Avrupa Minerals starts phase three drilling at Alvalade joint venture

Avrupa Minerals (CVE:AVU) says it has started the third phase of drilling at its Alvalade joint venture in southern Portugal, sending its shares higher on Tuesday. 

The project is operated by Avrupa Minerals and fully funded by Antofagasta Minerals.

The companies anticipate drilling up to 10 holes, or around 4,500 to 5,000 metres in the third phase. Avrupa shares advanced 15% to 11.5 cents this morning. 

The first part of the new program will target the Monte da Bela Vista area, where previous drilling by the joint venture intersected copper- and gold-bearing vein mineralization, while also focusing around the formerly-producing mines at Canal Caveira and Lousal. 

Further drilling is also planned for several other areas along the Neves Corvo and Aljustrel target trends, they said. 

"Along with high expectations for the follow-up holes at Monte da Bela Vista, Canal Caveira, and Lousal, we also have a long list of new, high-quality targets," said president and CEO of Avrupa, Paul Kuhn, in a statement released today.

"The Alvalade team has developed a total of 23 targets that deserve drill-testing in this phase, though only eight or nine are planned for the coming program."

He added that the company will continue to test areas with exposed target rocks, as well as areas where the targets have been developed under the "extensive, property-wide sand, gravel and structural cover". 

In January, the company revealed drilling results from its phase 2 exploration program on its Alvalade joint venture, calling them "highly exciting". 

The best results from phase 2 came from hole MBV02 - a follow-up hole in the Monte da Bela target - which intercepted 45.9 metres at 0.24% copper, including 8.05 metres at 0.39% copper and 15.8 metres at 0.44% copper. 

The junior mineral explorer operates two joint ventures in Portugal, including the Alvalade joint venture with Antofagasta, and the Covas joint venture with Blackheath Resources.          

Shares of Avrupa rallied over 40% last Friday after reporting high grade tungsten drill results from its Covas joint venture that expanded mineralized zones.          

The company also has several other precious and base metal targets that it is upgrading to JV-ready status, including the porphyry copper-gold potential in southern Portugal in the Alvito license area.

In addition, Avrupa holds properties in Germany and Kosovo, where in late November, the company announced the discovery of a polymetallic gossan zone on its newly-acquired Slivovo exploration license. 

Verde Potash: Brazilian appetite will help firm, says Ocean Equities

Brazil's appetite for potash will help Toronto-listed Verde Potash as it comes online, says Ocean Equities.

The firm will beome one of Brazil's only publically listed domestic potash suppliers with a "vast" mineral resource, notes analyst Adam Lucas.

The company is advancing the Cerrado Verde project and yesterday said it expected to conclude off-take negotiations for its flagship project in Brazil during the second quarter of this year. 

The project comprises an indicated resource of 71 million tonnes with an average grade of 9.22% potassium and an inferred resource of  2.76 billion tonnes at 8.91%.

Yesterday, according to ANDA, Brazil’s national fertilizer association, potash consumption in the country increased 9.3% in 2012.

Brazil in fact bucked the worldwide trend as global consumption of potash declined.

The country, however, imported 7.5mln tonnes of potash last year which was 93% of its consumption, with the bulk of these imports taking up to four months to be transported.

Verde says its proposed mine is well positioned to address Brazil's chronic potash deficit, as it is just four hours away from Uberaba, a fertilizer blending district which accounted for 500,000 tonnes of Brazil’s potash consumption last year. 

"The next few months will be busy for Verde as the company finalises agreements for the feasibility study. Due to the control of global potash from the two giants, Canpotex and the Belarusian Potash Company, it shouldn’t be a problem for Verde agreeing an attractive off-take contract with one of the many fertiliser blenders in the Minas Gerais State of Brazil as they look to withdraw from relying on a single, often delayed, supply of granular KCl," said Lucas.

Lydian International releases new resource estimate

Lydian International (TSE:LYD) has unveiled a new resource estimate for its Amulsar gold project in Armenia, paving the way for the July release of its updated feasibility study.

At a cut-off grade of 0.35 grams per tonne (g/t) gold (Au), the mineral resources are estimated at 70.5mln tonnes at 1.04 g/t combined measured and indicated, plus 58mln tonnes inferred at 0.93 g/t.

Those numbers refer to the contiguous Tigranes, Artavasdes, Arshak areas and from the Erato area, and the update follows an additional 19,867 metres of combined diamond and reverse circulation drilling, which was completed in 2012.

The company said the mineralisation remains open, with the possibility to find additional gold resources, particularly towards the north, east and to depth at Erato, Tigranes and Artavasdes, whereas Arshak remains open along strike towards the south-east.

