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Impact Minerals (ASX:IPT) has released its March 2022 quarterly report.
- BROKEN HILL PROJECT (IPT 100%-IGO earning 75%)
- A large strong EM conductor 420 m by 85 m in dimension identified 350 m below surface at the Platinum Springs prospect in joint venture with IGO.
- The conductor is about 1,000 metres along trend from, and with similar conductance to, a narrow drill intercept of massive sulphide which returned: 0.6 metres at 11.5 g/t platinum, 25.6 g/t palladium, 1.4 g/t gold, 7.6% copper, 7.4% nickel and 44.3 g/t silver from 57.1 metres down hole
- The conductor lies within a possible feeder zone for the extensively mineralised nine-kilometre long Moorkai Trend and is a prime drill target.
- HOPETOUN PROJECT (IPT earning 80%)
- Diamond drilling of the Top Knotch and Silverstar copper-gold-silver targets commenced and still in progress.
- The Hopetoun Project interpreted to cover an interpreted extension of the Ravensthorpe greenstone belt which contains multiple mines and deposits of lithium, nickel and copper-gold.
- JUMBO (IPT earning 80%)
- High priority targets for nickel-copper-Platinum Group Elements (PGM) (3), lithium-caesium-tantalum (LCT) pegmatites (3), Rare Earth Metals (REE) and extensive areas of anomalous rubidium identified in a reconnaissance soil geochemistry survey.
- The soil anomalies occur over significant areas of at least several hundred metres. Further anomalies are expected with more comprehensive coverage of the project area.
- Very high success rate of anomaly identification targets validates Impact’s targeting methodology working in conjunction with its joint venture partner.
- OTHER PROJECTS
- Arkun Ni-Cu-PGM, WA (IPT 100%)
- Land Access Negotiations in progress with about 30 land holders.
- Follow up soil geochemistry completed at Beau. Results due in May.
- Narryer-Dalgaranga
- No work done.
- Arkun Ni-Cu-PGM, WA (IPT 100%)
- CORPORATE
- Placement completed raising $2 million before costs.
- $1.7 million cash as at 31st March 2022
- BROKEN HILL PROJECT
A significant electromagnetic (EM) conductor was identified in the extensive ground EM survey that is still in progress at the company’s Broken Hill Project in NSW and which is being funded by joint venture partner IGO Limited (ASX:IGO) (Figure 1 and ASX Releases 9 th November 2021 and 27th January 2022).
The new EM conductor has been modelled to have a high conductance of about 8,000 siemens and with the top edge of the modelled EM plate centred at a depth of about 350 metres below surface. It has a length of about 420 metres and extends for at least 85 metres down dip moderately to the south.
The conductor is considered prospective for massive sulphide mineralisation based on its discrete dimensions and modelled high conductance. It is a priority target for follow-up work.
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
Investor Insight
With a mining lease application underway and a scoping study that shows excellent economics, Impact Minerals’ game-changing, advanced Lake Hope high-purity alumina project makes for a compelling investment case.
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 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. It is mainly used 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.
With a mining lease application pending, Impact 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 Al2O3) 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.
Lake Hope has 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, and later reached a key milestone by producing 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 in late 2024.
A comparison of the LTL process and the sulphate process
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 toward production.
- The 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 scheduled to be completed by Q4 2024. A mining lease application for the Lake Hope High Purity Alumina (HPA) was recently lodged with the aim of being granted by 2026.
- 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 that motivate further exploration. Maiden drill programmes are planned for early 2025.
- The company is also exploring its Broken Hill copper project in New South Wales following a major grant under the auspices of the BHP Xplor program in 2023..
- 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 is 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: A mining lease application is currently underway. 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.
- Mining Lease Application: Amining lease application was lodged in mid-2024 over the West Lake resource while a miscellaneous licence application (L63/99) was lodged to cover mine infrastructure and haulage road.
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 in 2023 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.
Dynasty Gold
Investor Insight
Dynasty Gold stands apart from its peers, offering a compelling investment value proposition, given its portfolio of brownfield, high-grade gold assets with millions of dollars in exploration expenditures, driven by an expert management and technical team.
