Matsa Resources Kicks Off Red October Diamond Drilling

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Matsa Resources (ASX: MAT) has commenced an underground drilling program at the company’s Red October gold mine in the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia.

Matsa Resources explained the drilling is aimed at providing grade control around the current production area and provide extensions to the existing resources through finding additional high-grade mineralised shoots to contribute to the next phase of mining.

This initial phase is expected to be part of a much larger campaign over the next six months aimed at increasing the gold resource at the Red October underground gold mine.

A recent capital raising undertaken by the company has enabled it to plan for a sizeable and comprehensive diamond drilling program at Red October.

This first program will target the Red October Shear Zone (ROSZ) North and consists of an initial 13 holes.

The focus of the first eight holes is to get a better understanding and potential for the high-grade shoots below the current workings and to test for additional high-grade shoots to the north.

A further five holes will be drilled based on the results both visually and via assay results from the first eight holes.

Four of these holes will be infill or grade control holes.

The last of these holes is a resource definition hole within the ROSZ.

Matsa expects the results of this drilling program will enable better planning for mine design and open additional areas for mining as part of its longer-term production aim.

“We are now underway in the next stage of underground exploration drilling at Red October,” Matsa Resources executive chairman Paul Poli said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“This is the start of a much larger exploration programme aimed at delineating new future mining areas and really opening Red October up.

“We saw previous drilling result in bonanza grades and we know that previous drilling by Saracen identified many gold targets ranging between 15 grams per tonne to 30 grams per tonne.

“If we can continue identifying areas with these high grades as per our last program…it can only augur well for the next stage of production.”

 

Email: reception@matsa.com.au

Web: www.matsa.com.au

 

Hillgrove Resources Scores Healthy Drill Results From Kanmantoo Deposit

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Hillgrove Resources (ASX: HGO) provided an update on progress of drilling underway at the company’s Kanmantoo Underground copper mine development in South Australia.

Hillgrove Resources is undertaking the drilling a as part of the evaluation of a possible underground mining development below the Giant Open Pit that would work in conjunction with the Pumped Hydro Energy Storage (PHES) development.

Hillgrove initiated a drilling program in late June to confirm the down-dip depth extension, grade and lateral continuity of the higher-grade sections of the Kavanagh copper-gold lodes.

A total of 12 diamond drill holes has now been completed to increase geological confidence for resource estimation, underground mine planning and evaluation.

Assays for all holes have been received with every drill hole intersecting copper-gold mineralisation.

The company declared the intersections clearly demonstrate the down dip and lateral continuity of the higher-grade copper mineralisation on the Kavanagh copper-gold lodes.

Highlights from the drilling include:

KTDD187_W1
14.55 metres at 1.9 per cent copper, 0.08 grams per tonne gold, 4.4g/t silver from 442.45m downhole

KTDD187_W2
16.37m at 3 per cent copper, 0.21g/t gold, 7.8g/t silver from 434.73m downhole

KTDD187_W3
20.0m at 2.1 per cent copper, 0.26g/t gold, 6.8g/t silver from 421m downhole

KTDD187_W5
20.15m at 1.5 per cent copper, 0.1g/t gold, 4.1g/t silver from 393.25m downhole

KTDD187_W5
14.0m at 2.4 per cent copper, 0.3g/t gold, 6.7g/t silver from 420m downhole

KTDD187_W6
22.5m at 2.5 per cent copper, 0.11g/t gold, 6.9g/t silver from 372m downhole

KTDD187_W7
10.3m at 2.7 per cent copper, 0.27g/t gold, 8.1g/t silver from 390.7m downhole

KTDD187_W8
7.5m at 1.9 per cent copper, 0.53g/t gold, 5.6g/t silver from 461m downhole; and

KTDD187_W10
18m at 2.3 per cent copper, 0.16g/t gold, 7.8g/t silver from 367m downhole.

Hillgrove indicated its next steps for the potential Kanmantoo underground development, which are being progressed in unison with the drilling program, to be as follows:

Completion of a Mineral Resource Estimate;
Completion of final designs and feasibility study, and conversion to an Ore Reserve;
Execution of an agreement with AGL to provide a guaranteed minimum period for mining;
Completion of the mining approvals process; and
Securing funding for working capital requirements.

