Gippsland (GIP)

Shares / Stock Code

GIP

Stock Exchange / Sharemarket

ax

Gippsland (GIP) is an Australian based international resource company listed on the Australian Stock Exchange on 9 June, 1971 where it trades under the codes "GIP" (Shares) and "GIPO" (Options). Gippsland is managed by Directors who provide a complimentary blend of technical and commercial skills, and having a long history in the successful running of technically complex private and ASX listed companies.

Because of the Directors' international experience, Gippsland focuses on world-scale projects which have been over-looked by major resource groups. Projects which have undergone detailed exploration and which have the potential to be brought into production quickly are a prime target for the Company. Gippsland's success in this area is due in part to the Company's philosophy of entering into equitable joint venture arrangements with overseas nationals.

The Company's prime assets are the 40 million tonne Abu Dabbab and the 98 million tonne Nuweibi tantalum-tin projects located in the Central Eastern Desert of Egypt, adjacent to the western shore of the Red Sea.

An Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) completed to World Bank standards has been approved by the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency. A Bankable Feasibility Study undertaken by Lycopodium Engineering Ltd determined that the Abu Dabbab project has the potential to become a major tantalum supplier to the steadily expanding global tantalum industry. The Lycopodium BFS indicated that the project will produce in excess of 650,000 pounds of tantalum pentoxide per year over a likely mine-life of 20 years. The Company has executed an offtake agreement with the tantalum major HC Starck GmbH of Germany for the sale of 600,000 pounds of tantalum pentoxide per year for a 10 year period.

The company is presently negotiating with the German government owned KfW Bankengruppe for project finance which is anticipated will be arranged on a most favourable 80% debt and 20% equity basis.

Tantalum metal powder is an indispensable intermediate for the production of capacitors without which modern cell phones, laptops or flat screens would not be possible. HC Starck in particular is a specialist for high capacitance tantalum powders which are above all indispensable for the latest generation of modern electronic appliances. Tantalum metal is also an essential metal in the production of high temperature applications such as jet engine turbine blades. Tantalum has a high level of bio-acceptability which makes it the preferred metal of medical implants (orthopaedics). Due to its extreme resistance to acid corrosion it is used in chemical plant and equipment.

The Company’s gold exploration of the Wadi Allaqi area located to the south-east of Aswan in Egypt has yielded highly encouraging results. High-grade gold mineralisation has been delineated in places up to 80 metres wide and in excess of 2.2km long. The limited amount of drilling undertaken to date has provided a first-pass inferred resource of 1.1Mt at 2.3g/t (uncut) and 2.0g/t (10g/t cut) for 85,000oz Au.

Gippsland’s 100% owned subsidiary Nubian Resources PLC has been granted three Licences in the Adobha region of The State of Eritrea. The Licences cover 300 km2 of ground that is prospective for volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) mineralisation and structurally controlled gold mineralisation in a geological setting similar to the Bisha gold-base metal deposit located some 174 km to the south that contains 1.44 Moz Au and 0.39 Mt Cu. The structural setting of the area covered by the Licences is also similar to that found at the 0.94 Moz Zara gold project located some 65 km to the south.

The Company holds 40% free-carried interest in the Tasmanian Queen Hill tin deposit containing 7.3Mt at 0.69% Sn. The Company’s Queen Hill JV partner Stellar Resources Ltd is presently considering an accelerated exploration programme for the project.