Home » Posts tagged 'mining' (Page 7)
Tag Archives: mining
Kavango Resources Plc #KAV – Holding(s) in Company
TR-1: Standard form for notification of major holdings
1. Issuer Details
ISIN
GB00BF0VMV24
Issuer Name
KAVANGO RESOURCES PLC
UK or Non-UK Issuer
UK
2. Reason for Notification
An acquisition or disposal of voting rights
3. Details of person subject to the notification obligation
Name
Purebond Limited
City of registered office (if applicable)
Wembley
Country of registered office (if applicable)
England
4. Details of the shareholder
Full name of shareholder(s) if different from the person(s) subject to the notification obligation, above
City of registered office (if applicable)
Country of registered office (if applicable)
5. Date on which the threshold was crossed or reached
28-Jun-2023
6. Date on which Issuer notified
28-Jun-2023
7. Total positions of person(s) subject to the notification obligation
|
. |
% of voting rights attached to shares (total of 8.A) |
% of voting rights through financial instruments (total of 8.B 1 + 8.B 2) |
Total of both in % (8.A + 8.B) |
Total number of voting rights held in issuer |
|
Resulting situation on the date on which threshold was crossed or reached |
26.609291 |
0.000000 |
26.609291 |
225000000 |
|
Position of previous notification (if applicable) |
12.047009 |
0.000000 |
12.047009 |
8. Notified details of the resulting situation on the date on which the threshold was crossed or reached
8A. Voting rights attached to shares
|
Class/Type of shares ISIN code(if possible) |
Number of direct voting rights (DTR5.1) |
Number of indirect voting rights (DTR5.2.1) |
% of direct voting rights (DTR5.1) |
% of indirect voting rights (DTR5.2.1) |
|
GB00BF0VMV24 |
225000000 |
0 |
26.609291 |
0.000000 |
|
Sub Total 8.A |
225000000 |
26.609291% |
||
8B1. Financial Instruments according to (DTR5.3.1R.(1) (a))
|
Type of financial instrument |
Expiration date |
Exercise/conversion period |
Number of voting rights that may be acquired if the instrument is exercised/converted |
% of voting rights |
|
|
||||
|
Sub Total 8.B1 |
||||
8B2. Financial Instruments with similar economic effect according to (DTR5.3.1R.(1) (b))
|
Type of financial instrument |
Expiration date |
Exercise/conversion period |
Physical or cash settlement |
Number of voting rights |
% of voting rights |
|
|
|||||
|
Sub Total 8.B2 |
|||||
9. Information in relation to the person subject to the notification obligation
2. Full chain of controlled undertakings through which the voting rights and/or the financial instruments are effectively held starting with the ultimate controlling natural person or legal entities (please add additional rows as necessary)
|
Ultimate controlling person |
Name of controlled undertaking |
% of voting rights if it equals or is higher than the notifiable threshold |
% of voting rights through financial instruments if it equals or is higher than the notifiable threshold |
Total of both if it equals or is higher than the notifiable threshold |
|
Solai Holdings Limited |
Purebond Limited |
26.609291 |
26.609291% |
10. In case of proxy voting
Name of the proxy holder
The number and % of voting rights held
The date until which the voting rights will be held
11. Additional Information
(1) Purebond Limited is a 100% Subsidiary of Solai Holdings Limited.
(2) 3 Named Directors of Solai Holdings Limited off which 2 are also Directors of Purebond Limited are also Trustees of Solai Pension Scheme which has 0.118264% (1,000,000 Shares) Voting Rights in Kavango Plc.
12. Date of Completion
29-Jun-2023
13. Place Of Completion
London
ECR Minerals #ECR – Half-year Report
UNAUDITED HALF-YEARLY RESULTS FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED 31 MARCH 2023 AND UPDATE
LONDON: 30 JUNE 2023 – ECR Minerals plc, the gold exploration and development company, is pleased to announce unaudited interim results for the six months ended 31 March 2023, along with a review of significant developments during and post period.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Although somewhat depressed during the final quarter of 2022, the gold price recovered strongly to within three US cents of the $1800 benchmark at the end of Q1 2023. The strong market enjoyed by producers didn’t result in a read across to junior explorers, and along with its peer group companies, the ECR board has worked hard to conserve cash and husband resources amid challenging markets.
- ECR’s initial exploration campaign at Lolworth in Queensland exceeded expectations. The 2022 sampling campaign returned multiple gold anomalies and occurrences of visible gold in samples (14% visible gold strike rate) plus significant levels of Tantalum and Niobium. Post period end, Technical Director Adam Jones and the field team were back on the ground at Lolworth, and with the recent discovery of key Rare Earth Elements from last year’s sampling, the mineralisation at Lolworth is becoming ever more interesting and diverse. The Board are now of the view that Lolworth could potentially host significant Gold, Niobium, Tantalum and rare earth element accumulations.
- During the period under review, ECR was granted two new tenements at Bailieston (EL006911 and EL006912), bringing the total land package across all three tenements (EL5433, EL006911, EL006912) up to 179 square kilometres. The culmination of the extended drilling campaign there did however deliver a disappointing overall outcome. The Board were keen to see results from a drilling programme at the Blue Moon project (sited within Bailieston license area EL5433), which was designed to test for mineralised continuity of the gold bearing structure. Post period end, the drilling programme was completed, but it was established that both the width and strike of the predicted anomaly was narrower than at first thought. As a result, the rig and team were moved to Creswick.
Following a trip to ECR’s Creswick project earlier in 2022, the Directors decided to re-assay selected diamond drill core from the Creswick diamond drilling programme completed in 2021. Results included 0.7m @ 47.75 g/t Au from 147m in hole CSD001 and 1.1m @ 6.13 g/t Au from 98m in hole CJD002 (see announcement dated 19 October 2022). The duplicate samples demonstrated the high variability of coarse gold present at Creswick across licences EL006907, EL006184 and new licence area EL006713. Subsequently, a campaign was planned around and adjacent to the 2019 RC drilling campaign. Further soil geochemistry work identified a potential new parallel gold system within the Dimocks Main Shale (DMS). Along with new prospects Davey Road and Blue Gum South, there were strong indications that gold mineralisation originated from the North end of a line of historical gold workings. Work was also undertaken with over 600 soil samples from the new Mills Reef system.
- In October 2022, ECR announced the conditional acquisition of Placer Gold Pty Limited (Placer), the beneficial holder of three granted mining tenements (EPM 27518, EPM 25855 and EPM 19437) known as the Hurricane Project and located west of Cairns in the Hodgkinson Province, NE Queensland. Hurricane was previously the subject of field work and surface sampling with undrilled gold and antimony discoveries. The Board believes the extent of the mineralisation warrants drilling for potential resources. As set out in the announcement dated 27 October 2022, ECR will pay a A$200,000 (approximately £144k) option fee to be satisfied by a contribution to costs, the implementation of a work program over the assets and a balancing cash payment to the shareholders of Placer. Once the option fee has been fully satisfied ECR can then exercise the option at any time prior to 30 September 2023.
- During the period under review, ECR increased its shareholding in Cordillera Tiger Gold Resources, Inc (“Cordillera”), owner of Exploration License EP-006 at the Danglay gold project in the north of the Philippines, from 70% to 90%. The increase was due to the conversation of an intercompany loan of 28,354,525 pesos (approx. £420,800) owed by Cordillera to ECR in relation to certain fees and explorations expenses. The loan was satisfied by the issue of 6,666,667 new ordinary shares to ECR, following which ECR now holds 8,999,996 Ordinary Shares in Cordillera representing 90% of its issued share capital.
- In February 2023, ECR completed the sale of its Bailieston property at 127 Nagambie-Rushworth Road for a sale price of A$670,000. The funds have been deployed into ECR’s ongoing 2023 exploration programme.
- During the period under review, the purchase of ECR’s second drill rig was completed (see announcement dated 11 October 2022). Following a review of the Company’s likely requirements for this rig in 2023 and 2024, the Company is reviewing options to monetise the value of the rig.
