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Advanced Manganese developer Firebird Metals Limited (ASX: FRB, “Firebird” or “the Company”) is pleased to announce the delivery of another major milestone for its LMFP Battery Strategy, through the completion of an agreement for industrial land with Jinshi local government for the Company’s battery grade manganese sulphate plant. The agreement covers land allocation, tax incentive structures, land rebates for the plant and options for future plant expansions.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Preferred location for battery grade manganese sulphate plant secured and will be situated in the Jinshi High Tech Industries Development Zone, Jinshi, Hunan province, China
- Agreement with Jinshi local government covers land allocation, tax incentive structures and land rebates. Land agreement also covers options for future plant expansions
- Hunan is central to China’s growing Lithium-ion battery industry and is a dominant LFP cathode production region, with significant plans for LMFP (Lithium Manganese Iron Phosphate) conversion
- Current China-based battery grade manganese sulphate Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS) to be based on Hunan plant location. PFS progressing as planned and expected to be announced in Q1 2024
- Advanced and commercialised crystallisation technology secured, providing a key operation and cost advantage for Firebird
- Proven 5th generation technology - already in operation at other China-based plants - enables significant energy cost reductions for MnSO4 production
- R&D facility including the pilot plant remains on schedule with all key material ordered. Expected to be operation in Jan 2024
- R&D plant to be located in nearby Jinshi City. The Jinshi High-Tech Chemical Park has connecting river access to the Yangzte river, which provides very efficient and low-cost transportation routes for raw materials and product
Image 1: Pilot plant land agreement signing with Jinshi local government
Commenting on the signing of the land agreement in China, Firebird Managing Director Peter Allen said, “We are extremely pleased to be making rapid progress on our LMFP battery strategy, as we remain well on schedule with our strategic objective of growing into a near-term producer of high-purity manganese sulphate for the battery market.
“The completion of the land agreement and establishment of a pilot plant in the Jinshi area brings substantial value to the Company, as we gain access and exposure to some of the world’s largest EV battery manufacturers and investors in LMFP batteries. The location of our battery grade manganese sulphate plant in Hunan also places Firebird at the epicentre of manganese sulphate demand in China.
“We expect our R&D and pilot plant to be operational by Q1 2024 and once complete, we will look to commence key pre-qualification activities with cathode producers. Importantly, our on-the-ground activities will be managed and led by an experienced in-country team headed by Mr Zhou, COO of our Chinese subsidiary, Hunan Firebird Battery Technology Co Ltd.
“We look forward to sharing updates on further strategic milestones, including the results of the manganese sulphate PFS expected in Q1 next year.”
Firebird considered various facets of the LMFP battery strategy and visited several sites when determining the right location for the sulphate plant. Key factors for site location included availability of sulphuric acid, steam, key reagents, and proximity to customers, transportation routes and factory residue consumers.
Hunan is a leading battery metals region, a major Chinese hub for existing and planned cathode and cell capacity and provides Firebird with direct access to rapidly growing gigafactory development. Due to these key competitive advantages, along with the key location criteria mentioned above being met, the Company selected the land available within the Hunan region as the location for its sulphate plant.
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This article includes content from Firebird Metals Limited, 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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Firebird Metals
Overview
Firebird Metals (ASX:FRB) is an Australian mining company that’s well-positioned to develop a new manganese mining operation in Western Australia with a strategy to become a global battery cathode producer supporting a rapidly expanding electric vehicle market.
Batteries currently represent the largest non-alloy market for manganese, accounting for roughly 3 percent of global annual manganese consumption. The metal has a long history of being used as a cathode material in batteries, both in its natural form and in the form of electrolytic manganese dioxide. That includes modern lithium-ion batteries, the supply and manufacturing chain for which could potentially grow by over 30 percent annually from now through 2030.
Manganese-rich batteries are increasingly being held up as an alternative to standard lithium-ion batteries, leading to an expected exponential demand for the mineral. Tesla alone has already committed to producing manganese-based batteries for two thirds of its supply, owing to the metal's relative abundance and lower cost compared to nickel and cobalt.
Lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) represents one of the most prominent phosphate battery configurations. In recent years, however, the business case for using manganese as a cathode material for lithium-ion batteries, known as lithium manganese iron phosphate (LMFP), has become stronger. LMFP not only improves the battery’s energy density, but also increases capacity by up to 20 percent. LMFP batteries also perform better in low-temperature environments.