“This is another milestone in Amulsar's development into what we believe will be a high-margin, world-class and exemplary gold mine," said Tim Coughlin, Lydian's president and chief executive officer.

"A further resource update based on additional drilling throughout 2013 is scheduled for release in quarter one of next year,” Coughlin added

An independent updated silver resource is also being prepared, which the company expects will be completed before the end of March 2013.

Selwyn Resources sells JV stake in Yukon project for $50 mln

Selwyn Resources (CVE:SWN) has agreed to sell its remaining 50 per cent joint venture interest in its zinc and lead project in the Yukon Territory to Chihong Canada Mining for $50 million, helping it to secure cash to sustain operations.

The joint venture between the two parties for the Selwyn project was established in June 2010, and was operated by Selwyn Chihong Mining. 

Chihong Canada is a subsidiary of Yunnan Chihong Zinc & Germanium - one of China's largest zinc and lead mining and smelting companies. 

"The decision to sell Selwyn’s 50% joint venture interest in the Selwyn Project reflects the realization of the large capital requirements that will be needed to advance the Selwyn Project to production and the associated risks to Selwyn shareholders, including but not limited to, the potential for significant dilution of shareholders’ equity in the Selwyn Project," said Selwyn president and CEO, Dr. Harlan Meade, in a statement late Monday. 

"At a time of reduced industry interest in undeveloped mineral deposits, Selwyn is satisfied that the timing of this transaction and the purchase price negotiated are in the best interests of the shareholders.”

Share of Selwyn rose 2.5 cents to trade at 8 cents in early deals in Toronto. 

After the sale is wrapped up, the joint venture agreement will be terminated, and Selwyn will have no further stake in the project. The deal still needs the approval of Selywn shareholders, and the board of parent company Yunnan Chihong, as well as Chinese governmental approvals. 

Selwyn said that shareholders representing 41% of the company have already entered into lock up agreements with Chihong Canada in support of the deal, which is expected to close in early June. 

Chihong Canada has provided a cash deposit of $5 million, with a second $5 million deposit to be paid in early April, and the remainder to be shelled out at closing of the transaction. 

The junior Canadian explorer, which also holds the ScoZinc zinc-lead project in Nova Scotia, plans to use the new funds from the Yukon property sale toward restarting the ScoZinc mine. 

The company says the mine is an important near-term strategic objective in advancing Selwyn to becoming a producing company, and that the sale of the Yukon project is a "reasonable best alternative" for acheiving this goal and addressing obligations to creditors. 

Last April, Selwyn inked a $10 million debt facility with Waterton Global Value, drawing down the full amount. It made a second $1.5 million payment in early January, and says it has been taking steps to preserve a level of cash flow sufficient to maintain current operations, with the deal announced today set to provide the needed assistance. 

Absent the transaction, the company would not have enough funds to sustain operations, including commitments under its joint venture agreement with Chihong Canada.  

Under the terms of the deal, Selwyn has agreed to pay a break fee of $2.5 million to Chihong Canada should the company accept a superior proposal. 

Last November, Selwyn confirmed a budget to complete a feasibility study of the Yukon project, based on a revised 3,500 tonne per day mining and milling plan. The company expects the work for the study to be completed by early April, with the final report anticipated in May. 

Selwyn also revealed late last year the results of an update to its preliminary economic assessment report for the restart its ScoZinc zinc-lead project in Nova Scotia, which the company says significantly derisks the asset by showing potential for a seven-plus year mine life. 

The company had said that if debt financing for the project could be secured by this quarter, pre-stripping was expected to begin in the second quarter, with full operation set to start in the fourth quarter of this year.

PI Financial analyst reiterates “buy” rating for Timmins Gold after visit to San Francisco mine

Timmins Gold (TSE:TMM) (NYSE MKT:TGD) is expected to achieve “over 30-per-cent growth to its production profile in 2013 and delivery of successful operational results remain the key catalysts going forward”, according to analyst Philip Ker of PI Financial.

The analyst on Saturday reiterated its “buy” recommendation and maintained his $3.90 target price on Timmins Gold, a 73-per-cent premium to the $2.26 price the day the report was issued, following a visit to its flagship San Francisco mine in Sonora State, Mexico.

Timmins Gold said that following the research notes, InvestmentPitch.com produced a "video news alert" about the company. 

