Asiamet Resources Limited – Half-Year Results 2017

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Sept. 15, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Asiamet Resources Ltd., (AIM:ARS) (‘the Company’), Half-year financial statements for the six months ended 30 June 2017 are available for viewing on www.sedar.com or www.asiametresources.com.

As at 30 June 2017, the Company had cash of $137,445. On 11 August 2017, the Company placed a total of 139,534,884 new common shares (“Placing Shares”) to raise a total of £6.0m (approximately $7.7m) (before expenses) (the “Placing”) at a price of £0.043 (the “Placing Price”). The Placing Shares were admitted for trading on AIM on 15 August 2017. Insider purchasers included Antony Manini, a Director and Executive Chairman of the Company, Stephen Hughes, a Director and Vice President Exploration of the Company, and Faldi Ismail, a Director of the Company, who purchased 1,000,000, 418,605 and 283,395 Placing Shares respectively at the Placing Price. In addition, Significant Shareholders Asipac Group Pty Ltd. and Namarong Investments Pty Ltd. participated in the Placing and purchased 7,441,860 (4.9%) and 7,209,302 (4.25%) Placing Shares respectively, at the Placing Price. JP Morgan Asset Management purchased 71,010,118 (8.31%) Placing Shares at the Placing Price to become a new Significant Shareholder.

The loss from continuing operations for the half-year ended 30 June 2017 was $2,014,057 (2016: $808,752) was net of a $708,089 gain on sale of its subsidiary. The loss results from $2,096,264 of exploration expenditure incurred and expensed, $492,005 of administration costs and $96,910 of non-cash share-based compensation expenditure. The exploration expenditure incurred and expensed mainly relates to the ongoing feasibility study work on the Beruang Kanan Main zone and peripheral exploration and on advancing the conversion of the IUP at Beutong from an exploration IUP to a production IUP.

Management

On 20 February 2017, the Company strengthened its Board and management team to oversee the advancement the BKM feasibility study and ramp up project financing and mine development related activities. Peter Bird, a highly experienced mining company executive joined the Board of Directors and assumed the role of Deputy Managing Chairman and Chief Executive Officer with Tony Manini stepping up from that role to Executive Chairman. Peter Pollard, the former non-executive Chairman remains on the Board along with Faldi Ismail, Raynard von Hahn and Steve Hughes, the Vice President of Exploration. Further changes to the Board will be made in due course as the focus of Company activities transitions from exploration and feasibility studies to project financing, mine construction and operations.

Marketplace

The Company is a “designated foreign issuer” as that term is defined under National Instrument 71-102 – Continuous Disclosure and Other Exemptions Relating to Foreign Issuers (“NI 71-102”). The Company is subject to “foreign disclosure requirements” (as such term is defined in NI 71-102) of the Financial Conduct Authority of the United Kingdom and the London Stock Exchange. The Company is relying on the exemptions contained in Part 5 of NI 71-102. The Company’s shares were de-listed from trading on the TSX Venture Exchange on 28 February 2017, and continue to trade on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange (“AIM”) under the symbol “ARS”. In 2017, the Company will only prepare and file half-year and annual financial statements within the time deadlines regulated by AIM.

Beruang Kanan Main (“BKM”) Zone

On 15 August 2017, the Company filed a technical report titled “Beruang Kanan Main Zone, Kalimantan Indonesia: 2017 Resource Estimate Report”, prepared by Duncan Hackman of Hackman and Associates Pty. Ltd. as at 28 June 2017 and the report is dated 28 July 2017.

As announced on 28 June 2017 the highlights of the updated Resources are:

• Resource confidence significantly upgraded with contained copper in Measured and Indicated Resources increased by 207% in comparison to the October 21, 2015 BKM Mineral Resource estimate. The BKM copper deposit is now estimated to contain Measured and Indicated Resources of 49.2 million tonnes at 0.70% copper containing 711.3MIbs (322,600 tonnes) of copper at a 0.2% copper cut-off grade (see Table 1 for details).
  
