19 September 2008

Kendall Wadley strikes gold as they are appointed auditors to leading mining company. Catalina Resources PLC.

Leading Worcester, Malvern and Hereford-based firm of chartered accountants and business advisers, Kendall Wadley LLP has been appointed auditors to a new exciting and rapidly growing mining company, Catalina Resources PLC.

Operating in South America, the company was founded in 2006 by British and Malvern-based geologist Peter Bridges. Peter has over 36 year's practical experience in mining and mineral exploration. After obtaining a degree in Geology from The University of St Andrews, he worked in Zambia and then went on to study for a Masters degree at Imperial College, London. After acquiring his qualification, Peter then went on to work as an Exploration Manager with Greenwich Resources where he met Andrew Shaw, a geologist with over 30 years experience and together, they set up Catalina Resources. Andrew operates in South America and lives in Santiago Other board directors include Ceri Phipps, a British geologist with a background in the mining and power industries, and Chilean lawyer, Cristián Amunátegui. The Company Secretary is Christopher Bate.
The company has focused initially on Chile, the most mineral-rich country in South America, through its wholly-owned, Chilean-registered subsidiary - Minera Catalina S.A. So far projects have centred on exploration and mining of silver, gold, copper and cobalt.
Since January 2007, Catalina has raised almost £1million from private investors. The directors also contributed to this fund-raising. 70 per cent of the funds raised will be spent directly on project work and the company is currently focusing on three major projects in the Chilean region. These include a new discovery of two Maricunga-style gold porphyries and epithermal gold at La Falda, vein-hosted copper, cobalt and gold targets at Kahuna and copper, silver and gold targets at La Perla.
In June 2008 Catalina agreed terms of a Joint Venture agreement with Gold Fields Limited (one of the world's largest unhedged producers of gold) over Catalina's La Falda Project which lies at an altitude of 4,500 metres in Chile's Andean Cordillera.

• The operations of Catalina Resources are helping to boost the economy in Chile. Equally, the directors are able to call on the wide array of professional expertise available in the region to help with their exploration This ranges from highly competent drilling contractors to world-class geophysicists and chemists. The company also works within the strict controls laid down in the mining industry to protect the environment in which they work.

Kendall Wadley is helping Catalina Resources to grow and develop their business by providing them with audit and corporation tax advice. The firm has experience of helping many international companies with subsidiaries in the UK and through sound financial advice, is helping to groom the business so that eventually Catalina Resources will gain admission to one of the world's leading stock exchanges.
Peter Bridges, Director of Catalina Resources commenting on the help that Kendall Wadley has given his company said,

'We are extremely pleased with the help and service we have received from Kendall Wadley so far. The relationship between the two companies is simple and smooth and we are confident that they will be able to help our business develop further.'