The video can be viewed athttp://www.investmentpitch.com/video/0_3bgs30yi/PI-Financial-Issues-Corporate-Update-on-Timmins-Gold-TSX-TMM

The company’s San Francisco mine produced 94,444 ounces of gold in 2012 from its open-pit heap leach operation, and Timmins Gold said in a recent release that the company is presently “aggressively expanding” its crushing circuit in order to bring throughput up to 30,000 tonnes per year, and begin targeting 125,000 to 130,000 ounces of gold production. 

Current reserves are estimated at 1.3 million ounces, and the company said it aims to develop its past producing La Chicharra pit, which is located just 1.5 kilometres from the San Francisco mine. 

West Kirkland appoints McVey as COO to lead TUG advancement

West Kirkland Mining  (CVE:WKM) says it has appointed Sandy McVey as its chief operating officer to lead operations at its TUG property in Utah. 

McVey, who joined the company last November as manager of projects, has more than 30 years of experience in mine and construction management in Canada, the U.S., and Africa. 

He will spearhead the development of West Kirkland's TUG project - a gold-silver asset in Utah - and has commissioned Roscoe Postle Associates to produce a preliminary economic assessment by May of this year. 

The report will form the basis of construction and operating permit applications, with the company envisioning a conventional, shallow, open pit and heap leach operation. West Kirkland said it expects a low stripping ratio and minimal stripping in the first two years.              

The TUG deposit is located four miles from paved highway, and is exposed at surface, with grid power and water both available. 

The company says these features could lead to a shorter construction period, as well as lower risk and improved project economics. Pending the outcome of the preliminary economics report, and permitting, a construction decision could be made within the second quarter of this year. 

"Sandy has already made significant inroads on the development of TUG and we're pleased to have his commitment to lead the project," said West Kirkland president and CEO, R. Michael Jones, in a statement.        

Indeed, the company says it is "well advanced" in the collection of field data for the upcoming study and permitting. Geotechnical and hydrogeological investigations have been done, as has drilling of metallurgical samples. 

The property is under option from Fronteer Development Inc., a subsidiary of Newmont Mining Corporation. Under the agreement, West Kirkland can earn a 60 per cent interest in the property by spending a total of $4.0 million. So far, it had spent around $3.4 million, securing a 51 per cent stake.           

West Kirkland's focus is regional exploration on the Long Canyon trend, which is marked by the Long Canyon deposit in the southwest and the TUG deposit 65 kilometres to the northeast. The miner, which also has mineral rights in Kirkland Lake, Ontario, has the dominant land position between these two deposits.       

The first NI 43-101 compliant resource estimate on TUG was released by West Kirkland last May, and showed an inferred resource of 679,000 gold equivalent ounces, contained in 27.1 million tonnes grading 0.49 g/t gold and 15.8 g/t silver using a cut-off 0.1 g/t gold (Caracle Creek, June 1, 2012) *.

* Michael G. Allen, Vice President of Exploration for West Kirkland and a qualified person as defined by NI 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical information in this news release. He is the non-independent qualified person for the purpose of the news release referred to in this article.

Verde Potash to seal off-take deal in second quarter

Verde Potash (TSE:NPK) said today it expects to conclude off-take negotiations for its flagship project in Brazil during the second quarter of this year. 

Talks are currently underway with a number of parties and it has had expressions of interest from fertilizer blenders and agricultural conglomerates. 

The development of the Cerrado Verde project comes at a time when the Brazilian fertilizer industry is booming, the Toronto listed firm revealed.

In a statement today it said that, according to ANDA, Brazil’s national fertilizer association, potash consumption increased 9.3% in 2012.

Brazil bucked the worldwide trend, it says, as global consumption of potash actually declined.

The country, however, imported 7.5mln tonnes of potash last year which was 93% of its consumption. The bulk of these imports take up to four months to be transported.

Verde says, however its proposed mine is well positioned to address Brazil's chronic potash deficit, as it is just four hours away from Uberaba, a fertilizer blending district which accounted for 500,000 tonnes of Brazil’s potash consumption last year. 

Verde also highlighted in its statement today that it is now awaiting a decision on its ‘licença prévia’ application.

It said the 1,500 page document was submitted in August, in November the company hosted a ‘very successful’ public hearing which was attended by local residents, and in December the authorities requested additional information from the company.

“Verde is focused on advancing the engineering, permitting and financing of the Cerrado Verde project,” said chief executive Cristiano Veloso.

“Our strong cash position ($21.2 million as at September 30, 2012) and first rate technical team provide us with all of the resources necessary to publish our bankable feasibility study and drive the project towards construction."

Tarsis Resources makes further goal progress with deal to acquire Almaden properties in Mexico and Nevada

Tarsis Resources (CVE:TCC) has met more of its goals set for this year as it has inked a non-binding preliminary deal to acquire a 100 per cent interest in four gold-silver properties in Mexico, and two gold properties in Nevada, from Almaden Minerals (TSE:AMM) (NYSE:AAU). 

