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Tartana Minerals Limited (ASX: TAT) (the Company), is pleased to provide an update on activities at its Copper Sulphate plant, with a major shipment being completed last week totalling 150 tonnes. The product was sold via the Company’s 100% offtake partner, Kanins International, to one of the largest mining operations in the Northern Territory.
Highlights:
- Significant milestone achieved at Copper Sulphate Pentahydrate (Copper Sulphate) with 150 tonne shipment completed last week with product being sold, via offtaker Kanins, to one of the largest mining operations in the Northern Territory.
Tartana Minerals Managing Director, Stephen Bartrop, commented:
“This shipment marks an important milestone as it represents our largest shipment to-date within the Company’s recent sales to the North Australian mining industry. Improved plant performance has led to increased product quality and which is continuing to build a strong market for our ongoing copper sulphate pentahydrate production.”
Plant Production and Ongoing Activities
Production for the Company’s next shipment, targeted to be approximately 70 tonnes, is well advanced with approximately half the shipment completed and in storage with the remainder to be produced next week.
Plant production is ongoing with a significant improvement in plant reliability and copper sulphate pentahydrate quality which utilises Tartana’s proprietary process for creating free flowing crystal with low levels of impurities.
Ongoing exploration and metallurgical work to support future Copper Sulphate production
As reported in the June Quarterly Report (reported on the 31 July 2024) drilling of metallurgical hole D15 has been completed to a total depth of 300.8 m. This metallurgical hole is providing primary copper mineralisation samples for metallurgical testwork including flotation recoveries, potential concentrate grades and ore sorting. The results of this testwork and the core assaying are well advanced with the results expected shortly.
Figure 1. Truck with the first 48 bulka bags of three loads leaving the Tartana mine site on 27 August – 29 August 2024 totalling 150 tonnes.
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This article includes content from Tartana 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.
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Tartana Minerals
Investor Insight
Tartana Minerals is a new copper producer with strong cash flow and a substantial exploration footprint in a tier 1 mining jurisdiction. Tartana Minerals is creating shareholder value through investment in increasing its existing copper, zinc and gold resources and accelerating exploration of key projects within its highly prospective exploration portfolio. Tartana Minerals presents a compelling investment against a strong macroeconomic environment for copper.
Overview
Tartana Minerals (ASX:TAT) is a copper, gold, silver and zinc, producer, explorer and developer in Far North Queensland. Its flagship project is the 100 percent owned Tartana copper and zinc project which comprises four mining leases located north of Chillagoe. The company’s business model has involved refurbishing an existing heap leach - solvent extraction – crystallisation plant which is located on the Tartana mining leases. The refurbishment and commissioning of this plant is now completed and the company is producing copper sulphate pentahydrate which is sold to offtaker, Kanins International. Copper sulphate is priced on a premium plus percentage of the LME copper price and provides investors with leverage to anticipate increasing copper prices.
The company, formerly known as R3D Resources, changed its name to Tartana Minerals in April 2024. Tartana Minerals is based in Sydney, Australia.
Tartana Minerals has reported the following resources:
- 45,000 tonnes of contained copper at 0.45 percent copper in combined inferred and indicated resources in the Tartana open pit and northern oxide zone
- 39,000 tonnes of contained zinc at 5.29 percent zinc in inferred resources in the Queen Grade project, also located on the Tartana mining leases, and
- 415,000 oz contained gold at 0.34 g/t in inferred resources at Mountain Maid – subject to a mining lease application.
These copper, zinc and gold resources remain open at depth and along strike and the company has designed drilling programs to expand these resources. In particular, the copper mineralisation and potentially the gold mineralisation have scope to be upgraded through ore sorting.
However, the refurbished heap leach – solvent extraction – crystallisation plant utilises existing copper in the ponds and the heaps and these copper sources will be replenished when we commence mining from the open pit.
Copper sulphate contains 25 percent copper metal and payment is based on the LME copper price for the preceding month plus a premium. It is one of the few forms of saleable copper where the copper content receives the full LME price.
Sprinklers operating on the lower heap. Note the presence of copper (blue).
Tartana Minerals completed the acquisition of Queensland Strategic Metals with drilling planned to commence in 2025 that includes the Daisy Bell tin-tungsten project where historical drilling and our mapping have identified a potentially tin-rich zone.
