Asian Mineral boosting Ban Phuc interest (August 01, 2005)

Vancouver — Aspiring nickel producer Asian Mineral Resources (ASN-V) is buying out one of its partners to hold a 90% interest the Ban Phuc nickel sulphide deposit in Vietnam.

The company is paying US$2.5 million for a 20% interest in Ban Phuc held by Mineral Development Ltd., an arm of the Vietnam Ministry of Heavy Industry. The remaining 10% is owned by Vietnamese-based Mechanical Engineering.

Funding was arranged through a $5-million financing with London-based mining house Cambrian Mining (CBM-A). Asian Mineral is issuing senior unsecured notes to Cambrian in tranches bearing 7.5% interest and convertible into common shares at 50 each until July 2006, when they mature.

Asian Mineral is moving into the feasibility stage at Ban Phuc, situated 160 km west of Hanoi in the Son La province. The company was heartened by the news that Tiberon Minerals (TBR-T) had been awarded its mine development licence for the Nui Phao tungsten-fluorspar project, north of Hanoi.

Data and sample collection are ongoing at Ban Phuc and the information will be used in the final feasibility study, slated for completion by year-end.

Earlier this year, Asian Mineral wrapped up a preliminary assessment study on Ban Phuc that envisaged a 200,000-tonne-per-year underground operation employing a standard sulphide flotation extraction circuit.

The study reviewed a 1.3-million-tonne indicated resource grading 2.6% nickel and 1.1% copper, with additional inferred resources of 200,000 tonnes averaging 2.6% nickel and 1.3% copper. Over a proposed 5-year mine life, about 1 million tonnes would be processed with recovery rates in the range of 85.6% for nickel and 95.8% for copper. The capital startup cost of the project is estimated at US$30 million.

Ban Phuc nickel-copper mineralization occurs within a large ultramafic intrusive with sulphide layering evident at its base and walls. Massive sulphide mineralization also occurs in a major shear-related vein structure within a hornfels host on the southern margin of the intrusive.

With 43 million shares outstanding, Asian Mineral Resources posts a market capitalization of about $13 million at its recent trading level of 30 per share.