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Metals Australia Ltd (ASX:MLS) is very pleased to announce the achievement of 99.96% Cg spherical graphite purity, exceeding 99.95% Cg premium battery grade, in metallurgical test work on flake graphite concentrate from the Company’s high-grade Lac Rainy Graphite Project. Lac Rainy is situated in one of the world’s premier graphite regions in Quebec, Canada (see location, Figure 1).
Highlights
- Spherical graphite test work on concentrate from the Lac Rainy Graphite Project1 has achieved, above premium battery-grade, 99.96% spherical graphite carbon (Cg) purity.
- Very high-quality spherical graphite has been produced, that exceeds the specifications required by lithium-ion battery anode manufacturers globally, including:
- Very high yield of 63.5% recovered into the 20-micron spherical graphite product, well in excess of the industry average yield of 40-50%2.
- Consistent (very-steep) spherical graphite Particle Size Distribution (PSD) and spherical particle shape, after micronisation and spheroidization (see Image 1).
- High Tap Density of 0.97 kg/litre (density or battery-anode packing qualities of spheroids in lithium-ion battery). Well above acceptable standard of 0.90 kg/litre.
- The Company has now commenced electrochemical (lithium-ion battery charging and durability) testing of the highly-purified spherical graphite material.
- Over 10 times the drilled strike-length of graphitic trends3 identified on the Project4. Immense potential for resource growth to be tested with new drilling program(s).
Chairman Mike Scivolo commented: “The achievement of premium battery grade spherical graphite purity, exceeding the specifications required by global lithium-ion battery manufacturers and using environmentally responsible, cost-effective methods - is an outstanding outcome for the Company.
“This places the Lac Rainy Project in the top tier of high-quality graphite projects, with an ideal location close to North American markets where demand for such high-quality graphite products is high.
“We will now rapidly advance the project towards development, in parallel with finalising electrochemical test work in Germany and advancing discussions with potential offtakers.”
Outstanding High-Purity Spherical Graphite Test Work Results:
The spherical graphite (SpG) test work was carried out by the specialist graphite testing group, ProGraphite, in Germany, on Lac Rainy flake graphite concentrate which was re-assayed, producing a higher concentrate grade of 96.3% Cg (Loss on Ignition - LOI) than the original assay at SGS in Canada1.
The test work included three critical stages leading to the production of the high-quality, 99.96% Cg purified premium spherical graphite product. These included:
i) Micronisation (hammer milling) of the concentrate feed which achieved the targeted 20-micron (µm) average particle size with low energy input, producing very uniform micronised material suitable for spherical graphite production.
ii) Spheronisation of the micronised material using lower impact hammer milling, which produced:
- a very high recovery to spherical graphite product of 63.5% yield - well above industry average of 40-50% yield2.
- Spherical graphite particles which have a steep (consistent) particle size distribution (PSD) and well-rounded spherical particle shape (see Image 1, below).
- Tap density (the packing qualities of spherical graphite particles into a lithium-ion battery anode) is high at 0.97 kg/litre. This is well above the industry standard of 0.90 kg/litre.
iii) Purification of the spherical graphite:
- Low-temperature alkaline (sodium hydroxide - NaOH) caustic roast with hydrochloric acid (HCl) achieved minimum saleable battery grade (>99.9% Cg) of 99.93% Cg SpG purity.
- The addition of a minimal HF wash finish resulted in the achievement of 99.96% Cg (LOI 800°C) premium battery-grade spherical graphite purity.
- This outstanding purity result was confirmed with Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP) analysis, showing negligible levels of deleterious elements.
The premium battery grade purity and physical properties of the Lac Rainy spherical graphite product have exceeded the specifications required by lithium-ion battery anode manufacturers.
Electrochemical (battery charging and durability) testing of the high purity spherical graphite has commenced. This work will test the performance of the spherical graphite as an anode material in lithium- ion batteries and will involve multiple testing cycles designed to measure the discharge efficiency of the material (irreversible capacity loss) and its durability or specific capacity (driving battery life). ProGraphite has advised the Company that the electrochemical test work will take approximately 10 weeks.