- Group comprehensive expenses of £684,492 are reported for the six months ended 31 March 2023 (H1 2022: £324,333) and net assets of £6,081,330 at 31 March 2023 (H1 2022: £7,536,210).
- Despite some lingering effects from the COVID-19 pandemic, felt primarily through extended delays in receiving lab assay results, the Board is very excited by the multiple near term opportunities across the asset portfolio.
FINANCIAL RESULTS
ECR reports a pre tax loss for the six months ended 31 March 2023 of £724,566 (H1 2022: loss of £552,202).
The Group’s total assets were £6,177,800 at 31 March 2023 (H1 2022: £7,674,007). The decrease in total assets has occurred largely due to the impairment of Danglay Gold project.
Cash and cash equivalents at 31 March 2023 was £319k (H1 2022: £1,204,289)
REVIEW OF PRINCIPAL DEVELOPMENTS DURING THE PERIOD AND SUBSEQUENTLY
Led by our CEO Andrew Haythorpe. ECR has taken some key steps during the period in question, despite continued challenging market conditions for junior explorers. Your Board remains focussed on working to improve the efficiency of our exploration efforts and subsequent target delineation, and on a more general level the efficient management of all our assets and careful husbanding of cash resources.
Victoria
At Bailieston the Company was granted two new tenements (EL006911 and EL006912), bringing the total land package across all three tenements (EL5433, EL006911, EL006912) up to 179 square kilometres. The culmination of the extended drilling campaign there did however deliver a disappointing overall outcome. The Board were keen to see results from a drilling programme at the Blue Moon project (sited within Bailieston license area EL5433), which was designed to test for mineralised continuity of the gold bearing structure. Post period end, the drilling programme was completed, but it was established that both the width and strike of the predicted anomaly was narrower than at first thought. As a result, the rig and team were moved to Creswick.
Following a trip to ECR’s Creswick project earlier in 2022, CEO Andrew Haythorpe and Technical Director Adam Jones decided to re-assay selected diamond drill core from the Creswick diamond drilling program completed in 2021. Results included 0.7m @ 47.75 g/t Au from 147m in hole CSD001 and 1.1m @ 6.13 g/t Au from 98m in hole CJD002 (see announcement dated 19 October 2022 for the full details of these results). The duplicate samples proved the high variability of coarse gold present at Creswick across licences EL006907, EL006184 and new license area EL006713. Subsequently, a campaign was designed to drill at least 10 short holes into the DMS Slades Reef around and adjacent to the 2019 RC drilling campaign. Further soil geochemistry work was undertaken, which among other things identified a potential new parallel gold system within the Dimocks Main Shale (DMS). Along with new prospects identified at Davey Road and at Blue Gum South, there were strong indications that gold mineralisation originated from the North end of a line of historical gold workings. Work was also undertaken at new tenement EL006713, which yielded over 600 soil samples from the new Mills Reef system.
In February 2023, ECR completed the sale of its Bailieston property at 127 Nagambie-Rushworth Road for a sale price of A$670,000. The funds have been deployed into ECR’s ongoing 2023 exploration programme.
Queensland
The Company’s Lolworth campaign exceeded expectations across all metrics. The 2022 sampling campaign returned multiple gold anomalies and occurrences of visible gold in samples (14% visible gold strike rate) plus significant levels of Tantalum and Niobium. Post period end, Technical Director Adam Jones and the field team are back on the ground at Lolworth, and with the recent discovery of key Rare Earth Elements (“REE”) from last year’s sampling, the mineralisation at Lolworth is becoming ever more valuable and diverse. The Board are now of the view that Lolworth could be host to significant Gold, Niobium, Tantalum and REE discoveries.
On 27 October 2022, ECR announced the conditional acquisition of Placer Gold Pty Limited (Placer), the beneficial holder of three granted mining tenements (EPM 27518, EPM 25855 and EPM 19437) known as the Hurricane Project and located west of Cairns in the Hodgkinson Province, NE Queensland. Hurricane was previously the subject of intensive field work and sampling and is considered to be a late-stage exploration project with three tenements all highly prospective for gold and antimony. While Hurricane doesn’t currently have a recognised JORC compliant resource estimate, the Board believes the physical extent of the identified mineralisation coupled with rock chip sampling results supports additional exploration and study work. To secure the option ECR will pay a A$200,000 (approximately £144k) option fee to be satisfied by a contribution to costs, the implementation of a work programme over the assets and a balancing cash payment to the shareholders of Placer. Once the option fee has been fully satisfied ECR can then exercise the option at any time prior to 30 September 2023. Further updates on this, and any decision on the exercise of the option, will be provided in due course as appropriate.
Philippines
ECR increased its shareholding in Cordillera Tiger Gold Resources, Inc (“Cordillera”), owner of Exploration License EP-006 at the Danglay gold project in the north of the Philippines, from 70% to 90%. The increase was due to the conversation of an intercompany loan of 28,354,525 pesos (approx. £420,800) owed by Cordillera to ECR in relation to certain fees and explorations expenses. The loan was satisfied by the issue of 6,666,667 new ordinary shares in Cordillera, following which ECR now holds 8,999,996 Ordinary Shares in Cordillera representing 90% of its issued share capital.
Outlook
Along with many of its peer group junior explorers, the ECR board has worked hard to conserve cash and husband resources amid challenging markets. Whilst working capital remains constrained, the board are progressing with a number of initiatives to supplement the cash position of the Company – including through the proposed disposal of non-key assets and monetisation of the Company’s drill rigs through potential leasing arrangements. In addition, as results from exploration and drilling work continue to come in across our projects in Victoria and Queensland, the Board and exploration team are working hard to improve efficiencies both in the field and on a general operational and logistical basis. Post period end the results from Victoria have been generally inconsistent, and while some great unexplored potential still exists at both Creswick and Bailieston (and Tambo), in the interests of finding the best possible value for money from the Company’s assets, the Board have decided to focus resource on our Queensland assets in the near term. Sampling results from Lolworth have exceeded expectations on every metric to date, so working smarter and harder we will prioritise efforts there in the near term. The Directors believe that the Hurricane project too offers exceptional potential, and with the Blue Mountain project acquisition announced just post period end, also in Queensland, ECR intends to maximise efficiencies and set up a Queensland operational hub to ensure funds are deployed across all three projects as quickly and efficiently as possible.
In summary, the Board have every expectation of delivering a Company changing discovery during the 2023 exploration campaign, and we look forward to sharing developments with you as the story unfolds.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
|
ECR Minerals plc |
|
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7929 1010 |
|
|
|
David Tang, Non-Executive Chairman Andrew Haythorpe, CEO |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Email: |
|
|
|
|
|
Website: www.ecrminerals.com |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
WH Ireland Ltd |
|
Tel: +44 (0) 207 220 1666 |
|
|
|
Nominated Adviser Katy Mitchell / Andrew de Andrade |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
SI Capital Ltd |
|
Tel: +44 (0) 1483 413500 |
|
|
|
Broker |
|
|
|
|
|
Nick Emerson |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Novum Securities Limited |
|
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7399 9425 |
|
|
|
Broker Jon Belliss |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Brand Communications |
|
Tel: +44 (0) 7976 431608 |
|
|
|
Public & Investor Relations |
|
|
|
|
|
Alan Green |
|
|
|
|
Power Metal Resources #POW – Interim Results
Power Metal Resources plc, the AIM listed metals exploration and development company, announces its unaudited interim results for the six month period ended 31 March 2023 (the “period”).
Sean Wade, Chief Executive Officer of Power Metal commented: “The key to unlocking value is to complete planned portfolio disposals, secure operational partnerships over certain exploration interests, drive our uranium interests forward, and ensure the Company has access to quality sources of finance in sufficient quantity to enable it to boldly pursue its ambitions.
“We are making progress across all these areas and whilst the completion of the Golden Metal Resources IPO and £2.7m financing, both in May 2023, are perhaps the notable events for investors recently, we hope to announce many more corporate and exploration events in the coming weeks and months.
“I would like to thank shareholders for their continued support as we progress through what we believe will be a vibrant and exciting period in the Company’s history.”
KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN THE HALF YEAR TO 31 MARCH 2023
– Completion of exploration programmes across three projects, including drilling at Molopo Farms in Botswana and the Victoria Goldfields in Australia, as well as geophysics and trenching at the Tati project in Botswana. All three have delivered positive exploration results, justifying a decision to proceed to next stage exploration with potential partners showing interest in all three projects.
– Material progress achieved in corporate activities, including pre-IPO preparations for Golden Metal Resources PLC, First Development Resources PLC and Uranium Energy Exploration Ltd.
– Broad spectrum advancement of the Company’s Athabasca Basin uranium portfolio, including additional ground acquisitions through staking, and the management of third-party interest in the uranium portfolio.
– Completion of the conditional acquisition of a larger stake in the Molopo Farms Complex project; the conditional disposal of the Company’s interests in the E-12 property in the Athabasca Basin to Uranium Energy Exploration, and the completion of the disposal of the Company’s interest in the Kanye Resources joint venture (“JV”), to partner Kavango Resources PLC (LON:KAV) for shares, warrants, royalty and long term compensation potential.
– Management changes including the appointment of Owain Morton as Non-Executive Director and Sean Wade as Chief Executive Officer. Together the appointments bring detailed geological, mine engineering and corporate finance skills to the Board and provide Power Metal with an extensive financing network for the Company and its planned spin-out IPO activity.
KEY DEVELOPMENTS SINCE 31 MARCH 2023
– Listing of Golden Metal Resources PLC on the London Stock Exchange in May 2023, with a value of Power Metal’s holding on listing of c £4.4m;
– Appointment of Bill Brodie Good as a Non-Executive Director in May 2023; and
– Financing which has raised £2.7m for the Company to support an acceleration of value generative exploration and corporate activity.
POWER METAL INTERESTS AT TODAY’S DATE
The latest updated review of Power Metal’s business interests is provided in the Company’s investor presentation which may be accessed here:
https://www.powermetalresources.com/investors/presentation/
In addition, a single page Business Overview is provided for investors through the following link:
https://www.powermetalresources.com/company/
LATEST POSITION OF POWER METAL INTERESTS AND TARGETED OBJECTIVES FOR 2023
Priority Exploration and Potential Exploration Project Joint Ventures
|
Exploration Interest |
Latest Position & Forward Plans |
|
Athabasca Uranium Saskatchewan, Canada (Uranium) POW 100% |
Power Metal currently holds 17 properties covering 1005.14km2 within and surrounding the prolific Athabasca Basin.
The conditional disposal of two of the properties, Reitenbach and E-12, has been announced and work is underway to complete that transaction through a listing in the London capital markets for the proposed holding vehicle, Teathers Financial PLC, to be renamed Uranium Energy Exploration PLC. Preparation of listing documentation is complete and the IPO financing is expected to commence shortly with completion of the transaction in 2023.
Across the Company’s wider Athabasca exploration interests there has been considerable third-party interest in working with Power Metal to finance uranium specific operations. The Company continues to engage with parties and anticipates significant progress to occur in 2023.
In addition, the Company’s recent £2.7m financing has provided the funds for a considerable uranium exploration programme in the Athabasca during the 2023 season, details of which can be found in the Company’s announcement dated 21 June 2023.
|
|
Molopo Farms Complex Project Botswana (Nickel – Copper – Platinum Group Element) POW: 87.71% |
The cumulative exploration programmes undertaken at Molopo Farms have demonstrated significant potential for a major nickel – platinum group element discovery or discoveries. There has been considerable interest from third parties to work with and potentially finance Molopo Farms at project level and Power Metal is working with interested parties at present. The Company is looking to move Molopo Farms forward considerably, targeting a working partnership in place and operational in 2023. |
|
Tati Project Botswana (Gold – Nickel) POW: 100% |
Recently completed geophysics and trenching have provided valuable data, adding to that previously collected. This enables the Company to move forward with next stage soil sampling prior to final planning and implementation of planned next stage reverse circulation and diamond drilling targeting a significant gold discovery.
Soil sampling is underway currently alongside continuing work to process fines dumps of previously processed ore from the Cherished Hope gold mine location within the Tati licence footprint with local processing partners.
|
Investment Holdings and Disposals Planned/Underway
Note: other project packages within the Power Metal portfolio are also in earlier stages of disposal and/or spin-out preparations in addition to those listed below.
|
Business Interest |
Latest Position |
|
Kavango Resources PLC (LON:KAV) Botswana & Zimbabwe Exploration (Gold – Base Metals) POW c.10% |
In Q4 2022 Power Metal announced the conditional disposal of its Kanye Resources interest to its joint-venture partner KAV. Following this disposal, Power Metal holds c.10% of KAV worth c.£0.8m as at 31 March 2023. Power Metal also holds 30m warrants to acquire new KAV shares at 4.25p and 30m warrants to acquire new KAV ordinary shares at 5.5p per share, both with a life to expiry ending 8 January 2025. In addition, Power Metal holds a 1% net smelter return royalty over the former JV land footprint. |
|
First Class Metals PLC (LON:FCM) Schreiber-Hemlo, Ontario, Canada (Gold – Base Metals) POW c.26% |
FCM secured a listing on the London Stock Exchange in late July 2022 with Power Metal holding an interest following its IPO financing of 28.19% on listing (now c.26% after dilution since listing), worth c.£2.05m as of 31 March 2023. Power Metal also holds 517,705 warrants to acquire new FCM ordinary shares at 10p per share with an expiry date of 29 July 2023. |
|
Golden Metal Resources PLC (LON:GMET) Nevada, USA Gold – Base Metals POW c.62% |
GMET secured a listing on the London Stock Exchange in late May 2023 with Power Metal holding an interest following their IPO financing of 62.06%, worth c.£2.05m as at the date of this report. Power Metal also holds 1,749,378 warrants to acquire new GMET ordinary shares at 10.75p with an expiry date of 10 May 2024 and 1,749,378 warrants at 17.5p with an expiry date of 10 May 2025. |
|
First Development Resources PLC (FDR) Western Australia /Northern Territory (Gold – Copper – Rare Earth Elements – Uranium – Lithium) POW: c.59% |
FDR is currently in the IPO Financing stage of it listing plans with IPO documentation prepared and ready for listing. The listing of FDR is expected to occur in the near term.
|
|
New Ballarat Gold Corporation PLC (NBGC) Victoria, Australia (Gold) POW: 49.9% JV Partner Red Rock Resources PLC (LON:RRR): 50.1%
|
Through its Australian operating subsidiary, Red Rock Australasia Pty Ltd, NBGC has a substantial licence footprint within the Victoria Goldfields, Australia, which is comprised of 17 granted exploration licences covering 1,867km2 and 5 licence applications covering 493km2. The intention of the JV parties is to undertake a listing of NBGC on the UK capital markets. Power Metal is targeting a listing during 2023. |
|
ION Battery Resources Ltd (ION) Canada (Lithium & Graphite) POW 100% |
ION comprises two lithium focused projects in Ontario and Quebec and a graphite project in Saskatchewan. Next exploration and corporate steps are under consideration for ION and a further announcement will come in due course. The commercial pathway for ION is expected to be announced, with material progress in the business expected during 2023. |
|
New Horizon Metals Pty Ltd (NHM) Queensland and South Australia (Copper – Uranium – Gold) POW 20% |
The JV partners behind NHM are currently considering a number of proposals to secure a listing of NHM on the London or Australian capital markets. Completion of a listing is targeted in 2023. |
PROJECTS WITH NEXT STEPS UNDER CONSIDERATION
|
Project |
Latest Position & Key Forward Events |
|
Haneti Project Tanzania (Polymetallic) POW: 35% (65% JV Partner Katoro Gold plc (LON:KAT)) |
Power Metal is currently in discussions with a JV partner Katoro Gold (LON:KAT), to determine the future of the Haneti Project.
Further information will be provided when material developments occur.
|
|
Silver Peak Project British Columbia, Canada (Silver) POW: 30% |
Power Metal is currently in discussions with its JV partner to determine next corporate and exploration steps for Silver Peak.