The Canadian junior mineral explorer said work is underway to consummate the acquisition through a formal agreement. 

Under the terms, Tarsis will pay Almaden four million common shares and grant a 2% net smelter returns royalty on any production from the projects. 

Areas of influence in Nevada and Mexico will be outlined, and Almaden will provide Tarsis with its proprietary data and concepts. In exchange for this data, Tarsis will issue 200,000 shares to Almaden for each new property acquired within the area of influence. 

Tarsis will also issue a further 800,000 shares to Almaden once it first discloses a mineral resource on any of the new properties. 

"We are very pleased to acquire additional properties from Almaden and continue our relationship with them," said president and CEO of Tarsis, Marc Blythe, in a statement. 

"We respect their ability to identify high-quality mineralizing systems and we look forward to advancing these properties using the prospect generator model."

Tarsis' prospect generator model means it seeks out prospective exploration projects to acquire, and then vends or options them to partners for development. This model has allowed the junior to raise cash in an otherwise tough market. 

“It’s been really tough for junior companies to raise money that don’t have a niche, a management team with particular experience, or a project that is appreciated,” Blythe says. 

“We have a strong group of supporters who like the prospect generator model, and for this reason, we haven’t had difficulties to date.”          

Indeed, the company has strong backers. Kinross Gold (TSE:K) invested about a year and a half ago, and now has around a 9% stake, while Sprott’s Rick Rule has a more than 10% interest. Almaden Minerals (TSE:AMM) also holds over 10%. 

And there is even more proof that Tarsis hasn’t had any trouble raising cash. Last October, it closed a financing for total proceeds of just over $1 million, raising double what it had originally anticipated. Backers in the offering included Sprott, and management, which holds a significant chunk of shares, among others. 

Currently, Tarsis has nine properties in the Yukon, Canada, and one in Mexico - the Erica property, which the company last month optioned to Osisko Mining Corp (TSE:OSK), already knocking off its first goal for this year. 

The deal gives Osisko the right to earn up to a 75% interest by funding exploration and development of the property, and by making cash payments to Tarsis. 

After completing the deal for Erika, the company's second priority this year was adding new properties in Nevada as well as in Mexico, a goal it crossed off with today's announcement. 

Tarsis said each of the new properties in Mexico feature epithermal style mineralization and are prospective for gold and silver. Prospecting samples done by Almaden on the Gallo de Oro property returned values of up to 104 grams per tonne (g/t) gold. 

Historic artisanal mining is evident with small pits and shafts on the property, the junior noted, but there is no evidence of drilling.               

The Nevada properties, meanwhile, are prospective for gold and feature "Carlin-style pathfinder elements" believed to be supportive of this model. Preliminary soil work from the BP property features anomalous Carlin-style pathfinders including gold, thallium, arsenic, antimony and mercury. 

Shares of Tarsis were flat at 9.5 cents in Toronto early Monday afternoon.

Rock Tech Lithium up after wide graphite intercepts at Lochaber

Shares of Rock Tech Lithium (CVE:RCK) advanced Monday as the company unveiled the latest drill results from its Lochaber graphite property in Quebec, showing an intercept spanning more than 91 metres of high grade graphite. 

Rock Tech's stock was lately trading at 3.5 cents, up more than 16%. 

The results are from a 4,600 metre program announced last December, and included both step out and infill holes, primarily focused on electromagnetic conductors "A" and "C". 

These conductors were found on the Plumbago area of the property during geophysical surveys last September. 

Notable results announced today included 88.5 metres of graphitic carbon (Cg) at various depths in hole PB-12-18, with grades ranging from 1.76% to 4.72% Cg, including 44.10 metres at 3.18% Cg, 14.27 metres at 2.63% Cg, 11.17 metres at 4.24% Cg and 9.36 metres at 4.72% Cg.

Hole PB-12-19 also hit 134.96 metres of graphitic carbon at various depths, with grades ranging from 2.56% to 3.58% Cg, including 91.71 metres at 2.36% Cg and 18.68 metres at 4.44% Cg.

"The results from our drilling programs continuously confirm the presence of extensive graphite mineralization on the property," said the company's VP of exploration and interim CEO, Afzaal Pirzada. 

"The greater widths received recently have prompted us to submit additional samples from the first phase of our drill program.  

"These results, in addition to the remaining sixteen drill holes, will be released as soon as they are received."

