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Plus, rising prices for battery metals boost Panoramic’s campaign to re-start mothballed Savannah
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By Tim Treadgold
Energy, in its liquid and metallic form, is demanding a bigger share of every investment portfolio with rising prices for oil and gas matching the strength of the battery metals sector.
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Dacian heading towards mineable oxide resource
Dacian Gold has revealed the growing potential of its Cameron Well discovery, with the latest results to be used to define a maiden oxide resource within weeks (reports MiningNews).
Great Boulder’s three-of-a-kind hand sets it up as a battery metals player
Great Boulder Resources appears to be morphing into a battery metals player after putting its foot on what it thinks is a large copper, nickel and cobalt system (reports Stockhead).
First assays imminent from Centaurus Minerals cobalt site in Brazil
A new research report has highlighted the huge potential of a cobalt drilling program underway at Centaurus Metals’ Itapitanga project in northern Brazil (reports Stockhead).
Kairos adds more Pilbara gold to its collection; shares jump 29pc
It may have been the novelty of the conglomerate-hosted gold that brought interest back to the highly prospective Pilbara region of Western Australia, but Kairos Minerals is proving conventional gold resources can be just as exciting (reports Stockhead).
No spaces between nickel targeted at Mincor's Cassini
Infill drilling by nickel and gold company Mincor Resources at the Cassini prospect near Kambalda has returned another strong headline result, with resource estimates to follow drilling of a further three holes (reports MiningNews).
Class system emerging in nickel
A commodities expert says the market is still not getting the message when it comes to nickel and its use in lithium-ion batteries (reports MiningNews).
Sipa’s $75m Rio deal reflects the quality and potential of its projects, says Wendt
Junior base metals explorer Sipa Resources (ASX: SRI) is entering an exciting period with exploration activity set to resume on dual fronts and the quality of its projects highlighted by a recent joint venture with global major Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO), according to Sydney analyst Gavin Wendt.
Eight reasons lithium markets will stay tight
To meet the stated requirements of electric vehicle manufacturers, lithium production must grow from current levels of 300,000 tonnes to two million tonnes by 2030 (writes Tim Hannon from Newgate Capital Partners on Livewire).
How to pick winners in a new commodities world of batteries and bifurcation
Resources stocks are flying high on improved commodity prices, a more disciplined approach to supply and the rotation of money out of the scandal-plagued banks and financial services companies (reports The Australian Financial Review).
Lucapa finds a big canary
Fresh from finding a 46 carat chunk of ‘ice’ at its flagship Lulo diamond mine in Angola, Lucapa this morning sung about the discovery of a gem-quality 25ct yellow special diamond, a canary, in trial processing of bulk samples from outside its one million carat resource in Lesotho (reports MiningNews).
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- RBA governor Philip Lowe warned that China’s ballooning debt mountain and opaque financial system pose a threat to Australia’s prosperity, saying it was too early to tell whether the authorities would succeed in managing the transition from a growth model heavily dependent upon the accumulation of debt to one where credit is less central.
- Santos rejected the $14.4b takeover proposal from US giant Harbour Energy and terminated all discussions with the group.
- A long-awaited sale of Rio Tinto’s stake in Indonesia’s Grasberg copper mine appears to be close, with the company confirming for the first time that it was directly involved in negotiations over a sale. Deutsche valued Rio's stake at $US3.5b.
- The ACCC and the federal government have no powers to force AGL Energy to reduce its electricity market share, former ACCC chairman Allan Fels said.
- Woodside Petroleum revealed it is seeking to exploit a sooner-than-expected shortfall in LNG in the early 2020s through a significant expansion of its Pluto processing facility, boosting the cost of its Scarborough development by $US1b to $US11b after raising the capacity of its planned second processing train.
- British billionaire Sanjeev Gupta said he is accelerating plans to become Australia's first large-scale manufacturer of lithium household storage batteries to take advantage of booming demand and to stop the country squandering another competitive advantage.
