Kry (crystallex)
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3,01
Crystallex International Corp. (KRY) is a Vancouver-based company engaged in mining, development and exploration for gold, with its primary focus in South America, and in evaluating mineral property acquisitions in various locations around the world. It conducts these activities primarily through mineral concessions that it owns or controls in Venezuela and Uruguay. As of July 10, 2003, it had three operating concessions, the San Gregorio concession in Uruguay, the Tomi concession in Venezuela and the Lo Increible concession in Venezuela. Crystallex also operates mills at its San Gregorio concession in Uruguay and the Revemin Mill in Venezuela. Crystallex exports its production from San Gregorio to refiners for settlement based on world spot prices or by using hedging strategies, such as forward selling and call options, in order to maximize the price received. Although not required to do so, Crystallex sells its production from its Revemin mill to the Central Bank of Venezuela. Crystallex receives the full international price for the gold that it sells to the Central Bank of Venezuela prior to settlement with the counter party. Crystallex has commenced a program to expand the processing rate of the Revemin mill to 1,800 tonnes/day at a capital cost of apx. US$2.6 million. The program will be undertaken in two stages; the first stage is designed to improve gold recoveries from the La Victoria ore and the second stage will expand the processing rate from 1,500 tonnes/day to 1,800 tonnes/day. Approximately half of the capital cost is budgeted for improving recoveries by adding a flotation circuit and regrind mill. The first stage is scheduled for completion by the end of 2003, while the expansion in processing capacity will be undertaken during 2004. Upon completion of the flotation circuit and expansion and when the La Victoria and Tomi underground mines are operating at design rates, ore to Revemin will be supplied from La Victoria at the rate of about 1,550 tonnes/day and from Tomi at 250 tonnes/day. Ore Reserves (probable) as of Dec. 31, 2002 were Tomi open pits, 931,000 ore tones (86,900 contained gold ozs.) and Tomi Underground, 163,000 ore tones (75,800 contained gold ozs.) Gold production for 2002 was 94,623 ounces at a total cash cost of US$269 per ounce, as compared with 109,647 ounces at a total cash cost of US$230 per ounce in 2001. The San Gregorio mine in Uruguay accounted for about 70% of Crystallex's total gold production
3,01Crystallex International Corp. (KRY) is a Vancouver-based company engaged in mining, development and exploration for gold, with its primary focus in South America, and in evaluating mineral property acquisitions in various locations around the world. It conducts these activities primarily through mineral concessions that it owns or controls in Venezuela and Uruguay. As of July 10, 2003, it had three operating concessions, the San Gregorio concession in Uruguay, the Tomi concession in Venezuela and the Lo Increible concession in Venezuela. Crystallex also operates mills at its San Gregorio concession in Uruguay and the Revemin Mill in Venezuela. Crystallex exports its production from San Gregorio to refiners for settlement based on world spot prices or by using hedging strategies, such as forward selling and call options, in order to maximize the price received. Although not required to do so, Crystallex sells its production from its Revemin mill to the Central Bank of Venezuela. Crystallex receives the full international price for the gold that it sells to the Central Bank of Venezuela prior to settlement with the counter party. Crystallex has commenced a program to expand the processing rate of the Revemin mill to 1,800 tonnes/day at a capital cost of apx. US$2.6 million. The program will be undertaken in two stages; the first stage is designed to improve gold recoveries from the La Victoria ore and the second stage will expand the processing rate from 1,500 tonnes/day to 1,800 tonnes/day. Approximately half of the capital cost is budgeted for improving recoveries by adding a flotation circuit and regrind mill. The first stage is scheduled for completion by the end of 2003, while the expansion in processing capacity will be undertaken during 2004. Upon completion of the flotation circuit and expansion and when the La Victoria and Tomi underground mines are operating at design rates, ore to Revemin will be supplied from La Victoria at the rate of about 1,550 tonnes/day and from Tomi at 250 tonnes/day. Ore Reserves (probable) as of Dec. 31, 2002 were Tomi open pits, 931,000 ore tones (86,900 contained gold ozs.) and Tomi Underground, 163,000 ore tones (75,800 contained gold ozs.) Gold production for 2002 was 94,623 ounces at a total cash cost of US$269 per ounce, as compared with 109,647 ounces at a total cash cost of US$230 per ounce in 2001. The San Gregorio mine in Uruguay accounted for about 70% of Crystallex's total gold production
hanno appena ultimato un collocamento privato di warrant (durata 3 anni prezzo di esercizio 2.75$)
Closes US$28.2 Million Private Placement
Monday September 8, 7:10 pm ET
TORONTO, Sept. 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Crystallex International Corporation (Amex: KRY; Toronto) announced today that it has closed a private placement of 12,800,000 special warrants at a price of US$2.20 per warrant for aggregate proceeds of approximately US$28.2 million. The special warrants entitle the holders, upon exercise and without payment of any additional consideration, to acquire one common share and one-half of one common share purchase warrant. Each whole purchase warrant is exercisable for one common share for a period of three years after issuance at a price of US$2.75 per share.
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The securities sold have not been registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933 (the "U.S. Securities Act") and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons except in certain transactions exempt from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act.
The proceeds of the offering will be used by Crystallex for working capital purposes and to advance its gold mining projects in the Bolivar State, Venezuela.
About Crystallex: Crystallex International Corporation is a Canadian based gold producer with operations and exploration properties in Venezuela and Uruguay. Crystallex shares are traded on the TSX and AMEX Exchanges. Crystallex is focused on strategic growth in South America. The Company's principle asset is the Las Cristinas property in Venezuela. The Mining Agreement gives Crystallex 100 percent control of the reserves and resources of this project. Crystallex is currently working on the final feasibility study to support its development plans for Las Cristinas.
Note: This news release may contain certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included in this release, including, without limitation, statements regarding potential mineralization and reserves, exploration results, and future plans and objectives of Crystallex, are forward-looking statements that involve various risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations are disclosed under the heading "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in documents filed from time to time with the Toronto Stock Exchange, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and other regulatory authorities.
The Toronto Stock Exchange has not reviewed this release and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this new release.
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Closes US$28.2 Million Private Placement
Monday September 8, 7:10 pm ET
TORONTO, Sept. 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Crystallex International Corporation (Amex: KRY; Toronto) announced today that it has closed a private placement of 12,800,000 special warrants at a price of US$2.20 per warrant for aggregate proceeds of approximately US$28.2 million. The special warrants entitle the holders, upon exercise and without payment of any additional consideration, to acquire one common share and one-half of one common share purchase warrant. Each whole purchase warrant is exercisable for one common share for a period of three years after issuance at a price of US$2.75 per share.
ADVERTISEMENT
The securities sold have not been registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933 (the "U.S. Securities Act") and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons except in certain transactions exempt from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act.
The proceeds of the offering will be used by Crystallex for working capital purposes and to advance its gold mining projects in the Bolivar State, Venezuela.
About Crystallex: Crystallex International Corporation is a Canadian based gold producer with operations and exploration properties in Venezuela and Uruguay. Crystallex shares are traded on the TSX and AMEX Exchanges. Crystallex is focused on strategic growth in South America. The Company's principle asset is the Las Cristinas property in Venezuela. The Mining Agreement gives Crystallex 100 percent control of the reserves and resources of this project. Crystallex is currently working on the final feasibility study to support its development plans for Las Cristinas.
Note: This news release may contain certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included in this release, including, without limitation, statements regarding potential mineralization and reserves, exploration results, and future plans and objectives of Crystallex, are forward-looking statements that involve various risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations are disclosed under the heading "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in documents filed from time to time with the Toronto Stock Exchange, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and other regulatory authorities.
The Toronto Stock Exchange has not reviewed this release and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this new release.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
il prezzo dell'oro raggiungerà secondo alcuni i 450$ ed è in atto una caccia da parte delle compagnie minerarie delle migliori miniere e anche di piccole società che le possiedono. Molte di queste si trovano in sud america
Latin America yields cheap gold
Miners capitalize on lucrative mines; plus - ETF update
By Thom Calandra, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 1:15 PM ET Sept. 5, 2003
NEW YORK (CBS.MW) -- The cheap gold-stock story is one we'll be hearing a lot in coming months.
THE CALANDRA REPORT
Get profit-seeking strategies from Thom Calandra based on interviews with experts, research, analysis, and market-moving insight. Subscribe today!
Six-year highs in the brand-name gold stocks, the ones represented by the Toronto Stock Exchange's Capped Gold Index or the FTSE Gold Mines Index, have miners combing the globe for profitable acquisitions before gold's price surpasses $400 an ounce.
In one swift strike, Canada's Wheaton River Minerals (WHT: news, chart, profile), a copper and gold producer, pledged $38 million of cash for Miranda Mining, a Mexican company with several attractive gold parcels. Wheaton River will also pay $48 million to another gold company so that it can entirely own and develop one property, called Los Filos.
Ian Telfer's Wheaton River Minerals has quickly become Canada's fifth or fourth (depending on whom you talk to) largest gold miner in less than a year after listing on the American Stock Exchange. Its market worth has swelled to almost $800 million U.S.
