The Conversation (0)
Rimfire Pacific Mining (ASX: RIM, “Rimfire” or “the Company”) is an ASX-listed Critical Minerals exploration company which is advancing projects within the Fifield (“FI”) and Broken Hill (“BH”) districts of New South Wales (Figure 1).
Highlights
- Maiden Scandium (Sc) Mineral Resources estimated for the Melrose and the northern portion of the Murga area (“Murga North”) comprising;
- 3Mt @ 240 ppm Sc (1,120t Sc Oxide) Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resource at Melrose
- 21Mt @ 125 ppm Sc (4,050t Sc Oxide) Inferred Mineral Resource at Murga North which is open to the south and west
- Significant upside demonstrated by an Exploration Target for the broader Murga area and pipeline of satellite Scandium prospects
- Rimfire funded infill aircore drilling at the Murga Exploration Target has commenced
- Initial assay results for Bald Hill step out diamond drilling confirms high-grade cobalt mineralisation (with associated copper);
- 18m @ 0.16% Co, 0.16% Cu from 110 metres including 5m @ 0.21% Co, 0.23% Cu
- South 32 (S32.ASX) and Red Hill Minerals (RHI.ASX) have recently farmed into leases immediately adjoining Rimfire’s Broken Hill Project
- Rimfire raised $1.15M during the quarter with a placement and an additional $1.2M post end of Quarter following exercise of Options
Commenting on the Quarterly Activities report, Rimfire’s Managing Director Mr David Hutton said: “Rimfire continues to explore for and discover the critical minerals that are associated with global decarbonisation strategies. We are leveraged to and provide unique ASX investment exposure to scandium – an extremely valuable metal.
Announcing maiden Mineral Resource estimates for both Melrose and Murga North as well as the significant upside demonstrated by the Murga Exploration Target is a hugely pivotal moment for the company and its shareholders as we work towards building a globally significant scandium resource inventory across our projects in the Fifield district of NSW.
We have also commenced infill drilling to potentially convert the Murga Exploration Target into our third Scandium Mineral Resource estimate
Along with our Broken Hill Project cobalt and copper exploration success, Rimfire now has several emerging critical mineral opportunities to drive enduring shareholder value”.
Introduction & Operational Summary
During the September 2024 Quarter (the “Quarter”), Rimfire announced a 3Mt @ 240 ppm Sc (1,120t Sc Oxide) Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resource estimate at Melrose and a 21Mt @ 125 ppm Sc (4,050t Sc Oxide) Inferred Mineral Resource at Murga North, together with an Exploration Target for the surrounding Murga area (excluding Murga North) of 100 to 200Mt at 100 to 200ppm Sc (15Kt – 46Kt Scandium Oxide)*.
Declaring maiden Scandium Mineral Resources for Melrose and Murga North and an accompanying Exploration Target for the broader Murga area is an important first step in achieving Rimfire’s objective of building a globally significant scandium resource inventory at Fifield.
Murga North and Murga lie on the Fifield Project and Melrose lies on the Avondale Project. At the end of the Quarter, Rimfire issued a notice of termination to Rimfire’s exploration partner Golden Plains Resources (GPR) in respect of the Fifield Project Earn-in Agreement, with the termination stated to take immediate effect.
The Company exercised a termination right which has arisen as a result of a change of control of GPR following the judgement of the Victorian Supreme Court in: Resource Capital Ltd v Giovinazzo [2024] VSC 548 (Judgement), delivered 6 September 2024.
Separately on its 100% - owned projects, Rimfire drilled 5 diamond holes (974 metres) to test for extensions to previously drilled high-grade cobalt mineralisation at the Bald Hill Cobalt Copper prospect at Broken Hill. Assays received for the first drill hole confirmed further high-grade cobalt mineralisation and associated copper, i.e.; 18m @ 0.16% cobalt, 0.16% copper from 110 metres including 5m @ 0.21% cobalt, 0.23% copper.
Looking ahead to the December 2024 Quarter, our primary focus will be aircore drilling at the Murga Exploration Target to infill existing 400m x 400m spaced drill holes. Rimfire will also receive the remaining assay results from the Bald Hill drilling.
Click here for the full ASX Release
This article includes content from Rimfire Pacific Mining 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.