As LFP rapidly nears its theoretical energy density capacity, the rise of LMFP batteries as a replacement is all but inevitable as the world continues its slow march towards electrification and sustainable energy. Consequently, this means that demand for battery-grade manganese is set to explode in the coming years. And Firebird Metals is more than ready to step in and provide some much-needed supply.
Firebird maintains ownership over a massive manganese resource in Western Australia's Pilbara region in the form of its flagship Oakover project. Characterised by near-surface mineralisation, Oakover houses an estimated 176.65 million tons (Mt) of manganese across several different targets. Because of Oakover's favourable geology, Firebird can potentially leverage Oakover to supply not just the battery market but also multiple other industries, such as steel, all through a low-cost, simple mining operation.
The end result? Significant returns for investors — a projection only further emphasised by the impressive results returned by a recent concentrate scoping study on the project. Firebird maintains several other projects in Australia as well, including the Oakover-like Hill 616 and the exploration-focused Wadanya.
Firebird's long-term strategy reaches far beyond Australia's borders, however. From mining to downstream processing, the company's vision is to become a global cathode producer. For that, Firebird is looking to China, which to date accounts for roughly 90 percent of global manganese sulphate demand.
In early September 2023, the company announced its plans to establish a processing plant in China, noting to investors that an in-house scoping study was already well underway. According to Firebird's managing director Peter Allen, the construction of this plant represents the next phase of major growth for Firebird. As with the rest of Firebird's operations, this new plant will be constructed with the company's ESG methodology front of mind, ensuring transparency and accountability in addition to human welfare, support for local communities and environmental sustainability.
This plan, should it proceed apace, has the potential to make an enormous impact on global manganese supply — all while positioning Firebird as a cost-competitive player in the manganese sulphate market and a promising investment opportunity.
Company Highlights
- An Australian junior exploration company, Firebird Resources is well-positioned to take advantage of the growing demand for manganese as the rapidly expanding electric vehicle market and global electrification continue to ramp up.
- Firebird maintains ownership of a massive manganese resource in Australia with significant growth potential.
- A recent concentrate scoping study confirmed the potential and profitability of the company's flagship project, Oakover, situated in Western Australia's Pilbara region.
- Firebird's long-term goal involves leveraging its manganese resource to position itself as a leading global producer of manganese sulphate for the battery industry.
- The company is currently embarking on a scoping study with plans to build a manganese sulphate plant in China. This will allow it to gain a foothold in the Chinese market, which currently accounts for 90 percent of global manganese sulphate demand.
- This study represents the next phase of major growth for Firebird, and is a significant part of the company's overall strategy to establish itself as a near-term producer of battery-grade high-purity manganese sulphate.
Key Projects
Oakover
Situated 85 kilometres East of Newman in Western Australia's East Pilbara Manganese Province, Firebird's flagship Oakover project is characterised by favourable near-surface and shallow-dipping mineralisation. The project's favourable geology provides Firebird with multiple processing options, with the company currently targeting production of manganese concentrate and high-purity manganese sulphate. Oakover has, over the course of its history, been subject to extensive modern and historic exploration.
The most recent exploration program, completed by Firebird, resulted in a mineral resource estimate of 176.65 Mt at 9.9 percent manganese, including 105.8Mt at 10.1 percent manganese in the indicated resource category.
Project Highlights:
- Confirmed Potential: Firebird recently achieved a major milestone at Oakover with the completion of a concentrate scoping study which confirmed the project's outstanding long-term potential as a manganese hub. Highlights of the study include:
- Potential 18-year mine life.
- 1.2 Mt per annum with low strip ratio (0.45:1) and mining costs.
- Upfront capital investment of A$124 million with low capex optionality.
- A$741.3 million NPV and IRR of 73.1 percent.
- Indicated material accounts for 99.2 percent of material processed.
- 80 percent uplift in indicated resource at Oakover to 105.8 Mt.
- Metallurgical Results: Firebird has undertaken extensive metallurgical and hydrometallurgical testwork at Oakover, with results providing the company with a high level of confidence in its growth and profit potential. Notable highlights are as follows:
- Achievable 30 to 32 percent manganese concentrate saleable product
- Achievable battery-grade manganese sulphate
- Current Plans: Firebird's concentrate scoping study assessed two production scenarios, each utilising simple processing, crush, screen, scrub and DMS beneficiation. It has chosen to pursue full production from startup with ~4 Mtpa processing and ~1.2 Mtpa of 30 to 32 percent manganese concentrate.