An outcome to these discussions is expected in the near term with advancement of the project from an exploration and/or commercial perspective anticipated during the remainder of 2023.
|
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS FOR THE HALF YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023
· Loss for the period, attributable to owners of the parent of £1.50 million (2022: £1.69 million), resulting in loss per share of 0.09 pence (2022: 0.12 pence);
· Financing undertaken in January 2023 raising £0.9 million and acquisitions during the period raised £1.1 million for the Company;
· Total assets of £14.62 million at the period end (30 September 2022: £14.61 million); and
· Net assets of £13.99 million at the period end (30 September 2022: £13.76 million).
This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) 596/2014 as it forms part of UK domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (“MAR”), and is disclosed in accordance with the Company’s obligations under Article 17 of MAR.
For further information please visit POW https://www.powermetalresources.com/ or contact:
|
Power Metal Resources plc |
||
|
Sean Wade (Chief Executive Officer) |
+ 44 (0) 20 3778 1396 |
|
|
SP Angel Corporate Finance (Nomad and Joint Broker) |
||
|
Ewan Leggat/Charlie Bouverat |
+44 (0) 20 3470 0470 |
|
|
SI Capital Limited (Joint Broker) |
||
|
Nick Emerson |
+44 (0) 1483 413 500 |
|
|
First Equity Limited (Joint Broker) |
||
|
David Cockbill/Jason Robertson |
+44 (0) 20 7330 1883 |
|
Blythe Ray (Financial PR)
Tim Blythe/Megan Ray +44 (0) 20 7138 3204
Golden Metal Resources #GMET – US Funding Strategy
Golden Metal Resources plc (LON:GMET), a mineral exploration company focused on tungsten, gold, copper and silver within Nevada, USA, announces the Company’s strategy relating to funding opportunities that are available through the US Government. The Company intends to pursue this strategy with a particular focus on seeking non-dilutive government supported grant funding for its flagship 100% owned Pilot Mountain Project (“Pilot Mountain” or the “Project”).
Highlights:
– The Company considers that Pilot Mountain hosts the largest known undeveloped tungsten resource in the US.
– The US is currently without any domestic primary tungsten production with their largest import partner for the critical defense metal being China. Beginning January 2026, the US Department of Defense (DOD) is banning the use of mined tungsten from China, Russia, North Korea and Iran in defence procurement.1
– Golden Metal recently signed a tungsten concentrate off-take letter of intent with Global Tungsten & Powders LLC, a leading United States supplier of tungsten powders and semi-finished parts.
– As a result of the above, the Company believes it is in a strong position to seek out non-dilutive grant funding. If Golden Metal were to receive such funds, it would enable exploration and development at Pilot Mountain to be accelerated.
– Golden Metal is actively working with Mrs. Chang Turkmani, who on 5 June 2023 was officially engaged as Strategic United States Government Advisor, on how to shape its general strategy as it relates to further increasing the profile of Golden Metal Resources and Pilot Mountain within the US and abroad.2
Next Steps:
– Golden Metal has commenced the application process for a short list of relevant grant programmes identified by the Company’s management team, alongside Mrs. Turkmani, from the available Company-eligible funding opportunities.
– Some grants targeted by the Company are applied for by way of an unsolicited application process, meaning Golden Metal can neither disclose which grants have or will be applied for nor the expected timing of an award.
– Securing non-dilutive financial support for Pilot Mountain remains a priority of the Company, and all endeavours are being made in this respect to give Golden Metal the best chance of achieving this goal.
– As soon as it is possible to do so, Golden Metal will provide the market with updates as it relates to progress made towards securing non-dilutive grant funding, which would allow the Company to fast-track exploration and development at its flagship Pilot Mountain Project – with the ultimate goal of establishing Pilot Mountain as the only domestic US primary mined source of tungsten.
Oliver Friesen, CEO of Golden Metal, commented:
“While at this time we cannot disclose many details about our strategy as it relates to government funding opportunities, the recent appointment of Mrs. Turkmani should clearly signify to the market the endeavours we are making on this front.
“The time for the United States to reduce its reliance on other countries for their imports of critical and defence metals is now, and we at Golden Metal strongly believe that as 100% owners of what we consider is the largest undeveloped tungsten deposit located on US soil, we can be a part of this urgent process.
“Targeting non-dilutive funding is a critical focus of the Company. However, minimal updates will be given for the time being, as such disclosure may interfere with our ongoing endeavours in this regard. However, it is important for our investors to know that, while this key part of the business ticks away in the background, we will continue pushing forward exploration and development across the portfolio at pace.”
Notes and References
1https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/department-of-defense-expands-scope-of-8754647/
2https://www.londonstockexchange.com/news-article/GMET/appointment-of-strategic-advisor-issue-of-shares/15985547
Forward Looking Statements
This announcement contains forward-looking statements relating to expected or anticipated future events and anticipated results that are forward-looking in nature and, as a result, are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, such as general economic, market and business conditions, competition for qualified staff, the regulatory process and actions, technical issues, new legislation, uncertainties resulting from potential delays or changes in plans, uncertainties resulting from working in a new political jurisdiction, uncertainties regarding the results of exploration, uncertainties regarding the timing and granting of prospecting rights, uncertainties regarding the timing and granting of regulatory and other third party consents and approvals, uncertainties regarding the Company’s or any third party’s ability to execute and implement future plans, and the occurrence of unexpected events.
Actual results achieved may vary from the information provided herein as a result of numerous known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors.
For further information visit www.goldenmetalresources.com or contact the following:
|
Golden Metal Resources plc Oliver Friesen (CEO) |
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7583 8304 |
|
Cairn Financial Advisers LLP Nominated Adviser Sandy Jamieson/Jo Turner/Louise O’Driscoll |
Tel: +44 20 7213 0880 |
|
First Equity Limited Broker Jonathan Brown/Jason Robertson |
Tel: +44 20 7374 2212 |
Kavango Resources Plc #KAV – Option to acquire Zimbabwe gold project
Kavango Resources plc (LSE:KAV), the Southern Africa focussed metals exploration company, is pleased to announce it has signed an exclusive 2-year option to acquire a producing gold exploration project in Matabeleland, southern Zimbabwe (the “Option”).
The Nara Project comprises 45 contiguous gold claims (the “Claims”). Kavango believes the Nara Project has potential to host a bulk mineable gold deposit.
The Nara Project area has supported historic high-grade underground mining and continuous surface small-scale mining and custom milling over the last 30 years. This has generated approximately 150,000 to 250,000 tonnes of tailings (the “Tailings”), which present a separate opportunity for potential near-term revenue generation.
Under the terms of the Option, Kavango will have full access to the Nara Project area to conduct field due diligence, through a comprehensive exploration program. This program will include (but not be limited to) surface mapping and geochemistry, geophysics, surface drill testing, underground sampling, underground drill testing and assessing the commercial potential for processing the Tailings.
Kavango will complete its exploration program before deciding whether to exercise the Option to acquire the Nara Project.
Ben Turney, Chief Executive Officer of Kavango, commented:
“After extensive due diligence over the last 12 months, including 4 visits to Matabeleland, we are delighted to announce our first gold exploration project in Zimbabwe.
The greenstone belts in Zimbabwe host prospective rocks for bulk-mineable gold deposits, according to Kavango’s internal review and analysis. Many of these belts share notable similarities with some of Australia’s most prolific gold-producing regions.
Zimbabwe has a strong tradition of mining. However, exploration and investment has been severely limited over recent decades. In 1980, Zimbabwe produced more gold than Australia but the country has yet to experience the bulk-mining boom Australia did midway through that decade.
We believe this presents a significant opportunity for Kavango and a commercial discovery.
With the strong financial backing of Purebond, Kavango is now positioned to pursue the potential we have identified in Matabeleland alongside our portfolio in Botswana.”
The Nara Project
The Nara Project includes 45 contiguous gold claims (10 hectares each in size) and covers four historic mines with total recorded historic production from underground workings of 92,000oz gold averaging 9.76g/t (from the early 1900s to the early 1960s). These historic mines also produced credits of tungsten and silver.
