Sunday, December 21, 2008 Alsons still wants to acquire a third of Tampakan project
ALCANTARA-led Alsons Corp. is still hard-set on acquiring a third of the world-class Tampakan copper and gold project, the Australian owner of the shares announced over the weekend.
Indophil Resources NL said in a disclosure to the Australian Stock Exchange that it has been working closely with Alsons to finalize the structural elements of the sale, which includes tax and regulatory issues.
Alsons declined on Sunday to give further details on its bid to acquire Indophil's interest. A source said though that representatives of Alsons were consulted on Indophil's latest announcement.
Indophil, which has a 34.23 percent interest in the Tampakan project, and Alsons, which is backed by Hong Kong-based Crosby Capital, signed a memorandum of intent for the sale transaction last September.
In November, Indophil shareholders approved the move to sell its interest in the Tampakan project, Indophil's major asset.
"While Alsons Corp. remains keen on the acquisition, both Indophil and Alsons await the findings of the extended pre-feasibility study (XPFS), which is being prepared by the manager of the Tampakan project, Xstrata [Copper]," Indophil said.
Xstrata, which owns 62.5 percent of Tampakan, is expected to release the findings shortly even as opposition to the venture from the Catholic Church continues at the forefront.
Results of the XPFS are expected to confirm and further highlight the project's position as a globally significant, low-cost and long-life asset, Indophil said.
Last December, Xstrata released a new estimate, its first since assuming management responsibility in March 2007, that pegged resources at 2.2 billion tons, up 10 percent from the last estimate declared in April 2006.
The upgraded, measured, indicated and inferred resources total 2.2 billion tons at a grade of 0.6 percent copper and 0.2 grams per ton gold and contain 12.8 million tons of copper and 15.2 million ounces of gold using a 0.3 percent copper cut-off grade.
Indophil said the outcome of the XPFS would provide an updated basis to reassess value and guide its approach to completing the Tampakan sale, which was earlier pegged at A$1.28 per share.
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