Hill 616
Located 35 kilometres south of the Oakover project, Hill 616 shares highly similar geological characteristics to Firebird's flagship, with shallow, gently dipping geology. Covering approximately 15.7 square kilometres within the Peak Hill Mineral Field, Hill 616 has to date undergone extensive historical drilling, with 116 holes for 4,900 metres over a 2.2-kilometre strike.
This drilling has resulted in an inferred mineral resource of 57.5 Mt at 12.2 percent manganese.
Wandanya
Wandanya is a recently established exploration-focused project situated 50 kilometres southwest of the world-class Woodie Woodie Manganese Mine. Its close proximity to Port Hedland affords it considerable direct shipping ore potential. Rock chip results indicate that Wandanya's deposits are also exceptionally high grade, returning results up to 64.9 percent and 55.2 percent manganese.
Management Team
Evan Cranston — Chairperson
Evan Cranston is an experienced mining executive with a background in corporate and mining law. He is the principal of corporate advisory and administration firm Konkera Corporate and has extensive experience in the areas of equity capital markets, corporate finance, structuring, asset acquisition, corporate governance and external stakeholder relations.
Cranston holds both a Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Laws from the University of Western Australia. He is currently the non-executive chairman of African Gold (ASX:A1G) and Benz Mining (TSXV:BZ, ASX:BNZ).
Peter Allen — Managing Director
Peter Allen is a mining executive with more than 20 years of experience in marketing of manganese, lithium and a range of other commodities. He was previously the managing director of marketing for Consolidated Minerals Limited, which operates Woodie Woodie mine in WA and the Nsuta Manganese mine in Ghana.
Allen assisted manganese-focused explorer Element 25 (ASX:E25) and Gulf Manganese Corporation (ASX:GMC) with PFS and product marketing. More recently, he was the marketing manager for AVZ Minerals (ASX:AVZ), a company focussed on the Manono lithium project.
Wei Li — Executive Director & CFO
Wei Li is a chartered accountant with extensive professional experience across several key sectors which include the resource industry, international trade, capital markets, project management of IPOs and spin-outs, and financial accounting. His experience includes being employed by and acting as director and CFO of several companies, predominantly in the resource sector. Prior to these roles, he managed a private base metal exploration company in the NT of Australia and assisted in commissioning an AU$150-million electrolytic manganese dioxide plant in Hunan China.
Li is currently a non-executive director of Macro Metals.
Ashley Pattison — Non-executive Director
Ashley Pattison brings over 20 years of experience in the resources sector across corporate finance and operational roles. Qualified as chartered accountant, he has extensive experience in operations, finance, strategy and corporate finance. Pattison has been the managing director of a number of listed and private mining companies over the past 10 years and also CEO of a listed mining service company.
Pattinson is currently the executive chairman of PC Gold and a non-executive director of Industrial Minerals (ASX:IND) and Macro Metals.
Brett Grosvenor — Non-executive Director
Brett Grosvenor is an experienced mining executive with over 25 years of experience in the mining and power industries. He holds a dual tertiary qualification in engineering and a master’s in business.
Airborne EM over Multiple Targets on Ti-Tree Project
- Augustus Minerals has contracted UTS Geophysics to conduct a VTEM Max survey over several Copper, Cu-Ni-PGE, Zn-Pb-Ag and Uranium targets along the money Intrusion and within proximity of the prospective 85k long Ti-Tree Shear.
- The surveys will cover:
- The Money Intrusion, prospective for Cu-Ni-PGE mineralisation.
- Copper Ridge and Nics Bore over anomalous Copper Drilling results
- The Coo Creek prospect where drilling by Augustus in 2023 identified strongly anomalous Zn-Pb-Ag mineralisation.
- The Munaballya Well North area which shows potential for economic Uranium mineralisation.
- The surveys will help to advance the untapped potential of the Ti-Tree project to host economic mineralisation of multiple commodities.
Andrew Ford, GM Exploration
“The VTEM survey will provide key targeting data over three highly prospective and different prospects with potential for multiple commodities. Whilst the high prospectivity for copper mineralisation has been well documented, the addition of uranium and Broken Hill base metal style mineralisation highlights the quality of the underexplored Ti-Tree project”.
VTEM
UTS Geophysics has been engaged to conduct a helicopter borne VTEM Max survey comprising 646-line km over three separate survey areas. The system is excellent for locating discrete conductive anomalies as well as mapping lateral and vertical variations in resistivity which helps map structure, alteration and rock type. The system also collects magnetic data through a caesium magnetometer. The transmitter/receiver loop is suspended on a cable approximately 40m below the helicopter (Figure 1).
Figure 1 VTEM Max helicopter deployed electromagnetic survey arrangement.
