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Flynn Gold
Investor Insights
Flynn Gold’s large, high-grade gold footprint in Tasmania provides a compelling investor proposition that leverages a continuing gold bull market.
Overview
Flynn Gold (ASX:FG1) is an Australian mineral exploration company with a portfolio of projects in Tasmania and Western Australia.
Tasmania is home to several world-renowned deposits and is rich in diverse mineral resources and operating mines. The region has established mining districts, excellent infrastructure such as rail and ports, and a skilled workforce, with a stable political and regulatory environment. These features are a big positive for the company’s projects in this region.
The company has nine 100 percent owned tenements in Northeast Tasmania which are highly prospective for gold and tin/tungsten with three major projects — Golden Ridge, Portland and Warrentinna. In Northwest Tasmania, it has the Henty zinc-lead-silver and the Firetower gold and critical minerals projects.
Flynn Gold’s exploration at its Golden Ridge project has focused on an 9-kilometre-long granodiorite-metasediment contact zone with diamond drilling programs completed at the Brilliant and Trafalgar prospects, with multiple high-grade gold vein intersections.
Apart from Tasmania, the company is building a strategic lithium and gold portfolio in Western Australia, targeting hard-rock lithium pegmatites and intrusive related gold deposits in the Pilbara region and Yilgarn Craton. Its five lithium-gold projects in Western Australia are strategically located in districts hosting large gold and lithium deposits or in regions that are relatively under-explored for lithium. Of these, three lithium-gold projects are in the Yilgarn region: Forrestania, Lake Johnston and Koolyanobbing. The remaining two are in the Pilbara region: Mt Dove and Yarrie.
Company Highlights
- Flynn Gold is an Australian mineral exploration company with a portfolio of gold and battery metals projects in Tasmania and Western Australia.
- In Tasmania, the company holds 12 tenements spread across 1,403 sq km, including three main projects in Northeast Tasmania — Golden Ridge, Warrentinna and Portland — that are prospective for gold and tin. Moreover, it has two projects in Northwest Tasmania: the Henty zinc-lead-silver project and the Firetower gold-cobalt-tungsten-copper project.
- Flynn Gold is focused on advancing exploration and drilling at three high-grade gold projects in Tasmania - Golden Ridge, Warrentinna and Firetower.
- In Western Australia, Flynn holds 20 tenements across 1,200 sq km, including lithium-gold projects in the Pilbara and Yilgarn regions. The Yilgarn region has three lithium-gold projects: Forrestania; Lake Johnston and Koolyanobbing. The Pilbara hosts two gold-lithium projects: Mt Dove and Yarrie.
- The company’s senior leadership team has a proven track record in the mining sector to capitalize on the high resource potential of its projects.
Key Projects
Northeast Tasmania
The company is focused on three high-grade gold projects in Tasmania — Golden Ridge, Warrentinna and Firetower. The under-explored Northeast Tasmania region is interpreted to be part of the Western Lachlan Orogen, a geological extension of the rich Victorian Goldfields which boast of historical gold production of over 80 million ounces (Moz). The company’s landholding across nine 100 percent owned tenements in the region has provided it with significant potential for gold and tin discoveries.
Golden Ridge Project
Targeted for intrusive related gold system (IRGS) style mineralization, the Golden Ridge project is located 75 kilometres east of Launceston in Northeast Tasmania. Previous gold exploration at the Golden Ridge Project has been very limited with shallow historical workings located over an 9-kilometre-long granodiorite-metasediment contact zone. Flynn Gold’s exploration has focused on the Brilliant and Trafalgar prospects, with diamond drilling programs completed at both locations between June 2021 and August 2023. In addition, a limited reconnaissance RC drilling program in late 2022 to test for gold mineralisation at the Link Zone confirmed the presence of shallow gold mineralisation between the Brilliant and Trafalgar prospects, highlighting the significant gold potential of the granodiorite-metasediment contact zone.
Drilling at Trafalgar consisted of 14 holes for 5,218.3 metres with multiple vein intersections grading >100 grams per ton (g/t) gold reported. The best intersections recorded in drilling at Trafalgar were 16.8 g/t gold over 12.3 metres (from 108.7 to 121 metres), including 0.7m at 152.5 g/t gold and 23.7 g/t gold over 4 metres (from 23 to 27 metres), including a high-grade zone of 0.5 metre at 169.8 g/t gold.