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This article includes content from Metals Australia Ltd, 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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Metals Australia
Overview
Metals Australia (ASX:MLS) is a mineral exploration company with a high-quality portfolio of advanced battery minerals and metals projects in Tier 1 mining jurisdictions of Western Australia and Canada. The portfolio comprises two critical minerals projects in Quebec, Canada — the Lac Carheil flake graphite project and the Corvette River lithium (and gold) project. The Australian portfolio comprises four projects: Tennant Creek (copper-gold) in the Northern Territory and Warrambie (lithium, nickel-copper, gold), Murchison (gold) and Manindi (lithium, vanadium-titanium, zinc) – all in Western Australia.
The push for net zero targets and the call from policymakers to transition to cleaner energy has intensified the focus on electric vehicles (EVs) and battery storage. The EV automakers and battery manufacturers, rely on essential materials such as graphite and metals, including lithium, nickel, copper and cobalt, to manufacture the batteries that are used in these vehicles and storage batteries generally. This has driven carmakers and battery manufacturers to partner with battery material suppliers under direct off-take agreements. Further, some automakers/battery manufacturers are buying equity stakes in miners, involving them directly in financing decisions for the development of mining projects. This is encouraging for companies such as Metals Australia as it actively advances its projects towards development.
Figure 2 – Graphite is a Critical Mineral required for the mass electrification of auto transportation.
Metals Australia is focused on progressing its flagship Lac Carheil flake graphite project in Quebec, Canada. The project is well-positioned to supply high quality graphite products, including battery-grade graphite to the North American market – including for lithium-ion and EV battery production in the future. The company announced positive sampling results across a 36-km strike length of identified graphite trends at Lac Carheil, including many values over 20% Cg and an exceptionally high-grade sample containing over 63% Cg. The company has planned a drilling program to test new high-grade zones identified from the sampling program, which will form the basis for upgrading the existing Lac Carheil Mineral Resource. An application for the drilling program is progressing with the Quebec regulator. Additionally, the company has recently commenced a Flake Graphite concentrate prefeasibility study with Lycopodium in Ontario and a downstream battery anode plant design with ANZAPLAN in Germany.
Metals Australia is also advancing its lithium, gold and silver exploration project at Corvette River, which is adjacent to Patriot Battery Metals’ world-class lithium project. Further, the company carries out aggressive exploration programs at its other projects, including Manindi, Warrambie & the Murchison in Western Australia and Tennant Creek in the Northern Territory region of Australia.
Metals Australia is well-funded to complete all its planned exploration and project studies. The cash position at the end of Q1 2024 was AU$17.86 million, which we note was higher than the company’s market capital at current share price. Metals Australia benefits from a team of professionals boasting extensive expertise in geology and mining. The appointment of experienced mining executive Paul Ferguson as the CEO is positive for the company. Since joining in January 2024, he has significantly advanced planning and preparation for the exploration, metallurgical test work programs, and design studies required to move its flagship Lac Carheil high-grade graphite project towards development. The Corvette Project has also completed exploration planning and is now fully permitted for drilling and trenching work during the northern hemisphere summer.
Company Highlights
- Metals Australia is rapidly advancing its flag ship Lac Carheil Graphite Project in Quebec, Canada. In addition, the company has a suite of high-quality exploration projects – including Lithium, Gold and Silver in Quebec, Canada and Lithium, Gold, Copper & Vanadium in Western Australia (WA) and the Northern Territory (NT).
- All projects are in Tier-1 mining jurisdictions (Canada and Australia) with world-class prospectivity and stable geo-politically.
- The company has six key exploration and development projects:
- two in Canada: the Lac Carheil high-grade flake graphite project and the Corvette River lithium and gold-silver-copper exploration project, and,
- four in Australia: Warrambie (lithium, nickel-copper, gold), Murchison (gold) and Manindi (lithium, vanadium-titanium, zinc-silver) in WA, and Tennant Creek (Warrego East copper-gold) in the NT.
- The focus is to rapidly advance its flagship Lac Carheil Graphite Project towards development. A drilling program is already contracted to substantially increase the existing JORC 2012 Mineral Resource of 13.3 Mt @ 11.5 percent graphitic carbon (Cg) and test the potential of the many other identified high-grade graphite trends.
- The 2020 Scoping Study on Lac Carheil based on the existing resource, representing only 1km of drilling out of the total 36kms of identified graphite trends, indicates a 14-year mine life with a production of 100,000 tons per annum and a pre-tax NPV @ 8 percent of US$123 million (~AUD$190 million).
- There are multiple catalysts at Lac Carheil in the near term including a pre-feasibility study (PFS) (underway), a scoping study on downstream battery (anode) - grade graphite production, and planned drilling aiming to at least double the resource as well as test other identified high-grade graphite trends.
