RML - 14 mio Unzen in Venezuela - 500 Beiträge pro Seite

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AN INTERVIEW WITH ANDRE AGAPOV

Of all the mining jurisdictions in the world, one of the most prospective and yet also most troubled politically is Venezuela. Here at Casey Research, we get a lot of questions about Venezuela and the resource companies working there. So we decided to interview Andre Agapov, CEO of Rusoro Mining (V.RML), a Canadian junior with a Russian pedigree developing significant gold resources in that country. Here is Andre’s take on the latest developments, which are focused on his company, but which he believes are equally bullish for all mining companies working in Venezuela.

CR: Priviet, Andre.
AA: Priviet!

CR: We understand you have some news from Venezuela. Tell us about it.
AA: Well, every six months there is a Russian/Venezuelan High Commission, which is basically a business forum. The last one was held in Russia and this recent one was held in Venezuela, between October 24 and 26. It’s the aim of the Russian government to diversify into different sectors, and of course the closest attention is paid to the companies who already operate in Venezuela. Currently, the only company from Russia–actually the first company–is us, Rusoro, a private company until November 2006.
So, the Chavez administration–the minister of mining, the minister of environment, the vice president and president himself–are very well aware of our existence and have actually been helping us from day one. Russian Vice Prime Minister Zhukov–one of the very important ones–was hosting the forum this year, his third year of doing so. He had an official meeting with Jose S. Khan, Venezuelan minister of basic industry and mining, on the morning of the 26th. We were one of three companies that attended that meeting. Zhukov said that the Russian government, on all levels, has been keeping a close watch on the developments of Russian companies in Venezuela, us being the first one since we’re already on the ground. He said the Russian government supports us and that they expect the same from Venezuela–

CR: You’re keeping us in suspense.
AA: Well, Zhukov said he knows Venezuela will give total support to all our projects and Minister Khan confirmed everything Zhukov said, including that he knows us very well. And then Khan basically gave assurances that we will be treated fairly.

CR: Those were his words?
AA: His exact words were that we would receive all necessary support from his ministry. That meeting was also attended by a Russian ambassador, who really supports us. He is so proactive and helps all the Russian companies in Venezuela. We are very grateful.
That was on the 26th. Then on Monday, the 29th, we met with Minister Khan again. The meeting was also attended by his vice minister and other top management in the Ministry of Mining, and we specifically discussed the transaction of Rusoro and Goldfields and how the transaction took place. And then Minister Khan said that Rusoro will replace Goldfields as the new partner of the Venezuelan government, with respect to concessions Choco 4 and 10, where the mine and plant are located. It will be a partnership, with Rusoro getting 95% and Minerven, a subsidiary of the mining operations, getting 5%. So, they’re welcoming us as their Russian partners in this particular operation.

CR: Congratulations. So the state is basically locked into 5% and that’s it.
AA: That’s correct, for Choco concessions 4 and 10.

CR: That’s a very big step forward.
AA: That’s right, and I’m not afraid of making that statement. The words of their Ministry of Mining speak for themselves. They are very proactive and pro-business, and we’re glad to state that.

CR: Your ties to the country helped.
AA: This is definitely a tie–we’re business partners with the government on this particular project, where the open-pit mine and plant are located.

CR: So it appears the level of political risk in Venezuela is significantly reduced.
AA: Absolutely. President Chavez knows personally of our mining activities. We’ve been there over five years. He knows my father, who was part of an earlier delegation, and we feel supported and very secure in Venezuela.

CR: Do future projects have the same deal?
AA: No, Choco 4 and 10 are the only ones subject to the 95/5 split. There are other concessions that were owned by Goldfields and they’re all 100% owned by Rusoro now. So, we’re looking forward to developing those properties and others and increasing production, which will speak for itself in 2008. Everything Goldfields couldn’t do in terms of permitting and mining activities will be done by us, which will increase production. The government gets their 5%, so the more we produce, the more they benefit. We also have a lot of social obligations to the community that we’ll take care of.

