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Augustus Minerals (ASX: AUG; “Augustus” or the “Company”) is pleased to advise that a 3,400m reverse circulation (RC) drill program has commenced at the Ti-Tree Project, ~200kms east of Carnarvon in Western Australia. The program is designed to complete the first pass drill coverage of the 3.5km long soil copper anomaly located 300m northeast of the defined molybdenum mineralisation / exploration target estimate (Figure 1).
- 3,400m RC drill program has commenced at the Minnie Springs Cu-Mo-Ag porphyry prospect, with deeper diamond drilling planned for June.
- The drilling will follow-up on the 2023 program where MSRC0121 intersected:
- 18m @ 0.52% CuEq (0.37% Cu and 9.7 g/t Ag) from 94m downhole, and;
- 16m @ 0.69% CuEq (0.38% Cu and 19.4g/t Ag) from 121m downhole
- The drilling will also target the northern 2km of the strong copper-in-soil anomaly that has now had Heritage Clearance.
- A deeper diamond drilling program is planned for June to test the undrilled area between the molybdenum mineralisation and the 3.5km long copper-in-soil trend.
Andrew Ford, GM Exploration
“The 2023 program intersected one of the strongest copper intervals in this region to date. Combined with the extensive surface anomalism and the large nearby Minnie Springs Molybdenum Porphyry, we affirm our belief of the potential of a substantial mineral system at this project. Drilling will be conducted north, south and at depth of MSRC012 to further define extensions of the Minnie Springs copper discovery intersected last year. This program will also give us a first look at the northern half of the 2km long high-level copper anomaly.”
The deeper diamond program scheduled for June will provide drill coverage between the molybdenum mineralised core intrusion and the large copper-in-soil anomaly.
Figure 1. Minnie Springs existing and planned RC Drilling over gridded copper in soil geochemistry (blue shades are l< 40ppm Cu, red colours are > 90ppm Cu in soils). Historic drilling has defined the molybdenum rich zone. Copper grades shown as bar graphs.
In parallel with the drilling, the extensive soil sampling program that commenced in late February (Figure 2) continues with initial results expected from Moogooree and Howells Gap in the next few weeks.
Click here for the full ASX Release
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.
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Diversification can be key to a profitable mining and exploration strategy. While there's no shortage of companies that have experienced great success by focusing on a single commodity, there's always an element of risk to that approach. There is always the risk that certain commodities will fall in price whilst others rise. Augustus Minerals, a newly listed exploration company on the ASX (AUG) is cognizant of this fact. An exploration company based in Western Australia, Augustus has acquired a 100-percent interest in a land package covering some 3,600 square kilometers in Western Australia's Upper Gascoyne region. Although traditionally known as a source of base metals, gold and uranium, the Gascoyne is rapidly emerging as a prime target for rare earths and lithium discoveries.
As an early mover to the region, Augustus’s vast landholding is highly prospective for lithium, rare earths, copper and gold. Its Ti-Tree project contains 85 kilometers of the Ti Tree and Mingabar shear zones, with extensive, untested, multi-element mineralization and surface anomalies.
The Gascoyne region is a large emerging critical mineral province with several deposits having been discovered in the last few years. These include multiple Ironstone REE discoveries by Dreadnought Resources (ASX:DRE), Hastings Technology's (ASX:HAS) Yangibana Ironstone REE project and Lanthanein Resources' (ASX:LNR) Lyons Ironstone REE project, as well as a large lithium discovery at Delta Lithium's (ASX:DLT) Yinnetharra location.
Directed by a highly experienced management team with extensive knowledge about mining and exploration in the Gascoyne, Augustus's exploration program will focus on more than 50 priority targets already identified by the company. These include potential lithium bearing pegmatites, REE-rich ironstones and shear/porphyry-hosted copper systems. Thus far, the company has completed multiple geophysical surveys and collected more than 15,000 soil samples.
Company Highlights
- Augustus Minerals is an Australian exploration company focused on the highly-prospective Gascoyne region of Western Australia.
- The company has 100 percent ownership of a land package covering 3,600 square kilometers.
