Kavango Resources (LON:KAV) and Power Metal Resources (LON:POW) posted highly encouraging survey results on Friday, with an impressive seven targets now identified at the South Ghanzi copper project.
South Ghanzi, a 50-50 joint venture (“JV”) between Power Metals is located in Botswana’s underexplored Kalahari Copper Belt (“KCB”). This mineral belt extends for almost 1,000 kilometres from northeast Botswana all the way to western Namibia.
The KCB discovery rate has accelerated over the past ten to fifteen years, delineating significant new mineral resources, with two copper-silver mines developed.
Now, the JV partners are intent on securing their own slice of the pie, with Airborne Electromagnetic (“AEM”) surveys in February defining seven kilometre-scale anomalies, each representing a possible drill target.
Follow up ground-based exploration found what Kavango rightly described as “very encouraging results”. There was close correlation between the AEM data, copper-zinc in soils geochemistry, and regional geological mapping.
Michael Foster, Kavango’s chief executive, commented on the “very promising” results so far from South Ghanzi, and the “elevated copper and zinc readings” especially.
All of this closely aligns with Kavango’s prior fieldwork, as well as the regional exploration model. Based on initial data interpretation, the target depths range from 40 metres (“m”) to 400m for exploration drilling.
Foster said the “generally shallow depth of the conductors is a major asset” for the JV.
The next step for operator Kavango will be additional soil sampling, as well as trenching and geological mapping before the drill programme planned later this year. Three of the conductors identified were “associated with anticlines/fold structures”, making them the highest priority for this programme.
First priority is target 36A, known as Acacia, a 4 kilometre (“km”) by 4km conductor located inside a fold “nose”, plunging southeast. Directly over this anomaly, soil geochemistry found extensive elevated copper and zinc levels – more than 42 parts per million (“ppm”) copper and over 75 ppm zinc.
Paul Johnson, chief executive of Power Metal, said the company was “particularly encouraged” by Acacia. He noted that the target contained both “a high conductivity signature” found in the AEM survey as well as “almost perfectly coincident” zinc and copper-in soil anomalies.
Johnson pointed out that these “are key signatures typical of nearby copper-silver discoveries within the Belt”.
Second priority target 36G, Morula, is around 2km wide, plus at least 12km of strike – open at both ends. Morula is likely to be “the sheared and thrust faulted southern limb of the ‘Acacia’ fold”. Soil sample lines taken at Morula found significant 38ppm to 62ppm copper concentrations and 59ppm to 111ppm zinc all across the 12km soil anomaly.
Then there’s target B, or Baobab, a 2km by 3km closed conductor sitting across the ‘nose’ of a second on Acacia’s same stratospheric horizon. This is the third priority target.
An addition to the first three is target E, or Elephant, 2.5 kilometres wide and with a strike of at least 6km. This is open at both ends, with Elephant’s main body between 400m and 600m from surface. This is unusual for the project, given the generally shallower depth of other conductors.
Elephant is fourth priority, and has a number of faults intersecting the main body, resulting in “several close surface conductors” that might be sampled though shallow drilling.
On top of all this, Kavango may choose to conduct even more AEM survey work aimed at closing off and establishing the true extent of the conductor.
“The exploration story at South Ghanzi continues to progress at pace and we eagerly await the next phase of results and drill testing of several of these high-priority targets,” Johnson said.
The copper price recently hit a new high, with a current copper shortage and declining inventories set to push prices even higher. Right now, Bank of America is expecting a 186,000 tonne deficit for 2021 and a 369,000 tonne shortfall in 2022.
The red metal is in high demand thanks to electrification, with electric cars especially requiring a great deal of copper. An electric vehicle might need over a mile of copper wiring for its stator windings alone.
On the regulatory front, the Environmental Management Plan (“EMP”) for South Ghanzi, submitted in February, is making progress.
Botswana’s Department of Environmental Affairs (“DEA”) has now accepted the EMP project brief. The next step will see a consultant, on Kavango’s behalf, start engaging and consulting with local farmers. The consultant will then submit “a report to the DEA to progress the application”.
Kavango and Power Metals each hold their 50% interest in South Ghanzi through Kanye Resources, with plans underway for a Kanye IPO on a recognised stock exchange.
“With the Environmental Management Plan application progressing well, the next few months in South Ghanzi will be key,” Foster concluded.
Author: Anna Farley
The Author does not hold any position in the stock(s) and/or financial instrument(s) mentioned in the piece.
