IronRidge Resources (LON: IRR | FRA: BSG) announced Wednesday it has begun drilling at the highly promising Ivory Coast gold license, with visible gold already observed.
The exploration reverse circulation (“RC”) drilling programme, totalling 2,500 metres, will take place at the Kineta North gold license in the north east. This is located in the north east of Ivory Coast, West Africa.
IronRidge said this is intended to test the Kineta North target. Previously reported soils have already defined a 2 kilometre long and 250 metre wide gold soil anomaly of more than 30 parts per billion.
The anomaly has coincident artisanal workings underground for a 700 metre strike. Rock chip sampling results from the target, as previously reported, include 15 grams per ton (“g/t”), 32.4g/t and 46.4g/t gold.
Chief executive Vincent Mascolo said the company was “pleased” to have begun drilling at Kineta North, highting the fact that “previous field work has defined a coincident soils, trenching and artisanal workings target”.
Drilling at Kineta North will test below trenching intersections, already reported, where “multiple gold intersections” have already been reported. These include 2 metres at 4.04g/t and 6 metres at 0.24g/t gold.
The first hole of this drilling is complete already, with results eagerly awaited. The entire programme is set to complete in the second quarter of 2021.
In especially encouraging news, visible gold has already been observed in quartz vein RC drill chips.
This is the first drill programme in the broader 1,532 kilometre Kineta portfolio, hosting the 3.3 million ounce Konkera resource and 2.1 million ounce Wa-Lawra deposits in the north.
IronRidge in November 17 said it has signed a joint venture agreement with Gail Exploration, under which IronRidge can acquire as much as 100% of the project. The agreement is based on staged earn-in agreements and expenditure to a feasibility study.
This is subject to Gail keeping a 2.5% net smelter royalty, with 40% of this able to be acquired for $2 million at any time.
IronRidge will be responsible for maintaining the property throughout the agreement and until the feasibility study is complete.
Outside of Ivory Coast, the company also has projects in Ghana and Chad, seeking lithium and gold respectively.
The Ghana lithium discovery has a maiden mineral resource estimate of 14.5 million tonnes at 1.31% lithium oxide. In Chad, IronRidge has uncovered what it describes as “a substantial gold bearing province”, with multiple targets defined.
Kineta North is clearly part of IronRidge’s larger, broader portfolio of exciting projects in West Africa. The potential for all of these remains substantial, with the Ivory Coast news definitely reinforcing the firm’s potential.
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) announced on Tuesday that it has agreed full financing for the construction of its Kola potash project in the Republic of Congo.
The company has 97% ownership of the Kola and DX potash projects, both located in the Republic of Congo’s (“RoC”) Sintoukola Basin.
A non-binding memorandum of understanding (“MoU”) was signed between Kore and Summit Africa, on behalf of a consortium of engineering companies and investors. This MOU is to arrange all of the financing needed to construct the project.
This MoU outlines the roadmap for optimising, financing, and ultimately constructing Kola through a combination of debt and royalty financing.
Summit and its technical partners - SEPCO Electric Power Construction and China ENFI Engineering – are set to work with Kore on an optimisation study seeking to cut the capital cost for Kola to below $1.65 billion.
On top of which, Summit and possible financing partner BRP Global will present a financing proposal on behalf of the Summit consortium – which includes Summit and all three partners. This is subject to a due diligence and success in keeping the cost below $1.65 billion.
This proposed financing structure would mean Kore did not have to contribute to the capital required for building the project. The company would, however, separately contribute around $900,000 to costs of the optimisation study.
At the same time, Kore would also keep a 90% equity interest in Kola. The RoC government would keep its 10% shareholding in the Kola project.
In response to this splendid news, Kore’s stock shot up more than 30% to 1.86p on Tuesday afternoon, with an almost £44 million market cap. This puts the company’s shares up 111% year-to-date from 0.88p.
Kola is among “the world's standout potash projects”, a high-grade and high-quality shallow sylvanite potash deposit located on an existing mining licence just 35 kilometres from the coast. It is also just 65 kilometres to the north of Pointe Noire, a harbour city.
Already, permitting and agreements for building Kola are in place. This includes environmental and trans-shipment permits as well as a mining convention with the government.
According to Kore, Kola is expected to be among the “lowest cost potash producers globally” and is in an ideal location for supplying both African and South American markets.