CR: What does this mean for other mining companies operating in Venezuela?
AA: Everyone will be on the same terms. If you comply with the law, pay your mining title and taxes and do what your feasibility study says, there’s a bright future for all other mining companies, regardless of the mineral.

CR: Do you really think investor’s can assume the political environment in Venezuela is safer now as a result of this?
AA: Yes, there’s definitely upside for investors.

CR: When investors hear Chavez’ name, it still makes them nervous.
AA: The message to get across is that we’re a 95% shareholder, and the government holds 5%. It’s clear to us they mean business and that they support our company.

CR: What’s the next big news coming out for Rusoro?
AA: We have a 43-101 due at the end of November, which will be on all the Goldfields projects. And we’ll continue with other exploration projects, as well as upgrading the Emilia plant to increase milling capacity. That will take some time, but the goal is to produce 130,000 ounces with the existing mill at the Choco project in 2008.

CR: How many ounces do you have now after the purchase of Goldfields?
AA: Approximately 14 million ounces. The idea is to take it close to 20 million by the end of 2008 in all categories. Then, to be a producer in 2009 of at least 200,000 ounces per year, and 400,000 per year by 2010.

CR: Thanks for your time, Andre, and best wishes.
AA: Thank you very much.

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Increible 6 Project




Located in the historic El Callao District within 4km of Goldfields' Choco 10 mine, the Increible 6 has been the subject of 43,000m of drilling in 275 drill holes, since late 2004. The project has excellent access via well maintained roads from the town of El Callao and a current NI 43 -- 101 compliant resource calculation sets the project at 434,000 ounces indicated and 766,000 ounces inferred.....

All zones are open to depth and only approximately 50% of the mineralized area has been drill tested to date. An updated resource estimation is underway and is scheduled to be completed in Q3 2007. An aggressive 79,000m drill program is underway to expand and upgrade the current resources and the Company is on target to reach its goal of 2.5 -- 3.0 million ounces by Q4 2007.

San Rafael/El Placer



SREP is located adjacent to Hecla's La Camorra gold mine and since 2003 the project has seen 87,000m of drilling and the underground development of 10 shafts totaling 1665m. A current NI 43-101 compliant resource confirms 490,000 ounces (918kt avg. 16.6 g/t) indicated and 367,000 ounces (727kt avg. 15.7 g/t) inferred....

An updated resource estimation is underway and is scheduled to be completed in 2007. The project will see more than 75,000 m of drilling to mid 2007, which is part of an aggressive program of underground development in preparation for the completion of the capacity expansion project currently underway at the Emilia mill facility. All zones are open to depth and the property hosts a number of intriguing exploration drill targets.


Emilia



Emilia is located five kilometers west of Hecla's La Camorra gold mine. Since 2003 the project has seen 12,000m of drilling from a total of 103 drill holes. Current development includes one open pit mine and two zones which have been worked by both open pit and underground methods. Existing infrastructure is comprised of 1893 metres of underground development accessed from two shafts. A current NI 43-101 compliant resource totals 82,500 ounces (avg. 3.9 g/t) inferred from 660,000 tonnes....

The Emilia Operations, which include the operating crushing, milling, and recovery facilities, are centrally located in the El Dorado District. The plant is currently processing ore from SREP and Emilia and high grade ore is also trucked from Ceiba. Production has been scaled back to facilitate a comprehensive upgrading and expansion of the facilities. With all of the principal pieces of equipment on-site the work is progressing on schedule.

Ceiba Project



The Ceiba Project is located 40 kilometres south of El Dorado. High grade ore has historically been trucked to the Emilia Mill for processing. A current NI 43-101 compliant resource exists of 1.6Mt grading 9.2 g/t Au for 459,000 ounces of gold.

