Commonwealth Resources Limited

Registered Office Address
90 Otaki Street  
Dunedin  

Directors
COPLAND, Kenneth George
HAWARDEN, Michael Wyndham


History
Incorporated: 10-JUL-1996


Major Shareholders
Commonwealth Gold PLC - 60%+


Major Assets
Holistic Energy (NZ) Ltd
Silicon Metal Industries (NZ) Ltd


Website


News
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27 June 2001 - Otago Daily Times, by Neal Wallace
Optimism that silicon plant will go ahead

Backers of a planned $180 million silicon metal plant to be sited in Otago or Southland and  
employ 500 people are optimistic the project will go ahead.                                  

Commonwealth Resources Ltd, a public unlisted company 70% owned by Otago-based shareholders, 
plans to utilise a 6.3 million-tonne silica resource near Mataura in Southland to produce    
silicon metal for use in high technology industries.                                         

The company's Wanaka-based managing director, Ken Copland, said a decision on whether the    
project would go ahead was expected after the bankable feasibility study was completed.      

"Indications at the moment indicate the project remains viable and indications are that it   
will go ahead."                                                                              

International parties were interested in funding the project, while more than 30 engineering 
and equipment supply companies had been canvassed for a commitment of interest.              

Their response was expected in the next few weeks.                                           

The company plans to build a smelter in either Otago or Southland, with preferred sites near 
Invercargill or Bluff, close to the Pebbly Hills resource. Construction could start in about 
two years.                                                                                   

A cornerstone investor, most likely a user or existing processor, would provide the bulk of  
funds for the project and the company would be floated to source the remaining capital.      

The Southland silica deposit was exceptionally pure and Mr Copland said other factors in its 
favour were access to ample, cheap electricity, easy mining access and supplies of the wood  
and coal needed for smelting.                                                                

Studies indicate 11% of the deposit will yield 45,000 tonnes of metal ingots annually for    
export. The plant will handle 1.5 million tonnes of silica-bearing gravel a year.            

Mr Copland said the industry was growing, due to high oil prices forcing business to look for
replacements for petroleum lubricants.                                                       

The market for silicon metal is estimated at near 1.2 million tonnes a year.                 

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