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Golden Mile Resources Ltd (“Golden Mile”; “the Company”; ASX: “G88”) is pleased to announce the portable X-Ray Fluorescent (pXRF) results from the preliminary field mapping at the Ford Prospect, contained within the Pearl Copper Project (“the Project”). The polymetallic Ford Mine mineralisation is exposed at the surface within an eight-metre wide fault zone. Within this zone is visible copper mineralisation within a broader, intensely iron oxide alteration zone.
VISIBLE COPPER MINERALISATION AT FORD PROSPECT
- Mapping revealed an intensely altered eight-meter-wide fault zone with visible malachite (hydrated copper carbonate) mineralization.
- Significant pXRF Results highlight the polymetallic potential including:
- Copper values up to 13.4%
- Lead values up to 1.29%
- Zinc values up to 7.22%
Figure 1: Ford fault structure. Intense iron and clay alteration with pXRF results. Approximately 528,613mE, and 3618522mN (UTM Zone12, NAD83)
The alteration zone was mapped and supported by a total of ten pXRF readings (Figure 1). Copper (Cu) ranged from 0.02% up to 13.4%, lead (Pb) ranged from 0.08% to 1.3%, and zinc (Zn) ranged from 0.04% to 7.2%.
Golden Mile’s Managing Director Damon Dormer commented: “These exceptional preliminary results underscore the high-grade potential and polymetallic nature of the Ford Prospect. The pXRF readings are consistent with historical data, further strengthening our confidence in the project’s exploration potential. We look forward to advancing Ford as a key drill target alongside the Odyssey Prospect”
These pXRF results were attained by Golden Mile personnel utilising an Olympus Vanta Instrument pXRF, Model VMR-CCC-G3-A. All readings were 30 second, three beam spot readings directly on outcropping, in situ material. A total of 10 readings were taken in close proximity to each other across the mineralised zone.
Table 1: Ford Prospect In-field pXRF readings from outcrop (coordinates in UTM Zone 12 (NAD83))
Cautionary Statement on pXRF. pXRF (Portable X-Ray Fluorescence) results that are announced in this report are from uncrushed rock-chip samples that are preliminary only. The use of pXRF is an indication only, of the order of magnitude of further rock chip assay results. This first pass assessment was for due diligence purposes only, during the exclusivity period of the Binding Term Sheet. It should be noted that these values are not formal assays and are effectively estimates of grade only and are thus used only as a guide for follow-up, detailed and systematic mapping and sampling programs.
These results are highly encouraging and indicate the presence of significant grades of copper, lead, and zinc. This area will undergo detailed lithological and structural mapping, followed by systematic rock-chip and channel sampling. These steps will precede an upcoming drilling program aimed at unlocking the full potential of the Ford Prospect.
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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Golden Mile Resources
Investor Insight
Golden Mile Resources is a project development and mineral exploration company, with a focus on growing the company with a multi asset and multi commodity strategy through advancing core projects, acquisition of high-quality assets, and tactical alliances with joint venture partners. Golden Mile’s value proposition is driven by a highly experienced leadership team with proven expertise across the resources sector from exploration to development and production.
Overview
Golden Mile Resources (ASX:G88) is a Western Australia-based resource company with critical metals exploration projects in Western Australia and Arizona, USA. The company’s near-term focus is on advancing its newly acquired Pearl copper project in Arizona, located in the world-class Laramide Porphyry Belt. The company’s longer term focus includes the advancement of the Quicksilver nickel-cobalt project, located in Western Australia, which has an indicated and inferred resource of 26.3 Mt @ 0.64 percent nickel and 0.04 percent cobalt.
Golden Mile is also focused on strategic alliances with joint venture partners to maintain exposure without expense on its other assets, such as its Leonora JV (Patronus Resources earning up to 80 percent) project and Gidgee JV (Gateway earning up to 80 percent). Concurrently, the company’s leadership team will consider potential divestment or JVs of its non-core assets, and also aims to build up a new portfolio of high-quality multi-element assets, from discovery to development.
Overall, the company is focused on creating shareholder value, supported by a management team and board with a proven track record of exploration, development and production success. Led by managing director Damon Dormer, a mining engineer with over 26 years of experience, Golden Mile is well positioned to execute its strategy moving forward.
Company Highlights
- Golden Mile Resources has a diversified portfolio of both advanced projects and exploration assets in tier 1 jurisdictions of Australia and the US.
- The recently acquired Pearl copper project in Arizona is located in the renowned Laramide Porphyry Belt.
- The Quicksilver nickel-cobalt project near Perth has an indicated and inferred mineral resource of 26.3 Mt @ 0.64 percent nickel and 0.04 percent cobalt.