Figure 2 Prospects and VTEM Survey areas.
Money Intrusion
The Money Intrusion, which has proven potential to host Ni-Cu-Co-PGE (platinum group elements), is part of the regional Mundine Well Dolerite Suite, a regionally extensive dolerite (strike length >80km). This extensive mafic intrusion, which is comprised of a variety of lithologies, including gabbro in the core, olivine dolerite on the chilled lower contact or keel and fine-grained dolerite on the outer edges. Mapping, aeromagnetics and multi-spectral imagery show that the Money Intrusion within the Ti-Tree Project covers a strike length greater than 16km, reaching widths >600m in the north of E09/23241.
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This article includes content from Augustus Minerals, 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.
Latest Kameelburg Assays Up To 10.38% Nb2o5 and 9.89% TREO
Highlights
- A total of 74 highly prospective rock samples recently collected from various beforsite and mafic dykes
- Most notable assays reveal up to 10.38% Nb2O5 and 9.89% TREO
- Large scale geological mapping of Kameelberg carbonatite is nearing completion
- Track access clearance & preparation for underground water supplies underway for upcoming maiden diamond drilling programme
Results from recently collected seventy-four (74) samples were received and highlighted the REE rich nature of the carbonatite with TREO(+Y) assays ranging from 1.16 to 9.89%, refer to Figure 1 for samples locations and Table 1 for results.
Figure 1: Southern Carbonatite Margin Geological mapping area with rock chip samples
Niobium Results Along Mafic Dykes
In addition to sampling the carbonatite plug, a further four (4) samples were collected across the Nb dyke zone on the southwest flank of the carbonatite. Results for these samples ranged from 5.44% to 10.38% Nb2O5. This provides additional confidence to previous niobium findings (see announcements dated 28 February 2024 and 27 December 2023). Table 2 compiles the Nb results with Figure 2 depicting recent sample locations in relation to the previous Nb2O5 results.
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This article includes content from Aldoro 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.
Firetail Resources
Overview
Firetail Resources (ASX:FTL) is an Australian exploration company building a strategic portfolio of battery metals in Australia and Peru.
Batteries are a critical foundation of the transition to a greener and more sustainable future. Consequently, between electric vehicles and renewable energy, global demand for batteries is expected to increase from 185 GWh in 2020 to over 2,000 GWh by 2030. This is expected to have a profound impact on the market for battery and base metals such as lithium, nickel, cobalt and copper.
Firetail Resources aims to leverage this significant opportunity to find the critical resources to support the world’s journey to electrification. Under the direction of a proven board and management team with decades of collective experience in mining exploration, development and production, Firetail Resources boasts a diversified asset portfolio with multiple drill-ready targets and advanced exploration projects that all have tremendous potential to increase shareholder value.
Firetail's Australian Yalgoo-Dalgaranga, Mt. Slopeaway and Paterson projects are all located in proven geologic domains and display significant upside for substantial mineral resources. The company's more recent acquisition of two projects in Peru strongly complements these assets.
As the world's third-largest copper producer, Peru has a massive mining industry with a strong prominence in the country’s national economy. Long recognized as an excellent, low-risk mining jurisdiction, the country recently approved roughly $600 million worth of new mining projects. Unsurprisingly, nearly every major global mining company is either operating in the jurisdiction or is aware of it.
Although only recently acquired, Firetail's Picha Copper project is now one of its most promising assets. The Picha Project was acquired as part of a deal that includes a farm-in agreement with Barrick Gold Corporation (TSE:ABX) for an earn-in of up to 70 percent interest in the Charaque Project.
Picha is located along a NNW regional trend of carbonate-replacement (CRD) and epithermal deposits, including the San Gabriel Gold Project (Buenaventura NYSE:BVN), which is fully permitted and in construction; and the Berenguela Ag, Cu, Mn, Zn Deposit (Aftermath Silver TSXV:AAG).
In 2024, Firetail Resources announced the acquisition of York Harbour copper project, Canada. The company has signed a binding option agreement to acquire up to 80 percent of York Harbour project via a staged earn-in. York Harbour is a Cyprus-style volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) exploration project, located 180 km west-south-west of FireFly Metals Ltd (ASX:FFM) Green Bay copper project.
With a diversified portfolio of battery and base metals assets in two leading mining jurisdictions, Firetail is perfectly positioned to take advantage of the transition to green energy, driving considerable shareholder value in the process.
Company Highlights
- Demand for batteries is expected to exponentially increase by 2030, consequently driving the demand for battery and base metals.