MiningMaven Ltd, the owner of MiningMaven.com, owns a position in the stock(s) and/or financial instrument(s) mentioned in the piece.
MiningMaven Ltd, the owner of MiningMaven.com, has been paid for the production of this piece by the company or companies mentioned above.
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In highly encouraging news for Oriole Resources (LSE:ORR), the company revealed on Wednesday that the year four exploration programme at the Senala gold project is now underway.
The firm’s joint venture (“JV”) partner, IAMGOLD (NYSE: IAG), is conducting the programme and can earn a 70% interest in the Senegalese project by spending up to $8 million.
The latest programme involves around 11,000 metres (“M”) of reverse circulation (“RC”) and diamond drilling at Senala’s Faré and Madina Bafé prospects.
Oriole said it expects results from the first phase of the exploration programme, which focuses on the northernmost Faré prospect, in the third quarter of 2021. The company believes Faré “has the potential to be a standalone deposit”.
Already, diamond drilling is complete for 609m in two holes. Plans for 5,000m of RC drilling for 42 holes underway right now, focusing on the strongest anomalies from recent aircore drilling.
These strongest anomalies, up to 2.58 grams per tonne of gold, and were found at three fences at the Faré North sub-prospect plus two fences at the Faré Far South sub-prospect.
Tim Livesey, Oriole’s chief executive, said the firm was “very pleased to see the drill programme underway at Faré” given its own previous successful intersections, which included 20m grading 31.1 grams per tonne of gold and 59.60m grading 2.20 grams per tonne.
IAMGOLD will direct the second phase towards drilling Senala’s southernmost Madina Bafé prospect – located within just 10 kilometres of IAMGOLD’s 2.5 million-ounce Boto mine development project.
This second phase will involve 5,000m of RC drilling in 42 holes, testing a northeast corridor recently “subject to artisanal mining”. This drilling is set to start next month and IAMGOLD is already opening RC fence lines and constructing the drill pad. There will be 400m of diamond drilling in this phase, aiming to “test a mineralised shear corridor”.
Livesey said IAMGOLD’s advanced preparation for Madina Bafé is “a positive sign”, following on from the JV partner’s earlier work there in 2018/19.
Once the year four expenditure plan is complete, IAMGOLD will have earned the right to acquire up to 51% interest in Senala. It will need to spend an additional $4 million over two years for a 70% interest.
As Livesey pointed out, “Oriole remains free carried throughout this work”. This means the company can dedicate funds to exploration in Cameroon, with a maiden drill programme at its Bibemi project already showing “great promise”.
The chief executive also pointed to the “extensive stream sediment sampling programme” taking place in Cameroon on its “district-scale Central Licence Package” and currently “well underway”.
“IAMGOLD continues to advance the neighbouring Boto mine development target, with a planned spend of $60 million this year to fund detailed engineering and infrastructure development, including a permanent camp, year-round access road and an airstrip. We continue to engage proactively with the IAMGOLD team and wish them success in their exploration efforts,” Livesey concluded.
Author: Anna Farley
The Author does not hold any position in the stock(s) and/or financial instrument(s) mentioned in the piece.
MiningMaven Ltd, the owner of MiningMaven.com, does not own a position in the stock(s) and/or financial instrument(s) mentioned in the piece.
MiningMaven Ltd, the owner of MiningMaven.com, has not been paid for the production of this piece by the company or companies mentioned above.
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A new competent person’s report on the Blyvoor gold tailings project puts owner Katoro Gold (LON: KAT) in a “very strong” position when it comes to funding talks, the firm said on Tuesday. Results of the work cemented the “robust technical and economic viability” of the gold tailings asset, which is based in South Africa.
Katoro is right now finalising a comprehensive funding package under its Blyvoor joint venture (“JV”), in which it has a 50% attributable interest. Blyvoor Gold Operations, a holding company of Target Mine Consulting, owns the other 50%.
The funding package will cover the construction, commissioning, and operation of a mining facility capable of processing, in total, an impressive 500,000 tonnes per month of tailings material.
The report put Blyvoor’s all-in sustaining cost at an estimated at $861 per ounce of gold, with a $1,067 per ounce all-in cost. Total project capital costs for the life of the project come to only $152 million, with a $69 million peak funding requirement.
This is based on a $ 1,610 per oz average gold price, significantly below the current $1,800 per oz price of gold.
“The project is very robust in all aspects and puts the Company in a very strong position to finalize funding discussions,” said executive chair Louis Coetzee.
