the the COMMODITIESCOMPANY PROFILE Pick Pick MINBOS RESOURCES bringing in a contractor to pay for the ship DIRECTORS Domingoes Catulichi T: +61 (0) 8 9476 4500 lading facility and to do the ship loading,” P eter Richards (Zeca) E: [email protected] he said. Non Executive Chairman & Non Executive Director WEB Minbos also expects a reduction in operating Non Executive Director Tanya Woolley costs by shifting from the current model of Robert McCrae Company Secretary www.minbos.com using diesel generated power to grid power. Chief Executive Officer PRINCIPAL OFFICE ASX CODE The company expects to release an upgraded Dave Reeves 108 Outram Street MNB ON THE patH TO PHOSPHatE resource for Cacata by the end of the current Non Executive Director West Perth, WA 6005 quarter after recently completing a diamond John Ciganek Australia drilling program. The resource is designed to Non Executive Technical RICHES upgrade a portion of the indicated resource Director estimate to a measured resource category, which will be a key input into the upcoming Minbos Resources (ASX:MNB) is certainly not sitting idle, with the company fast- BFS. tracking its high grade phosphate projects in Africa and recently releasing positive McCrae also said discussions had begun with established port indicates the project has the The current spot price of phosphate rock potential offtake partners for Cacata. potential to be a low capex and opex producer. concentrate is US$188 per tonne, down findings from a scoping study into its Cacata project in Angola. from $202.50/t in January 2012 and $400/t “We have had a number of requests from Indian The company is fast tracking work on Kanzi to reached in early 2008. companies, a number of requests from Chinese upgrade resources from inferred to measured companies,” he said. “We have already signed Since listing in November 2010, the in preparation for a scoping study in mid-2012, Analysts expect rock phosphate prices to confidentiality agreements with a couple company has been targeting exploration followed up with a second round of step out stabilise around the $180/t level in the short of them.” and development of low cost fertiliser- drilling leading to a BFS in 2013. term and between $150/t to $180/t in the In terms of financing the project, McCrae said medium to long term. based commodities in order to tap into the DINGE POTASH growing global demand for fertilisers. the company was looking at a number of scenarios. Minbos is also branching into potash exploration Minbos is exploring over 400,000 hectares through the acquisition of a 75% stake in the “Project financing could be done via a of highly prospective ground hosting Dinge potash licence from private Angolan traditional mix of debt and equity finance phosphate and potash bearing ore within mineral explorer Alum Industrial subject to due but the discussions with potential off takers the Cabinda Province of Angola and diligence. the adjoining areas of the far western and strategic partners provide us with some Democratic Republic of Congo. interesting options,” he said. A large proportion of the Dinge licence area pentoxide (P2O5) including a higher grade forecast pre-tax net cashflow of $US746 overlaps its Cabinda phosphate projects and in “I am very confident that we are not going CABINDA resource of 254.1Mt at 12.6% P2O5. million based on a high grade operation many areas the potash mineralisation underlies producing 800,000 tonnes per annum of to have a problem and that we will actually The main focus for Minbos at Cabinda is the phosphate mineralisation. The company holds a 50:50 joint venture phosphate rock concentrate over a 10 year have the choice between a few options and advancing work on the high-grade direct- with Petril Projects Ltd over the Cabinda mine life. maximise benefit for Minbos.” PHOSPHATE MARKET phosphate project in Angola. shipping-ore (DSO) operation at the Cacata deposit which, along with the Chivovo The project, which is expected to start Meanwhile, Minbos recently wrapped up a Phosphate is an essential component of The project covers five deposits across deposit, makes up the Eastern Limb production in 2014, has a capital cost of diamond drilling program at the Chivovo deposit fertiliser and is in high demand with global 200,000 hectares in Angola and contains deposits at Cabinda. $US158 million based on owner operated in the Eastern Limb of Cabinda phosphate phosphate consumption tipped to grow by 45% a JORC complaint inferred resource of mine, road haulage and ship loading concession which was designed to upgrade a by 2030. The project currently has an inferred 304 million tonnes at 11.5% phosphorus facilities while operating costs come in at portion of the inferred resource estimate of resource estimate of The growth in demand for fertiliser is mainly $US57.23 per tonne of phosphate rock 6.7Mt grading at 20.3% P2O5 to an indicated 33.9 million tonnes driven by the rising world population, changing free-on-board (FOB). resource. grading at 15.75% P205 diets as incomes increase, limited agricultural including 22.5Mt grading “This puts us in the lowest quartile of The company is also progressing work on the land and government policies to enhance crop at 21.4% P2O5. production costs and certainly a lot lower Mongo Tando, Chibuete and Ueca deposits yields and encourage use of biofuels. than any of the other new phosphate which lie in the Western Limb of the project “Cacata is really a dream Morocco is the dominant player in projects that have been touted around at and currently make up the bulk of the current project for a junior like internationally rock phosphate markets with the moment,” McCrae said. resource estimate. ourselves,” Minbos chief around 45% of market share. executive officer Robbie McCrae said a major benefit of Cacata KANZI McCrae told The Pick was the high grade nature of the deposit While Minbos is fast tracking work at magazine. “It is a high and low capital cost to bring the project Cabinda, the company is also focusing on the grade project sitting right into production. The project is close to development of its Kanzi project which lies on on the surface and close established infrastructure, approximately the western edge of the DRC. to established logistics only 80km by road from the port town infrastructure. of Cacongo. The project has the potential to be larger than Cacata and of similar grade. Last year, Minbos “The only thing we need “Cacata will establish our credentials reported a maiden JORC inferred resource of to do is build the mine, in the phosphate space and provide us 46Mt grading at 17.2% P2O5, including a high build the processing with early cash flow which we can use to grade zone of 31Mt at 21.4% P2O5. plant and build the ship start developing our other projects in our loading facilities.” portfolio,” he said. “It really is a key project Minbos has submitted applications for for us.” additional areas covering approximately Recently, Minbos 192,000 hectares in the Kanzi region. announced it would McCrae said the capex estimate would begin work on the be further reduced by using a contract Similar to Cacata, the Kanzi project also bankable feasibility mining and contract road haulage model benefits from established infrastructure study for Cacata after which is expected to be outlined in the with the second biggest port in the DRC, receiving positive results upcoming BFS. Boma, located only 35km away via a recently constructed road. from the scoping study. “We expect we can reduce that capital cost The scoping study by a minimum of $US18 million by bringing McCrae said the high grade resource estimate demonstrated Cacata as in a contractor to do the mining and the coupled with Kanzi’s close proximity to an a viable project with a road logistics and a further reduction by 10 THE PICK ISSUE 6 JULY 2012 VISIT THE PICK WEBSITE AT WWW.THE-PICK.COM.AU THE PICK ISSUE 6 JULY 2012 11.