- An Australian exploration company, Firetail Resources is well-positioned to take advantage of this market trend via a portfolio of Australian and Peruvian battery metals projects.
- Firetail's drill-ready assets are supported by smart field exploration and drilling programs to unlock their resource potential and increase shareholder value.
- The company's current portfolio of assets includes lithium, copper, cobalt, manganese, molybdenum, lead, zinc and nickel.
- All of Firetail's exploration activities are directed by a board and management team with a proven track record in mineral exploration, development and production.
Key Projects
Picha (Copper)
Located in Southern Peru's Moquegua and Puno departments, Picha represents Firetail's most recent acquisition. Intended as a complement to the company's portfolio of battery metals assets, the highly prospective 200-square-kilometre copper project hosts multiple drill-ready targets which Firetail plans to test in the coming months. Picha was obtained as part of a deal that included a farm-in agreement with Barrick Gold Corporation for the Charaque Project located 30 kilometres to the northeast.
Firetail recently confirmed its official drill permit for Picha and site preparations are underway for a October drilling campaign.
Project Highlights
- Promising Geology: Picha is located within Peru's Epithermal Au-Ag-Cu-Pb-Zn metallogenic zone along a north-northwest regional trend of carbonate-replacement and epithermal deposits.
- Nearby Projects: Picha is situated roughly 17 kilometres east-northeast of Compania de Minas Buenaventura's San Gabriel gold-copper-silver project, which hosts:
- Reserves of 14.9 Mt with 4.04 grams per ton (g/t) gold and 6.43 g/t silver representing 1.94 Moz gold.
- Resources of 24.86 Mt with 2.10 g/t gold and 8.46 g/t silver.
- Multiple Mineralisation: The project is prospective for multiple styles of copper mineralisation, including epithermal, stratabound, polymetallic carbonate replacement and porphyry-style. It also hosts several untested and geologically significant geochemical and geophysical anomalies, displaying similar mineralisation to the Storm/Seal copper project on Somerset Island.
- Significant Exploration Potential: Firetail has identified 13 exploration targets through a combination of geological mapping, surface sampling and geophysical surveys. Thus far, the company has collected 651 rock/chip samples and 289 soil samples and performed 118 line-kilometre IPs and 240 line-kilometre magnetic surveys. Highlights of its exploration work include:
- Widespread surface copper mineralisation coincident with IP anomalies.
- Channel Sample Results
- Cobremani: 41.6 metres at 1.12 percent copper and 22.85 g/t gold.
- Maricate: 17.6 metres at 1.95 percent copper and 29.58 g/t gold.
- Cumbre Coya: 32.85 metres at 0.61 percent copper and 209.76 g/t gold.
- Fundicion Target: Identification of a large chargeability anomaly reflecting potential sulphide mineralisation and/or alteration at depth indicative of a large porphyry body. This anomaly is roughly 2 kilometres long and 2 kilometres across at its widest point.
- Additional Drill Targets: Firetail's second IP survey revealed additional anomalies, including:
- Ichucollo: Semi-contiguous 2.5-kilometre long IP anomaly with coincident surface mineralisation and sample results of 24 metres at 1.08 percent copper, 13 metres at 1.38 percent copper and 30 metres at 0.79 percent copper. Manto-type mineralisation at the target's southern end also averages 1.45 percent copper over 18 metres.
- Huancune: A 1.5-kilometre long anomaly coincident with surface mineralisation. Multiple channel samples ranging from less than 0.5 percent copper up to 3.95 percent copper.
Charaque (Copper)
The Charaque Copper Project is located roughly 30 kilometres northeast of Firetail's Picha project, consisting of eight claims covering roughly 60 square kilometres. The region around the project is an active exploration area where multiple leading mining companies maintain significant landholdings, including Barrick Gold, Teck Resources (TSE:TECK.B) and Fresnillo (LON:FRES).
Charaque was acquired via a farm-in agreement between Firetail and Barrick Gold which entitles the latter to earn up to a 70 percent interest in the project.
Yalgoo & Dalgaranga (Lithium)
Firetail's Yalgoo and Dalgaranga lithium projects collectively span more than 1,750 square kilometres in Western Australia's highly prospective Murchison region. Located close to Geraldton Port and with easy access to all necessary infrastructure, the two projects host known lithium-caesium-tantalum (LCT) pegmatites with a strong rubidium association. Firetail recently completed a small maiden drilling program in the Johnson Well area of Yalgoo, itself the site of a historic lepidolite mine.
