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![Impact Minerals](https://investingnews.com/media-library/impact-minerals.png?id=33324351&width=1200&height=800)
September 2023 Quarterly Report
Impact Minerals Limited (ASX:IPT) is pleased to provide its Quarterly Activities Report for the period ending 30 September 2023.
HIGHLIGHTS
1. Lake Hope, WA (IPT 80%)
- Heritage survey completed with the Ngadju Native Title group with clearance received for ground-disturbing activities over the entire Lake Hope deposit and nearby access tracks.
- The heritage clearance significantly de-risks the Lake Hope project and is a critical component of the work required to lodge a Mining Lease Application planned for the December Quarter.
- A Scoping Study for the project is being finalised, with metallurgical test work and other studies for the Pre-Feasibility Study underway.
2. Broken Hill, WA (IPT 100%)
- Broken Hill update: Xplor programme completed. Data synthesis and interpretation in progress of all data collected during Xplor.
3. Arkun-Beau, WA (IPT 100%)
- Five large nickel-copper-platinum group-metal (Ni-Cu-PGM) soil geochemistry anomalies, each covering several square kilometres, were identified in the northern portion of the Arkun project.
- The soil anomalies coincide with magnetic and gravity geophysical anomalies that may represent mafic and ultramafic intrusions.
- Field checking confirms that mafic and ultramafic rocks occur within some anomalies and are priority targets for magmatic Ni-Cu-PGM mineralisation.
- A further 1,000 soil samples have been recently collected and submitted to the laboratory, with results due in the December Quarter.
- Twenty moderate to strong electromagnetic (EM) conductors were identified in 400 m line-spaced airborne electromagnetic (“AEM”) survey data collected by the XCalibur HELITEM time-domain system.
- Priority EM anomalies coincide with the magnetic and gravity anomalies and Ni Cu PGM-in-soil anomalies.
- Many other anomalies have yet to be soil sampled, and this work is a priority for the next few Quarters with a view to a maiden drill programme in 2024.
4. Commonwealth Project (IPT 100%)
- Revised Terms agreed for the Sale of a 75% Interest in the Commonwealth Project, NSW
5. Corporate
- Cash at September 30th 2023, was $3.1million
- An Extraordinary General Meeting was held on 1 August 2023 to ratify the previous issue of shares and options and to obtain approval for consideration regarding the Lake Hope Project.
Click here for the full ASX Release
This article includes content from Impact 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.
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Impact Minerals Limited
Overview
Impact Minerals (ASX:IPT) is an exploration and development mining company focused on discovering and developing new resource projects within Australia. Lake Hope, a recent transformational acquisition by the company and its current flagship asset, is a high-purity alumina (HPA) project in Impact’s home territory of Western Australia, a tier-one jurisdiction.
This advanced-stage project allows the company to fast-track the asset toward development, firmly establishing the company on the road to production and increasing shareholder value.
HPA is a high-value product with various uses in several industries that are key to the transition to a low-carbon world. Its main uses are in LED lighting, micro-LED screens, and ceramic-coated separators in lithium-ion batteries. Both these markets are forecast to grow dramatically over the next decade, and a looming supply shortage is predicted for 2026.
HPA is also necessary for producing synthetic sapphire and scratch-resistant glass. With these ever-widening applications for HPA, demand for this resource is expected to grow from US$3.18 billion to US$12.21 billion by 2030 with a compounded annual growth rate of about 20 percent.
Lake Hope is the company’s current focus as it moves towards production, and where a very shallow, high-grade resource of HPA precursor material has been identified in the top two meters of a dry salt lake. The deposit has unique physical and chemical properties that will allow for inexpensive digging and mining, with transportation to a processing facility off-site in an established industrial area. This will accelerate the approvals processes required to get into production.
Impact is currently focused on lodging a mining lease application. The company aims to bring Lake Hope, which contains almost 1 million tons of potential HPA, into production when the forecast average price for 4N HPA (99.99 percent AL203) and related products is about US$20,000 per ton. The ‘4N’ designation indicates the purity grade, making it suitable for high-tech end uses.
