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Brightstar Resources Limited (ASX: BTR) (Brightstar) is pleased to announce the completion of the acquisition of the gold rights at the Montague East Gold project (MEGP) from Gateway Mining Limited (ASX: GML) (Gateway).
HIGHLIGHTS
- Brightstar has completed the acquisition of the Montague East Gold Project (MEGP) from Gateway Mining Limited
- The completion of the acquisition of the mineral resources at the MEGP signifies the strategic addition of shallow, advanced ounces to Brightstar which is aligned with the Company’s strategy of advancing multi assets towards near term commercialisation
- The MEGP is located 70km from the Sandstone Gold Project, which is owned by Alto Metals Ltd, which is currently undertaking a merger with Brightstar by way of a Scheme of Arrangement
- $5 million cash consideration paid and 466.67 million Brightstar shares issued to Gateway
- Deferred contingent consideration of $2 million in Brightstar shares subject to further project milestones, including:
- upon the commencement of commercial mining operations in respect of the gold mineral rights at MEGP, or
- the delineation of a JORC Mineral Resource Estimate on the tenements exceeding 1.0 Moz Au.
- Following completion, the sale by Gateway of the consideration shares will be subject to orderly sales restrictions in consultation with Brightstar
- Brightstar is planning a drilling program to commence at the MEGP in late October, targeting infill and extensional targets within and proximal to the Mineral Resources located at the advanced Whistler and Montague-Boulder deposits
- Completion of the MEGP acquisition adds a further 9.6Mt @ 1.6g/t Au for 0.5Moz Au to Brightstar’s JORC Mineral Resource Estimate
- Total mineral endowment owned by Brightstar now 38.3Mt @ 1.6g/t Au for 2.0Moz Au
For further details regarding the Transaction please refer to the Company’s ASX announcement released on 1 August 20241.
Brightstar’s Managing Director, Alex Rovira, commented“The completion of the acquisition of the Montague East Gold Project from Gateway achieves the first step in Brightstar’s previously announced consolidation plan of the Sandstone district, adding shallow ounces and a meaningful Mineral Resource inventory to our portfolio of advanced exploration, development and producing gold assets in Western Australia.
We are working towards mobilising an RC drill rig to the Montague-Boulder and Whistler deposits in late October, which contain ~280koz Au of shallow, largely oxide material. It is our intent to move the Montague East Gold Project swiftly through resource drill-out and feasibility study workstreams to advance this asset towards development.
With 2Moz of gold Mineral Resources situated on granted mining leases in the Company, combined with our low capex growth plans and near-term development and production expansion, Brightstar is well placed to maximise value of the portfolio in an all-time high gold price environment.
Recent drilling success across the Lord Byron, Fish and Second Fortune deposits has illustrated the immense upside in the Company’s projects, as we seek to grow the Mineral Resource and de-risk future development through the DFS underway.”
MONTAGUE ACQUISITION
Brightstar, via its wholly-owned subsidiary Montague Gold Project Pty Ltd (MGP), has acquired the interests held by Gateway and its wholly owned subsidiary Gateway Projects Pty Ltd (GPWA) in certain mining tenements in respect of Gateway’s Montague Gold Project, with Brightstar obtaining 100% of the gold mineral rights and Gateway retaining all other mineral rights.
The total consideration paid by Brightstar in respect of the Montague acquisition is $14.0m, comprising:
- an upfront cash payment of $5.0m;
- 466,666,667 Brightstar shares issued at an implied issue price of $0.015 per share for $7 million worth of fully paid Brightstar shares (Gateway Consideration Shares); and
- $2.0m payable in cash or Brightstar shares, upon the commencement of commercial mining operations in respect of the gold mineral rights, or the delineation of a JORC Mineral Resource on the tenements exceeding 1.0 Moz Au.
Following Completion, the sale by Gateway of the Gateway Consideration Shares will be subject to orderly sales restrictions in consultation with Brightstar.
Click here for the full ASX Release
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.