Rock chip sampling of surrounding areas is ongoing along with a detailed analysis of lithium prospectivity. Results and a project update are expected within four to six weeks.
Project Highlights
- Yalgoo Exploration Results: Thus far, exploration at Yalgoo has returned highly promising results, including:
- A 25-kilometre "Goldilocks Zone" at Yalgoo confirmed to host LCT pegmatites with historic results of up to 3.75 percent lithium oxide.
- Rock chip assay results of up to 0.54 percent lithium oxide and under 1 percent rubidium.
- High-grade rubidium, including 10 metres at 0.44 percent rubidium from 10 metres.
- Dalgaranga Exploration Results: Firetail has completed detailed geological mapping in the project's north, returning anomalous lithium, rubidium, caesium and tantalum values indicative of LCT pegmatites. The company plans to undertake further mapping in the area.
- Dalgaranga's Strong Prospectivity: Dalgaranga counts several advanced critical minerals projects amongst its neighbours which together confirm its prospectivity:
- King Tamba (ASX:KTA): Maiden mineral resource estimate (MRE) of 5 Mt at 0.14 percent rubidium oxide with a lithium oxide credit. Open mineralisation in all directions with a planned infill drill program to expand MRE.
- Aldoro Resources Limited (ASX:ARN): Aldoro's Niobe Tantalum-Lithium project has delivered a maiden inferred JORC MRE of 4.6 Mt at 0.17 percent rubidium oxide and 0.07 percent lithium oxide. Potential to upgrade is present thanks to mineralisation at shallow depth.
- Farm-in Agreement on Southern Yalgoo Tenement: Completion of the farm-in agreement completed with SensOre (ASX:S3N), through its joint-venture subisidiary Exploration Ventures AI Pty (EXAI) in partnership with German resource investment group Deutsche Rohstoff AG, on tenement E59/E2252, a part of the Firetail Yalgoo Lithium Project. As per the agreement, EXAI is to earn up to 80 percent of lithium rights on E59/E2252 by spending $3.5 million in two stages. Additional considerations of up to $600,000 will be fulfilled upon the delivery of maiden mineral resource estimate (MRE) and pre-feasibility study (PFS). SensOre will further provide Firetail access to its proprietary AI technology across the Yalgoo and Dalgaranga Lithium Projects. The two companies will work closely together to identify and confirm Lithium exploration targets in the region.
Mt. Slopeaway (Nickel)
Situated in Central Queensland, Firetail's Mt. Slopeaway Nickel Project contains an existing JORC 2012-compliant inferred mineral resource of 4 MT at 1 percent nickel, 0.2 percent cobalt and 1 percent manganese. Having recently been awarded project status, Firetail plans to conduct environmental and heritage surveys. Planning of an onsite drilling program is also underway.
Project Highlights
- Current Progress: In addition to drilling, heritage and environmental surveys, highlights of Firetail's work at Mt. Slopeaway include:
- Development of a geological model indicative of a manganese-cobalt-nickel layer at the base of a limonite section.
- Finalisation of a project land access agreement and completion of site earthworks.
- Phase 1 reverse circulation (RC) drilling with results exceeding historical nickel and cobalt assay data.
- A planned Phase 2 RC and diamond drilling program to upgrade the project's current resource classification.
- Extensional drilling to potentially expand the project's current inferred resource.
- Drilling Results: A drilling program completed in Q4 2022 returned up to 51 metres of thick laterite nickel-cobalt mineralisation.
Paterson (Copper)
Firetail's Paterson Copper Project spans five tenements across roughly 1,000 square kilometres in Western Australia. Heritage agreements for the project are in place and desktop studies are currently progressing, with multiple prospective target areas identified for drilling.
Project Highlights
- Shallow Intercepts: Paterson displays the shallowest known historical gold/copper intercepts in the region, with up to 6.5 percent copper, 0.99 g/t gold and copper, 0.99 g/t gold and 1,330 parts per million (ppm) molybdenum across an approximately 50-metre wide magnetite alteration zone.
- Drilling Targets: Paterson has identified the following potential targets for drilling at Paterson:
- 87WDRC2: 17 metres at 1.6 percent copper and 317 ppm molybdenum including 9 metres at 2.6 percent copper and 456 ppm molybdenum from 84 metres.
- 87WDRC6: 9 metres at 2 percent copper and 272 ppm molybdenum including 5 metres at 3.1 percent copper and 430 ppm molybdenum from 84 metres.
- 87WDRC8: 11 metres at 1.5 percent copper and 181 ppm molybdenum including 7 metres at 2.1 percent copper and 250 ppm molybdenum from 83 metres.
