Chairman’s Statement and Management Report
During the reporting period significant advances were made at the company’s key asset, Parys Mountain, with the following developments:
- Submission of the Pre-Application Inquiry to the North Wales Mineral Planning Authority and hosting an on-site hearing for over 20 statutory consultee groups.
- Further resource update work for the Morfa Dhu zone (White Rock and Engine Zone) with 93% of the contained resources now being in the Measured and Indicated categories.
- Commencement of confirmatory metallurgical test work and pre-concentration trade-off with 340kg of Morfa Dhu material sent to Grinding Solutions Limited. Preliminary results were received subsequent to the end of the period with overall recoveries either in-line or better than those received from previous test work.
- Detailing the planned drilling programme for the Northern Copper Zone, the first drilling of this high potential area since 1972. Drilling recommenced in October 2023 and the first hole was completed on 11 December at a depth of 635 metres. Visual logging of the core suggests two zones of sulphide mineralisation were intersected with the Northern Copper Zone interpreted to be between 351 – 540 metres and a second zone, potentially the Garth Daniel Zone, between 560 – 586 metres (all downhole depths). As expected, the interpreted Northern Copper Zone has varying levels of sulphide accumulation. The lower zone of sulphide accumulation between 560 – 586 metres demonstrates areas with very high levels of chalcopyrite. A first batch of samples will be dispatched to the assay laboratory prior to Christmas with results expected in Q1 2024.
Progress at the 49.75% owned Grängesberg iron ore project in Sweden included ongoing discussions with potential development partners and the commencement of planning for the environmental baseline gap analysis with a locally based consulting group, as was recommended in the Pre-Feasibility Study Update.
Board of Directors and Management
Following the resignation of Jo Battershill and the results of the annual general meeting held in late October 2023 the company is actively engaged in the search for a new Chief Executive Officer and Non-Executive Chairman. We are very pleased that Jo Battershill has agreed to remain on the board as a non-executive director.
Financial
The group had no revenue for the period. The loss for the six months to 30 September 2023 was £604,787 (2022 comparative period £468,656) and expenditure on the mineral properties in the period was £174,748 compared to £320,887 in the same period in 2022. This reduction was primarily due to a cessation in Parys Mountain drilling activity.
Net current assets as at 30 September 2023 were £711,635 compared to £86,781 as at 31 March 2023 with the increase being due to equity private placements in May and July 2023, which raised a total of £1.5 million to fund current operations.
Summary
We continue to firmly believe that Anglesey Mining is in a good position to advance its two key assets at Parys Mountain and Grängesberg over the next year.
At Parys Mountain, drilling of the Northern Copper Zone is expected to generate strong results leading to the conversion of significant areas of the resource from the Inferred category through into the higher confidence Indicated category. From a development study perspective, it is important that the Northern Copper Zone is upgraded to the Indicated resource category as this will allow the incorporation of this zone into any potential mineral reserve. Metallurgical test work will also be required on the Northern Copper Zone to confirm the +93% recoveries demonstrated by the original test work completed in 1969 at the Lakefield Plant in Ontario, Canada. As suggested in the initial review of the Northern Copper Zone in 2022, we believe that the system could be significantly larger than currently modelled, although this will require additional drilling to test prospective areas.
At Grängesberg, we continue to explore options to advance the project. This initially requires finalising some of the recommendations from the preliminary feasibility study update, including baseline studies for the environmental impact assessment and updating the mining reserve to include some improvements to the proposed mine plan. We are also exploring a number of options to optimise the ownership structure of Grängesberg Iron AB following our acquisition of an additional 29.8% stake in February 2023.
Outlook
Persistent global uncertainties and difficult financial markets have resulted in challenging conditions in which to operate. However, we continue to be encouraged by growing investor interest in Anglesey Mining which was demonstrated by the successful raising of £1.5 million during the reporting period. We believe that investors are finally recognising the progress made over the last two years after a period of relative inactivity.
Over the course of the next year, we look forward to advancing the Parys Mountain project and to optimising the ownership and potential of the Grängesberg iron ore project.
In closing, on behalf of the board of directors, I would like to thank our shareholders for their ongoing support, and to confirm that I remain very confident that the assets held by Anglesey Mining will deliver significant value as they continue to be progressed over the next year.
Andrew King
Interim Chairman
19 December 2023
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