He added that visual inspections of the drill core collected from drill holes along electromagnetic conductor 'A' suggest this graphite zone extends for over 800 metres, while remaining open to the north, south and at depth.  

Similarly, drill core from electromagnetic conductor 'C' suggest this zone extends for over 600 metres while remaining open.

Rock Tech says that its geophysical surveys and drill programs have focused exclusively on the Plumbago area of the property, which includes only four of the 32 claims subject to the property option agreement.  

The company is planning on a maiden NI 43-101 resource estimate for the property, which will be based solely on this area. But further upside potential exists, as surface samples taken from the Kelly, McLaren and Burke areas of the property returned graphite results up to 22%, the junior explorer said. 

Interest in the graphite potential of the Buckingham region of Quebec has increased markedly as of late, the company noted, with several companies staking claims in close proximity to Rock Tech's property.  

So far, the company has received results for 19 drill holes and seven trenches, with results for the final 16 holes completed during the fourth quarter last year still pending. 

Sacre-Coeur Minerals hires consultants for feasibility study at Million Mountain project

Sacre-Coeur Minerals (CVE:SCM) says that it has chosenTetra Tech to lead the company's NI 43-101 compliant feasibility study for its Million Mountain Zone 1 resource in Guyana. 

The junior miner has also hired Resource Development and Met-Solve Laboratories to help with metallurgical scoping and trade-off studies, as well as final flow sheet development and process modelling. 

Sacre-Coeur has a half million ounce surface mineable gold resource at its Million Mountain Zone 1 property, with another eight targets situated along the 20 kilometre structural trend. 

The Zone 1 property hosts an NI 43-101 compliant hard-rock resource of 12.1 million tonnes grading 1.0 g/t gold measured, and 2.18 million tonnes grading 0.9 g/t gold indicated for a total 451,000 troy gold ounces combined.   Since completion of the NI 43-101 resource estimate, an additional 40 holes have been drilled into the body, which are expected to add to the total in an updated resource estimate as part of the feasibility study. 

Because the results from its internal evaluation of the development of  Million Mountain Zone 1 were “very positive”, the company says it skipped a formal third party preliminary economic assessment and jumped straight into commissioning a bankable feasibility study – which it hopes to have finished by mid to late summer this year. 

In a bid to expedite the process, scoping and trade-off studies, the feasibility study and report, and final design for construction have been integrated, and will be focused on by the same team. 

Following the feasibility study, a final development decision is expected, as well as the completion of development financing and the start of construction. Commissioning of the mine and plant for production is targeted for the third quarter of this year. 

The company said the assessment of the deposit will be broken into two phases, the first of which is the subject of current work and will be limited to the portion of the deposit that is saprolitized, or chemically weathered to clay-like consistency. 

The heavily weathered rock will not require drilling and blasting, and will need only nominal crushing or grinding for processing, the company notes. 

Feasibility analysis of mining the un-weathered portion of the deposit will be a separate undertaking, to be commissioned at a later date - once mining of the saprolite body is well advanced. The Million Mountain Zone 1 hard-rock mine is anticipated to initially produce from the tropically weathered horizon for 5 to 7 years. 

“Our projected capital and operating costs are expected to be very low because of these naturally existing factors,” CEO Gregory Sparks told Proactive Investors in an interview last month. “Based on our internal analysis, which was done at $1,500 per troy ounce gold, we expect healthy cash margins from our planned operation.”

The base case scope for the study includes mining and processing at a rate of 100,000 tonnes per month, using conventional open pit methods. 

“We have a real shot at development of several near-surface modest size resource bodies, as well as targets for potential major discoveries along the Million Mountain trend,” said Sparks, adding that Sandspring’s Toroparu 5 million ounce gold-copper deposit is its next door neighbour, and Guyana Goldfields is just up-trend. 

He also added that starting next year, the company is aiming to generate shareholder value by issuing dividends through its cash flow from operations. 

Aside from advancing Million Mountain , Sacre-Coeur is also looking to more than double its gold output at its nearby alluvial/elluvial operations in Guyana, targeted at 6,000 ounces per year by adding another production unit and making process improvements. 

Cadillac Ventures armed with funds after two major financings

Cadillac Ventures (CVE:CDC) says it has closed a $500,000 financing with existing shareholder Urion Mining International - a subsidiary of Trafigura, one of the world's leading international commodity traders - just hours after it announced a $1.2 million investment by Sino Canada Natural Resources Fund. 

Under the financing with Urion announced early last month, the company sold 8.33 million units at a price of 6 cents each. Each unit is made up of one common share and one share purchase warrant, with each warrant good for one additional share at a price of 10 cents for 30 months. 