- 87WDRC14: 13 metres at 1.1 percent copper including 6 metres at 2 percent copper from 107 metres.
Management Team
Brett Grosvenor — Executive Chair
Brett Grosvenor is a seasoned executive with over 25 years of experience in the mining and power industry. He holds a dual tertiary qualification in engineering and a Master in Business. Prior to his current position, Grosvenor was the director of development at Primero Group, focused on the development of projects from an initial concept through to contract delivery and operation.
Grosvenor is currently a director of ASX-listed Perpetual Resources and Firebird Metals. He is a member of the project steering group for Patriot Battery Metals and also the Australian Industry Consultation Group for Battery and Critical Minerals.
Simon Lawson — Non-executive Director
Simon Lawson is a professional geoscientist with more than 16 years operational experience spanning multiple commodities and jurisdictions, and was a founding member of Northern Star Resources (ASX:NST).
He holds a Master of Science in geology from Auckland University and has more than 15 years of exploration, production and management experience in gold and base metals. He is currently the managing director of Spartan Resources (ASX:SPR) formerly Gascoyne Resources (ASX:GCY).
Cai Kecheng — Non-executive Director
Cai Kecheng is a representative of Hong Kong Jayson Mining Co. (Jayson), a substantial shareholder of Firetail. Kecheng has over eighteen years of experience in financial investment and corporate strategy. He is currently the associate president and head of investment & strategy for Jayson. Prior to that, he served as managing director at a number of private equity firms in Shanghai
George Bauk — Non-executive Director
George Bauk is an experienced director with over 17 years as a listed company director and 30 years within the resources industry including global operational and corporate roles.
He has experience managing everything from exploration to production in Australia and internationally, with expertise across a variety of commodities including rare earths, lithium, graphite, gold, uranium and copper. During his time as managing director of Northern Minerals, he led his team from a greenfields heavy rare earth explorer to one of the few global producers of high-value dysprosium outside of China.
Alongside his position as director at Firetail, he is also an executive chairman of ASX-listed Valor Resources (ASX:VAL) and Lithium Australia (ASX:LIT), as well as an executive director of PVW Resources (ASX:PVW).
Robin Wilson — Technical Director
Robin Wilson has held senior exploration positions in several exploration and mining companies, including Valor Resources, Polaris Metals, Tanganyika Gold, Troy Resources, CRA Exploration and Northern Minerals. He has also spent five years working in oil and gas exploration for Woodside Energy.
During nearly 30 years of involvement in mineral exploration, Wilson has worked on gold, nickel, REE, uranium, copper, lithium and phosphate projects throughout Australia, Africa, South America and North America and was involved in the initial discovery and outlining of several gold deposits in Australia. Between 2006 and 2021 he led the Northern Minerals exploration team that discovered the Browns Range REE deposits that have advanced through development to production of HRE carbonate.
Frank Bierlein — Technical Consultant
Dr. Frank Bierlein is a geologist with 30 years of experience as a consultant, researcher, lecturer and industry professional. He served on the Firetail board of directors from the time of its listing on ASX in April 2022 until July 2023. He remains a technical consultant to Firetail, in particular for ongoing technical work on the Mt Slopeaway Project.
Bierlein has held exploration and generative geology management positions with QMSD Mining, Qatar Mining, Afmeco Australia and Areva NC and consulted for, among others, Newmont Gold, Resolute Mining, Goldfields International, Freeport McMoRan and the International Atomic Energy Agency.
He is currently a Non-executive director of Blackstone Minerals, Impact Minerals and Variscan Mines.
Leon Bagas — Senior Exploration Geologist
Leon Bagas is an exploration geologist with forty years of industry experience. He has held senior exploration roles with multiple Australian companies and senior research positions for the University of Western Australia.
Bagas is highly experienced in developing mineralisation models using geochemistry and geochronology. Combined with his proficiency in the field, this makes Bagas an excellent candidate to assist in the development of the exploration and drilling programs at Firetail's Paterson Orogen and Yalgoon-Dalgaranga project areas.
Phillip Mackenzie — Senior Exploration Geologist
Phillip Mackenzie has worked in Central Queensland over several decades, exploring the Marlborough and Yeppoon terrain to assess and explore for nickel, cobalt, chromite, magnesite and gold related to the Princhester Serpentinite. His work included management of projects and teams to perform activities ranging from regional sampling to resource drilling. As a result of his work, several hundred drill holes targeting lateritic nickel and cobalt were assessed and an indicated resource determined for a mining lease.