Blyvoor’s average life of mine gold grade will be 0.29 grams per ton, with 51% confirmed recovery – this before including recovery gains from metallurgical optimisation tests.
In fact, these tests suggested possible recoveries up as much as 60% by milling the coarser fraction of feedstock, which makes up around 30% of the total run of mine.
Coetzee said Katoro is now working to find out the extent to which these higher recovery rates might improve Blyvoor’s “already robust project economics” with an update expected “in due course”.
The chair acknowledged that technical work has been delayed by South Africa’s Covid-19 related restrictions, but noted that this had actually “allowed for better and more detailed review and optimization work”.
The findings of the competent person’s report (“CPR”) were subject to results from previous metallurgical test work. Having received all outstanding results, Katoro can now validate the CPR’s findings and “further engage with prospective funders” to conclude funding arrangements.
Included in the CPR is an advanced pre-feasibility level study, as well as a SAMREC compliant reserve and resource statement plus a South African Mineral Asset Valuation report covering “Blyvoor TSF 1, 6 and 7 and Doornfontein TSF 1, 2 and 3 gold tailings storage facilities”. Here, TSF stands for “tailings storage facility”—a highly engineered structure consisting of one or more tailings dams designed to store gold-containing material.
Impressive CPR highlights also include a total project resource size of 1.4 million ounces (“oz”) of gold. Notably, this includes 500,000 measured ounces split between 368,000oz in the indicated category and 542,000 oz inferred.
Elsewhere, TSFs 6 and 7 were upgraded to probable reserve status, with TSF 6 containing 424,000 oz gold while TSF7 has 392,000 oz.
Before incorporating metallurgical optimisation results, the CPR shows a $114 million unlevered project net present value. This is with a 33% internal rate of return and 64% return on investment.
The CPR also shows a 25-year life-of-mine (“LOM”), building to a 500,000 tons per month production capacity. Overall production is expected to be 675, 842 ounces of gold for the whole LOM.
Blyvoor is far from Katoro’s only gold project. There are also the Imweru and Lubando gold projects in Tanzania’s Lake Victoria Goldfields region. Elsewhere in Tanzania, the company’s Haneti project is prospective for nickel, platinum-group-elements and gold.
Gold is looking particularly strong at the moment, after the pandemic drove investors to seek safe havens. The gold price was declining at the start of 2021, when optimism around vaccines reached its height. However, the rose-tinted glasses have come off now amid a devastating second wave in India and the US looking unlikely to reach herd immunity.
With such excellent progress at Blyvoor, Katoro is in a great position to benefit from strengthening demand for the precious metal. As financing talks continue apace, the company seems set for a bright future.
Author: Anna Farley
The Author does not hold any position in the stock(s) and/or financial instrument(s) mentioned in the piece.
MiningMaven Ltd, the owner of MiningMaven.com, does not own a position in the stock(s) and/or financial instrument(s) mentioned in the piece.
MiningMaven Ltd, the owner of MiningMaven.com, has not been paid for the production of this piece by the company or companies mentioned above.
MiningMaven.com and MiningMaven Ltd are not responsible for the article's content or accuracy and do not share the views of the author. News and research are not recommendations to deal, and investments may fall in value so that you could lose some or all of your investment. Past performance is not an indicator of future performance
Red Rock Resources (LON: RRR) and Power Metal Resources (LON:POW) on Friday revealed that their Australian joint venture has been granted another two licences, with the IPO process now set to accelerate.
The Red Rock Australasia joint venture (“JV”) has gold exploration interests in the prestigious Victoria goldfields – the same goldfields as Kirkland Lake Gold’s (NYSE:KL) Fosterville mine.
Fosterville, as the world’s highest grade and lowest cost gold mine, has drawn a great deal of interest to Victoria. This includes from Red Rock Resources and Power Metal, who have 50.1% and 49.9% stakes respectively in the JV.
The two have applied for a considerable licence area, with seven total licences now granted and applications in process for another nine. The latest two licences are Evergreen, covering 484 square kilometres (“sq km”), and the 85 sq km Mt Bute.
The seven licences now cover an 848 sq km exploration area, with Power Metal noting this includes “numerous old mines and workings and identified geological targets”. The presence of old mines and workings is particularly significant for the Victoria goldfields, as Fosterville was discovered after digging deeper at a former gold mine.
As the majority of ground covered by the NI 43-101 technical report has now reached granted status, the IPO process for the Red Rock Australasia JV is set to pick up speed.