Valle Hondo



Located near the Cuyuni River the Valle Hondo Project encompasses more than 25,000 hectares and is about 40 km southeast of the SREP Project and Emilia facility. With the limited drilling of 13,000m in 114 drill holes, the project contains a current NI 43-101 compliant resource of 103,000 ounces indicated and 1,344,000 ounces inferred.
These targets have excellent potential to expand the near surface zones and define the higher grade results received to-date (up to 100 g/t). These main zones are open in all directions and a 40,000m drill program is scheduled to begin in Q3 2007.

Km 88 Project

Rusoro has recently acquired ground located 88 kilometres south of El Dorado. The land package consists of more than 20,000 hectares with numerous gold anomalies and drill targets. The Km88 Project is located adjacent to Crystallex's Las Cristinas Deposit. A field program is on-going designed to further define and prioritize the drilling targets.


Overview
Rusoro has a significant land position in the major mining districts in Bolivar State, Venezuela. The region boasts first class geology and gold potential within an identical setting to some of the world's largest mining districts including Ashanti in West Africa and Kirkland Lake in Canada. The Company has four advanced gold projects with significant exploration upside and the cash on hand to complete its exploration schedule. A current 43-101 resource calculation on the primary projects sets the Company's resources at more than 1 million ounces of gold indicated and more than 3 million ounces of gold inferred. As part of the Company's aggressive growth strategy Rusoro will do more than 220,000m of drilling through 2007. The drilling is designed to more than double the Company's outlined gold resources and the Company fully expects to complete an updated resource estimation for the Increible 6 and SREP projects in 2007. Rusoro's management are experienced operators in the country with strong governmental relationships and have spent over US$75 million since 2002. An additional US$60 million is expected to be spent to bring the core projects to the bankable feasibility stage in 2008.



http://www.rusoro.com/s/Home.asp

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... und kürzlich wurden folgende News veröffentlicht:

October 11, 2007
Rusoro to Acquire Gold Fields' Venezuelan Assets to become Immediate Producer

http://www.rusoro.com/s/NewsReleases.asp?ReportID=266195&_Ty…

October 31, 2007
Financing Of $225 Million Closes

http://www.rusoro.com/s/NewsReleases.asp?ReportID=269774&_Ty…

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vorher hat man sich noch zwei neue Leute ins Boot geholt, wie folgt:

September 04, 2007
Rusoro Mining Ltd. Appoints George Salamis as President


Vancouver, Canada - Rusoro Mining Ltd. is very pleased to announce the appointment of George Salamis to the position of President, effective immediately. Mr. Salamis will play a major role in the Company's executive management team as the Company moves forward on a number of corporate and operational initiatives.

Mr. Salamis has previously held senior management positions with well-established mining companies, most notably Placer Dome Inc. and Cameco Corporation, in addition to his successful formation and management of several junior mining companies listed in Europe and North America. Mr. Salamis has over 20 years experience directing the exploration, development and mining operations of a number of gold, base metal and coal projects in many different regions of the world including Latin America. In recent years, he has also played an integral role, both executive and non executive, in several large M&A transactions and significant financing initiatives in the industry. Mr. Salamis holds a graduate degree in Geology from the Universite de Montreal - Ecole Polytechnique.


September 27, 2007
Rusoro Mining Ltd. Appoints Omar Salas as CFO


Vancouver, Canada - Rusoro Mining Ltd. is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Omar Salas to the position of Chief Financial Officer effective immediately. Mr. Salas brings many years of financial expertise in the mining industry to the Company's executive management team.

Mr. Salas has previously held several senior finance oriented positions in the industry, most recently as Director of Finance for Glencairn Gold Corporation. He also brings direct experience in Venezuela as he was formerly the Financial Controller for Placer Dome's operations in the country. Mr. Salas, a fluent Spanish speaker, has over 30 years of experience directing financial operations on several major development projects in the resource industry, in addition to leading M&A due diligence mandates on various projects in Latin America and Africa. Mr. Salas is a Certified Management Accountant and holds a Master in Business Administration from McGill University in Montreal.

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Das ganze sieht nach einer riesigen Baustelle aus. Das erklärte Ziel ist:

"...Approximately 14 million ounces. The idea is to take it close to 20 million by the end of 2008 in all categories. Then, to be a producer in 2009 of at least 200,000 ounces per year, and 400,000 per year by 2010...."