- Augustus has identified multiple high-priority lithium, rare earth and copper targets throughout its project, with strong mineralization intersected at multiple locations across multiple commodities.
- Augustus's leadership team has the benefit of significant local knowledge regarding exploration of the Gascoyne province.
Key Asset
Ti Tree Project
Situated in the Shire of Upper Gascoyne and the Shire of Carnarvon, the Ti Tree project displays significant exploration potential for a number of different mineralised styles as well as possibly, multi-commodity discoveries. Spanning a contiguous 3,600 square kilometers, it also has the distinction of being one of the largest properties in the region. Augustus Minerals maintains 100 percent ownership over Ti-Tree, which intersects along the shear of the same name.
The company has identified several high-priority drilling targets along the Ti-Tree and Mingabar structures ready for reverse circulation, diamond or air core drilling.
Highlights:
- Emerging Geological Province: The Gascoyne region displays highly prospective geology and has been the site of multiple rare earth and lithium discoveries in recent years, but has experienced limited historic exploration — making it a prime opportunity for Augustus Minerals.
- Multiple Commodities: Augustus has identified more than 50 significant lithium, rare earth and copper targets. Many of these high-quality targets are ready for drilling.
- Size and Speed: The Ti Tree Project consists of a single coherent block of tenements covering 3,600 square kilometers with 85 kilometers of strike along the Ti-Tree Shear. As an early mover in the region, Augustus was able to gain a considerable advantage in securing this project, into which it has thus far invested $5 million.
- Fertile Geology: Augustus's investment displays the same geology as multiple highly successful neighboring discoveries.
- Mineralization: Current mineral resource targets include:
- 27 rare earth targets across 65 kilometers of strike. All targets display strong thorium radiometric signatures.
- Multiple mafic intrusions with copper-nickel-PGE (platinum group elements) mineralization. The copper resource is both shear-hosted and porphyry-related.
- Elevated lithium stream samples over 10 kilometers of strike length. The target area displays the same geological host rock as the Yinnetharra lithium discovery.
- A narrow, shear vein-hosted gold occurrence with anomalous mineralization displayed in several surrounding areas. The area, known as the Bassit Bore, outcrops at the surface, where visible gold is readily identifiable in hand specimens. Samples collected over 600 meters returned very high gold values.
Management Team
Andrew Ford – General Manager, Exploration
Andrew’s career spans 35 years of exploration and mine development experience in multiple commodities for both majors, including Homestake and Barrick Gold, and junior ASX-listed companies. He has led technical teams throughout Australia, Africa, USA, Europe and Asia, including leading the geology team at the Bawdwin base metals project in Myanmar through the DFS process.
In his most recent role Andrew has led the geology team at Hastings Technology Metals with a focus on resource growth and exploration at the Yangibana Rare Earths Project, where Mineral Resources have now grown to 29.93Mt of TREO.
Brian Rodan - Executive Chairman
Brian Rodan is a fellow of the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy with 45 years’ experience. Previously, he was the managing director and owner of Australian Contract Mining (ACM), a mid-tier mining contracting company that successfully completed $1.5 billion worth of work over a 20-year period.
For 15 years, Rodan held various roles with Eltin Limited (including general manager between 1993 and 1996 and executive director between 1996 and 1999), Australia’s largest full service ASX-listed contract mining company with an annual turnover of $850 million. He was a founding director of Dacian Gold (2013) and Desert Metals (2020) and became the largest shareholder upon listing both companies on the ASX.
Rodan is currently executive chairman of Siren Gold and Iceni Gold Limited, and is currently the largest shareholder in both companies as well as Augustus Minerals.
Graeme Smith - Non-Executive Director
Graeme Smith is an experienced resources sector chief financial officer, company secretary and corporate executive who has worked with mining and exploration companies with operations in Australia (Croesus Mining NL, Genesis Minerals Limited, Jabiru Metals Limited, Breaker Resources NL, Pluton Resources Limited) and overseas (Tanga Resources Limited, Ikwezi Mining Limited) for the past 30 years.
