It is the strategy and vision of the board and management of Proto Resources to provide shareholders with the opportunity of investing in a nickel and iron ore company focused on sulphide nickel exploration, nickel laterite project development, and iron ore acquisition, delineation and development.

Proto Resource’s flagship project is currently the Barnes Hill nickel and iron ore project in northern Tasmania, which is situated 10 km from the Bell Bay deep water port.  The Barnes Hill project is also 30 km from the BHP Temco ferro-manganese smelter at Bell Bay, which takes iron ore from local operations.  We envisage Barnes Hill in operation with a plant commissioned in early 2011, producing an initial 4000 tonnes per year of nickel metal in the first year and increasing to 8000 tonnes per year in subsequent years.  We also envisage an iron ore operation commencing beforehand under an industrial minerals license. 

Notably Proto Resources is committed to developing the newest clean technology for the processing of nickel laterite ore to cut capex and opex costs and increase profits.  This technology investment arm is another element of the Proto Resources business from which we envisage future dividends.

Proto Resources also provides potential for upside through discovery as it holds several extremely prospective exploration licenses, especially its Mt Vetters project in WA and its Lindeman’s Bore project in the Northern Territory.  Mt Vetters is along strike from the Silver Swan nickel project near Kalgoorlie, WA, and is prospective for nickel, gold and uranium.  Lindeman’s Bore, situated 380km southwest of Katherine, NT, is a Norilsk-style project prospective for nickel, copper and PGEs (Platinum Group Elements). 

Norilsk is the largest nickel company in the world, having the world class Norilsk mineralisation in north west Siberia, with the world’s largest reserves of nickel sulphide and platinum.