Given the extent of the project, its regional geological setting, the historic high-grade underground potential and the sustained small-scale mining activity, Kavango believes the Nara Project holds considerable prospective potential for a modern commercial gold operation.
Nara Project exploration plan
Kavango has prepared an exploration plan for the Nara Project, which will include (but not necessarily be limited to):
– Surveying the Tailings
– Assessment of the historic mine shaft and possible underground drilling and channel sampling (subject to safety)
– Soil geochemical surveying along the strike extent
– Scout drilling to test artisanal workings/shafts
– Other drilling and surveying, as budget permits
Kavango will initiate its exploration program in the coming days.
Nara Project Option Terms
Kavango has entered a 2-year exclusive binding option to buy outright 45 gold claims in Matabeleland, Zimbabwe (the “Nara Project”). The 2-year option period will allow Kavango to perform an appropriate exploration program to assess the Nara Project’s potential.
To exercise the Option, Kavango has agreed to pay the current claims holder (the “Vendor”) US$4million cash (the “Acquisition Price”).
Kavango has agreed to pay an option fee to the Vendor of up to US$220,000 over the 2-year option period, split into 4 individual payments of US$55,000 each payable at the start of each half year of the option period (the “Option Payments”).
In the event Kavango exercises the Option, any Option Payments paid to the Vendor will be deducted from the Acquisition Price.
Kavango will commit to spend US$1million on exploration at the Nara Project over the 2-year option period, with a minimum exploration spend of US$500,000 in the first year. Should Kavango not exercise the Option, Kavango will turn over all exploration data to the current operator of the stamp milling operation at the Claims (the “Current Operator”), together with recommendations (where possible) on future development.
Kavango has the right to exercise the Option at its sole discretion, subject to the Company being up to date with the Option Payments and spending commitments. Kavango has the right to cancel the Option at any point during the option period and to exercise the Option at any time during the option period.
Performance Consideration
On declaration of a code-compliant (e.g. JORC or equivalent) gold resource containing in excess of 500,000 ounces of gold (inferred category or above) at the Nara Project by Kavango, the Company will pay the Vendor or his designate/s a payment in shares to a value of up to US$1million in shares in Kavango (the “Performance Consideration Shares”).
The aggregate value of the Performance Consideration Shares will be calculated on the basis of the table below:
|
Resource size (number ounces contained Au in inferred or above resource category) |
Performance Consideration shares to be issued to Vendor (in US$) |
|
500,000oz |
US$500,000 |
|
750,000oz |
US$750,000 |
|
1,000,000oz or greater |
US$1,000,000 |
The aggregate issue price of the Performance Consideration Shares shall be calculated based on stage gates using the following structure:
– First issue of one quarter of the Performance Consideration Shares shall be 1.8p per share
– Second issue of one quarter of Performance Consideration Shares based on the closing price of shares traded in Kavango Resources Plc on the date six months after 23 December 2023;
– Third issue of one quarter of the Performance Consideration Shares based on the closing price of shares traded in Kavango Resources Plc on the date twelve months after 23 June 2024;
– Fourth issue of one quarter of the Performance Consideration Shares based on the closing price of shares traded in Kavango Resources Plc on the date 18 months after 23 December 2024.
Further information in respect of the Company and its business interests is provided on the Company’s website at www.kavangoresources.com and on Twitter at #KAV.
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION FOR THE PURPOSES OF ARTICLE 7 OF REGULATION 2014/596/EU WHICH IS PART OF DOMESTIC UK LAW PURSUANT TO THE MARKET ABUSE (AMENDMENT) (EU EXIT) REGULATIONS (SI 2019/310) (“UK MAR”). UPON THE PUBLICATION OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT, THIS INSIDE INFORMATION (AS DEFINED IN UK MAR) IS NOW CONSIDERED TO BE IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN.
Further information in respect of the Company and its business interests is provided on the Company’s website at www.kavangoresources.com and on Twitter at #KAV.
For further information please contact:
Kavango Resources plc
Ben Turney
+46 7697 406 06
First Equity (Broker)
+44 207 374 2212
Jason Robertson
Kavango Competent Person Statement
The technical information contained in this announcement pertaining to geology and exploration have been read and approved by Brett Grist BSc(Hons) FAusIMM (CP). Mr Grist is a Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy with Chartered Professional status. Mr Grist has sufficient experience that is relevant to the exploration programmes and geology of the main styles of mineralisation and deposit types under consideration to act as a Qualified Person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the ‘Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves’.
ECR Minerals #ECR – Andrew Haythorpe & Adam Jones talk to Alan Green – June 2023
ECR’s Andrew Haythorpe & Adam Jones talk to Alan Green – June 2023. Adam Jones is live from the bush in Queensland, and initially discusses early findings at the Hurricane project, along with the plan of action for sampling and drilling in the coming months. Andrew then discusses the background to Hurricane and his knowledge of the project prior to his time with ECR, before discussing the plan to undertake a LIDAR survey of the project area. Adam and Andrew then discuss the latest progress from Lolworth, and the focus areas for sampling following the gold, niobium and tantalum discoveries last year and how Lolworth is shaping up into a multi commodity project of significant scale. Andrew then discusses the funding position, the challenging markets, plans for further non-core asset disposals and plans for the second drill rig that recently arrived at Melbourne. Finally Andrew re affirms his view that ECR has the some of the best assets he’s seen in recent years
Blencowe Resources #BRES – CEO Video Interview
Blencowe Resources (BRES:LON), is pleased to share a recent interview with CEO Mike Ralston on the Proactive Investors platform.
Within this video interview, Blencowe CEO Mike Ralston provides further detail relating to the recently announced positive metallurgical test work results from Orom-Cross by the leading Chinese graphite technical specialist laboratory (based at Wuhan University) where open cycle floatation tests produced recoveries between 92-94% (previously 90%) and concentrate grades consistently ranging between 95-98% for all graphite mesh sizes.
In the interview, Mr. Ralston also updates on progress with securing a $5 million grant from the US International Development Finance Corporation (“DFC”).
Click on the link below to watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgdVG1lvlZM&ab_channel=ProactiveInvestors
Interested investors can also sign up to the Blencowe Newsletter at the following link:
https://blencoweresourcesplc.us13.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=ba87c801d05702dc7b8d75a3b&id=bd90aec04f
For further information, please contact:
|
Blencowe Resources Plc
Sam Quinn (London Director)
|
+44 (0)1624 681 250 info@blencoweresourcesplc.com
|
|
Investor Enquiries Sasha Sethi
|
Tel: +44 (0) 7891 677 441 sasha@flowcomms.com
|
|
Tavira Financial Jonathan Evans
|
Tel: +44 (0)20 7100 5100 jonathan.evans@tavira.group |
|
First Equity Limited Jason Robertson |
Tel: +44 (0)20 7330 1883 jasonrobertson@firstequitylimited.com |
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BlencoweRes
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/blencowe-resources/
Power Metal Resources #POW – Pilot Mountain Project: Further Targets Identified
Golden Metal Resources plc (LON:GMET), a mineral exploration company focused on tungsten, gold, copper and silver within Nevada, USA, is pleased to announce a further update from the detailed interpretation and inversion modelling of the high-resolution induced polarisation (“IP”) geophysics survey completed over its 100% owned flagship Pilot Mountain Project (“Pilot Mountain” or the “Project”) located within the prolific Walker Lake Mineral Belt in Nevada, USA.
The initial results confirmed the presence of three significant exploration targets at Pilot Mountain which were summarised in a RNS published by the Company on 6 June 2023 and found below:
Further inversion modelling and detailed interpretation of all available geophysical, geological and geochemical datasets by a senior geophysicist from SJ Geophysics based in Vancouver, Canada, has identified two further high-priority exploration targets which are summarised below.
Highlights:
– Two additional significant undrilled exploration targets (Porphyry South & Good Hope West) have been successfully identified bringing the total high-priority target inventory at Pilot Mountain to five (1 – Desert Scheelite Parallel West, 2 – Porphyry Depths, 3 – Desert Scheelite East, 4 – Porphyry South, 5 – Good Hope West), see Figure 1.