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Overview
The price of gold stays strong. In April 2024, the yellow metal’s price passed US$2,400 per ounce for the first time. The reason is multifaceted. The world teeters on the brink of a severe recession while some markets attribute the increase to safe haven rush. Amidst ballooning interest rates, bank failures and falling bond yields, demand for gold continues to rise. At this precise moment, gold is simultaneously an excellent portfolio diversifier and a compelling hedge against ongoing inflation — particularly if one invests in the right company.
Brightstar Resources (ASX:BTR) aims to be that company. An emerging mining and development company, Brightstar occupies a strategic land position of roughly 300 square kilometers in the Laverton Tectonic Belt and 80 square kilometers of the Menzies Shear Zone.
The company also owns an existing processing facility that can potentially provide tremendous shareholder value in a low-capital cost restart scenario.
That plant, once fully refurbished and operational, could prove a key differentiator for the company, enabling fast gold production at a low capital cost. This is especially noteworthy given that many other gold companies trading on the ASX are largely focused on greenfield exploration and development. Even once those companies discover a promising resource, mining and processing facilities would still need to be built, undertakings which can incur significant upfront capital costs and take several years.
Brightstar's Laverton gold assets are all centered on a 100 percent-owned 300-square-kilometer tenure in the Laverton Tectonic Zone and all within 70 kilometers of the Laverton Processing Plant. Additionally, all resources within this zone are open along strike and at depth. Only minor drilling programs have been conducted in recent years, paving the way for significant exploration upside with the potential for further regional and greenfields discoveries.
Brightstar also owns 100 percent of the Menzies Gold Project, a contiguous land package of granted mining leases over a strike length of roughly 20 kilometers along the Menzies Shear Zone and adjacent to the Goldfields Highway.
In 2023 and 2024, the company announced a mineral resource upgrade to the Cork Tree Well deposit (Laverton gold project) and also delivered two maiden mineral resource estimates at the Link Zone and Aspacia deposits (Menzies gold project). This has grown the total group MRE by approximately 150 koz gold through organic exploration.
The company has also acquired a relevant interest in 96.75 percent shares and 96.81 percent optionshares and 96.81 percent option of Linden Gold Alliance, a gold producer, developer and explorer with existing mineral resources of 350 koz @ 2.1 g/t gold near Brightstar in the Laverton district. Brightstar’s MRE has reached 1.1 Moz gold across the Menzies and Laverton projects, with an additional 0.35 Moz gold in resources added after the successful acquisition of Linden Gold Alliance. Brightstar has commenced the compulsory acquisition process for the remaining Linden shares and options in respect of which it has not received acceptances under the agreement.
In August 2024, Brightstar entered into a scheme implementation deed to acquire 100 percent of Alto Metals, which owns the Sandstone gold project located in East Murchison. The project has a current mineral resource of 1.05 Moz of gold at 1.5 g/t.
At the same time, Brightstar through its wholly owned subsidiary SPV Montague Gold Project entered into a tenement sale agreement with Gateway Mining to acquire 100 percent of the gold mineral rights for Gateway's Montague East Gold Project. All other mineral rights to the project will be retained by Gateway. These transactions, once complete, will make Brightstar a significant junior West Australian explorer, developer and producer, consolidating a highly prospective exploration ground in the Sandstone region.
Subsequent to the deal with Alto Metals, Brightstar entered into a $4 million drill-for-equity agreement with Topdrill to aggressively advance the consolidated Sandstone gold project. The deal strengthens Brightstar's financial capacity to fulfill its multi-hub exploration and development strategy, which includes the Menzies and Laverton hubs and the Sandstone hub.
Company Highlights
- Brightstar Resources is an ASX-listed mining and development company with more than one million ounces of gold resources and an on-site processing infrastructure.
- Brightstar's mineral assets are situated across roughly 300 square kilometers of 100-percent-owned land in the Laverton Tectonic Zone and ~80 square kilometers in the high-grade Menzies Shear Zone.
- The Laverton Gold project has a mineral resource of 9.7 Mt @ 1.6g/t gold for 511 koz gold and the Menzies gold project has 13.8Mt @ 1.3g/t gold for 595 koz gold. This is a total combined existing mineral resource of 23 Mt @ 1.5 g/t gold for 1.1 Moz of gold
- In 2023, the company completed a scoping study into the development of its Menzies and Laverton gold projects and the refurbishment and restart of its processing plant in Laverton.