- Furthermore, other projects in Canada including the Corvette River lithium and gold targets, and exploration in Australia at Manindi, Warrambie, Murchison and Warrego – are all seeing active progress.
- The company is well-funded to complete all its planned exploration and project studies. The cash position at the end of Q1 2024 was AU$17.86 million.
- Metals Australia is led by a seasoned board and management team possessing extensive mining sector experience and a proven track record of successful discoveries and project developments. With funding in place, the company is well-positioned to capitalise on growth prospects.
Key Projects
Canada
Lac Carheil Flake Graphite Project (MLS 100%)
Conceptual 3D Mining layout from February 2021 Scoping Study (Lac Carheil Project formerly named Lac Rainy Project)
The Lac Carheil Graphite Project is located in eastern Quebec, Canada, a tier 1 mining jurisdiction with access to excellent infrastructure, including hydroelectric power facilities. The project hosts an existing JORC 2012 mineral resource of 13.3 million tons (Mt) @ 11.5 percent graphitic carbon, which was announced in 2020 and a scoping study was completed and reported on in early 2021. Battery test work followed, in Germany, and this demonstrated the Lac Carheil Graphite concentrate could be shaped, purified, coated and used in battery applications with excellent results. Given the above work, the company carried out further field work, recently announcing exceptionally high-grade sampling results from 80 samples on 10 identified graphitic trends across the property. This included a sample containing 63 percent graphitic carbon, and 10 samples containing over 20% Cg. The average grade of the sampling was 11% Cg, which is comparable to the current high-grade resource. The combined strike length of the identified high-grade graphitic zones is over 36 kms. This compares to just 1 km of drilling on 1.6 kms of graphite trend that was utilised to obtain the existing resource. The potential for expanding and upgrading the existing resource remains enormous.
Figure 4 –Lac Carheil Graphite Project - Electromagnetic imagery outlining graphite trends and the resource
Additional drilling and development studies are either planned or are already underway, including a pre-feasibility study for a high grade Flake graphite concentrate product – which has commenced and a downstream purification options assessment and a scoping study for a battery anode facility in North America, which has been contracted. The company also announced it is contract ready for its planned drilling program and will fast-track the program as soon as permits are received from the Quebec regulator.
Corvette River Lithium Project (MLS 100%)
Corvette River Lithium, gold and silver Project is located in Quebec’s James Bay region Metals Australia recently announced that it is fully permitted to advance an extensive field exploration program across its holdings which include the wholly owned East Pontois, Felicie and West Pontois projects, situated within Patriot Battery Metals' (ASX:PMT) CV Lithium Trend, as well as tenements at West and East Eade in the company's parallel Corvette River South Trend. A field mapping and sampling program concluded last year and identified large, potentially lithium-bearing pegmatites immediately along strike from Patriot Battery Metals’ world-class lithium pegmatite discoveries. Additionally, the company has flagged significant gold and silver samples from its review of work previously completed across the field as is illustrated in the diagram below.
Figure 5 – The Corvette Projects in the James Bay region of Canada. Prospective for Lithium, Gold & Silver
Australian Projects
Warrambie Project (MLS 80%)
The Warrambie project is located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. It is 20 kms west of the Andover Lithium discovery (Azure Minerals (ASX:AZS). Metals Australia has completed geophysical surveys across the area and is identifying targets for further field exploration and drilling.
Warrego East Project (MLS 80%)
Metals Australia acquired the tenements as part of a package purchased from Payne Gully Gold in 2022. The company’s tenements include a granted exploration license (E32725) directly along strike to the east of the Warrego copper-gold deposit, which has a production of 1.45 Million Ounces of gold at 8 grams per tonne and over 90,000 tonnes of Copper at 2%. The Warrego mine operated from the late 1950’s through until 1989. It was found under sedimentary cover. The area and this land package is under detailed review utilizing available geophysical surveys. The company aims to identify further targets hidden under shallow sediment cover.
Big Bell North Project (MLS 80%)
The Murchison tenements were also acquired as part of the Payne Gully Gold transaction. Metals Australia owns exploration licenses at the Murchison gold project, which is adjacent to the >5 million ounces (Moz) Big Bell gold deposit. The company plans to conduct detailed magnetics and gravity surveys to test for extensions and repeats of high-grade gold deposits.