Outstanding economics from the latest scoping study released by the company shows Lake Hope’s potential to be the lowest-cost producer of HPA globally by up to 50 percent.
In June 2023, Impact announced a maiden mineral resource estimate (MRE) of 3.5 million tons at 25.1 percent alumina (Al2O3) for a contained 880,000 tons of alumina. The company also received heritage clearances for the entire Lake Hope deposit further de-risking the project and providing another critical component in the company’s application for a mining lease.
Impact completed a bulk sampling and test pits program at the Lake Hope project in December 2023. The company recently announced a key milestone having produced HPA greater than 99.99 percent (4N) purity from the metallurgical processing of lake clays acquired from Lake Hope.
In February 2024, a new proprietary metallurgical process for producing HPA from the lake clays was identified. Impact produced 99.99 percent (4N) Al2O3 from a low-temperature leach (LTL) process. The LTL process may lower the capital and operating costs to produce HPA compared to the sulphate process which underpinned the recent scoping study. The LTL process will be included in the ongoing pre-feasibility study in parallel with the sulphate process at marginal extra cost to determine the best processing route to HPA. The PFS is due to be completed on schedule in late 2024.
A comparison of the LTL process and the sulphate process
The company received a significant research and development refund of $753,000 from its exploration activities completed in the financial year ending June 30th, 2022. The company is well funded to finance the pre-feasibility study at the Lake Hope High Purity Alumina project and exploration activities at the Arkun battery minerals project.
Impact Minerals was also one of the inaugural cohort of seven companies selected to be part of the prestigious BHP Xplor program. BHP Xplor, an accelerator program introduced by BHP in August 2022, is designed to help provide participants with the opportunity to accelerate their growth and the potential to establish a long-term partnership with BHP and its global network of partners.
The BHP Xplor funding was used to identify new target areas for copper and other energy metals around the Broken Hill area in New South Wales, eastern Australia, where Impact has been quietly adding to its ground position for several years.
Additionally, the company is exploring its large Arkun battery metals project, also in Western Australia which covers nearly 2,900 square kilometres. Three new exploration licence applications were submitted recently immediately north of the Arkun project along trend from the recently discovered REE soil geochemistry anomalies at Hyperion, Swordfish and Horseshoe, and the Caligula copper anomaly. These anomalies require drill testing which will occur in 2024 and is an exciting development in the emerging mineral province of southwest WA.
A strong management team with over 50 years of combined industry experience leads the company. With a mining and exploration geology degree, Dr. Mike Jones, managing director, launched a long career consulting and leading mining organizations. Peter Unsworth, the non-executive chairman, has more than 35 years of experience in multiple financial sectors, such as securities industries and wealth management. Paul Ingram, a non-executive director, has led several mining companies since 2003. Impact Minerals has the experience and expertise to lead the company to success.
Company Highlights
- Impact Minerals is an exploration and development mining company focused on rapidly moving its flagship Lake Hope high-purity alumina (HPA) project towards production.
- Lake Hope project has a high-grade maiden mineral resource estimate (MRE) of 3.5 million tonnes at 25.1 percent alumina (Al2O3), for a contained 880,000 tonnes of alumina that can be converted to HPA.
- HPA is used throughout multiple industries, and the overall HPA market is projected to grow by a CAGR of 18.4 percent by 2030.
- A pre-feasibility study is currently in progress, and Impact plans to lodge a mining lease application by Q3 2024 after results of its scoping study indicated that Lake Hope could potentially be one of, if not the lowest-cost producer of HPA globally, possibly by a significant margin of up to 50 percent.
- The company’s project portfolio also includes assets with high-grade mineral deposits of a range of base, critical and precious metals.
- Impact Mineral’s 2,000-square-mile Arkun nickel-copper-PGE project in Western Australia has produced encouraging assays motivating further exploration with maiden drill programmes planned for 2024.
- The company is also exploring its Broken Hill copper project in New South Wales under the auspices of the BHP Xplor program.
