Argosy strikes out in New Caledonia (August 19, 2002)

Abandoned by its Russian partner, Noril’sk Nickel, Australian-based junior Argosy Minerals has declared it has no further interest in the Nakety-Bogota nickel laterite project in New Caledonia.

Under a development agreement signed in October 2001 between the two companies, Noril’sk had refunded US$7 million of Argosy’s sunk costs at Nakety-Bogota and been granted the right to complete a bankable feasibility study to earn a 45% interest in the project. The cost of developing the project was pegged at US$800 million, and it would have been Noril’sk’s first major operation outside of Russia.

Argosy says it will now concentrate on advancing its Musongati nickel/platinum group metals project in Burundi.

The company has been re-examining past exploration data generated within the Musongati layered-igneous complex. The archived work includes 12,000 metres of deep drilling carried out by the United Nations Development Program during 1973-74 and 1983-84.

Argosy points out that the primary exploration target at that time was nickel rather than PGMs and that re-examination of the library cores is showing many multi-metre intercepts of commercial-grade PGM concentration.

In early August, Argosy re-imposed force majeure at Musongati, owing to the “current deterioration in the stability” of the country, and specifically to the “risk to personnel in Burundi, which prevents the timely conduct of the feasibility study.”

Argosy said the Burundi army has confirmed that fighting has intensified in recent weeks in the run-up to the first-ever peace talks between the Burundian government and rebels.

Talks got under way in mid-August in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and involved all three of Burundi’s rebel groups — the National Liberation Front and both wings of the Forces for the Defence of Democracy.

At the end of June, Argosy was debt-free and had cash reserves of A$12.2 million.

Argosy had been trading on the Canadian Venture Exchange until it was delisted in October 2001. Trading volume in Canada had been consistently less than in Australia, where Argosy stock now trades. The company has offices in both Perth and Vancouver.