Telfer, the company's nattily dressed and impeccably groomed CEO, sees the gold price reaching $450 an ounce sometime next year from its current $375. Telfer is searching for another gold company, or parcel, in coming months to reduce Wheaton's reliance on copper, which accounts for about a third of all revenue. (I'll be introducing Telfer, and other miners, at next week's N.Y. Gold Show, an event that may go down in history books as the opening salvo of the autumn 2003 precious-metals boom.)
The stock market met the Wheaton River transaction by sending Wheaton's shares up more than 10 percent to a new high in Toronto and on the Amex, a sign that investors believe gold prices are headed higher and that midsized miners who grow their assets will deliver high operating cash flows to their backers.
Barry Cooper, an astute gold mining equity analyst at CIBC World Markets in Toronto, says Wheaton River likely will thrive because its executives know how to buy cheap.
"Wheaton and others are out to snap up gold in the ground with the expectation that these will become mineable reserves in the current bull market that we are experiencing," Cooper told me Friday morning. "Wheaton's purchase of gold was transacted at a price of about $37 an ounce compared to an average trading multiple of about $48 for the group. The acquisition price compares with successful explorers who claim a discovery cost in the range of $10 to $15 per ounce and the unsuccessful ones where the cost of discovery is infinite."
Cooper reckons the global average cost for discovery is in the range of $30 to $50 per ounce. "So Wheaton has taken the risk out of not finding ounces. Its next step is delivering those ounces to the vault," he says.
But that's yesterday's news, right? Tomorrow's news will be the next company that Wheaton River buys in Latin America (or Australia or, yes, Romania), and the next handful of stocks that investors still see as cheap in a world of rapidly rising gold equities.
The search for fairly priced gold-mining stocks, just 18 months ago a simple exercise of buying any old gold stock, has turned into a nearly impossible task.
The so called junior miners, most of them trading in Canada and Australia, have seen their minuscule market capitalizations rise 200 percent, 300 percent and more this summer, even with the gold price steady. See: Canada's platinum lining.
"What hasn't moved?" says Robert Bishop, the legendary and longtime mining analyst from Gold Mining Stock Report. "Everyone is moving down the food chain in search of something."
In subscription service The Calandra Report, several informed analysts and asset managers have pointed us to cheap gold stocks, as measured by various metrics, including market worth per reserve ounce, operating cash flows and general knack for securing promising parcels at reasonable prices.
Frank Holmes, chairman of $1 billion-plus asset manager U.S. Global Investors (GROW: news, chart, profile), was among the first (six months ago) to point The Calandra Report to shares of Wheaton River. Since then, the shares have doubled, and on Friday, they were surpassing historic highs. See: Cheap growth is the story.
Holmes recently provided paying subscribers to The Calandra Report with shares of another American Stock Exchange emigre, and that company's shares are up 15 percent in less than four weeks. See: Canada-traded companies to benefit from U.S. listings.
I'm going to let you nonpaying subscribers work to get the name of that one. Holmes' latest bargain miner -- presented here for the first time -- is, like Wheaton River, a South America story. Bolivar Gold Corp. (CA:BGC: news, chart, profile) is a tiny Canada-traded company with roots in Venezuela.
(Readers of this report know I consider another Venezuela-linked company, Crystallex International (KRY: news, chart, profile), as one of the world's cheapest gold stocks, given a looming feasibility study on the 10-million-plus ounce Las Cristinas deposit in that politically troubled nation. Bishop, the Gold Mining Stock Report editor, was the first to illuminate me on the cheap Crystallex story, and since then, the company's shares have almost tripled. See: Crystallex story to get better next week.)
But back to Bolivar Gold, whose C$1.40 shares have gained about 40 percent since mid-July. Holmes, a Canadian by birth who has been in the gold-mining business for almost 20 years, says most investors got the early heads-up on tiny Bolivar when Gold Fields Ltd. (GFI: news, chart, profile), South Africa's second largest gold miner, agreed this summer to buy about a third of a $50 million financing.
Gold Fields, looking to exploit opportunities in Venezuela's Bolivar province, will act as a 50-50 partner in Bolivar Gold's exploration efforts in Venezuela's gold-dripping El Callao region. Holmes says Bolivar's executives, led by chief executive Serafino Iacono, "have an excellent track record managing the political risks. Further, management has a proven track record in acquiring resource operations."
The compelling part of the story for a natural resources asset manager such as Holmes is the cheap angle. "The cost of entry for Gold Fields is very inexpensive, and if Bolivar has a major discovery, the potential for Goldfields to acquire Bolivar, in my opinion, is high."
Bolivar has about $55 million of cash and is perhaps a year away from producing up to 150,000 ounces per year. "According to the life cycle of a mine model, this is easy money since companies historically go through a rerating as they approach production," Holmes says.
The asset manager from U.S. Global says Bolivar Gold's development costs for building an actual mine are low. The first 1 million ounces in its current resource is just 40 meters deep, "and the deposit comes to the surface with little overburden to strip away." He estimates the cost to build the mine at U.S. $25 million, and operating cash costs at $160 an ounce, a cheap number.
Oh, in case I didn't mention it, Bolivar Gold's executives are looking for an Amex listing. For those unwilling to venture into Canada markets, Bolivar Gold can be found on U.S. pink sheets under the symbol BLVRF.
Latin America yields cheap gold
Miners capitalize on lucrative mines; plus - ETF update
By Thom Calandra, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 1:15 PM ET Sept. 5, 2003
NEW YORK (CBS.MW) -- The cheap gold-stock story is one we'll be hearing a lot in coming months.
THE CALANDRA REPORT
Get profit-seeking strategies from Thom Calandra based on interviews with experts, research, analysis, and market-moving insight. Subscribe today!
Six-year highs in the brand-name gold stocks, the ones represented by the Toronto Stock Exchange's Capped Gold Index or the FTSE Gold Mines Index, have miners combing the globe for profitable acquisitions before gold's price surpasses $400 an ounce.
In one swift strike, Canada's Wheaton River Minerals (WHT: news, chart, profile), a copper and gold producer, pledged $38 million of cash for Miranda Mining, a Mexican company with several attractive gold parcels. Wheaton River will also pay $48 million to another gold company so that it can entirely own and develop one property, called Los Filos.
Ian Telfer's Wheaton River Minerals has quickly become Canada's fifth or fourth (depending on whom you talk to) largest gold miner in less than a year after listing on the American Stock Exchange. Its market worth has swelled to almost $800 million U.S.
Telfer, the company's nattily dressed and impeccably groomed CEO, sees the gold price reaching $450 an ounce sometime next year from its current $375. Telfer is searching for another gold company, or parcel, in coming months to reduce Wheaton's reliance on copper, which accounts for about a third of all revenue. (I'll be introducing Telfer, and other miners, at next week's N.Y. Gold Show, an event that may go down in history books as the opening salvo of the autumn 2003 precious-metals boom.)
The stock market met the Wheaton River transaction by sending Wheaton's shares up more than 10 percent to a new high in Toronto and on the Amex, a sign that investors believe gold prices are headed higher and that midsized miners who grow their assets will deliver high operating cash flows to their backers.
Barry Cooper, an astute gold mining equity analyst at CIBC World Markets in Toronto, says Wheaton River likely will thrive because its executives know how to buy cheap.
"Wheaton and others are out to snap up gold in the ground with the expectation that these will become mineable reserves in the current bull market that we are experiencing," Cooper told me Friday morning. "Wheaton's purchase of gold was transacted at a price of about $37 an ounce compared to an average trading multiple of about $48 for the group. The acquisition price compares with successful explorers who claim a discovery cost in the range of $10 to $15 per ounce and the unsuccessful ones where the cost of discovery is infinite."
Cooper reckons the global average cost for discovery is in the range of $30 to $50 per ounce. "So Wheaton has taken the risk out of not finding ounces. Its next step is delivering those ounces to the vault," he says.
But that's yesterday's news, right? Tomorrow's news will be the next company that Wheaton River buys in Latin America (or Australia or, yes, Romania), and the next handful of stocks that investors still see as cheap in a world of rapidly rising gold equities.
The search for fairly priced gold-mining stocks, just 18 months ago a simple exercise of buying any old gold stock, has turned into a nearly impossible task.
The so called junior miners, most of them trading in Canada and Australia, have seen their minuscule market capitalizations rise 200 percent, 300 percent and more this summer, even with the gold price steady. See: Canada's platinum lining.
"What hasn't moved?" says Robert Bishop, the legendary and longtime mining analyst from Gold Mining Stock Report. "Everyone is moving down the food chain in search of something."
In subscription service The Calandra Report, several informed analysts and asset managers have pointed us to cheap gold stocks, as measured by various metrics, including market worth per reserve ounce, operating cash flows and general knack for securing promising parcels at reasonable prices.
Frank Holmes, chairman of $1 billion-plus asset manager U.S. Global Investors (GROW: news, chart, profile), was among the first (six months ago) to point The Calandra Report to shares of Wheaton River. Since then, the shares have doubled, and on Friday, they were surpassing historic highs. See: Cheap growth is the story.
Holmes recently provided paying subscribers to The Calandra Report with shares of another American Stock Exchange emigre, and that company's shares are up 15 percent in less than four weeks. See: Canada-traded companies to benefit from U.S. listings.