He is the principal of Wembley Corporate Services, which provides company secretarial, CFO and corporate governance services to public companies.
Smith is a fellow of the Australian Society of Certified Practising Accountants, the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators, and the Governance Institute of Australia. He is currently the company secretary for Alto Metals, Avenira, Renegade Exploration and Enterprise Metals, and was a director of ASX-listed Anglo Australian Resources.
Darren Holden - Non-Executive Director
Dr. Darren Holden is a geologist with 28 years of industry experience in mineral exploration and exploration technologies. He has worked in North America, the Pacific and Australia, where he has been involved in discovery-stage copper, gold, silver, molybdenum and platinum group elements deposits. He specializes in regional to local scale targeting using the integration of geology, geophysics and geochemistry.
Holden is a past vice-president of Geoinformatics/Fractal Geoscience and a former CEO of a publicly listed gold explorer. He currently runs exploration advisory business GeoSpy, and is a co-founder of successful private project generation businesses Marlee Minerals and Odette Geoscience. He is also currently a director Aurumin (ASX:AUN) and chair of OD6 Metals (ASX:OD6), as well as several private companies.
Holden holds a BSc (hons) first class (geology) from The University of Western Australia and a PhD (history) from The University of Notre Dame Australia. He is a fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and a member of the Geological Society of Australia.
Quarterly Activities Report for the Period Ending 31 March 2024
Highlights
- Assay results received from last quarter's drilling at the Ti-Tree project identified mineralisation at several prospects.
- Strong results, consistent with the zones of a porphyry copper system were received from the first 22 holes drilled into the Minnie Springs Cu-Mo-Ag porphyry prospect, including intercepts of:
- MSRC012: 18m @ 0.37% Cu and 9.7 g/t Ag from 94m downhole, and;
- 16m @ 0.38% Cu and 19.4g/t Ag from 121m downhole
- MSRC022: 7m @ 0.19% Cu from 87m downhole
- MSRC011: 7m @ 0.12% Cu from 21m downhole
- MSRC012 mineralisation contained significant base metal and silver including:
- 5m @ 27.6 g/t Ag, 0.25% Pb and 0.15% Zn with 148 ppm Mo from 107m, and
- 14m @ 21.5 g/t Ag, 0.18% Pb and 0.1% Zn with 274ppm Mo from 122m
- Copper Ridge CRRC008 returned:
- 4m @ 0.91% Cu from 13m
- Including 2m @ 1.67% Cu
- A 3,400m RC drill program has commenced at Minnie Springs, with deeper diamond drilling planned for June.
- Extensive soil sampling program commenced, representing the first systematic exploration over large parts of the mineralised Ti-Tree and adjacent Minga Bar Shears
- Soil program to target both base metal-gold and lithium prospective Leake Spring Metamorphics as well as extensions to the Minnie Springs porphyry style copper- molybdenum trend.
- Cash position of $4.55m as of 31 March
During the period Augustus received the drill results from the Ti-Tree project’s maiden reverse circulation (RC) drilling program completed last quarter. The program was designed primarily to test six advanced targets where existing soil and/or rock chip anomalies had been generated.
Augustus has continued to advance its mineral exploration ground efforts within the Ti-Tree Project with a regional soil sampling program commencing in March and a second RC drilling program commencing in early April at the Minnie Springs Cu-Mo-Ag porphyry prospect.
Drilling Activities
The Ti-Tree project covers some 3,600km2 and overlies 85kms of strike of the Ti-Tree Shear which is known to host a significant number of mineral occurrences in the region. The project area also contains >20kms of strike of the Money Intrusion, where Dreadnought Resources (ASX:DRE) has recently discovered significant Ni-Cu-PGE mineralisation1 .
Assay results from late last quarter’s drilling which comprised 78 holes totalling 9,086m of Reverse Circulation (RC) drilling were received in the March quarter2.
The primary focus of this drill program was to target significant mineralised zones defined by surface exploration completed across the 6 prospect areas of Minnie Springs, Coo Creek, Nick’s Bore, Copper Ridge, Crawford Bore and Crawford South (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Map of Crawford area and Minnie Springs, key drilling targets
Significant assays with >1m width at >0.1%Cu are shown in Table 1 below. Intervals marked * contain composite samples (nominal 4m).
