Vancouver – Counting its blessings, WGI Heavy Minerals’ (WG-T) operations sustained only minimal damage following the devastating tsunami that claimed an unprecedented number of lives in coastal areas of the Indian Ocean, particularly South Asia.
The company’s 74%-owned subsidiary Transworld Garnet India operates the Uvari pre-concentration plant in the coastal area of Tamil Nadu, India, which is now back up and running following minor damage from flooding. The operation extracts garnet and ilmenite from beach sand deposits.
With limited damage in the Andhra Pradesh region of India, construction of a dry mineral sands milling plant is progressing well with completion anticipated by mid-2005.
WGI also has operations in Sri Lanka, where it recently received lands from the government for construction of mineral sands processing plants. The land is located about three kilometres inland from the ocean, thus escaping any major damage.
Being near the front line of the tsunami devastation, the company was able to assist the local population in southern Tamil Nadu region, supplying food and safe drinking water to some 2,000 survivors.
In addition to its Indian garnet and ilmenite operations in the Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh regions, WGI Heavy Minerals has the wholly-owned Emerald Creek garnet project in Idaho. Garnet is an industrial mineral that is used in electronics, water filtration and extensively as an abrasive.
The company has about 24 million shares outstanding, giving a market capitalization of $120-million at its recent share price of $5.00.
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