The Conversation (0)
Tartana Minerals Investor Kit
- Corporate info
- Insights
- Growth strategies
- Upcoming projects
GET YOUR FREE INVESTOR KIT
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.
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.
Intercepts up to 41g/t Au from In-Fill Drilling Program Nueva Sabana, Cuba
The aim of the program was to increase the Indicated Resources in the Initial Mineral Resource Estimate advised to ASX on 6 March 2024.
HIGHLIGHTS
Gold Domain – Nueva Sabana
Copper Domain – Nueva Sabana
Sampling Techniques and Data are set out in the JORC Code 2012 Edition Template attached.
NUEVA SABANA GOLD-COPPER MINE
- The in-fill results continue the excellent grades for both gold and copper in the oxide deposit that were incorporated in the Scoping Study for the first stage of the proposed Nueva Sabana gold-copper mine reported to ASX on 7 May 2024.
- Results from the remaining 18 holes are expected by the end of this month.
- An updated Mineral Resource Estimate (“MRE”) for the proposed mine is expected to be completed within two weeks of receiving these results, after which the pit design and mine schedule will be updated, followed by a Pre-Feasibility Study in September 2024.
- The Nueva Sabana oxide deposit is metallurgically simple, and the mine is being planned as a copper project which will benefit from the high-grade gold cap during initial operations.
- Metallurgical test work by Blue Coast Research Laboratories in Canada has indicated a gold recovery of 85% from a simple rougher flotation circuit, and a concentrate of 70.2 g/t Au.
- A copper recovery of 84.5% yielded concentrate grades of 27% Cu from a rougher and cleaner circuit, which has formed the basis of the process design criteria for the Nueva Sabana concentrator.
- Planning and permitting for the proposed mine is well advanced.
- Total development costs are estimated to be ~US$30 million including ~US$5 million of pre- development and concession acquisition costs, and ~US$25 million for mine construction based on quotations for site works, industrial buildings, and a turnkey offer for the design and construction of the concentrator and associated power station.
- The project requires minimal pre-stripping and will not involve the purchase of a mining fleet which is to be hired from the Cuban subsidiary of an international supplier.
- Finance for the mine construction is being negotiated in the form of an advance on concentrate purchases by an international commodities trader.
- The Nueva Sabana project, which is being developed by the 50% owned joint venture company, Minera La Victoria SA, is expected to be development-ready in October 2024.
Click here for the full ASX Release
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.
Zodiac Gold
Investor Insight
A large, underexplored land package with potential for district-scale gold deposit makes Zodiac Gold a compelling opportunity amid a positive macroeconomic backdrop for the precious metal sector.
Overview
Zodiac Gold (TSX.V:ZAU) is a gold exploration company focused on its West African flagship Todi project situated in Liberia — an underexplored, politically stable, mining-friendly jurisdiction hosting several large-scale gold deposits. Strategically positioned along the fertile Todi Shear Zone, Zodiac Gold is developing a district-scale gold opportunity covering a vast 2,316 sq km land package. The project has undergone de-risking, showcasing proven gold occurrences at both surface and depth, with five drill-ready targets and high-grade gold intercepts.
Liberia – Stable, Growing and Mining-focused
Liberia is considered a favorable jurisdiction for metals and mining for several reasons: 1) the government has shown a long commitment to developing the mining sector (the mining code is based on Australian legislation), 2) the country has a well-defined regulatory framework (minimal 3 percent royalty rate and a 25 percent basic rate of tax on earnings), and 3) transparent permitting process.
As Africa’s oldest republic, Liberia has had a politically stable democracy since 2003 after signing the Accra Peace Agreement. Additionally, the country has had four successful democratic elections since 2005.
The country is well-endowed with mineral resources that largely remain underexplored. The West African craton hosts numerous world-class deposits with a gold endowment of over 450 Moz. The craton is largely underexplored (~90 percent) with most recent exploration having occurred in the previous 30 years.
Just this year, US iron ore conglomerate High Power Exploration (HPX), founded by mining billionaire Robert Friedland, announced plans to develop the Liberty Corridor – a brand-new multi-user infrastructure corridor connecting Guinea and Liberia.
The Liberty Corridor would comprise a brand-new, world-class rail system connecting the Nimba district of Guinea to a new Liberian deep-water port. The Liberty Corridor is expected to be a leading African example of multi-user, independently operated, and open-access infrastructure that will support the economic opening of the West African region to world markets.