– The Porphyry South target represents the most compelling porphyry deposit target identified to date at Pilot Mountain.
– The Company considers that Pilot Mountain hosts the largest known undeveloped tungsten resource in the USA (with the US currently without any domestic primary tungsten production), and the five targets now identified show potential for a significantly greater in-ground resource than currently known, marking a significant further uplift in Project potential.
– Any increase in potential mineralisation will further bolster the inherent value of the Project and its attractiveness as a target for non-dilutive grant funding for Project exploration and development, which the Company is actively pursuing at present.
Oliver Friesen, CEO of Golden Metal, commented:
“Hats off to our technical team who spent many days compiling and combining all available geological, geophysical and geochemical datasets, which has led to the identification of two other significant exploration targets at Pilot Mountain.
“While the criticality of the in-situ tungsten mineralisation at Pilot Mountain cannot be understated given the current geopolitical climate, it is the exploration upside that we continue to delineate which has us equally as excited.
“With this strong inventory of five exploration targets now in hand, combined with the 12.53Mt of resources already established at Pilot Mountain, we are eager to move this Project along to the next stage.
“We look forward to updating the market with our planned operational and commercial next steps in short order.”
Detailed Overview:
1) Porphyry South (Figures 1, 2 & 3)
o The Company has been in search of a porphyry system at Pilot Mountain which could represent the causative intrusion for the skarn-type mineralisation found across the Project. Associated porphyry deposits can often be much larger than their associated skarns and therefore are highly sought after and explored for.
o The 2023 IP geophysical results have successfully highlighted a significant geophysical target that appears to be of porphyry affinity. This is in addition to the porphyry intrusion that the Company considers may be present at the Porphyry Depths Zone (see Figure 1). The centre of the Porphyry South target is approximately 600m south of Desert Scheelite and is defined by a resistivity high which starts at around 250m depth and extends towards the depth limit of the survey at 500m depth where it remains open (see Figure 3). This anomaly is surrounded by a moderate chargeability anomaly which could represent a halo around the porphyry centre – an often common feature of porphyry deposits.
o Further evidence to support the presence of a porphyry centre is evidenced within a small ground magnetic survey, completed by Zonge International Geophysics in 2013, which covered the Porphyry South area and identified a very strong and concentric magnetic anomaly which is strongly coincident with the resistivity high feature. The Porphyry South target is considerable in size at approximately 500m x 500m (see figure 2).
o The Company is considering completing select magnetic geophysics survey lines over the previously identified Porphyry Depths Zone as to date, no magnetic data has been collected over the majority of the Project. Concentric magnetic highs can often be associated within intrusive rocks including porphyry deposits.
2) Good Hope West (Figure 1)
o The Good Hope Zone is located circa 1.4km north of Desert Scheelite and is defined by a relatively copper-rich area with abundant near-surface mineralisation that has only been sparsely drilled. One historical drillhole returned 26.6m of 1% Cu, 1.2% Zn and 0.21% W03 starting at surface.1
o Detailed review and interpretation of the 2023 IP geophysical results have led to the delineation of the Good Hope West zone which is defined by a moderate resistivity anomaly that fingers in from the west. By georeferencing historical drilling cross sections, it became evident that this resistivity anomaly is strongly coincident with a known Good Hope mineralised lode structure. This anomaly extends for around 600m to the southwest from Good Hope where it has never been drill tested.
Media
Figure 1 – Pilot Mountain Project overview map showing the location of existing known mineralised bodies (Desert Scheelite, Gunmetal, Garnet Mine, Goodhope) and the outline of the five newly delineated exploration targets including the two new targets (Porphyry South and Good Hope West).
Figure 2 (Porphyry South) – Historical digitised ground magnetic geophysics data (Zonge, 2013) showing location of magnetic high. See figure 3 for outline of resistivity anomaly which is coincident with magnetic high feature. Scale, legend and north arrow located bottom left of image.
Figure 3 (Porphyry South) – Resistivity depth slice at 400m below surface showing concentric resistivity high anomaly near the southern boundary of the survey area. Main Desert Scheelite Zone hosts 10.7Mt of 0.26% W03.
Property Ownership
Golden Metal holds a 100% interest in the Pilot Mountain Project through its wholly-owned Nevada-based operating companies BFM Resources Inc and Pilot Metals Inc.
Reference Notes:
1: Thor Mining PLC, regulatory news announcement, ‘Drilling Success at Pilot Mountain Tungsten Project, dated 12 October 2017
( https://wcsecure.weblink.com.au/LSE_news/2017/10/12/Thormining_13706685.pdf)
COMPETENT PERSON STATEMENT
The technical information contained in this disclosure has been read and approved by Mr Nick O’Reilly (MSc, DIC, MIMMM, MAusIMM, FGS), who is a qualified geologist and acts as the Competent Person under the AIM Rules – Note for Mining and Oil & Gas Companies. Mr O’Reilly is a Principal consultant working for Mining Analyst Consulting Ltd which has been retained by Golden Metal Resources plc to provide technical support.
This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of EU Regulation 596/2014 (which forms part of domestic UK law pursuant to the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018).
Forward Looking Statements
This announcement contains forward-looking statements relating to expected or anticipated future events and anticipated results that are forward-looking in nature and, as a result, are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, such as general economic, market and business conditions, competition for qualified staff, the regulatory process and actions, technical issues, new legislation, uncertainties resulting from potential delays or changes in plans, uncertainties resulting from working in a new political jurisdiction, uncertainties regarding the results of exploration, uncertainties regarding the timing and granting of prospecting rights, uncertainties regarding the timing and granting of regulatory and other third party consents and approvals, uncertainties regarding the Company’s or any third party’s ability to execute and implement future plans, and the occurrence of unexpected events.
Actual results achieved may vary from the information provided herein as a result of numerous known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors.
For further information visit www.goldenmetalresources.com or contact the following:
|
Golden Metal Resources plc Oliver Friesen (CEO) |
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7583 8304 |
|
Cairn Financial Advisers LLP Nominated Adviser Sandy Jamieson/Jo Turner/Louise O’Driscoll |
Tel: +44 20 7213 0880 |
|
First Equity Limited Broker Jonathan Brown/Jason Robertson |
Tel: +44 20 7374 2212 |
Golden Metal Resources #GMET – Pilot Mountain – Further Targets Identified
Golden Metal Resources plc (LON:GMET), a mineral exploration company focused on tungsten, gold, copper and silver within Nevada, USA, is pleased to announce a further update from the detailed interpretation and inversion modelling of the high-resolution induced polarisation (“IP”) geophysics survey completed over its 100% owned flagship Pilot Mountain Project (“Pilot Mountain” or the “Project”) located within the prolific Walker Lake Mineral Belt in Nevada, USA.
The initial results confirmed the presence of three significant exploration targets at Pilot Mountain which were summarised in a RNS published by the Company on 6 June 2023 and found below:
Further inversion modelling and detailed interpretation of all available geophysical, geological and geochemical datasets by a senior geophysicist from SJ Geophysics based in Vancouver, Canada, has identified two further high-priority exploration targets which are summarised below.
Highlights:
– Two additional significant undrilled exploration targets (Porphyry South & Good Hope West) have been successfully identified bringing the total high-priority target inventory at Pilot Mountain to five (1 – Desert Scheelite Parallel West, 2 – Porphyry Depths, 3 – Desert Scheelite East, 4 – Porphyry South, 5 – Good Hope West), see Figure 1.
– The Porphyry South target represents the most compelling porphyry deposit target identified to date at Pilot Mountain.
– The Company considers that Pilot Mountain hosts the largest known undeveloped tungsten resource in the USA (with the US currently without any domestic primary tungsten production), and the five targets now identified show potential for a significantly greater in-ground resource than currently known, marking a significant further uplift in Project potential.
– Any increase in potential mineralisation will further bolster the inherent value of the Project and its attractiveness as a target for non-dilutive grant funding for Project exploration and development, which the Company is actively pursuing at present.