Impressively, licence applications are in process for another nine new gold exploration licence areas covering an incredible 1,488 sq km.
Power Metal chief executive Paul Johnson noted that the Evergreen tenement is among the “larger licence applications and sits in an area of particular interest”. As evidence for this, he pointed to “increasing investment by peer companies in project acquisition and exploration”.
On the topic of the JV IPO, he said: “Grant of the two licences moves the IPO process front and centre. We believe that the core interests of RRAL forming the basis for an IPO on the Canadian capital markets represents one of the most comprehensive investment opportunities in the Victoria Goldfields for Canadian and international investors.”
Red Rock Resources chair Andrew Bell said the IPO plans “can finally move up a gear” and called the current tenement package “a strong and competitive investment offering”.
Alongside the update on the JV, Red Rock Resources also gave an update on its interest in Jupiter Mines (ASX:JMS) and Jupiter’s spin-off plans. Red Rock Resources owns around 1% of Jupiter Mines, a manganese producer in South Africa.
Jupiter is to pay a final A$0.02 per share dividend for its year ended February 2021, payable May 27, with Red Rock Resources receiving around £150,000. The Jupiter dividend yield for its financial year is 10.1%, dipping from 15.7% and 22.7% the two years prior as a result of lockdowns.
Additionally, a Jupiter general meeting has now approved a capital reduction, paving the way for the spin-out of iron ore business Juno Minerals on the Australian Stock Exchange.
Bell noted that Jupiter’s yield was in the double digits for the third year in a row and was very pleased with the Juno float.
“This long life, low cost, manganese producer is now distributing out to shareholders its iron ore assets in an ASX float, which for us as royalty holders over the main iron ore asset is a doubly encouraging development,” Bell said.
Author: Anna Farley
The Author does not hold any position in the stock(s) and/or financial instrument(s) mentioned in the piece.
MiningMaven Ltd, the owner of MiningMaven.com, owns a position in the stock(s) and/or financial instrument(s) mentioned in the piece.
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Greatland Gold (LON: GGP | FRA: G8G) noted “excellent results” from the drilling campaign at the Havieron joint venture project in Western Australia on Thursday, once again reinforcing the potential to extend the initial resource.
The company has a joint venture (“JV”) agreement with Newcrest Mining (ASX: NCM), one of the world’s largest gold mining companies. Newcrest, which currently operates exploration activity at Havieron, has the right to earn up to a 70% interest in the JV. Newcrest can also acquire another 5% stake once the farm-out period is over.
Thursday’s latest report from Newcrest, with new results from the growth drilling programme at Havieron, included results from four new holes after infill drilling within the project’s inferred mineral resource boundary. All intersected “significant mineralisation” at the JV.
Best new results from growth drilling include 156.6 metres (“m”) at 1.1 grams per ton (“g/t”) gold and 0.22% copper from 805.8m, including 27.4m at 2.6g/t gold and 0.49% copper from 923.5m at the Northern Breccia.
The “excellent results from growth drilling” support potential resource expansion of the gold-copper mineralised system at Havieron. This is especially the case in and around the Northern Breccia as well as below the inferred mineral resource estimate in the project’s South East Crescent Zone and neighbouring Breccia Zones.
This backs up the strong infill drilling results reported in March 2021, which further strengthened confidence in the geological and grade continuity of the existing resource shell, and supported delivery of an indicated mineral resource estimate for the South East Crescent Zone and Breccia Zones.
Growth drilling is continuing, prioritising the North West Crescent and Northern Breccia zone at first, supporting the possible expansion of the existing inferred mineral resource.
Other priorities for growth drilling include drill testing and interpreting the Eastern Breccia Zone’s geological and mineralisation controls. Additionally, it will look to define extensions below the current resource shell and its adjacent lateral extensions.
Finally, growth drilling will also seek to find new targets outside the Havieron deposit’s immediate vicinity but still inside the JV area. The partners are considering drill testing these targets in the future.
Early works at Havieron have already started, with the company announced all the way back in January that earthmoving activities to construct the box cut and decline had begun. Excavation of this box cut started in February, and is 90% complete, while surface works are 85% done.
The portal will be established there “in the coming weeks”, while Newcrest is working on approvals and permits needed to start developing an underground mine.
Right now, work is ongoing regarding the possibility of commercial production at Havieron in the three years following “the commencement of the decline”.
Greatland chief executive Shaun Day was happy with the JV’s progression so far, praising “another set of excellent results” as further proof of Havieron’s “world-class potential”.