- A strong management team leads the company with experience in geology, mining and corporate finance.
Key Projects
Lake Hope HPA Project
Impact Minerals’ Lake Hope HPA project is in Western Australia, a tier-one mining jurisdiction. HPA is a crucial component in many new and emerging technologies, creating ongoing demand for high-grade sources. The Lake Hope project has become the company’s flagship as it moves toward production.
Project Highlights:
- Maiden Mineral Resource Estimate: A maiden mineral resource of 3.5 million tonnes at 25.1 percent alumina (Al2O3) for a contained 880,000 tonnes of alumina has been defined at the Lake Hope HPA Project. About 88 percent of the resource, or 775,000 tonnes of alumina, is in the higher confidence indicated resource category.
- Amenable to Open-pit Mining: The Lake Hope project is a unique HPA asset amenable to shallow, open-pit mining. The deposit is soft and shallow, allowing for cheap digging and minimal infrastructure requirements. This type of deposit also lowers the environmental footprint of the operation.
- Fast-tracked to Production: The company is currently awaiting its Mining Lease Application. Once granted, the company will begin working towards a pre-feasibility study and mini pilot plant. Impact Minerals plans to reach a complete pilot plant by 2026.
- Impressive Results of the 2023 Scoping Study: Outstanding economics show Lake Hope to potentially be the lowest-cost producer of High Purity Alumina (HPA) globally by up to 50 percent. Key outcomes from the scoping study include:
- Annual production of 10,000 tpa of 4N HPA with an initial 25-year mine life
- Annual EBITDA of A$174 million.
- 2 years construction period with 5,000 tonnes of production during the first year, 8,000 tonnes in the second year and 10,000 tonnes of production thereafter.
- US$934 million post-tax NPV8 at an IRR of 55 percent.
The scoping study was underpinned by a sulphuric acid process allowing the company to achieve a new milestone by producing HPA with purity of more than than 99.99 percent (4N) from the metallurgical processing of lake clays acquired from Lake Hope. The company further identified a new proprietary metallurgical process for producing HPA from the lake clays. Known as the low-temperature leach (LTL) process, this also produced 99.99 percent (4N) Al2O3 and has the potential to lower even further the capital and operating costs to produce HPA compared to the sulphate process. The LTL process will be included in the ongoing pre-feasibility study along with the sulphate process to determine the best processing route to HPA. The PFS is due to be completed in late 2024.
Broken Hill Copper Project
The Broken Hill project has a significant land position of 815 square kilometers and hosts multiple targets with the potential for high-grade copper. Broken Hill is located in New South Wales, Australia, an area known for its prolific silver-lead-zinc mining operations and the giant Broken Hill deposit.
Project Highlights:
- Participant in the BHP Xplor Program: Impact was selected for the BHP Xplor program based on its Broken Hill project. The program is designed to allow participants to accelerate growth and establish a long-term partnership with BHP.
- Potential for Additional Minerals and Deposits: As well as copper, the project has significant exploration potential for magmatic nickel-copper-PGE sulphides, and at the time the host rocks were formed, Broken Hill was located close to the world-class nickel-copper-PGE deposit of Jinchuan and the significant Lengquisheng deposit. The project area also has the potential to contain zinc-lead-silver deposits, providing even more value.
Arkun Nickel-Copper-Gold-Lithium-REE Project
The Arkun project is a 2,900-square-kilometer nickel, copper and gold project located in the emerging Ni-Cu-PGE province near the world-class Julimar Ni-Cu-PGE deposit and surrounded by Anglo American Corporation, which secured its ground holding shortly after Impact secured its asset. Anglo-American is one of the world’s top ten mining companies, and their presence in the region brings confidence in the project’s potential.
Project Highlights:
- Additional Exploration Underway: Impact plans follow-up work programs, including drilling, at its priority targets.
- Significant Targets Identified: Recent soil sampling identified two new prospects:
- Hyperion prospect - Located in the northwestern part of the project area returned with rare earth element anomalism of up to 5,880 ppm (0.59 percent) total rare earth oxide (TREO+Y) and neodymium and praseodymium (Nd+Pr) of up to 21 percent.