I'm going to let you nonpaying subscribers work to get the name of that one. Holmes' latest bargain miner -- presented here for the first time -- is, like Wheaton River, a South America story. Bolivar Gold Corp. (CA:BGC: news, chart, profile) is a tiny Canada-traded company with roots in Venezuela.
(Readers of this report know I consider another Venezuela-linked company, Crystallex International (KRY: news, chart, profile), as one of the world's cheapest gold stocks, given a looming feasibility study on the 10-million-plus ounce Las Cristinas deposit in that politically troubled nation. Bishop, the Gold Mining Stock Report editor, was the first to illuminate me on the cheap Crystallex story, and since then, the company's shares have almost tripled. See: Crystallex story to get better next week.)
But back to Bolivar Gold, whose C$1.40 shares have gained about 40 percent since mid-July. Holmes, a Canadian by birth who has been in the gold-mining business for almost 20 years, says most investors got the early heads-up on tiny Bolivar when Gold Fields Ltd. (GFI: news, chart, profile), South Africa's second largest gold miner, agreed this summer to buy about a third of a $50 million financing.
Gold Fields, looking to exploit opportunities in Venezuela's Bolivar province, will act as a 50-50 partner in Bolivar Gold's exploration efforts in Venezuela's gold-dripping El Callao region. Holmes says Bolivar's executives, led by chief executive Serafino Iacono, "have an excellent track record managing the political risks. Further, management has a proven track record in acquiring resource operations."
The compelling part of the story for a natural resources asset manager such as Holmes is the cheap angle. "The cost of entry for Gold Fields is very inexpensive, and if Bolivar has a major discovery, the potential for Goldfields to acquire Bolivar, in my opinion, is high."
Bolivar has about $55 million of cash and is perhaps a year away from producing up to 150,000 ounces per year. "According to the life cycle of a mine model, this is easy money since companies historically go through a rerating as they approach production," Holmes says.
The asset manager from U.S. Global says Bolivar Gold's development costs for building an actual mine are low. The first 1 million ounces in its current resource is just 40 meters deep, "and the deposit comes to the surface with little overburden to strip away." He estimates the cost to build the mine at U.S. $25 million, and operating cash costs at $160 an ounce, a cheap number.
Oh, in case I didn't mention it, Bolivar Gold's executives are looking for an Amex listing. For those unwilling to venture into Canada markets, Bolivar Gold can be found on U.S. pink sheets under the symbol BLVRF.
ecco invece la storia di questa benedetta Crystallex che secondo il calandra ha un obiettivo di 4$ rispetto alla attuale quotazione$. E' una delle compagnie più a buon mercato
Crystallex story to get even better
Shares poised to rise ahead of Venezuela study
By Thom Calandra, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 1:44 PM ET Sept. 3, 2003
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) -- For those following the Crystallex story, here's an update.
THE CALANDRA REPORT
Get profit-seeking strategies from Thom Calandra based on interviews with experts, research, analysis, and market-moving insight. Subscribe today!
Crystallex International (KRY: news, chart, profile), a prominent and profitable member of The Calandra Report Recommended List, is vying to mine what could be one of the world's few 10-million-ounce gold deposits, in the far reaches of politically unstable Venezuela.
Crystallex (CA:KRY: news, chart, profile), a capital-hungry and in some views, poorly managed Toronto company (although I will reserve judgment on that point until the final words are spoken in a looming corporate transaction), is defying skeptics in its pursuit of Las Cristinas, the Venezuela deposit that almost surely will find itself in the hands of a midsized or large gold producer in coming months.
Crystallex will present its Las Cristinas feasibility study to provincial regulators in Venezuela in the next two weeks.
The report almost surely will lay out the intensive capital requirements of developing a large-scale gold-mining operation across the dusty plains of Las Cristinas. The company, in its continuing quest for funds, just raised $10 million from one investor -- an existing, and large, shareholder, I am told.
The Crystallex attraction, even after the false starts, the years of legal disputes in Venezuela and the earnings restatements tied to the company's tricky hedge book, is that it is cheap at the current gold price of $372 an ounce. A number of analysts, including John C. Doody at Gold Stock Analyst, have long rated the company's market capitalization per proven and probable ounces of gold reserves as the lowest, or among the cheapest, in the bullion industry.
A. Richard Marshall, the Crystallex executive who does most of the talking these days, in place of suddenly silent chief executive Marc Oppenheimer, tells me the clouds of political uncertainty hovering over Venezuela are lifting. While I don't believe that to be the case for a second, I do believe Marshall has some points to make about Crystallex, whose shares, even after a splendid rise this summer, I consider cheap.
"The appetite and perception for investing in Venezuela is improving, evidenced by the recent successful institutional financing by Bolivar Gold (CA:BGC: news, chart, profile) for their project in El Callao, Venezuela," he says. Bolivar, a small Canadian company, this summer says it and South Africa's Gold Fields Ltd. (GFI: news, chart, profile) will purchase and develop gold properties in the region. The news advanced Bolivar's Canada-traded shares significantly.
An executive at Gold Fields, South Africa's second largest gold producer, informs me it has no interest in acquiring or participating in Las Cristinas.
Crystallex's Marshall, a vice president at the company and something of a market historian when it comes to bullion, points out that other miners are expanding their presence in the country, including Hecla Mining (HL: news, chart, profile).
"In the early '90s, Venezuelan mining projects were the place to be and a form of gold rush took place," he says about the search for El Dorado. "Many companies later abandoned their projects due to the older mining laws and the inability to advance projects in a predictable fashion. With the new mining laws passed in 2000, the ability for companies to successfully advance their projects in a timely fashion has improved, and increased investment and interest are now evident."
Several analysts, including those at natural resources asset manager and investment bank Sprott Securities in Toronto, are beginning to report that political risk for investing in Venezuela is far less than most North American investors believe.
Marshall said the feasibility study, to be presented to government officials, will be followed by an environmental impact study. Several government officials, including the nation's environment minister, have indicated prospects for the vast gold project look in order.
Pending approval by the provincial government Corporacion Venezolana de Guayana, Crystallex hopes to enter a financing and construction phase for the gold operation. In this corner, I reckon the company either will sell out to a larger entity or ally itself with a deep-pocket, midsized miner in order to get Las Cristinas under way.
One fund manager with a technical bent sees shares of Crystallex headed higher in the coming week to two weeks. David Banister of 1717 Capital Management, a $10 million asset manager in Rhode Island, told me Wednesday that Crystallex's $2.50 shares on the American Stock Exchange likely will surpass $3 "very soon."
Banister's clients have been enjoying the manager's prowess at anticipating share moves based on volume patterns, executive developments, insider trades and cycle patterns that include stochastics and wave theory.
"I see $3 on Crystallex near term," he says. "Some of the gold stocks, like Bema Gold (BGO: news, chart, profile), which also has a large development in the works (in Russia), have made small pullbacks on light share volume, and now I expect imminent moves higher." The fund manager's longer term target on Crystallex is $4 and greater.
See: The
Crystallex story to get even better
Shares poised to rise ahead of Venezuela study
By Thom Calandra, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 1:44 PM ET Sept. 3, 2003
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) -- For those following the Crystallex story, here's an update.
THE CALANDRA REPORT
Get profit-seeking strategies from Thom Calandra based on interviews with experts, research, analysis, and market-moving insight. Subscribe today!
Crystallex International (KRY: news, chart, profile), a prominent and profitable member of The Calandra Report Recommended List, is vying to mine what could be one of the world's few 10-million-ounce gold deposits, in the far reaches of politically unstable Venezuela.
Crystallex (CA:KRY: news, chart, profile), a capital-hungry and in some views, poorly managed Toronto company (although I will reserve judgment on that point until the final words are spoken in a looming corporate transaction), is defying skeptics in its pursuit of Las Cristinas, the Venezuela deposit that almost surely will find itself in the hands of a midsized or large gold producer in coming months.
Crystallex will present its Las Cristinas feasibility study to provincial regulators in Venezuela in the next two weeks.
The report almost surely will lay out the intensive capital requirements of developing a large-scale gold-mining operation across the dusty plains of Las Cristinas. The company, in its continuing quest for funds, just raised $10 million from one investor -- an existing, and large, shareholder, I am told.
The Crystallex attraction, even after the false starts, the years of legal disputes in Venezuela and the earnings restatements tied to the company's tricky hedge book, is that it is cheap at the current gold price of $372 an ounce. A number of analysts, including John C. Doody at Gold Stock Analyst, have long rated the company's market capitalization per proven and probable ounces of gold reserves as the lowest, or among the cheapest, in the bullion industry.
A. Richard Marshall, the Crystallex executive who does most of the talking these days, in place of suddenly silent chief executive Marc Oppenheimer, tells me the clouds of political uncertainty hovering over Venezuela are lifting. While I don't believe that to be the case for a second, I do believe Marshall has some points to make about Crystallex, whose shares, even after a splendid rise this summer, I consider cheap.
"The appetite and perception for investing in Venezuela is improving, evidenced by the recent successful institutional financing by Bolivar Gold (CA:BGC: news, chart, profile) for their project in El Callao, Venezuela," he says. Bolivar, a small Canadian company, this summer says it and South Africa's Gold Fields Ltd. (GFI: news, chart, profile) will purchase and develop gold properties in the region. The news advanced Bolivar's Canada-traded shares significantly.