  
• Additional 66Mlbs (30,000 tonnes) of contained copper (0.2% copper cut-off grade) added to the BKM Resource inventory.
  
  
• Beruang Kanan Main Resources are now estimated as:
  
  
  • Measured Resources of 20.5 million tonnes at 0.7% Cu containing 325.7MIbs (147,700 tonnes) of copper at a 0.2% copper cut-off grade (refer Table 1). The October 21, 2015 BKM Mineral Resource estimate contained no Measured Resources.
  • Indicated Resources of 28.7 million tonnes at 0.6% Cu containing 385.6MIbs (174,900 tonnes) of copper at a 0.2% copper cut-off grade (refer Table 1). The October 21, 2015 BKM Mineral Resource estimate contained 15.0 million tonnes at 0.7% Cu containing 231MIbs (105,000 tonnes) of copper.
  • Inferred Resources of 17.7 million tonnes at 0.6% Cu containing 241.0MIbs pounds (109,300 tonnes) of copper at a 0.2% copper cut-off grade (refer Table 1). The October 21, 2015 BKM Mineral Resource estimate contained 49.7 million tonnes at 0.6% Cu containing 657MIbs (298,000 tonnes) of copper.
    
    
• 73% of the copper contained in Resources is within the April 2016 BKM Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") conceptual open pit mine design.

The 2017 updated Mineral Resource estimate will be the subject of ongoing mining engineering and metallurgical studies as part of a BKM Feasibility Study and further optimisation of the BKM PEA open pit design is expected. A leachable copper model for the BKM deposit will be constructed using sequential copper analysis data from all post 2013 drill core samples and an initial Mineral Reserve will in turn be generated from the Measured and Indicated component of this leachable copper Resource model. The Company expects to complete the feasibility study in early 2018 and make a development decision at that time.

The BKM Mineral Resource estimate is based on assays from 269 diamond drill core holes that were drilled from 1998 to 2007, from 2012 to 2013 and by ARS from 2015 to 2017. Mineralisation is contained within a near-surface, shallow-dipping and strongly mineralised system, that extends over an area of 1300m (N-S) and 800m (E-W) with depth extents ranging from surface to between 100m and 400m below surface (top to bottom). The 2015 Resource drilling programme undertaken by ARS was designed to delineate the extent and continuity of the BKM mineralisation and the 2016-2017 Resource drilling program designed to test for geological and grade continuity of the BKM mineralisation. Both programmes were completed successfully, meeting their objectives of both expanding and increasing the robustness and integrity of the Mineral Resource estimate.

Exploration Potential in vicinity of BKM

Other priority targets in the vicinity of the BKM deposit are the focus of planned scout drilling programs, and include Beruang Kanan South (“BKS”), Beruang Kanan West (“BKW”) and KSK’s standalone polymetallic BKZ (BKZ) prospect; each within 1.5km of the BKM Mineral Resource (Figure 1). Geologic observations during field mapping and geochemical data from drill core and/or surface rock chip samples at BKS and BKW prospects indicate near surface and similar style copper mineralisation to BKM. Prospect details are summarised as follows:

• BKS prospect: Drill hole KBK-28 (151.30m end of hole ‘EOH’) intersected 10.5 metres @ 0.88% Cu from 14.5 metres depth and BKM30500-01 (63.9m EOH) intersected 10.0 metres @ 2.52% Cu from 19.5 metres depth. Drill hole KBK-28 also intersected high grade gold mineralisation from 11.5m, returning 3m @ 11.52g/t Au, including 1.5m @ 21.7g/t Au (refer ARS Release February 23, 2017).
  