- Caligula prospect - Initially identified on the roadside, the Caligula prospect is a large and significant target for porphyry copper mineralisation.
- Three New Exploration Licences: Impact applied for three new exploration licences expanding Arkun project along trend from the recently discovered REE soil geochemistry anomalies at Hyperion, Swordfish and Horseshoe as well as the Caligula copper anomaly.
Management Team
Peter Unsworth - Non-executive Chairman
Peter Unsworth, formerly a chartered accountant, has over 35 years of experience in the corporate finance, investment and securities industries and a wealth of management experience with public and private companies. A former executive director with a leading Western Australian stockbroking company, Unsworth has been a director of several public exploration and mining companies. He recently completed a long time serving as chairman of the Western Australian Government-owned Gold Corporation (operator of The Perth Mint). Unsworth is the founding chairman of Impact Minerals.
Dr. Mike Jones - Managing Director
Dr. Mike Jones is the founding managing director of Impact Minerals Limited, which was listed on the Australian Stock Exchange in November 2006. Reporting to the board of directors, he is responsible for the company's performance as it moves towards production at its Lake Hope High Purity Alumina Project and also for implementing strategies to explore and maximize the value of the company's other extensive tenement holdings.
Since listing, he has helped raise more than $60 million to help fund the exploration of Impact’s projects and managed the company through significant adverse events, including the global financial crisis and the Fukushima nuclear disaster, which affected Impact’s considerable investment in the uranium sector, a five-year global downturn in the mining sector and more recently, the COVID-19 pandemic.
Paul Ingram - Non-executive Director
Paul Ingram is a geologist with extensive experience managing major mineral exploration programs for several publicly listed companies and has been involved in the mining sector for over thirty years. He has designed and implemented innovative techniques for exploration in remote areas and has managed projects in countries throughout Australia and East Asia. Ingram has been a director of the following listed companies in the past three years: Polo Resources from January 2008 to January 2011; A-Cap Resources since June 2009; Consolidated Global Investments since September 2006; Caledon Resources from February 2003 to March 2008; and Australian Pacific Coal since March 2011.
Dr Frank Bierlein - Non-executive Director
Dr. Frank Bierlein is a geologist with 30 years of experience as a consultant, researcher, lecturer and industry professional. 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 PNX Metals. He was previously a non-executive director of Gold Australia NL and chaired the advisory board of a Luxembourg-based private equity fund between 2014 and 2021.
Rich Checkan: Gold Still "Dirt Cheap" at All-time Highs, Buy Now if You Haven't
The gold price remains historically high, but for Rich Checkan, president and CEO of Asset Strategies International, the yellow metal is still "dirt cheap."
He urged those who haven't made allocations to gold and silver yet to consider buying now.
"We're heading into the doldrums, we're kind of consolidating here. China's off the market ... so the prices are low here — at all time-highs, the prices are low. And because western investors aren't buying coins and bars, the premiums are low," Checkan explained. "You've got the perfect storm here of low prices, low premiums — take advantage of it."
Watch the interview above for more from Checkan on gold and silver.
You can also click here to view the Investing News Network's Rule Symposium playlist on YouTube. Recorded presentations from the Rule Symposium are available here.
Don't forget to follow us @INN_Resource for real-time updates!
Securities Disclosure: I, Charlotte McLeod, 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.
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Quarterly Activities Report for the Period Ended 30 June 2024
Warriedar Resources Limited (ASX: WA8) (Warriedar or the Company) is pleased to report on its activities for the quarter ended 30 June 2024.
