Transcription of Finance News Network Interview with PMI Gold Corporation (ASX:PMI) CEO and Managing Director, Collin EllisonLelde Smits: Hello I’m Lelde Smits for the Finance News Network and joining me today at the Africa Down Under Conference in Perth, from PMI Gold Corporation
(ASX:PMI) is CEO and Managing Director, Collin Ellison. Collin welcome.
Collin Ellison: Pleasure.
Lelde Smits: Could you start by introducing PMI Gold Corporation: What is your focus and where do you operate?
Collin Ellison: PMI Gold is based in Canada, it’s a Canadian company listed on the ASX and the TSXV. The Company is wholly focused on gold, wholly focused in Ghana in West Africa, wholly focused on moving the projects and the Company into production.
Lelde Smits: So Collin, when and why did the Company choose to gain a presence in West Africa?
Collin Ellison: The former management basically focused on Ghana because it’s basically one of the best countries in West Africa, and these days one of the best countries around for developing projects. It has a long history of gold mining, it has some spectacular gold deposits, it’s one of the most prospective places for looking at developing gold projects.
Lelde Smits: To your flagship Obotan Gold Project in Ghana: How many deposits make up the project and what do they contain?
Collin Ellison: There are four basic deposits in the Obotan project of which one carries 75 per cent of the resources, which is the Nkran deposit. The other deposits are the Adubiaso, Abore and Asuadai. Asuadai and Abore we classify those as satellite deposits of lesser significance, lower grade and small, but the potential to grow. Whereas Adubiaso is a high grade deposit and it’s in proximity to where the plant will be. But the major project is in Nkran, and Nkran really is the project.
Lelde Smits: You’ve just released the Obotan feasibility study: What are the highlights?
Collin Ellison: The highlights essentially are the gold production. We are looking at an average of 220,000 ounces for the first five years. It’s a good grade deposit, it has significant mine life – over 11 years, it has a reasonable cash cost and a reasonable capital cost.
Lelde Smits: So when is PMI targeting maiden production from Obotan?
Collin Ellison: We’re targeting maiden production in the beginning of 2014. We’re targeting construction in the start of the project next year, early next year.
Lelde Smits: You’ve also recently received government approval for a lease adjacent to Obotan. How do you plan to integrate the purchase into your project?
Collin Ellison: The purchase of the Datano, the Midras tenement essentially it’s integral to our current tenements. It provides us with a flexibility of being able to incorporate, certainly the northern portion of that tenement in the development of both the resources. The Nkran pit, as I mentioned this is very significant, either by both deepening the pit, or allowing us to exploit the ore body at depth. It also allows us the flexibility of building some of the infrastructure.
Lelde Smits: Now to the Kubi Gold Project also in Ghana. What is its proximity to Obotan?
Collin Ellison: Kubi is about 65 kilometres to the east of Obotan. In reality it’s probably, from my point of view, too far to look at mining and processing the ore in the Obotan operation. But we are looking at Kubi as a stand-alone operation. So our objective and our strategy at the moment is to continue exploring around Kubi, so develop a significant resource to build a second mine. There’s a long way to go, but that’s the objective.
Lelde Smits: And to your Asanko Gold Project: When did the first drilling campaign start and what has been uncovered since?
Collin Ellison: Asanko for the Company is – it’s not new by any means, in fact it’s some of the earliest tenements that the Company acquired. But from a drilling standpoint, it’s probably the one which has taken a secondary position to that of Kubi and Obotan. It has significant drilling on there from other companies who previously owned the tenement.
Lelde Smits: Looking at your financials: What was your cash position at the end of the last quarter?
Collin Ellison: At the end of - or beginning of June, we had $40 million in the bank. At the end of June, end of the year and the second quarter, we had just under $39 million in the bank.
Lelde Smits: And finally Collin, what would you like to see PMI Gold Corporation achieve in the 2013 financial year?
Collin Ellison: We have significant targets to achieve in this next financial year. We are endeavouring to obtain all of the licensing and permitting, one of which is the mining lease which we hope to obtain soon. The environmental permit, the feasibility study we hope to post that on to what we call CEDA, placing us in a position then to simply complete the process of financing the project. The key issue for us is to develop the project, commence the construction during 2013.
Prior to that though, first we need to obtain Board approval and agreement on the financing structure that we determine is the most appropriate, and then move the project forward. So this is going to be a very formative 12 months for the Company.
Lelde Smits: Collin Ellison, thanks for introducing us to PMI Gold Corporation.
Collin Ellison: Thank you very much, my pleasure.
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