These newly announced Liberian initiatives, coupled with a US-dollar-denominated economy, a majority English speaking population and heavy US presence, makes Liberia a top-tier investment jurisdiction in Africa.
Company Highlights
- Zodiac Gold is a West African gold exploration company developing a district-scale gold discovery in the Republic of Liberia. The company’s land package totals over 2,300 sq km.
- Zodiac Gold has identified five exploration targets that would form the basis for satellite pits that would support a hub-and-spoke mining strategy.
- Proven gold at surface with five drill-ready targets that are open along strike and depth provide strong upside to organic growth from grassroots exploration.
- Discovery-driven management team led by CEO David Kol and director of exploration Tom Dowrick who have over 25 years of combined in-country experience. Management and insiders also own over one quarter of the company.
The Todi Project
Zodiac Gold’s 2,316 sq km, 100 percent owned land package in Liberia includes its flagship Todi property (418 sq km) and other license areas (1,898 sq km) overlying prospective geology and structures known to host gold mineralization. The land package is also strategically located 20 km southeast of Avesoro’s New Liberty Gold Mine (1.8 Moz resource) that produced 360 koz of gold in 2023.
The Todi property has five drill-ready targets:
Arthington
The target boasts more than 4 km of soil anomalies with the discovery of a mineralized gold trend along 1.5 km of strike. Highlight intercepts include 9.6 meters at 7.5 g/t gold and 10.6 meters at 6.6 g/t gold. The company recently completed 3,700 meters or trenching and 3,500 meters of drilling at the property and the Phase 2 drill program defined the strike and depth extents of the target.
Alasala
Target highlights include: 1) a 2.4 km long x 250 meter wide soil anomaly with artisanal workings, 2) rock chip samples up to 107 g/t gold, and 3) drilling intercepts with grades above 6 g/t over just under 20 meters.
Benben
Target highlights include: 1) a 4.5 km long soil anomaly with artisanal workings, and 2) rock chip samples up to 255 g/t gold.
Youth Camp
Target highlights include: 1) a 4 km long soil anomaly with artisanal workings and 2) best historical trenching results of 1 g/t gold over 30 meters.
Alasala South
Characterized by a 1 km long soil anomaly with artisanal workings
Zodiac Gold is developing these five exploration targets that would form the basis for satellite pits that support a hub-and-spoke strategy with material feeding a centralized facility that would process ore.
Management Team
David Kol – Director, President and Chief Executive Officer
David Kol is a highly experienced international business and startup executive with over 20 years of experience in finance, marketing, business development, M&A and executive management, primarily in the resource sector, media/entertainment, real estate and technology industries. Prior to Zodiac, Kol held senior management roles in Gem Rocks Mining Resources, Global Media Group Holdings, The Players Network and Interactive Enterprises, where he worked on projects for Sony, Wink Communications, Netcom, US West (now Qwest Communications), BskyB and JskyB. He currently serves on the board of directors of BluEarth Carbon Development and Global Wholesome Network 501. Kol attended the University of California, Davis, where he studied managerial economics, and has an A.A. (criminal justice) from Diablo Valley College.
Tom Dowrick – Director of Exploration
Tom Dowrick is a seasoned chartered geologist with 17 years of experience in the mining and exploration industry. Since 2011, he has been a driving force at ACA Howe International, where he serves as managing director. In this role, he manages a range of geological and mining consultancy projects around the globe, including serving as a consultant on Zodiac Gold’s Todi project in the Republic of Liberia, West Africa. Dowrick has substantial experience in West Africa, having completed field and desk-based reviews of the exploration activities of both public and private companies in Liberia, Mali, Guinea, Mauritania, Sierra Leone, South Sudan and Mozambique, in addition to projects in Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Kazakhstan and Australia.
Peter Granata – Chief Financial Officer
Peter Granata has more than 18 years of experience in finance and operations management within global organizations. He is a dynamic, results-oriented professional with executive positions in TSXV companies and, prior to these, served as an audit manager for PricewaterhouseCoopers. Granata has prepared financial statements, MD&A, news releases, mine permitting applications and project cash flows. With PricewaterhouseCoopers, he performed audits for Canadian IFRS, US GAAP reconciliations, special purpose financial statements and has executed group reporting under Canadian GAAP. His experience includes CFO for TSXV entities, capital raising, international corporate structures, client engagement, C-suite and directors’ engagement, M&A, financing, investor relations, related party transactions, and finance transformation. Granata has a B. Bus and is a chartered accountant.
