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Tartana Minerals Limited (ASX: TAT) (the Company) is pleased to advise that it has entered into a non-binding term sheet to acquire a private explorer, Queensland Strategic Metals Pty Ltd (QSM) (the Acquisition).
Highlights:
- Non-binding agreement to acquire Queensland Strategic Metals Pty Ltd (QSM) which holds ten EPMs and one ML covering copper, tin, tungsten, antimony and silver and gold prospects.
- Key QSM projects include Laheys Creek, Comeno, De Wett, Lady Agnes and Tap’n’Toe, Fluorspar in the which polymetallic (Sn, Pb, Cu, Ag, Au, REE, Indium) prospects relate to Carboniferous-Permian granites.
- The most advanced is the Daisy Bell prospect where a mineralised 6 – 9 m wide greisen dyke can be traced for at least 1.8 km along strike. Historical percussion drilling includes:
- 7.6 m @ 1.25% Sn & 0.3% WO3 from 32.0m (Hole 2)
- 13.7 m @ 1.46% Sn & 0.48% WO3 from 36.6m (Hole 10)
- Other projects include Ortona and Cherry Tree copper projects where high grade (>10% Cu) chalcocite exposures are present in outcrop. Ortona has a magmatic affiliation with exposure of copper (chalcocite) grading up to 10% Cu in a series of parallel veins as well a 1.8 m zone grading 1.3 % Co & 1.0 % Ni at surface. Cherry Tree has prospective magnetic targets near the Dianne Hight Strain zone supported by a chalcocite exposure.
- The QSM assets compliment the existing Tartana exploration portfolio providing both additional copper targets as well as increasing Tartana’s exposure to critical metals.
- Completion remains subject to executing binding formal documentation and shareholder approval pursuant to Chapter 7 and Chapter 10 of the ASX Listing Rules.
Completion of the Acquisition remains subject to formal documentation being executed and shareholder approval by Tartana’s shareholders for the purposes of ASX Listing Rule 10.1, 10.11, and 7.1 (further detailed below), amongst other conditions precedent. There can be no assurances that the transaction will complete until such time that all conditions precedent have been met. A summary of the terms of the non-binding agreement is set out at Annexure A.
Acquisition Rationale
QSM’s EPMs and ML are located Far North Queensland and are complementary to Tartana’s existing exploration portfolio with two copper projects with high grade copper surface mineralisation as well as several EPMs covering critical mineral prospects. The critical mineral EPMs are in proximity to Tartana’s own Herberton (Emuford) EPM Application (EPMA 27220) and are part of move by Tartana to increase its exposure to tin, tungsten and silver and other critical metals.
With Tartana’s Copper Sulphate production continuing to produce healthy cash flows, the Company has also been focused on investigating the development of primary copper mineralisation at the Tartana open pit as well as increasing its exploration portfolio to incorporate additional and complementary projects targeting copper and critical metals. While the former has involved drilling a metallurgical hole (D15) and completing metallurgical test work (flotation recoveries and ore sorting), the opportunity to acquire QSM addresses the latter.
About QSM
QSM has, over the course of recent years aggregated ten EPMs and one ML covering 771 km2 in Far North Queensland (See Figure 2). QSM has acquired the tenements through a series of transactions with tenure holders with a focus on discovery of hardrock critical and strategic metal projects, particularly tin, tungsten and copper.
In some cases the vendors of these tenements have held them for a significant period of time with a focus on alluvial mining over hard-rock exploration. QSM was able to secure attractive terms to acquire these tenements by leaving the alluvial rights in the hands of the vendors or Queensland Alluvial Resources Pty Ltd (further detailed below).
QSM has 7 project areas which are listed in Figure 1. Each project area contains prospects recorded by the Queensland Department of Resources and these are listed under each project/EPM. The dominant metal associated with each project is colour coded with many relating to the minor metals; tin, tungsten and antimony.
While there are many prospects in several of the permits, QSM has completed site visits and discussed the various prospects with ‘old time miners’ to establish which particular projects offer potential scale and potential unmined mineralisation. These projects are in bold in Figure 1.
Figure 1. QSM tenure and various prospects. QSM has prioritised the projects which are identified in bold.
Figure 2. Tartana and QSM EPMs.
A detailed project review has been provided at Annexure B.
Click here for the full ASX Release
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
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