“Definitive Feasibility Study for the project delivered production of 50,000 to 60,000 ounces of gold a year for an initial 7.5 years, and based on a gold price of A$1,700 per ounce the project should generate cash flow (EBITDA) of around A$250 million with an internal rate of return of 32%.” read more

I hold ALK

ASX ANNOUNCEMENT 11 April 2012
FOCUS MINERALS DELIVERS 47,489oz OF GOLD IN MARCH QUARTER
- Boosts gold production by 28% in March Quarter -

Focus Minerals Ltd. (ASX: FML), a leading Australian gold producer and explorer, has produced 47,489oz
of gold for the March Quarter — a 28% increase on the December Quarter.
Chief Executive Officer Campbell Baird said the growth was due to an improved performance from its
recently acquired Laverton operations and ongoing, consistent output from its Coolgardie mines.
Mr Baird said the March Quarter production numbers underlined Focus’ growing status as a major
Australian gold producer.

“We are delivering strong production growth. On a quarterly production basis
we are among the top tier of Australian gold producers,” he said.

Focus’ Laverton operations delivered 25,636oz from its tenth ore processing campaign at the Barrick
Granny Smith mill, a 50 day processing campaign. Production from the Coolgardie mines was 21,853oz
as forecast, and in line with the preceding Quarter.

“We are on track to deliver consistent, stable production at Laverton and Coolgardie with operational
efficiencies that will enable us to achieve margin expansion at a time of strong gold prices,” Mr Baird said.

“At Laverton we have developed three new sources of ore including the Apollo pits and are focused on
delivering a structured turnaround. The improvement in performance has resulted from a combination of
the number of open pits in operation giving us blended ore sources to maintain recovery and
throughput. We completed Campaign 10 with over 150,000 tonnes already stockpiled on the ROM pad
at a grade of 1.8 g/t in preparation for the next Campaign in the June Quarter.”

“At our Coolgardie operations we have also demonstrated our ability to develop and commission new
mines, having established two new mines there in the first half of FY 2012 to grow production.”

Production for the June Quarter is targeted to remain consistent with the March Quarter for both Laverton
and Coolgardie. The Laverton processing campaign at Barrick Granny Smith is scheduled to be 41 days
but with mining from higher grade ore zones to sustain stable production. Gold production for Focus Minerals in the December Quarter was 37,098oz

I hold FML

Highlights:

- Total 1H gold production more than doubles to 80,921oz(1*) (69,858oz attributable to Focus), up from 36,339oz in the previous corresponding period

- Consolidated Revenue for 1H 2012 of $104.5M, 113% up from $48.8m for 1H 2011

- Net Operating cash flow up 67% to $21.3M

- Consolidated 1H Net Profit After Tax of $5.9M excluding non-recurring costs Focus’ operations on target for gold production of circa 175,000oz(2*) for full financial year

Significantly, gold production for the half year increased by 122% to 80,921oz (69,858oz attributable to Focus) and operating cash flow increased 132% to $29.5 million. This production increase was driven by the ramp-up of operations at Coolgardie and the addition of the Laverton Gold Project, driving a substantial increase in revenue, up 113% to $104.5 million.

I hold FML and look forward to seeing continued success. See my earlier FML posts to see why.

http://www.brrmedia.com/event/93330/mr-campbell-baird-ceo

Global gold demand topped the $200-billion mark for the first time ever in 2011, with demand increasing to 4 067 t, the World Gold Council (WGC) reported on Thursday.

This was also the highest tonnage level since 1997.

The WGC said that the main driver for this increase was the investment sector, where yearly demand reached 1 640 t during the year, up 5% from the previous record set in 2010, and valued at around $82.9-billion.

Demand for gold bars and coins also continued to be robust, climbing by 24% to 1 486 t.

India remained the largest source for demand with 933 t, which the WGC said was notable, considering the volatility of the gold price and the weakness of the Indian rupee against the US dollar during the second half of the year.

In India, gold jewellery accounted for over 500 t of demand, while the investment market demand reached 366 t. Indian demand accounted for 25% of total bar and coin demand worldwide.

In China, yearly demand of 769.8 t was up 20% year-on-year as a result of increases in both jewellery and investment. The largest rise was in investment, where demand of 258.9 t with the value of RMB84.5-billion leapt 69%. Read full article

And has a LONG way to go… note the extremely LOW % of Forex reserves.

Need a good Forex adviser? Tell Alex that Sparty referred you.

Contact: Richard Mellor
r.d.mellor@leeds.ac.uk
44-011-334-34031
University of Leeds

A silver bullet to beat cancer?

The internet is awash with stories of how silver can be used to treat cancer. Now, lab tests have shown that it is as effective as the leading chemotherapy drug - and may have fewer side-effects.

Results from the study at the University of Leeds, published in Dalton Transactions, show that particular silver compounds are as toxic to cancer cells as the platinum-based drug Cisplatin, which is widely used to treat a range of cancers.

But the crucial difference is that silver is thought to be much less toxic to healthy human cells, and in some cases, can be beneficial. Silver is currently used for its antiseptic and antibiotic properties, in bandages, wound dressings and water purification filters in the third world.

Nausea and vomiting, kidney damage and an increased risk of infection are common side effects of Cisplatin which is used to treat cancer of the lungs, breast, bladder, testicles, head and neck, ovaries and lymph nodes.

Dr Charlotte Willans who is leading the study said: “As many are unfortunately aware, chemotherapy can be a very gruelling experience for the patient. Finding effective, yet non-toxic drugs is an ongoing problem, but these preliminary results are an important step in solving it.”

“Our research has looked at the structure which surrounds a central silver atom. This ’shrubbery’ is what determines how reactive it is and what it will interact with. Our research has used different types of these ligands to see which is the most effective against cancer cells,” adds Dr Willans.

The research, still the first phase of drug development, involved exposing breast and colon cancer cells with different silver-based chemicals for six day periods. It has been shown that ligands which are co-ordinately bonded to the central silver atom through two sites are more effective than those coordinated through only one site. This may be due to the release of silver being much slower and make these compounds more effective over a longer period of time.

A major barrier to the continued development of these compounds is a lack of understanding of how they work. Over the next 12 months, research will focus on investigating how the compounds damage cancerous cells and what effects they have on healthy cells. This will establish whether these silver complexes are in fact less toxic to ordinary human tissue, and will help to design and develop the next-generation of chemotherapy drugs. This work is been carried out in collaboration with Dr. Roger Phillips at the University of Bradford and is funded by Yorkshire Cancer Research.