Abcourt Mines Inc.
(TSX V: ABI, Berlin: ABI, Frankfurt: ABI)
Renaud Hinse, CEO
Corporate Profile: Abcourt Mines Inc. is an exploration and development company with strategically located properties in Northwestern Quebec, Canada. The Abcourt-Barvue project with 43-101 silver-zinc ore reserves and resources and the Elder mine with 43-101 gold resources and the Aldermac property with historical copper-zinc resources are all former producers. Abcourt is now focused on bringing the Abcourt-Barvue and Elder projects back in production and at the same time, it is working on other projects (Aldermac, Jonpol and Vendome), to increase its mineral resources inventory. A positive 43‑101 feasibility study was completed in 2007 on the Abcourt-Barvue project. In addition, mill equipment was purchased. A 43-101 resource calculation was recently done for the Elder mine. To know more about Abcourt, please consult our web site www.abcourt.com
Renaud Hinse, President, Director and Chief Executive Officer, has worked extensively within the mining industry in Quebec for 50 years. He received his degree as a mining engineer at Laval University in Quebec City and a certificate in metallurgical sciences at the Royal Technical College in Glasgow, Scotland. Mr. Hinse has also raised more than $50 M for mining projects.
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TRANSCRIPT:
WSR: Good day from Wall Street. This is Juan Costello, Senior Analyst with the Wall Street Reporter. Joining us today is Renaud Hinse, the CEO of Abcourt Mines. The company trades on the TSX Venture and their ticker symbol is ABI as well as on the Berlin and Frankfurt Exchange, same ticker symbol, ABI. They are an exploration and development company with properties in Quebec. Thanks for joining us today, Renaud.
Renaud Hinse: Thank you.
WSR: Great, always good having you on. Starting out, give us an update on the good values obtained from your diamond drilling over at the Elder Gold Property?
Renaud Hinse: Last December, we raised $2.3 million for a surface drilling program on the Elder Gold Property and the start of the dewatering of the mine. We are doing the drilling right now and our Press Release has indicated we have obtained some very good values, which will increase our gold resources. We’ve got some intersections below the existing levels in the mine and also along the western — beyond the western limit of the mine. On the Tagami property, we’ve a brand new zone where we have several intersections indicating an average of 2.2 meters in width and a grade of eight grams of gold per tonne. So, these developments are very positive. They will enable us when we revise the resource calculations to show some higher figures.
WSR: Certainly. Bring us up to speed on the Abcourt-Barvue project and some of the company’s other operations?
Renaud Hinse: The Abcourt-Barvue silver-zinc open pit project was started in 2005. We then had a 43-101 resource calculation. We had a feasibility study done, which came out in 2007. Following that, we started to do the technical studies required for permitting and we were also exploring the possibilities of financing the project, but the financial crisis of 2008 with prices of the metals dropping put a halt in that. So, we’ve put that project on the back burner for a while. But now, the prices of the metals are improving, the price of silver is good and the price of zinc is above a $1. So, we will go back on that project pretty soon, and resume the technical studies and the permitting, and look for the financing.
WSR: Talk to us a little bit more about some of the trends in your sector and how well positioned do you believe Abcourt Mining is to capitalize on them?
Renaud Hinse: The price of gold is very good; we don’t have any diamonds. Our property, the Elder mine, is a former producer. It has 43-101 resource calculations indicating 225,000 ounces of gold in various categories and the drilling that we’re doing is increasing this resource. The infrastructures are all in place and the mine we think will be very profitable once it’s in production. So, we think we will get the funds required to start the dewatering of the mine in the near-term. And if that happens, then we think that we could bring this mine in production in the period of 18 to 24 months. So, this is a short-term project.
WSR: As far as the way that the company operates within the sector, are alliances and joint ventures an important part of your business model?
Renaud Hinse: Not right now, but we would welcome any proposal in that sense.
WSR: Anything else that you feel makes the company unique from some of the other players in your sector?
Renaud Hinse: Our properties consist of three former producers. We have gold, silver, zinc and copper resources. We are always out on the lookout for acquisitions. We have a feasibility study on the Abcourt-Barvue silver-zinc project and we have a 43-101 resource estimates. All our properties are located in areas known to have favorable geology and areas that had metal production in the past in a country that welcomes mines.
Diversification is one of our stronger features. Some of the properties contain potentially high gold concentration. So, we also purchase mill equipment for the silver-zinc project and this equipment is located on the property right now. Our mines are near two mining towns. The gold mine is near Rouyn-Noranda and the silver-zinc project is near Val-d’Or with all available facilities and a pool of experienced mining professionals and miners. The drilling program is continuing on the Elder Gold mine, and good results are obtained. We think that there is a potential there to eventually find 1 million ounces of gold. With the current price of gold between $1,100 and $1,200 per ounce, we feel confident that the Elder gold mine can produce 25,000 ounces of gold per year and will be very profitable. An underground development program will start shortly. I think that’s our story.
WSR: That answers the question. Perhaps you can walk us through your background and talk a little bit about the management team over at your company?
Renaud Hinse: My background, I graduated as a mining engineer from Laval University in Quebec City and I’ve got a certificate in metallurgical sciences from The Royal Technical College in Glasgow. I’ve worked for a copper gold producer for 20 years, where I started as a geologist and I ended up as Assistant General Manager. I also worked as Vice President – Mines for SOQUEM, the Quebec exploration company. I’ve been with Abcourt for the past 25 years. In the past, I’ve raised up to $50 million for various projects and I started several mines. So, I think that I’m quite competent to look after the start-up of the Elder Gold mine.
On the Board, we have three experienced geologists, some of them with Business Administration Master’s and they’re all there to help me. We don’t have any staff because we can’t guarantee full-time employment right now, but we hire consultants. We have a geological consultant with more than 25 years of geological experience. We have a mining engineer with 30 years of engineering experience. We have a metallurgical consultant who is a former operator and he has been working as a consultant for the past few years around the world. So, I think we have all the people needed to get our projects done.
WSR: What are some of the goals and objectives that you’re hoping to accomplish over the course of the next year?
Renaud Hinse: We hope to raise money to get the Elder underground project started. We will start dewatering the mine in the near-term. We will continue the exploration on surface and expect to increase our gold resources significantly.
WSR: When it comes to investors and the financial community, is there anything you wish they better understood about the company or is there anything that you think that they’re missing from your story?
Renaud Hinse: It seems to me that the Abcourt shares are grossly undervalued now. With all the projects that we have, it should be only a matter of time before its real value is recognized by the market.
WSR: Once again, joining us today is Renaud Hinse, the CEO of Abcourt Mining, which trades on the TSX Venture, ticker symbol is ABI, as well as on the Berlin and Frankfurt Exchange, same ticker symbol, ABI. Before we conclude, just to recap some of your key points, why do you believe that investors should consider Abcourt Mining as a good long-term investment opportunity?
Renaud Hinse: Because we have several projects, we’re well diversified and we’re located near mining towns where all services are available, and where experienced mining professionals and miners are available also. The Province of Quebec is considered one of the best places in the world to do mining. So, I think these are all factors or conditions that should give some value to our shares.
WSR: We certainly look forward to continue to track the company’s growth as well as report on your upcoming progress. I like to thank you for taking the time to join us today and update our investors on Abcourt.
Renaud Hinse: Thank you.