Manindi Project (MLS 80%)
The Manindi project is located in the Murchison District, approximately 500 kms northeast of Perth in Western Australia. The project comprises three mining leases and has an established high-grade zinc mineral resource. The metallurgical test work has located spodumene in samples from a high-grade lithium intersection of 12m @ 1.38 percent lithium oxide, including 3m @ 2.12 percent lithium oxide. The company also made a new vanadium-titanium discovery at the Manindi project.Management Team
Paul Ferguson – Chief Executive Officer
A Mining Engineer, Paul Ferguson has over three decades of experience in the resources and energy sectors across North America, Asia and Australia. He has extensive project development and operational experience working in Canada. He has worked in oil & gas major ExxonMobil across project stages, including feasibility, design, construction, and operation. He has worked in Executive level roles within Australia, including at GMA Garnet and held increasingly more senior roles with BHP (Iron Ore & Coking Coal) and then with Exxon Coal Minerals and Mobil Oil Australia during the early stages of his career.
Tanya Newby – CFO and Joint Company Secretary
Tanya Newby is a finance and governance professional with over 20 years experience in various corporate and commercial roles. She has a strong background in the resources sector and has provided financial advice and assistance to a number of publicly listed entities through exploration, project development through to the production stage. Tanya is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants, Member of the Governance Institute of Australia and a Graduate Member of the Institute of Company Directors.
Michael Muhling – Joint Company Secretary
Michael Muhling has over two decades of experience in the resources, including 15 years in senior roles with ASX-listed companies. He is a fellow of CPA Australia, The Chartered Governance Institute, and the Governance Institute of Australia.
John Dugdale – Technical Advisor
John Dugdale is a geologist with over 35 years of experience in the discovery and development of graphite, lithium, gold, nickel and copper projects. His corporate experience includes serving as a director and CEO of several junior resource companies focused on nickel-cobalt, graphite and copper-gold projects. Additionally, he has experience in funds management with Lion Selection Group.
Chris Ramsay – General Manager Geology
Chris Ramsay is a geologist and project manager with over 25 years of experience in the global mining industry. He has been involved in exploration, mine development and operations for mining projects in Australasia, Southeast Asia, and parts of Africa and North America.
Board
Michael Scivolo – Non-executive Chairman
Michael Scivolo has extensive accounting and taxation experience for corporate and non-corporate entities. He was a partner/director at a CPA firm until 2011 and has since been consulting in accounting and taxation. Scivolo is on the boards of several ASX-listed mining companies, including Sabre Resources, Golden Deeps and Tennant Minerals Ltd.
Alexander Biggs – Non-executive Director
Alexander Biggs has over 20 years of experience in the mining and engineering sector. During his career, he has been involved in various activities, including operations, consulting, finance and capital raising. He is currently the managing director of Lightning Minerals (ASX) and was previously the managing director of Critical Resources (ASX:CRR). Biggs is a member of the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and a graduate of the Western Australian School of Mines.
Rachelle Domansky – Non-executive Director
Rachelle Domansky is an ESG specialist and a consulting psychologist for businesses, governments and educational institutions in the Asia-Pacific region. In addition to Metals Australia, Rachelle holds non-executive board positions at Quebec Lithium and Access Plus WA Deaf.
Basil Conti – Non-executive Director
Basil Conti has been associated with the mining industry for over 25 years. He is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants Australia & NZ and was a partner/director of a chartered accounting firm in West Perth until 2015.
Exploration Update - Visible Gold Intersected at Salanie
HIGHLIGHTS:
- Visible gold identified in drilling at the A1 prospect at 19m depth (Figure 1), associated within a broader 13m zone of quartz veining and shearing from 9.6m downhole:
- Interpreted as extension to system in trench SATR001 (10.3m @ 3.4g/t Au and 1.4m @ 15.7 g/t Au) (Figure 5);
- Assays for this hole are pending.
- At P6, a significant quartz veining/shear system over 20m with associated sulphides has been identified along the trend of historical high-grade underground workings that produced at an average of 16g/t Au.
- The underground workings at P6 represent a priority target that will be further targeted in the 2025 drill season:
- System displays as quartz veining and associated visual estimates of sulphides (trace to 25% pyrite+/-chalcopyrite) intersected in three principal positions in drillhole SLDD002 (61- 65m; 71-75m and 84-87m).
- Drilling completed for the current field season, with discussions advanced with a highly reputable new drilling contractor for drilling in 2025.
