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Mount Hope Mining
Investor Insight
Mount Hope Mining’s strategic location in the prolific and resource-rich Cobar Basin, which has seen increased activity in recent years, signifies the company’s compelling investment proposition.
Overview
Mount Hope Mining (ASX:MHM) is an Australian resource company specializing in copper and gold exploration. With its flagship project located in the Cobar Basin of New South Wales, Australia, the company leverages the region's rich mining history and underexplored potential. On August 30, 2024, Mount Hope transitioned to a public company to attract investments for its ambitious mineral exploration goals.
Mount Hope Mining's acquisition of Fisher Resources, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Unico Silver Limited, has provided it with full control over the Mount Hope project. This project spans four tenements covering approximately 175 square kilometers, located in the southern Cobar Basin, a region with a longstanding history of copper and gold mining dating back to the 1870s.
The Cobar Basin has seen a flurry of significant mining activities in recent years, underscoring the region's robust potential for polymetallic resource development. 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.
These activities highlight a dynamic and competitive landscape that Mount Hope Mining can leverage for its own exploration strategy.
The strength and vision of Mount Hope Mining's leadership are critical to its success. The company boasts an experienced and dynamic board and management team, each member bringing a wealth of expertise in mineral exploration, corporate governance, and strategic planning. Their collective experience in mining, resource development, and financial oversight ensures the company is well-equipped to meet its objectives.
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.
Key Project
Mount Hope
The Mount Hope project is Mount Hope Mining’s flagship exploration initiative, located in the southern Cobar Basin of New South Wales, Australia. This project spans approximately 175 square kilometers across 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.
The project area encompasses several historical mining sites, including the Mount Hope, Comet and Great Central copper mines, alongside the Mount Solitary and Solar gold mines. These sites, although historically productive, have seen limited contemporary exploration, leaving substantial potential for discovering residual and new deposits.
Geology and Targets
The Mount Hope project is characterized by volcanic and sedimentary sequences with structural features conducive to hosting polymetallic deposits, particularly copper and gold. Fault zones and folding within the tenements act as pathways for mineralization, creating promising exploration targets.
Mount Hope Mining has identified key zones of interest within the project area, including Mount Hope East, Black Hill, Main Road East, Little Mount Solitary, and the Mount Solitary to Solar Trend. These targets are prioritized for exploration based on historical mining data and geophysical anomalies. The company plans to implement a phased approach to exploration, beginning with geophysical and geochemical surveys to refine target zones, followed by drilling campaigns to confirm mineralization and assess the economic viability of the deposits.
Strategic Location
The Mount Hope project benefits from its strategic location within the Cobar Basin, an established mining district with access to infrastructure and services. The recent resurgence of mining activity in and around the Cobar Basin, as demonstrated by Polymetals Resources’ acquisition of the Endeavor mine, and Metals Acquisition’s purchase of the CSA copper mine, underscores the region’s significance as a hub for resource development.
Mount Hope Mining aims to build on this momentum, leveraging both historical data and cutting-edge exploration methodologies to maximize the project’s potential. With its focus on copper and gold, commodities essential to green technologies and global markets, the Mount Hope project is well-positioned to contribute to the growth of Mount Hope Mining and the broader Australian resource sector.
Management Team
Fergus Kiley – Managing Director and CEO
Fergus Kiley plays a pivotal role in driving Mount Hope Mining’s exploration and growth strategies. He previously served as Senior Geologist and Technical Business Development Lead at Wyloo, one of Australia’s largest private natural resources investment groups. This role honed his expertise in exploration, geological modeling and project evaluation. Kiley also serves on the board of Grand Gulf Energy (ASX:GGE) and has over a decade of experience managing exploration programs for various ASX-listed companies. His leadership at Mount Hope focuses on leveraging modern exploration techniques and building partnerships to unlock the potential of the Mount Hope project.
Ben Phillips – Non-executive Chairman
Ben Phillips provides strategic oversight and governance to Mount Hope Mining. Appointed on July 5, 2024, he plays a vital role in ensuring the board operates effectively and aligns with the company’s objectives. Phillips’ leadership in other ventures and his focus on strong corporate governance bring additional credibility to Mount Hope’s public presence. His insights into the mining sector and his strategic vision position the company for sustainable growth.
Todd William – Non-executive Director
Todd Williams brings significant expertise in mining exploration and operations, particularly within the Cobar Basin. He is currently the managing director of Unico Silver (ASX:USL) and a Non-executive director of Orpheus Uranium (ASX:ORP). As the former owner of the Mount Hope project through Unico, William's historical knowledge of the tenements is an invaluable asset. His extensive work in the region strengthens Mount Hope’s technical and operational strategies.
New Murchison Gold Limited
Investor Insight
For investors with an eye on mining stocks, New Murchison Gold (ASX:NMG) presents a unique opportunity. The company's shallow, high-grade Crown Prince gold deposit, significant land package in the prolific Murchison goldfields, and strategic alliance with established Australian gold producer Westgold Resources position it as a noteworthy contender in the Western Australian gold exploration space. As NMG continues to navigate the path to production, its journey is one that astute investors will watch with keen interest.
