All figures in accordance with IFRS and in United States Dollars, unless otherwise stated

Consmin, a leading manganese ore producer with mining operations in Australia and Ghana, announces its quarterly results for the period ended 31 March 2012.

Key highlights

• Manganese sales tonnes were down 27% in Q1 2012, compared to Q1 2011. The decrease in sales is due to the impact of cyclones in Australia delaying haulage of ore to the port and shipments, and a slower Chinese EMM sector during the quarter. The Company expects that the Q1 2012 shortfall will be made up during the year.
• Average manganese sales prices achieved fell from $5.33 in Q1 2011 to $3.95 in Q1 2012. The weakness in prices was largely a reflection of concerns over Chinese steel production being affected by the Eurozone debt crisis combined with Chinese port stock levels. However, post the end of the quarter, improved Chinese steel sentiment combined with a continuing drawdown of Chinese port stocks’ (now 2.8 million tonnes versus the 4 million tonnes peak of 2011) has resulted in the benchmark price increasing by 5% for May shipments and a further 3% for June shipments to US$5.15/dmtu for manganese lump CIF China 45.5% grade material.
• In line with the mine plans, Australian production increased 14% and Ghana production decreased 19% in Q1 2012 compared to Q1 2011. Overall, total manganese tonnes produced in Q1 2012 were 6% lower compared to Q1 2011.
• Manganese C1 cash costs in Q1 2012 were down 7% to $ 3.27/dmtu, compared to Q1 2011. After normalising for the strengthening of the Australian dollar C1 cash costs were down 10% to $3.16/dmtu. C1 cash costs also improved compared to Q4 2011 and were 12% lower than FY2011.
• Consmin continues to focus on safety and although there was a Lost Time Incident (‘LTI’) at Woodie Woodie during the quarter, there were no reported LTIs at either Coobina or Ghana.

Key Performance Indicators

1. ¹Average C1 manganese or chromite unit cash cost represents the cash cost incurred at each processing stage from mining through to shiploading, over the total manganese dmtus or chromite tonnes produced.  Included within the C1 manganese and chromite unit cash costs are an allocation of offsite, non-corporate and support services.  Depreciation, government royalty payments, deferred stripping adjustments and stockpile movements are not included in the calculation.
2. ²Adjusted EBITDA is defined as operating profit before depreciation and amortisation, impairment write-back/expense, net foreign exchange gain/loss and non-cash inventory write-downs. Adjusted EBITDA is not a uniformly or legally defined measure and is not recognised under IFRS or any other generally accepted accounting principles. The Directors use this measure as an indicator of our representative, recurring operations and to reflect how the business is managed and measured. Other companies in the mining industry may calculate this measure differently and consequently, our presentation of Adjusted EBITDA may not be readily comparable to other companies’ figures.
3. ³‘Cash’ EBITDA is defined as Adjusted EBITDA after removing the impact of the non-cash items of deferred stripping and movement in inventories.

Commenting on the results, Jackie Callaway (CFO of Consmin) said:

“In what was a difficult first quarter, Consmin once again produced a strong operational performance with consistent volumes of manganese ore produced and a doubling in the volume of chromite ore produced compared to the same quarter of the previous year.

Sales volumes were weaker in the quarter due to the impact of the cyclones in Australia delaying shipments, and a slower Chinese EMM sector. As a result of a combination of this and the lower sales prices for manganese and chromite ore, revenues fell compared to the prior quarter. The Group is confident that it will recover the sales volume shortfall in the remainder of the year. Post the end of the quarter, improved Chinese steel sentiment combined with Chinese port stocks’ continuing to be drawn down has resulted with the benchmark price increasing by 5% for May shipments and a further 3% for June shipments.

Manganese C1 cash costs continued to reduce as a result of the successful implementation of cost reduction initiatives.

