Malaysian gold mining company Anchor Resources, also called Angka Alamjaya Sdn Bhd (AASB), has lodged its preliminary offer document for an initial public offering (IPO) on the Catalist board of Singapore Exchange.
Anchor is engaged in the business of exploration, mining, processing and production of gold, and the processing of ore into gold for sale in Malaysia. It owns concession rights to the Lubuk Mandi Mine (LMM) and the Bukit Panji Property (BPP) located in Terengganu, in the eastern gold belt of the Malaysian Peninsula.
LMM comprises two mining leases covering an aggregate area of approximately 221.53 hectares, while BPP covers an area of approximately 53.53 hectares. Anchor is in the process of renewing the proprietary mining licence for BPP and will commence exploration works upon such renewal.
According to an independent valuation report prepared by AMC Consultants, as at September 30, 2015, the hard rock and tailings mineral assets of LMM are valued within the range of US$16.1 million and US$22.2 million, with the preferred value at US$19.2 million.
Currently, the group conducts processing of tailings for its sale of gold. This requires lower capital expenditure. It recorded sales of approximately 111.1 ounces of gold amounting to approximately RM530,000 (S$173,000) between July and November 2015.
Australian company GBM Resources currently owns a 26.7% stake in AASB. In August 2013 GBM announced the acquisition of approximately 40% of AASB to explore and develop LMM. Since that time share issues by AASB in respect of the acquisition of an additional mining concession and to meet funding requirements over the period have adjusted GBM’s interest to 26.7%.
LMM is on the east coast of the peninsula in the state and Sultanate of Terengganu, about 7km south of Kuala Terengganu. Gold was discovered in 1989 and initially worked as alluvial deposits along a 2km strike length prior to hard rock mining.
A CIP/CIL plant operated between 1993 and 1999, producing more than 107,000 ounces of gold and approximately 11,000 ounces of silver. All mining was by open pit methods.
GBM completed drilling and resource estimation for the tailings from the previous mining operations resulting in the announcement in October 2013 of a JORC compliant resource. GBM subsequently commissioned metallurgical test work and preliminary plant design that demonstrated the practicality of re-treating these tailings utilising a combination of the proven technologies of flotation and carbon in pulp to extract the gold.
AASB completed final design and constructed a modified and down-scaled version of the design completed by GBM and its associated consultants. As reported in GBM’s June 2015 Quarterly Report, that while there were still some design modifications to be completed, performance during commission confirmed that the plant can operate at design capacity, head grades are in line with resource estimates and that recoveries in line with metallurgical test work were achieved.