- At Salanie, five holes for 328m (two at the P6 prospect and three at the A1 prospect) were completed (two of these did not reach target depth due to drilling performance), with assay results received for 3 holes.
- In the northern areas around the Mikouma and Binda prospects, infill soil sampling has strengthened existing gold targets in these regions with anomalies up to 200ppb Au. Follow up ground reconnaissance will assist in delineating further the drill targets.
- Company to undertake a one (1) for three (3) non-renounceable entitlements offer to raise approximately $3.25 million (before costs).
Figure 1: Examples of visible gold identified in SLDD004 – at 19.04m (associated with chalcopyrite (Cpy) and galena (Gn)).
The Company cautions that visual estimates of sulphides or mineral abundance should never be considered a proxy or substitute for laboratory analysis. Laboratory analysis would be required to determine the widths and grades of sulphides, visible gold, or suspected mineralised intervals reported herein. Visual information also potentially provides no information regarding impurities or deleterious physical properties relevant to valuations. Assays are expected within 3-5 weeks.
Apollo Minerals’ Managing Director, Mr Neil Inwood, commented:
“The first pass drilling is highly encouraging having identified visible gold associated with quartz veining at A1 and a significant shear/quartz vein system at P6. Assays are pending from the key holes at A1. The Salanie system is interpreted to be in the same regional trend of Archean greenstones as Managem’s 1m oz Eteke deposit; highlighting the potential in the broader system.”
“Unfortunately, a combination of late arrival and poor performance from the drilling contractor and the end of the field season has meant that less than a quarter of the planned holes for 2024 were completed and the P6 target was only partially tested by one drill hole. We are in advanced discussions with another drilling company to commence drilling in the new year. Such a partner will enable a significant increase in drilling rate and quality and enable us to further unlock the untested potential at the Salanie Gold Project.”
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This article includes content from Apollo Minerals 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.
Wadi Al Junah VMS-Style Copper-Zinc-Gold-Silver Project in Saudi Arabia
Highlights
- As announced on 6 November, MBK’s Saudi Arabian JV company, has been awarded the Wadi Al Junah Project as part of the Saudi Government’s Exploration Licensing Round 6
- Wadi Al Junah is prospective for volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) copper-zinc- gold-silver mineralisation and for shear zone gold-silver, with several untested priority targets
- The Project is 35km east of the Al Hajar Au-Ag-(Cu-Zn) deposit previously mined by Ma’aden and is proximal to the regional centre of Bisha, and close to major access routes, local towns and workforce
- Saudi exploration strategy is supported by a well capitalised in-country JV Company in CMC and significant Saudi government incentives to de-risk and fast-track exploration
- Metal Bank continues to assess new potential project areas in Saudi Arabia prospective for copper, gold and other critical minerals – several tenement applications in progress
CMC is a Saudi Arabian limited liability company owned by MBK (60%) and Central Mining Holding Company (‘CMH’, 40%). CMH is a member of the Al Qahtani Holdings group, and was the JV partner of Citadel Resources which, under the leadership of Inés Scotland as Managing Director, was responsible for the exploration and development of the Jabal Sayid copper project in Saudi Arabia (prior to its acquisition by Equinox). CMC will be responsible for managing and implementing the work program for the Wadi Al Junah project utilising the technical expertise of MBK, as the exploration JV partner, in combination with the KSA expertise of the Al Qahtani Group. CMC has a current capitalisation of SAR5m (~AUD2.1m).
Wadi al Junah with an area of 427km2 was the largest of the projects offered in Round 6 and is proximal to the major regional centre and airport of Bisha, with major access routes passing through the license area and local towns and workforce close by. The Project is located in the prospective Wadi Shwas Gold Belt, a region under-explored for shear zone gold, VMS copper-zinc-gold-silver and intrusion-related gold and base metal deposits. It is supported by several mineral occurrences with encouraging geological observations, and gold, silver and copper grades in historic regional- scale reconnaissance mapping, which have not been followed up by modern work.
MBK’s technical team has prepared a comprehensive two-year work program, with an initial focus on following up the previous limited and surface based exploration for mineral occurrences of copper, gold and silver. MBK is aiming to be drill-ready within the next six months.
Commenting on this acquisition, Metal Bank’s Chair, Inés Scotland said:
“The successful tender for the Wadi al Junah project in Saudi Arabia by our JV company CMC via a tightly contested and highly competitive exploration round speaks to our commitment, capability and technical expertise in achieving our strategy of acquiring prospective tenure within Saudi Arabia, which we believe remains underexplored and highly prospective.
