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Newfield Resources Limited(ASX: NWF) (Company) is pleased to announce that its wholly owned subsidiary, Sierra Diamonds Limited (SDL), has entered into a Conditional and Non-Binding Terms Sheet for a US$50 million secured debt facility with the AFC for the continuing development of the Tongo Diamond Mine into commercial production.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Conditional and Non-Binding Terms Sheet for a US$50 million debt facility (Facility) has been executed with the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) for the continuing development of the Tongo Diamond Project (Project). Detailed due diligence is in progress with the AFC and its independent consulting groups.
- The Facility will enable the production ramp-up at the Tongo Diamond Mine to be accelerated, construction of the designed 50tph processing plant and final recovery and advance the Tongo Dyke-1 kimberlite into development and production.
- Recent operations have focused on stope mining of the eastern segment of the Kundu ore reserve with plans to establish development towards the west of Kundu being implemented.
- Next diamond sale scheduled for mid-July 2023.
AFC is a multilateral financial institution established in 2007 to be the catalyst for private sector-led infrastructure investment across Africa. AFC’s approach combines specialist industry expertise with a focus on financial and technical advisory, project structuring, project development, and risk capital to address Africa’s infrastructure development needs and drive sustainable economic growth.
Sixteen years on, AFC has developed a track record as the partner of choice in Africa for investing and delivering on instrumental, high-quality infrastructure assets that provide essential services in the core infrastructure sectors of power, natural resources, heavy industry, transport, and telecommunications. AFC has 40 member countries and has invested US$11.5 billion across Africa since its inception.
The key material terms of the Terms Sheet include:
Provision of the facility will be announced on completion of the conditions to financial close.
NWF Executive Director Mr Karl Smithson commented:
“We are delighted to have signed the Terms Sheet with the AFC, representing a significant milestone for the Company. The due diligence progress preceding this Terms Sheet has been extensive, and we are pleased with the progress made to date. Due diligence is ongoing, led by the AFC and its independent consulting groups concerning technical, financial, environmental and social aspects of the Company and the Tongo Mine development.
“The Board of Directors are of the opinion that the Terms Sheet is a crucial step forward and provides a framework for the parties to align on the financing terms for the Project.
“Through its own funding, Newfield has substantially advanced the Tongo Mine from exploration to development and into first production. We believe that the right financing partnership will enable the Tongo Mine to move to full-scale production and create many positive benefits for all stakeholders, including the local communities, the Government of Sierra Leone and the shareholders of Newfield.
“Our capable technical team, including recently appointed technical adviser to the Board, Koos Visser, is actively progressing off and on-site due diligence processes with the AFC’s independent advisor groups, and we look forward to providing further updates as we progress.”
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Advanced High-Grade Antimony & Silver Project Aquisition
Highlights
- High-grade Montezuma antimony-silver-lead deposit defined by surface channel sampling, exploration adit face sampling and diamond drill core sampling.
- Surface grab samples grade up to 24.5% antimony (Sb) & 3,050 g/t silver (Ag)
- Diamond drill core samples grade up to 20.3% antimony (Sb) & 1,990g/t silver (Ag)
- Development face samples grade up to 21.4% antimony (Sb) & 2,478g/t silver (Ag)
- Development of portal box cut and commencement of exploration drive has produced stockpiled mineralisation. Representative bulk sampling of combined mineralisation/waste averaged 4.75% antimony (Sb) & 239 g/t silver (Ag) and representative bulk sampling of mineralisation only, averaged 9.02% antimony (Sb) & 769 g/t silver (Ag) reconciling well with corresponding face sampling.
- Metallurgical test work is well advanced with 90% recoveries of antimony achieved producing a saleable antimony product.
- R&D funding discussions are ongoing with local and international institutions including those representing major western governments.
- Montezuma Antimony Project acquisition complements Lode’s antimony exploration portfolio in the New England Fold Belt, NSW’s most prolific antimony province. Together, these assets create a formidable Antimony division within Lode.
