London- and Australia-listed exploration company Dwyka Resources flew into Johannesburg last week to hold talks with fund managers interested in filling BHP Billiton’s shoes in what appears to be a promising nickel project in Burundi – and, at the same time, provided an update on its gold project in neighbouring Swaziland.

Despite BHP Billiton having satisfied its earn-in requirements, which entitled the mining giant to a 10% interest in the Muremera nickel project through its investment of some $7,3-million, Dwyka persuaded BHP to gift it the 10% and currently has 100% ownership.

Dwyka CEO Melissa Sturgess, who had just arrived from a roundtable on the provision of rail infrastructure to serve Muremera and other adjoining nickel projects, told Mining Weekly that BHP Billiton had “done the honourable thing” by leaving its $7,3-million in the project and giving its 10% back to Dwyka upon withdrawal.

“We are now owners of 100% of the project again, with the benefit of their $7,3-million of investment, which they’ve made over the last 12 months,” Sturgess said.

That had, she beamed, resulted in a 34% boost in the value of Dwyka’s shares on the London Aim, albeit off a low base after an earlier 80% decimation of its valuation by the global financial meltdown.

Sturgess said that she would be talking to fund managers and mining investors in Johannesburg on the BHP Billiton gap the company would like to fill by attracting another “earn-in” investor.

The three highest-priority targets in its Muremera drilling programme were some 10 km from the highly rated Barrick/Xstrata Kabanga project, which was currently said to be the world’s largest undeveloped nickel sulphide project.
She reported that the Swaziland gold project was being advanced within a Barbertonlike gold geology. A million-ounce gold resource was being targeted.

“We own 70% of the project at the moment and we can get to 90% through various spending targets and hurdles,” she said.

Dwyka was working with the private Savinara consortium on the Swaziland gold project, which was originally identified by South Africa’s JCI.

Importantly, the company has £7,3-million in cash. “We did a financing just before the market crashed. I think we were the last junior in London to do a significant raising,” Sturgess said.
At the current rate of ‘cash burn’, the £7,3-million would last the company another five years, depending on what it decided to embark upon.

Sturgess said that the bulk of the company’s shareholders were on Aim and, for the last five years, Dwyka had only raised money on the Aim market.