Soil sampling at the Golden Ridge project has been progressively undertaken since an initial sampling trial using the UltraFine+ technique was initiated in May 2022. The results of this soil sampling have highlighted the known prospect areas, as well as several new target areas at Grenadier and Big Penny, with gold anomalism not associated with historical workings.
Phase 3 drilling has commenced at the Trafalgar high-grade gold prospect confirming the continuity of multiple sub-parallel high-grade gold veins.
New high-grade gold discoveries have also been made at the Link Zone and Trafalgar North prospects.
At the Link Zone, mapping and vein sampling within the historic Golden Ridge adit has identified a significant new zone of high-grade gold mineralisation with underground grab sampling of mineralised veins in the adit recorded high-grade gold assays including 64.4 g/t gold, 37.6 g/t gold and 15.9 g/t gold.
At Trafalgar North, a high-grade gold vein zone has been discovered in trenching 250 m north of the historic Trafalgar mine with 17 out of 36 grab rock chip samples assayed over 10 g/t gold, including 99.4 g/t gold, 76.6 g/t gold and 67.1 g/t gold. Drilling at Trafalgar North commenced in July 2024.
Warrentinna Project
The Warrentinna project was acquired in 2023 from Greatland Gold plc (LSE:GGP). The project is located in northeast Tasmania and covers an area of approximately 37 sq km immediately adjacent to Flynn’s existing Lyndhurst Project. The tenement encompasses two historic goldfields, Forester and Warrentinna. Both fields produced high-grade gold deposits in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The Warrentinna goldfield is defined by numerous historic workings and largely untested prospects over a strike length of 6 kilometres.
Initial drilling by Flynn in September/October 2023 at Warrentinna consisted of two diamond drill holes, designed to test the continuity and extension of orogenic style gold mineralisation identified in historical drilling. The holes are also designed to provide stratigraphic and structural information critical to advancing understanding of the project.
Portland Project
The Portland gold project comprises three adjacent tenements: Portland, Telegraph and Cameron Tin. The project falls within the region mined historically from 1870 to 1917 and has similarities to Victorian geology with high-grade “Fosterville-style” gold mineralization confirmed. Geochemical surveys and costean sampling programs at Portland confirmed the presence of anomalous gold zones. Drilling at the Grand Flaneur prospect in 2022 and the Popes prospect in 2023 have both confirmed the presence of gold mineralization.
Northwest Tasmania
The company has two projects in the Northwest Tasmania region: the Firetower project and the Henty zinc project.
Firetower Project
The project was acquired in 2023 from Greatland Gold plc (LSE:GGP). The project spans more than 62 sq kms and represents an advanced gold plus battery metals project, which includes three notable prospects: Firetower, Firetower East and Firetower West. The Firetower project lies in the highly mineralized Mt Read volcanic sequence which hosts major polymetallic base metals and gold deposits such as Hellyer and Rosebery, copper-gold deposits such as Mt Lyell (3 million tons contained copper, 3.1 Moz contained gold), and the Henty gold mine (1.64 Moz gold @ 12.5 g/t gold).
Resampling of the historic core at Firetower has confirmed the significant potential for gold and critical minerals - cobalt, tungsten and copper. The results have made it clear this project represents an exciting polymetallic opportunity. The company completed a diamond drilling program in late 2023 to target both the gold and polymetallic minerals potential.
The drilling program was successful in testing for depth extensions of the main mineralised zone with the results demonstrating the continuity of polymetallic mineralisation and highlighting the significant potential for high-grade mineralisation to continue at depth and along strike.
Henty Zinc Project
The project is a 130 sq. km land holding under two 100 percent owned exploration licences and provides the company with a dominant position in a rich base metals field with proximity to an existing zinc/lead concentrate producer (MMG’s Rosebery mine).
The Henty Project has a significant pipeline of exploration targets with the Mariposa and Grieves Siding prospects ready for resource drilling
Western Australia
Flynn holds five gold-lithium projects in the resources-rich state of Western Australia, strategically located near large gold and lithium deposits or in regions that are relatively under-explored for lithium.
