S.Atlantic : Sartma Daily (12/14/05)
Submitted by SARTMA.com (Juanita Brock) 14.12.2005 (Article Archived on 21.12.2005)

A brief run-down of South Atlantic news

SARTMA DAILY (12/14/05) 

Compiled by J. Brock (FINN)

CONTENTS:

Section 1:  Articles by FINN

Section 2:  Committee News

Section 3:  Public Meeting Report

Section 4:  FGML News

Section 5:  Announcements

Section 1:

ROCKHOPPER’S SAM MOODY IN THE FALKLANDS FOR FAMILIARISATION VISIT

By J. Brock (FINN)

Mr. Sam Moody, Managing Director of Rockhopper Exploration plc, is visiting the Falklands to meet first-hand the people he will be working with during forthcoming 2D seismic surveys that will be carried out in the North Falkland Basin in Tranche “B” formerly operated by Shell, Tranches “C/D” and Licence areas 23 and 24.  At the moment he is focusing on Health and Safety and the Environmental Impact Assessment that is soon to be published in the Falkland Islands.

GSI Admiral will be used to do a 2D survey of the above mentioned areas, with 3D not necessary unless there is a good prospect.  3D will not be done on the leads.  Mr. Moody said there was one area –J-1- where there may be no need of 3D because prospectors are certain that the area is generating hydrocarbons.

At any rate, a 3D boat will be needed as, according to Mr. Moody, GSI Admiral is kitted out for 2D.  The scenario with boats and rigs remains that they are hugely expensive due to the high demand on them as well as the high price of hydrocarbons products.

Argos/Evergreen, Rockhopper Exploration plc and Desire Petroleum are working together in the North Falkland Basin and plan to drill three holes at a cost of $50 Million.

According to Mr. Moody when Shell operated Tranche “B” they drilled through the source rock and when the drill bit and pipes were taken up there was crude on the equipment.  Though the source rock in that area is 1000 metres thick,, per cubic centimetre it is the second best source rock in the world.

ZORAN ZUVIC WINS THE BILL HUNTER-CHRISTIE AWARD

By J. Brock (FINN)

Zoran Zuvic, who is in his second year at Peter Symonds College in Winchester, has received the 2005 Bill Hunter-Christie Award for the outstanding Falklands Student Studying Abroad.  According to Mrs Sharon Zuvic, Zoran received the award at the Annual General Meeting of the Falkland Islands Association held in London on Saturday, 11 December 2005. 

Mrs Merle Hunter Christie, wife of the late Bill Hunter Christie, presented Mr. Zuvic with a set of Geography reference books, which he will use when he reads Geography at University.

Zoran is presently at home in the Falklands, after having arrived on Monday’s flight.  Photos of Zoran on 11 December are presently of SARTMA.COM and falklandnews.com.

KTV REPORT TOWER REFURBISHMENT COMPLETE

By J. Brock (FINN)

Listeners to 96.5 FM BFBS / FIRS radio programmes may have noticed that the coverage and quality of the signal has improved since the repair of the mast and the antenna system for this transmitter by KTV Limited. 

From the 19^th to the 26^th of November 2005, KTV Limited with the help of three professional riggers from a subcontractor in Chile carried out the emergency repairs to the FIG / BFBS 72 Metre tall mast on Sappers Hill, which supports the antennas for the BFBS Television and Radio service for the Stanley Area.

Riggers and technicians involved in the operation were Herman Corvalan, Juan Perez, Juan Ramirez, Luis Bahamonde Salasar and Mario Zuvic.

Photos of the men at work can be found on SARTMA.COM and falklandnews.com.

Section 2:

COMMITTEE NEWS:

POLICE COMMITTEE

By J. Brock (FINN)

A meeting of the Police Committee took place at Government House at 1500hrs on Tuesday, 13 December 2005.  Present were Cllrs Hansen and Rendell as well as Andy Brownlee (JP), Melany Chilton, Crown Council, Acting Chief Police Officer, Len McGill, Leif Pollard, lay member, Chris Simpkins, Chief Executive and Mrs. Una Wallace, who took the minutes.  The meeting was chaired by H. E. the Governor Mr. Howard Pearce. 

There were no apologies so H. E. the Governor Mr. Pearce welcomed new member, Leif Pollard and new Councillor Mike Rendell and Councillor Ian Hansen.

After confirmation of the meeting held on 05 September 2005 was completed matters arising from those minutes were discussed. 

There was considerable discussion about the DARE Programme expanding into the Senior School.  The training of Sgt. Dave Roberts was needed in order to move into the new area of instruction.  Nikki Osborne and her group of young people would discuss it and give feedback.

The Chief Executive brought up the subject of a meeting with licensees about Police Officer safety.  Len McGill and Chris Simpkins would discuss Officer Safety during arrests at the Licensee meeting.  Sgt Whistler would be back just prior to Christmas and would be able to initiate a meeting should Len McGill not be able to make it due to work commitments.

