Outlook report on Donkin expected soon
Erdene Resource Development Corp. expects to have a critical technical report on the Donkin coal project within weeks, says the company’s vice-president.
"That is going to tell everybody what the outlook for the project is," Ken MacDonald said in an interview Wednesday from his Dartmouth office.
"It’s pretty close."
Erdene has a 25 per cent stake in the project to reopen the undersea Cape Breton coal mine with lead partner Xstrata Coal Donkin Management Ltd.
In a first-quarter update released Wednesday, Erdene reported that an internal project pre-feasibility study it received from Xstrata during the quarter was sent to mining consultants Marston & Marston Ltd. of Missouri.
Marston is preparing a technical report based on that study that is due to be complete by the end of the month.
The Donkin project, which is subject to government approvals, is estimated to have a full production output of about 2.75 million tonnes of coal per year.
Erdene reported a first-quarter 2011 loss Wednesday of $4.7 million (five cents a share) on revenues of $240,388, compared with a loss of $1.1 million (one cent a share) on revenues of $129,082 in the same period in 2010.
MacDonald attributed the increased loss primarily to a $3.1-million stock-based compensation charge calibrated on options granted during the quarter to company directors, executives and contractors.
"It’s a non-cash charge."
He said exploration costs in Mongolia, where Erdene has several mineral interests, contributed to first-quarter losses, along with increased Donkin expenditures.
Erdene’s exploration and operating expenses were $881,976 in the quarter, up from $239,394 in the first quarter of 2010.
First-quarter expenditures for Donkin were $483,941, compared with $141,867 for the same period last year.
Erdene was granted a 30-year renewable licence during the quarter for its Zuun Mod molybdenum project in Mongolia, which covers an area of 6,041 hectares and includes the Khuvyn Khar copper prospect, where it is drilling.
The company is also exploring the new Nomin copper and gold prospect in southwestern Mongolia, where it has commissioned geophysical modelling and plans an exploratory drilling program.
It also has a royalty interest agreement with Xanadu Mines Ltd., which is drilling at its Galshar coal project in southeastern Mongolia.
Erdene owns a granite quarry in Georgia that is being developed under a lease and royalty agreement with Aggregates USA (Sparta) LLC, a construction materials producer that plans to start commercial production in late 2011. And Erdene has a 60 per cent stake in Advanced Primary Minerals Corp., a Georgia kaolin producer that reported sales of $195,268 in the first quarter of 2011, up from $109,575 in the same period last year.
On Wednesday afternoon, Erdene stock was trading for 97 cents a share on the Toronto Stock Exchange, down three cents from its previous close.
( berskine@herald.ca)
"That is going to tell everybody what the outlook for the project is," Ken MacDonald said in an interview Wednesday from his Dartmouth office.
"It’s pretty close."
Erdene has a 25 per cent stake in the project to reopen the undersea Cape Breton coal mine with lead partner Xstrata Coal Donkin Management Ltd.
In a first-quarter update released Wednesday, Erdene reported that an internal project pre-feasibility study it received from Xstrata during the quarter was sent to mining consultants Marston & Marston Ltd. of Missouri.
Marston is preparing a technical report based on that study that is due to be complete by the end of the month.
The Donkin project, which is subject to government approvals, is estimated to have a full production output of about 2.75 million tonnes of coal per year.
Erdene reported a first-quarter 2011 loss Wednesday of $4.7 million (five cents a share) on revenues of $240,388, compared with a loss of $1.1 million (one cent a share) on revenues of $129,082 in the same period in 2010.
MacDonald attributed the increased loss primarily to a $3.1-million stock-based compensation charge calibrated on options granted during the quarter to company directors, executives and contractors.
"It’s a non-cash charge."
He said exploration costs in Mongolia, where Erdene has several mineral interests, contributed to first-quarter losses, along with increased Donkin expenditures.
Erdene’s exploration and operating expenses were $881,976 in the quarter, up from $239,394 in the first quarter of 2010.
First-quarter expenditures for Donkin were $483,941, compared with $141,867 for the same period last year.
Erdene was granted a 30-year renewable licence during the quarter for its Zuun Mod molybdenum project in Mongolia, which covers an area of 6,041 hectares and includes the Khuvyn Khar copper prospect, where it is drilling.
The company is also exploring the new Nomin copper and gold prospect in southwestern Mongolia, where it has commissioned geophysical modelling and plans an exploratory drilling program.
It also has a royalty interest agreement with Xanadu Mines Ltd., which is drilling at its Galshar coal project in southeastern Mongolia.
Erdene owns a granite quarry in Georgia that is being developed under a lease and royalty agreement with Aggregates USA (Sparta) LLC, a construction materials producer that plans to start commercial production in late 2011. And Erdene has a 60 per cent stake in Advanced Primary Minerals Corp., a Georgia kaolin producer that reported sales of $195,268 in the first quarter of 2011, up from $109,575 in the same period last year.
On Wednesday afternoon, Erdene stock was trading for 97 cents a share on the Toronto Stock Exchange, down three cents from its previous close.
( berskine@herald.ca)
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