The five projects include: Mt. Dove and Yarrie in the Pilbara region; and Koolyanobbing, Forrestania and Lake Johnston in the Yilgarn.
Mt Dove Project
Located 70 kilometres south of Port Hedland in the Pilbara region, Mt Dove comprises four granted licences and one tenement application covering 190 sq. kms. The project is located near the large Hemi gold deposit (De Grey Mining, ASX:DEG) and the large lithium mines at Pilgangoora and Wodgina. The company has completed two soil sampling programs at Mt Dove, which have identified lithium and gold anomalies. The follow-up exploration, which is likely to include aircore drilling, intends to test lithium and gold anomalies identified during the soil sampling program completed in 2022 and 2023.
Yarrie Project
The Yarrie Project comprises two tenements and one application covering 385 sq. kms. Very limited historical exploration has been undertaken for lithium, gold and copper on the project. The project is highly prospective for iron ore, being close to historic mining operations and existing rail infrastructure.
Forrestania Project
The Forrestania project consists of one exploration licence and five exploration licence applications over a 320 sq km area. It is located near the Mt Holland lithium deposit (Wesfarmers (ASX:WES)/ SQM (NYSE:SQM) JV) and the high-grade nickel deposit at Flying Fox (IGO Limited (ASX:IGO)).
Results from the company’s auger soil sampling program, completed on E77/2915, outlined four high-priority lithium anomalies of up to 4,200 metres in length and 500 metres in width.
Lake Johnston Project
Lake Johnston consists of three exploration licences over a 110 sq. km area, and is located near the recent Burmeister and Jaegermeister lithium discoveries of TG Metals (ASX:TG6)) and the Medcalf, Mount Gordon, Lake Percy and Mt Day Lithium projects.
Koolyanobbing Project
Koolyanobbing comprises one exploration licence and two applications targeting gold and lithium mineralization over an 82 sq. km. area in the Marda-Diemals greenstone belt.
Parker Dome Project
In addition to the above-mentioned projects, Flynn has secured an option agreement to purchase two exploration licences at the Parker Dome project in Western Australia, which is considered highly prospective for lithium. The Parker Dome project covers 42 sq. kms. and is situated 50 kilometres north of the world-class Mount Holland lithium project in Western Australia.
Results from soil sampling have identified multiple, large-scale, high-priority lithium anomalies. The licences are fully permitted allowing for an immediate commencement of drilling.
Management Team
Clive Duncan – Non-executive Chair
Clive Duncan has over four decades of experience at big box hardware chain Bunnings, including as chief operating officer and company director. He has rich experience in corporate and business development, including mergers and acquisitions, business integrations, corporate government, strategy development and marketing. He has completed post-graduate studies at Harvard University and London Business School and is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. He is a long-term significant shareholder of Flynn Gold’s predecessor companies.
Neil Marston – Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director
Neil Marston was appointed managing director in May 2023 and has been the company CEO since August 2022. He has more than 30 years of experience in the mining and minerals exploration sector and is a proven ASX-listed company leader, with a strong governance and corporate finance background. Previously, he held several senior roles including managing director at Bryah Resources (ASX:BYH) and Horseshoe Metals (ASX:HOR).
Sam Garrett – Technical Director
Sam Garrett has more than 30 years of exploration management, project assessment and operational experience with multinational and junior mining and exploration companies, including Phelps Dodge and Cyprus Gold. He has a background in copper and gold exploration with strong exposure to iron ore, base metals and specialist commodities. He is associated with discoveries at Mt Elliott (copper), Havieron (copper-gold), and Tujuh Bukit (gold). Moreover, he co-founded Flynn Gold and its predecessor Pacific Trends Resources.
John Forwood – Non-executive Director
John Forwood is a director and chief investment officer of Lowell Resources Funds Management (LRFM). He is qualified as a lawyer and geologist and has more than 20 years of resources financing experience, including with ASX-listed Lowell Resources Trust (ASX:LRT), as a director of RMB Resources, and as manager of Telluride Investment Trust.