The fire arms policy was reviewed with the subject of authorized users for hand guns raised.  Hand guns are convenient and affective for humane killing of animals in distress.  Though it’s debatable, it was mentioned that women whose job it is to do the killing prefer hand guns to shotguns or rifles.  A paper would go before EXCO and go out for public consultation.

The number of guns per owner may be hard to police with Len McGill mentioning that a person in Camp with a gun collection was more of a threat than careful gun owners in Stanley.  It seems that there are more guns per capita in Stanley than there are in Camp.  Andy Brownlee mentioned that we don’t want to become a Nanny State but gun policy and regulations are needed.

David Lang suggested that the 400 licences issued to gun owners should come due on the owner’s birthday, thus preventing a rush of 3-year licence applications being presented at once.

The debate concluded with an assurance that there would be public consultation and the results, if appropriate, would be discussed with the EXCO paper.

A two part drivers licence was discussed with Andy Brownlee saying that in some cases the licences produced in Stanley looking like they were a do it your self kit and made on a home computer.  Even though it was produced on water-marked paper it was thought that a credit card sized licnece would be more professional looking and easier to present when needed.  The card could be carried with the individual with the water-marked original could be left in luggage when travelling. 

The problem of what colour to paint skips so they can be seen was discussed.  It was suggested that a supplier bring in luminous strips to put on the skips because not all paintwork glows in the dark.  It was suggested that care should be taken when placing skips and a permit would help regulate how long a skip would remain in an inconvenient area.  One nuisance skip was in the road for a month before it was removed and people have collided with them.

Manning levels were than discussed.  Two Senior Police Officers were suspended and one police officer was off on long-term sick leave.  The Licensing Clerk is also off on long-term sick leave.  Police Officers are pretty over-stretched with one child protection case being left uninvestigated.  The JSPSU has come to their aid with manpower and a qualified investigating officer was in situ.  The Devon and Cornwall Constabulary were sending someone before the end of the year.  Recently there has been a rise in crime that was not reflected in the latest crime statistics, which ended abruptly in October.  The services offered by the JSPSU have been offered free of charge.

H. E. the Governor Mr. Pearce said he felt the JSPSU did a very good job and he thanked them for the help rendered during this time.

It was noted that sometimes the simplest cases had the potential for taking up the most Police time and that there were quite a few Juvenile offenses to deal with.  The timing of Juvenile crime indicated that it happened earlier in the day, with one exception at 0130hrs.

The date of the next meeting was set at Tuesday, 20 March 2006 at 1500hrs at Government House.

Section 3:

PUBLIC MEETING REPORT

By J. Brock (FINN)

A public meeting was held in the Court and Council Chamber of the Town Hall at 1700 on Tuesday, 13 December 2005.  Present were Cllrs. Hansen, Rendell, Stevens, Clausen, Davis, and Robertson.  Andrea Clausen acted as chair and Janet Robertson presented a series of power-point slides about General Purposes Committee.

The presentation included an explanation about the benefits and the draw-backs of the committee with some benefits being that it is a forum where Councillors can brief each other about overseas trips, look at confidential EXCO papers and generally debate issues such as proposed legislation.  The draw-backs are that it appears to be a secret committee where self-serving plans are hatched.  It was also felt that EXCO members could be influenced at General Purposes Committee but the case is they vote any way they want to at EXCO

There had been a vote about changing the name of the Committee or changing what the committee did but it was decided to keep it as it is because there is no other place where Councillors can look and discuss classified documents such as EXCO papers as well as policy.

There were suggestions that there was too much debate at GPC and some of it needed to be reserved for Legislative Council.

Andrea Clausen wanted to know what the man on the street felt about it.  There were complaints from those attending that committee papers and agendas weren’t on the web but Lynn Brownlee sends them via e-mail to anyone who asks.  It was thought that more flexibility should be exercised as far as what information was given to the public from GPC.  There would be a monthly report given to the media about what went on at GPC. 

Stephen Luxton brought up the fact that the Computer Section are working on an external website.

This was followed by a brief discussion about access to information, with Sarah Davis mentioning that there needs to be a better system of deciding what should be made public and what should remain excluded.  Apparently each department has their own standards as far as the release of information to the public.

The conversation began to fall off to dental care and putting fluoride in the water.  Some members of the public had said children were given tablets and had been over exposed to the chemical.  Putting fluoride in the water would solve the problem.  Some members of the public said that it was better for the children to have regular check-ups and to brush their teeth regularly.

There was a pervading argument in town that it would not be politically correct to take sweets and fizzy drinks from the children.  Someone commented that we should also sell them cigarettes if that was the case.

Getting back on the subject, Barry Elsby said that there seemed to be no law about freedom of information and it was pointed out that there was.

Barry Elsby said it was good practice, for example, to show patients the doctors’ notes when they asked for them.  He would be around to explain anything.  Cllr Rendell said that sometimes doctors were not kind in what they wrote in some notes and it might end up hurting people’s feelings, or worse.  He used that to say that there must be a transition between the time notes are released to the public and the actual release date of the info.

The meeting ended promptly at 1800.