 

Web: www.hillgroveresources.com.au

 

Metro Mining Scores Healthy September Shipping Numbers

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Metro Mining (ASX: MMI) had just as good a September as the Richmond Football Club by hitting production levels across all areas at the company’s Bauxite Hills project at the strongest levels since operations commenced.

Metro Mining put the achievement down to greater consistency, which in turn led to improved productivity that was evident across all aspects of the logistics chain.

The company indicated that mining and haulage is benefitting from excellent machine availabilities, its barge loading facility is now sustainable at higher levels, and ship loading rates have been assisted by better productivity and returning vessels that have previously performed strongly.

“The mining and shipping results continue to improve as we build our operational knowledge and experience,” Metro Mining managing director and CEO Simon Finnis said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“Recent incremental changes to our haulage, loading and transhipping systems are yielding positive results and reflect the commitment and dedication of the entire team, particularly in identifying areas of process improvement.

“The mine is ideally placed to maintain current levels for the remainder of the operating year and is on track to meet the production and shipping guidance of 3.3 to 3.5 million wet metric tonnes for 2019.”

 

Email: info@metromining.com.au

Web: www.metromining.com.au

 

THE DAILY ROADHOUSE

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TODAY’S NEWS FROM THE RESOURCES ROADHOUSE

Pioneer Resources Receives Cade Spodumene Drilling Results

THE DRILL SERGEANT: Pioneer Resources (ASX: PIO) received assay results from the final 11 holes of a recent drilling program completed at the company’s 100 per cent-owned Pioneer Dome project in Western Australia.

Ardiden Inks Canadian Lithium MoU

THE BOURSE WHISPERER: Ardiden Limited (ASX: ADV) has signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with its Canadian neighbour, lithium developer, Rock Tech Lithium Inc (TSX-V: RCK).

Sayona Mining Assembles Crack Team for Operation NAL

THE BOURSE WHISPERER: Sayona Mining (ASX: SYA) is getting serious about its bid for the North American Lithium Inc (NAL) operation, located in Québec, Canada.

 

Pioneer Resources Receives Cade Spodumene Drilling Results

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Pioneer Resources (ASX: PIO) received assay results from the final 11 holes of a recent drilling program completed at the company’s 100 per cent-owned Pioneer Dome project in Western Australia.

The Resources Roadhouse managed a quick chat with Pioneer Resources managing director David Crook at the 2019 Brisbane Resources Round-up.

Pioneer Resources carried out the drilling that tested two of four lithium-caesium-tantalum (LCT) pegmatite targets, resulting in the discovery of the Cade spodumene deposit.

The drilling also encountered intersections of mineralisation at Spodumene Target 1.

Assays have been received for holes PDRC278 through PDRC288, and include:

From the Cade deposit, intersections of low iron spodumene:

PDRC278
15 metres at 1.48 per cent lithium oxide (Li2O);

PDRC287
13m at 1 per cent Li2O; and

PDRC288
15m at 1.13 per cent Li2O.

From the CNE target, which was an unrecognised pegmatite located immediately northeast of the Cade deposit:

PDRC282
4m at 1.22 per cent Li2O.

From Spodumene Target 1, which outcrops approximately 2km west of the Cade Deposit:

PDRC291
10m at 1 per cent Li2O.

Pioneer noted that all mineralised pegmatites remain open and that drilling is expected to resume in November to further determine their dimensions.

The company highlighted that the four targets it has identified to date have same apparent orientation and dip, suggestive of regional pegmatite stacking.

“The Cade deposit is a significant low-iron spodumene discovery confirmed by our first pass of drilling,” Pioneer Resources managing director David Crook said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“This is testament to the way Pioneer approaches exploration and provides us with an outstanding starting base from which we hope to build a substantial lithium project.”

The drilling scheduled to resume in November will initially target mineralisation at Spodumene Target 1 and the CNE pegmatite, as well as other substantiated geochemical and geophysical targets, including anomalies identified by deep ground penetrating radar (DGPR) survey that is currently in progress.

In addition, six diamond core holes will be drilled into the Cade spodumene deposit to test the proposed plunge of the mineralisation and to produce samples for metallurgical testing.

