Metals Australia Ltd

Warrego East Drilling Permitted as Takeover Action Underlines Prospectivity of Tennant Creek Mineral Field

- Metals Australia exploring the Warrego East Copper-Gold project as London-listed Pan African Resources acquires holder of adjacent tenement in an $82M deal

Metals Australia Ltd (ASX: MLS) (“the Company”) is pleased to announce that its Mine Management Plan for the upcoming field exploration program at the Warrego East copper-gold project in the Tennant Creek Mineral Field has been authorised by the Northern Territory Government (Refer to Figure 1 and 2). Weather permitting, the field exploration program will be scheduled as soon as a land holder access agreement is finalised.


  • The $82M takeover of Tennant Creek Mining Group Pty Ltd (TCMG) by London-listed Pan African Resources PLC (AIM: PAF) has reignited interest in the underexplored Tennant Creek Mineral Field (TCMF)1
  • The corporate activity comes as Metal Australia finalises plans for a substantial exploration program at its Warrego East copper-gold project2 after the Northern Territory Government authorised the Company’s Mine Management Plan. Warrego East is adjacent to, and immediately east of, the high- grade Warrego mine and Mineral Resource held by TCMG and its Joint Venture partner, Emmerson Resources (ASX: ERM)3
  • The program will test a series of priority gravity and magnetics defined ironstone hosted copper- gold targets within a corridor which links the Warrego mine with the Gecko and Orlando copper- gold deposits4,5. The Warrego mine historically produced 4.95Mt @ 2.0% Cu and 8g/t Au6
  • Weather permitting, the field exploration program will commence as soon as land holder access agreements are finalised.
Metals Australia CEO Paul Ferguson commented:

“We welcome the clear show of confidence Pan African Resources has demonstrated in the Tennant Creek Mineral Field via its $82 million takeover of TCMG, which is Emmerson Resources’ JV partner in the tenements hosting the Warrego copper-gold mine and various mineral resources. This comes as Metals Australia finalises plans for a substantial field exploration program at its Warrego East copper-gold project, located immediately adjacent to and east of those JV tenements.

The takeover of TCMG by Pan African Resources demonstrates the potential now being seen by bigger overseas players in the Tennant Creek Mineral Field. With a market cap of more than $1 billion, South African- based Pan African Resources has recognised the potential of this underexplored region to host significant mineral resources where less than 10% of drilling has extended beyond 150m in depth and where almost all significant deposits to date have been discovered under shallow cover.

The Warrego mine was identified undercover as a magnetic anomaly during an airborne survey conducted in 1956. Similar magnetic anomalies occur within a corridor through our Warrego East lease, with the Gekko and Orlando deposits discovered further to the east, within the same corridor.

Warrego went on to produce consistently between the early 1970s up until 1989 – averaging around 2% copper and 8gpt of gold during its production life.

We are working diligently to finalise the remaining requirements for our upcoming exploration program at Warrego East.

The planned program is a further illustration of Metals Australia’s status as one of the most active exploration companies, with field exploration programs recently completed at three projects and two more in the pipeline as we seek to unlock the true value of our portfolio in known mining districts in Australia and Canada.”

Figure 1: Metals Australia’s Tenements, TCMG tenements (acquired by PAF), Warrego Production6 in the TCMF.

This comes as the prospectivity of the Tennant Creek Mineral Field is further underlined by the $82 million takeover of TCMG announced on 5 November. Metals Australia’s Warrego East project is adjacent to, and immediately east of, the tenements hosting the Warrego mine and mineral resources held by TCMG and its JV partner Emmerson Resources.

The Tennant Creek Mineral Field has produced 25Mt @ 6.9 g/t gold (Au) & 2.8% copper (Cu)4, with historical production coming from deposits in outcropping areas – or undercover - such as the Warrego mine. Metals Australia’s tenements are located on Cu-Au trends in areas of shallow soil cover which have not been tested with modern exploration (see Figure 2 below). The tenements include EL32725 (granted) and EL32837, EL32937 and EL32410 (all under application), which were acquired by the Company as part of its 80% acquisition of Payne Gully Gold7 in 2022.


Click here for the full ASX Release

This article includes content from Metals Australia Ltd, 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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SQM REPORTS EARNINGS FOR THE NINE MONTHS ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2024

Highlights


  • SQM reported total revenues for the nine months ended September 30, 2024 of US$3,455.0 million compared to total revenues of  US$6,155.9 million for the same period last year.

  • Net loss (1),(2) for the nine months ended September 30, 2024 of (US$524.5) million or (US$1.84) per share, compared to net income (2) of  US$1,809.5 million or US$6.33 per share for the same period last year.

  • Solid sales volumes in lithium, iodine, and fertilizer businesses.

  • SPN and Potassium businesses posted healthy growth showing market recovery.

  • Slight increase in iodine prices, due to strong market demand and limited supply.