HIGHLIGHTS
Golden Range and Fields Find Projects, Western Australia
- Remaining nine (9) assay results from Phase 1 2024 RC drilling at Ricciardo returned significant intervals of high-grade gold mineralisation, including:
- 8m @ 11.40 g/t Au from 166m (RDRC041), including
- 3m @ 22.38 g/t Au from 167m
- 8m @ 2.63 g/t Au from 160m (RDRC034)
- 4m @ 14.49 g/t Au from 188m (RDRC039), ending in mineralisation
- 12m @ 1.91 g/t Au from 74m (RDRC040), ending in mineralisation
- 8m @ 11.40 g/t Au from 166m (RDRC041), including
- Diamond drilling program, for 29 holes and approximately 2,500m, commenced at Ricciardo and M1. Results returned after the June quarter end for the first twelve (12) diamond tails (for 770m) intersected significant gold mineralisation, including:
- 19m @ 4.94 g/t Au from 188m (RDRC039 DD) (includes contiguous final RC result of 4m @ 14.49 g/t from 188m)
- 8.9m @ 8.93 g/t Au from 156m (M1RC191 DD), including
- 2m @ 23.83 g/t from 158m
- 12m @ 6.98 g/t Au from 110m (RDRC040 DD), including
- 3m @ 22.12 g/t Au from 112m
- 16m @ 2.30 g/t Au from 243m (RDRC055 DD), including
- 6m @ 3.13 g/t Au from 252m
- 17m @ 2.38 g/t Au from 264m (RDRC055 DD) including
- m @ 4.03 g/t Au from 273m
- Results to date at Ricciardo substantially increased the known extent of the high-grade shoots beneath the historic Silverstone and Ardmore pits; confirm the presence of a (new) high-grade shoot below the Eastern Creek pit; and expand the mineralised deposit area below the Silverstone and Silverstone South area.
- Results for the first Resource infill diamond hole at M1 returned significantly higher grade than expected, confirming the high-grade extension potential at this deposit.
- Phase 2 2024 RC drilling program at Ricciardo and M1, for 25 holes and approximately 5,024m is complete. A large proportion of these RC meters are ‘pre-collars’ for the diamond tails.
- The diamond drilling program, the first at Ricciardo and M1 in over 10 years, is still ongoing and expected to be completed by mid-August.
Big Springs Project, Nevada
- Proposed Plan of Operation (PoO) application continues to progress.
Corporate
- Asset Sale Agreement pertaining to the acquisition of non-core tenements E59/1324-I, M59/386-I, M59/387-I and M59/425-I (Deferred Assets) terminated, with the date for satisfaction of required conditions precedent passing.
- Cash of A$3.6 million as at 30 June 2024 and zero debt (excluding typical trade creditor balances).
Western Australian Projects
The Golden Range and Fields Find Projects (the Projects) are located approximately 350 km northeast of Perth and 260 km east-southeast of Geraldton (refer Figure 1). The total consolidated land package of the Projects is 788 km2, extending for over 70 km of strike from north to south and covering much of the central Yalgoo-Singleton and Warriedar Archean greenstone belts.
Total historical gold production from Golden Range and Fields Find was 350 koz, with the existing oxide plant placed on care and maintenance in August 2019.
The current JORC (2012) Mineral Resource estimate for Golden Range is 15.2 Mt at 1.7 g/t Au for 816 koz contained gold (of which 412 koz at 1.7 g/t Au sits in the Measured and Indicated classifications). For further Mineral Resource estimate details, refer to ASX release dated 28 November 2022.
Click here for the full ASX Release
This article includes content from Warriedar Resources 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.
Development Contract for Underground Exploration Drill Drive Awarded to Barminco
New drill drive to provide underground drill platforms to in-fill and extend existing deposits and identify new high-grade shoots
Spartan Resources Limited (“Spartan” or “Company”) (ASX: SPR) is pleased to announce that it has awarded the contract for the development of an underground exploration drill drive at its 100%-owned Dalgaranga Gold Project (“DGP”), located in the Murchison region of Western Australia, to specialist underground mining services contractor, Barminco Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of the ASX-listed global diversified mining services company Perenti Limited (ASX: PRN).
Highlights:
- Development contract for the underground exploration drill drive at the Dalgaranga Gold Project awarded to Barminco Limited.