An executive at Gold Fields, South Africa's second largest gold producer, informs me it has no interest in acquiring or participating in Las Cristinas.
Crystallex's Marshall, a vice president at the company and something of a market historian when it comes to bullion, points out that other miners are expanding their presence in the country, including Hecla Mining (HL: news, chart, profile).
"In the early '90s, Venezuelan mining projects were the place to be and a form of gold rush took place," he says about the search for El Dorado. "Many companies later abandoned their projects due to the older mining laws and the inability to advance projects in a predictable fashion. With the new mining laws passed in 2000, the ability for companies to successfully advance their projects in a timely fashion has improved, and increased investment and interest are now evident."
Several analysts, including those at natural resources asset manager and investment bank Sprott Securities in Toronto, are beginning to report that political risk for investing in Venezuela is far less than most North American investors believe.
Marshall said the feasibility study, to be presented to government officials, will be followed by an environmental impact study. Several government officials, including the nation's environment minister, have indicated prospects for the vast gold project look in order.
Pending approval by the provincial government Corporacion Venezolana de Guayana, Crystallex hopes to enter a financing and construction phase for the gold operation. In this corner, I reckon the company either will sell out to a larger entity or ally itself with a deep-pocket, midsized miner in order to get Las Cristinas under way.
One fund manager with a technical bent sees shares of Crystallex headed higher in the coming week to two weeks. David Banister of 1717 Capital Management, a $10 million asset manager in Rhode Island, told me Wednesday that Crystallex's $2.50 shares on the American Stock Exchange likely will surpass $3 "very soon."
Banister's clients have been enjoying the manager's prowess at anticipating share moves based on volume patterns, executive developments, insider trades and cycle patterns that include stochastics and wave theory.
"I see $3 on Crystallex near term," he says. "Some of the gold stocks, like Bema Gold (BGO: news, chart, profile), which also has a large development in the works (in Russia), have made small pullbacks on light share volume, and now I expect imminent moves higher." The fund manager's longer term target on Crystallex is $4 and greater.
See: The
praticamente sarebbe il titolo aurifero più a buon mercato e ha in ballo lo sfruttamento di una delle più grandi miniere d'oro a basso costo di estrazione in Venezuela. La cosa dovrebbe chiarirsi entro le prossime 2 settimane. Un investitore ha fornito alla compagnia un finanziamento di 20 miliardi di $. Se la cosa si evolverà postivamente potrebbe anche salire con decisione.
completato lo studio per lo sfruttamento della miniera di las cristinas che pare estremamente promettente
TORONTO, Sept. 10 /CNW/ -- Crystallex International
Corporation (Amex: KRY; Toronto) today announced that the economic viability
of its Las Cristinas gold project located in Bolivar State in south-eastern
Venezuela has been confirmed by a full Feasibility Study completed by
SNC-Lavalin Engineers and Constructors, (SNCL). A copy of the Executive
Summary of the Feasibility Study will be available on the Company's website
at www.crystallex.com by early next week.
"We are delighted with the results of the Feasibility Study which clearly
distinguish Las Cristinas as a premier gold deposit that can be economically
developed and operated by conventional mining and gold processing technology.
We look forward to quickly finalizing development plans with the CVG. The
reserves delineated by the Feasibility Study transform Crystallex into the
fifth largest North American-based gold company in terms of reserves,"
remarked Ken Thomas, Chief Operating Officer of Crystallex.
Feasibility Study Operating Highlights
Measured and Indicated Resources(A)
(0.5g/t cut-off) 439 million tonnes grading 1.09 g/t;
15.3 million ounces of contained gold
Mineable Reserves(A,B)
(Proven and Probable) 246 million tonnes grading 1.29 g/t;
10.2 million ounces of contained gold
Gold Price US$325/oz.
Metallurgical Recovery 89%
Daily Mill Throughput 20,000 tonnes
Annual Mill Throughput 7,300,000 tonnes
Overall Strip Ratio 1.34
Mine Life 34 years
Average Annual Gold Production -
First Five Years 311,000 ounces
Average Annual Gold Production -
Life of Mine 266,000 ounces
Development Capital US$243 million
VAT on Development Capital(C) US$39 million
Operating Costs Per Tonne of Ore US$6.70
Total Cash Costs Per Ounce(D) -
First Five Years US$144
Total Cash Costs Per Ounce(D) -
Life of Mine US$196
(A) Mineral reserve and mineral resource estimates in the Feasibility
Study have been estimated in accordance with the standards of the
Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy as adopted by the
Canadian Securities Regulators in National Instrument 43-101.
(B) Mineral reserves, which were calculated using a gold price of
US$325/oz., are included in the mineral resources.
(C) VAT is charged on goods and services during the construction period;
however, is fully recoverable from gold sales revenues.
(D) Includes royalties.
Las Cristinas Economic Highlights
The Feasibility Study financial results, calculated at a gold price of
US$325 per ounce, demonstrate that Las Cristinas can be economically developed
as a large, open pit mining operation utilizing a conventional gravity and
carbon-in-leach (CIL) gold processing circuit. SNC-Lavalin Capital's
financial model was based upon the assumption of an all-equity financed
project.
Based upon current proven and probable reserves of 10.2 million ounces and
a gold price of US$325 per ounce, Las Cristinas will generate pre-tax
cumulative free cashflow of US$742 million. At US$375 per ounce, pre-tax
cumulative cashflow climbs to US$1.2 billion.
The tables below reflect the before and after tax financial returns
generated at a gold price of US$325 per ounce and also at gold prices more
reflective of current market conditions.
Before Tax Gold Price (US$/ounce)
Feasibility Sensitivities
US$ millions $325 $350 $375
Cumulative Free Cashflow(A) $742 $942 $1,156
NPV @ 5% (unleveraged) $239 $327 $421
IRR (unleveraged) 13.8% 16.6% 19.4%
Payback 4.7 years 4.1 years 3.7 years
(A) Cumulative Free Cashflow is defined as cashflow net of development
and sustaining capital, operating costs and royalties, including a 3%
exploitation tax. Royalties include the 3% Exploitation Tax on gold
sales payable to the Venezuelan Ministry of Mines and the royalty on
gold sales payable to the CVG (1% if gold is <= $280/oz; 1.5% if gold
is >$280/oz and < $350/oz; 2% if gold is >=$350/oz and <$400/oz and
3% if gold is >=$400/oz).
After Tax Gold Price (US$/ounce)
Feasibility Sensitivities
US$ millions $325 $350 $375
Cumulative Free Cashflow(A) $516 $648 $789
NPV @ 5% (unleveraged) $140 $198 $260
IRR (unleveraged) 10.5% 12.5% 14.6%
Payback 6.9 years 5.5 years 4.7 years
(A) Cumulative Free Cashflow is defined as cashflow net of development
and sustaining capital, operating costs and royalties, including a 3%
exploitation tax, and an estimated 34% Venezuelan income tax.
Overview
The overall Feasibility Study for Las Cristinas was prepared by SNCL. The
Qualified Person in charge of the overall execution of the feasibility study
is John B. Scott, P. Eng. The Study includes work performed by other
independent consultants under the coordination of SNCL. The geology, reserves
and mining sections of the Study were prepared by Mine Development Associates
of Reno Nevada. Metallurgical pilot plant testwork was conducted by SGS
Lakefield Research in Ontario. Metallurgical process work was undertaken by
J.R. Goode & Associates, Professor Andre Laplante of McGill University and
SNCL. A hydrology study was undertaken by SRK Consulting in Chile. SNCL and
Proconsult of Venezuela carried out environmental work. Financial analysis
was performed by SNC-Lavalin Capital Inc.
Las Cristinas is planned as a conventional truck and shovel open pit mine.
Processing consists of crushing, semi-autogenous primary grinding (SAG) and
secondary ball mill grinding. A gravity circuit is incorporated to recover
free gold. Gold extraction is achieved in a conventional carbon-in-leach
(CIL) circuit. Gold is removed from the loaded carbon by pressure stripping,
electrowinning and smelting to produce a gold dore. Mill throughput is
planned at 20,000 tonnes per day; however, the mill has been designed to
accommodate an expansion to 40,000 tonnes per day.
Resource/Reserve Methodology and Verification
Mine Development Associates (MDA) completed a resource model that was
based on an electronic database of drill, topographic, geologic and
engineering data that Crystallex acquired from the Corporacion Venezolana de
Guayana, (CVG) in September 2002. Data from 1,174 drill holes and 108
trenches were included in the Las Cristinas database. Over 160,000 meters of
drilling have been completed on the property (including trenches). In
addition, MDA and Crystallex undertook a drill and sample assay program to
verify the presence and tenor of the mineralization reported in the acquired
database. The verification program included drilling 2,188 meters in twelve
diamond drill holes and analyzing 275 quality assurance/quality control
samples. MDA found that the verification drill results and check samples
corroborate the tenor of gold mineralization previously reported. For
additional confirmation, Crystallex and MDA re-assayed 262 pre-existing pulps,
200 pre-existing coarse rejects and 342 pre-existing quarter core samples.
Mean grades are similar for both datasets.
