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- American Pacific Borates (ABR) shares have dropped this morning as it puts a pause on the construction of the Fort Cady Borate Mine in Southern California, U.S.
- The deferral decision was handed down by the recently appointed U.S. advisory board, which visited the site last week
- The advisory board has recommended the company consider completing additional drilling to expand its footprint and the scale of the JORC-compliant mineral resource estimate
- ABR has now kickstarted exploration target preparation at a site where it plans to start drilling later in the year
- On the market this morning, ABR has dropped 21.8 per cent to trade at $1.83 per share
American Pacific Borates (ABR) will defer the construction of phase one of its Fort Cady Borate Mine in Southern California, U.S.
ABR paused the construction of phase 1A to focus on a larger initial operation.
The deferral decision was handed down by the recently appointed U.S. advisory board, which visited the site last week.
The advisory board has recommended the company consider completing additional drilling to expand its footprint and the scale of the JORC-compliant mineral resource estimate.
ABR has started preparing an exploration target with a view to find potential resource upside. It plans to commence drilling later in the year.
Moving forward, the company will remain focused on two options. Option one includes combining all the current phase one operation into a 90,000-tonne-per-annum boric acid and 80,000-tonne-per-annum sulphate of potash (SOP) operation.
Option two will involve a larger operation, combining option one with the current phase two operations to deliver a 270,000-tonne-per-annum boric acid and 240,000-tonne-per-annum SOP operation.
Additionally, discussions are advancing with a potential U.S.-based CEO and CFO, which are expected to be appointed in the near term.
On the market this morning, ABR has dropped 21.8 per cent to trade at $1.83 per share at 11:23 am AEST.
