PFS in April
Frontier to release Zandkopsdrift PFS in April
2015-03-30 18:05 ET - News Release
An anonymous director reports
FRONTIER RARE EARTHS ANNOUNCES THE FILING OF THE 2014 MD&A, FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND ANNUAL INFORMATION FORM
Frontier Rare Earths Ltd. has filed its 2014 management discussion and analysis, financial statements, and annual information form, which include an update on the status of the Zandkopsdrift prefeasibility study, the company's other exploration activities and corporate strategic initiatives. Key points to note from the 2014 MD&A include the following.
Zandkopsdrift PFS
The company has made good progress on the various studies that are required to allow the PFS report on Zandkopsdrift to be completed. These studies cover all aspects of the proposed Zandkopsdrift development, including design of the Zandkopsdrift processing plant, Saldanha separation plant, power, water, roads, tailings, mining, reagent supply, logistics and environmental management. All of the PFS studies have now been completed, and the PFS report is being compiled. The results of the PFS are expected to be announced in April, 2015, and, following which, the PFS report will be filed on SEDAR.
Graphite
As previously announced, the company holds a 70-per-cent interest in Dombeya Mineracao Lda., a private company that holds a number of exploration licences in Mozambique over areas with proven graphite mineralization that are considered to have good economic potential. Frontier is responsible for carrying all of Dombeya's expenses up to completion of feasibility studies on the company's projects.
Two of the Dombeya licence areas, which are known as Lurio and Satemua, contain high-grade graphite deposits for which historical, non-code-compliant resources were defined by exploration work carried out in the 1980s.
Geological mapping, ground geophysical surveys, sampling, trenching, metallurgical testwork and conceptual engineering studies have been undertaken in the Lurio project area, the results of which have confirmed the presence of high-grade, large-flake graphite mineralization, identified the potential for the production of a high-purity, large-flake graphite concentrate, and indicated that the project has sufficient economic potential to warrant further exploration and evaluation work be undertaken. Initial bench-scale metallurgical test results indicate that the graphite can be easily liberated, with approximately 60 per cent of the flake concentrate being classified at plus-80 mesh. The company plans to continue evaluation work on the Lurio and Satemua projects in 2015.
Strategic review
As previously reported, the company has been undertaking a strategic review of its activities due to, inter alia, the continuing poor performance of the listed junior mining sector, the poor market rating of companies in the rare earths sector, including Frontier, the outlook for the rare earths market, and conditions in the overall equity and debt capital markets. This review is expected to be concluded in the second quarter of 2015, after publication of the PFS report. In the absence of a marked improvement in the rare earths sector, junior mining sector and overall equity capital markets in the coming months, it is considered likely that the board of Frontier will recommend to shareholders that a new strategic direction be pursued with the objective of maximizing the value of the company's assets for shareholders.
All regulatory filings, including the latest MD&A and company updates, are available on the company website and on SEDAR.