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Cape has placed about 3.8 million shares with stockbroker RBS Morgans at 12 cents per share to raise $456,359.

Separately, it has also placed about 7.1 million shares at 14 cents a pop with Racle Resources to raise $1 million.

The company also sold its non-core Hey Point bauxite tenements and its Cape York mineral sands interests Racle Resources. 

The transaction valued at about $3.4 million includes a cash payment of $1.5 million and a 2-3% royalty on all bauxite sold from Hey Point. Cape Alumina will retain the marketing rights and receive a fee.

The NPV for the Hey Point sale is estimated to be $3.4 million or about $0.90 per inferred Resource tonne of bauxite.

Once the share placement transaction is completed, Cape Alumina will have $4.8 million in cash, which will be used to fund growth.

Cape Alumina will now focus on its flagship Pisolite Hills mine, which has recently been declared as a "significant project for which environmental impact statement is required" by the Queensland government. 

Cape has started technical and environmental studies for the project and will commence land owner and native title negotiations soon.

Construction of the project is set to start in 2014 with production scheduled for later that year. 

The project is said to hold resource of about 134.6 million tonnes, potentially yielding upto 7 million tonnes per annum of dry-product bauxite over 15 years.

Cape Alumina holds about 1900 square kilometres of exploration tenements in the  highly prospective Cape York bauxite province in Queensland. Cape Alumina's tenements are the largest holdings in the region outside Rio Tinto Alcan mining leases.

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Proactive Investors is a market leader in the investment news space, providing ASX “Small and Mid-cap” company news, research reports, StockTube videos and One2One Investor Forums.

The company is planning a reconnaissance and hand-auger sampling program at the project’s BH7 plateau, scheduled to start in early December.

Detailed environmental studies for the Bauxite Hills project are underway, and community engagement with Traditional Land Owners is ongoing.

Planning has also begun for an infill drilling program for the 2012 dry season.

Further assay results of the near-surface, pisolitic, bauxite-rich units from resource extension drilling undertaken at BH1 and the exploration of the project’s BH2 and BH6 deposits are due to be released early next year and are expected to significantly increase the project’s resource base.

Work on a Pre-Feasibility Study for the Bauxite Hills project area will start in the first quarter of 2012.

Stirling will update the market on:

1. Company strategic review advice;
2. TeleMedCare and Stirling Pharma progress and developments;
3. First exclusive HDA platform licensing for the pulmonary delivery of a major drug; and
4. Proposed UK AIM listing and funding.

The trading halt will last to the earlier of the announcement(s), or trading on Wednesday 15 June.

Jeremy Cocks, Stirling’s new incoming chief executive offer, has previously held positions as a Director of Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) a US$163 billion valued company where he headed new products marketing and business development. He was recently Head of Marketing and Technical Services at Novartis (NYSE: NVS), valued at US$157 billion.

Cocks has expertise in the pharmaceutical animal health sector and has proven sales, marketing and management experience in Australia, the US and the UK.

The appointment will be formalised by 6 June 2011 and remains subject to a probationary term of three months and Board approval.

The company has also appointed John Botten to act as an advisor and consultant to Stirling.

Botten will advise and assist the company in the global commercialisation of its TeleMedCare e – Health vital signs monitoring business.

He has multi-national experience including 31 years at IBM (NYSE: IBM) and acted as Director at the computer hardware giant for 12 year including four years at IBM's European Headquarters in France as the Product Director resposible for the marketing of IBM's large systems across EMEA.

Botten also spent six years on the Board of the UK Forensic Science Service and is currently chairman of The Learning Machine, an open source education technology company.

Stirling has entered advanced stages of discussion with a UK broker and institutions regarding the potential dual listing of the company on the London Stock Exchange Alternative Investment Market, and subject to this, Botten has offered his services as a UK independent director.

Peter Boonen, managing director, said “Stirling is indeed fortunate to have the opportunity of securing the services of a new CEO who has proven management skills within the industry and can lead the company in the next phase of business development.”

Bauxite Hills project area is located 95 kilometres north of Weipa on Queensland’s Cape York Peninsula and five kilometres south-east of the port at Skardon River.

A concept study completed earlier this year showed the the Bauxite Hills project could potentially yield 50-100 million tonnes of dry-product bauxite and a possible 15-year export operation.
 
Apudthama Land Trust and Cape Alumina signed the Exploration Consent and the Conduct and Compensation Agreements late last week. These are the final access agreements required before the company begins exploration and a drill program during the 2011 dry season.

An advanced exploration and drilling program will commence later in the dry season to establish a JORC resource and commence environmental studies of the area before moving to the feasibility stage of the project.

The publication focuses on pulmonary and nasal drug delivery and has a readership base of 40,000 worldwide mainly within the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry sectors.

Stirling’s HDA product differs from other pulmonary drug delivery devices as most are a dry-powder base.

Highlighting the future impact of HDA’s within the industry, the article notes that Pfizer’s (NYSE: PFE) ‘Exubera’ was the next generation dry-powder delivery technology where more than “US$1 billion was reportedly written off when this project was abandoned.”

Despite the knowledge that the lungs have naturally inbuilt defences which reject powders, essentially a dust, there remains a focus on dry-powder systems in the industry.

