This week: Arian has scope for silver lining, Ascot off to the races and Encore, Encore, two new licenses
African Minerals Ltd (LON:AMI) (AMI 444p/£1210.24m)
The Company has updated again on progress on the due diligence process at its Tonkolili project in Sierra Leone. AMI has been informed by Shandong Iron & Steel Group that Shandong is making progress on the due diligence process but both parties have agreed to extend the date for completion to November 10th. Completion had previously been expected by 20th October. On the basis that the target date of 20th November for signing the Subscription Agreement and Off-Take Agreement was based on the due diligence being completed by the October date, it is reasonable to assume the signing won’t take place in November. In their September update, the Company said that the due diligence was progressing “slower than planned” and cited logistical issues of coordinating the process between China, Europe and Sierra Leone. It would appear those ‘issues’ are still present. All that said, as the revised date is just over a week away it would appear that the DD is indeed close to being completed and further signings/progress should indeed be imminent. The market will be keenly awaiting the announcement.
Arian Silver Corp (LON:AGQ) Corporation (AGQ 19.25p/£51.55m)
AIM listed silver exploration, development and production Company with a focus on projects in the silver belt of Mexico last week reported that commercial production has commenced at the Company's 100 per cent-owned San Jose mine in Mexico, with ore being stockpiled for delivery to the mill. New underground development to reach the Santa Ana block, the first of three target blocks identified for the contract mining programme, is currently progressing well. It is anticipated that the first transportation of the Santa Ana material to the mill will take place in approximately three weeks. Arian recently raised gross proceeds of £3.9m at 18p per share and expects positive cash flow by the last quarter of 2010. Arian Silver’s greatest potential lies in the scope, through further drilling and exploration, to add significantly to its assets in the ground. Resources identified so far relate to only 10 per cent of an identified 20 km of silver veins (also containing economic amounts of lead and zinc) at…