Chief Executive Brad Sampson said the company was “pleased” Kola’s funding was proceeding at a time of rising potash process and strong potash demand despite a difficult global economy. He said this underpinned Kore’s “belief in continued potash demand growth”.
Potash describes the group of minerals that provide potassium for plant growth. It is one of the three key plant nutrients, along with nitrogen and phosphorus. Between 90% and 95% of potash is used as fertiliser for agriculture.
Potassium helps plants resist disease and is also key to higher crop yield and quality. The element also helps protect plants from cold or dry weather, strengthening the root system and preventing wilt.
As mentioned, Kore is also developing the DX potash project, also in the ROC. The first phase of a definitive feasibility study for DX, which is separate from Kola, began in August 2020.
With the Summit MoU, and a request from the RoC’s minister of mines to focus on Kola, Kore said it needs to reshape its priorities towards optimising and financing Kola in the next 12 months.
With this in mind, the company is currently reviewing the allocation of its resources to Kola and DX, with plans for an update on the DX project “in the coming weeks”.
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
Oriole Resources’ (LON: ORR) has secured a controlling stake in Reservoir Minerals Cameroon, with its especially promising early-stage gold exploration licences.
The company has successfully completed a $1.56 million initial two-year funding commitment over two years at northern Cameroon’s Bibemi and Wapouzé projects.
With this achievement, Oriole has formalised its 51% ownership of Reservoir Minerals Cameroon (“RMC”). RMC is a former subsidiary of Bureau d'Etudes et d'Investigations Géologico-minières, Géotechniques et Géophysiques (“BEIG3”).
This major milestone follows first results from drilling at Bibemi last week – proof of concept for the transformational project.
Best results from the first hole – out of a planned 28 – include 1 metre (“m”) grading 4.09 grammes per tonne (“g/t”) gold from zones of quartz-tourmaline veining. Another best grade was 1m grading 0.67 g/t gold from zones of quartz veining.
These results were proof that the orogenic gold system at Bibemi continues to more than 90m below surface.
Oriole chief executive Tim Livesey last week pointed out that Oriole has already seen evidence that there are “much wider” alteration and veining zones in other holes drilled at Bibemi.
Not only that, but he is sure these “will show continued evidence of vertical extension” when it comes to surface anomalies already identified among the early programme’s four priority areas.
Oriole is conducting a maiden diamond drilling programme at Bibemi, with around half the 28 holes complete and additional results due during the rest of the second quarter.
Completing the maiden drilling programme at Bibemi is expected to meet the second earn-in commitment to acquire a 90% interest in RMC, the total spending commitment for which is $3.1 million.
At no extra cost, Oriole has also acquired a 51% interest in RMC’s Mana, Dogon and Sanga licences in central Cameroon.
Once the Bibemi programme is done, BEIG will hold a 10% free-carried interest in all five licences up until the definition of a 50,000 ounce minimum measured and indicated gold resource. Oriole will have the remaining beneficial interest. After that, funding is to be pro rata on a contribute or dilute basis.
These licences, plus five already held via a 90% stake in local subsidiary Oriole Cameroon, form a contiguous land package. This covers an impressive 3,592 square kilometres of “highly prospective geological terrane”.
Already, an orientation study has completed at the licences before the mapping and stream sampling project planned to begin later this quarter. This will be a package-wide programme.
Livesey explained the importance of this latest development, calling the transfer of the 51% stake to Oriole “another key milestone” for the company.
He said the controlling interest in ten total licences, all at varying exploration stages – plus a considerable Central Cameroon footprint – meant Oriole was now “well placed as [a first mover] in this new frontier for gold exploration”.
On Tuesday, after taking the 51% stake, Oriole’s shares were up 4.6% at 0.90p – giving a more than 300% rise from 0.22p the year before.
This has been an exceptionally impressive rise, with the firm’s market cap of close to £14 million equally impressive, considering Oriole has yet to commence gold production for its projects.
This includes the more advanced Senala gold project in Senegal. IAMGOLD has the option to spend $8 million to earn a 70% interest in the project.
Though it underspent in its third year, IAMGOLD and Oriole announced March 23 that the two had reached an agreement to carry forward a $172,000 underspend into year four. IAMGOLD has put forward an approximate £1.8 million fourth year programme.
Senala is in the centre of the Kédougou-Kenieba gold belt, extending from eastern Senegal to western Mali. The belt is the site of numerous major gold discoveries, like Teranga Gold (TSE:TGZ)’s 3.4 million ounce Massawa and 3 million ounce Sabodala deposits in Senegal.