Significant Exploration Target for Golden Ridge, NE Tasmania
Highlights
- Maiden Exploration Target estimated for the Trafalgar, Brilliant and Link Zone prospects at FG1’s 100%-owned Golden Ridge Project
- The estimated range of potential mineralisation for the Exploration Target* is:
- 3.5 to 5.4 million tonnes grading at 3.0g/t Au to 4.0g/t Au for 449,000oz to 520,000oz of contained gold
*The size and grade of the Exploration Target is conceptual in nature and therefore is an approximation. There has been insufficient exploration to estimate a Mineral Resource and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in the estimation of a Mineral Resource. The Exploration Target has been prepared and reported in accordance with the 2012 edition of the JORC Code.
- 3.5 to 5.4 million tonnes grading at 3.0g/t Au to 4.0g/t Au for 449,000oz to 520,000oz of contained gold
- Exploration Target is open in all directions and represents less than 30% of the known strike of the 9km gold anomaly that defines the gold mineralised system at Golden Ridge
- Diamond drilling underway at Link Zone testing extensions of known gold-vein mineralisation along strike and down-dip of the historic Golden Ridge Adit
- Further drilling planned to expand the Exploration Target and convert to a Mineral Resource
- To hear our Managing Director Neil Marston discuss this Exploration Target announcement and to further engage with the Flynn Gold team head to: https://investorhub.flynngold.com.au/link/WrAB1P
The combined Exploration Target range is listed in Table 1:
Table 1 – Combined Exploration Target for Trafalgar, Brilliant and Link Zone
Flynn Gold’s Managing Director and CEO, Neil Marston states: “Following several successful drill campaigns testing the gold mineralisation at Golden Ridge, we are pleased to report an initial JORC-compliant Exploration Target for the Trafalgar, Brilliant and Link Zone prospects.
“The Exploration Target is open in all directions and encompasses less than 30% of the known gold anomalism at Golden Ridge which highlights the substantial future growth potential of this exciting project.
“This is a significant step toward our next goal of defining a maiden JORC Mineral Resource for the project. There is potential to significantly increase the tonnage and grade at Golden Ridge with in-fill and expansion drilling, which will be a major focus for the Company during 2025.”
Exploration Target
The Golden Ridge Project is located within EL17/2018 in North-east Tasmania (see Figure 7).
Flynn has calculated JORC compliant Exploration Targets for the Trafalgar, Brilliant and Link Zone prospects at Golden Ridge dated 8th November 2024. Table 2 below provides a summary of the Exploration Targets for each prospect:
Table 2 - Exploration Targets for Trafalgar, Brilliant and Link Zone prospects at the Golden Ridge project.
The combined Exploration Target only encompasses areas where Flynn has drill-tested vein mineralisation at locations shown in Figure 1 and does not include areas of anomalous soil geochemistry, which the Company considers to be highly prospective for gold mineralisation and intends to drill-test in the future.
The drill-tested Trafalgar, Brilliant and Link Zone prospects define a significant zone of gold mineralisation extending over a strike length of approximately 3km, which is contained within a broader 9km zone of gold anomalism that trends along the contact between the Golden Ridge granodiorite and the Mathinna supergroup metasediments (Figures 1 - 3).
Potential gold vein extensions at Trafalgar and Brilliant ,defined by anomalous gold-in-soil geochemistry along strike of and surrounding the Exploration Target veins, were not included in the Exploration Target calculation.
Work is currently in progress to in-fill these areas with soil sampling and trenching prior to exploration drill-testing.
Click here for the full ASX Release
This article includes content from Flynn Gold, 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.
Drilling Underway at Link Zone, Golden Ridge, NE Tasmania
Highlights
- First ever diamond drilling commenced at the Link Zone gold prospect within the Golden Ridge Project in NE Tasmania, where the Company is targeting large-scale IRGS type gold mineralisation
- Two diamond drill holes planned, totalling 400m, testing for extensions to high-grade gold veins sampled in the historical Golden Ridge Adit between the Brilliant and Trafalgar prospects
- Previously reported underground sampling in the adit recorded high- grade gold assays including 64.4g/t Au, 37.6g/t Au and 15.9g/t Au
- Flynn Gold to receive up to $70,000 under the Tasmanian Government’s Exploration Drilling Grant Initiative (EDGI) to co-fund this drilling program
- For further information or to post questions go to the Flynn Gold Investor Hub at https://investorhub.flynngold.com.au/link/lyazve
This new drilling program will test beneath the historical Golden Ridge Adit, where recent underground sampling of veins recorded results of up to 64.4g/t gold1. The adit is located in the Link Zone prospect area, situated between the Brilliant and Trafalgar prospects at Golden Ridge.
