AXG - Antipodes Gold [formerly GEL - Glass Earth]

[elZorro]

Giday Mr Zorro...thanks again for your tireless work...have you entered the comp....?...I could probably guess some of your picks....cheers troy...

No problems Troy, I have to write this stuff down or I'd forget it anyway. Often I still forget it..
I see you've picked GEL too, I left it out in 2011 and that was a bad idea. Maybe we'll both get lucky with good drills and more intention from Newmont in 2012.

[karen1]

Hi eZ

Have sent you a PM, but your inbox is overcrowded!

[elZorro]

Hi Karen1, cleared some..

[elZorro]

In the Waikato Times this morning, sad news about Archey's Frog, it appears to be at the top of the list of small endangered amphibians. Worldwide. The ones they know about, anyway. Some tiny frogs have been discovered in PNG recently, 7 and 9mm long as adults.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times...e-frogs-frisky

I'm not posting this to imply that WKP should never go ahead as a mine. Rather, a relatively small amount of profit or setup costs should go toward protection and research on local native frogs. This would be a win-win for all. How long will it be before Newmont or GEL seize the initiative and make a move for a bit of public goodwill?

More background.

Although, if you read this carefully, Coromandel Watchdog are not saying that the Otahu Ecological Reserve contains any Archey's frogs at all. The peninsular has them alright, all known occurrences there are well north of WKP.

[Vtrader]

EZ,
GEL has got you out of the blocks well in the NZX2012 ST comp.
Go the POG.
must be also near time for a ST hamilton meeting...
V.

[elZorro]

EZ,
GEL has got you out of the blocks well in the NZX2012 ST comp.
Go the POG.
must be also near time for a ST hamilton meeting...
V.

Gidday there Vtrader, just finished half the lawns, and feeling fairly thirsty. But we need to plan these things.

First I'd like to thank the person who matched up the TSX and NZ market for GEL for a while. It wasn't me, by the way. Good timing though. But I'm looking at the bigger picture, GEL has a long way to go yet.

BTW, Vtrader's picks in the comp do not include GEL, that's after all my earbashing.. bitterly disappointed. But 7 hardy souls think it's worth a punt, out of over 550 picks.

I do have a poor memory. But I remembered something that was in the 2006 Prospectus for GEL, when it listed on the NZAX. See page 40. Direct from my filing cabinet and typed in, because it would appear that Google and the new Glass Earth website have no recollection of this:

Mr Henderson's contract provides that:

a) Up to 24 months base salary compensation may be payable upon the occurrence of certain restructuring and change of control events or should his employment be terminated without just cause; and

b) A success fee of 2% of the value of Glass Earth's retained equity in any mine/resource put into production (up to a maximum of NZ$2 million per discovery) may be payable.

Mr Liddle's employment contract is similar but has compensation limited to 12 months and no success fee.

Let's say WKP goes ahead, and GEL keeps 35% of a 2Moz resource, valued at conservatively US$200 per ounce in the ground. That's worth $140mill to the company (which would imply Glass Earth shares should be worth at least C$2.50 each at that point, a 10-bagger from today's price) , and the maximum amount of $2mill success fee would be triggered. Muirs is also sitting there, plus whatever Otago may produce.

I think this is a pretty sensible encouragement for key personnel in the company, and it certainly didn't deter me from investing, quite the opposite.

Updates to the permit list on the Glass Earth website were made today, 18th January. These older permits are dropped: 40717, 40765 (expired).
Extended for another five years with reduced area: 40770 and 40739. Atiamuri (Waikato) and Hindon/Game Hen (Otago).

The CHFIR promo website has been updated. The data for GEL is just as out-of-date however.

[elZorro]

More data on the WKP joint venture with Newmont:Here's a radio interview with Sefton Darby (PR for Newmont) on Gold FM. It would appear that Rosemary Segedin is not aware that mining and prospecting for minerals and resources is a big part of the reason for humanity lifting itself above cave-dwelling over the recent centuries. Carefully worded protest notes to garner signatures imply Archey's frog is nearby (it most likely isn't), the bush in the area is virgin native forest (it isn't, looks like regenerating bush), there are no pests to wreak havoc on any native animals that are still there (imported animals like possums, rats, mice, stoats will be all over the place) and that Newmont are drilling with abandon without controls (they're not).This is purely an anti-mining protest, but the facts are: Newmont are working on the fringes of an already briefly mined area, and are close to an ecological reserve, but working well within the rules.