- Also compliments Lode's high-grade Silver portfolio with assays due shortly from the Webbs Consol Silver project where drilling at the Castlereagh prospect has been completed.
- Montezuma Antimony Project acquisition terms include:
- $50,000 non-refundable cash deposit payable within 2 business of execution of the HOAie 22 October 2024; plus
- $200,000 cash payable on completion of the Proposed Acquisition; plus
- 10,000,000 fully paid ordinary shares in the Company at a deemed issue price of $0.10per share on completion of the Proposed Acquisition subject to 12-month escrow; plus
- Up to 6,000,000 fully paid ordinary shares in the Company at a deemed issue price of $0.10 per share upon satisfaction of certain performance hurdles by the Sellers (key terms are outlined in Annexure 1) and subject to 12-month escrow.
- The fully paid ordinary shares will be issued under listing rule 7.1 using the Company's existing capacity.
Proposal to Acquire Montezuma Antimony Project
The Montezuma Antimony Project includes a high-grade antimony-silver-lead deposit with initial development, advanced metallurgical test work and significant beneficiation infrastructure.
Montezuma Antimony Project Deposit
The Montezuma Antimony Project deposit (2M-2023, EL7-2019) is located between well-known mining centres such as Rosebery (Zn,Cu,Pb), Renison Bell (Sn), Henty (Au) and Zeehan(Pb,Ag). Access is via the Zeehan township located 14km to the west.
Figure 5. Montezuma Antimony Project located in Tasmanian’s premier West Coast Mining Province
The Montezuma antimony-silver-lead deposit is a structurally controlled lode, emplaced primarily within the well-known Motezuma fault and hosted by a sequence of turbidites. Antimony and lead are contained within Jamesonite, a lead-iron-antimony sulphide mineral (Pb4FeSb6S14) and is a late-stage hydrothermal mineral forming at moderate to low temperatures. This project is also prospective for copper, zinc and gold.
The Montezuma antimony-silver-lead deposit is defined by surface sampling of the exposed mineralised structure over 50m strike length, development face sampling and 13 diamond drill holes which have intercepted high-grade mineralisation down to a depth of 80m. The Montezuma antimony-silver-lead deposit remains open to the north, south and at depth.
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$500,000 Raised for Uranium Exploration at Munaballya Well Target
- Augustus Minerals has raised over $500,000 via a Placement.
- Proceeds from the capital raising will fund:
- On-ground exploration at the large Munaballya Well uranium target following up the recent VTEM Heli airborne geophysics program.
- An expanded soils/rock chip program to progress newly identified rock chip prospects to drill ready status and continue the exploration over as yet untested areas.
- Exploration works are continuing over various targets along the highly prospective Ti- Tree Shear with diamond drilling in progress at the Minne Springs Copper- Molybdenum porphyry prospect.
Under the placement, AUG will issue 10,000,000 fully paid ordinary shares (Shares) at an issue price of $0.05 per Share.
Funds raised through the Placement will be used primarily for the following:
- On-ground exploration at the large Munaballya Well uranium target following up the recent VTEM Heli airborne geophysics program (final interpretation imminent).
- An expanded soils/rock chip program to progress newly identified rock chip prospects to drill ready status and continue the exploration over as yet untested areas.
- Heritage survey over newly defined areas once progressed to drilling status,
- Working capital and costs of the Placement.
The Munaballya Well (GSWA listed uranium occurrence) main basin U anomaly covers 4km x 0.7km area, with uranium concentrated in weathered dolomitic marls of Carnarvon Basin sediments. Figure 1 shows the area of the main uranium channel anomaly from an open file ground radiometric survey conducted by Thundelarra Uranium, as carnotite is concentrated in top 5-10m of weathered dolomitic layers.
VTEM survey is testing for near surface weathering of surficial zones as well as investigating the potential for deeper Unconformity Style mineralisation along the contact between the basement granites and metamorphics and the Carnarvon Basin sediments.