Urion Mining held around 24% of Cadillac prior to the closing of the offering. The new funds raised will be used for general working capital. 

Meanwhile, the company also announced early Saturday a $1.2 million subscription agreement with Sino-Canada Natural Resources Fund I. Under the terms, Sino-Canada has subscribed for 20.0 million units of Cadillac at a price of 6 cents each. 

The units will be issued under the same terms as those under the Urion financing. After close, Sino-Canada will hold roughly 12.1% of Cadillac, or around 21.7% assuming full exercise of warrants. 

The Sino-Canada deal, which will give the investor the right to nominate one director to Cadillac's board, still needs the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange. 

Cadillac said these proceeds will be used for exploration expenses on its Canadian properties, as well as for general working capital. 

The news today comes at a time when miners are gathering at the industry's most significant event of the year, the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada convention in Toronto, where the dominant theme will be the search for cash as junior companies try to stay afloat in a depressed market - an area where Cadillac seems to already have a leg up.

Last week, the Toronto-based Cadillac company said it started an internal review of its Kirkland Lake Gold property after some encouraging data.

The asset, which Cadillac acquired as part of its purchase of Richview Resources in January 2010, is located west of the town of Kirkland Lake, Ontario, within four kilometres of the producing Macassa mine. 

When the company acquired the property in 2010, Richview had carried out limited exploration on the asset. With the internal review, Cadillac is also planning initial fieldwork to be carried out in the spring. 

Cadillac also last November resumed exploration on its Burnt Hill property in New Brunswick, which covers more than 125 square kilometres and has NI 43-101 compliant tungsten, tin and molybdenum resources. 

The company holds a 51 per cent interest in the Burnt Hill project, a historic tungsten/tin mine taken to test production by CEO Brewster for Canadian International Paper during the early 1980s. The company is aiming to restart development at the project. 

It also stands to benefit from its nickel and copper Thierry project in northwestern Ontario, which consists of the past producing Thierry Mine and hosts two NI 43-101 compliant resources at the Thierry Mine and the K1-1 deposit.

Simba Energy strengthens technical team with new appointments

Simba Energy (CVE:SMB) has strengthened its technical team hiring two new specialists.

Oleg-Serguei Schkoda joins as the company’s new vice president of exploration & project management, and Katia Russo joins as a geoscientist.

“These key additions to our technical management team put the company in a better position to implement its aggressive exploration and farm-out strategy,” said managing director Hassan Hassan.

“Our primary objective is to develop further our Kenya and Chad concessions that continue to attract attention from a variety of international oil & gas companies.”

Orosur Mining signs up mining lawyer as new director

South American gold miner Orosur Mining (LON:OMI, TSE:OMI) has unveiled an experienced mining lawyer as its new non-executive director.

Rafael Vergara, 49, is a partner of Santiago law firm Carey y Cía and head of their Natural Resources, Energy and Environment Group.

The company said Vergara, who will take the seventh seat on the board, is an expert in a number of fields, including natural resources and project financing.

He has been professor of mining law at the Universidad de Chile and the Universidad de Los Andes and has given special courses on mining law organised by the Judiciary Academy of Chile for judges and members of the Courts of Appeals.

Tony Shearer, Orosur’s chairman, said: “I am delighted to welcome Rafael to the board. He brings with him a wealth of expertise in mining and the law in South America, and will be an excellent addition to the board as we focus on bringing value to shareholders.”

Analysts cut target prices on New Zealand Energy, but remain positive on long-term potential

After withdrawing its production guidance earlier this week, New Zealand Energy (CVE:NZ) has seen a slew of sharp downgrades from analysts, but many have retained their view of potential upside for the junior oil and gas producer. 

The company has coverage from eight analysts, including Credit Suisse, Dundee Securities, Canaccord Genuity, Haywood and M Partners, among others, with revised target prices ranging from 30 cents all the way up to $1.50.  

On Monday, New Zealand Energy revoked its 3,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) outlook for the end of the first quarter, as flow rates from producing wells have continued to decline. The company is currently producing around 335 bopd from four wells. While completion results are pending from two wells, which could add to production, the company acknowledged that 3,000 boe/d is not attainable in the near-term.

Management also announced the decision to delay further drilling to focus on the completion of its acquisition of assets from Origin Energy. The company's plans are to focus in the near-term on lower-cost exploration and production opportunities that are close to infrastructure. Indeed, the acquisition from Origin includes new petroleum licenses that are central to a network of oil and gas gathering pipelines and the full-cycle Waihapa Production Station. 

