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Antilles Gold Limited
Investor Insight
Antilles Gold’s gold and copper projects in Cuba are underpinned by a strong partnership with a Cuban Government-owned mining company that effectively fast-tracks and de-risks its promising projects, offering a strategic value proposition for investors.
Overview
Antilles Gold (ASX:AAU,OTCQB:ANTMF) is an Australian mining company focused on gold and copper projects in Cuba through a joint venture with the Cuban Government’s mining company, GeoMinera. This partnership has resulted in rapid project permitting and access to several new development opportunities for the Australian company.
Antilles Gold offers strong growth potential through two near‐term development projects, Nueva Sabana and La Demajagua, and two exploration projects, the El Pilar porphyry system and Sierra Maestra copper concessions.
Joint venture projects in Cuba
Nueva Sabana is a near‐term, gold‐copper mine development within the joint venture with GeoMinera, and is expected to initially produce around 70 grams per tonne (g/t) gold in a concentrate from a high‐grade gold cap followed by ~27 percent copper concentrate with gold credits. The project development strategy includes the completion of a feasibility study in September 2024, and the commencement of construction soon after.
The second proposed development is the La Demajagua open-pit mine, which is likely to produce ~50,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) of gold arsenopyrite concentrate (32 g/t gold, 27 percent arsenic), and ~10,000 tpa of gold antimony concentrate (28.8 g/t gold, 48 percent antimony, 1,200 g/t silver) for nine years. According to the plans, construction will commence in late 2025, with commissioning in mid‐2027. La Demajagua will also include the construction of a concentrate processing facility to treat La Demajagua’s gold arsenopyrite concentrate, with the capacity to produce 50,000 oz gold per year in dore, which will further increase JV profit and cashflow.
The joint venture’s two exploration projects comprise the 720‐hectare El Pilar Concession in Central Cuba covering a cluster of three copper‐gold porphyry deposits (El Pilar, Gaspar and San Nicholas), the adjacent 17,000 hectare San Nicholas concession with porphyry style mineralisation, and two concessions totaling 52,600 hectares within the producing Sierra Maestra copper belt in southeast Cuba (La Cristina and Vega Grande), with both indicating of porphyry deposits highly prospective for copper, gold and molybdenum.
Surface mineralisation at El Pilar
Antilles Gold has completed a technical evaluation of the El Pilar porphyry system which was advised to ASX on 15 February 2024.
The joint venture intends to invest part of the surplus cash flow from the Nueva Sabana mine to fund the exploration of major copper targets, including the El Pilar copper‐gold porphyry system, and those in the Sierra Maestra copper belt.
Company Highlights
- Antilles Gold Limited is an Australian mining company listed on the ASX (AAU) and OTCQB (ANTMF).
- The company is focused on gold and copper projects in Cuba through a 50:50 joint venture with the Cuban Government’s mining company, GeoMinera, opening new development opportunities for Antilles and de-risking permitting processes.
- The joint venture is engaged in four development projects: 1) Nueva Sabana gold‐copper mine; 2) La Demajagua gold mine; 3) El Pilar porphyry copper project; and 4) Exploration of two concessions within the Sierra Maestra copper belt. Of these, Nueva Sabana and La Demajagua offer near‐term development opportunities.
- Nueva Sabana is a near‐term gold‐copper mine development that is expected to generate strong cash flow from concentrate sales from end‐2025.
- La Demajagua is an open-pit mine gold project commencing construction in Q4 2025 with commissioning in mid‐2027.
- El Pilar and Sierra Maestra concessions are exploration projects.
- Investment in Cuba offers several benefits, including richness in minerals, low operating costs and royalties, stable government and regulations, several investment incentives and the availability of a skilled workforce.
Key Projects
Nueva Sabana Project
Prominer Mining Technology will supply Nueva Sabana concentrator
Nueva Sabana is the company’s near‐term, gold‐copper mine development project. The project is held in the 50:50 joint venture with GeoMinera. It will be an open-pit mine developed on the oxide zone overlaying the El Pilar porphyry copper deposit in central Cuba.
Results from 24,000 metres of historical drilling, 1,800 metres drilled in 2022, and the 10,000 metres drilled in 2023 have established a mineral resource estimate (MRE). Results of a scoping study were advised to ASX on 7 May 2024, and a feasibility study is in progress for the proposed development which will be followed by a 12‐month construction phase.
Drilling has shown outstanding grades for gold and copper, and increasing lateral and vertical boundaries of the copper domain.