Other discoveries in Kédougou-Kenieba include Barrick Gold’s (NYSE: GOLD) 12 million ounce Loulo and 5.8 million ounce Gounkoto gold projects in Mali.
With so much achieved already in Cameroon and Senegal, Oriole seems poised to deliver on its impressive potential in both.
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
Panther Metals (LON: PALM) has successfully completed all initial exploration programmes at the Merolia project, it revealed Tuesday. These efforts made the major nickel-cobalt target there especially evident, on top of the gold potential already identified.
The company focuses its efforts on mineral exploration in both Canada and Australia, with 100%-owned Merolia located in Western Australia.
Chief executive Darren Hazelwood explained that on top of “the gold potential evident across the project area”, Merolia also contains a “significant nickel-cobalt target” in the southern part of Panther’s Merolia licence holdings.
Hazelwood stressed that the target zone has proven “particularly evident” thanks to the most recent airborne geophysical data. He explained this zone was “marked by a significant magnetic high” over a 7.5 by 2 kilometre (“km”) area.
Completed exploration programmes in the project area include a 5,867 line-km airborne geophysical survey. This high-resolution survey collected radiometric, magnetic, and elevation data. Panther has engaged consultants Core Geophysics to process the raw data and combine the outputs with other datasets from the region.
This will be analysed and then used help Panther select exploration targets. The firm then expects to conduct an initial reverse circulation drilling programme for some of these target areas.
Alongside the airborne geophysical survey, Panther also used a targeted drone magnetic survey to obtain higher resolution geophysical data for the Comet Well gold trend. This trend is located in an area already found to have “highly anomalous gold in soil geochemistry”.
On top of all these efforts, Panther’s auger drill geochemistry programme at tenement E38/3384 is also complete The extensive programme covered a considerable section of the Comet Well trend’s south-eastern extension. Significant gold anomalism was previously identified there over a minimum 2.5km of strike.
Prospectors have found more than 40 ounces of gold nuggets from the Comet Well trust “in recent times” and it has never been drilled. All samples taken have been sent for ionic leach analyses with more updates to follow.
Hazelwood concluded: “We are looking forward to further expanding both our gold and nickel-cobalt targets in the coming months through our follow-up exploration programmes.”
Merolia is made of a 145 square km tenement package located in a prolific region for mining, with the 3 million-ounce Granny Smith and 7 million-ounce Sunrise Dam nearby. The regional also has excellent infrastructure, including rail, roads, and airports.
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
Xtract Resources (LON: XTR) unveiled strong results from the first drill hole at its exciting Australian Bushranger project on Friday, confirming a considerable copper-gold mineral system.
These assay results are from the first hole, BRDD-20-001, of Xtract’s phase one drill programme at the Racecourse deposit and not only confirmed the presence of “a very substantial copper-gold mineral system” but also serious potential for expanding the mineral resource.
Keep in mind that the mineral resource for Racecourse is already estimated at 71 million tonnes (“Mt”) at 0.44% copper and 0.064 grams per ton (“g/t”) of gold, at a 0.3% cut-off.
BRDD-20-001 returned a 920 metres (“m”) overall intersection at 0.3% copper and 0.02g/t gold, plus 1.45g/t of silver - 0.33% copper equivalent grade (“CuEq”) – from 110m.
Higher grade zones inside the overall mineralised envelope include 156 metres at 0.48% copper, 0.04g/t gold, and 2.44g/t silver (0.52% CuEq) from 110m. Another is 44m at 0.50% copper, 0.05g/t gold & 1.92/t silver (0.55% CuEq) from 504m.
These higher-grade sections correspond well to Anglo American’s (LON AAL) 2014 and 2015 drilling, suggesting the “good lateral continuity” of these especially promising zones.
Not just that, but the overall mineral section plus the higher grade zones in BRDD-20-001 also “compare very favourably” to Alkane Resources’ (ASX: ALK) intercepts for their Boda copper-gold discovery. This discovery is 170 kilometres away from Bushranger.
Another great sign of an “extensive porphyry system in the area” is the presence of molybdenum values in BRDD-20-001, up to 95.2 parts per million, found throughout the mineralised interval.
Thankfully, Xtract said results from the second hole drilled at Racecourse, BRDD-21-002, are due soon.