New Zealand Energy’s first priority, upon closing the acquisition, will be the reactivation and recompletion of existing wells that lie within the Origin upstream acreage - the rationale being that these wells offer swift tie-in opportunities for production growth at lower cost. The acquisition is still expected to close in the second quarter of 2013, albeit later than originally forecast.

Lower production has also prompted concerns about the company’s financial situation. New Zealand Energy currently holds $16.8 million of net working capital, which is insufficient to complete the Origin transaction - initially announced in May of last year. The junior oil and gas play has an outstanding payment of some $35 million on the deal, and is now exploring a range of alternate financing arrangements. 

As a result of the concerns, Dundee analysts' revised valuation yielded a significantly lower risked net asset value of C$1.10 per share, down from $3.16 per share previously, and hence a lower target of C$1.10 per share. 

Nevertheless, analysts David Dudlyke and Jessica Lindskog, who held their "buy" rating, noted that despite the "swinging cuts" to their risked exploration upside, the revised assessment still represents triple that of the current market valuation. 

They highlighted potential catalysts for the company, including completion results at the Arakamu-2 and Wairere-1A wells, as well as resolution of the current funding gap and closing of the pending Origin deal. 

M Partners, while also decreasing its price target to $1.50 from $3.25, continued to rate the company a "buy" based on material growth expected out of the Taranaki over the medium term. This is combined with the potential upside offered by the East Coast Basin, where industry activity is set to begin in April and where the company is targeting its own wells in November.

Still, M Partners analysts note that barring any near-term exploration or credit-related financing success, they expect the disappointments over the last few months to weigh on the shares for some time. 

New Zealand Energy holds the largest onshore exploration land package on New Zealand's North Island, with conventional opportunities in the country's main Taranaki Basin production fairway and both conventional and unconventional potential in the untapped, East Coast new frontier of the nation’s oil shales.

Six exploration wells are planned for 2013 in the East Coast, of which two will be drilled by New Zealand Energy at Ranui and Castlepoint in November.

Avrupa Minerals jumps after high grade tungsten results expand zones at Covas joint venture

Shares of Avrupa Minerals (CVE:AVU) rallied over 40% Friday after reporting further drill results from its Covas tungsten joint venture in northwestern Portugal, with the first phase of the drilling program now complete. 

Significant intercepts included 11.4 metres at 1.56% tungsten at the Lapa Grande target, and 1.55 metres of 0.79% tungsten at the Telheira target, it told investors today. 

The company also said it expanded mineralization at the Castelo target, with drilling showing potential for tungsten southeast of the prior documented mineralized areas. 

Shares of Avrupa jumped 3.5 cents to 12 cents on the TSX Venture Exchange this afternoon. 

The joint venture project is operated by Avrupa, and funded by Blackheath Resources, under an option agreement signed back in May 2011. 

The first phase of the program was designed to confirm and test known tungsten mineralization, and extensions, as well as test new mineral targets. 

Avrupa drilled 15 diamond drill holes, totaling 1,606 metres in five different target areas around the Skarn Ring and within the Covas Dome area, receiving results for 13 of the holes thus far. 

At Lapa Grande, the company said the recent results validated historic work, and showed the potential for expanding the zone, with the possibility of further mineralization to the northwest, southwest and the south. 

Meanwhile, at Telheira, Avrupa says there is further potential on the north, west and south sides of the zone. 

The company is planning further work, including re-logging and sampling of historic core and more detailed mapping, to help in the next phase of drilling. 

It also said today that further surface work will be done in the coming field season on the Covas Dome area, prior to follow up drilling, as preliminary geological mapping and sampling suggest the presence of gold and tungsten mineralization along a "pronounced east-west lineament". 

Covas is a past-producing tungsten mine, and remaining historic resources on the property were estimated at 922,900 metric tonnes of 0.78% tungsten in the indicated and inferred categories by Union Carbide in 1980, based on work including 327 drill holes. 

Avrupa noted that the price of tungsten has increased significantly in recent years and is currently around $33 per kilogram of contained tungsten trioxide. 

The junior mineral explorer operates two joint ventures in Portugal, including the Alvalade joint venture with Antofagasta for copper-rich massive sulfide deposits, and the Covas joint venture.

In January, the company revealed drilling results from its phase 2 exploration program on its Alvalade joint venture, calling them "highly exciting", with 5,000 metres of follow up drilling planned. 

It also has several other precious and base metal targets that it is upgrading to JV-ready status, including the porphyry copper-gold potential in southern Portugal in the Alvito license area.

In addition, Avrupa holds properties in Germany and Kosovo, where in late November, the company announced the discovery of a polymetallic gossan zone on its newly-acquired Slivovo exploration license.

