currently being evaluated, given Xolobeni’s strategic location, there could be opportunities to enter into a joint venture arrangement with major players in the vicinity such as Rio Tinto/BHP Billiton’s Richards Bay Minerals or Ticor/Kumba Resources.

Nonetheless, Mineral Commodities is hoping to have the pre-feas squared away by mid-2003 and intends to press ahead with a BFS. This week it lifted the Xolobeni measured and indicated resource to 313 million tonnes for a contained 16.9Mt of HM – which has an in-ground value, according to chief executive Alan Luscombe, of approximately A$7.80 per tonne of HM – up from the previously announced resource of 196Mt for 13Mt HM.

“This (the resource update) is a very important step forward for the Xolobeni project, representing the culmination of over nine months of intensive exploration and pre-feasibility work and providing independent confirmation of its status as a potential top 10 mineral sands producer,” said Luscombe, who did add that Xolobeni’s proximity to substantial infrastructure and mineral sands mining and processing operations improves its development prospects.

Luscombe acknowledged that the estimated capital cost of developing Xolobeni was an imposing number for a junior miner, but he told Mineweb that at this stage there were no plans to seek a partner. He said Xolobeni has the support of South African Export Capital (SAEC) – originally established as a joint initiative between ABSA Bank and the SA Department of Trade & Industry – and that the latest resource shows Xolobeni is a world-class asset that could justify a standalone operation.

Using the earlier resource figures, results from scoping studies and metallurgical testwork suggest Xolobeni has the potential to bring in annual revenue of about US$75 million over a projected mine life of about 17 years.

SAEC, which has a 10 percent equity stake in Mineral Commodities’ SA-registered subsidiary, MRC Resources, has a mandate to submit a funding proposal for the development of Xolobeni.

Mineral Commodities shares were up by more than 3 percent today (Thursday), closing at A$0.165, which represents a market cap of A$7.4 million.