Amur sees more resource growth

After dramatic resource increases in East Russia, Amur Minerals suggests there is much more to come and may seek new cash.

Headed by its American chief executive officer and old Russian hand Robin Young, British Virgin Islands-domiciled Amur recently increased nickel resource estimates at its Maly Krumkon deposit by 170 per cent to 136,500 tonnes, with the estimated copper resource there up 150 per cent to 37,000 tonnes.

Maly Krumkon is within the company's Kun Marie licence, at which it now claims 341,000 tonnes of nickel and 95,500 tonnes of copper, all at low grade but in thick veins of up to 60 metres. Young suggests costs are likely to be in the lowest third across the industry.

He adds that geophysical surveys indicate the metal zone within which these prospects have been identified could be 'five times' what the company is currently considering. Drilling, halted by the ice in October, can resume in May and Amur intends to investigate other deposits in its licence, notably Yan Hegd, with anomalies over two square kilometres, and Chorny Espiline.

Awaiting a pre-feasibility report on Maly Krumkon in two weeks, Young says the company, which had £2.5 million cash and no debt at the half-year, will need to raise another £5 million to £10 million in due course. Floated in March 2006 at 33p, the shares languish at 19p, though the impending report might cheer them up.

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