Sherry Siu – Corporate Secretary
Sherry Siu has over 30 years of experience working as a paralegal for a boutique law firm in Vancouver, specializing in securities, commercial and corporate matters, and has been corporate secretary of various junior resource companies since 2011. She has worked on a variety of securities-related and corporate transactions, including M&A, spinouts and business combinations, reorganizations, and going-public filings. Siu is a paralegal certified with the BC Paralegal Association.
Douglas Cater – Director
Doug Cater is a professional geologist who has worked extensively across Canada and internationally for more than 35 years, with a particular focus on the Abitibi gold belt located in northeastern Ontario. He has held positions with both senior and intermediate gold producers, including Barrick Gold, Placer Dome and Kinross Gold. His African exploration experience was obtained while serving as an exploration consultant for Barrick Gold in Tanzania, where he was responsible for the project management of an exploration diamond drill program in the Lake Victoria greenstone belt. His most recent executive position was as vice-president, exploration (Canada) with Kirkland Lake Gold. Cater is also a director of Sierra Metals, Mayfair Gold, Exploits Discovery and Gowest Gold. He is a graduate of the ICD-Rotman Directors Education Program.
Renaud Adams – Advisor
Renaud Adams has over 30 years of global mining experience in senior executive positions and operations. Currently, Adams serves as the president and chief executive officer of IAMGOLD (NYSE:IAG) (TSE:IMG), a mid-tier Canadian gold company with a US$1.4 billion market cap. From 2018 to 2022, he served as the president and chief executive officer of New Gold, where he led the strategic repositioning of the company and turnaround of its operations. Prior to New Gold. Adams served as the president and chief executive officer of Richmont Mines from 2014 until the company was sold to Alamos Gold in November 2017. During his time at Richmont Mines, the primary mine of the company experienced a two-fold increase in production, the mineral reserves were multiplied by more than three, and the costs were reduced significantly, leading to the Island Gold Mine in Ontario becoming one of the most cost-efficient underground mines in the Americas. From 2011 to 2014, Adams served as chief operating officer at Primero Mining Corporation, and prior to that he served as general manager of IAMGOLD’s Rosebel mine in Suriname before being appointed senior vice-president, Americas Operations. Adams holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree in mining and mineral processing from Laval University in Quebec, Canada.
Michael Demeter – Advisor
Michael Demeter is a highly experienced executive with a track record spanning over 30 years in financial services, including the past 22 years in capital markets, advising both companies and buy-side investors as well as raising growth capital for a wide range of companies. Michael has worked with boutique investment dealers, Canadian banks, and global investment banks, providing him with diverse exposure to companies of all sizes. Michael is a Partner with Fort Capital, one of Canada’s leading independent investment banking advisory firms. Mr. Demeter is the former Managing Director and Head of Institutional Sales at Haywood Securities and has held senior management roles at Macquarie Group, Dundee Securities, Royal Bank of Canada, and Scotiabank. Mr. Demeter earned a BA (Economics) from Huron College at the University of Western Ontario, and an MBA from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto. His work in financial services has led him to attain his Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation, Chartered Market Technician (CMT) designation, Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) designation, and Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designation. He is a member of the Rotman Dean’s Global Advisory Board (GAB), and the Loan Review Committee for Rise Asset Management, a charity dedicated to helping people with mental health and addiction challenges achieve financial independence through self-employment or small business ownership.
Ryan Hanley – Advisor
Ryan Hanley is currently the CEO of Springburn Capital, a private investment and consulting company. Before founding Springburn, he was the director and mining analyst at Laurentian Bank Securities in Toronto, where he worked from March 2017 to May 2024. Before joining LBS, Hanley was an equity research analyst specializing in mining and mining services at Research Capital from 2012 to 2017. His career at Research Capital also included roles as a mining research associate from 2009 to 2012, and an investment banking analyst in 2008.
Hanley has been ranked as a top analyst by Bloomberg, Thomson Reuters and Refinitiv, including as the third-ranked "Top Stock Picker (All Sectors)" in Canada in the 2017 Thomson Reuters Analyst Awards. He holds a BA from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario.
Tartana Minerals Investor Kit
- Corporate info
- Insights
- Growth strategies
- Upcoming projects