Flynn Gold Managing Director and CEO, Neil Marston commented:
“We are delighted to have commenced our latest drilling program at the Golden Ridge Project in north-east Tasmania.
“This drilling program, which is co-funded under the State Government’s Exploration Drilling Grant Initiative, will see Flynn Gold drilling at the Link Zone beneath the historic Golden Ridge adit, where sampling of mineralised veins earlier this year yielded grades of up to 64 g/t gold.
“This diamond drill program is the first to test this adit, which lies between the historic Brilliant and Trafalgar mines – where we have successfully focused our drilling to date.”
Golden Ridge – Project Background
The Company’s flagship Golden Ridge Project is situated within EL17/2018 in North-east Tasmania (see Figure 1).
Figure 1 – Location of Flynn Gold tenements in NE Tasmania.
Exploration by the Company at Golden Ridge has identified extensive intrusive-related type gold mineralisation (IRGS) extending over a 9km-long zone along the southern contact margin of the Golden Ridge Granodiorite and enclosing meta-sediments (see Figure 2).
The Company’s ongoing work at Golden Ridge is continuing to identify and test multiple exploration targets, confirming the potential for a large-scale gold discovery.
Click here for the full ASX Release
This article includes content from Flynn Gold, 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.
September 2024 Quarterly Activities Report and Appendix 5B
Highlights
Exploration – Golden Ridge Project, NE Tasmania
- Multiple gold-bearing quartz veins successfully intercepted in diamond drilling at the new Trafalgar North vein zone discovery. Two drill holes completed at Trafalgar North, with best mineralised intercepts including:
TFDD019
- 4.8m @ 4.0g/t Au from 165.6m; including:
- 0.4m @ 17.9g/t Au from 166.9m, and
- 0.4m @ 24.0g/t Au from 170.0m
- 0.3m @ 25.1g/t Au from 440.5m
TFDD020
- 3.05m @ 4.9g/t Au from 53.1m including
- 0.35m @ 40.0g/t Au
- 2.7m @ 4.1g/t Au from 115.4m, including
- 0.35m @ 26.6g/t Au
- Gold mineralisation at Trafalgar North confirmed from surface to over 150m depth and open in all directions
- New in-situ gold vein system discovered during surface sampling and trenching programs at the Grenadier Prospect
- Flynn Gold to receive up to $140,000 to co-fund drilling under the Tasmanian Government’s Exploration Drilling Grant Initiative (EDGI)
Exploration – Other Projects, NE Tasmania
- New Exploration Licence Application submitted over 40km2 of highly prospective exploration tenure surrounding the historic Beaconsfield Gold Mine
- Exploration landholding in NE Tasmania reduced by 457km2 (30%) to approximately 1,020km2, reducing holding costs significantly
Corporate
- The Company’s cash position at 30 September 2024 was $1.83 million
- An At-The-Market Subscription Agreement signed with Dolphin Corporate Investments, providing Flynn with up to $2,000,000 of standby equity capital over the next three years
JOIN FLYNN GOLD’S INTERACTIVE INVESTOR HUB
to receive announcements and updates and to interact with the Company by asking questions or making comments which our team will respond to where possible
- For further information or to post questions go to the Flynn Gold Investor Hub at https://investorhub.flynngold.com.au/link/qy1Aly
Flynn is an Australian mineral exploration company with a portfolio of 100% owned exploration projects in Tasmania and Western Australia (see Figure 1).
The Company has eight 100% owned tenements in north-east Tasmania which are highly prospective for gold as well as tin/tungsten. The Company also holds the Henty zinc-lead-silver project on Tasmania’s mineral-rich west coast and the Firetower gold and battery metals project located in north-western Tasmania.
Flynn has also established a portfolio of gold-lithium exploration assets in the Pilbara and Yilgarn regions of Western Australia. In addition, Flynn holds a binding Option Agreement to acquire two exploration licences at Parker Dome (Forrestania), Western Australia.