Coromandel protesters in standoff MATT BOWEN, Last updated 13:13 22/12/2011
A standoff between mining giant Newmont and environmentalists unfolded in the Coromandel bush yesterday. Nine members of Earthwatch Whangamata hiked two hours up the Parakiwai valley with the aim of stopping work on an exploratory drilling rig. But when they arrived the operation was being dismantled for the holidays. Spokeswoman Rosemary Segedin said they still plastered stickers on equipment and took photos with banners which halted work. "Then the public relations guy got flown in all the way from Waihi – we did not expect that." The group released a press release in conjunction with Coromandel Watchdog which said, "Protesters send miners home for Christmas". It said the area had high ecological and recreational values and was home to the endangered Archey's frog. "The thousands of summer tourists are on their way, showing the real value of the Coromandel is in sustainable tourism." It also urged businesses and the Government to leave the Coromandel free from mining.
Newmont Waihi Gold external affairs manager Sefton Darby said the media release contained numerous factual errors. "The primary one being them claiming they've sent us home. "They say it's a great threat to endangered frogs. [The Department of Conservation] requires us to hire a scientist of their choosing to do a pre-site survey so we don't end up camping on endangered frogs – in the past they have denied us the site we want and told us to go elsewhere." Mr Darby asked if mining was so bad for tourism then why did 50,000 people visit Waihi every year? "For the Coromandel to be free of mining would require us to sack 700 people, stop spending hundreds of millions of dollars a year on local suppliers, not pay tax to government and to not spend the last 15 years supporting DOC's dotterel programme." Mr Darby said the company would continue drilling in the Parakiwai permit area over DOC land next year. Newmont had six exploration permits on the Coromandel area and a "big" prospecting permit application for the northeast was being processed. - © Fairfax NZ News

What I'm taking from this is that Newmont are very interested in the area around Parakiwai, and to the Northeast. They'll have a good look at GEL's joint permits (which they already own the majority of), and hedge the bet with their own permits. But unlike Glass Earth, who have scarce cash to spread around multiple permits, Newmont are already set up, and will be ready to go with a mining proposal once they've delineated enough to work with. Of course, that will result in a bonanza for the Glass Earth shareprice, not so much for Newmont.

I'm not sure what the umbrella group Coromandel Watchdog are doing way down at WKP.. Any land north of Whiritoa seems to be in the Thames Coromandel district council area, while lower than that, it's the Hauraki District Council's province.

[elZorro]

I emailed Vicarage Capital about their Glass Earth data because it's pertinent to the share price. This has resulted in one interesting change to the December writeup on Glass Earth. Reference to 3g/tonne recovery on the placer areas in Otago is gone. I did think that was a bit hopeful. It's probably more like 1g/tonne. But it looks like the non-compliant estimate of 1.8Moz at WKP by Newmont is correct though, that's good news.

Additionally, this really impressive line is left, that's a real puzzle - Recent Newmont drilling has reportedly included 44m @ 36g/t Au, just to the North of the GEL claim.

The discussion above this relates to WKP. However GEL and Newmont have permit 40813 just above the WKP area. I think the Otahu area will be partly inside the same permit as WKP. Waihi Gold (Newmont) also have permits 51041 (East of Onemana) and 52804, Broken Hills. Both of these are North of 40813, but several km away.

Notably, Renison Consolidated Mining (RSN:ASX) were recently granted two big permits, no. 53464, which is around permit 40813 and lower, and 53469, stretching from 40767 -GEL's beside Martha Mine, to the Golden Cross mine 5 km away. on 19th December 2011. Here is their press release on filing the application in 2011. (RSN is a penny dreadful at the moment, trading at 0.1c, had been as high as 14c 5 years ago. Mcap now $3mill, cash on hand in Sept 2011 $6,000 only). These are their only two permits in NZ.

Most of the area nearby is taken up by gold exploration permits.

So without any further information, it looks like one recent drill by Newmont (recent in 2010?) has hit 44 metres of 1 oz per ton mother lode. Glass Earth management know about it, but it's not on a JV area perhaps?

