re: uranium kor nwa market liked the annoucment today, and with drilling uranium in nt with korab at end of month things looking good
5th July, 2006 Manager of Company Announcements Australian Stock Exchange Limited Level 6, 20 Bridge Street SYDNEY NSW 2000 By E-Lodgement SHAREHOLDER UPDATE New World Alloys (ASX: NWA) (the “company”) is pleased to provide a shareholder update prior to releasing the June 2006 Quarterly Financial Report, due on 31st July 2006. Nova Mining Project NWA is pleased to announce that production at Nova Mining’s copper smelter for the June Quarter has been in excess of 900 tonnes. This maintains the high output level achieved in the March Quarter. Our target of 1,000 tonnes would have been met but for an industrywide shortage of metallurgical coke in April which significantly impacted our production capability. The continuing positive trends in the company’s operations and financial status have established Nova’s position both as the leading independent producer of copper metal in Congo, as well as a newcomer to the list of junior ASX companies with successive ‘cash-flow positive’ status. With the completion and commissioning of furnaces 3 and 4 now scheduled for July, production capacity at the plant will double. Under optimum conditions this can be raised further. Presently the exceptional demand for high grade ore presents some difficulties in the short term. However, doubling our production will have a marked improvement on the margins earned as we move well above the breakeven point of around 240t/m at present. The 4 furnaces are scheduled to operate on copper ore feedstock secured from existing and new supply contracts. A recent development in the availability of local power at transmission level has evolved in the industrial vicinity of Nova Mining, which affords management the opportunity to reconsider the installation of arc furnaces to increase production. The arc furnace proposal is likely to be instead of constructing the next set of blast furnaces F5 and F6 that were earlier planned for inclusion in the current expansion plan. An engineering and financial 2 study is in progress to assess the total cost and installation time required to support this variation to the existing program, which will be advised in due course. To complement the successful development of the copper smelter, a major effort has been applied by management to conclude the acquisition of operating copper concessions for the company during the last 6 months. The primary objective is to secure resources where the NWA designed mini-concentrators can be installed to provide a reliable grade of product to Nova’s furnaces. This step in the development of the company will significantly improve operating margins and certainty of supply. Options on a number of projects in Congo have been secured. As these are currently located in hard to access areas they are presently earmarked for later development. Several JV opportunities within 150 km of Nova are nearing completion with reliable companies. Nova Management’s ability to develop existing copper deposits and operate miniconcentrators is undergoing due diligence review on the resource projects outlined above. Once legal and financial review is completed, approved concessions (tenements) will be concluded into a variety of JV projects. Some of these mining projects could become operational by the end of our September quarter, conditionally followed by erection and operation of our first mini-concentrator before year end. Additional details of the project will be outlined in the forthcoming quarterly report. For further information, please contact the following executives via our Perth Office: Yours truly, Laurie Findlay David Mc Arthur Managing Director / CEO Company Secretary
NWA Price at posting:
0.0¢ Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Not Held