- The scoping study produced robust operating outcomes and compelling financial outputs, including:
- 322 koz of gold recovered over eight years (40 koz per annum)
- Net present value of AU$103 million (using a gold price of AU$2,900/oz)
- Internal rate of return of 79 percent
- Pre-production capital requirements of AU$22 million
- All-in sustaining costs of A$2,041/oz
- Once refurbished, this infrastructure will allow Brightstar to fill a growing investment void for near-term gold developers in Western Australia, producing large quantities of gold at low capital cost.
- In 2023 and 2024, Brightstar completed a small-scale mining joint venture with BML Ventures which involved a 50/50 profit-sharing agreement to exploit the Selkirk deposit at Menzies. In April 2024, Brightstar announced that this joint venture delivered a net profit to Brightstar of $6.5 million.
- In June 2024, the company successfully acquired all of the issued ordinary shares and options in Linden Gold Alliance, a gold producer, developer and explorer with existing mineral resources of 350 koz @ 2.1 g/t gold near Brightstar in the Laverton district.
- Linden is currently a gold producer, mining 15-20 koz pa from its high-grade underground Second Fortune Mine south of Laverton.
- Brightstar’s total MRE across the Menzies and Laverton gold projects increased to 1.45 Moz gold after acquiring Linden. All of the mineral resources are located on granted mining licenses.
- As part of the merger with Linden Gold, Brightstar released a scoping study into Linden’s development-ready Jasper Hills gold project, which delivered key metrics including:
- 140 koz mined over 3.75 years (35 koz pa)
- Net present value of AU$99 million
- Internal rate of return of 736 percent
- Pre-production capital requirements of $12 million
- All-in sustaining costs of AU$1,972/oz
- Jasper Hills is located just 50 km SE of Brightstar’s processing plant in the Laverton gold project
- Brightstar plans to continue generating shareholder value through a combination of development and strategic acquisitions along with some exploration.
Key Projects
Brightstar Processing Facility
Situated close to Brightstar's existing mineral assets at Laverton, the Brightstar Processing Plant provides the company with a considerable operational head start over its peers.
Highlights:
- Extensive Infrastructure: Current facilities at the plant include two ball mills, a power station and gravity and elution circuits. Other infrastructure includes:
- A tailings storage dam
- An on-site process water pond
- An operational 60-person accommodation camp
- An airstrip at the nearby Cork Tree Well Project
- Vehicles and equipment include a forklift, bobcat, two loaders, multiple light vehicles and a 30-tonne crane.
- A Leg Up Over Competitors: The presence of pre-existing processing infrastructure represents significant time savings compared to greenfields development. Brightstar had an independent valuation completed which valued the processing plant at AU$60 million in replacement value.
- Low Upfront Capital Cost: As part of the scoping study released in September 2023, GR Engineering estimated a capital cost requirement to refurbish and expand the milling capacity would cost just AU$18.5 million.
- Close to Existing Assets: Brightstar's major development projects — Cork Tree Well, Jasper Hills, Beta and Alpha — are all close to the plant.
Gold doré bars (BTR005 – BTR016) poured on 9 March 2024
Cork Tree Well
Cork Tree Well is a formerly operating mine, producing 45 koz of gold over its lifespan. Located roughly 35 kilometers north of Laverton on Bandya Station Road, the project’s JORC 2012-compliant mineral resource of 6.4 Mt at 1.4 g/t for 303 koz of gold.
Highlights:
- Promising Drilling Results: Two 6,000-meter drill programs were completed in late 2022, and in the first quarter of 2023 delivered an uplift in tonnages and ounces at a discovery cost of AU$30 per ounce. In 2023 the JORC 2012 Mineral Resource Estimate increased by 20 percent to 303 koz, representing a 65-percent increase to the indicated ounces to 157 koz @ 1.6 g/t gold.
- Upcoming Feasibility Studies: The drilling program will underpin several feasibility studies that Brightstar intends to conduct later this year. At present, Brightstar has defined a resource envelope over a strike length of approximately 1 kilometer and down to 200 meters.
