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Tartana Minerals
Investor Insight
Tartana Minerals is a new copper producer generating strong cash flow, with 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 the backdrop of 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 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 koz 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.
The first and second shipments of copper sulphate were sold during the June 2024 quarter with further shipments are currently being prepared. The 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).Exploration
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 Au 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 of experienced exploration geologists with supporting cash flow from their copper production, they expect to be able 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 who maintain significant leverage to increasing prices.
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 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 targetted 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.
Management Team
Jihad Malaeb – Non-executive 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 through the past few years 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.
Bartrop is also a director of Southwest Pacific Bauxite (HK), a company developing a bauxite project in the Solomon Islands and chairman of Breakaway Research.
Bruce Hills – 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 University of Queensland.
Shuyi (Kiara) Wang
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.
Ǫuarterly Activity Report 30 September 2024
Highlights
- Updated geological modelling with multiple intra-pluton porphyry copper centres close to surface identified from surface geochemical surveys within the Yataga Copper Project
- Porphyry centres concentrated along a structural belt have been identified as analogous to the Highland Valley Copper Mine, where a series of porphyry copper deposits host Canada’s largest open pit copper mine (production of >130kt in 2021)
- Termite mound sampling programmes have identified a combined area of 8km2 of copper-in- soil anomalism with significant potential for expansion
- 220-line km airborne electromagnetic survey complete with results pending
- 20+-line km ground based Pole-Dipole Induced Polarisation (PDIP) and Magnetotelluric (MT) Survey underway
- Geochemistry and geophysics programme results will feed into upcoming optimised drilling program planned for early 2025
- Acclaimed ǪLD geologist, Dr Gregg Morrison appointed as Technical Advisor to the Project
- $1.5M Placement underway through issue of 61M fully paid ordinary shares at $0.025 per share to sophisticated and professional investors
Located within the Georgetown mining district, EMU’s Georgetown tenements cover a richly endowed but under-explored area of Far North Ǫueensland with a history of significant mining activity and mineral discoveries.
EMU is earning an 80% interest in 3 exploration permits for minerals (EPM’s), covering 850km2 in the Georgetown mining district, Ǫueensland, under a Heads of Agreement and Joint Venture Agreement with Rugby Resources Ltd (TSXV:RUG). The district has a substantial mineral endowment with more than 1,000 mines, prospects and identified mineral occurrences.1
Figure 1. Georgetown Tenements Location
Definitions and Nomenclature
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This article includes content from EMU NL, 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 Activities Report for the Period Ending 30 September 2024
Key Highlights
- Reverse Circulation drilling commenced on the Ashburton Proterozoic unconformity uranium project in Western Australia. 7 drill holes were completed in the September Quarter for a total advance of 1028m.
- Equivalent U3O8 concentrations from this phase of Ashburton reverse circulation drilling have been calculated from downhole gamma surveys, and include:
- ARC001 6.98m @ 1,617 ppm eU3O8 from 101.84 meters
- ARC002 4.36m @ 2,205 ppm eU3O8 from 109.89 meters
- ARC003 3.96m @ 1,516 ppm eU3O8 from 86.89 meters
- ARC004 6.02m @ 801 ppm eU3O8 from 83.55 meters
- ARC006 3.45m @ 5,129 ppm eU3O8 from 137.62 meters incl 0.34m @ 16,050 ppm eU3O8 from 139.11 meters
- ARC007 1.30m @ 503ppm eU3O8 from 123.37 meters
- Drilling on the Ashburton Project is ongoing with RC and Diamond drilling during the December Quarter
- Two geophysical surveys (IP and magnetics) have been completed at Cerro Chacon in Argentina and the Company is awaiting the final interpretation.
- Auger drilling at Sierra Cuadrada highlights extensive areas of near surface uranium mineralisation: the largest being 6km long and 3km wide and remains open.
- Mineralisation varies in thickness from 0.5m to 4m, with an average thickness 1.5m.
- Multiple areas are being evaluated to identifying priority areas for follow up trenching, mapping and determination.
- An additional 39 tenement applications for uranium exploration have been lodged in Argentina totalling 1785km2. Tenements are located in the provinces of Rio Negro and Chubut. Tenements are prospective for sandstone hosted uranium mineralisation and include both hard rock and in-situ recovery targets.
- The Company has established an experienced in country team with the appointment of country manager, project managers and geologists for both gold and uranium.
Figure 1: Locality maps highlighting Piche’s Australian Projects in Western Australia and its Argentinean
Australia – Uranium - Ashburton Project
A reverse circulation drilling programme commenced on the Ashburton uranium project during the September Quarter. A total of 7 drill holes were completed during the quarter for a total advance of 1028m. The reverse circulation drilling is ongoing, and a diamond drilling programme will also commence early in the December Quarter.