Wadi al Junah represents our first project back in Saudi Arabia, a region in which MBK’s management team has extensive experience and a proven track record of success, having previously developed the Jabal Sayid project. We are well-supported by both our JV partner and the significant government incentives provided by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in search for the next Jabal Sayid. The Arabian Shield has so much underexplored potential, and we are ready to get our initial phase of exploration underway as quickly as possible.”
Wadi al Junah Copper-Zinc-Gold-Silver Summary
The Wadi al Junah project area covers an area of 427sq km within the Asir province of the Arabian Shield, southwest Saudi Arabia (Figures 1 and 2). It is approximately 375km south-east of Jeddah, 150km east-northeast of the port of Al Quinfidhad and around 35km east of the Al Hajar Au-Ag-(Cu- Zn) deposit previously mined by Ma’aden. It is proximal to the major regional centre and airport of Bisha, with major access routes passing through the license area and local towns and workforce close by. The majority of the project area is accessed by local tracks and wadi valleys in moderate topography.
Figure 1: MBK MENA projects showing Wadi al Junah (Saudi Arabia) and Malaqa, Area 47 and Area 65 (Jordan).
Figure 2: Wadi al Junah location map within the Arabian Shield showing major geological provinces and major Au and Cu mines (modified from KSA Ministry of Industry and Minerals publication after Nehlig et al, 2002)
Geology
Wadi al Junah is situated within the central Asir terrane of the Archaean Arabian Shield (Figure 2) within the ~80km long north-trending Wadi Shwas Gold Belt. The Shwas VMS belt on the western margin of the Wadi Shwas Gold Belt is host to the Al Hajar Au-Ag-Cu-Zn deposit, and numerous other VMS base metal and Au mineral occurrences of Proterozoic age are present in the region (Figure 3).
Three known mineral occurrences occur in the tenement area – Haniyat (Ag-Cu-+/-Au+/-Zn), Wadi al Maytha (Ag-Cu) and Wadi Umm Rahka (Ag-Cu). Very limited rock chip sampling as part of regional scale mapping work in the 1960’s and 1970’s includes results up to 1.53% Cu, 0.44g/t Au and 160g/t Ag from these prospects, which were never followed up1.
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This article includes content from Metal Bank 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.
Octava to Commence Drilling at Yallalong High-Grade Antimony Project
Highlights
- Drill rig relocating to site with drilling to commence this weekend.
- The 3000m reverse circulation (RC) drill program is targeting further high-grade antimony at the Discovery prospect.
- Historic drilling at Discovery recorded high-grade antimony intercepts over a strike length of ~300m and remains open. Results include:
- YRC16: 7m @ 3.27% Sb from 12m including 1m @ 11.5% from 18m
- YRC06: 3m @ 6.83% Sb from 21m including 1m @ 13.6% Sb from 22m
- After drilling at Discovery, the drill rig will relocate to the Central antimony target, 2km north along strike. There has been no previous drilling at Central.
- A detailed geophysical survey over the antimony corridor at Yallalong is now complete, with the data being processed. This is expected to generate further targets within the antimony corridor.
Octava’s Managing Director Bevan Wakelam stated, "It’s great to have the rig heading to site and earlier than we had planned. The drilling will start on Discovery, then move to the Central target and should take about 2 weeks to complete. High-grade antimony has already been intersected at Discovery over a significant strike length and this drilling will further test the size. We will also twin some of the previously drilled holes."
Figure 1. Planned drill hole locations at the Discovery antimony target - Yallalong Antimony Project.
The antimony (Sb) mineralisation identified at Yallalong appears within a 10km north-south striking mineralised corridor that is interpreted to be related to a structural belt between the regional scale Darling and Woodrarung faults. Previous exploration identified four principal antimony targets where antimony mineralisation was exposed at surface. Only the Discovery Prospect has any drilling and remains open. Antimony ingot prices at that time were ~$8000/tonne compared to over $30,000/tonne now1.
Figure 2. Antimony targets at Yallalong antimony project with underlying geology.
Drilling at Discovery target recorded some of the highest-grade antimony drill intersections in Australia, at shallow depth, over a strike of ~300m including:
- YRC16: 7m @ 3.27% Sb from 12m including 1m @ 11.5% from 18m
- YRC06: 3m @ 6.83% Sb from 21m including 1m @ 13.6% Sb from 22m
- YRC27: 6m @ 1.35% Sb from 13m
After drilling at the Discovery target is complete, the rig will then move to the Central target, which is located 2 kilometres north along strike. There has been no previous drilling at the Central target.