- Area Geology: The Cork Tree deposit is situated along the western limb of the Erlistoun synclical structure, a sequence which includes mafic volcanic lavas, tuffs and tuffaceous sediments alongside minor interflow graphitic shales and banded iron formation. The mine itself consists of chlorite schist-altered high-magnesium basalt footwalls overlain by graphitic shales containing banded iron and chert beds. Gold mineralization is contained within sediments intruded by concordant porphyry sills spanning the length of the mineralized zone.
- High-grade Assays from the 2024 Drill Program: First round of assay results from 20 diamond drill holes at Cork Tree Well were extremely positive, with intercepts returned including 34.4 metres @ 7.94 g/t gold from 43.5 metres (CTWMET004) and 27.6 metres @ 17.8 g/t gold from 51 metres (CTWMET003).
Second Fortune Gold Mine
Second Fortune is an operating underground gold mine owned and run by Linden Gold, which is the subject of an off-market takeover by Brightstar announced in March 2024. Second Fortune has produced +14,000oz gold in FY24 year to date and is run under an ‘owner operator’ model.
Second Fortune has a high-grade MRE of 165kt @ 10.9 g/t gold for 58 koz. Limited modern and systematic exploration has occurred across the ~20km of strike length of prospective geology at Second Fortune. This presents a superb opportunity to leverage existing team, camp & related infrastructure to rapidly assess targets and conduct efficient drilling programs to further grow the MRE and extend the mine life at Second Fortune.
Menzies Gold Project
Situated 130 kilometers north of the globally significant Kalgoorlie gold deposit, Menzies represents one of Western Australia's leading historic gold fields. The project, fully owned and operated by Kingwest before its merger with Brightstar, consists of a contiguous land package of a strike length above 20 kilometers. All deposits are now 100 percent owned by Brightstar and lie within granted mining leases.
Brightstar intends to leverage existing processing infrastructure in the district to monetise the high-grade open pit ounces produced by this mine.
Highlights:
- Significant Historical Production: Menzies has hosted multiple historically mined high-grade gold deposits which together produced a total of over 800,000 ounces at 19 g/t gold. This includes 643,000 oz @ 22.5 g/t gold from underground.
- Profit Sharing: Brightstar and BLM Ventures had a 50/50 profit-sharing joint venture agreement to exploit the Selkirk deposit at Menzies. In March 2024, Brighstar announced the successful completion of all the ore processing from the Selkirk JV, with a total of 430.7 kg of gold doré poured which netted Brightstar $6.5 million as part of its profit share.
- Area Geology: The Menzies Gold Project is hosted along the Menzies Shear Zone in the western margin of the Menzies greenstone belt. It displays a geologic setting similar to the Sand Queen Gold Mine at Comet Vale.
LAVERTON GOLD PROJECT – OTHER RESOURCES
Beta
Located immediately adjacent to the Brightstar Plant, the Beta Project includes a 60-person camp. It contains a combined JORC 2012-compliant mineral resource of 1,882 kt at 1.7 g/t for 102 koz of gold. The deposit occurs along the Eastern Margin of the Laverton Tectonic Zone, notable for hosting multiple major gold occurrences including Granny Smith, Keringal, Red October and Sunrise Dam.
Alpha
Hosting a combined JORC 2012-compliant mineral resource of 1,452 gold at 2.3 g/t for 106 koz, the Alpha Project. Future exploration programs and feasibility studies will seek to potentially capitalize on Alpha's close proximity to Beta.
Management Team – Post Completion of Linden Merger
Alex Rovira - Managing Director
Alex Rovira is a qualified geologist and an experienced investment banker having focused on the metals and mining sector since 2013. Rovira has experience in ASX equity capital markets activities, including capital raisings, IPOs and merger and acquisitions.
Richard Crookes – Non-executive Chairman
Richard Crookes has over 35 years’ experience in the resources and investments industries. He is a geologist by training having previously worked as the chief geologist and mining manager of Ernest Henry Mining in Australia.