Company Highlights
- Tartana Minerals is producing copper sulphate pentahydrate from its heap leach – solvent extraction – crystallisation plant in Chillagoe with a 100 percent offtake agreement with Kanins International.
- Copper sulphate is priced at a premium plus a percentage of the LME copper price, providing exposure to the booming copper market
- With copper, zinc and gold resources in separate projects and all within granted or soon to be granted mining leases, the company is investigating processing options which can potentially utilise available infrastructure.
- Near-term catalysts include targeted drilling programs to increase the JORC resource and expand on metallurgical test work, increasing the resource grade and estimate
- With the copper sulphate plant fully commissioned and in production, the company is now accelerating its exploration activities. The company has a range of prospects from advanced brownfields projects near existing historical mines to many prospects containing ‘ore grade’ surface mineralisation which have not been tested at depth.
- The company’s exploration portfolio includes the Beefwood/Bulimba, Bellevue, Dimbulah, Cardross and Maid projects. The exploration team is focused on target generation, particularly with the addition of critical minerals within its existing tenure and elsewhere.
Exploration
The Chillagoe region of Far North Queensland is highly prospective with the discovery and development of a number of key projects over the last few decades including Red Dome (2.5 Moz gold), Mungana (1.2 Moz gold), and King Vol (250 kt zinc). These deposits occur along the Palmerville Fault in a similar location to the Tartana Mining leases.
The mining leases at Tartana contain copper, zinc and gold mineralisation but the company also has significant projects which are both east and west of the Palmerville Fault. In the west it has the Cardross and Mountain Maid copper-gold projects and further north it has the Beefwood project. Mountain Maid has gold resources mentioned above and which are open to the south and at depth while the company is finalising a maiden copper resource for the Cardross project.
The Beefwood project comprises a buried geophysical target and surface sampling has recovered samples grading up to 180 g/t gold with no apparent source. Drilling is planned to test this target in the current dry season.
In the east of the Palmerville Fault, the company has the Bellevue/Dry River project, the OK South project and the Dimbulah Porphyry project, all copper projects with historic copper mines and prospects. Like many parts of Far North Queensland, historical exploration has not been systematic and thorough despite many promising expressions of surface mineralisation.
At the Nightflower project, Tartana has upgraded its exploration target after reviewing its earlier estimation, in light of the recent increases in the antimony price. Nightflower is a high-grade silver-lead deposit with previously overlooked significant antimony credits. Nightflower exploration target includes 2.75 Mt @ 364 g/t silver equivalent for 32 Moz silver equivalent to 5.36 Mt @ 270 g/t silver equivalent for 47 Moz silver equivalent (the exploration target is conceptual in nature only and there is no guarantee that further exploration will define a resource). Drilling is now being planned to test the target and upgrade previously identified mineralisation to JORC 2012 reporting standards.
Tartana’s exploration team comprises experienced exploration geologists with supporting cash flow from their copper production, they expect to be able to drill the most promising targets in the short term.
Strong Macroeconomic Environment for Copper
Overall, the macroeconomic environment for copper remains strong. The LME three-month copper price hit US$5.24/lb on May 17, the highest since March 7, 2022, driven by a weaker US dollar, Chinese property stimulus measures, and a short squeeze on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange futures market.
In the near-to-mid term, China’s demand for refined copper is expected to grow, due to better-than-expected performances from key consumer segments, including the power grid, solar installations and electric vehicle and air conditioning appliance sales. On the supply side, the copper concentrate market is expected to remain in a significant deficit due to the estimated delay in the Cobre Panama mine restart but will be partially offset by the higher projected production from smelters in China. As a result, we see further demand growth and supply tightening for the copper market as positive for base metal equities to maintain significant leverage to increase prices.
Management Team
Jihad Malaeb – Chairman
Jihad Malaeb is an experienced entrepreneur across a number of industries, including hospitality and construction, as well as having significant experience in mineral exploration and mining operations – both as an active investor and company director. He currently owns and operates a portfolio of hospitality businesses and real estate across Australia, which have been established over the past 30 years. Malaeb was previously a non-executive director of Critical Resources (ASX:CRR), where he helped steer CRR as one of its largest shareholders and as a board member.