Oliver Friesen, CEO of Golden Metal, commented:
“Hats off to our technical team who spent many days compiling and combining all available geological, geophysical and geochemical datasets, which has led to the identification of two other significant exploration targets at Pilot Mountain.
“While the criticality of the in-situ tungsten mineralisation at Pilot Mountain cannot be understated given the current geopolitical climate, it is the exploration upside that we continue to delineate which has us equally as excited.
“With this strong inventory of five exploration targets now in hand, combined with the 12.53Mt of resources already established at Pilot Mountain, we are eager to move this Project along to the next stage.
“We look forward to updating the market with our planned operational and commercial next steps in short order.”
Detailed Overview:
1) Porphyry South (Figures 1, 2 & 3)
o The Company has been in search of a porphyry system at Pilot Mountain which could represent the causative intrusion for the skarn-type mineralisation found across the Project. Associated porphyry deposits can often be much larger than their associated skarns and therefore are highly sought after and explored for.
o The 2023 IP geophysical results have successfully highlighted a significant geophysical target that appears to be of porphyry affinity. This is in addition to the porphyry intrusion that the Company considers may be present at the Porphyry Depths Zone (see Figure 1). The centre of the Porphyry South target is approximately 600m south of Desert Scheelite and is defined by a resistivity high which starts at around 250m depth and extends towards the depth limit of the survey at 500m depth where it remains open (see Figure 3). This anomaly is surrounded by a moderate chargeability anomaly which could represent a halo around the porphyry centre – an often common feature of porphyry deposits.
o Further evidence to support the presence of a porphyry centre is evidenced within a small ground magnetic survey, completed by Zonge International Geophysics in 2013, which covered the Porphyry South area and identified a very strong and concentric magnetic anomaly which is strongly coincident with the resistivity high feature. The Porphyry South target is considerable in size at approximately 500m x 500m (see figure 2).
o The Company is considering completing select magnetic geophysics survey lines over the previously identified Porphyry Depths Zone as to date, no magnetic data has been collected over the majority of the Project. Concentric magnetic highs can often be associated within intrusive rocks including porphyry deposits.
2) Good Hope West (Figure 1)
o The Good Hope Zone is located circa 1.4km north of Desert Scheelite and is defined by a relatively copper-rich area with abundant near-surface mineralisation that has only been sparsely drilled. One historical drillhole returned 26.6m of 1% Cu, 1.2% Zn and 0.21% W03 starting at surface.1
o Detailed review and interpretation of the 2023 IP geophysical results have led to the delineation of the Good Hope West zone which is defined by a moderate resistivity anomaly that fingers in from the west. By georeferencing historical drilling cross sections, it became evident that this resistivity anomaly is strongly coincident with a known Good Hope mineralised lode structure. This anomaly extends for around 600m to the southwest from Good Hope where it has never been drill tested.
Media
Figure 1 – Pilot Mountain Project overview map showing the location of existing known mineralised bodies (Desert Scheelite, Gunmetal, Garnet Mine, Goodhope) and the outline of the five newly delineated exploration targets including the two new targets (Porphyry South and Good Hope West).
Figure 2 (Porphyry South) – Historical digitised ground magnetic geophysics data (Zonge, 2013) showing location of magnetic high. See figure 3 for outline of resistivity anomaly which is coincident with magnetic high feature. Scale, legend and north arrow located bottom left of image.
Figure 3 (Porphyry South) – Resistivity depth slice at 400m below surface showing concentric resistivity high anomaly near the southern boundary of the survey area. Main Desert Scheelite Zone hosts 10.7Mt of 0.26% W03.
Property Ownership
Golden Metal holds a 100% interest in the Pilot Mountain Project through its wholly-owned Nevada-based operating companies BFM Resources Inc and Pilot Metals Inc.
Reference Notes:
1: Thor Mining PLC, regulatory news announcement, ‘Drilling Success at Pilot Mountain Tungsten Project, dated 12 October 2017
(https://wcsecure.weblink.com.au/LSE_news/2017/10/12/Thormining_13706685.pdf)
COMPETENT PERSON STATEMENT
The technical information contained in this disclosure has been read and approved by Mr Nick O’Reilly (MSc, DIC, MIMMM, MAusIMM, FGS), who is a qualified geologist and acts as the Competent Person under the AIM Rules – Note for Mining and Oil & Gas Companies. Mr O’Reilly is a Principal consultant working for Mining Analyst Consulting Ltd which has been retained by Golden Metal Resources plc to provide technical support.
This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of EU Regulation 596/2014 (which forms part of domestic UK law pursuant to the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018).
Forward Looking Statements
This announcement contains forward-looking statements relating to expected or anticipated future events and anticipated results that are forward-looking in nature and, as a result, are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, such as general economic, market and business conditions, competition for qualified staff, the regulatory process and actions, technical issues, new legislation, uncertainties resulting from potential delays or changes in plans, uncertainties resulting from working in a new political jurisdiction, uncertainties regarding the results of exploration, uncertainties regarding the timing and granting of prospecting rights, uncertainties regarding the timing and granting of regulatory and other third party consents and approvals, uncertainties regarding the Company’s or any third party’s ability to execute and implement future plans, and the occurrence of unexpected events.
Actual results achieved may vary from the information provided herein as a result of numerous known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors.
For further information visit www.goldenmetalresources.com or contact the following:
|
Golden Metal Resources plc Oliver Friesen (CEO) |
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7583 8304 |
|
Cairn Financial Advisers LLP Nominated Adviser Sandy Jamieson/Jo Turner/Louise O’Driscoll |
Tel: +44 20 7213 0880 |
|
First Equity Limited Broker Jonathan Brown/Jason Robertson |
Tel: +44 20 7374 2212 |
Sovereign Metals #SVML – Graphite Bulk Sample Operations Commenced
GRAPHITE BULK SAMPLE OPERATIONS COMMENCED
|
· |
Bulk sample program commenced to produce larger volumes of natural graphite from Kasiya. Samples to be used for downstream testwork and product qualification for the lithium-ion battery sector |
|
· |
Initial four tonnes of flake graphite pre-concentrate produced at the Company’s laboratory in Malawi ready for despatch to world leading laboratory SGS Lakefield |
|
· |
Significant laboratory upgrade underway to enable continuous production of bulk sample going forward |
|
· |
Initial characterisation testwork on Kasiya’s graphite has already indicated excellent suitability for use in lithium-ion batteries |
|
· |
Bulk sample program in line with Sovereign’s graphite marketing strategy to establish Kasiya as a major supplier of two critical minerals – natural flake graphite and natural rutile |
|
· |
Active marketing of Kasiya’s graphite to end users to follow; Sovereign has already secured rutile offtake MOUs with major blue chip partners including Japan’s Mitsui and US-listed Chemours |
|
· |
Multiple government initiatives across the G7 and other world economies recently announced focusing on securing graphite supply alongside other critical minerals |
Sovereign Metals Limited (ASX:SVM; AIM:SVML) (the Company or Sovereign) is pleased to announce the commencement of a graphite bulk sample program for qualification, downstream testwork and product development. The Company is upgrading in-country facilities to enable continuous production of bulk samples for marketing.
The Company’s Kasiya Project (Kasiya) in Malawi has the potential to be the one of the world’s lowest cost and lowest global warming potential (GWP) sources of natural rutile and graphite. Kasiya is the largest natural rutile deposit and one of the largest flake graphite deposits in the world. Both minerals are critical to several of the world’s economies as well as crucial to decarbonisation solutions required to meet “Net-Zero” and other targets set by policymakers.
Sovereign’s product marketing strategy is to align itself with high-quality partners and brands during the technical study and development phases to completely qualify Kasiya’s future products for end-markets, including the lithium-ion battery anode market which has now become the largest end-market for natural flake graphite. Demand for high quality flake graphite continues to grow due to global decarbonisation requirements. The demand for anodes grew by 46% in 2022 compared to only 14% growth in natural flake graphite supply.