The proposed mining rate for the project will be 500,000 tpa of ore with a low waste‐to‐ore ratio. The anticipated initial production of 70 g/t gold concentrate will be followed by a ~27 percent copper concentrate with gold credits.
The estimated project cost is approximately US$33 million, of which approximately US$6 million is shareholders equity with the balance of $27 million expected to be funded through an advance on purchases of the concentrates by an international commodities trader.
Chinese engineering group, Prominer Mining Technology, which has extensive experience in designing and constructing gold and copper concentrators, is expected to supply the crushing and flotation circuits for the Nueva Sabana mine.
La Demajagua Project
La Demajagua involves the development of a gold‐antimony‐silver deposit as an open-pit mine by the joint venture company, Minera La Victoria.The project is located within a 900 hectare mining concession on the Isle of Youth, 60 nautical miles from mainland Cuba. The project site is 35 kilometres from the port city of Nueva Gerona and enjoys excellent infrastructure in terms of accessibility by highway, and availability of water, electricity and fiber optic cable.The project has an MRE of 905,000 oz gold equivalent for the open-pit operation. The MRE was calculated from 29,000 metres of drilling undertaken by the JV, and selective results from about 50,000 metres of historic drilling and revised after the receipt of additional antimony assays. The project expects mining of about 815,000 tpa of ore to produce two concentrates: 50,000 tpa of gold‐arsenopyrite and 10,000 tpa of gold‐antimony‐silver for nine years.
The project will also include a concentrate processing facility to produce gold doré from the gold-arsenopyrite concentrate. The facility will comprise a 50,000‐tpa two‐stage fluidized‐bed roaster, a carbon-in-leach (CIL) circuit, and an antimony recovery circuit. The overall production target is 75,000 oz gold equivalent per year. Chinese engineering firm BGRIMM Technology Group, which has extensive experience in designing and constructing roasters, is expected to supply the process plant on a turnkey basis.
The total development cost is estimated at US$165 million, expected to be funded by US$75 million of equity, which includes contributions by a third shareholder in the project, and the balance of US$90 million in debt. The life‐of‐mine cash surplus is estimated at ~US$600 million, with an NPV of ~US$330 million based on US$1,800/oz gold, and US$13,000/t antimony.
A revised scoping study including the concentrate processing facility is expected in December 2024, and construction is anticipated to commence in late 2025, with commissioning targeted for mid‐2027.
El Pilar Copper‐Gold Porphyry System Project
El Pilar is an exploration project of a cluster of three copper‐gold porphyry deposits: El Pilar, Gaspar and Camilo. The project comprises a 752 hectare exploration license and an adjacent 17,000 hectare reconnaissance permit covering the San Nicholas copper targets.
The project site benefits from established infrastructure with close access to a major highway, high‐tension power, and a 60 kilometre rail link to Palo Alto port.
Previous mapping, soil sampling, ground magnetics, an aeromagnetic survey and 24,000 metres of shallow drilling confirmed the existence of copper‐gold mineralization and identified the exposures as a potentially large, leached porphyry system. The surface exposures at El Pilar are leached phyllic caps to a cluster of copper‐gold porphyry cores. The extent of surficial hydrothermal alteration indicates the porphyry intrusions have large dimensions, and potential depths greater than 1,000 metres.
Ground magnetics and induced polarization surveys in early 2023 have confirmed a cluster of three potentially large porphyry intrusives – El Pilar, Gaspar and Camilo. A 10‐hole initial program has demonstrated positive results with good copper intercepts in porphyry‐style veining and has indicated the proximity of drilling to the core of El Pilar porphyry intrusive. In particular, drill hole PDH‐004A assayed 1.23 percent copper over its length of 134 metres from 49 metres.
Sierra Maestra Copper Belt Project
The project is an exploration project covering two highly prospective concessions for copper, gold and molybdenum in the Sierra Maestra copper belt in southeast Cuba. It includes a 3,600-hectare geological investigation license in La Cristina, and the adjoining 49,000‐hectare Vega Grande reconnaissance license.
The copper belt spans more than 200 kilometres of Cretaceous‐age geology intruded by Eocene stocks, which are the source of widespread gold and base‐metals mineralization. The project is near the El Cobre mine which is the oldest operating copper mine in the Americas. The concessions incorporate a series of copper‐gold‐molybdenum zones that display significant footprints of hydrothermal alteration normally associated with potentially large porphyry systems.
An extensive, two‐year prospecting program will be carried out on the two concessions, commencing in Q4 2024, to identify drill targets.