The September Quarter drilling programme was undertaken at, and along strike of the Angelo A prospect where no exploration activities have been carried out in the last 40 years. The drilling programme was planned to confirm the results from previous exploration by drilling several twin holes, to test a revised model for the control of the uranium mineralisation and explore for extensions to the mineralisation identified between 1973 and 1984.
Results from the first seven reverse circulation drill holes completed have been received and six of those have returned significant high grade uranium mineralisation.
Drilling is targeting Proterozoic unconformity style uranium mineralisation, similar to that seen in two of the most significant uranium jurisdictions in the world: the Pine Creek Geosyncline in Australia and the Athabasca Basin in Canada.
Drilling was preceded by a detailed heritage clearance survey.
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This article includes content from Piche Resources, 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.
Antilles Gold Quarterly Report & Appendix 5B – 30 September 2024
DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES IN MINERAL RICH CUBA
Antilles Gold is participating in the development of two mines in Cuba to produce copper, gold, silver, and antimony, and in the exploration of potentially large porphyry copper properties, through a 50:50 joint venture with the Government’s mining company, GeoMinera.
The joint venture intends to fund the copper exploration from surplus cash flow expected to be generated by the near-term development of the proposed Nueva Sabana copper-gold mine.
- JOINT VENTURE
Minera La Victoria SA (“MLV”) was registered as a Cuban foreign joint venture mining company in August 2020 to develop the Country’s largest known gold deposit at La Demajagua on the Isle of Youth off the south-west coast.
MLV has since committed to progressively establishing itself as a broadly based mining company to develop previously explored mineral deposits controlled by GeoMinera. To date, the Nueva Sabana project and four concessions hosting porphyry copper prospects have been added to its portfolio.
Features of the Joint Venture include:
- A foreign Bank account will hold all proceeds from loans, and product sales, with the only funds remitted to Cuba being for local expenses, which will minimise Country credit risk.
- Antilles Gold nominates all senior management for the operations and exploration activities.
- Income tax rate of 15% waived for 8 years.
- No import duties on plant & equipment.
- Low entry cost for near term development of previously explored properties.
- Low operating costs.
- Association with GeoMinera ensures rapid permitting.
GeoMinera transferred a 900ha mining concession for the La Demajagua gold-antimony-silver open pit mine with 50,000m of historic drilling to the joint venture for US$13.5 million of MLV shares, and a 752ha concession covering the Nueva Sabana gold-copper oxide deposit, and the underlying El Pilar porphyry copper system for US$1.5 million of MLV shares.
A subsidiary of Antilles Gold is “earning-in” to a 50% holding in MLV by contributing US$15.0 million equity, of which approximately US$14.6 million had been invested to 30 September 2024, with the balance to be contributed in November 2024.
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This article includes content from Antilles Gold, 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.
TEM | Quarterly Report - Period Ending 30 September 2024
Key Points
- Corporate
- Rights Issue Completion
- Projects
- Yalgoo prospectivity analysis
- Yalgoo drilling commenced at Remorse
- FiveWheels geochemical and heritage surveys completed
Projects
Figure 01: TEM Projects and Commercial Interests
Yalgoo
Tempest’s flagship project is the Company’s holding in the Yalgoo region of Western Australia. Totalling more than 1,000km2 and located near high profile neighbours including: 29 Metals Ltd (ASX:29M) - Golden Grove Copper, Zinc, Gold, Silver Mine; Spartan Resources Ltd (ASX:SPR) - Yalgoo Gold Project; Silverlake (ASX:SLK) - Deflector and Rothsay Gold Mines, Capricorn Metals Ltd (ASX:CMM) Gold, EMU NL (ASX:EMU) - Gnows Nest Gold Project; Tungsten Mining (ASX:TGN) - Mt Mulgine Project; Fenix (ASX:FEX) - Iron Ore Operations, and Karara and Sino Iron ore operations and more.
Figure 02: Yalgoo Projects Overview
Tempest has used data-driven processes to identify poorly or unexplored areas of highly prospective geology. This approach has had considerable success and includes the discovery of multiple instances of new mineralisation.
The project contains a number of different geological domains - though much of these have considerable overlap. Within these domains, exploration targets continue to be identified through ongoing exploration and data analysis and are being explored systematically according to prioritisation based on geological and other criteria.
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This article includes content from Tempest 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.
Tartana Minerals Investor Kit
- Corporate info
- Insights
- Growth strategies
- Upcoming projects