The Company is delighted to announce the senior appointments of Paul Muller and Malcolm McComas. Paul Muller joins us as Managing Director for the Australian Operations. He has a strong mining operations background, having held executive roles within mining organisations including Leighton Contractors and most recently BHP Billiton Iron Ore. Paul has recent relevant experience with transitioning from contract mining to owner-operator. Malcolm joins the Board as Senior Independent Director. Malcolm has more than 25 years of investment banking experience including leadership roles in several global financial institutions with experience in equity and debt finance, acquisitions, divestments and privatisations across a range of industry sectors.”

Download the full First Quarter Report for period ending 31 March 2012 (PDF – 852KB)

About Consolidated Minerals Limited

Consmin is a leading manganese ore producer within mining operations in Australia and Ghana. The principal activities of the Company and its subsidiaries (the “Group”) are the exploration, mining, processing and sale of manganese products. The Group’s operations are primarily conducted through four major operating/trading subsidiaries; Consolidated Minerals Pty Limited (Australia), Ghana Manganese Company Limited (Ghana), Manganese Trading Limited (Jersey) and Pilbara Trading Limited (Jersey).

Consolidated Minerals Limited is headquartered in Jersey and the address of its office is Commercial House, 3 Commercial Street, St Helier, Jersey, Channel Islands, JE2 3RU.

Company Information

For further information, please visit our website www.consmin.com or contact:

Consmin

+44 1534 513 300

Jackie Callaway, Chief Financial Officer
Peter Allen, Managing Director, Marketing
Paul Muller, Managing Director, Australia
Jurgen Eijgendaal, Managing Director, Ghana

Conference Call

There will be a conference call for analysts and bondholders on 30 May 2012 at 4pm BST (British Summer Time).

To access the quarterly results conference call, you must first register in advance on:
http://emea.directeventreg.com/registration/event/77633617

The quarterly results conference call, conference ID 77633617, can then be accessed by dialling:
UK: +44 1452 580 655

Market, Economic and Industry

Market, economic and industry data used throughout this report has been derived from various industry and other independent sources. Industry publications, surveys and forecasts generally state that the information contained therein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but that the accuracy and completeness of such information is not guaranteed and such industry forecasts may not have been updated. Forecasts and other forward-looking information obtained from these sources are subject to the same qualifications and uncertainties as the other forward looking statements contained in this report.

Forward looking statements

This report includes “forward-looking statements” that express or imply expectations of future events or results. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts. These statements include, without limitation, financial projections and estimates and their underlying assumptions, statements regarding plans, objectives and expectations with respect to future production, operations, costs, products and services, and statements regarding future performance. Forward-looking statements are generally identified by the words ‘plans,’ ‘expects,’ ‘anticipates,’ ‘believes,’ ‘intends,’ ‘estimates’ and other similar expressions.

All forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors. Although Consmin’s management believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, investors are cautioned that forward-looking information and statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and generally beyond the control of Consmin, that could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied or projected by, the forward-looking information and statements contained in this report. Factors that could cause or contribute to differences between the actual results, performance and achievements of Consmin include, but are not limited to, political, economic and business conditions, industry trends, competition, commodity prices, changes in regulation, currency fluctuations (including the Australian dollar and US dollar exchange rates), Consmin’s ability to recover its reserves or develop new reserves, including its ability to convert its resources into reserves and its mineral potential into resources or reserves, and to timely and successfully process its mineral reserves which may or may not occur. Consmin is also exposed to the risk of trespass, theft and vandalism, changes in its business strategy, as well as risks and hazards associated with the business of mineral exploration, development, mining and production. Accordingly, investors should not place reliance on forward looking statements contained in this report.

The forward-looking statements in this report reflect information available at the time of preparing this report. Subject to the requirements of the applicable law, Consmin explicitly disclaims any obligation or undertaking publicly to release the result of any revisions to any forward- looking statements in this report that may occur due to any change in Consmin’s expectations or to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this report. No statements made in this report regarding expectations of future profits are profit forecasts or estimates, and no statements made in this report should be interpreted to mean that Consmin’s profits for any future period will necessarily match or exceed the historical published profits of Consmin or any other level.