“With the 2021 65,000m drilling campaign well underway and the early works programme progressing at pace, we look forward to updating the market on the continuing progress at Havieron,” Day said.
Author: Anna Farley
The Author does not hold any position in the stock(s) and/or financial instrument(s) mentioned in the piece.
MiningMaven Ltd, the owner of MiningMaven.com, does not own a position in the stock(s) and/or financial instrument(s) mentioned in the piece.
MiningMaven Ltd, the owner of MiningMaven.com, has not been paid for the production of this piece by the company or companies mentioned above.
MiningMaven.com and MiningMaven Ltd are not responsible for the article's content or accuracy and do not share the views of the author. News and research are not recommendations to deal, and investments may fall in value so that you could lose some or all of your investment. Past performance is not an indicator of future performance
Goldplat (LON: GDP) said it has now sold Kilimapesa, owner of the Kilimapesa gold mine in Kenya, to Mayflower Gold Investments. The news, announced on Monday, paves the way for accelerated mine investment.
Mayflower Gold and Goldplat agreed to waive the requirement for Papillon Holdings (LSE: PPHP) to complete its proposed Mayflower Gold reverse takeover and re-admission to the London Stock Exchange (“LSE”).
The initial consideration takes the form of a $1.5 million secured debenture, which will be paid to Goldplat subsidiary Gold Mineral Resources (“GMR”).
This can be satisfied through cash or through the issue of equivalent Papillion shares, once Papillon is re-admitted to the LSE. Of the $1.5 million, 30% or $450,000 is payable in cash.
Should Papillion not be re-admitted to trading, the full $1.5 million is payable in cash and will attract 4% interest effective from the start of 2021.
On top of the $1.5 million initial consideration, Mayflower Gold’s parent company, Mayflower Capital Investments, will pay $150,000 of the loan balance outstanding from Kilimapesa to GMR and Mayflower Gold.
Mayflower Capital Investments has also waived all further conditions for the sale, specifically those relating to renewing prospecting licences.
The parent company raised around $2 million earlier this month, which it will put toward capital expenditure as well as working capital requirements for Kilimapesa.
On top of that, Mayflower Capital Investments has secured another £2.5 million, though this is conditional on completing the reverse takeover and re-admission of Papillon to LSE trading.
Mayflower Gold has provided GMR with a debenture of their assets, with Mayflower Capital Investments acting as guarantor.
In especially great news, Mayflower Gold has also committed to an additional charge provided by Kilimapesa over its assets for the benefit of GMR.
A novation agreement assigns the outstanding loan of around $10 million, made by GMR to Kilimapesa, to Mayflower Gold. This will complete when the initial $1.5 million initial consideration is received.
Once the sale is complete, GMR is also entitled to a 1% net smelter royalty on production from Kilimapesa, up to a $1.5 million maximum, for any future Kilimapesa production.
The price of gold climbed higher and higher in 2020 amid the escalating Covid-19 pandemic, which drove investors to seek safe havens. While there was a dip in the price at the start of 2021, gold has started to climb again as it becomes clear that the havoc wrought by the pandemic has not dissipated just because a vaccine is available to some.
Goldplat chief executive Werner Klingenberg noted Mayflower Gold’s proven commitment to Kilimapesa in the form of “investment of capital and management resources” as well as the $2 million raised “to advance the project”.
“We believe that it was opportune for us to complete the transaction at this stage to allow the Mayflower team to implement their strategic initiatives and to ensure the success of the Kilimapesa Mine for all stakeholders involved,” said Klingenberg.
The chief executive also noted that the deal “releases Goldplat from any further financial or management requirements”, letting the company focus on its “continued recovery operations”.
Goldplat has two gold recovery operations, located in South Africa and Ghana, that recover gold from mining process by-products. This gives mines a cost-efficient and environmentally friendly to remove waste material.
Author: Anna Farley
The Author does not hold any position in the stock(s) and/or financial instrument(s) mentioned in the piece.
MiningMaven Ltd, the owner of MiningMaven.com, does not own a position in the stock(s) and/or financial instrument(s) mentioned in the piece.
MiningMaven Ltd, the owner of MiningMaven.com, has not been paid for the production of this piece by the company or companies mentioned above.