Zu Choco 10, der Goldfields aquisition:

Immediate Production. Choco 10 has been operational since 2006 and the annualized targeted production for the combined assets is 150,000 ounces per year by the end of 2008....

Upon completion of the acquisition, Rusoro's management plans to use its Venezuelan operating experience to resolve certain hurdles encountered by Gold Fields at Choco 10. Rusoro's focus over the next 12 to 24 months at Choco 10 will be to optimize operating efficiency, lower costs and study production ramp-up alternatives.

Under the agreed terms, Rusoro is to acquire 100% of Gold Fields' Venezuelan assets for US$150 million in cash, US$30 million in a convertible vendor take-back loan plus the issuance of 140 million Rusoro shares.

Man konsolodiert hier ein ganzen Minendistrikt, Choco ist nur 4 km von Rusoro's Increible 6 entfernt. Auf der Karte sieht man es schön , dass hier ein großes Gebiet zusammenwächst.

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Und warum hat Goldfields Choco 10 abgegeben ?

http://www.goldfields.co.za/operations_choco.asp?navDisplay=…




Safety, health and environment

Choco 10 Gold Mine had a fatality free year in F2007.

Environmental permitting issues and initiatives to access new water sources diverted environmental capacity, but the mine continues to move towards ISO 14001:2004 certification for F2008.

The first staff health baseline survey was completed to support occupational health initiatives.
Operational performance

During the year under review the Group’s attempts to bring Choco 10 to full production were beset by a number of difficulties. Production was impacted negatively by the failure of the ball mill drive train which affected plant throughput for 29 days during the first quarter of F2007. This was followed by the continued lack of adequate process water volumes to run the plant at full capacity and increasingly restricted plant availability throughout the year. Due to below-average rainfall, water levels in the reservoir supplying the mine remained low. A permit application to draw water from the Yuruari River was lodged but was still pending at year-end. In addition, the mine developed a borehole field to develop a longer term reliable water source to supplement the mine’s needs. The mine also held discussions with underground mines in the area to take their excess water. Choco 10 engaged with a variety of outside parties to further the complex permitting process to access new water sources but progress has been limited to date. These measures are expected to have a positive impact on plant availability during F2008.

The water shortage was aggravated by two incidents of strike action, which cost a total of 21 working days. Concerns among local small-scale miners about access to ore also complicated the relationship with the trade union as both small-scale miners and union members come from the same communities. These events arose from the need for Gold Fields management and organised labour to recognise the widely differing approaches to industrial relations negotiations each party brings to the table. Gold Fields remains committed to becoming an employer of choice in the area and believes that a wide range of the issues raised by the union are matters of implementation rather than still requiring negotiation.

During the year, mining continued in the Pisolita, Coacia and Rosika pits but at lower levels than anticipated due to reduced plant availability and the industrial action during the second and fourth quarters of F2007.

Mill throughput deteriorated during the year due to a shift in ore type from hardrock to saphrolite ore and the shortages of process waters. The problem was most severe during the third and fourth quarters of F2007. It is encouraging, however, that when water was available, the mill throughput rates were slightly above nameplate capacity. The upgrade of the process plant progressed well throughout the year.

Total gold production was below expectations at 54,600 ounces. Total cash costs for the year averaged US$523 per ounce as a result of rising processing costs due to lower production, buying in process water, increased reagent use and contractor costs associated with mill repairs and refurbishments.

Revenue generated during the year was US$36 million with an operating cost of US$40.1 million and a Gold In Process credit of US$4.9 million, realising an operating profit of US$0.9 million for F2007. Net attributable loss totalled US$4.8 million at an average gold price of US$647 per ounce.

Capital expenditure for the year totalled US$22.9 million, incurred mainly in the capitalisation of exploration work and on plant upgrade and other infrastructure.