Click here for the full ASX Release
This article includes content from Flynn Gold, 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.
Gold Price 2024 Year-End Review
Read on for more on what factors moved the gold price in Q4, followed by a look back at the entire year.
Gold price in Q4
The gold price began Q4 at US$2,660.30, but quickly saw a retraction to US$2,608.40 on October 9. However, the decline didn't last, and gold again rose, setting a new record high of US$2,785.40 on October 30.
The surge upward was fueled by a weaker-than-expected September US consumer price index report, which showed annual inflation of 2.4 percent and monthly inflation of 0.2 percent. These numbers were higher than analysts' forecasts of 2.3 and 0.1 percent, raising expectations that the Fed would cut rates at its November meeting.
Gold was in retreat to start November, dropping to US$2,664 on November 6 after Trump’s victory. The next day, it briefly surged above the US$2,700 mark as the Fed cut interest rates by 25 basis points on November 7.
By November 15, the price of gold had fallen to its quarterly low of US$2,562.50.
The end of the month saw gold leap to US$2,715.80 on November 22. Following this peak, gold entered December below the US$2,700 mark, closing at US$2,660.50 on December 9.
Gold price, Q4 2024.
Chart via Trading Economics.
Geopolitical impacts have been important to gold in Q4.
In addition to Trump's re-election, which has caused turmoil in various forms, on November 17 the US authorized Ukraine to use ATACMS long-range missiles to attack targets deeper into Russian territory. The UK and France mirrored this move, giving Ukraine the green light to use long-range missiles in the ongoing conflict.
Tensions continued to ratchet up in the days following as Russia announced it was lowering the threshold for nuclear retaliation to include conventional attacks from countries backed by nuclear nations. In a demonstration of its capabilities, Russia launched an intermediate-range ballistic missile for the first time on November 21. While the missile appeared only to carry inert warheads, it is capable of delivering both conventional and nuclear armaments.
The threat of a significant escalation has bolstered gold’s appeal as a safe-haven asset and store of value.
How did gold perform for the rest of the year?
Gold price in Q1
Gold set its first record price of the year at US$2,251.37 on March 31.
Central bank buying, notably China's purchase of 22 metric tons of gold in the first two months of the year, supported the price. Turkey, Kazakhstan and India also significantly increased their holdings at the start of the year.
Further momentum came from Chinese wholesale demand, which jumped to 271 metric tons in January, the strongest ever recorded. Investors were turning to the yellow metal as a defense against falling real estate and stock prices. At that time, the country's stocks had lost nearly US$5 trillion in value over the past three years.
Gold price, Q1 2024.
Chart via Trading Economics.
“As central banks continue to be significant buyers and geopolitical risks and global uncertainties drive investors towards the perceived safety of gold, the current environment underscores gold’s importance as a strategic asset for portfolio diversification and risk mitigation. Therefore, while there may have been a perception of western disinterest in gold, recent developments indicate a sustained and broad-based demand for the precious metal,” Joe Cavatoni, market strategist, Americas, told the Investing News Network (INN) in an email at the time.
Gold price in Q2
The gold price saw increasing momentum in Q2, setting a new all-time of US$2,450.05 on May 20.
Gains through the quarter were influenced by strong central bank demand. Investor sentiment toward the yellow metal also shifted, with outflows from western exchange-traded funds starting to slow.
Although European funds still saw significant declines, it wasn’t all bad news — the US-based SPDR Gold Shares (NYSE:GLD), the Sprott Physical Gold Trust (NYSE:PHYS), Ireland’s Royal Mint Responsibly Sourced Physical Gold ETC (LSE:RMAU) and Switzerland’s UBS ETF Gold (SWX:AUUSI) all saw increases.
Gold price, Q2 2024.
Chart via Trading Economics.
In a May interview with INN, Jeff Clark, editor of Paydirt Prospector, noted several other market dynamics that caused the price of gold to rise dramatically. He said the real starting point for the precious metal's gains was the end of February, when the Fed indicated it was expecting three or four rate cuts in 2024.