Reserves
Mineral reserve estimates were developed by MDA from its resource model
using Medsystem-MineSight computer software. Two separate pits were designed:
the larger Conductora, which contains the bulk of the reserves, and the
Mesones. The Conductora pit was divided into five phases or pushbacks to
improve project economics and delay waste mining as much as possible. Pit
designs were based on a US$325 per ounce gold price and cut-off grades ranging
from 0.46 g/t to 0.69 g/t, depending upon the material type.
Tonnes Average Contained
Pit Reserve Category (000) Grade (g/t) Ounces (x 000)
Conductora Proven 36,620 1.38 1,625
Probable 187,117 1.27 7,669
Mesones Probable 21,922 1.24 871
Total Proven 36,620 1.38 1,625
Probable 209,039 1.27 8,540
Total Proven & Probable 245,659 1.29 10,165
The deposit is open ended at depth. Additional drilling may result in
upgrading some or all of the 208 million tonnes of Inferred Resources to
Measured or Indicated Resources, which could add to reserves.
Mining
The saprolite ore will likely be mined by a contractor using a fleet of
all-wheel drive trucks, while the bedrock ore will be mined by Crystallex
using a fleet of standard 136 tonne haul trucks and 21 cubic metre capacity
excavators. Different equipment is used in the saprolite and bedrock ores due
to the different material characteristics. Mining will consist of drilling
and blasting of the bedrock ore (the saprolite ore does not require blasting)
and hauling by truck to stockpiles or a crusher located at the processing
plant.
The mine production schedule is based upon providing the plant with 20,000
tonnes of ore per day, or 7.3 million ore tonnes per year. This results in a
mine life of 34 years. The average strip ratio over the life of the mine is
1.34:1.
Stockpiling and blending of the ore types will be utilized to optimize
plant throughput and gold recovery.
Metallurgy
The Las Cristinas deposit comprises a sequence of oxidized saprolite
(SAPO), sulphide saprolite (SAPS), carbonate leached bedrock (CLB) and
carbonate stable bedrock (CSB). Gold occurs in all ore types at similar
grades. Copper is absent from the SAPO, enriched in the SAPS and present at
low levels in the CLB and CSB.
A review of available metallurgical data by SNCL and J.R. Goode and
Associates and various trade-off studies indicated that direct leaching of the
ore and on-site production of bullion would provide optimum gold recovery
rates and project economics. To confirm the direct leach process and to
determine the gold recovery and reagent requirements and generate plant design
data, a comprehensive bench test and pilot plant operation were conducted at
SGS Lakefield Research during the months of April through August 2003. The
tests were conducted on several samples of all four ore types. Samples of
Conductora ore were also sent to McGill University for gravity recovery
testwork. Outokumpu also conducted pilot plant settling tests on several
samples. Gold recoveries have been estimated by SGS Lakefield Research to be
98.0 % for SAPO, 86.8% for SAPS, 87.6% for CLB and 87.6 % for CSB.
The pilot plant was operated for three weeks in which blended, batch
ground/gravity concentrated ore was subject to carbon-in-leach processing.
The gravity and pilot plant tests resulted in an overall average recovery
(gravity+leaching) of 89% for the planned SAPO/SAPS/CLB/CSB ore blend.
Processing
The processing plant consists of crushing, semi-autogenous primary
grinding, followed by secondary grinding in a ball mill.
A gravity recovery circuit is included in the grinding circuit for
recovery of free coarse gold prior to regrinding in the ball mill.
Gold extraction is achieved in a conventional carbon-in-leach circuit.
Gold is removed from the loaded carbon by pressure stripping, followed by
electrowinning of the gold metal from the pregnant solution and smelting of a
dore bar.
Infrastructure and Services
A long history of mining and industrial projects in Bolivar State makes
the region very suitable for the development of a large gold mining project.
The Las Cristinas site is serviced by paved highway from the Venezuelan port
of Puerto Ordaz, a major industrial city located on the Orinoco River, some
360 kilometres from Las Cristinas. Las Cristinas is located 6 kilometres west
of the village of Las Claritas, which is on the main highway from Puerto
Ordaz.
An existing 400 kV power line parallels the main highway from Puerto
Ordaz. A new substation was constructed six kilometres from Las Cristinas in
2001 to service the area. The substation has two 150 MVA power transformers
and provision has been made to supply Las Cristinas via a new six kilometre
230 kV overhead power line. The site power demand is estimated at 30 MW which
can be adequately supplied by the substation. Adequate power is available to
support a Project expansion to 40,000 tonnes per day.
Tailings Management Facilities (TMF)
The tailings dam is a conventional centre line structure with a centre
wall drain and buttressed by waste rock. The dam wall is rolled saprolite and
the dam floor is impervious saprolite (clay) up to 20 to 40 meters thick. The
area has an earthquake rating of zero (the lowest rating). The TMF was
designed to national and internationally accepted practise and risk ratings in
respect of earthquake and flood events.
Environmental Management
SNCL has conducted a preliminary environmental impact analysis and
assessment of potential environmental impacts associated with the construction
and operation of the Las Cristinas project. A Preliminary Environmental
Impact Assessment, (EIA) is scheduled for completion by SNCL shortly. A Final
EIA, Site Closure and Rehabilitation Plan together with an Environmental
Management Plan that meets Venezuelan and World Bank standards will be
completed as detailed engineering progresses.
As a result of the Project design parameters chosen and the nature of the
orebody, the Preliminary Environmental Impact Analysis has concluded that:
-- Risk of significant environmental contamination from effluent
discharges is low.
-- Risk of Tailings Management Facility failure or environmental
contamination is low.
-- Permitting is expected to be straightforward based on ongoing
discussions and informational review with the Venezuelan Ministry of
Environment and Natural Resources. All work will be completed to
Venezuelan and World Bank standards.
-- Risk of contamination following closure is low.
Further work undertaken as the Project advances to the next stage will aim
to confirm these conclusions.
Capital Cost Estimates
Capital cost estimates are based upon new equipment and are expressed in
US dollars.
Item Cost Estimate (US$,000)
Mine 27,258
Process Plant 80,196
Tailings Management Facility 24,490
Infrastructure 27,728
Sub-Total Direct Costs 160,672
Owner's Cost 10,000
Indirect Costs (including contingency) 72,095
Total Costs 242,767
VAT(A) 38,843
Total Initial Capital Requirement $281,610
(A) VAT of 16.5% has been applied to the total capital costs. This is
fully recovered over the first two and one half years from gold sales
revenues.
Operating Cost Estimates (at US$325 gold)
Total cash costs for the first five years of production are estimated at
US$130 per ounce before royalties and US$144 per ounce including royalties.
Over the life of mine, average total cash costs are estimated at US$182 per
ounce of gold ($6.70/tonne of ore) before royalties and US$196 per ounce
including royalties. Unit operating costs by area are tabled below:
Item Op. Cost/Tonne Ore Op. Cost/Ounce Gold (1)
Mining $2.94 $80
Processing $3.38 $92
G&A $0.38 $10
Total $6.70 $182
(A) Excludes royalties.
Financial Analysis
SNC-Lavalin Capital prepared a financial model for the Las Cristinas
Project. The model was run in US dollars with no allowance for inflation.
The model includes all capital costs, operating costs, royalties and a 34%
income tax. Depreciation was conservatively assumed for a 20 year life on a
straight line basis. An existing investment tax credit of 10% of the
development capital cost is utilized to offset income taxes during the first
two years of production. For simplicity, the model assumed that the Project
is financed entirely with equity; however, the application of project debt
will improve the already robust internal rate of return. The Base Case model
used a gold price of $325 per ounce. Key results are as follows:
Before Tax After Tax
Gold Price $325 per ounce $325 per ounce
Cumulative Free Cashflow $742 million $516 million
NPV @ 5% $239 million $140 million
IRR 13.8% 10.5%
Payback 4.7 years 6.9 years
A sensitivity analysis was performed which considered the impact to the
financial results from changes to the gold price, capital costs and operating
costs. The analysis indicated that the Las Cristinas financial results are
most sensitive to changes in the gold price. On an pre-tax basis, a 10%
increase in the gold price resulted in a 29% increase in the IRR to 17.8%,
while similar decreases to the capital or operating costs yielded IRR
increases of only 15% in both cases.
Sensitivity results, illustrated independently for changes to the gold
price, operating costs and capital costs, on a pre-tax basis are presented
below:
Gold Price IRR Operating Costs IRR Capital Costs IRR
US$/oz % % of Base % % of Base %
$260 4.0% 80% 17.9% 80% 18.5%
$293 9.5% 90% 15.9% 90% 15.9%
$325 13.8% 100% 13.8% 100% 13.8%
$355 17.8% 110% 11.5% 110% 12.1%
$390 21.5% 120% 8.9% 120% 10.7%
The Feasibility Study has been provided to the CVG in accordance with the
Mining Operation Contract signed in September 2002.
Next Steps -- Project Implementation
The next phase of advancing Las Cristinas, which is estimated to extend
through the first quarter of 2004, will focus on awarding an Engineering
Procurement and Construction Management mandate, initiating Detailed
Engineering work, completing the Preliminary and Final EIS reports, and
securing the Land Use Permit and the Permit to Impact the Environment. The
Company will also continue to advance the social programs committed to under
the terms of Crystallex's Mining Operation Contract. These include providing
new water treatment facilities, sewerage systems, houses and road improvements
for the local communities. In addition, the Company will continue to work
with its financial advisors to determine the optimum financing structure and
sources of debt financing for Las Cristinas.
