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Piche Resources Limited (ASX: PR2) (“Piche” or the “Company”), is pleased to announce the first outstanding intersections received from its reverse circulation drilling programme on its Ashburton project in Western Australia. The results confirm the mineralisation and its downdip continuation at the Angelo A prospect.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Assay results from the first six reverse circulation (RC) drill holes completed at the Angelo A prospect within Piche’s Ashburton project have all returned significant high grade uranium mineralisation.
- Equivalent U3O8 concentrations have been calculated from downhole gamma surveys and results include:
- ARC001 6.98m @ 1,617 ppm eU3O8 from 101.84 metres
- ARC002 4.36m @ 2,205 ppm eU3O8 from 109.89 metres
- ARC003 3.96m @ 1,516 ppm eU3O8 from 86.89 metres
- ARC004 6.02m @ 801 ppm eU3O8 from 83.55 metres
- ARC006 3.45m @ 5,129 ppm eU3O8 from 137.62 metres incl 0.34m @ 16,050 ppm eU3O8 from 139.11 metres
- ARC007 1.30m @ 503ppm eU3O8 from 123.37 metres.
- The ongoing drilling programme is designed to confirm previous high grade uranium results at the Angelo A & B prospects, test a revised model for the controls on mineralisation and identify extensions to the existing mineralisation.
- The drilling is targeting Proterozoic unconformity style uranium mineralisation, like the Pine Creek Geosyncline in Australia and the Athabasca Basin in Canada.
- Further RC results will be released as the drilling programme continues and a diamond drill rig will be mobilised to site in the coming week.
The continuing drilling programme is being undertaken at, and along strike of, the Angelo A prospect. No exploration activities have been carried out at Angelo A over the last 40 years.
Table 1: Angelo A Reverse Circulation drill hole intersections (cut-off grade of 250ppm eU3O8)(All thicknesses are downhole thicknesses as there is currently insufficient information to accurately calculated true widths)
Table 2: Drill hole details of holes referenced above(Table 2 documents the drill hole location details. Coordinates are reported in GDA94)
*ARCD005 is a pre-collar to a planned diamond drillhole which will be completed on arrival of the diamond drill rig
The drill rig will move to Angelo B prospect, approximately 1.3km to the northeast, following the completion of the Angelo A drilling.
This programme will be followed by a diamond drilling programme scheduled for later this month. These drilling programmes are planned to confirm the results from previous exploration by drilling several twin holes, to test a revised model for the control of the uranium mineralisation and explore for extensions to the mineralisation identified between 1973 and 1984.
The project area is located approximately 140km to the west-southwest of Newman in the Pilbara region of Western Australia (Figure 1). Piche holds three tenements totalling about 122km2 in its Ashburton Project (Figure 2).
Piche’s Managing Director, Stephen Mann, commented:
“The Company is very excited following the receipt of results from the first six holes of Piche’s initial drilling programme on its Ashburton Project. Not only have we confirmed the historical results with several twin holes, but we have shown that the mineralization continues downdip. Drilling to date has confirmed that mineralisation occurs within the typical unconformity model, with highly altered uranium rich sandstones at the unconformity, and the potential of mineralized “feeder” zones extending steeply below that unconformity zone. It is expected that further drilling in this campaign should result in more clarity of the distribution and controls of mineralization”.
Previous explorers at the Ashburton Project area focused their efforts on the unconformity between the mid Proterozoic sandstones and the early Proterozoic basement complexes.
The Ashburton Project area hosts unconformity-related uranium mineralisation. Unconformity uranium style deposits constitute approximately 20% of Australia’s total uranium resources and about one-third of the western world’s uranium resources and include some of the largest and richest uranium deposits2. Minerals are uraninite and pitchblende. The main deposits occur in Canada (the Athabasca Basin, Saskatchewan and Thelon Basin, Northwest Territories); and Australia (the Alligator Rivers region in the Pine Creek Geosyncline, NT and Rudall Rivers area, WA1). In both Canada and Australia mineralisation is often found at the unconformity and in the basement complex well below the unconformity.
Uranium mineralisation at the Ashburton Project area occurs along the Lower Proterozoic Wyloo Group/Mid Proterozoic Bresnahan Group contact. Uranium mineralisation has previously been identified from broad spaced drilling at Angelo A and B prospects (Figure 3). Mineralisation intersected in this first phase of drilling by Piche has identified significant uranium at, or near the unconformity, but also in units immediately above the unconformity and well into the underlying basement units. Mineralisation is commonly associated with hematitic alteration of felspathic medium to coarse grained sandstones and is spatially associated with carbonaceous and graphitic shales. Visible uraninite has been recognised in several intersections.
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This article includes content from Piche 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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Piche Resources
Investor Insight
With high-quality, drill-ready assets, with world-class discovery potential, Piche Resources is a compelling business case for investors looking to leverage a bull market for uranium and gold.