Crookes is managing partner of Lionhead Resources, a critical minerals investment fund and formerly an investment director at EMR Capital. Prior to that he was an executive director in Macquarie Bank’s Metals Energy Capital (MEC) division where he managed all aspects of the bank’s principal investments in mining and metals companies.
Andrew Rich - Executive Director
Andrew Rich is a degree qualified mining engineer from the WA School of Mines and has obtained a WA First Class Mine Managers Certificate. Rich has a strong background in underground gold mining with experience predominantly in the development of underground mines at Ramelius Resources (ASX:RMS) and Westgold Resources (ASX:WGX).
Ashley Fraser - Non-executive Director
Ashley Fraser is an accomplished mining professional with over 30 years experience across gold and bulk commodities. Fraser was a founder of Orionstone (which merged with Emeco in a $660-million consolidation) and is a founder/owner of Blue Cap Mining and Blue Cap Equities.
Jonathan Downes - Non-executive Director
Jonathan Downes has over 30 years’ experience in the minerals industry and has worked in various geological and corporate capacities. Experienced with gold and base metals, he has been intimately involved with the exploration process through to production. Downes is currently the managing director of Kaiser Reef, a high grade gold producer, and non-executive director of Cazaly Resources.
Dean Vallve – Chief Operating Officer
Dean Vallve holds technical qualifications in geology & mining engineering from the WA School of Mines, an MBA, and a WA First Class Mine Managers Certificate. Vallve was previously in senior mining and study roles at ASX listed mid-cap resources companies Hot Chili (ASX:HCH) and Calidus Resources (ASX:CAI).
New Phase of Growth Drilling Commences at High-Priority Gradina Prospect at Rogozna
Highlights:
- 10,000m diamond drilling program commences at the Gradina Prospect, where a recently completed access track provides the ability to drill-test shallower zones of gold mineralisation for the first time.
- High-grade gold mineralisation has been delineated at Gradina over ~1km of strike, at vertical depths of ~200m -1,000m below surface, with ~21,000m of previous drilling returning significant intercepts including1:
- 27.5m @ 5.1g/t Au from 439.8m (ZRSD20124);
- 32.0m @ 6.8g/t Au from 595m (EOKSC1361b); and
- 22m @ 4.0g/t Au from 691m (ZRSD21143).
- Based on geophysical and geochemical datasets, this thick high-grade gold mineralisation is projected to extend to near-surface, potentially representing the shallowest deposit at Rogozna alongside the outcropping Copper Canyon.
- Given the extent of high-grade mineralisation defined to date, Gradina represents a high-priority gold target for the delineation of a significant initial Mineral Resource estimate in the near term.
- Four drill rigs are currently operating across the Rogozna Project, with assay results pending for multiple holes.
- Strickland remains extremely well-funded, with $48.7 million in cash and NST shares as at the end of the June Quarter.
Diamond drill rig in operation from new access track at the Gradina Prospect, Rogozna Project.
Exploration Update
Strickland Metals Limited (ASX: STK) (Strickland or the Company) is pleased to advise that a new phase of drilling has commenced at the high-priority Gradina Prospect, part of its 100%-owned ~5.4Moz AuEq Rogozna Gold and Base Metals Project2 in Serbia (Figure 2).
The drilling program follows the recent completion of a new access track at Gradina, enabling drilling to target near- surface extensions of high-grade mineralisation previously encountered at depth.
Gradina is one of four skarn-hosted gold and base metals deposits at Rogozna and represents a key target for the delineation of a near-term initial Mineral Resource Estimate, contributing to the continued rapid growth of the Rogozna Project.
Strickland’s Managing Director, Paul L’Herpiniere, said: “This new program at the Gradina Prospect provides a very exciting opportunity to follow-up significant widths of high-grade gold mineralisation previously encountered at depth. Having constructed a new access track over recent months, we can now drill-test the Gradina system close to surface for the first time in the Project’s history.
“All available datasets indicate that the steeply dipping mineralised lodes encountered in previous drilling extend up- dip towards surface. If we are successful in drilling similar widths and tenor of mineralisation near-surface, we expect that this high-priority target will rapidly take shape and make a considerable contribution to the growth of the Rogozna Resource inventory over the next 12 months.”