“All of a sudden, gold was off to the races. It jumped so high that suddenly, you had some short covering that needed to happen then as well. So you had short covering, which means they’re buying. And then you had momentum chasers and traders jumping all in. That was a pretty good spike ... that's what kind of started all of this,” he said.
Gold price in Q3
Gold set another record price during the third quarter, reaching US$2,672.51 on September 26.
The high came just a week after the conclusion of the Fed's September meeting, when it announced a jumbo 50 basis point cut to the federal funds rate. While the People’s Bank of China maintained its pause on gold purchases in the third quarter, it granted several regional banks new import quotas in August.
Gold price, Q3 2024.
Chart via Trading Economics.
David Barrett, CEO of the UK division of global brokerage firm EBC Financial Group, suggested at the time that Fed rate cuts were less of a factor for gold than central bank buying. “I still see the global central bank buying as the main driver — as it has been over the last 15 years. This demand removes supply from the market. They are the ultimate buy-and-hold participants and have been buying massive amounts,” he told INN via email.
The quarter also saw significant merger and acquisition activity, with South Africa-based Gold Fields (NYSE:GFI,JSE:GFI) announcing plans to acquire Canada’s Osisko Mining (TSX:OSK) for C$2.16 billion, and South African gold miner AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) agreeing to purchase UK-based Centamin (TSX:CEE,LSE:CEY) for US$2.5 billion.
Investor takeaway
Overall, uncertainty has been a key driver for gold in 2024.
Central banks have continued to increase their physical holdings against an increasingly polarized political landscape. The most recent data from the World Gold Council shows that they added 186 metric tons of gold to their coffers during the third quarter, with the National Bank of Poland leading the way with 42 metric tons.
The World Gold Council notes that on a rolling four-quarter basis, central bank buying has slowed to 909 metric tons — that's compared to 1,215 metric tons one year ago.
Investors also began returning to the precious metal throughout 2024 as geopolitical tensions and fragile economies pushed them toward gold as a safe haven to help shield their portfolios from volatility.
With the world’s largest economy set to welcome Trump back to the White House in 2025, there are many unknowns. His economic policies could cause inflation to begin creeping up. In contrast, his foreign policies could create new ripples through global trade and financial markets given that he campaigned on more protectionist policies.
Don't forget to follow us @INN_Resource for real-time updates!
Securities Disclosure: I, Dean Belder, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
Editorial Disclosure: The Investing News Network does not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the information reported in the interviews it conducts. The opinions expressed in these interviews do not reflect the opinions of the Investing News Network and do not constitute investment advice. All readers are encouraged to perform their own due diligence.
Brightstar Resources
Investor Insight
A gold-focused emerging gold producer with a clear pathway to production growth, Brightstar Resources presents a compelling investment case driven by its mining and development hubs strategy and a district-scale resource opportunity.
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 1,200 square kilometers in the Sandstone Greenstone Belt, 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 100 percent of the shares and options 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.
In August 2024, Brightstar entered into a scheme implementation deed to acquire 100 percent of Alto Metals (ASX:AME), 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.
Brightstar also completed the acquisition of the gold rights at the Montague East gold project (MEGP) from Gateway Mining Limited (ASX:GML). The project is located 70 km from the Sandstone gold project. The acquisition adds a further 9.6 Mt @ 1.6 g/t gold for 0.5 Moz gold to Brightstar’s JORC Mineral Resource Estimate, giving the company a total mineral endowment of 38.3 Mt @ 1.6 g/t gold for 2.0 Moz gold.
The acquisition of the MGEP from Gateway Mining and 100 percent of Alto’s shares creates a third district-scale resource base for the company called the Sandstone Hub. Upon consolidation of the Laverton, Menzies and Sandstone hubs, Brightstar’s mineral resources would reach 3 Moz at 1.5g/t gold.
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, Laverton and Sandstone hubs.
Company Highlights
- Brightstar Resources is an ASX-listed mining and development company with more than 3 million ounces of gold resources and an on-site processing infrastructure across its project locations in Laverton, Menzies and Sandstone in Western Australia.
- 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 @ 1.6 g/t gold for 511 koz gold and the Menzies gold project has 13.8 Mt @ 1.3g/t gold for 595 koz 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.
- 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.