- The contract, which is valued at ~$18.3 million, provides for 2,350m of development to deliver twin decline access for the establishment of underground drilling platforms to in- fill and extend mineralisation within the Never Never, Pepper, Four Pillars and West Winds areas.
- The drill drive has also been designed to support future mine production activities.
- All regulatory mining approvals are now in place and all major support services have been engaged to facilitate the commencement of construction in the current quarter.
- Surface exploration drilling at Dalgaranga will shortly re-commence, with rigs arriving on site later this month.
Figure 1: Long Section of the Never Never Gold Deposit and the Pepper, Four Pillars and West Winds Gold Prospects looking east. Proposed exploration drill drive design in black.
The contract, which is valued at ~$18.3 million including an allowance for fuel and contingencies, provides for 2,350m of development to deliver twin decline access for the establishment of underground drilling platforms to in-fill and extend mineralisation across the Never Never, Pepper, Four Pillars and West Winds deposits.
All of these steeply-plunging, high-grade gold zones are located along a single 800m-long, semi- continuously mineralised north-south stratigraphic horizon (see Figure 1). The exploration drill drive has been designed to run parallel and adjacent to this horizon to provide underground drill platforms to more effectively define these existing deposits and prospects, as well as explore for further high-grade shoots and provide critical underground infrastructure as Spartan develops its future mine plan.
Construction of the drill drive is on-track to commence in the September Quarter, with all regulatory mining approvals and support services in place. In addition, the Company has established an experienced on- site project team to manage and oversee the development and construction process. Establishment of the drill drive, and an initial underground drilling programme, is fully funded from the Company’s existing cash reserves.
Management Comment
Spartan Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Simon Lawson, said: “We are delighted to have Barminco on board to complete the construction of this new drill drive, which represents a very exciting initiative that will enable us to drill from platforms located right alongside our high-grade deposits and targets. This will provide for cheaper, more accurate and quicker drilling to continue to accelerate our Resource growth and conversion to Ore Reserves.
“All of the high-grade deposits and prospects discovered at Dalgaranga over the past two years remain open at depth – with mineralisation at the Never Never deposit now defined to beyond 1km below surface – and we’re very excited to get the underground rigs in place to help determine just how deep this high- grade mineralisation extends.
“Importantly, the drill drive is being constructed using the same dimensions as a standard underground mine development, ensuring it can be incorporated into our infrastructure planning for the future re- commencement of mining operations.
“Construction of the drill drive is set to kick-off later this Quarter and is expected to take approximately 10 months to complete. In addition, we will also shortly re-commence surface drilling programs, targeting the Pepper, Four Pillars, West Winds and other near-surface anomalies, ensuring plenty of exciting news- flow for shareholders in the months ahead.”
Click here for the full ASX Release
This article includes content from Spartan Resources, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
Boundiali Preliminary Metallurgical Test Work Delivers Gold Recoveries up to 99%
Highlights
- Excellent Gold Recovery: Bottle roll tests on 50 samples from BDT1 confirm gold mineralization is free milling, with cyanide leach recoveries consistently exceeding 93% for samples grading 0.25 g/t gold or higher
- Oxidized Ore Excels: Oxide samples exhibit exceptional gold recoveries, averaging 97.5% and reaching a maximum of 99%
- Consistent with Expectations: The metallurgical response aligns with typical free-milling ores found in similar deposits
- Further Testing Planned: Additional metallurgical work will be conducted to establish and optimise processing flowsheets
- Well-Funded: Aurum received firm commitments for a $17M Share Placement in June with Shareholders to vote on Tranche 2 on 6 August 2024
Aurum’s Managing Director Dr. Caigen Wang said: “Preliminary gold recoveries meet our expectations and confirm gold at BDT1 is highly amenable to standard cyanide leaching. While further work is needed, these are very encouraging results.
We are well funded following a recent Share Placement and Share Purchase Plan and rapidly expanding our drilling program at Boundiali. We will have six Aurum-owned diamond rigs running from the end of August as we target delivery of an initial JORC resource for Boundiali by the end of 2024.”
