Middle Island Achieves Positive Stage II Ore Sorting Results

/in , /by

THE DRILL SERGEANT: Middle Island Resources (ASX: MDI) reported further positive results from Stage II ore sorting trials conducted on drill core from the Two Mile Hill tonalite deeps deposit at the company’s 100 per cent-owned Sandstone gold project in Wetsrn Australia.

The Two Mile Hill tonalite deeps deposit comprises a gold mineralised, tonalite (granite) plug or stock, which at surface measures some 250 metres in length, 80-90m width and extends to at least 700m depth.

The deposit is located four kilometres north of Middle Island’s 600,000 tonnes per annum Sandstone gold processing plant and comprises an Exploration Target of 24 million tonnes to 34 million tonnes at 1.1 grams per tonne to 1.4g/t gold (0.9 million to 1.5 million ounces of gold) situated between 140m and 700m vertical depth, below which it remains open.

“Ore sorting trials continue to demonstrate a significant enhancement in gold grade, along with a commensurate reduction in feed mass that improves the potential viability of underground mining at the Two Mile Hill tonalite deeps deposit,” Middle Island Resources managing director Rick Yeates said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“Considerable newsflow associated with the Two Mile Hill deposit can be anticipated in the current quarter, including diamond drilling results, a Mineral Resource upgrade and an updated underground mining concept study.

“We look forward to keeping shareholders updated on progress with the substantial Two Mile Hill tonalite deeps deposit at the Sandstone gold project during the remainder of 2018.”

 

Email: info@middleisland.com.au

Website: www.middleisland.com.au

 

Pioneer Resources Confirms A-Grade Potassium over Sinclair Deposit

/in , /by

THE DRILL SERGEANT: Pioneer Resources (ASX: PIO) informed the market that recent drilling has identified a market-significant volume of potassium feldspar occurs above the company’s Sinclair Zone caesium deposit, at the company’s 100 per cent-held Pioneer dome project in Western Australia.

Pioneer Resources is currently towards opening the Sinclair Mine, an open pit to extract the Sinclair Zone caesium deposit which, subject to final approvals, is anticipated to commence during the current Quarter.

Pioneer established the economics of the Sinclair Mine on the sale of caesium only, however mining will also extract potassium feldspar, lithium minerals (petalite, lepidolite) and quartz.

Each mineral will be stockpiled separately, and separate commercial arrangements made for each.

Potassium feldspar is used in the manufacture of ceramics and glassware, especially in glazes for hardwearing tableware and floor tiles, and as a key component of advanced high-tolerance insulators and electro-ceramics.

It is an internationally traded mineral product with a nominal value US$50-100 per tonne (lump), depending on the point of sale, quality, consistency and end-use application.

Pioneer has set an Exploration Target at the Sinclair Pegmatite of between 500,000 tonnes and 750,000 tonnes of Potassium Feldspar (KFs), targeting A-Grade ceramic product specification with key element grade ranges.

“The observed geology and assay distributions indicate that there are likely to be several potassium feldspar products distinguishable by potassium (K), sodium (Na), aluminium (Al), alkali elements (Rb, Cs) and contaminant elements content,” Pioneer Resources said in its ASX announcement.

“Premium, A-Grade potassium feldspar (KFA) occurs as an upper zone within the Sinclair Pegmatite.

“Assays of KFA from diamond drill core consistently return very low levels of critical contaminant elements including: iron (Fe) niobium (Nb) and manganese (Mn).

“Test work has indicated however that if these contaminants are present in marginal KFA material, fine screening will result in an upgraded coarse product.”

 

Email: info@pioresources.com.au

Website: www.pioresources.com.au

 

Calidus Resources Expands Warrawoona Mineralisation

/in , /by

THE DRILL SERGEANT: Calidus Resources (ASX: CAI) released results from drilling underway at the Copenhagen gold deposit, located in the Pilbara of Western Australia.

The Copenhagen satellite deposit lies approximately 10 kilometres to the West of the current Klondyke deposit at the company’s 712,000 ounce Warrawoona gold project.

Calidus is undertaking a large resource infill and extension program across the Warrawoona project with an aim to expand the current resource to underpin a pre-feasibility study in 2019.