Figure 1 Aster, ground radiometrics and Airborne Radiometric images from WAMEX Open File Report a87139 Thundelarra Exploration 2010.
The Placement Shares will be issued utilising the Company’s existing Listing Rule 7.1 capacity.
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This article includes content from Augustus 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.
Justinian Cu-Au Prospect Extended Over 3km with 5.3g/t Au and Cu to 16%
Augustus Minerals has received new assays from ongoing soil sampling and rock chip sampling programs conducted on the Justinian prospect and adjacent areas at the Ti- Tree Project, in Western Australia
- High grade rock chips assaying up to 16% copper and up to 5.32g/t gold have been identified from field work over a 3.3 x 1.1km area
- The copper and gold identified in rock chips supports the anomalous soil sampling results from the recent regional survey.
- The soil and rock chip results define areas of Cu and Au anomalism related to splays of the Ti-Tree Shear wrapping around the Crawford Granite.
- Other anomalous soils have identified areas for further mapping and rock chip sampling north and west of Crawford Bore, and west of Coo Creek Broken Hill Style target.
- Elevated copper and lead in soils identified on a NE trending shear at Howell’s Gap
- Strong base metal anomalism over the Moogooree carbonate hosted Zn-Pb target.
Mapping and field work is continuing to increase the definition and tenor of anomalies to drill targets for future programs.
The soil samples, sieved in the field to pass -80#, were scanned by Portable Spectral Services (PSS) at their West Perth office under controlled conditions. In the western Ti-Tree area, above background levels of Cu, Pb and Zn were returned which defined adjacent or frequently coincident trends (Figure 2). Figure 3 shows Cu-in-soils and copper in rock chips. The validity of the soil anomalies was validated by some overlap between historic sampling using traditional wet assay methods and the new pXRF data.
Gold-in-soils was determined by 50g Fire Assay at Intertek’s Perth laboratory.
Figure 1 Prospects and VTEM Survey areas
Table 1 Significant Rock Chips Justinian (>0.1% Cu, 0.1g/t Au or 0.1% Pb).
Justinian Prospect
Review of soil sampling data from the regional soil program has identified several new targets and/or extensions to existing prospects.
Previous rock chip sampling1 identified gold to 10.1g/t at Justinian (Figures 1 and 2). Further rock chips within the soil anomaly have returned assays to 5.32g/t Au (WA001301) and 16% Cu (WA001310) (Table 1).
Justinian also shows anomalous levels of lead and zinc (Figure 2).
The mineralisation is dominantly hosted within the Leake Springs Metamorphics, a complex package of pelitic schist and fine-grained often garnet rich psammite.
Figures 3 and 4 show Au and Cu respectively in soil (pXRF results) and rock chips (four acid digest or aqua regia digest) at the Justinian prospect. The validity of the soil anomalies was validated by some overlap between historic sampling using traditional wet assay methods and the new pXRF data.
The Justinian prospect has been extended to cover a 3.2km x 1.1km area containing several distinct soil anomalies which appear to be coincident with diffracted splays of the Ti-Tree Shear around the Crawford Granite intrusions. It is possible that the diffraction around the more rigid granite bodies is causing dilation where the Ti-Tree Shear splays penetrate the host Leake Springs Metamorphics.
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Prospective IOCG Target Identified at the Coober Pedy Copper Project, SA
- Magnetic and gravity responses highlight the potential for IOCG mineralisation.
- Limited historical drilling data provides evidence for an alteration footprint.
- Project located at northern end of the world-class Olympic Dam IOCG Province.
AusQuest’s Managing Director, Graeme Drew, said the Company was encouraged by the results of the survey, which confirmed the potential for large-scale copper-gold discoveries within a Tier-1 mineral province.
“The recent gravity survey has provided support for the occurrence of IOCG-style mineralisation within our Coober Pedy Project, which is located at the northern end of a world-class IOCG Province which already hosts several major copper-(gold) deposits, including Olympic Dam, Carrapateena and Prominent Hill, as shown in Figure 1,” he said.