 

Email: info@pioresources.com.au

Web: www.pioresources.com.au

 

Ardiden Inks Canadian Lithium MoU

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THE BOURSE WHISPERER: Ardiden Limited (ASX: ADV) has signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with its Canadian neighbour, lithium developer, Rock Tech Lithium Inc (TSX-V: RCK).

Ardiden announced the companies have agreed to combine efforts to work towards developing a lithium project that combines hard rock Spodumene mineral resources at Ardiden’s Seymour Lake and at Rock Tech’s Georgia Lake lithium projects in northwest Ontario.

“The projects have multiple beneficial synergies with the deposits being located proximal to railway, power supply and close to the regional mining and shipping centre at Thunder Bay,” Ardiden said in its ASX announcement.

Ardiden had previously declared its intentions to secure a partner or alliance for value extraction from the company’s 100 per cent-owned Seymour Lake project and to take advantage of the strategic advantages of this, and its other lithium holdings in Ontario.

The agreement will see Ardiden and Rock Tech develop a project to potentially supply spodumene concentrate at 6 to 7 per cent lithium oxide (Li2O), initially from a combination of the Seymour Lake and Georgia Lake projects.

Presently, within north-western Ontario, there are four other lithium projects, each in various stages of development in addition to the Ardiden and Rock Tech’s assets.

The two companies believe Seymour Lake and Georgia Lake are in an advantageous position with quality resources making the combination a logical outcome.

As such, Ardiden and Rock Tech have agreed to work together to gain a ‘First Mover’ advantage in this strategic North American region.

In March 2019, Ardiden announced an upgraded JORC 2012-compliant Mineral Resource at Seymour Lake of 4.83 million tonnes at 1.25 per cent Li2O and 186ppm tantalum pentoxide (Ta2O5).

In June 2018, Rock Tech released an NI 43-101-compliant resource estimate that included 6.58 million tonnes Measured and Indicated resources.

Additionally, 6.72 million tonnes of Inferred resources were estimated within this area.

 

Email: info@ardiden.com.au

Web: www.ardiden.com.au

 

Sayona Mining Assembles Crack Team for Operation NAL

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THE BOURSE WHISPERER: Sayona Mining (ASX: SYA) is getting serious about its bid for the North American Lithium Inc (NAL) operation, located in Québec, Canada.

Sayona Mining has put together a team of companies and advisers it considers to have the necessary skills needed to bring the NAL operation back into business following the commencement of the formal asset sale process for the lithium mine.

The NAL operation has a lithium mine and concentrator located in Abitibi near the mining district of Val d’Or, Québec and came to Sayona’s attention last year after spodumene production was halted in February 2019 and the company obtained protection from creditors in May.

Subsequently, on 16 September, the Québec Superior Court ended creditor protection and invited bids for the company’s assets.

Sayona has mustered a wealth of operational experience together with the engineering, environmental and financial capacity to ensure a successful turnaround of NAL, potentially restoring around 120 jobs, injecting new investment and boosting the province’s lithium strategy.

The team supporting Sayona in the bidding process includes Altura Mining, which will offer operational expertise and advice through common directorships.

Altura has experience in the realm having developed a world‐class hard rock spodumene (lithium) mine through to production, with its Western Australian mine fully operational just two years after breaking ground.

Engineering consultancy BBA, which is currently undertaking a revised Definitive Feasibility Study for Sayona’s Authier lithium project, also in Canada, is also on board.

Others on the team sheet include Centre Technologiques de Résidus Industriels (CTRI) – a leading technological solution provider, engineering service provider GCM Consultants, global engineering consultancy Hatch, New York‐based independent boutique investment bank Jett Capital Advisors, project cost control and management specialists Legico‐CHP, and international professional services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Sayona believes this team would give NAL its best prospects for a successful turnaround, with the added advantage of combining the synergies from the Authier project.

“We’re hitting the ground running with a team supporting the bid that has a proven track record of delivering results, with expertise in producing spodumene in similar mining facilities, taking into consideration the complexity of such production,” Sayona Mining managing director Brett Lynch said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“Importantly too, there is the unique advantage of combining lithium produced from our emerging Authier project with the lithium at the NAL site to achieve the required quality for the manufacturing of lithium batteries, as sought by the Québec Government.