- Golden Mile is backed by a highly experienced management team with proven success in project engineering and development from exploration to production across multiple continents.
Key Projects
Pearl Copper Project
Golden Mile secured the Pearl copper project in August 2024. Located in Arizona, the asset hosts more than 50 artisanal copper workings and shares similar geological characteristics to the San Manuel-Kalamazoo and Pinto Valley porphyry copper mines. The project exhibits widespread surface alteration highlighted by rock chip samples of 7.3 percent copper, 0.43 percent molybdenum, 19.9 percent lead, 4.9 percent zinc and 360 g/t silver.
The most significant working within the project area are the Pearl and Ford mines. The Pearl mine is located on the north-western portion of the Pearl project within the Odyssey prospect. It produced up to 60,000 tons of ore containing copper oxide and sulphide, lead, silver and gold from largely artisanal workings from 1915 to 1941 (Force, 1997).
Historical records from the Ford mine, located within the Pearl copper project mine claims, have reported lead assays from 5.7 percent to 31.3 percent, copper assays from 5.8 percent to 10.6 percent and that gold increases in the deeper levels from 0.01 oz to 0.54 oz (16.7g/t) (Baird, 1942).
Significant upside from organic exploration exists given Pearl’s geographic location, situated in the heart of the world-class Laramide Porphyry Copper Belt and 1 km of the San Manuel mine (historic production of 4.7 Mt) that has been operating for 44 years.
A tier 1 mining jurisdiction, Arizona represents approximately 70 percent of domestic US copper production. The Pearl project was historically mined from 1915 to 1941.
Quicksilver Nickel-Cobalt Project
The Quicksilver nickel-cobalt project is located approximately 280 km southeast of Perth in Western Australia. The project comprises an area of about 50 sq km that boasts excellent local infrastructure, including easy access to a grid power, sealed roads and a railway line to key ports.
In 2018, Golden Mile announced an indicated and inferred maiden resource estimate of 26.3 Mt @ 0.64 percent nickel and 0.04 percent cobalt. Metallurgical testwork completed in 2023 significantly improved understanding of the unique saprolitic mineralisation at the project and a potential pathway to production.
The company has also identified a customized multi-products flowsheet to produce nickel-cobalt and iron-nickel-cobalt-chromium concentrates, as well as industrial products. The process would require low energy using the physical attributes of the free digging ore.
Board and Management Team
Damon Dormer – Managing Director
A mining engineer with over 26 years of experience, including 15 years in mine management and executive roles, Dormer has worked in studies, projects, operations and innovation across Australia, USA, Papua New Guinea and Africa. Dormer has had considerable success turning around mining projects and studies resulting in the construction of multiple mines in Africa, as well as significant operational success in Australia. He has also been heavily involved in mining innovation and has personally developed techniques and strategies for the mining industry. Dormer holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Mining from the Western Australian School of Mines and has held numerous statutory appointments across the African and Australasian regions.
Francesco Cannavo – Non-executive Director
Francesco Cannavo is an experienced public company director with significant business and investment experience working with companies operating across various industries, including in particular mining exploration companies. Cannavo has been instrumental in assisting several listed and unlisted companies achieve their growth strategies through the raising of investment capital and the acquisition of assets. He is currently a non-executive director of Western Mines Group (ASX:WMG) and Stemcell United (ASX:SCU).
Grant Button – Non-executive Chairman
Grant Button is a qualified accountant and has significant commercial management and transactional experience. He has over 30 years of experience at a senior management level in the resource industry. He has acted as a managing director, executive director, finance director, CFO and company secretary for a range of publicly listed companies. Most recently, Button has been managing director of Magnum Mining & Exploration (ASX:MGU), and was previously the position executive director of Sylvania Platinum.
Michele Alessandro Bina – Non-executive Director
Michele Alessandro Bina is a former investment banker based in Hong Kong and is an adviser to Beijing Gage, the parent company of Gage Resource Development (Gage). Bina joins the existing board of Alice Queen as a non-executive director as the nominee of Beijing Gage Capital Management (Beijing Gage).
Justyn Stedwell - Company Secretary
Justyn Stedwell has over 17 years of experience as a company secretary of ASX listed companies and has also served as a non-executive director on several ASX listed company Boards. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Monash University, a graduate diploma in accounting from Deakin University and a graduate diploma in applied corporate governance from the Governance Institute of Australia.
