Heritage Gold splits to focus on Talisman's development

Heritage Gold splits to focus on Talisman's development

April 11 (BusinessDesk) - Heritage Gold NZ said it plans to split into two entities to allow it to focus exclusively on developing its Talisman gold mine project near Waihi in New Zealand.

Heritage is also making significant board changes including replacing its chairman.

The company weill transfer all its existing non-core assets, which have a $2.1 million book value, to a wholly-owned subsidiary, Coromandel Gold, “which in due course will consider its own on-going funding,” Heritage said.

The dual-listed entity will change its name to New Talisman Gold Mines and will apply to both ASX and NZX for new stock codes.

“The move comes in the wake of a recently completed scoping study review which found there was potential to develop a highly profitable mine at Talisman based on estimates that the project had a net present value of more than A$150 million,” Heritage said.

“The review was enhanced by a substantially improved gold price and considerable advances in mining and processing technology,” it said.

The day after Heritage released a statement on the Talisman study last month it issued another statement saying the A$150 million value attributed to the mine doesn't comply with the Australian VAMIN code for estimating resources.

“The values assumed in the report will be achieved only if the grade and tonnage assumptions are met,” Heritage said then.

Today, the company said it has appointed Paul Griffin, a University of Otago graduate with 20 years experience in open pit and underground mining, as mining general manager to accelerate Talisman's development.

Chairman Geoffrey Hill is stepping down as chairman after 12 years and has been replaced by Robert Pearce, a Perth-based company director who has sat on the boards of a number of mining companies including Gladstone Pacific Nickel and Marenica Energy.

Executive director Peter Atkinson, a founding director, is stepping down from his executive role and both Hill and Atkinson plan to retire from the board altogether as soon as practical but in any event by May 31.

Both men intend to concentrate on the affairs of Coromandel Gold whose assets include a Golden Valley exploration permit (EP) covering a gold prospect east of Waihi, an EP application over a copper prospect in Northland, 17.929 million shares in Broken Hill Prospecting which owns a cobalt development near Broken Hill in Australia, a small portfolio of shares valued at less than $20,000 and $60,000 in cash.

Deputy chairman Murray McKee will continue on the board with existing directors Matthew Hill and Dr Ian Pringle.

Heritage shares jumped 0.6 cents to 2.4 cents on today's announcement, just short of the 2.5 cent high they jumped to after the Talisman report was released last month. In early March, the shares had been trading at 1.5 cents, their lowest level since June last year.

(BusinessDesk)

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