Dr. Stephen Bartrop - Managing Director
Steve Bartrop’s professional experience spans more than 30 years covering periods in both the mining industry and financial sector. With a geology background, Bartrop has worked in exploration, feasibility and evaluation studies and mining in a range of commodities and in different parts of the world. In the financial sector, he has been involved in research, corporate transactions and IPOs spanning more than 20 years, including senior roles at JPMorgan, Bankers Trust and Macquarie Equities.
Bruce Hills – Non-executive Director
Bruce Hills is an accountant and is currently an executive director of Breakaway Investment Group, which operates the Breakaway Private Equity Emerging Resources Fund. Hills is a director of a number of unlisted companies in the mining and financial services sectors including The Risk Board and Stibium Australia. Hills has 35 years’ experience in the financial sector including 20 years in the banking industry primarily in the areas of strategy, finance and risk.
Dr. Alistair Lewis – Non-executive Director
Dr. Alistair Lewis is a successful entrepreneur and highly experienced medical doctor with over 40 years’ experience. For the past 10 years, Lewis has been involved in the management of mining and exploration companies. In 2017, Lewis established Oosen Lewis Mining in North Queensland. He financed the aggregation of a substantial portfolio of gold, tin, tungsten and antimony assets and instigated subsequent extensive exploration programs. These assets now form part of the QSM portfolio.
Michael Thirnbeck – Independent Non-executive Director
Michael Thirnbeck is an experienced geologist with over 25 years in managing numerous mineral development projects in Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and Australia. He has been a member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy since 1989 and holds B.Sc (Hons.) degree from the University of Queensland.
Shuyi (Kiara) Wang – Non-executive Director
Shuyi (Kiara) Wang was appointed a director of Tartana Minerals on July 17, 2024. Wang is an accomplished, emerging leader with a strong academic and professional background. She holds a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Philosophy from The University of Melbourne and is currently pursuing a Juris Doctor at the prestigious Melbourne Law School.
Copper, gold, silver and zinc, producer, explorer and developer in Far North Queensland, Australia
Angkor Resources
Investor Insight
Angkor Resources is an emerging energy and mineral development company blending traditional oil and gas with copper and gold exploration in Cambodia, while generating revenue through oil production and carbon capture projects in Canada. With over a decade of operational experience in Southeast Asia and a reputation for sustainable practices, the company is strategically positioned to deliver both growth and resilience for investors.
Company Highlights
- Diversified Energy & Mineral Portfolio: Exposure to high-impact oil and gas exploration in Cambodia (Block VIII), recurring energy revenues in Canada, and copper-gold porphyry systems with gold epithermal near-surface prospects in Cambodia.
- Near-term Catalysts:
- Results from copper porphyry in Cambodia within 30 to 60 days;
- Seismic completion and interpretation for drill targets on Block VIII within 90 days; and
- Acquisition of oil production for increased recurring revenue streams.
- Transformational Asset: Block VIII is Cambodia’s first onshore oil and gas exploration license, strategically located near export infrastructure. Potential minimum targets estimated at 25 to 50+ million recoverable barrels.
- Revenue-backed Model: EnerCam Canada provides recurring revenue streams via oil production, water disposal, gas processing, and carbon capture solutions, insulating Angkor from over-reliance on equity markets.
- Strong ESG Commitment: Recognized at the United Nations for sustainability, Angkor integrates carbon capture, community partnerships and environmental responsibility into every project.
- Aligned Shareholder Base: Over 40 percent insider ownership with regular insider buying, demonstrating management’s confidence in long-term growth.
Overview
Founded in 2009 and publicly listed in 2011, Angkor Resources (TSXV:ANK,OTCQB:ANKOF) has built a unique dual-focused enterprise across energy and minerals in Asia and North America.
On the energy side, the company is advancing acquisition of cash flow through oil production and carbon capture in Canada, and is poised for transformational growth through the first-ever onshore oil and gas exploration program in Cambodia. Its Canadian subsidiary, EnerCam Exploration, is already generating revenue from oil production, water disposal and gas processing, while also implementing carbon gas capture and conversion solutions for provincial markets. In Southeast Asia, Angkor’s Cambodian subsidiary, EnerCam Resources, is spearheading a national-scale initiative to bring Cambodia its first domestic hydrocarbon energy, with exploration activities underway on the company’s Block VIII concession.