Overview
Piche Resources (ASX:PR2) holds a portfolio of drill-ready uranium and gold assets in Argentina and Australia. These projects include: the Ashburton uranium project in Western Australia’s prolific Pilbara region; the Sierra Cuadrada uranium project in the San Jorge Basin in Argentina; and the Cerro Chacon gold project which shares geological similarities with the Cerro Negro mine in Argentina. Exploration work at these assets indicate their potential to become world-class projects.
Piche has an internationally recognized board focused on creating long-term shareholder value, and an in-country technical team in Argentina with a proven track record of taking projects from discovery through to development.
Company Highlights
- The company’s Australian asset is the Ashburton uranium project which has been drilled previously and recorded high-grade uranium intersections over significant widths.
- In Argentina, the company’s Sierra Cuadrada uranium project in the San Jorge Basin has a significant history of high-grade, near-surface uranium mining operations.
- Drilling at one of the prospects at Sierra Cuadrada has shown visible uranium in numerous holes. Multiple other prospects are drill-ready and have the potential to host tier 1 uranium deposits.
- Exposure to gold with high-quality precious metal projects in Argentina that boast surface outcrop samples with gold grade up to 13 g/t gold.
- Internationally renowned board and management team with extensive uranium and gold exploration and development experience.
Key Projects
Uranium: Ashburton Project, Australia
The Ashburton uranium project comprises three exploration licences across a 122 sq kmland package in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 1,150 km north of Perth. The company has highlighted uranium mineralization across 65 km of strike comprising 14 historic uranium occurrences, with a high-grade zone extending over several kilometres. Of particular interest is the Angelo River prospects that are believed to be part of a larger mineralized uranium system. Historic exploration by Pancontinental (62 holes) highlighted 71 intercepts with grades greater than 500 ppm U3O8 approximating a grade of 1.1 lbs of U3O8 per tonne. High-grade drilling results from the prospect include 10.5 m at 4,380 ppm U3O8 (AR1004) and 9 m at 3,490 ppm U3O8 (AR1009). The potential deposit is open along strike and at depth.
The Ashburton uranium project has the potential to host uranium mineral deposits similar to the Pine Creek Geosyncline in Australia’s Northern Territory, and the Athabasca Basin in Saskatchewan, Canada. Drilling has commenced at the project with the intention to confirm results from previous exploration and to explore extensions to previously identified mineralization.
Three prospects at Ashburton provide organic upside from exploration. The Atlantis prospect includes high-grade historic drilling results of 5.5 m at 0.62 percent U3O8 and 2.2 m at 0.71 percent U3O8 with rock chip samples of up to 37 percent U3O8. The NDG prospect boasts numerous high-grade rock chip samples of 3.03 percent, 0.71 percent and 0.67 percent U3O8 associated with surface uranium radiometric anomalies. Lastly, the Canyon Creek prospect boasts rock chip samples of 1 percent U3O8 that are also associated with surface uranium radiometric and tempest EM anomalies.
Uranium: Sierra Cuadrada, Argentina
The Sierra Cuadrada project is located in the San Jorge Basin and spans 1,300 sq km, 200 km north of Comodoro Rivadavia. The project is flat lying, with visible uranium assays of >3,000 U3O8 or 6.6 lbs per tonne. The mineralization occurs at varying stratigraphic layers and remains open at depth. There is potential for numerous continuous zones up to 30 km wide and 40 km long. Mineralization is open along strike NW and SW and downdip. Further work will include delineating the deposit with shallow drilling and trenching that Pinche boasts can be done at very low cost.
The Argentine National Atomic Energy Commission explored for uranium across Argentina from the mid 1950s resulting in thousands of anomalies and eight developed mining operations. In the Chubut province radiometric and EM surveys have been identified across two large Cretaceous paleochannels in the San Jorge Basin which extend for over 200 km N-S and 30 to 60 km E-W. Three high grade deposits highlighting the development potential of the area include: 1) the Cerro Condor 2) the Los Adobes, and 3) Cerro Solo mining operations. Cerro Condor and Los Adobes are both past-producing operations with grades of 6,000 ppm U3O8 and 1,400 U3O8 found in outcrop, respectively.
Gold: Cerro Chacon, Argentina
The Cerro Chacon gold project is located 10 km south of Paso de Indios, in the Chubut Province of Argentina. The land tenement spans 365 sq km of prospective precious metals occurrences. Structural mapping and geochemical sampling at the Chacon Grid identified mineralized systems consistent with surface signatures at the Cerro Negro Mine that boasts a contained metal inventory of 5.8 Moz of gold and 50 Moz of silver.
Geophysics work at Cerro Chacon has highlighted targets with significant similarities to Cerro Negro. Additionally, mineralization is hosted in low-sulphidation epithermal vein systems that are associated with argillic alteration and are commonly 8 to 15 m in width. Multiple occurrences beyond 13 g/t gold have been recorded in veins and have been demonstrated to continue at depth. Near-term work will include detailed mapping and sampling, extending the geophysical survey to cover up to 6 km of known vein systems, and preparing pads for drilling.