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Targeted Exploration Focus Delivers an Additional 471koz or 99% Increase in Ounces, and a Higher Grade for Ricciardo
HIGHLIGHTS:
- Updated Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) for the Ricciardo Deposit (part of the broader Golden Range Project) of 16.44 Mt @ 1.8 g/t Au for 947.5 koz gold.
- Represents a 99% increase in Ricciardo MRE contained gold ounces.
- Proven high-returning exploration with the increased Ricciardo MRE ounces delivered at an attractive all-in discovery cost of only approx. A$16/oz.
- High-quality resource additions given drilling focus on high-grade growth ounces with strong commercial potential.
- The updated Ricciardo MRE comprises:
- 467.5 koz @ 1.6 g/t Au open-pit gold Resource (75% M&I) (optimised pit shell constrained at A$3,300/oz)
- 480.0 koz @ 2.0 g/t Au underground gold Resource
- Critically, the Ricciardo system remains wide open at depth and along strike.
- Total Golden Range Project Mineral Resources now stand at over 1.28 Moz gold, a 58% increase from the previous level.
- This initial outcome validates the excellent potential for further growth within the broader 25km ‘Golden Corridor’ via the ongoing, simple strategy of targeting fresh rock extensions under shallow existing pits.
- RC drilling at the southern end of the ‘Golden Corridor’ targeting high-grade Resource growth is progressing well; 9 holes completed for 1,472 metres to date, assays pending.
Warriedar Managing Director and CEO, Amanda Buckingham, commented:
“This is the result we have been working towards all year. With less than 15,000m of targeted, efficient drilling we have added over 470 koz to the Ricciardo deposit, doubling the Resource.
We are excited by both the outcome itself, and the outlook that it delivers us for the wider corridor of gold deposits. The simple strategy of drilling below shallow open pits to find mineable ounces worked exceptionally well for our producing neighbours. The validity of this strategy is now beyond doubt, for us.
Not only is the Ricciardo system still wide open down-plunge, but the entire 25km long ‘Golden Corridor’ offers similar potential upside from such a relatively simple drilling focus.
In the middle of the infrastructure-rich southern Murchison, and located on existing Mining Leases, the opportunity in front of us is utterly irresistible.”
The Ricciardo Deposit
The Ricciardo Gold Deposit is located on existing mining leases 100% owned by WA8, in the Murchison Region, approximately 300 km east of Geraldton, and 420 km by road north-northeast of Perth. Sitting approximately 8km South of the Golden Range Mill on M59/421, and M59/458, within the Golden Range group of historic open pit mines and deposits.
Discovered in the 1990’s, open pit mining of the oxide resources commenced in 2001, and the plant entered Care & Maintenance twice (between July 2004 and 2009, and May 2010 to mid- 2013). Production was over 300 Koz before finally going into ongoing Care and Maintenance in August 2019.
The Ricciardo deposit is located 90km north of Capricorn Metals’ Mt Gibson Gold Project, 8kms south of the Company’s plant, 26km from the neighbouring Golden Grove processing facility and 40 km northeast of Vault Minerals’ high grade Rothsay gold mine (Figure 1).
Figure 1: The location of the Ricciardo gold deposit within the Golden Range Project; within the broader Southern Murchison region.
The Ricciardo gold system spans a strike length of approximately 2.3km, with very limited drilling having been undertaken below 100m depth prior to Warriedar drilling. Historical mining operations at Ricciardo were primarily focused on oxide material, with the transition and primary sulphides mineralisation not systematically explored.
Warriedar’s drilling of Ricciardo during CY2024 achieved excellent results, demonstrating high- grade extensions to the resource. The results demonstrated that the previously quantified resource is part of a much larger system.
Warriedar engaged independent mining consultants, Measured Group to update the Ricciardo MRE, previously reported 476Koz gold.1
The Ricciardo Gold Deposit consists of six semi-continuous historical open pit mines along the 2.3 km arcuate stretch of the Mougooderra Shear Zone, running north to south. These mines are named (from north to south) Silverstone North, Ardmore, Copse, Silverstone, Silverstone South, and Eastern Creek (Figure 2).
Figure 2: Drilling carried out by the Company during 2023 & 2024, which was used to update the MRE.
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