The problems associated with dry-powders positions Stirling to make a potential breakthrough in the industry.  The company is in the process of commercialising a better drug delivery system to the lungs with a “new class of aerosol – generation device that is suited for use in a wide range of applications.” 

The article notes “This HDA technology has proven it is highly efficient in delivering respiratory drugs such as albuterol sulphate.”

Albuterol is used in inhalation devices worldwide to combat asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Stirling’s HDA Nebuliser device can deliver the drug deep into the lung in a dissolved state that helps the lungs quickly absorb more of the drug.

The company’s device illustrates technology that offers advantages such as true breath-activation and that it can be used for multiple drug products.

This particular ONdrugDelivery issue has been sponsored by the 3M Company (NYSE: MMM) and will be distributed at the Respiratory Drug Delivery Conference being held over four days this week in Berlin.

The conferences are designed for those involved in the development, investigation, preparation and delivery of old and new therapeutic entities by aerosol systems.

The conference will have over 50 industry exhibitors as well as 70 scientific posters with most of them focussed on developments and opportunities within the rapidly developing respiratory drug delivery market.

The commencement of manufacturing operations in Nova Scotia is a defining milestone for Stirling.  It opens the door for additional contract manufacturing agreements to be won by Stirling and burgeoning cash flows to build.  Today's announcement has the potential to change the fortunes for Stirling.

Stirling has also announce today that it will offer a share purchase plan providing the opportunity for shareholders to subscribe for a minimum of $2,000 up to a maximum of $15,000 worth of new shares without occuring any brokeridge fees.

As part of a strategic review Stirling has commenced an in depth review of all assets, capital requirements and business operations and focus. The company is seeking to secure its  operational activities through cash flow generation.

Stirling is set to release information regarding:

1. Commissioning of pharmaceutical its facility;
2. Placement details and funding arrangements; and
3. A report on the company's progress.

The trading halt will be lifted when trading opens on Thursday 10 March 2011, or earlier if the announcements are made.

Stirling said the capital raising is to be conducted through its financial advisor and lead broker, Novus Capital.

Pisolite Hills

Field activities on the Pisolite Hills project have been limited to ongoing environmental monitoring programs due to the wet season.

This break in field based activity has allowed Cape Alumina to further develop health, safety, environment and community management programs for the project.

These include expansion of the site induction programme to incorporate a Field Guide of significant fauna and flora within the project area and the establishment of a Culture, Heritage and Environment Permit system for all field activities.

An Economic Impact Assessment shows Pisolite Hills will contribute $1.2 billion to gross domestic product and create or sustain 1700 direct and indirect jobs.

A community information centre and Pisolite Hills project office is to be established in Mapoon township.

Musgrave

Initial investigations were commenced into the suitability of bauxite from the Musgrave deposit (EPM15984) for dry screening and also for sale as Direct Shipping Ore (DSO) that is eliminating the need for any washing.

Initial modeling of the results shows an indicated resource of approximately 2.1Mt of bauxite with an average grade of approximately 40% Trihydrate Available Alumina at 150°C (THA) and 7.5% Reactive Silica (RSI) on a dry product basis.

This represents an approximate 50% increase in bauxite resources compared to the previous estimate, which was based on wet beneficiation, and provides potential for cost reduction. Further test work, analysis and market appraisal for this bauxite are underway.

Potential for early mining of the Musgrave deposit has been identified.

Western Cape York Regional

Planning is underway for exploration scout drilling to be undertaken on the Dulhunty project at Namaleta andSkardon prospects as well as on the Andoom North prospect during the June and September quarters.

Mapping of remotely sensed data in these areas indicates potential for between 70 and 110Mt* of bauxite on a dry product basis, which could more than double the company’s existing resource base at Pisolite Hills.

Central Queensland project – Toondoon

A technical review of the Central Queensland tenement package currently underway has resulted in the decision to withdraw one Exploration Permit for Minerals application, EPMA 18274 – Niall, in the east of the project area.

The evaluation of the remaining EPMA’s will be completed in the June quarter.

An Environmental Impact Study (EIS) is progressing for 2010 submission.

Corporate

A recruitment programme was initiated to fill a number of senior roles to move the company forward through the permitting phase of the Pisolite Hills project.

Financial

As at 31 March 2010, Cape Alumina Limited had funds on hand of $6.2 million.

Cape Alumina owns the largest tenement holding, outside the Rio Tinto Alcan mining leases in the world renowned Weipa Bauxite Province in Cape York.

Cape Alumina has international support from Chinese alumina majors including Xinfa, one of China’s largest aluminium and alumina producers.

With the upgrade in resource to 130 mt, the Pisolite Hills  project would have a 12 to 15 year initial mine life. A Bankable Feasibility Study (BFS) is due to commence in September incorporating the revised parameters.

Cape Alumina CEO Dr Paul Messenger said “We see potential for an initial 12-15 year operation at Pisolite Hills at a target production rate of 7 Mtpa. There’s a growing market for the resource as the bauxite is suitable as a blending feed for the new breed of low-temperature Bayer-process refineries in China."

on a dry tonne basis, the expected yield after wet benefication is 86.1 Mt including Measured (20.1Mt), Indicated (37.9Mt) and Inferred (28 Mt) Resources at an average grade of 53.1% Al2O3.

Further drilling to upgrade resource categories planned for the 2009 field season.