Overview
Dynasty Gold (TSX-V:DYG) is a Canadian mineral exploration and development company with a compelling, high-grade gold project located in Northwest Ontario, Canada. The 100 percent owned Thundercloud project is a highly prospective property with significant exploration upside backed by extensive, historical exploration data. The property was acquired from Teck Resources in 2021, with $10 million in previous exploration expenditure and an NI 43-101 resource estimate completed in December 2021.
A brownfield project, Thundercloud represents a lower-risk investment opportunity potentially delivering huge value as exploration continues and the resource is expanded and upgraded. Previous drilling at the property has returned high-grade gold assays, including 73.5 m of 8.4 g/t, 34 m of 6.5 g/t, 12m of 11.0 g/t, and 14.8m of 7.14 g/t.
Since taking over the project, Dynasty has completed 7,000 meters of drilling at Thundercloud, which has resulted in considerable resource increase from 187,000 ounces inferred to 232,000 ounces measured and indicated at a high grade of 8.04 g/t gold at 3.03 g/t cut-off (internal estimate, not NI 43-101 compliant). The project also suggests a potential for open-pit mining, as more than 90 percent of the drill holes to date are less than 250 meters and it opens at depth. Despite the impressive drill results to date, about 90 percent of the property still has seen very limited drilling, presenting a tremendous opportunity for further discoveries.
Dynasty’s secondary exploration project, Golden Repeat, is located within the Midas Gold Camp in Elko County, Nevada. The project is drill-ready with permits in place.
Established in 2000 and Dynasty Gold is led by a highly experienced management and technical team setting the company on a strategic path for success. Max Baker, the former chief geologist for Newcrest Mining with over 35 years of experience in greenfield and brownfield exploration, is the lead geologist. A tightly held share capital structure with approximately 61 million issued shares, more than 40 percent of the company is owned by insiders and long-term shareholders, including Rob McEwen, Dynasty’s largest shareholder.
Company Highlights
- Dynasty Gold has two highly prospective, high-grade gold projects in North America - Thundercloud and Golden Repeat.
- The flagship Thundercloud project, acquired from Teck Resources in 2021 with 12,000 meters of drilling and more than $10 million in previous exploration expenditures, is the current focus of Dynasty’s exploration and drilling program.
- Drilling and exploration work done by Dynasty to date has effectively increased the resource at Thundercloud from 187,000 ounces inferred to 232,000 ounces measured and indicated at a high grade of 8.04 g/t gold calculated at a possible open pit cut-off grade of 3.03 g/t. At 0.5 g/t cut-off, the project hosts 439,000 ounces at 2.14 g/t.
- To date, more than 90 percent of the drill holes are less than 250 meters in length with 90 percent of the property seeing only spaced drilling.
- Thundercloud is a brownfield project with extensive historical data, making it a lower-risk investment compared to other greenfield exploration projects.
- A tight share capital structure with approximately 61 million shares issued and outstanding, more than 40 percent of the company is owned by insiders and long-term shareholders, including Rob McEwen, Dynasty’s largest shareholder.
- The project is led by a highly accomplished technical team and directors with a track record in discoveries.
Key Projects
Thundercloud Project
The Thundercloud gold project is Dynasty Gold’s flagship asset, located in the Archean Manitou-Stormy Lakes Greenstone Belt in Ontario, Canada. The property spans 2,250 hectares and is part of the Wabigoon Subprovince, which hosts several significant gold deposits. The gold mineralization at Thundercloud is primarily associated with shear zones and quartz-carbonate veins, typical of orogenic gold deposits. These types of deposits are known for their size and high-grade gold potential. The property is 47 km from Dryden, Ontario, and within a 4-hour drive from Winnipeg or Thunder Bay airport.
*Internal resource estimate, not NI 43-101 compliant
Previously owned by Teck Resources, the project has been de-risked with about $10 million dollars spent on drilling and exploration in the 2000s. Dynasty has benefited from this vast historical dataset and has been able to expedite its exploration and advance it to the current resource stage in a span of two years.
Historical drilling and exploration at Thundercloud – consisting of 87 drill holes for approximately 16,793 meters of drilling – have identified several zones of gold mineralization, with high-grade intercepts suggesting the presence of an extensive gold system. Drill holes have intercepted mineralization at depths of up to 350 m below surface. Gold mineralisation has been defined along a strike length of 1.5 km east-west trend in the Pelham Zone. The West Contact Zone is untested.