“Overall, Sayona’s team offers the best combination of experienced global mining professionals that together with the necessary engineering expertise and financial backing will ensure industry best practice is achieved, delivering returns for investors, economic benefits for Québec and positive outcomes for all stakeholders.”

 

Email: info@sayonamining.com.au

Web: www.sayonamining.com.au

 

St George Mining Confirms Nickel-Copper Sulphide Discovery

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: St George Mining (ASX: SGQ) announced that laboratory assays have confirmed a healthy intersection of high-grade nickel-copper sulphides at the Radar prospect – the latest discovery at the company’s Mt Alexander project, located in the north-eastern Goldfields of Western Australia.

St George Mining indicated the new discovery to be located 1.2 kilometres east of the known nickel-copper sulphide deposits at the Cathedrals prospect and extends the east-west strike of high-grade mineralisation on the Cathedrals Belt to 5.5 kilometres.

The company said that the first drill hole undertaken at the Radar prospect returned assays that confirm a shallow discovery of nickel-copper sulphide mineralisation

MAD152 encountered an intersection of:

6 metres at 2.14 per cent nickel, 0.74 per cent copper and 1.62 grams per tonne PGEs from 46m, including 2.55m at 4.29 per cent nickel, 1.46 per cent copper and 3g/t PGEs from 49.05m.

MAD152 was drilled into an electromagnetic (EM) conductor the company had interpreted to be situated within the unexplored eastern extension of the mineralised Cathedrals Belt.

A subsequent downhole EM (DHEM) survey in MAD152 indicates that the hole has intersected only the northern portion of the EM conductor with increased strike and conductivity of the conductor to the south-west.

St George intends re-commencing drilling at Radar with step-out holes planned to test for up-dip and down-dip extensions to the high-grade mineralisation.

“With high-grade mineralisation now established over a 5.5 kilometre strike of the east-west oriented Cathedrals Belt, we are increasingly confident of the potential to develop a potential mining operation at the project,” St George Mining executive chairman John Prineas said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“More than 10.5 kilometres of the Belt remains underexplored with strong targets emerging at Fish Hook and West End, which are also scheduled for drilling in this drill program.

“Exploration success here could add substantial volumes of mineralisation to a potential resource at Mt Alexander.

“The strong rally in the nickel price over recent months is likely to be very favourable for the project economics of a potential development at Mt Alexander, and we are pleased to initiate preliminary studies to assess a potential mining development at Mt Alexander.”

 

Web: www.stgm.com.au

 

Musgrave Minerals Drills and Rock Chips High-Grade Gold at Cue

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Musgrave Minerals (ASX: MGV) reported on recent activity undertaken at the company’s Cue gold project in the Murchison district of Western Australia.

Musgrave Minerals’ latest work included follow-up reverse circulation (RC) drilling on the Break of Day deposit that returned:

19MORC017
3 metres at 13.9 grams per tonne gold from 53m down hole, including 2m at 20g/t gold from 53m.

The company suggested this could be a potential southern extension to the Break of Day deposit with the intercept sitting approximately 75m south of the current resource boundary and remains open down plunge.

The intercept is up dip of drill hole 19MORC015 that the company reported in September that intersected 2m at 9g/t gold.

Other work carried out at Cue involved earlier-stage exploration activities at Musgrave’s newly acquired Mainland prospect, where rock-chip sampling returned a highly encouraging ultra-high-grade gold assay result from an iron-quartz breccia sample in an area of no previous drilling.

The sample assayed 3,449g/t gold with visible gold obvious in the sample.

“This is another strong drilling result extending the high-grade gold mineralisation at Break of Day,” Musgrave Minerals managing director Rob Waugh said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“The ultra-high-grade rock-chip sample at Mainland is encouraging as this prospect has never been drilled, highlighting the potential for ultra-high grades in the Mainland area.

“We’re excited to commence drilling on this new target at Mainland in approximately three weeks.”

Both Break of Day and Mainland are retained 100 per cent by Musgrave and are not part of the recently announced Evolution Mining (ASX: EVN) earn-in and exploration Joint Venture area.