(From Vicarage Capital)

Thank you for bringing this to my attention.
The statements you have highlighted in the recent monthly note issued by VCL were all sourced from statements & presentations made by GEL management at or following the initial meeting held in March 2010.
As stated in the disclaimer at end of the report, we strive to ensure that the information provided is as accurate as possible, however & I am grateful that you have brought these points to my attention as certain aspects of that stated should have been phrased differently & will be rectified forthwith.
I trust this answers your questions.
Regards
Will


Will King

Vicarage Capital Limited

Here's the earliest post I could find about GEL from Vicarage Capital, a report out on 5th Jan 2011. The same facts are already mentioned, so the news is at least 12 months old. http://www.vicaragecapital.com/image...lass Earth.pdf

This means that the 1.8Moz estimated resource was in place before the more recent drilling in 2011, which discovered WKP South. It's almost certainly over 2Moz of estimated resource now. If Vicarage are uncertain about the permit boundaries, it's possible that slightly 'north of WKP' is where Newmont are drilling now, just below the Otahu area, well inside the lower JV permit.

Here's a map that finally puts the two areas together, provided by Coromandel Watchdog. http://watchdog.org.nz/press-release...romandel-park/

This shows that most of the Otahu schedule 4 protected area is inside the lower part of permit 40813.

[elZorro]

Here's the interview with Rosemary Segedin on Gold FM, describing what was happening at WKP just before Christmas. The drilling rig is helicoptered in with staff. It would seem that after a previous 3 month stint in the area or site (WKP29/30 South?), Newmont spent another three weeks at the same drill site, so were keen or "quite serious" about something. The rig was in the process of being removed. I guess we have to wait for the drill results, and most likely exploratory drilling has restarted on another site(s) in 2012. Ms Segedin was careful with the words she used (OK, so was Mr Darby later in the day), but there was an implication Archey's frogs live nearby, probably untrue. Perhaps the habitat there would suit them, but then so would a lot of habitats in NZ bush, if there were no introduced pests. Is the bush pristine there? Unlikely, the big timber would have been logged years ago, and possums will be working on what's left. Also no figures were provided on the number of people who use the walks in the area at the moment, and how much they pay for the priviledge. Two hours walk in, two hours out, I'd say not many, and that's for free.Looks like there are more clues in the Dec 1st 2011 press release from GEL: Regarding WKP (South).

A substantial infill/expansion drill programme is planned; drilling to establish constraints of depth, continuity to the south, and mineralised structures in the andesite has commenced.

The existing site that allowed WKP29 and WKP30 drillholes has probably been used again for more infill data, and the rig will be somewhere else nearby at the moment.

A.B Christie has been involved in this NZPAM report about NZ's epithermal gold deposits, often hosted in andesitic rocks.

Coromandel Volcanic Zone and Hauraki Goldfield
Some 50 separate epithermal Au-Ag deposits are associated with Miocene-Pliocene calc-alkaline volcanic rocks of the Coromandel Volcanic Zone in a 200-km long by 40-km wide metallogenic belt that constitutes the Hauraki Goldfield (Brathwaite & Piranjo, 1993; Brathwaite et al., 1989, Fig. 1B). The Hauraki Goldfield has a recorded (1862-present) production of more than 380 t of gold and 1300 t of silver, mostly from deposits hosted by andesite and dacite, although a few veins in rhyolite and basement greywacke were also worked. The Waihi (Martha Hill) deposit is by far the largest, with total gold production to date of about 202 t (6.5 M oz), ranking it as world class deposit. Major production also came from Golden Cross (37.1 t Au), Karangahake (29.4 t Au) and the Thames field (21.8 t Au). The Au-Ag mineralisation occurs predominantly in quartz veins along tectonically-controlled fault-fracture systems, which are parallel with the main regional fault trends. The quartz veins dip at steep to moderate angles and are typically 0.3-5.0 m wide, 200-1600 m long, and have depth extents of 170-300 m. A few larger veins display a greater depth range (400-700 m) as at Waihi and Karangahake. Stockwork quartz veins are present in some deposits (e.g. Golden Cross). The quartz veins are surrounded by extensive zones of propylitic and clay alteration characterised by chlorite, calcite, illite, smectite and pyrite as hydrothermal minerals. Higher rank alteration with strong silicification plus adularia and/or illite borders the quartz veins.