MiningMaven.com and MiningMaven Ltd are not responsible for the article's content or accuracy and do not share the views of the author. News and research are not recommendations to deal, and investments may fall in value so that you could lose some or all of your investment. Past performance is not an indicator of future performance
Bluejay Mining (LON: JAY | OTCMKTS: BLLYF | FRA: S5WA) unveiled plans on Monday for a maiden diamond drill and field programme at its promising Enonkoski nickel-copper-cobalt joint venture project in Finland. The project is well-timed, given the massive interest in battery metals at the moment.
Mining behemoth Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO | LON: RIO | NYSE: RIO) is the company’s partner in the joint venture (“JV”), where a 3,000-metre drill programme starts next month. This will test for mineralisation in a number of geophysical targets, located in Enonkoski’s Tevanjoki and Laukunsuo areas.
Bluejay explained that the chosen targets have a base of till nickel anomalies supporting them, alongside “historical observations of mineralised noritic outcrops and boulders”. These are similar to rocks seen at the former Laukunkangas mine nearby.
This followed a magnetic survey of an area south-east of Laukunkangas, which completed mid-April. The newly acquired data is being processed and interpreted right now before the upcoming drilling.
ALS will perform the drilling result assays, which the JV partners will evaluate.
In summer and autumn 2021, the JV partners plan further exploration activities in the Enonkoski area with an update to follow “in due course”. Bluejay stressed that “strict Covid-19 protocols” are in place for all exploration activity.
Both the drilling programme and the field programme are part of the JV and earn-in agreement between Bluejay and Rio Tinto. Rio Tinto can acquire an up to 75% interest in Enonkoski by spending $20 million.
So far, efforts at Enonkoski include re-logging and sampling 19 historical diamond drillholes, with ongoing interpretation.
There have also been two detailed ground magnetic surveys at Laukunsuo and Tevanjoki, as well as two Tromino trial surveys and “2.5D airborne electromagnetic inversion processing”.
Nickel, copper, and cobalt are all huge players in the electrification revolution taking place right now. All three are used in electric vehicles (“EVs”). Most lithium ion batteries, the kind used in EVs, rely on nickel as well as cobalt. Copper is also a major EV component, not just for batteries but also electric motors, wiring, and charging stations.
Demand for EVs is rising as governments crack down on traditional diesel and petrol cars in order to hit emissions targets. The UK, for example, is banning all net petrol and diesel cars by 2030, with potentially following in the mid-2030s. Norway has one of the earliest bans, coming in just four years.
Enonkoski is one of Bluejay’s three large-scale project areas in east Finland. The other two are the Hammaslahti copper-zinc-gold-silver and Outokumpu copper-cobalt-zinc-nickel-gold-silver projects.
Bluejay chief executive Bo Møller Stensgaard said the company’s work with Rio Tinto “is progressing well” with investigations finding “some appealing near-mine targets that will now be tested through drilling”. The JV partners will continue to evaluate “other high potential areas” of Enonkoski.
“There remains a high level of interest in many of our battery metal projects and we remain confident in advancing those further for the benefit of our shareholders. We look forward in updating the market with the results at Enonkoski and further information on the progress at our other assets in due course,” Stensgaard concluded.
Author: Anna Farley
The Author does not hold any position in the stock(s) and/or financial instrument(s) mentioned in the piece.
MiningMaven Ltd, the owner of MiningMaven.com, does not own a position in the stock(s) and/or financial instrument(s) mentioned in the piece.
MiningMaven Ltd, the owner of MiningMaven.com, has not been paid for the production of this piece by the company or companies mentioned above.
MiningMaven.com and MiningMaven Ltd are not responsible for the article's content or accuracy and do not share the views of the author. News and research are not recommendations to deal, and investments may fall in value so that you could lose some or all of your investment. Past performance is not an indicator of future performance
Greatland Gold (LON: GGP) revealed Thursday that maiden drilling at its Juri joint venture has begun. This marks a watershed moment for the project, located in Western Australia’s highly prospective Paterson province.
Under the farm-in announced at the end of November, Newcrest Mining (ASX: NCM) has the right to earn up to a 75% interest in the Juri joint venture (“JV”) licences. To do so, Newcrest must spend up to A$20 million in two stages under its five-year farm in.
At present, Greatland is manager of the JV and Newcrest’s interest is 25%. The necessary heritage clearances and government approvals for the campaign are already in place.
Drilling begins with the high-priority targets across the Paterson Range East licence, the first being Goliath – which Greatland chief executive Shaun Day called “a large ‘bulls-eye’ magnetic anomaly”.
Other Paterson Range East targets there include Outamind and Los Diablos.