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.
Quarterly Report – Activities for Quarter Ended 31 March 2024
HIGHLIGHTS:
Lyndon Uranium/Lithium/REE
- New Rock chip assay results up to 6,612ppm U3O8 at the Baltic Bore and Jailor Bore prospects
- 12 rock chips returned assays >1,000ppm U3O8
- 5 rock chips returned assays >1,000ppm V2O5
- Uranium anomalism spans strike lengths of 2.6km at Baltic Bore and 2km at Jailor Bore
- Lyndon Project Immediately adjoins Paladin Energy’s Carley Bore Uranium Project (15.6MLbs U3O8)
Relief Well Uranium Project (Lyndon):
- Relief Well Uranium Prospect immediately adjoins Paladin Energy’s Carley Bore Uranium Project
- (15.6MLbs U3O8 announced resource)1
- Extensive 8km long palaeochannel confirmed at Relief Well, prospective for roll-front style uranium mineralisation
- Drill planning underway for testing of roll-front uranium mineralisation at Relief Well
Gascoyne East:
- Completion of lithological and structural interpretation from geophysical datasets
- PoW approval for Phase 1 aircore drilling to assist bedrock mapping
- Geophysical interpretation has confirmed drill targets for:
- Intrusion-related porphyry and Iron Oxide Copper-Gold (IOCG) mineralisation
- Magmatic Ni-Cu-PGE mineralisation within a distinct layered mafic intrusion
- Orogenic and intrusion-related gold mineralisation within the Dalgaringa Supersuite and Camel Hills Metamorphics.
- Intrusion-related gold and base metal deposits within the Edmund Basin
- Sedimentary-hosted base metal deposits in the Edmund Basin analogous to the Abra deposit
- At-surface uranium targets identified through airborne radiometric survey data
Odessa’s Executive Director, David Lenigas, commented:
“It’s been a very active and successful exploration period for Odessa in the Gascoyne this past quarter, having identified very significant uranium prospects emerging at Lyndon returning some exceptional grades up to 6,600 ppm U3O8. Our exploration priorities in the Gascoyne are now swayed towards accelerating our uranium targeting at Lyndon and readying the uranium prospects for drilling later this quarter if possible. We are also excited with what we are seeing now at Gascoyne East with the detailed interpretation of the airborne survey highlight excellent gold copper and uranium targets. Detailed planning for air-core and RC drilling is now well underway and should also start later this quarter or early next quarter.”
Figure 1: Odessa Minerals regional Gascoyne Project location map overlain with Geological Survey WA Minedex Occurrences.
Lyndon Uranium/Lithium/REE Project
Lyndon Project Overview
The Lyndon Project is located on the margin of the Carnarvon Basin and Gascoyne Complex approximately 200km south of Onslow and 200km NE of Carnarvon, in Western Australia. The project consists of over 1,000km2 of exploration licenses and applications.
Click here for the full ASX Release
This article includes content from Odessa 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.
Maiden Exploration to Commence at Summit’s Brazilian Niobium Projects
HIGHLIGHTS
- Summit to commence a systematic exploration program at its 100% owned Ecuador and Juazerinho Niobium projects aimed at defining initial priority drill targets.
- Due diligence completed by Summit has highlighted the presence of prospective LCT pegmatites at Ecuador, which have seen prior informal mining and extraction of Niobium / Tantalite mineralization from with these LCT pegmatites.
- Previous surface sampling results included1:
JUAZERINHO ASSAYS (Niobium & REE)
- 355,400ppm or 35.54% (Na2O5) + 14,080ppm pREO or 1.408% PREO (SID 099/24)
- 107,010ppm or 10.7% (Na2O5) + 142,080ppm pREO or 14.208% PREO (SID 098/24)
ECUADOR ASSAYS (Niobium + REE)
- 303,400ppm or 30.34% (Na2O5) + 15,130ppm pREO or 1.513% PREO. (SID 100/24)
- Exploration will include focused geological mapping, outcrop & sub crop channel sampling, trenching, and pitting (where appropriate).