The final hole of the phase one programme is still in progress, at around a 75m depth. So far, initial pyrite/chalcopyrite mineralisation of porphyry style seen at 45m. Chalcopyrite, also known as ‘fool’s gold’ for its shiny golden colour, is the “most common copper mineral” worldwide.
Executive chair Colin Bird expressed his excitement over results from BRDD-20-001 as “they confirm mineralisation for almost a kilometre down-plunge”. He was also pleased with the overall 0.33% CuEq grade and especially “encouraged by the grade uniformity over the entire intercept”.
Bird said results from the other holes will provide the company with “more information about the thickness and across-strike continuity of the mineralisation”. He called the copper-bias at Racecourse “welcome” since “strong demand” for the metal is expected in the years ahead.
The executive chair was further “encouraged by the spread of molybdenum values” as they provide solid evidence that there is “extensive development of porphyry systems in the region”.
With phase one having, as Bird said, “indicated the potentially significant scale of the Racecourse deposit”, Xtract will shortly enter a 3-D modelling phase alongside additional geophysical surveys. These will help plan a phase two drilling programme.
“The initial assay results have excited the team and we are now working on permissions for the geophysical survey and further drilling as we work towards our target of 2Mt of contained copper,” Bird 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
The potential of Greatland Gold’s (LON: GGP) Havieron joint venture is undeniable at this point after Thursday’s news of highly encouraging drilling campaign results. This drilling is right now being carried out by one of the world’s largest gold miners and can only further boost confidence.
Joint venture partner Newcrest Mining (ASX: NCM) is not only among the largest gold mining firms worldwide, but also the biggest gold producer listed on the Australian Securities Exchange.
Greatland signed a four-stage $65 million farm-in agreement with Newcrest back in March 2019, giving Newcrest the right to earn up to a 70% interest in the joint venture.
Newcrest, which operates exploration activity at Havieron, can also acquire another 5% stake once the farm-out period is over.
The drill campaign is taking place at the Havieron deposit, located in Western Australia’s Paterson region, with recent activities mostly focused on infill drilling of the South East Crescent and Breccia Zone. The goal here is to support an indicated mineral resource estimate for the adjacent zones.
Since the latest January update, results from 26 drill holds have been received – absolutely all of them intersecting mineralisation.
Greatland chief executive Shaun Day said: “The results are outstanding and further highlight the world-class potential of Havieron. Additionally, these results layer onto existing data to further increase our confidence in the continuity of higher-grade mineralisation and support the delivery of an indicated mineral resource estimate.”
Best new results include 196.1 metres (“m”) at 1.7 grams per ton (“g/t) of gold and 0.28% copper from 545.9m at hole HAD112, including 18.5m at 4.9g/t Au and 0.60% Cu from 595m.
HAD122 returned 7m at 3.9g/t Au and 0.50% Cu from 500m. Meanwhile, HAD123 found 69.5m at 3.4g/t Au and 0.33% Cu from 711.5m.
While the gold price has suffered at late, with investors looking ahead with rose-tinted glasses to a post-pandemic world, the reality is that Covid-19 is still with us and will likely stick around for a long time. Not only that, but the US issued massive amounts of debt in the weeks after the 2020 pandemic crisis, exceeding the past five recessions combined. Optimism can hardly be sustained forever, which would mean a return to prominence for the safe haven metal.
The initial inferred resource estimate for Havieron is 52 million tonnes at 2.0g/t Au, plus 0.31% Cu or a 2.5g/t Au equivalent for 3.4 million ounces Au. There is even potential for growing the resource in the future, since the full size of Havieron has still not been defined.
In fact, as Day highlighted, Newcrest is on course to push forward on its “exciting 2021 growth drilling programme” that could “significantly expand the mineralised footprint” at Havieron.
Havieron is not Greatland’s only joint venture with Newcrest. The two companies also have another Australian joint venture and farm in for Juri, agreed in November 2020. Juri will accelerate exploration of Greatland’s Black Hills and Paterson Range East licences. Newcrest gets an immediate 25% interest in the two licences and the right to earn up to a 75% interest by spending up to A$20 million in a two-stage programme.
Juri and Havieron - plus two 100% owned licences, Scallywag and Rudall - together form Greatland’s Paterson project. The project covers over 450 square kilometres in the Paterson region and hosts some of the country’s biggest gold/copper deposits, Telfer and Nifty, but there’s been minimal investment in the last 20 years.