Aura Increases Tiris’ Mineral Resources by 55% to 91.3 Mlbs U3O8
KEY POINTS:
- Tiris’ global Mineral Resources increased by 55% to 91.3 Mlbs U3O8, up from 58.9Mlbs U3O81 (global Mineral Resources includes Tiris East and Oum Ferkik Project areas)
- The recent 15,262m drill program delivered a very large 28.9 Mlbs U3O8 increase in the Tiris East Uranium Project’s Mineral Resources, totalling 76.6 Mlbs U3O8, delivered at a discovery cost of only US$ 0.14 per lb U3O8
- Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources increased by 35% adding 10.3 Mlbs U3O8 providing further confidence to the Front End Engineering Design (“FEED”)2 production schedule
- Drilling results and the increase in Mineral Resources both demonstrate significant future resource growth potential at Tiris from ongoing exploration activities
- The major increase in the Tiris Mineral Resources:
- Reinforces Auras’ commitment to progress Tiris towards a development decision in late 2024 or early 2025;
- Offers significant potential to materially enhance the already excellent FEED economics of NPV8 US$ 388 M and IRR 36% after tax3,4, and
- Presents real opportunities to increase the Project’s future scale beyond the current 17-year mine life at 2 Mlbs pa U3O8 production
- Additional Mineral Resources were defined from extensions to known mineralisation and exhibit the same characteristics as the current shallow free digging mineralisation that has proven exceptional beneficiation characteristics
- Mine scheduling and optimisation including a review of the Ore Reserve Estimate will now be undertaken on the enhanced Mineral Resources
Aura Energy’s Managing Director and CEO Andrew Grove said:
"The resource growth at Tiris confirms our view that this is an important uranium province with the capacity for further growth upside.
The Board believes that the very significant increase in Mineral Resources resulting from the successful drilling campaign will have a materially positive impact on Tiris’ economics and has been delivered at a very low discovery cost of just US$ 0.14 per lb.
Mineralisation was identified not only from high strength radiometric anomalies, but from areas of low strength anomalies, significantly increasing the exploration potential of the area as these low-level anomalies have been ignored in past exploration.
More opportunities remain to expand the known mineralisation within the current granted tenements. In addition, the potential for future discoveries within the 13,000km2 of new tenement applications is significant as we have only just begun exploration over this district-scale opportunity.
The increased Mineral Resource inventory will further support the funding and development of the Tiris Uranium Project in the near future.”
Tiris Global Mineral Resource Estimate reported using a 100ppm U3O8 cut-off grade, see Table 1 for details
The drilling program undertaken in 2024 has delivered a major increase to the Project’s Global Mineral Resources totalling 184 Mt at 225ppm for 91.3 Mlbs U3O8 at a 100ppm cut-off grade. This is a 55% increase in the contained U3O8 from the previous MRE, reported in 2023, of 113Mt at 236ppm for 58.9Mlbs5 U3O8.
This drilling program was aimed at assessing additional resource potential at Tiris East and delivered a 10.3 Mlbs or 35% increase of Measured and Indicated (“M&I”) Resources, which stands at 83 Mt @ 219ppm for 39.9 Mlbs U3O8, and a 76% increase in total Inferred Resource, which stands at 102 Mt @ 229ppm for 51.4 Mlbs U3O8. The detail of the upgraded resource across the project areas and the previous resources are shown in Table 1.
In April 20246, Aura completed an air core (“AC”) drilling program of 2,995 holes for 15,262 metres, a 37% increase in the total number of holes available for resource calculations, to evaluate a previously announced exploration target of between 8 Mlbs and 32 Mlbs7. The Mineral Resource increase of
32.4 Mlbs U3O8 exceeded the upper end of the exploration target range, providing strong support to Aura’s exploration methodology, and is a strong indication to the mineralisation potential that may be available in regional leases that are currently under application8.
In addition to targeting extensions to known mineralisation, and testing previously un-drilled radiometric anomalies around Tiris East, the program considered several conceptual targets over low- level radiometric anomalies. Several of these conceptual targets returned very positive results, further increasing exploration potential of the area. This is a major change from previous exploration in the area.
Mineral Resource estimates were undertaken utilising Multiple Indicator Kriging (“MIK”) estimation methodology and recoverable Mineral Resources reported using a 10x10x1m Selective Mining Unit (“SMU”). The Competent Person for the 2024 Tiris Mineral Resource Estimates is Mr Arnold van der Heyden of H&S Consulting Pty Limited (“HSC”).
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This article includes content from Aura Energy, 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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