- In parallel with the ground-based exploration activities the company is planning an orientation high resolution UAV (drone) magnetics survey aimed at defining signatures associated with known mineralization which, in conjunction with the mapping and geochemical results can be used to focus in on initial targets for drill testing.
- An experienced, locally based Brazilian geological team will commence on-site exploration activities and initiate the necessary drill permitting processes immediately.
Figure 1 - Location and of the Equador and Juazeirinho Project (Summit 100%)
Exploration Program
The geological due diligence completed by Summit highlighted the presence of prospective LCT pegmatites at Ecuador, some of which have seen prior exploitation of Niobium / Tantalite mineralization associated with these LCT pegmatites.
This week, Summit is deploying an experienced in country geological team to commence a systematic exploration program focused on the Ecuador Niobium and REE project. This early exploration phase will include detailed geological mapping, outcrop sampling, channel sampling and where appropriate trenching and pitting.
In parallel with the ground-based exploration activities the company is planning to perform an orientation high resolution UAV (drone) magnetics survey aimed at defining signatures associated with known mineralization. Data gained from these activities will inform preliminary drill targeting.
Regular updates on the exploration program’s progress and results will be provided to the market.
Click here for the full ASX Release
This article includes content from Summit 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.
IND Establishes HPQ Exploration Target at Pippingarra Project
Highlights
- IND’s recent RC drilling program informs a Maiden High Purity Quartz (HPQ) Exploration Target at the Pippingarra Quarry Project.
- Drilling is planned for the exploration target area and to test several quartz occurrences mapped across the wider Mining Lease area.
- IND plans to commence work on a HPQ Mineral Resource Estimate in parallel with metallurgical testwork being conducted by potential offtake partners and third-party mineral processing laboratories.
- A 300kg Pippingarra quartz sample crushed from existing quarry stockpiles sent to China in late 2023 produced a >GG.GG4% SiO2 end product following standard HPQ processing1.
- A further 24 tonne bulk sample comprising crushed quartz rock has been shipped to China for processing, metallurgical test work, and assessment by potential offtake partners.
Figure 1: IND Pippingarra Quarry Project location and infrastructure.
In October 2023, IND announced the agreement of binding terms2 with North West Quarries Pty Ltd (NWQ) for an exclusive option to acquire an 80% interest in the non-construction material mineral rights.
Jeff Sweet, Managing Director of Industrial Minerals, commented:
“Following on from one of our potential offtake partners in China achieving a processed High Purity Ǫuartz product grading >SS.SS4% SiO2, we are extremely positive about the potential to supply Pippingarra quartz into high-end quartz markets.
“The Pippingarra Exploration Target is limited to an area where IND completed RC drilling in late 2023, to the east of the existing open pit. There are several quartz outcrops mapped across the broader Mining Lease area that will also be drilled with the intention to include these untested HPǪ target opportunities in the upcoming Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) for Pippingarra.
“Our motivation to commence work towards a MRE is to leverage our unique position of having an active mining operation at the Pippingarra Ǫuarry. We believe this will give potential offtake partners the confidence to enter into offtake agreements with IND, knowing that we can rapidly advance to be mine ready and have a suitable mine life to support long term supply needs.”
Maiden High Purity Quartz Exploration Target
Table 1: Pippingarra HPQ Exploration Target range.
The potential quantity and grade of the Exploration Target is conceptual in nature, and there has been insufficient exploration to estimate a Mineral Resource and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in the estimation of a Mineral Resource. The Exploration Target has been prepared and reported in accordance with the 2012 edition of the JORC Code.
The Exploration Target is based upon the Reverse Circulation (RC) Drilling program completed by IND in December 2023. Drilling was conducted on a 50m x 50m spacing. From this, holes INRC003 – INRC009 recorded thicknesses of white crystalline quartz over widths from 12m to 20m as reported in the Table 2 below.
Click here for the full ASX Release
This article includes content from Industrial 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.
Augustus Minerals Investor Kit
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- Upcoming projects