About Crystallex: Crystallex International Corporation is a Canadian
based gold producer with operations and exploration properties in Venezuela
and Uruguay. Crystallex shares are traded on the TSX and AMEX Exchanges.
Crystallex is focused on strategic growth in South America. The Company's
principle asset is the Las Cristinas property in Venezuela. The Mining
Agreement gives Crystallex 100 percent control of the reserves and resources
of this project. Crystallex is currently working on the final feasibility
study to support its development plans for Las Cristinas.
Note: This news release may contain certain "forward-looking statements"
within the meaning of the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included
in this release, including, without limitation, statements regarding potential
mineralization and reserves, exploration results, and future plans and
objectives of Crystallex, are forward-looking statements that involve various
risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will
prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ
materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that
could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's
expectations are disclosed under the heading "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in
documents filed from time to time with the Toronto Stock Exchange, the United
States Securities and Exchange Commission and other regulatory authorities.
Please Note: The estimates described in this study and herein qualifies as
reserves in accordance with Canadian National Instrument 43-101. However,
they do not necessarily qualify as reserves for United States reporting
purposes. Therefore, readers should not assume that the information provided
in the study and in this release is acceptable for United States reporting
purposes. Furthermore, readers should note that measured and indicated
resources presented herein would not be acceptable for United States reporting
purposes.
The Toronto Stock Exchange has not reviewed this release and does not
accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this new release.
/Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/114620.html /
/Web site: http://www.crystallex.com /
VIEW ADDITIONAL COMPANY-SPECIFIC INFORMATION:
http://www.newswire.ca/cgi-bin/inquiry.cgi?OKEY=53688
/For further information: Investor Relations, A. Richard Marshall, VP of
Crystallex International Corporation, +1-800-738-1577, or email,
mail(at)crystallex.com /
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TORONTO, Sept. 10 /CNW/ -- Crystallex International
Corporation (Amex: KRY; Toronto) today announced that the economic viability
of its Las Cristinas gold project located in Bolivar State in south-eastern
Venezuela has been confirmed by a full Feasibility Study completed by
SNC-Lavalin Engineers and Constructors, (SNCL). A copy of the Executive
Summary of the Feasibility Study will be available on the Company's website
at www.crystallex.com by early next week.
"We are delighted with the results of the Feasibility Study which clearly
distinguish Las Cristinas as a premier gold deposit that can be economically
developed and operated by conventional mining and gold processing technology.
We look forward to quickly finalizing development plans with the CVG. The
reserves delineated by the Feasibility Study transform Crystallex into the
fifth largest North American-based gold company in terms of reserves,"
remarked Ken Thomas, Chief Operating Officer of Crystallex.
Feasibility Study Operating Highlights
Measured and Indicated Resources(A)
(0.5g/t cut-off) 439 million tonnes grading 1.09 g/t;
15.3 million ounces of contained gold
Mineable Reserves(A,B)
(Proven and Probable) 246 million tonnes grading 1.29 g/t;
10.2 million ounces of contained gold
Gold Price US$325/oz.
Metallurgical Recovery 89%
Daily Mill Throughput 20,000 tonnes
Annual Mill Throughput 7,300,000 tonnes
Overall Strip Ratio 1.34
Mine Life 34 years
Average Annual Gold Production -
First Five Years 311,000 ounces
Average Annual Gold Production -
Life of Mine 266,000 ounces
Development Capital US$243 million
VAT on Development Capital(C) US$39 million
Operating Costs Per Tonne of Ore US$6.70
Total Cash Costs Per Ounce(D) -
First Five Years US$144
Total Cash Costs Per Ounce(D) -
Life of Mine US$196
(A) Mineral reserve and mineral resource estimates in the Feasibility
Study have been estimated in accordance with the standards of the
Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy as adopted by the
Canadian Securities Regulators in National Instrument 43-101.
(B) Mineral reserves, which were calculated using a gold price of
US$325/oz., are included in the mineral resources.
(C) VAT is charged on goods and services during the construction period;
however, is fully recoverable from gold sales revenues.
(D) Includes royalties.
Las Cristinas Economic Highlights
The Feasibility Study financial results, calculated at a gold price of
US$325 per ounce, demonstrate that Las Cristinas can be economically developed
as a large, open pit mining operation utilizing a conventional gravity and
carbon-in-leach (CIL) gold processing circuit. SNC-Lavalin Capital's
financial model was based upon the assumption of an all-equity financed
project.
Based upon current proven and probable reserves of 10.2 million ounces and
a gold price of US$325 per ounce, Las Cristinas will generate pre-tax
cumulative free cashflow of US$742 million. At US$375 per ounce, pre-tax
cumulative cashflow climbs to US$1.2 billion.
The tables below reflect the before and after tax financial returns
generated at a gold price of US$325 per ounce and also at gold prices more
reflective of current market conditions.
Before Tax Gold Price (US$/ounce)
Feasibility Sensitivities
US$ millions $325 $350 $375
Cumulative Free Cashflow(A) $742 $942 $1,156
NPV @ 5% (unleveraged) $239 $327 $421
IRR (unleveraged) 13.8% 16.6% 19.4%
Payback 4.7 years 4.1 years 3.7 years
(A) Cumulative Free Cashflow is defined as cashflow net of development
and sustaining capital, operating costs and royalties, including a 3%
exploitation tax. Royalties include the 3% Exploitation Tax on gold
sales payable to the Venezuelan Ministry of Mines and the royalty on
gold sales payable to the CVG (1% if gold is <= $280/oz; 1.5% if gold
is >$280/oz and < $350/oz; 2% if gold is >=$350/oz and <$400/oz and
3% if gold is >=$400/oz).
After Tax Gold Price (US$/ounce)
Feasibility Sensitivities
US$ millions $325 $350 $375
Cumulative Free Cashflow(A) $516 $648 $789
NPV @ 5% (unleveraged) $140 $198 $260
IRR (unleveraged) 10.5% 12.5% 14.6%
Payback 6.9 years 5.5 years 4.7 years
(A) Cumulative Free Cashflow is defined as cashflow net of development
and sustaining capital, operating costs and royalties, including a 3%
exploitation tax, and an estimated 34% Venezuelan income tax.
Overview
The overall Feasibility Study for Las Cristinas was prepared by SNCL. The
Qualified Person in charge of the overall execution of the feasibility study
is John B. Scott, P. Eng. The Study includes work performed by other
independent consultants under the coordination of SNCL. The geology, reserves
and mining sections of the Study were prepared by Mine Development Associates
of Reno Nevada. Metallurgical pilot plant testwork was conducted by SGS
Lakefield Research in Ontario. Metallurgical process work was undertaken by
J.R. Goode & Associates, Professor Andre Laplante of McGill University and
SNCL. A hydrology study was undertaken by SRK Consulting in Chile. SNCL and
Proconsult of Venezuela carried out environmental work. Financial analysis
was performed by SNC-Lavalin Capital Inc.
Las Cristinas is planned as a conventional truck and shovel open pit mine.
Processing consists of crushing, semi-autogenous primary grinding (SAG) and
secondary ball mill grinding. A gravity circuit is incorporated to recover
free gold. Gold extraction is achieved in a conventional carbon-in-leach
(CIL) circuit. Gold is removed from the loaded carbon by pressure stripping,
electrowinning and smelting to produce a gold dore. Mill throughput is
planned at 20,000 tonnes per day; however, the mill has been designed to
accommodate an expansion to 40,000 tonnes per day.
Resource/Reserve Methodology and Verification
Mine Development Associates (MDA) completed a resource model that was
based on an electronic database of drill, topographic, geologic and
engineering data that Crystallex acquired from the Corporacion Venezolana de
Guayana, (CVG) in September 2002. Data from 1,174 drill holes and 108
trenches were included in the Las Cristinas database. Over 160,000 meters of
drilling have been completed on the property (including trenches). In
addition, MDA and Crystallex undertook a drill and sample assay program to
verify the presence and tenor of the mineralization reported in the acquired
database. The verification program included drilling 2,188 meters in twelve
diamond drill holes and analyzing 275 quality assurance/quality control
samples. MDA found that the verification drill results and check samples
corroborate the tenor of gold mineralization previously reported. For
additional confirmation, Crystallex and MDA re-assayed 262 pre-existing pulps,
200 pre-existing coarse rejects and 342 pre-existing quarter core samples.
Mean grades are similar for both datasets.
Reserves
Mineral reserve estimates were developed by MDA from its resource model
using Medsystem-MineSight computer software. Two separate pits were designed:
the larger Conductora, which contains the bulk of the reserves, and the
Mesones. The Conductora pit was divided into five phases or pushbacks to
improve project economics and delay waste mining as much as possible. Pit
designs were based on a US$325 per ounce gold price and cut-off grades ranging
from 0.46 g/t to 0.69 g/t, depending upon the material type.
Tonnes Average Contained
Pit Reserve Category (000) Grade (g/t) Ounces (x 000)
Conductora Proven 36,620 1.38 1,625
Probable 187,117 1.27 7,669
Mesones Probable 21,922 1.24 871
Total Proven 36,620 1.38 1,625
Probable 209,039 1.27 8,540
Total Proven & Probable 245,659 1.29 10,165
The deposit is open ended at depth. Additional drilling may result in
upgrading some or all of the 208 million tonnes of Inferred Resources to
Measured or Indicated Resources, which could add to reserves.