Metallurgical Test Work Summary
Preliminary test work involved 50 coarse reject samples from various depths, lithologies, and oxidation states at BDT1. Samples were prepared and analysed by Intertek laboratories in Ghana.
These samples were selected from a representative range of gold grades (likely to be encountered in an open pit), lithologies and oxidation states. Samples were selected from diamond core holes drilled by Aurum at BDT1 this year and cover a subset of that prospect over a volume bounded by 300m (east to west) and 550m (south to north) and down to 328m below surface (average depth of 106m below surface).
Preparation and analysis of the samples was undertaken by Intertek laboratories in Ghana. Samples were pulverized to 85% passing 75-micron (85% of the particles are smaller than 75 microns) and then subjected to a bottle roll cyanide leach for 24 hours using the cyanide (CL1000/AA) technique with an analysis on the leach liquor to measure the leach gold grade. The residue was then filtered and analysed by 50g fire assay (FA50T/AA) to show the remaining gold (tail grade). The sum of the leach grade and the tail grade represents the calculated head grade of the original sample (total gold). The calculated gold recovery is estimated by dividing the leach grade by the total gold grade.
Click here for the full ASX Release
This article includes content from Aurum Resources 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.
Aurum Resources
Investor Insights
Aurum Resources offers a compelling value proposition with a highly prospective gold asset in an emerging gold region and a cost-effective exploration strategy.
Overview
Aurum Resources (ASX:AUE) is a mineral exploration company primarily focused on gold through its flagship Boundiali gold project located in Côte d’Ivoire, West Africa.
Côte d'Ivoire's gold mining sector is experiencing significant growth and development, with several key projects contributing to the country's economic expansion. The overall gold mining sector in Côte d'Ivoire is supported by substantial investments in infrastructure and exploration.
Geopolitically, Côte d'Ivoire outperforms most developing countries in the world in political, legal, tax and operational risk metrics. Additionally, Côte d'Ivoire continues to make notable strides in its political stability and Absence of Violence and Terrorism Index.
Aurum is led by a board and management team with considerable experience and a track record of success in the mining industry and a history of creating shareholder value.
Company Highlights
- Aurum Resources is a precious metals company with exploration prospects in the same greenstone belt as the Syama (11.5 Moz), Sissingué (1.0 Moz), Tongon (5.0 Moz) and Kone Gold (4.5 Moz) deposits of West Africa.
- Upcoming catalysts include a maiden mineral resource estimate expected to be completed by the end of 2024. The company believes mineralization is open at depth and along strike and highlights the existence of numerous gold mineralization targets within the large land holding of Aurum’s Boundiali Gold Project.
- Aurum operates its own drill rigs, allowing the company to significantly reduce its exploration costs relative to peers.
- Management has a track record of creating value for shareholders from exploration through to project development, mine construction and gold production.
- Strong leverage to increasing gold prices that will benefit from a declining interest rate environment and rising global geopolitical risk factors.
- Well funded for greater than 12 months and over 100,000 metres diamond drilling programs and metallurgical study
Key Project: Boundali Gold Project
The Boundiali gold project in Cote d’Ivoire is located within the Boundiali Greenstone Belt, which hosts Resolute’s Syama gold operation (11.5 Moz) and the Tabakoroni deposit (1 Moz) in Mali. Neighbouring assets also include Barrick’s Tongon mine (5 Moz) and Montage Gold’s Kone project (4.5 Moz).
The Boundiali project area covers the underexplored southern extension of the Boundiali belt, where a highly deformed synclinal greenstone horizon traverses finer-grained basin sediments, and to the west, Tarkwaian clastic rocks lie in contact with a granitic margin. The project benefits from year-round road access and excellent infrastructure.