The Break of Day deposit has a JORC 2012 Resource of 868,000 tonnes at 7.15g/t gold for 199,000 ounces gold.

The deposit consists of a number of high-grade gold lodes, with potential at depth and along strike to grow the existing resource.

 

Email: info@musgraveminerals.com.au

Web: www.musgraveminerals.com.au

 

Stavely Minerals Confirms Outstanding Copper-Gold Discovery

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Stavely Minerals (ASX: SVY) set the boards of the ASX alight by confirming its shallow high-grade copper-gold discovery at the Thursday’s Gossan prospect, part of the company’s 100 per cent-owned Stavely copper-gold project in Victoria.

Stavely had previously set the gold bulls running with the release of results it achieved from diamond hole SMD050 the company had drilled targeting high-grade structurally controlled copper-gold-silver mineralisation within the Ultramafic Contact Fault (UCF).

To recap – diamond hole SMD050 intersected:

32 metres at 5.88 per cent copper, 1 gram per tonne gold and 58g/t silver from 62m down-hole, including 12m at 14.3 per cent copper, 2.26g/t gold and 145g/t silver, including 2m at 40 per cent copper, 3g/t gold and 517g/t silver; and

4.4m at 3.98 per cent nickel and 0.23 per cent cobalt from 96.7m drill depth.

Stavely Minerals has now received results for a second diamond drill hole, SMD051, that also targeted shallow structurally controlled mineralisation within the Ultramafic Contact Fault (UCF).

SMD051 was carried out 160m to the south-east of discovery drill hole SMD050 and intersected a thick zone of shallow copper-gold-silver mineralisation, producing stunning grades of up to one metre at 19.3 per cent copper in a second zone of mineralisation.

Results include:

59m at 1.8 per cent copper, 0.43g/t gold and 15.4g/t silver from 98m down-hole, including 8.5m at 4.38 per cent copper, 0.87g/t gold and 32.7g/t silver from 106.6m; and

3m at 5.66 per cent copper, 0.29g/t gold and 4.6g/t silver from 134m.

The hole encountered a second very high-grade intercept of:

8m at 9.69 per cent copper, 0.4g/t gold and 16.8g/t silver from 177m drill depth, including 2m at 17.3 per cent copper, 0.57g/t gold and 13.1g/t silver from 179m.

Stavely said visual observations of drill core from the second and third step-out holes SMD052 and SMD053, each located a further 80m to the south-east respectively, indicate that both of these holes encountered zones of massive to semi-massive mineralisation over narrower down-hole widths.

Assays for these holes are pending.

“The recognition that we should be using a Magma/Butte high-grade structurally-controlled mineralisation model for our exploration drill targeting has now been rewarded with spectacular success in the first two diamond holes drilled to evaluate a shallow 500 metre long target at the Ultramafic Contact Fault,” Stavely Minerals executive chairman Chris Cairns said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“In conjunction with the narrower intercepts in SMD052 and SMD053, each drilled 80 metres further along strike to the south-east, we believe this change in the thickness and grades of mineralisation reflects a natural pinching and swelling of the structural zone which will produce inherent variations along strike and down-dip.

“As we accelerate drilling along this fertile structure, we expect to see further examples of this natural variance in grade and thickness.

“However, we should also pause to reflect that we have only just commenced drilling of this exceptionally exciting shallow target, so we are optimistic that we will be able to generate further outstanding results as drilling accelerates.

“We are now drilling some closer-spaced holes to the original intercept in SMD050 to understand any secondary structural controls on the very high-grade copper-gold-silver mineralisation while awaiting assay results from SMD052 and SMD053, which will then inform the next steps for drilling.

“This new Magma / Butte model has significantly expanded our ‘search space’ and a number of previous shallow historical air-core and RC intercepts of massive sulphides are clearly much more significant than previously thought and are now considered to be high-priority targets for diamond drill testing.

“A second diamond rig arrives on site today to increase our drilling capacity, and we would hope to have a third drill rig deployed quite soon to begin testing similar regional targets in the not too distant future.”

 

Email: info@stavely.com.au

Web: www.stavely.com.au