Mining
The saprolite ore will likely be mined by a contractor using a fleet of
all-wheel drive trucks, while the bedrock ore will be mined by Crystallex
using a fleet of standard 136 tonne haul trucks and 21 cubic metre capacity
excavators. Different equipment is used in the saprolite and bedrock ores due
to the different material characteristics. Mining will consist of drilling
and blasting of the bedrock ore (the saprolite ore does not require blasting)
and hauling by truck to stockpiles or a crusher located at the processing
plant.
The mine production schedule is based upon providing the plant with 20,000
tonnes of ore per day, or 7.3 million ore tonnes per year. This results in a
mine life of 34 years. The average strip ratio over the life of the mine is
1.34:1.
Stockpiling and blending of the ore types will be utilized to optimize
plant throughput and gold recovery.
Metallurgy
The Las Cristinas deposit comprises a sequence of oxidized saprolite
(SAPO), sulphide saprolite (SAPS), carbonate leached bedrock (CLB) and
carbonate stable bedrock (CSB). Gold occurs in all ore types at similar
grades. Copper is absent from the SAPO, enriched in the SAPS and present at
low levels in the CLB and CSB.
A review of available metallurgical data by SNCL and J.R. Goode and
Associates and various trade-off studies indicated that direct leaching of the
ore and on-site production of bullion would provide optimum gold recovery
rates and project economics. To confirm the direct leach process and to
determine the gold recovery and reagent requirements and generate plant design
data, a comprehensive bench test and pilot plant operation were conducted at
SGS Lakefield Research during the months of April through August 2003. The
tests were conducted on several samples of all four ore types. Samples of
Conductora ore were also sent to McGill University for gravity recovery
testwork. Outokumpu also conducted pilot plant settling tests on several
samples. Gold recoveries have been estimated by SGS Lakefield Research to be
98.0 % for SAPO, 86.8% for SAPS, 87.6% for CLB and 87.6 % for CSB.
The pilot plant was operated for three weeks in which blended, batch
ground/gravity concentrated ore was subject to carbon-in-leach processing.
The gravity and pilot plant tests resulted in an overall average recovery
(gravity+leaching) of 89% for the planned SAPO/SAPS/CLB/CSB ore blend.
Processing
The processing plant consists of crushing, semi-autogenous primary
grinding, followed by secondary grinding in a ball mill.
A gravity recovery circuit is included in the grinding circuit for
recovery of free coarse gold prior to regrinding in the ball mill.
Gold extraction is achieved in a conventional carbon-in-leach circuit.
Gold is removed from the loaded carbon by pressure stripping, followed by
electrowinning of the gold metal from the pregnant solution and smelting of a
dore bar.
Infrastructure and Services
A long history of mining and industrial projects in Bolivar State makes
the region very suitable for the development of a large gold mining project.
The Las Cristinas site is serviced by paved highway from the Venezuelan port
of Puerto Ordaz, a major industrial city located on the Orinoco River, some
360 kilometres from Las Cristinas. Las Cristinas is located 6 kilometres west
of the village of Las Claritas, which is on the main highway from Puerto
Ordaz.
An existing 400 kV power line parallels the main highway from Puerto
Ordaz. A new substation was constructed six kilometres from Las Cristinas in
2001 to service the area. The substation has two 150 MVA power transformers
and provision has been made to supply Las Cristinas via a new six kilometre
230 kV overhead power line. The site power demand is estimated at 30 MW which
can be adequately supplied by the substation. Adequate power is available to
support a Project expansion to 40,000 tonnes per day.
Tailings Management Facilities (TMF)
The tailings dam is a conventional centre line structure with a centre
wall drain and buttressed by waste rock. The dam wall is rolled saprolite and
the dam floor is impervious saprolite (clay) up to 20 to 40 meters thick. The
area has an earthquake rating of zero (the lowest rating). The TMF was
designed to national and internationally accepted practise and risk ratings in
respect of earthquake and flood events.
Environmental Management
SNCL has conducted a preliminary environmental impact analysis and
assessment of potential environmental impacts associated with the construction
and operation of the Las Cristinas project. A Preliminary Environmental
Impact Assessment, (EIA) is scheduled for completion by SNCL shortly. A Final
EIA, Site Closure and Rehabilitation Plan together with an Environmental
Management Plan that meets Venezuelan and World Bank standards will be
completed as detailed engineering progresses.
As a result of the Project design parameters chosen and the nature of the
orebody, the Preliminary Environmental Impact Analysis has concluded that:
-- Risk of significant environmental contamination from effluent
discharges is low.
-- Risk of Tailings Management Facility failure or environmental
contamination is low.
-- Permitting is expected to be straightforward based on ongoing
discussions and informational review with the Venezuelan Ministry of
Environment and Natural Resources. All work will be completed to
Venezuelan and World Bank standards.
-- Risk of contamination following closure is low.
Further work undertaken as the Project advances to the next stage will aim
to confirm these conclusions.
Capital Cost Estimates
Capital cost estimates are based upon new equipment and are expressed in
US dollars.
Item Cost Estimate (US$,000)
Mine 27,258
Process Plant 80,196
Tailings Management Facility 24,490
Infrastructure 27,728
Sub-Total Direct Costs 160,672
Owner's Cost 10,000
Indirect Costs (including contingency) 72,095
Total Costs 242,767
VAT(A) 38,843
Total Initial Capital Requirement $281,610
(A) VAT of 16.5% has been applied to the total capital costs. This is
fully recovered over the first two and one half years from gold sales
revenues.
Operating Cost Estimates (at US$325 gold)
Total cash costs for the first five years of production are estimated at
US$130 per ounce before royalties and US$144 per ounce including royalties.
Over the life of mine, average total cash costs are estimated at US$182 per
ounce of gold ($6.70/tonne of ore) before royalties and US$196 per ounce
including royalties. Unit operating costs by area are tabled below:
Item Op. Cost/Tonne Ore Op. Cost/Ounce Gold (1)
Mining $2.94 $80
Processing $3.38 $92
G&A $0.38 $10
Total $6.70 $182
(A) Excludes royalties.
Financial Analysis
SNC-Lavalin Capital prepared a financial model for the Las Cristinas
Project. The model was run in US dollars with no allowance for inflation.
The model includes all capital costs, operating costs, royalties and a 34%
income tax. Depreciation was conservatively assumed for a 20 year life on a
straight line basis. An existing investment tax credit of 10% of the
development capital cost is utilized to offset income taxes during the first
two years of production. For simplicity, the model assumed that the Project
is financed entirely with equity; however, the application of project debt
will improve the already robust internal rate of return. The Base Case model
used a gold price of $325 per ounce. Key results are as follows:
Before Tax After Tax
Gold Price $325 per ounce $325 per ounce
Cumulative Free Cashflow $742 million $516 million
NPV @ 5% $239 million $140 million
IRR 13.8% 10.5%
Payback 4.7 years 6.9 years
A sensitivity analysis was performed which considered the impact to the
financial results from changes to the gold price, capital costs and operating
costs. The analysis indicated that the Las Cristinas financial results are
most sensitive to changes in the gold price. On an pre-tax basis, a 10%
increase in the gold price resulted in a 29% increase in the IRR to 17.8%,
while similar decreases to the capital or operating costs yielded IRR
increases of only 15% in both cases.
Sensitivity results, illustrated independently for changes to the gold
price, operating costs and capital costs, on a pre-tax basis are presented
below:
Gold Price IRR Operating Costs IRR Capital Costs IRR
US$/oz % % of Base % % of Base %
$260 4.0% 80% 17.9% 80% 18.5%
$293 9.5% 90% 15.9% 90% 15.9%
$325 13.8% 100% 13.8% 100% 13.8%
$355 17.8% 110% 11.5% 110% 12.1%
$390 21.5% 120% 8.9% 120% 10.7%
The Feasibility Study has been provided to the CVG in accordance with the
Mining Operation Contract signed in September 2002.
Next Steps -- Project Implementation
The next phase of advancing Las Cristinas, which is estimated to extend
through the first quarter of 2004, will focus on awarding an Engineering
Procurement and Construction Management mandate, initiating Detailed
Engineering work, completing the Preliminary and Final EIS reports, and
securing the Land Use Permit and the Permit to Impact the Environment. The
Company will also continue to advance the social programs committed to under
the terms of Crystallex's Mining Operation Contract. These include providing
new water treatment facilities, sewerage systems, houses and road improvements
for the local communities. In addition, the Company will continue to work
with its financial advisors to determine the optimum financing structure and
sources of debt financing for Las Cristinas.
About Crystallex: Crystallex International Corporation is a Canadian
based gold producer with operations and exploration properties in Venezuela
and Uruguay. Crystallex shares are traded on the TSX and AMEX Exchanges.
Crystallex is focused on strategic growth in South America. The Company's
principle asset is the Las Cristinas property in Venezuela. The Mining
Agreement gives Crystallex 100 percent control of the reserves and resources
of this project. Crystallex is currently working on the final feasibility
study to support its development plans for Las Cristinas.