Management Team
Brian Johnson – Executive Chairman
Brian Johnson is a graduate of civil engineering from the University of Western Australia and a member of the Institute of Engineers, Australia. He has rich experience in the construction and mining industries in Australia, Southeast Asia and North America. He was instrumental in establishing successful companies in the iron ore and coal sectors. Previously, he has served as a director of two listed gold producers, and of companies with stock exchange listings in London, New York, Vancouver and Australia.
James Tyers – Chief Executive Officer
James Tyers is a member of the AusIMM and has more than 30 years of experience in the mining industry, holding senior management roles in gold and iron ore operations. He has been associated with the Palm Springs Gold Mine in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, and the Cornishman Project, a JV between Troy Resources and Sons of Gwalia. He has experience developing and operating iron ore projects in the mid‐west of Western Australia. He was responsible for developing the Las Lagunas Project and is the project director for the La Demajagua gold mine in Cuba.
Ugo Carlo – Non‐executive Director
Ugo Carlo has more than 30 years of experience in the Australian mining industry. Throughout his career, he has served in several senior leadership roles at Rocklands Richfield, Austral Coal and Conzinc Rio Tinto Australia Group. He is also a former director of the Port Kembla Coal Terminal, the New South Wales Joint Coal Board, and interim chairman of the New South Wales Minerals Council.
Angela Pankhurst – Non‐executive Director
Angela Pankhurst has more than 20 years of experience as an executive and non‐executive director, primarily in the mining industry. She has been a senior executive for companies with projects in Kazakhstan, Nigeria, Vietnam, South Africa and Australia. She has held senior leadership positions at Antilles Gold and Central Asia Resources. She is currently a director of Consolidated Zinc and a director of Imritec.
Tracey Aitkin – Chief Financial Officer
Tracey Aitkin is a professional member of CPA Australia and has more than 30 years of rich experience in finance, administration and staff management across a range of industries, including mining, manufacturing, retail, transport and agriculture. She joined the company in 2009 and was named CFO in 2010.
Dr. Jinxing Ji – Technical Director
Dr. Jinxing Ji is a seasoned metallurgist with six years of research experience in universities and 26 years of practical experience in the mining industry related to gold, silver, copper, zinc and lead. His broad experience includes due diligence, metallurgical test work, pre‐feasibility study, feasibility study, detailed design, plant commissioning support, and operational support for projects in Turkey, Greece, Canada, China, Romania, Brazil and Papua New Guinea.
Steve Mertens – Mining Director
Steve Mertens is a mining engineer with more than 20 years of industry experience across a range of commodities, including nine years based in Latin America. He has been associated with the Goro Nickel Project in New Caledonia and the Mina de Cobre Project in Panama. Prior to his current role as general manager for the Minera La Victoria JV company, he was the mining manager for Antilles Gold’s Las Lagunas operation in the Dominican Republic.
Chris Grainger – Exploration Director
Chris Grainger holds a PhD in economic geology from the University of Western Australia. He is an Australian geologist with more than 25 years of international experience with involvement in grassroots and brownfield exploration, as well as resource definition and development, with a focus on precious and base metals in South and Central America and the Caribbean. He has been associated with Continental Gold’s Buritica gold‐silver project, and Cordoba Minerals’ Alacran copper‐gold project.
Further High-Grade Gold Results Received from Cork Tree Well Geotechnical Drilling
HIGHLIGHTS
- Assays received from eight geotechnical diamond holes completed at Cork Tree Well with gold assays up to 40.15g/t Au, located near CTWMET003 which returned 27.6m at 17.77g/t Au from 51m1
- Intercepts returned include 4.0m @ 17.32g/t Au from 78.0m (CTWGT004), including:
- 1.0m at 40.15 g/t Au from 78.0m, and
- 0.59m at 37.4 g/t Au from 81.0m, and
- 0.41m at 11.62 g/t Au from 81.59m
- Additional lode within CTWGT004 returned 3.0m at 3.46 g/t Au from 68m including 1.0m at 8.48 g/t Au from 70m
- Shallow intercept returned from CTWGT003:
- 2.6m at 1.74g/t Au from 33.0m
- High-grade results at the base of current pit shell design provides confidence for continuous mineralisation extensions at depth with historically defined significant intercepts
- CTWGT003 and CTWGT004 were drilled into the unmined material north of the historically mined northern pit at Cork Tree Well, with the gold mineralisation entirely contained within a sheared mafic/ultramafic sequence
Brightstar’s Managing Director, Alex Rovira, commented “It is pleasing to see further high-grade assays continuing from geotechnical holes from the diamond drilling program that was completed at Cork Tree Well earlier this year. CTWGT004 returned a significant high-grade intersection of 4.0m @ 17.32g/t Au from 78.0m, which complements the previously announced1 intersection of 27.6m @ 17.77g/t Au (CTWMET003) drilled 200m to the north.