Exploration work during F2007 progressed well and continues to improve and extend the definition of the down-dip extension of the VBK mineralisation with a view to commencing a feasibility study. High-grade mineralisation is now defined over a strike-length of 800 metres and remains open both along length and down-dip, confirming our view of the long-term opportunities presented by the region.

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ein Schelm wer böses denkt, aber ein Zusammenhang zwischen der Aufgabe/Verkauf des Projekts von Goldfield lässt sich durchaus erkennen.

@ stockhouse:

Int'l Speculator says buy Rusoro for Putin's pull-ski
2007-04-23 21:07 ET - In the News
The International Speculator in its April 2, 2007, issue says buy Rusoro Mining Ltd. at $3.36. This is the newsletter's first buy of the junior Venezuelan gold miner. In this issue, subscribers are told Casey Research managing editor David Galland and senior researcher Louis James returned from a "fact-finding mission" to Venezeula. There, senior members of the government's natural resources regulator, evidently recognizing the importance of their visitors, stopped work to explain mining policy to the pair. Mr. James was impressed by one official's "intelligence and savvy view of the world." Mr. James also met with the Russian ambassador in Caracas. Rusoro has four million ounces in its Venezuelan portfolio. What makes it less risky than other Venezuela plays is the Russian connection, underlined by its claim Russian President Vladimir Putin is helping to promote the stock. Mr. Putin is not on the phone personally pumping Rusoro's shares. Rather, Russia's Grupo Agapov provided Rusoro with "gold properties, people and the right connections." Rusor's chairman is Vladimir Agapov, a "prominent Russian businessman" whose company, Grupo Agapov, "made it onto a list of Russian companies operating in Venezuela that Mr. Putin personally asked [Venezuelan President Hugo] Chavez to help."

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September 10, 2007
Share Structure

Issued Shares 147.9
Warrants 20.4
Options 14.7
Fully Diluted 183.0
Working Capital C$ (millions)
Current Cash 50.0
Warrant/Opt Exercise $ 55.5
Long-term Debt 0

Dazu kommen für den choco Deal:

93,750,000 subscription receipts of Rusoro BVI at a price of $2.40 per subscription receipt to raise gross proceeds of $225,000,000.

und

Pursuant to the terms of the Acquisition, one common share of Rusoro and one common share purchase warrant of Rusoro will be issued for each subscription receipt immediately following the deemed exercise of the subscription receipts. Each warrant will entitle the holder to purchase one common share of Rusoro for a period of five years from the date of issuance at a price of $4.00 per share.

Demnach müssten es irgendwann einmal, wenn alle warrants eingelöst sind, so um die

370 mio shares outstanding sein.

Das ist natürlich heftig, aber wenn alles perfekt läuft, dann produzieren sie 400.000 unzen in 2010 und haben +20 mio resourcen.





cheers,
eiz-T

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[Popeye82]

Da gab es aber doch irgendwelcher Art große Probleme, oder??
Kann mich da dunkel dranerinnern.


Wenn nicht -

Mir war aber so.

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Here we go !!
November 15, 2007

Rusoro Drills 37m of 9.34g/t Au at Increible 6 All Main Gold Zones Expanded

...An updated NI 43-101 estimate final report for the Increible 6 Project is currently being completed by Micon International and will be filed before November 25th, 2007.

...There are >10,000 samples still at the lab from 2007 drilling for which results will be released as they become available.

...The Company has now completed 107,500 metres of drilling since November 2006, completing its Phase II program on schedule. The total number of metres completed on the Project is now over 155,000 in 374 RC holes and 421 diamond drill holes. A phase III 50,000 metre program commenced in October 2007, keeping two diamond drill rigs on the project into 2008, with additional rigs available as needed.


http://www.rusoro.com/s/NewsReleases.asp?ReportID=272476&_Ty…

[KNORPEL]

[brummbaer007]

laut einem bekannten boersen-brief 370% aufi in den nächsten 2 jahren

[brummbaer007]

jährliche produktion derzeit ca 150000 unzen bis 2010 auf ca 400000 unzen ansteigend.........