Section 4:

FGML NEWS

Falkland Gold and Minerals Ltd

13 December 2005

FALKLAND GOLD AND MINERALS LIMITED

AUDITED PRELIMINARY RESULTS

for the year ended 30 September 2005

13 December 2005

HIGHLIGHTS

•        New Board constituted / Admission to AIM / Raising of £10 million (before costs)

•        Excellent progress on drilling - 5,950 metres drilled by 30 September 2005 - initial exploration target of 23 drilling targets expected to be completed by December 2006, a year ahead of the original schedule

•        Strategic review in October 2005 - reiteration of strategy announced at flotation and of the concept of  economically viable gold deposits in the Falklands

•        Strong financial position - cash of £7.7m - company free of debt

Enquiries:

Falkland Gold and Minerals Limited

Richard Linnell (Chairman) +27 82 440 6710

Bell Pottinger Corporate & Financial

Nick Lambert +44 (0) 20 7861 3232

CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT

This first year of operation has been filled with a range of activities that have been well managed and effectively completed.

We conducted a successful placement and public offering on London's Alternative Investment Market ('AIM'). In doing this we placed 20 million shares with institutions raising £8 million before costs and a further £2 million before costs from the sale of 5 million shares in a public offering.

After costs, this raised your Company £8.9 million which was available for the exploration activities as described in the November 2004 prospectus.

Given the Company's financial strength, the Board decided that the original exploration programme which anticipated the use of one drill rig could be accelerated. The Board approved the purchase of a second rig which has allowed the drilling programme to be replanned such that the initial exploration of the twenty three drilling targets is now expected to be completed by the end of calendar year 2006, nearly a year ahead of the original schedule.

This new programme has a budgeted monthly net cash outflow of a little under £140,000. Thus, after this expenditure, corporate costs, the initial capital outlay on fixed assets and set up costs, there should still be over £5 million available for definition drilling and any other exploration activity that may become necessary such as flying aerial surveys and commissioning relevant economic studies. Whilst the Company is at this stage in its development, this should avoid the need for any additional shareholder funds.

Our Operations Manager, Derek Reeves, is to be complimented on the rate at which he and the exploration team have established operations on the Islands and the build up of the work programme. His institution of a rigorous safety programme has paid off with no safety failures and his rehabilitation programme has received the plaudits of the Falkland Islands Administration and local farmers. Your Company remains in good standing with the Government and Island inhabitants.

Exploration and drilling went largely unhindered through the winter season. The exploration programme this year has covered ground geochemistry, stream geochemistry, ground geophysics and drilling.

Results

The ground geochemistry has been conducted using a probe which penetrates the peat to take a sample of the soil and clay immediately below. This work has helped refine target definition (improving our ability to accurately drill anomalies) in the Glorious Hill prospect (Target 11), in the Lafonia area of southern East Falklands, and will be used in a similar manner for the Albemarle prospect (Target 18), the Leicester prospect (Target 21) and the Warrah prospect in West Falklands. Ground geophysics was carried out by contractors over targets in both West and East Falklands also for refined target definition.

The drilling programme which commenced in Area 6 just north of Goose Green has had mixed success with some of the anomalies being explained by the intersection of doleritic and gabbroic dykes. This occurred in Targets T5, T2S and T8W.

In Targets T6, T7, T1N and T8E, the drilling was largely in tillite, with limited quartz veining, and in carbonaceous shales. There has been no clear reason for the geophysical anomaly or for the gold evidenced in the streamsediment sampling although some subeconomic gold results were determined in the carbonaceous shales. These results will be referred to outside consultants for a review of the geophysical model in the context of the drilling results to date.

The drilling has however given our team a much better appreciation of the geology and as a result three new targets namely T22, T23, and T24 have been generated to the south of Area 6 where there are linear features crosscutting the carbonaceous shale horizon.

The rigorous drilling programme in Area 6 and the northern section of East Falklands including the Malo prospect (Target 15) will continue through to early 2006. Drilling of the Lafonia targets, Peat Banks (Target 10) and Glorious Hill (Target 11), both of which exhibit very different geological signatures, is scheduled in December 2005 and January 2006.

Some 7,150 metres of drilling were completed by the end of November 2005.

Analyses on the samples from the cores have been carried out by ALS Chemex in Perth, Australia and at this stage checks have been carried out for 51 elements to ensure full coverage. Additionally, radioactivity is checked in each core and on other anomalous samples to identify any possibility of uranium or allied mineralisation. To date there have been no results of economic significance.

The new Mining Legislation was promulgated on 27 May 2005. As was referred to in our November 2004 prospectus, as a result of our admission to AIM, our licence was extended to 31 July 2009, which takes us well beyond the current planned exploration period, and as a result the Company is required to relinquish 50 per cent. of the Company's licence area by 16 January 2007.

Outlook

I remain confident that the potential that was demonstrated in the prospectus remains valid and exciting and that the work we will conduct in the coming year will generate the solutions to the various anomalies. We remain hopeful that this will lead on to some discoveries of economic value.

Richard Linnell

Executive Chairman

FALKLAND GOLD AND MINERALS LIMITED

AUDITED PRELIMINARY RESULTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2005