Martin Dormer – Exploration Manager
Martin Dormer is an exploration geologist with over 27 years’ experience in mineral exploration and resource development, from greenfields through to feasibility. His experience spans multiple commodities including precious, base metal, and industrial metals across a wide range of geological settings and jurisdictions. Dormer has worked in multiple locations around the globe, including Australia, Asia, and Africa in senior management positions in the private and public sectors. He has also operated a private geological consultancy, Unearthed Elements, for the past 14 years. Dormer is a graduate of the WA School of Mines in Mineral Exploration and Mining Geology and is a member of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists and the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy.
Golden Mile Confirms Joint Venture-Acquisition Over Highly Prospective Copper Project in Arizona, USA
HIGHLIGHTS
- Golden Mile has entered into a joint venture-acquisition agreement with Outcrop Silver & Gold Corporation (“Outcrop”) for the Pearl Copper Project located in Arizona, United States.
- Initial field reconnaissance has delineated multiple targets within the project area. This highlights the near-term drill, and company making potential, of the Odyssey and Ford Prospects.
- At Odyssey, which hosts the historic artisanal Pearl (Cu-Zn-Ag-Au) Mine, multiple vein targets up to five metres wide extend continuously for approximately 800m and are evident at the surface.
- At Ford, limited historic data indicates a shaft was developed to a depth of around 70 metres. Polymetallic Cu-Pb-Ag-Au-Zn vein type mineralisation, up to five metres wide, was mined before excess water halted operations in circa 1942.
- Due Diligence indicates the Pearl Copper Project not only hosts near-term vein targets but also shows widespread surface alteration, suggesting the presence of intrusive disseminated mineralisation, making it a significant Cu-porphyry target.
- Golden Mile and Outcrop have agreed on terms for Golden Mile to acquire up to a 100% ownership of the Pearl Copper Project through a staged, earn in and dilution, investment of up to $A 12 million over eight years along with up to a 2% net smelter royalty.
Photo 1: Odyssey Prospect rock chip - Photo 2: Ford Prospect Alteration
Overview
A recently completed field trip, undertaken as part of the due diligence, has confirmed the very high prospectivity of the project area for company-making copper resources.
Figure 1: Significant Copper Mines and Projects in Arizona USA
This field examination, undertaken in late July, and while only preliminary in nature, has delineated the Odyssey and the Ford prospects within the Pearl project area as immediate highly prospective, exploration drill targets.
At Odyssey, a sub outcropping multiple vein copper target with surface mineralised widths up to five metres and a strike length of around 800 metres has been mapped. This prospect hosts the historic largely artisanal Pearl working’s where historical records indicate around 60,000 of ore containing copper oxide and sulphide, lead, silver, and gold was produced from 1915 to 1941 (Force, 1997).
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.
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).
Mount Hope Mining: Advancing a Copper, Gold-rich Asset in the Cobar Basin of New South Wales
Mount Hope Mining (ASX:MHM) is a copper and gold exploration company based in Australia. The company's flagship Mount Hope project in the prolific Cobar Basin is comprised of four tenements spanning 175 sq km. Mount Hope Mining's acquisition of Fisher Resources has provided it with full control over the project.
The Cobar Basin, a region with a longstanding history of copper and gold mining dating back to the 1870s, has seen a flurry of significant mining activities in recent years. In August 2024, Polymetals Resources (ASX:POL) finalized the acquisition of the Endeavor Mine, located 40 kilometers north of Cobar, which boasts JORC-compliant resources of 16.3 million tonnes grading 8 percent zinc, 4.5 percent lead, and 84 grams per ton (g/t) silver. In 2023, Metals Acquisition (NYSE:MTAL) successfully acquired the CSA copper mine from Glencore, further signalling the growing investment attractiveness of the Cobar Basin as a major hub for copper production.
The Mount Hope project has four granted exploration tenements: EL6837, EL8058, EL8290 and EL8654. The region is historically significant for its rich copper and gold deposits and has contributed substantially to Australia’s mining output since the 1870s. Despite its long-standing mining heritage, the southern Cobar Basin remains underexplored, presenting a unique opportunity for Mount Hope Mining to utilize modern exploration techniques to uncover untapped resources.
Company Highlights
- Mount Hope Mining is a copper and gold exploration company based in Australia
- The company holds 100 percent ownership of the Mount Hope project in the prolific Cobar Basin, comprising four tenements spanning 175 sq km
- The Cobar Basin has long history of copper and gold mining dating back to the 1870s, and recently experiencing increased M&A activity.
- Mount Hope has identified key zones of interest within the project and will be the target for near-term phased exploration
- The company’s experienced and dynamic board and management team, bring a wealth of expertise in mineral exploration, corporate governance, and strategic planning.
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