Figure 1: Coober Pedy Project Location Plan showing major deposits in the area.
A detailed gravity survey was completed by Daishsat Geodetic Surveyors (400m x 100m grid with selected in-fill lines at 200m) outlining possible targets for drilling. A residual gravity image is provided below showing two anomalous areas within a broader gravity response (~5km x 2km), that are associated with historic drill-holes that were found to contain potassic alteration (Figure 2).
Correlation with available aeromagnetic data shows that the gravity anomalies are offset from the stronger magnetic responses, suggesting the possibility of hematite rather than magnetite as a possible cause for the gravity anomalies (Figure 3).
Figure 2: Residual Gravity Image showing location of gravity stations and historic drill-holes (Vale 2015) containing potassic alteration
Figure 3: First Vertical Derivative magnetic image plus residual gravity contours showing the location of historic drill-holes relative to the magnetic and gravity anomalies.
Analysis of available geochemical data contained within historical company reports provided by Government (PIRSA)*, was used to highlight the presence of potassic alteration within both drill-holes (GAW_RC01 and RC02), and the presence of additional proximity indicator elements, including an enrichment in iron (Fe) within drill-hole GAW_RC01, that suggests the possibility of a nearby IOCG system.
The close association of hematite and magnetite with IOCG mineralisation is well known in the IOCG Province of South Australia, which hosts the world-class deposits of Olympic Dam, Carrapateena and Prominent Hill, and is the main reason why magnetic and gravity surveys are commonly used to identify targets for drilling in these areas.
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Deep Diamond Drilling Commences on Large Copper-Mo Porphyry System
- Diamond Drilling has commenced to target a large copper-molybdenum porphyry system at Minnie Springs.
- The deeper diamond drilling is designed to target beneath a 3km long by 1km wide copper molybdenum soil anomaly.
- Previous drilling at Minnie Springs intersected mineralisation, geology and an alteration halo consistent with the zoning of a large porphyry copper / molybdenum system.
- The drilling is supported by a co-funded drilling grant of up to $110,000 for 700m deep diamond drill holes under the WA Government’s Exploration Incentive Scheme (EIS) for the Minnie Springs prospect.
Andrew Ford, GM Exploration
“The commencement of the diamond drilling marks an exciting time for Augustus, with the first hole testing below the existing molybdenum mineralised zone and targeting a high- grade copper core of a porphyry system”
The diamond program scheduled for completion mid-November.
Minnie Springs
Minnie Springs hosts porphyry related Copper - Mo mineralisation that was previously drilled by Equatorial Mining and Catalyst Metals. A molybdenum Exploration Target has previously been defined by SRK Consulting for the historic drilling area as outlined below (Table 1)1.
Alteration mapping suggests a potential tilting of the Minnie Springs system to the northeast, with untested potential for higher grade Copper - Mo mineralisation below existing drilling within the potassic altered zone (Figure 1).
Table 1. Exploration target size estimate for Minnie Springs Molybdenum depositNote: Based on ~300 ppm Mo cut-off at 100% recovery.
Clarifying Statement: The potential quantity and grade of the exploration target is conceptual in nature, there has been insufficient exploration to estimate a Mineral Resources, and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in the estimation of a Mineral Resource.
Figure 1. Schematic cross section looking northwest showing porphyry copper-molybdenum deposit model (Pour and Hashim 2012 – inset at right) rotated 90 degrees and superimposed on existing and planned drilling2.
The program is supported by the WA Government’s Exploration Incentive Scheme (EIS) drilling grant of up to $110,000 for two 700m deep diamond drill holes at the Minnie Springs prospect.
The drilling is designed to provide a 550m deep, geological/geochemical/structural cross- section through the large 3km long by 1km wide copper molybdenum porphyry system.
Previous drilling at Minnie Springs intersected mineralisation, geology and alteration halo consistent with the zoning of a porphyry copper / moly system.
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