Orvana Minerals bolsters board with two new additions

Orvana Minerals Corp. (TSE:ORV) says it has bolstered its board of directors with two new additions - Michael Winship and Ed Guimaraes - as it works to improve its operations and financials. 

The company said the directors, who were chosen through the services of an executive search firm, have both the mining and board experience that can "effectively guide" management in its efforts to achieve Orvana's strategic goals. 

Winship has more than 30 years of international experience in mine development, operations and corporate business, and was COO of Quadra FNX Mining prior to its acquisition by KGHM last year. He was also previously the president of HudBay Minerals, and is now a director of Rubicon Mineralsand Avanti Mining. 

Guimaraes, meanwhile, held management positions with Aur Resources between 1995 and 2007, ultimately serving as executive VP and CFO of the company until Aur was acquired by Teck Resources (TSE:TCK.B). He is also a director of  Nuinsco Resources, Aldridge Minerals, Giyani Gold and Karmin Exploration.

"The appointments of Messrs. Winship and Guimaraes to Orvana's Board of Directors will have a positive effect on our efforts to improve operational and financial performance," said president and CEO of Orvana, Bill Williams. "We look forward to their contributions in maximizing the value of our assets."

Shares of Orvana have been moving up steadily in the past weeks, up 20% in the last three months, with the company receiving bullish analyst coverage of late after improving operations at its two producing mines. 

Orvana's primary asset is the El Valle-Boinas/Carles (EVBC) gold-copper mine in northern Spain. It also owns and operates the Don Mario Mine in Bolivia, processing its copper-gold-silver Upper Mineralized Zone (UMZ) deposit, and is advancing its Copperwood copper project in Michigan, U.S, for where it earlier this week received its key Wetlands permit. 

In February, the company said it swung to a profit in its fiscal first quarter as revenue more than doubled on a sharp rise in production at its mines from a year earlier. 

In the latest quarter, the company produced 17,759 ounces of gold, 4.4 million pounds of copper and 233,452 ounces of silver, compared to output of 9,937 ounces of gold 3.2 million pounds of copper and 82,654 ounces of silver in the first quarter last year.

Cash flow provided by operations before changes in working capital was $8.2 million in the quarter and capital expenditures were $4.2 million, resulting in positive free cash flow of $4 million.

Total revenue rose 121% to $34.03 million from $15.37 million a year ago. 

Looking ahead, the company said its short term focus is operational optimization at the EVBC and UMZ mines to generate increasing operating cash flows in order to pay down debt, and set a foundation for growth.

Silver Bull Resources hits over 47% zinc along 4.4 metres at Sierra Mojada project

Silver Bull Resources (TSE:SVB)(NYSE MKT:SVBL) has unveiled the fifth and final batch of drill holes from its underground drill program in its high grade zinc zone at the Sierra Mojada project in northern Mexico, with an updated resource estimate expected shortly.

The results form part of an underground program that twinned what the company calls a historical "long hole" data set along a high grade silver zone and the underlying and adjacent high grade zinc zone - both located at the eastern end of the current resource. 

The aim of the campaign, which concluded in December, was to increase confidence in the historical long hole data set, which represents 38,000 metres of drilling that was either "severely restricted" or discarded in the company's last NI 43-101 resource report on the Shallow Silver zone in July of last year. 

The company said the program amounted to 6,500 metres of drilling, which resulted in the twinning of around 17% of the historic 38,000 metre data set. Silver Bull is awaiting complete results, which will be included in a revised resource update on the Shallow Silver and Zinc zones - expected this quarter. 

Today's zinc results are the fifth and final batch from the high grade zinc zone, with the company having released the tenth batch of high grade silver holes last month. 

Notable zinc results released Friday from the fifth batch of 19 drill holes include 5.1 metres at 30.56% zinc in hole T12194, and 22.85 metres of 19.52% zinc, including 4.4 metres of 47.59% zinc in hole T12206. 

The company said mineralization remains open in the north, south, east, and westerly directions.

From the results today, widths of intercepts ranged from 1.7 metres to 37.05 metres, and grades ranged from 5.47% zinc to 47.59% zinc. 

Based on the updated resource report figures, the company is aiming to complete the maiden preliminary economic assessment (PEA) on the Sierra Mojada project in the third quarter of this year. The PEA will incorporate ongoing work on metallurgical optimization, hydrology, and geotechnical studies and detailed mine plan studies. 

As of July last year, the Shallow Silver Zone hosted a silver resource of 72.1 million ounces in the measured and indicated category, and 10.4 million ounces in the inferred category.