A new Australian-based company has been formed to assess the development potential of two very large tin deposits in Saxony in eastern Germany estimated to contain some 180,000 tonnes of tin. Deutsche Rohstoff AG has spun off its tin assets into a new company, Tin International Limited (TIN), with the aim of attracting Asia-Pacific investors and a planned initial public offering (IPO) on the Australian Stock Exchange in 2012. Within the first round of financing, private and institutional investors acquired an interest in Tin International in the amount of A$4 million (approximately EUR 3 million).
The Gottesberg and Geyer deposits, located in the Erzgebirge region of Saxony, near the German-Czech border, were subject to intensive exploration by the former German Democratic Republic in the 1970s and 1980s, with 169 holes and 60,000 metres of drilling. TIN will focus on the confirmation of resources under the Australian JORC code, to be followed by the development of the tin deposits. A drilling program has been designed and is ready to begin in the current quarter.
Titus Gebel, who is representing Heidelberg-based Deutsche Rohstoff AG in the Board of Directors of Tin International as non-executive chairman, said: “The international interest in our Saxon tin deposits was exceptionally high in recent months. We are pleased that we now can advance the development of Gottesberg and Geyer together with experienced partners. I am confident that we will succeed to build a successful company with Tin International in the fundamentally promising tin market.” DRAG retains a 68% share in TIN. During current and future corporate actions, including the IPO, the company is accompanied by the Australian investment house, Helmsec Global Capital Ltd., which is also a co-founder of Tin International. Helmsec specialises in the mining/resources sector and has offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Hong Kong and Singapore.