“We look forward to a busy and exciting period over the next few months in the Paterson with growth drilling and early works programmes continuing apace at Havieron and the Juri JV commencing exploration activities,” 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 now 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
The latest drilling results from Oriole Resources (LON: ORR) have shored up the company’s faith in the Faré prospect’s potential to become a stand-alone gold mining operation.
On Thursday, the explorer announced that it has now completed air core drilling at the Senegal-based Senala project, reporting best values of 2.58 grams per tonne (“g/t”) gold, as well as 0.64 g/t and 0.62 g/t from the Faré prospect. This not only supports but also enhances prior gold anomalies.
On top of this, results found that most of the anomalism at northernmost prospect Faré is in situ.
Chief executive Tim Livesey said the company has “always believed” in Faré’s potential to host a resource that “could form the basis of a stand-alone mining operation.” These new results lend even more support to that view.
Next steps
Joint venture partner IAMGOLD (NYSE: IAG) plans to follow the strong results so far with an extensive 5,000 metres of reverse circulation drilling.
IAMGOLD has the option to spend up to $8 million and earn a 70% interest in Senala.
Based on results from this reverse circulation drilling, around 400 metres of diamond drilling will take place in order to find the best new target. Another two holes will also test the depth extension of the Faré South main mineralised zone.
This programme will test anomalies found along strike from previous drilling at Faré North as well as the Faré Far South prospect, where drilling is yet to take place.
Oriole has faith this work will confirm historic Faré Far South results, where intersections include 20 metres grading 31.13 g/t gold, including 10 metres grading 60.98 g/t.
While it would be remiss to leave out IAMGOLD’s underspending on its year three commitment at Senala, chief executive Tim Livesey expressed disappointment over the hiccup rather than concern.
The two firms are in talks on how to address this under terms of their option agreement and IAMGOLD has asked for its underspend to be carried over into year four. IAMGOLD’s additional drill plans will, as you’d expect, require an agreed resolution from both firms.
Livesey said Oriole is eager to agree a way forward with the joint venture partner. It will get an extended work plan proposal from IAMGOLD shortly, which it hopes can capture the underspend plus a year four commitment. Obviously, Oriole reserves its right to give notice for failure to achieve the agreement’s terms.
“Although we are disappointed that IAMGOLD has missed its spending and work commitment for year 3, Senala is an exciting asset in a very prospective mineral belt, surrounded by a number of large and encouraging deposits, and the company has a number of options available to deliver value at Senala,” Livesey said.
Other promising projects
Senala is far from Oriole’s only project, as the company got recent approval for five new licences in central Cameroon, while a subsidiary of its BEIG3 partner was granted another three licences. These add up to a “district-scale licence package” covering 3,592 square kilometres.
BEIG3 and associate Roxanna Minerals will have a 10% collective interest in all Oriole Cameroon licences up to the minimum measured and indicated resources of 50,000 ounces of gold. BEIG3 will also have a 10% interest in each of its Reservoir Minerals Cameroon subsidiary’s licences under the same terms.
Regional-scale mapping and sampling will take place later in the first half of the year, alongside ongoing programmes at its Bibemi and Wapouzé early-stage gold exploration projects – also in Cameroon.
Gold prices are widely predicted to recover, as the reality of the ongoing pandemic and the huge amounts of US debt issued to help tackle it dampen false optimism of an end to Covid-19. This likely-temporary dip, as well as strong potential for future discoveries, makes a good case for Oriole.
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 now 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
Emmerson’s (LON: EML) latest shareholder letter, published Thursday, spelled out not just the company’s achievements so far but also the huge potential of Khemisset in the rising potash market. As prices for the fertilizer climb higher and higher, the project’s latent value looks more attractive than ever.
Chief executive Graham Clarke noted stellar results from Emmerson’s feasibility study, which highlighted Khemisset’s“outstanding attributes”. These include a 19-year initial mine life, based on only half the project’s total resource base.
Not only that, but the study also praised the Moroccan project’s “industry-leading capital and operating costs”.
Adding to this promising news is the possibility presented by Khemisset’s mining licence, which covers the full resource base and would allow for a future “simple expansion” of operations with no need to re-permit.
The feasibility study found a $1.4 billion post-tax net present value, using a discount rate of 8%, and an initial run rate of 38.5% to produce around 810,000 tonnes of potash per annum over it initial mine life.