  
• BKW prospect: Multiple copper mineralised sheeted vein zones with wide spread alteration approximately 1km west of BKM and similar to BKM are observed within a 2.5 sqkm area, and three well defined copper in soil anomalies occur coincident with these sheeted vein zones, the largest measuring 1.7km x 1km. Historic rock chip sampling yielded highly anomalous copper values, with individual rock chip samples assaying up to 7.1% Cu. As announced on 19 July 2017, results received to date at BKW confirm a copper in soil anomaly in the northern part of BKW is associated with a zone of quartz-chalcocite-bornite veins hosted in a polymict breccia. A rock grab sample collected from a 30-cm wide quartz-sulphide vein cutting sericite altered breccia assayed 26.1% copper and 57.1g/t silver. Approximately 200m west is a sericite altered breccia cut by quartz-bornite-chalcocite-pyrite veins, with individual rock chip grab samples assaying up to 4.1% copper.
  
  
• BKZ Polymetallic prospect: A continuous 15m rock channel sample averaged 19.5% zinc, 8.1% lead, 121g/t silver, 0.69g/t gold and 0.50% copper (refer ARS Release June 9, 2017). Drill hole BKZ-1 (300.0m deep) tested outcropping massive sulphide style mineralisation and intersected 16m @ 5.75% Zn, 2.78% Pb, 0.64g/t Au, 57.5g/t Ag and 0.16% Cu, including 6m @ 11.63% Zn, 5.99% Pb, 0.71g/t Au, 98g/t Ag and 0.32% Cu (refer ARS Release February 23, 2017). A grid-based soil sampling program defined a 400m by 200m anomalous zone of Pb-Zn soil geochemistry, which remains untested.

Beutong

Efforts to convert the Beutong IUP from exploration to production continued in the first half of 2017. All requested information and reports have been delivered to the Government of Indonesia and it is hoped that the production IUP will be in hand soon. Funds from the August 2017 private placement will also be used to conduct drilling aimed at expanding the Beutong Porphyry Cu-Au-Mo deposit (40% owned by the Company with the option to own up to 80%) to the west, east and at depth where strong mineralisation remains open (for example hole BEU0700-03 in Beutong East Porphyry intersected 385m at 0.68% Cu, 0.21g/t Au from 74m to 459m incl. 148m at 0.81% Cu, 0.15g/t Au open to depth). See ARS RNS dated 26 November 2014 for the Resource details.

Technical data disclosed in this Press Release have been reviewed and verified by Asiamet Resources Ltd.’s qualified person, Stephen Hughes, P. Geo. a director of Asiamet Resources Ltd. and a Qualified Person within the meaning of NI 43-101 and the AIM Rules for Companies.

Enquiries:

Tony Manini
Executive Chairman, Asiamet Resources Ltd.
Email: tony.manini@asiametresources.com

Peter Bird
Director & CEO, Asiamet Resources Ltd.
Email: peter.bird@asiametresources.com

Optiva Securities Limited
Christian Dennis
Telephone: +44 20 3137 1903
Email: Christian.Dennis@optivasecurities.com

NRG Capital Partners
Mick Oliver, Rita Adiani
Telephone: +44 20 3709 4505,4504
Email: mick.oliver@nrgcapitalpartners.com, rita.adiani@nrgcapitalpartners.com

FlowComms Limited
Sasha Sethi
Telephone: +44 (0) 7891 677 441
Email: Sasha@flowcomms.com

Asiamet Resources Nominated Adviser
RFC Ambrian Limited
Andrew Thomson / Stephen Allen
Telephone: +61 8 9480 2500
Email: Andrew.Thomson@rfcambrian.com / Stephen.Allen@rfcambrian.com

Important notice

Neither the contents of the Company's website nor the contents of any website accessible from hyperlinks on the Company's website (or any other website) is incorporated into, or forms part of, this announcement.

This announcement does not constitute, or form part of, a prospectus relating to the Company, nor does it constitute or contain any invitation or offer to any person, or any public offer, to subscribe for, purchase or otherwise acquire any shares in the Company or advise persons to do so in any jurisdiction, nor shall it, or any part of it form the basis of or be relied on in connection with any contract or as an inducement to enter into any contract or commitment with the Company.

The content of this announcement has not been approved by an authorised person within the meaning of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 ("FSMA").