On the mineral side, Angkor has positioned itself as a first-mover in Cambodia’s underexplored mineral belts, holding licenses at Andong Meas and Andong Bor. These projects target both precious and base metals, with copper porphyry systems and high-grade gold mineralization now confirmed through exploration results.
Angkor’s strategy is designed to mitigate shareholder risk by diversifying revenue streams, blending recurring Canadian cash flow with high-impact exploration upside in Cambodia. The company’s management emphasizes hydrocarbons and copper as priorities, noting the potential value of 25 million recoverable barrels in Cambodia alongside significant copper-gold discoveries.
Key Projects
Onshore Cambodia – Block VIII Oil & Gas Concession
Angkor’s flagship asset is Block VIII, a 4,300 sq km oil and gas concession in Cambodia’s underexplored onshore sedimentary basin. The license, structured under a 30-year Production Sharing Agreement with renewal options, represents the first onshore hydrocarbon exploration license in the country. Geoscientific studies conducted by Danish, Canadian and European experts have identified strong indications of a foreland basin system and rift formations with significant petroleum potential. Over 21 natural oil seeps have been mapped and testing of the seeps by Schlumberger confirms the presence of hydrocarbons. Gas showings are also evident across the block.
The block is ideally located adjacent to export infrastructure, close to port with highway access to Phnom Penh and proximity to a deepwater port. Cambodia currently imports all of its petroleum products, making Block VIII strategically important both nationally and regionally. EnerCam, Angkor’s subsidiary, is implementing Cambodia’s first onshore 2D EnviroVibe seismic program, designed to minimize environmental footprint while mapping structural traps and stratigraphic features.
Technical projections suggest that once commercial quantity of recoverable hydrocarbons is proven, Block VIII could host Cambodia’s first onshore oil production. Angkor’s phased development plan includes completing seismic interpretation, definition of drill targets or additional 3D seismic followed by stratigraphic test wells and eventual development drilling. This project is expected to be the company’s most significant value driver and is prioritized as its number one corporate focus.
Canadian Energy & Carbon Capture – EnerCam Exploration
In Canada, Angkor operates through EnerCam Exploration Canada, which is a 40 percent interest holder in oil production and carbon solutions across 30 well sites spanning 516 hectares in Saskatchewan. These wells, shut in since 2018 due to low oil prices and mismanagement by previous operators, have been systematically refurbished and restarted. EnerCam participates in the full production cycle, including oil recovery, water separation and gas handling.
A key milestone was the acquisition of the pipeline network and compressor station, which resolved historical venting issues and allowed EnerCam to capture associated gas. This gas is converted into natural gas energy and sold into provincial markets. Angkor’s Canadian revenue streams also include water disposal fees, gas plant operations, and oil production revenues, supplemented by ongoing carbon capture and enhanced recovery of water conversion and injection wells projects.
Angkor holds a 40 percent interest in oil and gas production ventures in Saskatchewan, ensuring a recurring revenue stream. This platform not only offsets G&A costs but also provides a foundation for emission control and potential for further gas capture with surrounding producers in the area.
Cambodia Mineral Properties – Copper and Gold Portfolio
Through its subsidiary Angkor Gold Cambodia, the company holds a strategic portfolio of copper and gold assets in prospective belts. These licenses include Andong Bor and Andong Meas.
The Andong Bor license has emerged as a cornerstone of Angkor’s mineral portfolio. In June 2025, the company confirmed the presence of a copper-gold porphyry system, the first discovery of its kind in Cambodia. This breakthrough positions the project as a potential district-scale copper-gold system. Further drilling is expected to test depth extensions and delineate mineralized zones.
At the Andong Meas license, exploration has revealed high-grade gold mineralization, with surface samples returning assays up to 70 grams per ton (g/t) gold across a 0.8 km by 1.5 km area. This anomaly remains largely untested by drilling and represents a significant near-term target for resource expansion.