Sovereign’s Managing Director Dr Julian Stephens commented:
“Kasiya will potentially be one of the lowest cost flake graphite projects in the world and is also estimated to have one of the lowest global warming potentials of any current and future graphite projects. Sovereign wants to be at the forefront of these critical mineral supply chains and today’s announcement is another important step towards achieving that.
“The world’s economies need surety of supply for high-quality, low-carbon-footprint graphite suitable for use in lithium-ion batteries. Without graphite there is no electric vehicle revolution. The US, Japan and the EU see it as a critical mineral and have allocated many billions of dollars towards securing graphite supply.”
ENQUIRIES
|
Dr Julian Stephens (Perth) +61(8) 9322 6322 |
Sam Cordin (Perth) |
Sapan Ghai (London)
|
|
Nominated Adviser on AIM |
|
|
RFC Ambrian |
|
|
Andrew Thomson |
+61 8 9480 2500 |
|
|
|
|
Joint Brokers |
|
|
Berenberg |
+44 20 3207 7800 |
|
Matthew Armitt |
|
|
Jennifer Lee |
|
|
|
|
|
Optiva Securities |
+44 20 3137 1902 |
|
Daniel Ingram |
|
|
Mariela Jaho |
|
|
Christian Dennis |
|
|
|
|
|
Tavistock PR |
+44 20 7920 3150 |
|
|
|
BULK SAMPLE PROGRAM COMMENCED
Currently, material from the planned mining pits is sourced from remaining samples from the 2022 Kasiya resource drill program. The samples are blended to create a bulk sample which is prepared for processing at the Company’s facility in Malawi where it is, sized and deslimed – processes replicating the planned operation.
Post removal of the coarse and fine fractions, the remaining clean sand fraction (45µm to 2mm) containing the graphite and rutile is processed over a wet shaking table to isolate two gravity concentrates. A graphite pre-concentrate (light mineral concentrate) with a target grade of 3-5% graphite (up from ~1.5% in the raw ore) and a heavy mineral concentrate (HMC) containing the rutile.
The graphite pre-concentrate is planned to be sent to SGS Lakefield for flotation and final processing into a final graphite product. This initial representative graphite product will provide samples for:
· Downstream testwork focussed on Coated Spherical Purified Graphite (CSPG) anode material via purification, spheronisation, coating and battery cell cycling tests.
· Assessment and qualification for traditional industrial graphite markets, including the refractory, foundry, and expandable graphite segments.
· Future production of CSPG to be provided to anode / battery manufacturers for assessment and qualification.
GRAPHITE PRODUCT MARKETING STRATEGY
Through Sovereign’s long-established expertise in graphite, the Company has built a strong understanding of the product’s market and developed a number of relationships with well-established offtakers and customers.
A major component to graphite sales agreements is customer qualification, and this is a key reason for initiating the graphite bulk sample program and scaling up in-country facilities in order to continuously produce bulk sample over the coming months. The graphite produced from this program will be shared with prospective end-users and is an important next step for Sovereign to qualify the Kasiya graphite product.
Sovereign’s recent initial graphite characterisation testwork conducted by an independent German industrial minerals specialist demonstrated superior qualities and excellent suitability for its use in lithium-ion batteries. Further downstream testwork is planned that will use the graphite concentrate produced.
Industry’s interaction with supply chain participants indicates the progression towards higher proportions of natural graphite used in battery anodes will be supported by its lower cost and superior environmental credentials. Environmental footprint of electric vehicles (EVs) will become increasingly important market consideration as EV penetration accelerates, noting that synthetic graphite has a carbon footprint orders of magnitude higher than flake graphite because it is made from by-products of coke and oil refining via energy intensive processes.
Leading EV producer Tesla Inc.’s (Tesla) “Master Plan 3” outlines its proposed path to reach a sustainable global energy economy through end-use electrification and sustainable electricity generation and storage. In the plan, Tesla suggests that the world would need to produce 10.5Mt of graphite per year and estimates US$104 Billion of new graphite mining investment is required to achieve its target.1
Sovereign has already shared samples of rutile product from Kasiya with major end-users globally, all of which have confirmed its premium chemical and physical specifications will be suitable for use in their titanium metal and pigment processes.
This has resulted in the Company entering initially non-binding Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) with three major partners in the natural rutile sector: Mitsui, Chemours and Hascor. The Company has already over 50% of Stage 1 production under MoU (based on the Company’s Expanded Scoping Study released June 2022). Sovereign’s next objective is to secure offtake MOUs for the Kasiya flake graphite co-product.
MALAWI LABORATORY UPGRADE UNDERWAY
Sovereign has constructed a bespoke laboratory in Lilongwe, Malawi in order to process exploration drill samples for rutile and graphite determination. The Lilongwe laboratory has allowed the Company to efficiently process large numbers of exploration samples at a fraction of the cost and time versus sending raw samples directly to commercial laboratories in South Africa or Australia.
To date, the Company has processed over 16,000 samples from the Kasiya rutile-graphite deposit at the Lilongwe facility. This has resulted in the Company reporting the largest natural rutile and second largest flake graphite deposit in the world delineated in just a three-year period.
LABORATORY UPGRADES & UPSCALING
The Company has recently commenced an upscale and upgrade program of the Lilongwe laboratory to allow processing of about 500 tonnes of raw ore feed per annum (subject to Malawi Government regulatory approvals) resulting in continuous production flake graphite and natural rutile bulk samples.
Raw ore samples will be provided from processing remaining Kasiya resource drill-hole samples in storage and further planned bulk spiral auger drilling at Kasiya. A newly acquired 300mm diameter bulk sampling spiral bit will allow approximately 2 to 2.5 tonnes of representative sample to be acquired per 20m hole.
Key upgrades planned, completed or underway at the laboratory to enable bulk scale production of graphite pre-concentrate and HMC containing rutile include;
Sizing and desliming
Acquisition of two Kwatani 30 inch shaking screens including one single deck and one double deck model with associated sumps, pumps, piping, and electrical components. This will increase the sizing and desliming capacity throughput to approximately 2 tonnes of raw sample per day or around 300kg per hour. This should produce approximately 150kg per hour of clean sand containing rutile and graphite to feed the wet shaking table.
Shaking table
A Holman-Wilfley 2000 Series shaking table has been ordered and is currently under fabrication. The table is rated to process up to 450kg per hour and will produce a bulk graphite concentrate with a targeted grade of 3-5% graphite, upgrading the original ore from approximately 1.5% contained graphite. The table also will produce a bulk rougher heavy mineral concentrate containing the rutile product which would be expected to grade between 25% and 40% rutile.
Water recycling system
Installation of a water system for settling fines and recovering water for re-use in the process flowsheet is now complete – reducing the water usage and waste disposal requirements.
GLOBAL CRITICAL MINERALS INITIATIVES
In June 2022, the United States and its G7 partners launched the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment to build clean energy supply chains. They also signed the Minerals Security Partnership to produce, process, and recycle critical minerals, including graphite.2
In August 2022, the US Senate’s passage of the Inflation Reduction Act provided tax incentives and other financial support to develop critical minerals whilst providing US$369 billion for climate and clean energy programs. Graphite was named in the list of critical minerals.3
Subsequently at Davos, in January 2023, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced that a key pillar of the EU’s new industrial strategy will be global partnerships to access inputs needed for industry.4 This builds on existing EU initiatives, such as the European Battery Alliance and the Critical Raw Materials Act, which both aim to onshore and secure supply chains.
On 28 March 2023, in an effort to support their partnership as allies in the race to strengthen their critical mineral supply chains for electric vehicle batteries, the US and Japan Governments entered into an agreement on Strengthening Critical Minerals Supply Chains.5 It is noteworthy that the definition of “critical minerals” under the Trade Agreement includes a list of only five minerals- graphite, cobalt, lithium, manganese, and nickel.
In April 2023, Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry announced that it will subsidize up to half the cost of mine development and smelting projects for Japanese companies to secure critical minerals.6 Graphite, lithium, manganese, nickel, cobalt, and rare earths are reportedly the main targets for this financial support.
In the same month, the G7 pledged US$7 billion to secure a stable supply of critical minerals such as graphite. The funds are to be used for mine development and other projects.
– END –