Overview
Within the heart of Australia's Murchison gold district, a region host to more than 35 Moz gold endowment (historic production and current resources), stands New Murchison Gold, a forward-thinking gold explorer with a clear strategy to maximise shareholder value driven by a highly experienced management team. The company’s value proposition centres on growing and de-risking its shallow, high-grade Crown Prince gold deposit (part of the company’s Garden Gully gold project) and a strategic alliance with established Australian gold producer Westgold Resources (ASX:WGX), offering a clear pathway to production and cash flow generation.
The Westgold alliance has resulted in a binding ore purchase agreement with Big Bell Gold Operations, a wholly owned operating subsidiary of Westgold Resources. The agreement will underpin production from NMG’s Crown Prince deposit in 2025, and will see the company delivering 30 kt to 50 kt of ore to Westgold per month.Key Project
Garden Gully
New Murchison Gold's flagship Garden Gully gold project is located 20 km northwest of Meekatharra, Western Australia. The project boasts a 677 sq km tenement package that covers the Abbotts Greenstone Belt. The project includes granted mining leases and Native Title agreements in place over the Crown Prince, Abbotts and Lydia prospects. Garden Gully is in close proximity to a number of operating gold mines and existing gold processing facilities.
New Murchison Gold has a strong pipeline of exploration and development prospects at Garden Gully, with the most advanced being Crown Prince.
Crown Prince deposit
The Crown Prince deposit has an updated mineral resource estimate of 2.2 Mt at 3.9 g/t gold for 279 koz, which includes an indicated resource estimate of 226 koz at 4.6 g/t Au. (81 percent of the total MRE). The total also includes the maiden resource for the Southeastern Zone (SEZ) of 1 Mt at 5.2 g/t gold for 164 koz (discovered in late 2022).
The resource is shallow, delineated from surface, remains open at depth and along strike, and located within a 300 m x 200 m area demonstrating strong open pit mining potential. There is significant resource growth potential at new mineralised zones at the northeastern end of SEZ and Crown Prince East (350 m from SEZ).
New Murchison Gold also published strong metallurgical performance from advanced test work at Crown Prince with high recovery of gold through gravity and cyanide leach test work, reporting overall gold recovery rates ranging from 98.2 to 99.8 percent.
Recent high-grade gold intersections at SEZ
Westgold Strategic Alliance
New Murchison Gold announced a strategic alliance and $6 million placement with Australian gold producer Westgold Resources.
The Westgold transaction provides a clear pathway to commercialising Crown Prince in a strong gold price environment, validates the quality of the deposit and enables New Murchison Gold to leverage Westgold’s internal resources, intellectual property and infrastructure to accelerate development.
The primary aim of the strategic alliance is to fast track the development of New Murchison Gold’s Crown Prince deposit into production. As part of the strategic alliance, New Murchison Gold and Westgold has entered into a binding ore purchase agreement (OPA) with Westgold subsidiary Big Bell Gold Operations, for gold produced at Crown Prince. Under the agreement, NMG will deliver 30 kt to 50 kt of ore to Westgold per month with no fixed term. Crown Prince is located only 33 km from Westgold’s 1.6 – 1.8 Mtpa Bluebird Mill.
In addition to the OPA, the strategic alliance may also encompass other strategic collaboration initiatives such as access to Westgold’s expertise and infrastructure. Upon completion of the strategic placement, Westgold will be an 18.7-percent shareholder (undiluted basis) and have the right, but not the obligation to a New Murchison Gold board seat and an equity participation right.
Proceeds from the strategic placement and current cash will allow New Murchison Gold to fast track further resource development, project development and mining proposal workstreams at Crown Prince and continue systematic regional exploration across Ora’s commanding 677 sq km tenure.
Major players are increasingly partnering with junior explorers to secure access to high-grade, quality gold resources. New Murchison Gold's collaboration with Westgold epitomises this movement, setting a blueprint for mutual success in the industry.
Key Focus
The near-term focus for New Murchison Gold will be further resource growth and rapidly advancing project development and mining proposal workstreams at Crown Prince:
- Crown Prince Drilling: Further delineating new high-grade mineralised zones at the north-eastern end of SEZ and Crown Prince East (350 metres from SEZ) and resource definition drilling along strike and below 100 metre vertical depth
- Crown Prince Resource: Updated Mineral Resource Estimate expected in September of 2024.
- Crown Prince Development: progress detailed technical programs, preliminary project development and mining proposal workstreams and agree on an ore purchase agreement and other strategic collaboration initiatives with Westgold
- Regional: Continue systematic regional exploration programs across Ora’s commanding 677 sq km tenure package
Management Team
New Murchison Gold is led by a team of experienced professionals with a diverse set of skills and expertise. At the helm of the company's operations is CEO Alex Passmore, a qualified geologist with extensive corporate finance experience to guide New Murchison Gold's strategic plan. The board is chaired by Rick Crabb, with extensive experience in the legal and mining sectors providing invaluable governance and oversight.
Supporting the company's governance structure, Malcolm Randall serves as a non-executive director, bringing a wealth of knowledge from his tenure in the resource sector, including 25 years at Rio Tinto. Frank DeMarte, director and company secretary, contributes over 39 years of mining industry experience in areas of financial management governance and secretarial practice.
The collective experience of New Murchison Gold's board and management is a cornerstone of the company's success, positioning it to capitalise on the opportunities within the Garden Gully project and beyond.
For further information on New Murchison Gold's strategic initiatives and investment opportunities, sign up for a free investor kit.
Mount Hope Mining Investor Kit
- Corporate info
- Insights
- Growth strategies
- Upcoming projects