- 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 has recently completed the acquisition of the gold rights at the Montague East gold project (MEGP) from Gateway Mining Limited (ASX:GML), and has entered into an agreement to acquire Alto Metals (ASX:AME) further creating the company’s third district-scale resource base known as the Sandstone Hub.
- Brightstar plans to continue generating shareholder value through a combination of development and strategic acquisitions along with some exploration.
Key Projects
Laverton Hub
Brightstar’s Laverton hub is comprised of the Cork Tree Well, Beta and Alpha project areas with the addition of the Second Fortune gold mine and the Jasper Hills projects.
Highlights:
- Cork Tree Well, Alpha and Beta have current total JORC mineral resource estimate of 9.7 Mt @ 1.6 g/t gold for 511 koz (52 percent measured and indicated category). All mineral resources are on granted mining leases
- Cork Tree Well (6.4 Mt at 1.4 g/t gold for 303 koz gold)
- Alpha (1.4 Mt at 2.3 g/t gold for 106 koz gold)
- Beta (1.9 Mt at 1.7 g/t gold for 102 koz gold)
- Main project area Cork Tree Well is open at depth and along strike with recent drilling results of 34.4 meters at 7.94 g/t gold from 43.5 meters (CTWMET004) and 27.6 meters at 17.8 g/t gold from 51 m (CTWMET003)
- Second Fortune has a mineral resource estimate head grade of ~11g/t gold with an average ore body width of ~0.6 meters.
- Jasper Hills is located 50 km from Brightstar’s existing processing facility along a wholly-owned private haul road, allowing unimpeded, direct access to both projects
- Permitted, previously mined and production-ready
- Last mined by current owners in 2020 with 23,000 oz gold mined
- Scoping Study outcomes include:
- Pre-production capex of $12 million required (maximum capital drawdown)
- Open pit mine at Lord Byron and underground mine at Fish
- Production of 141 koz over four years (35 koz per annum)
- LOM EBITDA of $135 million (@ AU$3,000/oz)
Menzies Hub
The Menzies Hub comprises a tenement holding of a contiguous land package of granted mining leases over a strike length of more than 20 km. The majority of deposits hosted along the Menzies Shear Zone are located adjacent to Goldfields Highway in Menzies (130km north of Kalgoorlie).
Highlights:
- Total Current Resource: 13.7 Mt at 1.3 g/t gold for 595 koz gold (36 percent measured and indicated)
- September 2023 scoping study showed the simultaneous development of open pit mining at Lady Shenton system and underground mining at Yunndaga:
- 1.9 Mt @ 1.63 g/t Au (100 koz) in open pit mining at Lady Shenton
- 650 kt @ 2.91 g/t (60 koz) in underground mining at Yunndaga
- Low capex of $22 million
- Significant opportunities to find virgin discoveries and brownfields mineral resource growth:
Sandstone Hub
The consolidated Sandstone project is over 100 km from existing third-party milling operations in the Murchison. This third processing hub boasts Alto’s Sandstone project with a mineral resource of 1.05 Moz at 1.4 g/t gold and Gateway’s Montague gold project with a mineral resource of 0.5 Moz @ 1.6 g/t gold.
Brightstar aims to fast-track the development timetable through:
- A focused, multi-rig infill drill out to take the inferred mineralisation into measured and indicated status to underpin mining studies and project advancement
- The application of Brightstar’s dedicated in-house geological and mining engineering team to retain crucial project IP and fast-tracked mining studies;
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
- A 60-person accommodation camp
- An airstrip at the 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
Management Team
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.
Matthew Bowles – Non-executive Director
Matthew Bowles is a senior corporate finance executive with extensive public corporate advisory, private equity and capital markets experience in the resources sector. Bowles has successfully negotiated domestic and cross border corporate funding, joint venture and M&A transactions for a number of ASX listed companies in Africa, the Americas and Australia. He was previously chief development officer for a West African focused ASX listed company. He commenced his career with Rio Tinto, working in corporate and commercial roles for nine years, before moving to London to work in banking and finance. Since his return to Australia, Bowles has held senior roles with global advisory firms, focusing on the resources sector. Bowles holds a Bachelor of Business, is a member of CPA Australia and a Fellow of the Financial Services Institute of Australia.
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).
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