  • First lithium sales from the SQM International lithium division.

SQM will hold a conference call to discuss these results on Wednesday, November 20, 2024 at 10:00am ET (12:00pm Chile time).

Participant Dial-In (Toll Free): 1-844-282-4852

Participant International Dial-In: 1-412-317-5626

Webcast: https://event.choruscall.com/mediaframe/webcast.html?webcastid=xdNdTppQ

SANTIAGO, Chile , Nov. 20, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (SQM) (NYSE: SQM; Santiago Stock Exchange: SQM-B, SQM-A) reported today net loss ( [1] ),(2)   for the nine months ended September 30, 2024 , of (US$524.5) million or (US$1.84) per share, compared to US$1,809.5 million or US$6.33 per share reported for the same period last year.

(PRNewsfoto/Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile, S.A. (SQM))

Gross profit (3) reached US$1,033.3 million (29.9% of revenues) for the nine months ended September 30, 2024 , lower than US$2,674.3 million (43.4% of revenues) recorded for the nine months ended September 30, 2023 . Revenues totaled US$3,455.0 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2024 , representing a decrease of 43.9% compared to US$6,155.9 million reported for the nine months ended September 30, 2023 .

The Company also announced net income for the third quarter of 2024 of US$131.4 million or US$0.46 per share, a decrease of 72.6% compared to US$479.4 million or US$1.68 per share for the third quarter of 2023. Gross profit for the third quarter of 2024 reached US$280.8 million , 62.7% lower than the US$753.6 million reported for the third quarter of 2023. Revenues totaled US$1,076.9 million for the third quarter of 2024, a decrease of 41.5% compared to US$1,840.3 million for the third quarter of 2023.

SQM's Chief Executive Officer, Ricardo Ramos , stated, "We are publishing our third quarter 2024 financial results with positive volume growth in almost all of our business lines compared to last year. Fertilizer markets have shown solid market dynamics with a market size recovery. Our Specialty Plant Nutrition volumes grew more than 20% year-on-year while our revenues in this business line increased close to 12%."

He continued, "Iodine demand continued to be strong, leading to an increase in our sales volumes and revenues compared to last year. Prices continued to move up slightly quarter over quarter since the beginning of this year and we have used part of our inventories to answer market needs."

Mr. Ramos further stated, "In lithium, we reported sales volumes of more than 51 thousand metric tons of lithium products, an 18% growth year-on-year, demonstrating strong demand in the market. As anticipated, prices during the third quarter continued their downward trend, with average realized prices 24% lower than the second quarter this year. Although demand continues to grow at a strong pace, mainly driven by strong EV sales growth in China , we continue to see the prices pressured by an oversupply that persists despite the curtailment announcement we have seen over the past few weeks."

Mr. Ramos closed by saying, "Our more than 30-year track record in the lithium market has proved that we have a long-term view in this business. Despite current market prices, we strongly believe in the lithium market and its fundamentals which are highly related to the clean energy transition. SQM is in a strong competitive position and well prepared to continue developing our projects in Chile and abroad to harvest the benefits of this transition."

About SQM

SQM is a global company that is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and the Santiago Stock Exchange (NYSE: SQM; Santiago Stock Exchange: SQM-B, SQM-A). SQM develops and produces diverse products for several industries essential for human progress, such as health, nutrition, renewable energy and technology through innovation and technological development. We aim to maintain our leading world position in the lithium, potassium nitrate, iodine and thermo-solar salts markets.

For further information, contact:

Gerardo Illanes / gerardo.illanes@sqm.com
Isabel Bendeck / isabel.bendeck@sqm.com

For media inquiries, contact:

Maria Ignacia Lopez / ignacia.lopez@sqm.com
Pablo Pisani / pablo.pisani@sqm.com

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as: "anticipate," "plan," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "strategy," "should," "will" and similar references to future periods. Examples of forward-looking statements include, among others, statements we make concerning the completion and implementation of the proposed partnership with Codelco, the development of Salar Futuro Project, Company's capital expenditures, financing sources, Sustainable Development Plan, business and demand outlook, future economic performance, anticipated sales volumes and sales prices, profitability, revenues, expenses, or other financial items, anticipated cost synergies and product or service line growth.

Forward-looking statements are neither historical facts nor assurances of future performance. Instead, they are estimates that reflect the best judgment of SQM management based on currently available information. Because forward-looking statements relate to the future, they involve a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that are outside of our control and could cause actual results to differ materially from those stated in such statements, including our ability to successfully implement the Sustainable Development Plan. Therefore, you should not rely on any of these forward-looking statements. Readers are referred to the documents filed by SQM with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, including the most recent annual report on Form 20-F, which identifies other important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are based on information available to SQM on the date hereof and SQM assumes no obligation to update such statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as required by law.

News Provided by PR Newswire via QuoteMedia

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