Management Team
Delayne Weeks – CEO
With over 25 years of global development experience spanning finance, business development, economic development and ESG initiatives. She has spearheaded Angkor’s CSR programs in Cambodia, earning UN recognition for sustainability leadership. Weeks has overseen Angkor’s transition into energy and its expansion into cash-flowing operations.
Mike Weeks – President, Executive VP Operations
Brings over four decades of operational and executive experience in international resource projects. Mike Weeks is president of Angkor Gold Corp. Cambodia and EnerCam Resources Cambodia. He has had a long and successful career in the oil and gas industry with over 30 years’ experience in project management of petroleum-related industries. Weeks also spent more than 15 years negotiating with foreign governments in developing and implementing natural resource licenses. His experience includes oil production in North Africa, engineering and design in Europe, the development of gas processing facilities and field and plant operations in Canada. Weeks has worked with international oil and gas producers including AEC West, Wintershall, Zuetina, Encana and Amoco.
Dennis Ouellette – VP Exploration, Minerals
Professional geologist with over 40 years of exploration experience in Canada, Central America and Asia. Dennis Ouellette has been a federal geologist in the Yukon for over five years, overseeing the exploration and mining industry across the Yukon by all industry participants. He leads Angkor’s mineral exploration programs, including the copper porphyry discovery at Andong Bor and a second porphyry target on Andong Meas. Ouellette has worked in multiple Canadian provinces, Nevada and Guatemala, and was the industry advocate director for the Yukon Chamber of Mines and president of Yukon Prospectors Association
Keith Edwards – Technical Manager, EnerCam Resources Cambodia
Keith Edwards is a senior geophysicist with over 39 years’ experience in all aspects of geophysics, from acquisition through processing to interpretation. He is known for his proven innovative problem-solving capabilities in software development, consulting services, interpretation and management. Edwards spent 12 years at Kuwait Oil company mentoring junior staff and performing many quantitative seismic interpretation projects. He developed several MatLab applications for Seismic Facies Classification, VSP integration, 3D design and many others.
Prince Silver: Advancing the Large-scale Prince Silver Project in Nevada
Prince Silver (CSE:PRNC,OTC:HWTNF) is a Vancouver-based exploration company advancing the Prince Silver project in southeastern Nevada. In July 2025, the company completed the transformational acquisition of Stampede Metals Corporation and rebranded from Hawthorn Resources to Prince Silver Corp. The flagship Prince project is a district-scale, past-producing silver-gold-zinc-manganese carbonate replacement system, historically mined for silver and base metals in the early to mid-1900s.
Aerial view of the Prince silver projectFully funded and technically refreshed, the company’s near-term priority is to validate and build upon the 129 historic drill holes (over 16,600 m) completed on the property, with the goal of converting the large JORC-compliant exploration target into a maiden NI 43-101 mineral resource.
A drill program is scheduled to begin in early September 2025, targeting the validation of legacy data, step-outs along mineralized trends, and continuity across the deposit’s multiple mantos, veins, and breccia zones. In parallel, the company will undertake metallurgical test work, geophysical refinement, and updated geological modeling to support a modern pit-constrained resource and underpin a longer-term development strategy.
Company Highlights
- Flagship project: 100 percent ownership of the historic Prince silver mine in Lincoln County, Nevada, an open, near-surface silver-gold-zinc carbonate replacement deposit with a 25 to 43 Mt exploration target and strong historic grades.
- The company’s second project, Stampede Gap, is about 15 km north west of the Prince mine. Stampede Gap is a large porphyry copper-gold-molybdenum with an extensive alteration zone that presents a deep seated exploration target.
- Clean corporate reset: Hawthorn Resources completed the Stampede Metals acquisition and re-listed as Prince Silver Corp. on July 11, 2025, issuing 15 million shares for the acquisition and raising ~C$4 million in gross proceeds to fund drilling.
- Fully funded summer drill program: ~6,500-m reverse-circulation set to begin early Sept 2025 to validate historic holes and step out along strike/dip to expand known mineralization and potential resources. .
- Tight share structure: 45.9 million shares outstanding post-financing; Stampede shareholders voluntarily locked-up for 12 months.
- Experienced, hands-on leadership: President Ralph Shearing, plus new directors Robert Wrixon and Darrell Rader, add mine-building, corporate and capital-markets depth to the company’s leadership team.
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