Management Team
John (Gus) Simpson – Executive Chairman
John Simpson has over 37 years’ experience in mineral exploration, development and mining. He has extensive experience across equity capital markets and corporate governance, and was previously the executive chairman/founder at Peninsula Energy Limited (ASX:PEN), a USA uranium producer.
Stephen Mann – Managing Director
Stephen Mann is a geologist with over 40 years’ experience in the exploration, discovery and development of mining projects, including 20 years in the uranium sector. He was previously the Australian managing director of Orano, the world’s third largest uranium producer.
Pablo Marcet –Executive Director
Pablo Marcet is a senior geoscientist with 38 years of experience in the exploration, discovery and development of mineral deposits. He is currently an independent director of lithium producer Arcadium Lithium (NYSE:ALTM) and was previously a director of Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) and U3O8 (TSX:U3O8)
Clark Beyer – Non-executive Director
Clark Beyer is an internationally recognised nuclear industry executive with over 35 years’ experience. He was previously the managing director of Rio Tinto Uranium Limited and is currently principal of Global Fuel Solutions LLC, which provides strategic consulting to the international uranium and nuclear fuels market.
Stanley Macdonald – Non-executive Director
Stanley Macdonald is a nationally recognised mining entrepreneur who has been a founding director and instrumental in the success of numerous ASX listed companies, such as Giralia Resources, Northern Star and Redhill Iron. He is currently a director of Zenith Minerals.
Geophysical Data and Field Reconnaissance Greatly Enhance Exploration Potential at Cerro Chacon
HIGHLIGHTS
- Detailed magnetic and IP/resistivity surveys at the Chacon Grid and La Javiela prospects at Piche’s Cerro Chacon project have identified multiple high priority targets in complex fault arrays that typically host high grade Au/Ag mineralisation.
- Interpretation of La Javiela survey data has identified five high priority drill targets.
- Southern Argentina contains numerous large, high-grade Au/Ag deposits located in Jurassic aged volcanics. Mineralisation is typically focused in structurally complex areas, particularly at the intersections of north-south faults and secondary east- west, northeast or northwest striking faults.
- Piche’s Cerro Chacon project area hosts several occurrences of gold/silver and pathfinder geochemistry with coincident structural and geophysical anomalies which typically reflect deposition of significant mineralisation in southern Argentina.
- The extent of the surface expression, the corresponding geophysical signatures, geochemistry and structural regime has led Piche to believe that the two prospects may be part of a mineralised structural corridor up to 10km in length.
- The Cerro Chacon project represents one of Argentina’s unexplored gold-rich mineralised systems, offering tremendous untapped potential and synergies with several of the large precious metal mines in the region.
Figure 1: Geophysical interpretation has identified five high priority targets.
This survey complements the previous magnetic and IP/resistivity surveys completed over the Chacon grid, some 5km to the north-west. Both surveys highlight the strong structural controls, the intense alteration, and the coincident geophysical signatures.
Previously the Chacon Grid had been mapped and sampled over a strike length of two kilometres, but recent reconnaissance has indicated the structure may extend for a strike length of up to six kilometres. It is expected that further mapping, geochemistry, geophysics and drilling along strike and between both the Chacon Grid and the La Javiela vein systems will highlight a mineralised structural corridor up to 10km in length.
Click here for the full ASX Release
This article includes content from Piche 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.
Piche Resources: Targeting Globally Significant Uranium and Gold Discoveries in Australia and Argentina
With high-quality, drill-ready assets, with world-class discovery potential, Piche Resources (ASX:PR2) is a compelling business case for investors looking to leverage a bull market for uranium and gold. The company holds a portfolio of drill-ready uranium and gold assets in Argentina and Australia which include the Ashburton uranium project in the Pilbara region; the Sierra Cuadrada uranium project in Argentina; and the Cerro Chacon gold project which shares geological similarities with the Cerro Negro mine.
The Ashburton uranium project comprises three exploration licences and has the potential to host uranium mineral deposits similar to the Pine Creek Geosyncline in Australia’s Northern Territory, and the Athabasca Basin in Saskatchewan, Canada.
iche has an internationally recognized board focused on creating long-term shareholder value, and an in-country technical team in Argentina with a proven track record of taking projects from discovery through to development.
Company Highlights
- The company’s Australian asset is the Ashburton uranium project which has been drilled previously and recorded high-grade uranium intersections over significant widths.
- In Argentina, the company’s Sierra Cuadrada uranium project in the San Jorge Basin has a significant history of high-grade, near-surface uranium mining operations.
- The company is currently drilling one of its prospects at Sierra Cuadrada and has announced visible uranium in numerous holes. Multiple other prospects are drill-ready and have the potential to host tier 1 uranium deposits.
- Exposure to gold with high-quality precious metal projects in Argentina that boast surface outcrop samples with gold grade up to 13 g/t gold.
- Internationally renowned board and management team with extensive uranium and gold exploration and development experience.
This Piche Resources profile is part of a paid investor education campaign.*
Click here to connect with Piche Resources (ASX:PR2) to receive an Investor Presentation
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.
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