RIM:AU
Loyal to Acquire the High-Grade Highway Reward Copper Gold Mine
Key Highlights
- Loyal secures binding option to acquire the Highway Reward Copper Gold Mine in Queensland, Australia - one of the world’s highest-grade copper mines, with past production totalling 3.65Mt at 5.7% Cu and 260kt at 4.5 g/t Au.
- The acquisition is the first step in Loyal’s 2025 Strategic Plan to broaden its critical minerals portfolio into copper.
- No exploration has been conducted on the granted mining leases since operations ceased in July 2005 despite a ~680% increase in copper prices and a ~1,256% increase in gold prices since the 1997 feasibility study.
- Significant increase in copper and gold prices, combined with the previous exclusion of gold in sulphides from the mine plan, highlights the enhanced remnant copper-gold potential.
- Exploration potential for new discoveries both along strike and at depth, as previous mining only reached depths of 220 metres for open pit and 390 metres for underground operations, with limited exploration beyond mined zones.
- With $4.4 million in funding, Loyal is well-positioned to revisit the high-grade Highway Reward Copper Gold Mine by deploying modern exploration techniques. With global initiatives to enhance energy grids and no USA tariffs on Australian copper, the outlook for copper is strong and unencumbered.
Loyal‘s Managing Director, Mr. Adam Ritchie, commented:
"We are thrilled to secure this incredibly rare opportunity for our current and future Loyal investors. The Highway Reward Copper Gold Mine, considered one of the highest-grade copper mines in the world, is now primed for a revisit after 20 years of dormancy.
The granted mining leases of the Highway Reward mine provide an amazing speed to market opportunity - especially when both copper and gold are near all-time highs. The short-term and long-term opportunities at Highway Reward are exciting, considering the significant growth in commodity prices since the 1997 feasibility study. Copper is driving our electric future and gold continues to play an important role in our global economy.
Whilst a lot has changed in the past 28 years, the unwavering demand for copper and gold has only intensified. This is truly an amazing opportunity to unlock and showcase the immense potential of this forgotten mine. With modern technology and innovative mining techniques, we believe the Highway Reward Copper Gold Mine will provide exceptional value and returns to our Loyal shareholders."
Figure 1 Highway Reward Copper Gold Mine: Located 37 km south of Charters Towers within the Mount Windsor Volcanic Belt. Accessible via an all-weather highway, 172 km from the Port of Townsville, Queensland, Australia.
The Highway Reward Copper Gold Mine is located only 37 km from the active mining town of Charters Towers in Queensland, Australia, within the Mount Windsor Volcanic Belt. This area is renowned for its rich history in copper and gold mining, with strong social license support for mining activities. It features large-scale mining operations such as, Newmont’s 3.2 Moz Mt Leyshon gold mine and Yuxin Holding’s 3.4 Moz Pajingo gold mine. The region is close to the polymetallic, Thalanga Processing Plant and the Mount Carlton Processing Plant, with road and rail to Glencore’s Mount Isa copper hub, Townsville copper refinery and the Port of Townsville.
With the growth in commodity prices and advancements in exploration and mining technologies, the potential for remnant copper-gold mining has significantly improved. Previous mining operations targeted copper within chalcopyrite, while gold associated with both chalcopyrite and pyrite was excluded from the mine plan. With lower copper equivalent cut-off grades (copper & gold), higher continuity of copper-gold can be drill tested to demonstrate the reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction and mineral resource potential.
Graph 1: Highway Reward Copper Gold Mine - mining ceased in July 2005: 28 Years of Commodity Growth
Significant potential will be assessed and areas tested for copper-gold extensions to subvertical trends, that may exist below current mining levels at the Highway Reward Copper-Gold Mine. The previously mined, copper-gold rich pipes will also be assessed for drill testing along strike (Figure 2). Previous mining and surface mapping geological observations illustrate that high- grade copper-gold pipes have been identified in dacite, rhyolite, and volcaniclastic host rocks, therefore strong prospectivity exists for discovering additional pipes beyond the historically mined zones in all rock types on the property, except recent overlying sediments that conceal the basement host rocks (Figure 2). No modern advanced geophysical techniques or data processing methods have yet been applied to assess this potential.
Click here for the full ASX Release
This article includes content from Loyal Metals 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.