During the 2022 and 2023 drilling seasons the company successfully increased its non-compliant internal resource estimate to approximately 232,000 oz gold at 8.04 g/t. At 2.14 g/t, the project hosts 439,000 oz gold (this is an internally generated new resource model, not NI 43-101 compliant). Nearly 2,200 meters of the 4,000 meter 2024 drill program have been completed. Assays are pending as further drilling continues on the property. The company aims to have an updated NI 43-101 Resource Estimate by the end of 2024.
Thundercloud’s high-grade mineralization sets it apart from neighbouring gold projects with relatively lower grade gold intercepts, including NexGold’s Goliath and Goldlund gold projects which has a resource of 1.5 Moz of gold at 1.5 g/t, and 2.3 Moz gold at 1.5 g/t, respectively. NexGold’s similar market valuation, highlights the market’s underappreciation of Dynasty Gold’s advanced-stage, higher-grade asset.
Thundercloud comprises two main zones – Pelham and West Contact – with planned follow-up drilling in these zones expected to take place in September-October 2024.
Pelham Zone
The Pelham Zone is the most advanced exploration target within the Thundercloud project. It is 47 m south-east of Dryden in Northwest Ontario. It has been the focus of much of the drilling and exploration efforts due to its substantial high-grade, open-pit gold potential. During the 2022 exploration season, the discovery hole DP22-03 returned 8.42 g/t over 73.5 m including 6.5 m of 72.2 g/t. The zone is characterized by a series of east-west trending shear zones containing quartz-carbonate veins with visible gold. These shear zones are hosted within mafic metavolcanic rocks, which have undergone significant hydrothermal alteration.
West Contact Zone
The West Contact Zone is located 1 km to the southeast of the Pelham Zone. Limited drilling in the West Contact Zone has encountered gold mineralization associated with quartz veins and brecciated zones, with grades comparable to those found in the Pelham Zone. Further exploration is planned to expand on these initial findings. A rock chip sampling program was completed in the West Contact zone, an area immediately to the south of where Teck’s trenching data returned 8.02 g/t gold over 39 meters. The assay results from the company’s trenching program extended the mineralization by 30 meters. Total surface mineralization is 69 meters averaging 5.85 g/t gold.
Management Team
Ivy Chong – President, CEO and Director
Ivy Chong has held senior executive positions in the mining and oil and gas industries since 1996. She was credited for closing several option and joint venture agreements with Teck, AngloGold Ashanti, Azimut, Avocet Mining, and others. Chong has assisted multiple companies with their IPOs and raised capital for resource companies in Asia, Europe and North America. Prior to entering the resource industry, she worked for the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and Deloitte and Touche, LLP.
Roman Shklanka – Director
Roman Shklanka is an explorationist with over 45 years of international experience in the mining industry. His past positions include, chairman of Canico Resources, which was acquired by CVRD (Vale) in 2005; chairman of Sutton Resources, acquired by Barrick Gold Corporation; and vice-president of exploration for Placer Dome. He was responsible for the acquisition and exploration of numerous major mines, among them the Australian Granny Smith gold mine, Osbourne copper mine and the Kidston gold mine. He has received a number of achievement awards and was inducted into the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame in 2009.
Larry Kornze – Director
Larry Kornze brings more than 30 years of international gold exploration experience. Kornze was credited with the discovery of Barrick's 40 million ounce gold deposit at the Betze Mine on the Carlin Trend in Nevada, in the late 80s. He was part of Barrick's team responsible for the discovery of the Miekle, Deepstar, Screamer and Rodeo deposits in Nevada. Kornze has held positions with Newmont and Getty Mining in North America, prior to joining Barrick Gold.
Richard Redfern – Director
Richard Redfern is a certified professional geologist and “qualified person” under NI 43-101 and a consultant with 35 years of exploration and mining industry experience worldwide. He held positions as senior exploration geologist with Barrick Gold in Mexico, VP Exploration for Goldstake Explorations in South Dakota and Australia, and has worked for Homestake Mining in the western United States. Redfern has extensive exploration experience in gold and porphyry-type prospects in the southwestern US, Mexico and British Columbia. He was instrumental in the recent discovery of the Moly Dome molybdenum-rhenium-gold-silver porphyry deposit in northern Nevada.
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