With its large JORC resource estimate of 537 million tonnes at 9.24% potassium oxide, the report found that the project has the potential to become a “world class” potash mine.
Low-costs and high margins further elevate Khemisset, as this is especially rare in the world of potash. Pre-production capital cost is only $387 million, not even half its global peer average capital intensity.
On top of this, Emmerson is also exploring the opportunity for phased development and expansion projects for Khemisset. These have the potential to shrink upfront capital costs even more while, at the same time, boosting production output and capturing margin. This would improve build even further on the project’s world class status, according to Clarke.
Emmerson’s phased approach includes a focus on minimising Khemisset’s upfront capital costs and taking salt sales to 4 million tonnes per annum. The firm also hopes to incorporate sulphate of potash into its wider development schedule, raise muriate of potash production by as much as 50%, and increase mine life by including further resources not already in the mine plan.
As Clarke explained: “It is the company's ultimate intention to realise the enormous potential of Khemisset whilst reducing funding and execution risk, with the intention of minimising shareholder dilution.”
Emmerson is currently advancing Khemisset towards production in 2023.
Potash market pushes Emmerson forward
The potash market is blooming, if the pun can be excused, with Clarke highlighting the current tailwind in the market within Thursday’s update. He explained that rising demand has been “tightening up the pricing that producers can set”.
“Clearly this is a helpful situation as we look to negotiate the strategic financing options to construct our mine,” the chief executive added.
He noted that, in the last four weeks, a number of producers have reported better prices as “strengthening fundamentals from 2020” begin to pay dividends. Emmerson’s peers have pointed to combinations of lower inventories, compelling farm economics, higher commodity prices, and cyclical recovery as reasons for the uplift.
So far. the monthly price rises from mid-2020 lows predicted by leading fertilizer industry analysts at Argus have come to pass. Prices in Brazil, “where Emmerson demonstrates its logistics advantage”, have been particularly strong, surpassing early-year forecasts by 10%.
Potash is an extremely important fertiliser and absolutely vital for the agriculture industry. It provides a stable source of potassium that improves crop yields, water retention, and disease resistance. Not only does it do all that, but Potash also makes food taste better thanks to Potassium’s essential role in starch and sugar production.
As the potash market outlook brightens, it will inevitably help Emmerson in its ongoing strategic and debt financing talks.
Future potential and move to AIM
It has been an exciting year for Emmerson, full of high-impact news. In particular, February saw the company not only complete a £5.5 million fundraise for the last critical components of Khemisset’s development work but also announce its planned move to AIM.
Clarke on Thursday commented on AIM’s status as “the market for ambitious, growth companies” and its ability to attract a “strong following”. The chief executive said that AIM is a better fit for Emmerson’s size and strategy right now, and will support both the company and its shareholders though the “rapid growth phase” expected over the coming months and years.
Emmerson expects momentum to keep growing thanks to its pipeline of operational and corporate updates set for release over the coming weeks, alongside a better and better pricing environment for the potash market.
“There is significant latent value in this project and I truly believe that all of our stakeholders are unanimous in their support of delivering Khemisset to market,” Clarke 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.
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AIM-listed Oriole Resources (LSE: ORR) has reported two new high-grade prospects at its Bibemi gold project in Cameroon.
Rock-chip sampling of the main Bakassi area revealed best figures of 22.38g/t and 11.68g/t gold at the two new prospects: Lawa East and Lawa West.
These results were discovered by detailed mapping along strike. They extend the known gold system at Bibemi by 3km to a total of 8.3km with mineralisation open to the south west.
In its maiden drill operation, Oriole Resources plans to test the new prospects with 8 drill holes starting in January 2021. Results are expected towards the end of Q1 into early Q2 next year.
Along with three further planned drill holes at Bakassi Zone 1, the maiden diamond drill programme has now been expanded by 11 holes to a total of 28 drill holes across 3,080 metres.
In October 2020, the company raised £1.9m — more than half its market cap at the time — to progress its two Cameroon gold projects, Bibemi and Wapouzé. The same month, Oriole successfully renewed its licenses for both projects.
The exciting exploration opportunity lies in the north-east of the central African country, near the borders with Chad and Nigeria. In total, Bibemi and Wapouzé cover 380km2 of neoproterozoic Pan-African greenstone belts.