Paterson Range East is only around 25 kilometres north of Greatland’s Havieron gold-copper project. Moreover, its “224 square kilometres of Proterozoic basement rocks” are prospective for Havieron-style gold-copper mineralisation.
Havieron is also a JV with Newcrest, with Newcrest having the right to earn an up to 70% interest.
Copper and gold both have prominent positions at the moment. Copper for its position as a major electric vehicle (“EV”) component, during a huge electrification push. For example, the Biden administration’s American Jobs Plan includes a $174 billion EV market investment.
The red metal is used in electric motors, as well as batteries and wiring. Copper is also used for EV charging stations, part of the necessary infrastructure to make electrification possible.
Meanwhile, as a safe haven asset, gold soared during the pandemic. While there was some initial decline in gold at the start of 2021, gold picked up again in April as vaccine-based optimism fizzled out.
The 2021 Juri JV work programme also includes drill testing the Parlay target, located in the south-west of the Black Hills licence.
Over the coming weeks, ground electromagnetic surveys will aim to better define priority drill targets at the JV.
A drill camp and infrastructure are already in place and field activities are underway.
Day said Juri is part of Greatland’s “multifaceted exploration strategy for 2021” at Paterson. He stressed that the JV work “complements” the “ongoing 65,000 metre growth drilling programme” at Havieron, as well as other exploration activity taking place at the firm’s wholly owned licenses across the region.
For example, on Monday, the company revealed it had identified multiple brand-new targets at its 100% owned Scallywag licence in Paterson.
On top of the existing four pirate-themed targets – Kraken, Barbossa, Blackbeard, and London – Greatland has added further targets like Swan, Teach and Architeuthis. The latter is another name for the giant squid.
Author: Anna Farley
The Author does not hold any position in the stock(s) and/or financial instrument(s) mentioned in the piece.
MiningMaven Ltd, the owner of MiningMaven.com, does not own a position in the stock(s) and/or financial instrument(s) mentioned in the piece.
MiningMaven Ltd, the owner of MiningMaven.com, has not been paid for the production of this piece by the company or companies mentioned above.
MiningMaven.com and MiningMaven Ltd are not responsible for the article's content or accuracy and do not share the views of the author. News and research are not recommendations to deal, and investments may fall in value so that you could lose some or all of your investment. Past performance is not an indicator of future performance
Greatland Gold (LON: GGP) has identified multiple brand-new targets at its exciting Scallywag licence, with results from the last four holes of a 2020 drilling campaign announced on Monday.
The latest results, which are highly encouraging, come from the first stage of an extended drilling programme. This programme was carried out across Greatland’s wholly owned licences, as well as its Juri joint venture (“JV”) with Newcrest Mining (ASX:NCM).
The Scallywag licence is located in Western Australia’s Paterson region and is 100% owned by Greatland. It already has four pirate-themed targets: Kraken, Barbossa, Blackbeard, and London.
However, thanks to continuing geological interpretation, combined with information from drilling and regional aeromagnetics, even more targets have been found.
This includes Architeuthis – another name for the giant squid – a magnetic anomaly 600 metres (“m”) long just 1 kilometre (“km”) to the north of Kraken.
Architeuthis is also 9km north-west along strike of Greatland’s Havieron JV with Newcrest. The company said Architeuthis could “represent the primary mineralisation along the Scallywag Synform”.
Assay results from the four holes were combined with results from the first three holes, released back in January. These results provided additional evidence for “pathfinder element anomalism” that could be “distal to intrusion-related mineralised systems” and possibly along strike of current drilling.
Not only that, but assay and logging at the Kraken target intersected “prospective target lithologies” as well as “pathfinder element anomalisms” like silver, bismuth, copper, and lead.
At the London target, initial sample results included very high-grade silver, copper and tungsten results of 872 parts per million (“ppm”) silver, 1,137ppm copper, and more than 2,000ppm tungsten in interval 349.0m - 350.0m.
Due to suspected contamination for this London interval, check resampling and analysis of washed ¼ core took place. While this confirmed results, it is still probable this interval was the result of contamination so follow-up drilling is scheduled.
The next step for Greatland is a staged exploration programme that will “methodically drill test a series of targets” including Swan, Teach and Architeuthis at Scallywag.
At Juri, Greatland plans to test the existing Goliath, Outamind, Los Diablos and Parlay targets as well as newly-defined targets in the Black Hills area. In the Paterson Range East area, Greatland will test the Tama, N5 and A9 targets.