The sixteen Geotechnical drillholes (CTWGT001 – CTWGT016) were drilled into the current optimized $2,750/oz pit- shells generated in the 2023 Scoping Study3 with these holes designed by Brightstar’s independent geotechnical consultants targeting structural and rock mass data for the definitive feasibility study. Both CTWGT003 and CTWGT004 were drilled perpendicular to the orebody and thus reported intersections represent estimated true widths of significant mineralised intercepts.
Given the quality of the assays received from the drilling to date, Brightstar is excited to build on the existing 303koz @ 1.4g/t Au Mineral Resource4, which is open both at depth with high-grade plunging shoots and along strike targeting the structurally-controlled mineralised trends. The high-grade results returned to date are significantly higher than the current 1.4g/t Au head grade of the Mineral Resource (and 1.85g/t mine grade from the 2023 Scoping Study), representing significant upside to both metrics.”
Table 1 - Significant Intercepts (>1g/t Au) for Cork Tree Well geotechnical diamond drilling
Figure 1 - Q1/24 Diamond Drill Program – Section A-A’ displayed in Figure 3
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This article includes content from Brightstar Resources, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
High-Grade Focus Delivers 2.48MOZ @ 4.79g/T – 47% Increase in Ounces and 91% in Grade
HIGHLIGHTS
- Updated Mineral Resource Estimate (“MRE”) completed for the Dalgaranga Gold Project, located on granted Mining Leases and within 2km of the 2.5Mtpa processing plant:
- 16.1Mt @ 4.79g/t gold for 2,482,200 ounces, comprising:
- 5.72Mt @ 8.07g/t gold for 1,485,200 ounces – Never Never Gold Deposit
- 1.78Mt @ 7.66g/t gold for 438,100 ounces – Pepper Gold Deposit
- 8.63Mt @ 2.01g/t gold for 558,900 ounces – “Other” Underground MRE
- 16.1Mt @ 4.79g/t gold for 2,482,200 ounces, comprising:
- Resource Classification breakdown for the updated Dalgaranga Gold Project MRE:
- 8.70Mt @ 4.98g/t gold for 1,392,800 ounces (56%) classified as Indicated;
- 7.44Mt @ 4.56g/t gold for 1,089,400 ounces (44%) classified as Inferred.
- Resource Classification breakdown for the Underground Never Never Gold Deposit MRE:
- 3.88Mt @ 8.74g/t gold for 1,091,200 ounces (76%) classified as Indicated;
- 1.08Mt @ 9.95g/t gold for 346,200 ounces (24%) classified as Inferred.
- Maiden Mineral Resource Estimate for the Underground Pepper Gold Deposit:
- 1.78Mt @ 7.66g/t gold for 438,100 ounces (100%) classified as Inferred.
- Combined high-grade underground MRE for the Never Never and Pepper Gold Deposits:
- 6.75Mt @ 8.65g/t gold for 1,875,600 ounces (58%) classified as Indicated.
- The ounces per vertical metre (“ozpvm”) for the updated high-grade underground MRE has increased 24% to 2,284ozpvm, from 1,690ozpvm. Between 450mbsl and 650mbsl, through both Never Never and Pepper, the ozpvm averages 3,796ozpm.
- A focus on delineating higher grade underground Mineral Resources for the Four Pillars and West Winds gold prospects, as well as the nearby Sly Fox and Plymouth gold deposits has underpinned the “Other” Underground MRE of:
- 8.63Mt @ 2.01g/t gold for 558,900 ounces:
- Updated Spartan Group Mineral Resources for the Dalgaranga and Yalgoo (“Murchison”) and Glenburgh and Egerton (“Gascoyne”) Projects now stand at:
- 39.15Mt @ 2.62g/t gold for 3,302,000 ounces (61% or 2.01Moz Indicated)
This latest MRE update is a pivot towards Dalgaranga as an emerging high-grade underground gold mining operation, and comprises Never Never, Pepper, Four Pillar, West Winds, Applewood, Plymouth and Sly Fox deposits. MRE details are shown in Tables 1 to 4:
Table 1. Dalgaranga Gold Project Combined Resources at 30 June 2024*
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This article includes content from Spartan Resources, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
Antilles Gold Limited Investor Kit
- Corporate info
- Insights
- Growth strategies
- Upcoming projects