- FMG chief Elizabeth Gaines said tension over international trade will do little to shake positive sentiment around the mining sector.
- China said it would cut the import duty on passenger cars from 25 per cent to 15 per cent, further opening up a market that's been a chief target of the US in its trade fight.
- Rio Tinto's copper chief executive Arnaud Soirat has put pressure on Mongolia to support its efforts to develop a US$5.3b mine expansion at Oyu Tolgoi, saying foreign companies will be looking at it as a "test case" for future investment.
- The Energy Security Board asked business, industry groups and energy companies to provide staff to their organisation to help deliver the Turnbull government's National Energy Guarantee by the August deadline.
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One of Australia’s biggest resources conferences for retail investors is expecting record attendance at this year’s event on Queensland’s Gold Coast.
Resources Rising Stars, which is in its 15th year, looks set to crack 800 investor registrations.
More than 30 junior and mid-tier companies and a host of high-profile keynote speakers will be presenting at the event.
The conference kicks off at 8.50am on Tuesday May 29 and runs until 4.30pm Wednesday May 30.
Battery metals will be a key theme with presentations from companies in lithium, graphite and cobalt.
In the lithium space, investors will hear from Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS) and Liontown Resources (ASX:LTR).
Graphite will be covered with Battery Minerals (ASX:BAT) and Kibaran Resources (ASX:KNL), while Nzuri Copper (ASX:NZC), New World Cobalt (ASX:NWC), Centaurus Metals (ASX:CTM) and Hylea Metals (ASX:HCO) are team cobalt.
Attendees will also get an insight into what is happening in the burgeoning base metals space from players like Mincor Resources (ASX:MCR) and Great Boulder Resources (ASX:GBR).
The much-loved gold sector will be in the spotlight with presentations from Northern Star Resources (ASX:NST), Dacian Gold (ASX:DCN), Millennium Minerals (ASX:MOY) and Red 5 (ASX:RED).
Among the high-profile keynote speakers will be former ANZ chief economist and one of Australia’s best-known economic commentators, Saul Eslake, and respected resources analyst Hedley Widdup from Lion Selection Group.
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 Chalice Gold Mines (ASX: CHN) – New battery metals projects
Chalice has secured two well-located and prospective vanadium-nickel projects in Australia, opening up an exciting new growth opportunity in the battery metals sector. The Flinders River Vanadium Project in Queensland comprises a 2,270km2 ground package surrounding the ~2.6Bt Richmond Vanadium Project. The Julimar Nickel-Vanadium Project is located near Perth in WA.
Dacian announced strong shallow and deeper drilling results which confirm the growing potential of the Cameron Well discovery at its 100%-owned Mount Morgans Gold Project in WA. The results confirm the continuity of shallow oxide mineralisation over an area of 1.2km by 1km. Four separate primary gold-hosting lode structures situated in fresh rock have also been identified to date.
 DevEx Resources (ASX: DEV) – Copper-gold targets
DevEx has enhanced the exploration potential of its Bogong Copper-Gold Project in NSW after identifying significant shallow copper mineralisation following a technical review. Rock chip sampling from the same area by a previous explorer demonstrated an association between gold and copper. DevEx is commencing the process of landowner engagement to secure land access agreements.
 Great Boulder Resources (ASX: GBR) – Raises $2.5M for drilling
Great Boulder is set to accelerate drilling at its Mt Venn Nickel-Cobalt Project in WA following receipt of firm commitments to raise $2.5M via a share placement. The oversubscribed raising was priced at 27c. Funds will be applied to a maiden drilling program at the Eastern Mafic complex, where several strong conductors consistent with a bedrock massive sulphide source have been identified.
Kairos unveiled a significant increase in Mineral Resources at its Pilbara Gold Project in the WA, with recent drilling more than doubling the contained gold at Mt York from 258,000oz to 643,000oz. The Main Hill-Breccia Hill-Gossan Hill trend is now confirmed as a single deposit that extends for over 3.5km. A major new drilling program is underway to grow the resource along strike.