Greatland plans for drilling to take place all the way through the 2021 and 2022 field sessions.
Chief executive Shaun Day praised the results for providing yet more “evidence that the Scallywag licence is prospective for intrusion-related mineralised systems”. He was especially pleased that the initial targets again intersected pathfinder elements associated with nearby systems.
Day said “these encouraging initial drill results” had considerably improved the company’s understanding of Scallywag geology. Not only that, but results identified “multiple compelling targets that merit follow-up drilling in the coming weeks and months” in the form of Swan, Teach, and Architeuthis.
“These will form an important part of the comprehensive exploration campaign we are conducting across our 100% licences and our Juri joint venture,” Day concluded.
Author: Anna Farley
The Author does not hold any position in the stock(s) and/or financial instrument(s) mentioned in the piece.
MiningMaven Ltd, the owner of MiningMaven.com, does not own a position in the stock(s) and/or financial instrument(s) mentioned in the piece.
MiningMaven Ltd, the owner of MiningMaven.com, has not been paid for the production of this piece by the company or companies mentioned above.
MiningMaven.com and MiningMaven Ltd are not responsible for the article's content or accuracy and do not share the views of the author. News and research are not recommendations to deal, and investments may fall in value so that you could lose some or all of your investment. Past performance is not an indicator of future performance
Kore Potash (LON: KP2) unveiled plans on Thursday to raise around $11 million, which will be used in part for a planned optimisation of its Kola potash project.
Of the $11 million, approximately $5.5 million will come from an unconditional placing and the other $5.5 million from a conditional placing and subscriptions. Existing shareholders have already indicated their support and plan to take part in the fundraise.
This is an important step for Kore, as it means great things for its exciting Kola project, located in the Republic of Congo’s (“RoC”) Sintoukola Basin.
The firm’s largest shareholders, the Oman Investment Authority and Sociedad Quimica y Minera will each have the opportunity to subscribe for shares in order to maintain their shareholdings.
An associate of substantial shareholder Harlequin Investments, David Steven, intends to take part in the fundraise, while David Hathorn plans to participate once Kore is not in a closed period.
Earlier this week, the firm reported that it had signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding (“MOU”) for full financing of Kola. This was huge news for Kore, which signed the MOU with Summit Africa, on behalf of a consortium of engineering companies and investors.
The MOU set out a roadmap for Kola, all the way through to construction, which involves combined debt and royalty financing.
This is conditional on completion of an optimisation study for Kola, which is aimed at cutting the project’s capital cost to less than $1.65 billion.
Under the currently proposed financing structure, Kore would not contribute to the capital needed to build Kola, but would separately contribute around $900,000 to optimisation study costs.
The $11 million, Kore said, will allow the company to fund work related to the optimisation study, as well as meeting “ongoing working capital requirements”.
With just this fundraise, the firm will have enough working capital to implement its strategy for the next 12 months at least.
The MOU will see Kore keep a 90% equity interest in Kola while the RoC government’s keeps its own10% shareholding.
Kola, as a high-grade and high-quality shallow sylvanite potash deposit, is most promising. Not only is it just 35 kilometres away from the coast, it is also a mere 65 kilometres north of harbour city Pointe Noire.
On top of that, Kola also has permitting and agreements in place for its construction, including environmental and trans-shipment permits as well as a mining convention with the government.
Overall, Kore believes Kola could be one of the world’s lowest cost potash producers and is excellently situated to supply the African and South American markets.
Potash is the name of a group of minerals that provide potassium for plant growth. It is among the three key plant nutrients, alongside nitrogen and phosphorus. It helps maintain the fertility of soil, as well as boosting the health of plants.
Potassium is sometimes called the “quality nutrient” due to its important effects on things like the size, taste, and colour of foods.
“Kola remains one of the most attractive potash projects in the world, with market low-operating costs,” said Kore.
Author: Anna Farley
The Author does not hold any position in the stock(s) and/or financial instrument(s) mentioned in the piece.
MiningMaven Ltd, the owner of MiningMaven.com, does not own a position in the stock(s) and/or financial instrument(s) mentioned in the piece.
MiningMaven Ltd, the owner of MiningMaven.com, has not been paid for the production of this piece by the company or companies mentioned above.
MiningMaven.com and MiningMaven Ltd are not responsible for the article's content or accuracy and do not share the views of the author. News and research are not recommendations to deal, and investments may fall in value so that you could lose some or all of your investment. Past performance is not an indicator of future performance