[elZorro]

The EP40598 permit contains WKP, and this EP will reach its 10 year extended period in May 2013. Form 7 is used to extend permits, and here are the rules:

3. Applications to extend the duration of a permit must be made while the permit is still in force (prior to expiry). A permit that is the subject of an

application for an extension of duration under section 36 or section 37 of the Act continues in force until the Minister determines the application.

4. The duration of a prospecting permit may be extended for a period not exceeding 4 years from the commencement date of the permit. The duration of an exploration permit may be extended under section 37(1) of the Act for a period not exceeding 10 years from the commencement date of the permit (exploration permits may be extended beyond this period to appraise a discovery under section 37(2), such applications can be made using form 8).The duration of a mining permit may be extended for such a period as the Minister considers reasonable to enable the permit holder to economically deplete the discovery.

5. Applications to extend the duration of an exploration permit under section 37(1) of the Act must be made over an unbroken area of land not exceeding one-half of the area comprised in the permit.

6. For prospecting permits this figure should be stated in square kilometres. For exploration and mining permits it should be stated in hectares.

UNDER SECTION 36 or 37(1),

CROWN MINERALS ACT 1991

MINER ALS & CO AL

Form 8 (discovery appraisal extension) from NZPAM contains these notes:

3. Appraisal Extensions will only be granted where the permit holder has made a discovery (refer to the Act and relevant minerals programme for moreinformation on the meaning of “discovery”), the remaining duration of the permit is insufficient to carry out the appraisal work for the discovery, the permit holder is not entitled to extend the duration of the permit under section 37(1) of the Act for a period sufficient to carry out the appraisal work for the discovery or for all land to which the discovery relates, the Minister is satisfied that reasonable efforts are being made to carry out the appraisal and that the proposed work programme is sufficient to carry out the appraisal work (refer section 37(2) of the Act).

4. Applications for Appraisal Extensions must be made while the permit is still in force (prior to expiry). A permit that is the subject of an application for an Appraisal Extension continues in force until the Minister determines the application.

5. The Minister’s general approach will be to not grant an Appraisal Extension beyond four years.

6. Appraisal Extensions are restricted to that land comprised in the permit to which the Minister determines it is likely that the discovery relates and is necessary to reasonably appraise the discovery and enable subsequent mining operations.

UNDER SECTION 37(2),CROWN MINERALS ACT 1991

Where am I going with this? Permit 40598 has conditions for progress reports to NZPAM, but no mention of a mine feasibility study in the last year, 2013. Glass Earth has a discovery appraisal extension on Muirs, permit EP40667, but in that case it ends in 9 years, late 2013, as they only had one 5 year term to start with. It looks to me like Newmont/Glass Earth will apply for a discovery appraisal extension for the WKP area in 2013. That would give them until 2017 to think about a mining proposal. While this means that the road to big riches for GEL holders might be a bit longer than I hoped, it's also probable that GEL will have to make a move on applying for a mining permit at Muirs in 2013. They own that permit 100%. Newmont have the closest large scale equipment suitable to mine it, so a farm-in with them could be on the cards.

I'll say it again, I wish I had a time machine.

Newmont Waihi Gold (NWG) had this to say in a 2010 submission:

It seems reasonable to assume that a mining proposal with high mineral potential on land identified as having
only low conservation/stewardship values will have a greater chance of obtaining the necessary resource
consents than the corollary. Therefore, exploration efforts will likely target land having low or lesser
conservation values.
NWG has publicly stated its strategy for targeting high grade deposits suitable for mining by underground
methods with transit of ore to its existing mill in Waihi. This means no open pit and no tailings disposal on the
Peninsula. The transport of ore will of course require careful consideration.
NWG suggests the development of protocols for an engagement process that brings interested parties
together at identified low conservation – high mineral potential localities. This engagement process should be
led both nationally (eg Land and Water Forum) and at the local levels.
The process should provide a communicative and educative function to the wider community regarding
modern mining practices, environmental regulations, bonding, site rehabilitation, insurance, safety and public
access.
As noted above, the resolution of the Ministry of Economic Development and New Zealand Minerals Industry
Association appeals on the proposed Thames Coromandel District Plan by consent order, including
agreement as to areas of the District where surface mining is prohibited is proof that the industry can work
with conservation groups.

More detail from them on exploration drilling procedures and public access.