Liontown is continuing to make rapid progress towards its first JORC lithium Resource at the Kathleen Valley Lithium Project in WA. The latest drilling results continue to support the potential for a significant spodumene-related lithium deposit. Resource drilling is now in full swing to define the lithium mineralisation to a depth of 100m, with the program expected to be completed by late June.
 Mincor Resources (ASX: MCR) – Cassini exploration update
Mincor reported another impressive high-grade intercept of 7.19m at 7.23% Ni from the ongoing in-fill drilling program within the Cassini CS2 Channel at the Cassini Nickel Project in WA. The new intercept comprises a well-developed zone of matrix and massive sulphides, and is located some 40m up-dip of the recently reported intercept in MDD305 of 11.71m at 6.13% Ni.
 Mustang Resources (ASX: MUS) – Montepuez Project update
Mustang is exporting a further 34,400 carats of medium and higher grade rubies to its sales office in Thailand. The rubies were recovered as part of Mustang’s bulk sampling operations at its Montepuez Ruby Project in Mozambique. The exported rubies are planned to be sold as part of the Company’s ongoing market development and test sales campaign.
The North American-focused cobalt company has significantly expanded the prospective target area in advance of its upcoming drilling program at its 100%-controlled Colson Cobalt-Copper Project in Idaho, USA. The results provide strong indications that high-grade copper-cobalt mineralisation at the historically mined Salmon Canyon Deposit extends considerably further than currently defined.
Sandfire commenced a deep Reverse Circulation drill program at the Morck’s Well Project, part of its Farm-in with Auris Minerals and Fe Limited. The first step-out RC hole, drilled 200m north-west of recent Aircore sulphide intersections, will provide a platform for down-hole EM (DHEM) surveying. Follow-up RC and diamond drilling will continue as a priority in the area.
 Spitfire Materials (ASX: SPI) – Acquires 100% of Mulwarrie
Spitfire has strengthened its growth pipeline in the North Kalgoorlie district of WA after executing a binding terms sheet to acquire the remaining 49% of the Mulwarrie Gold Project. Mulwarrie is a strategically located high-grade project with the potential to become a satellite ore source to Spitfire’s flagship 1.26Moz Aphrodite Gold Project. The acquisition is consistent with its corporate strategy.
 Sandfire Resources (ASX: SFR) – Sulphides at Morck’s Well
Sandfire shares surged after the Company announced that Aircore drilling at the Morck’s Well Project, part of its Farm-in with Auris Minerals and Fe Limited, had intersected narrow zones of sulphide and supergene copper mineralisation. Assays are awaited. Deep Reverse Circulation drilling to test the area is currently being planned, in parallel with follow-up ground EM surveys.
Spitfire is set to kick off a major new 6,000m expansionary drilling program at its 1.26Moz Aphrodite Gold Project near Kalgoorlie in WA after unveiling an Exploration Target of 500-900,000oz to a vertical depth of 150-600m in the Alpha and Phi lodes. In light of increased investor interest in manganese projects, Spitfire is also reviewing its South Woodie Woodie Manganese Project in WA.
Sipa has received firm commitments to raise $1.04M through a placement to institutional and sophisticated investors. The proceeds will be used for further drilling at the Obelisk discovery and Andromeda target at the Paterson North Copper-Gold Project. Sipa MD Lynda Burnett said the Company was looking forward to the imminent re-commencement of exploration.
 Syndicated Metals (ASX: SMD) – Sells Northern Hub tenements
Syndicated has entered into a binding agreement with Minotaur Exploration to sell its Northern Hub copper exploration tenements in North Queensland for a total of $400,000 in cash and shares. The transaction is consistent with Syndicated’s strategy of crystallising value from its North Queensland exploration assets and focusing on its WA gold assets and new opportunities. |
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