The first stage of drilling at Boundiali occurred in the fourth quarter of 2023 and the first quarter of 2024 for both the BM and BD tenements (BM1 and BM2; BD1, BD2 and BD3 targets) and was designed to test below-gold-in-soil anomalies oriented along NE trending structures. Having completed its initial exploration program, Aurum is now ramping up and undertaking a scout and step-back diamond drilling campaign with plans to increase its drilling fleet to include six rigs targeting a drilling rate of ~10,000 metres per month. The company expects to drill more than 45,000 metres of diamond core at Boundali to support an inaugural mineral resource estimate that is anticipated by the end of 2024.Drilling costs are estimated at US$45 per metre, as Aurum owns all of its drilling rigs and employs its operators, representing a significant value proposition relative to peers who use commercial drilling companies that charge upwards of $200 per meter. The company believes there is potential for multi-million ounce gold resources to be defined with hundreds thousands meters of drilling over years within the Boundiali Gold Project’s land holding areas.
The Boundiali gold project comprises four contiguous granted licenses: PR0808 (80 percent interest), PR0893 (80 to 88 percent interest), PR414 (100 percent interest), and PR283 (70 percent interest). Historic exploration at PR0893 includes 93 AC drill holes and four RC holes. Airborne geophysical surveying, geological mapping and extensive soil sampling have also been performed at PR0893, while PR0808 has had 91 RC holes drilled for 6,229 metres along with geochemical analysis and modeling. Detailed geochemical sampling and drilling at PR414 revealed three strong gold anomalies and returned impressive high-grade results.
Management Team
Troy Flannery – Non-Executive Chairman
Troy Flannery has more than 25 years’ experience in the mining industry, including nine years in corporate and 17 years in senior mining engineering and project development roles. He has a degree in mining engineering, masters in finance, and first class mine managers certificate of competency. Flannery has performed non-executive director roles with numerous ASX listed companies and was the CEO of Abra Mining until October 2021. He has worked at numerous mining companies, mining consultancy and contractors, including BHP, Newcrest, Xstrata, St Barbara Mines and AMC Consultants.
Dr. Caigen Wang – Managing Director
Dr. Caigen Wang founded Tietto Minerals (ASX:TIE), where he led the company as managing director for 13 years through private exploration, ASX listing, gold resource definition, project study and mine building to become one of Africa’s newest gold producers at its Abujar gold mine in Côte d’Ivoire. He holds a bachelor, masters and PhD in mining engineering. He is a fellow of AusIMM and a chartered professional engineer of Institution of Engineer, Australia. Wang has 13 years of mining academic experience in China University of Mining and Technology, Western Australia School of Mine and University of Alberta, and over 20 years of practical experience in mining engineering and mineral exploration in Australia, China and Africa. Other professional experience includes senior technical and management roles in mining houses, including St. Barbara, Sons of Gwalia, BHP Billiton, China Goldmines PLC and others.
Mark Strizek – Executive Director
Mark Strizek has nearly 30 years’ experience in the resource industry, having worked as a geologist on various gold, base metal and technology metal projects. He brings invaluable geological, technical and development expertise to Aurum, most recently as an executive director at Tietto Minerals’, which progressed from an IPO to gold production at the Abujar gold project in West Africa. Strizek has worked as an executive with management and board responsibilities in exploration, feasibility, finance and development-ready assets across Australia, West Africa, Asia and Europe.
Brien Lundin: Gold to be Last Asset Standing, Price Outlook for End of Cycle
Speaking to the Investing News Network, Brien Lundin, editor of Gold Newsletter, explained what factors kicked off gold's price run earlier in 2024, and what could drive it even higher as the year continues.
He also shared his thoughts on why gold stocks haven't yet moved as much as investors might have hoped.
"When you would have expected (gold) to maybe drop a couple hundred dollars if the (US Federal Reserve) pivot was being postponed — instead we're about US$300 higher," he said on the sidelines of the Rule Symposium.
"So we're going to hopefully take off with that big new factor from a much higher price level."
Watch the interview for more from Lundin on gold and gold stocks, as well as silver.
You can also click here to view the Investing News Network's Rule Symposium playlist on YouTube. Recorded presentations from the Rule Symposium are available here.
Don't forget to follow us @INN_Resource for real-time updates!
Securities Disclosure: I, Charlotte McLeod, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
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