Note: This news release may contain certain "forward-looking statements"
within the meaning of the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included
in this release, including, without limitation, statements regarding potential
mineralization and reserves, exploration results, and future plans and
objectives of Crystallex, are forward-looking statements that involve various
risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will
prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ
materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that
could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's
expectations are disclosed under the heading "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in
documents filed from time to time with the Toronto Stock Exchange, the United
States Securities and Exchange Commission and other regulatory authorities.
Please Note: The estimates described in this study and herein qualifies as
reserves in accordance with Canadian National Instrument 43-101. However,
they do not necessarily qualify as reserves for United States reporting
purposes. Therefore, readers should not assume that the information provided
in the study and in this release is acceptable for United States reporting
purposes. Furthermore, readers should note that measured and indicated
resources presented herein would not be acceptable for United States reporting
purposes.
The Toronto Stock Exchange has not reviewed this release and does not
accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this new release.
/Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/114620.html /
/Web site: http://www.crystallex.com /
VIEW ADDITIONAL COMPANY-SPECIFIC INFORMATION:
http://www.newswire.ca/cgi-bin/inquiry.cgi?OKEY=53688
/For further information: Investor Relations, A. Richard Marshall, VP of
Crystallex International Corporation, +1-800-738-1577, or email,
mail(at)crystallex.com /
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Re: Kry Crystallex
Oggi scende parecchio
Venezuelan Guayana Corporation (CVG) says Crystallex will get green light on Las Cristinas within the next 22 days
Guayana provincial newspaper Nueva Prensa headlines Wednesday's presentation of the update Las Cristinas project to the Venezuelan Guayana Corporation (CVG) executives by Toronto-based Crystallex International Corporation and says a definitive decision will be published within the next 22 days after which Crystallex should get the green light to proceed with regulatory dispositions to receive environmental permits to proceed with exploration and development of the Las Cristinas 4, 5, 6 & 7 goldmines in southeastern Bolivar State.
Local reporters say that a feasibility study presented at the Club Macagua by Crystallex president & CEO Marc J. Oppenheimer and received by CVG president, Major General (ret.) Francisco Rangel Gomez has detailed plans to mine at Las Cristinas for the next 34 years with an average daily throughput of 20 metric tonnes of ore for an annual production of 266,000 troy ounces of gold. Reserves have been calculated at a minimum 10.2 million ounces from 246 million tonnes of ore at a projected average of 1.29 g/au per tonne.
Oppenheimer has emphasized that Crystallex International believes in the potential for Venezuelan mining and on the basis of this criteria, his company has been prepared to invest in Venezuela for several decades ... "this (feasibility) study was concluded on time and confirms the solid economics of the Las Cristinas project."
Oppenheimer has sent out strong signals that the economic growth of the region will translate into the generation of jobs, tax revenues and improvements in local infrastructure, not forgetting the implementation of a series of social programs. Oppenheimer adds that there are a number of procedures yet to accomplish such as the CVG's response to Crystallex' Wednesday presentation and the importance of studies to determine the environmental impact of gold mining at Las Cristinas, as well as to define engineering details and to obtain necessary permits as quickly as possible.
The feasibility study presented yesterday calculate gold at US$325 per troy ounce and show that Las Cristinas could be economically developed as a large open sky mine operation.
Based on currently proven and probable reserves and the current price of gold on world markets, Las Cristinas will generate a net accumulated pre-tax cashflow of US$742 million rising to US$ 1.2 billion of gold rises to US$375 per troy ounce.
Major General (ret.)
Francisco
Rangel Gomez
CVG president Francisco Rangel Gomez describes the Las Cristinas deal as a "Win Win" for Venezuela and has expressed his enthusiasm ahead of regional recovery in gold mining operations as an opportunity Venezuela has to gain speed towards an alternative economy distinct from its currently high dependency on oil revenues. "The gold sector has experienced problems, but they are headed for resolution."
Several large projects are in the process of execution ... the Sosa Mendez mine is being reactivated and Idaho-based Hecla is proceeding with Minerven Block B. "After more than a decade of abandonment, we are now seeing an investment of US$500 million as guaranteeing success for the exploitation of Las Cristinas. We have a regionally depressed population which has been waiting for many years, who can see an immediate reactivation of the local economy and improvements in basic public services as a result. International financial institutions which have been involved in the planning of the Crystallex/Las Cristinas project have been present to back up their positive interest and the viability of the feasibility study ... the project has been handled exactly as they said it would be when we signed the agreement a year ago. We will be handing on our evaluation to the Ministry of Energy & Mines (MEM) in approximately 22 days time."
Crystallex de Venezuela president Luis Felipe Cottin says that the company has fulfilled its undertakings to the CVG well on time and will now progress towards ancillary social undertakings for local communities close to Las Cristinas. Crystallex is looking to take on an additional 50 workers before the end of 2003 and the CVG is already in possession of architect plans for the construction of housing associated with the project. Among other things, they will be working on water treatment plans and training for employees.
Deutsche Bank's Jeffrey R. Stufsky has told Guayana regional reporters that the Las Cristinas project is attractive to foreign investment bankers since it has low operative costs and a management team matching historical major world gold corporations ... "both these factors will guarantee initial Las Cristinas' financing of US$275 million from a pool of international banks and agencies."
to SEARCH all of VHeadline.com's editorial pages:
http://www.vheadline.com/search
ecco cosa si dice di questa benedetta miniera
Oggi scende parecchio
Venezuelan Guayana Corporation (CVG) says Crystallex will get green light on Las Cristinas within the next 22 days
Guayana provincial newspaper Nueva Prensa headlines Wednesday's presentation of the update Las Cristinas project to the Venezuelan Guayana Corporation (CVG) executives by Toronto-based Crystallex International Corporation and says a definitive decision will be published within the next 22 days after which Crystallex should get the green light to proceed with regulatory dispositions to receive environmental permits to proceed with exploration and development of the Las Cristinas 4, 5, 6 & 7 goldmines in southeastern Bolivar State.
Local reporters say that a feasibility study presented at the Club Macagua by Crystallex president & CEO Marc J. Oppenheimer and received by CVG president, Major General (ret.) Francisco Rangel Gomez has detailed plans to mine at Las Cristinas for the next 34 years with an average daily throughput of 20 metric tonnes of ore for an annual production of 266,000 troy ounces of gold. Reserves have been calculated at a minimum 10.2 million ounces from 246 million tonnes of ore at a projected average of 1.29 g/au per tonne.
Oppenheimer has emphasized that Crystallex International believes in the potential for Venezuelan mining and on the basis of this criteria, his company has been prepared to invest in Venezuela for several decades ... "this (feasibility) study was concluded on time and confirms the solid economics of the Las Cristinas project."
Oppenheimer has sent out strong signals that the economic growth of the region will translate into the generation of jobs, tax revenues and improvements in local infrastructure, not forgetting the implementation of a series of social programs. Oppenheimer adds that there are a number of procedures yet to accomplish such as the CVG's response to Crystallex' Wednesday presentation and the importance of studies to determine the environmental impact of gold mining at Las Cristinas, as well as to define engineering details and to obtain necessary permits as quickly as possible.
The feasibility study presented yesterday calculate gold at US$325 per troy ounce and show that Las Cristinas could be economically developed as a large open sky mine operation.
Based on currently proven and probable reserves and the current price of gold on world markets, Las Cristinas will generate a net accumulated pre-tax cashflow of US$742 million rising to US$ 1.2 billion of gold rises to US$375 per troy ounce.
Major General (ret.)
Francisco
Rangel Gomez
CVG president Francisco Rangel Gomez describes the Las Cristinas deal as a "Win Win" for Venezuela and has expressed his enthusiasm ahead of regional recovery in gold mining operations as an opportunity Venezuela has to gain speed towards an alternative economy distinct from its currently high dependency on oil revenues. "The gold sector has experienced problems, but they are headed for resolution."
Several large projects are in the process of execution ... the Sosa Mendez mine is being reactivated and Idaho-based Hecla is proceeding with Minerven Block B. "After more than a decade of abandonment, we are now seeing an investment of US$500 million as guaranteeing success for the exploitation of Las Cristinas. We have a regionally depressed population which has been waiting for many years, who can see an immediate reactivation of the local economy and improvements in basic public services as a result. International financial institutions which have been involved in the planning of the Crystallex/Las Cristinas project have been present to back up their positive interest and the viability of the feasibility study ... the project has been handled exactly as they said it would be when we signed the agreement a year ago. We will be handing on our evaluation to the Ministry of Energy & Mines (MEM) in approximately 22 days time."
Crystallex de Venezuela president Luis Felipe Cottin says that the company has fulfilled its undertakings to the CVG well on time and will now progress towards ancillary social undertakings for local communities close to Las Cristinas. Crystallex is looking to take on an additional 50 workers before the end of 2003 and the CVG is already in possession of architect plans for the construction of housing associated with the project. Among other things, they will be working on water treatment plans and training for employees.
Deutsche Bank's Jeffrey R. Stufsky has told Guayana regional reporters that the Las Cristinas project is attractive to foreign investment bankers since it has low operative costs and a management team matching historical major world gold corporations ... "both these factors will guarantee initial Las Cristinas' financing of US$275 million from a pool of international banks and agencies."
to SEARCH all of VHeadline.com's editorial pages:
http://www.vheadline.com/search
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