Gradina Geology
The Gradina Prospect is characterised by multiple steeply-dipping, NNW-trending zones of gold (+/- copper, zinc) mineralisation occurring over ~1km of strike, with the mineralisation remaining open both along strike, at depth and up-dip towards surface.3
Along its strike extent, the Gradina mineralisation is spatially associated with gold + associated pathfinder geochemical anomalism in soils (Figure 1) and multiple coincident geophysical anomalies, including gravity, IP and remanent magnetism anomalies (Figure 2). All these datasets indicate that the mineralisation is likely to extend close to surface, particularly at the southern end of the system, where there is an absence of volcanic cover.
At the southern end of the prospect, the surface geology is characterised by steeply west-dipping limestone, with a swarm of ENE-trending quartz latite dykes cutting across the carbonate stratigraphy and extending through to the Copper Canyon deposit ~500m to the east.
Previous drilling at Gradina was carried out with collars positioned in a valley to the immediate west of the deposit, where access was easiest, with mineralisation intersected at vertical depths of ~200m to 1,000m below surface (Figure 3).
At the northern end of the prospect, the surface geology consists of hydrothermally altered andesite, which sits unconformably above the host carbonate sequence. Previous drilling of the northern extents of the system was conducted from the same valley access track, with mineralisation encountered at depths of ~400m to 600m vertically below surface (Figure 4).
In terms of mineralisation style, the gold mineralisation is associated with pyrrhotite and lesser amounts of arsenopyrite, with chalcopyrite and sphalerite occurring in localised areas.
The mineralisation at Gradina is the most gold-dominant of the four currently identified deposits at Rogozna (comprising the Shanac, Copper Canyon, Medenovac and Gradina deposits), with gold at Gradina accounting for ~90% of the contained metal.
Click here for the full ASX Release
This article includes content from Strickland Metals, 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.
40% Increase in Indicated Resource in Gold Domain and 60% in Copper Domain for Nueva Sabana Deposit
Antilles Gold Limited (“Antilles Gold” or the “Company”) (ASX: AAU, OTCQB: ANTMF) is pleased to report a revised Mineral Resource Estimate (‘MRE’) for the first stage of the proposed Nueva Sabana copper-gold mine in central Cuba. The updated MRE follows completion of a 2,000m in-fill drilling program.
Exceptional Rock Chip Assays up to 930 g/t Ag, 10.05% Cu, and 8.09% Zn at First Pass Sampling at Pearl Copper Project
HIGHLIGHTS
Recent rock chip sampling at the Odyssey prospect, part of the Pearl Copper Project located in Arizona, USA has returned exceptional assay results:
- Silver assay highlights include: 930 g/t, 233 g/t, 274 g/t.
- Copper assay highlights include: 10.05%, 4.23%, 4.13%.
- Zinc assay highlights include: 8.09%, 7.21%, 6.33%.
Of the 14 first pass rock chip samples taken to test for mineralisation at Odyssey:
- 10 samples assayed >30 g/t Silver,
- 12 samples assayed >1.5% Copper,
- 10 samples assayed > 1.0% Zinc.
Mineralisation at the Odyssey Prospect is visible at the surface with a strike length of >800m and includes multiple NNW trending extensional veins.
These veins contain visible copper minerals (malachite and chrysocolla) but the presence of silver and zinc mineralisation indicates much broader mineralisation potential.
The Odyssey prospect has never been drilled.
Figure 1: Odyssey Prospect hydrated copper carbonate and phyllosilicate mineralisation
Whilst initially viewed as an epithermal copper target, the significant, high-grade assays of not only copper but also silver and zinc have expanded the exceptional prospectivity of the Project for not only copper but also multi-element epithermal mineralisation.
Golden Mile’s Managing Director Damon Dormer commented: “These results – with exceptional high grades of copper, silver and zinc not only broadens the mineralisation potential of the Odyssey Prospect but also provides increased confidence for additional prospects within the Pearl Project area. By any measure these are exciting results and will provide numerous targets for our maiden drilling program.”
Click here for the full ASX Release
This article includes content from Golden Mile 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.
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