These are the types of rock structures proven to host world-class, high-grade gold systems across the continent. In fact, one of the world’s best-known gold-producing greenstone belts is Barberton, the site of South Africa’s first gold discovery.
Bibemi represents the larger of the two opportunities with over 200km2 to explore.
Sampling taken in Q3 2018 from the Bakassi area at Bibemi revealed exciting grades including 135.4g/t gold.
The company is exercising its option to acquire a 51% interest in the two highly-prospective projects. Oriole Resources has now met its financial and work commitments on time and on schedule under the terms of its JV with local partner BEIG3.
Former exploration manager at the world’s second-largest gold explorer Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) Tim Livesey is the Oriole Resources CEO. He said he was delighted to see quality new results at Bibemi adding more than 55% of the total maiden drill area planned to date.
He said:
We are extremely encouraged by the discovery of further mineralised veins to the south west of the Bakassi zones, which have returned results of up to 22.38 g/t Au.
"The continued presence of high-grade gold mineralisation confirms the prospectivity of the Bibemi project, now outside of the central Bakassi area where we had already planned a 20-hole diamond drilling programme.
"Each progressive programme at Bibemi has returned yet more evidence of gold mineralisation and continues to support our exploration model and our early ideas on the structural controls on the mineralising system.”
Despite some Covid-19 related delays, the Oriole Resources drilling rig is now on track to arrive on site in late December 2020.
Work is also continuing at Wapouzé where engineers are investigating Oriole’s initial discovery of a 13km gold anomaly with a pilot trenching campaign.
Author: Mark Sheridan
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 (LSE: GGP) CEO Gervaise Heddle is to step aside, the AIM favourite announced on Tuesday 15 December. He will be replaced by Shaun Day from 8 January 2021.
Day is a 20-year veteran investment banker and financial pro across mining and infrastructure. He spent five years as CFO of ASX100-listed Northern Star Resources (ASX:NST), where he oversaw the growth of the global gold producer from a market cap of A$700 million to A$8 billion.
He noted in comments to the market on Tuesday morning:
“I am delighted to take on the role of Chief Executive Officer of Greatland. Under the leadership of Gervaise, the remarkable progress at the Havieron Joint Venture over the past two years has created a strong platform for future growth. I look forward to working closely with the Board, the Greatland team and our key partners as we continue to drive forward a multi-pronged growth strategy and realise further value for shareholders."
Day leaves his position as CFO of joint-AIM and ASX-listed Salt Lake Potash to head up Greatland Gold.
“It is a measure of our growing reputation as a business that we are able to attract high quality people to Greatland,” said Chairman Alex Borelli.
“Shaun brings extensive industry and regional experience as well as capital markets expertise and is a great addition to our strong management team.We look forward to working with him and benefiting from his extensive experience.”
Heddle said he was “incredibly proud” of what the company had achieved over his four-year tenure, with Greatland now at a “key inflection point”.
“With both an Initial Inferred Mineral Resource estimate in place and the construction of the box cut and decline due to commence shortly, I feel now is the natural point for me to hand over the running of the company who can progress it to the next level,” he said.
The former Merrill Lynch fund manager is now moving onto other opportunities.
Heddle will remain on the Greatland Gold board and part of the executive team until 12 March 2021 to oversee the transition, the company said.
17-bagger journey at Havieron
GGP shareholders have been on a rollocking journey. They have watched the company grow from a market cap of less than £75 million to over £1.3 billion, with a return on investment of over 1,700%.
The year has seen the Gervaise Heddle deliver on the early promise of its high-grade Havieron gold prospect in Western Australia.
It all started in March 2019 when Greatland Gold signed a $65 million farm-in with the Australian major, with Newcrest taking a 40% interest in the project. Newcrest has completed 111,000m of drilling so far.
The hotly-awaited initial inferred mineral resource from Havieron, reported on 10 December, revealed a resource of 3.4Moz gold and 160,000t copper from a potential bulk underground mining operation.
Heddle joined Greatland Gold in May 2016 and was instrumental in acquiring Havieron and securing the farm-in and joint venture agreements with Newcrest.
Alex Borelli praised Heddle for his “tireless commitment and outstanding contribution” to the success of the company.
“Under his leadership the team at Greatland has delivered exceptional value creation for shareholders. He leaves Greatland in a strong position and with a clear strategy in place for the potential development of Havieron towards commercial production,” Borelli said.
Author: Mark Sheridan
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