Copenhagen diamond drilling returned intercepts of:

18CPDD004
10 metres at 5.38 grams per tonne gold from 63m; and

18CPDD003
1m at 7.91g/t gold from 121m.

Other drilling underway includes RC drilling at the Klondyke East extension where Calidus has encountered further ore grade mineralisation east of the current 654,000 ounce Mineral Resource defined during 2017.

Recent intercepts from the current round of drilling include:

18KLRC111
12m at 2.15g/t gold from 0m;

18KLRC130
4m at 6.08g/t gold from 99m;

18KLRC120
12m at 1.73g/t gold from 24m;

18KLRC124
8m at 1.92g/t gold from 0m;

18KLRC111
1m at 13.36g/t gold from 91m;

18KLRC122
6m at 1.58g/t gold from 166m; and

18KLRC119
1m at 9.25g/t gold from 121m.

“The Resource definition drilling program at Copenhagen has significantly improved our understanding of the high-grade plunge orientation of this orebody,” Calidus Resources managing director Dave Reeves said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“This information will support our targeting for depth extensions with the second phase of drilling to commence at Copenhagen during the current quarter.

“We are also pleased with the confirmation of mineralisation commencing from surface further east of our Klondyke Resource and will continue to evaluate the potential for further extensions with our systematic program.

“The company is also testing the St George Shear Zone via initial scout drilling which has received no modern exploration.

“In parallel, further geological work has defined a continuous working of over one kilometre on surface that targeted a chert/quartz vein that on closer inspection shows excellent continuity at depth and represents a high priority target for additional high-grade resources.

“A program targeting this area will commence in the next two weeks with a second rig and will include a large portion of diamond drilling to enable a selective grade to be reported.”

 

Email: info@calidus.com.au

Website: www.calidus.com.au

 

Musgrave Minerals Continues Lake Austin North Gold Hits

/in , /by

THE DRILL SERGEANT: Musgrave Minerals (ASX: MGV) continued its run of strong assay results from recently completed regional aircore/reverse circulation (RC) drilling at the company’s Cue project in Western Australia’s Murchison district.

Musgrave Minerals said the drilling being carried out at the Lake Austin North gold target returned new thick intervals of gold mineralisation in Archaean regolith.

The Lake Austin North target now comprises multiple parallel zones of anomalous gold mineralisation 200 to 300 metres apart, approximately three kilometres north of the Break of Day and Lena gold deposits.

The company said results from A Zone at Lake Austin North had confirmed potential for a large gold system.

Latest intercepts include:

18MOAC106
26 metres at 1.11 grams per tonne gold from 120m, including 14m at 1.97g/t gold from 132m to end of hole.

The A Zone target is open in all directions and detailed gravity data has indicated the untested contact could extend for a further two kilometres strike.

Musgrave has identified a new gold zone (C Zone) a further 300m west of A Zone where drilling intersected:

18MOAC117
30m at 0.56g/t gold from 66m, including 6m at 1.44g/t gold from 90m to end of hole.

Re-sampling of 6m composites at 1m intervals undertaken by Musgrave has confirmed previous thick intersections and highlight high-grade zones, including:

18MOAC075
2m at 10.46g/t gold from 131m to end of hole;

18MOAC072
2m at 7.83g/t gold from 139m;

18MOAC077
9m at 2.72g/t gold from 131m; and

18MOAC077
5m at 4.9g/t gold from 143m;

“This is another strong result and with the mineralisation open in multiple directions along the granodiorite contact, it indicates we have identified a significant gold system,” Musgrave Minerals managing director Rob Waugh said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“Many of the drill holes currently terminate in mineralisation so follow-up RC drilling will be focused on establishing the true thickness, tenor and extent of the gold mineralisation in unweathered rock to help define the scale of the system.

“Modelling of the recent gravity data also suggests the mineralised contact could extend for a significant strike extent under the salt lake in areas of no previous basement drilling, thus increasing the exploration upside.”

Musgrave indicated follow-up, deeper basement drilling is set to commence at Lake Austin North in early August.

The company anticipates further assays in the next two weeks from an additional eight RC holes where six-metre composites have been resampled at one-metre intervals.

Development studies are continuing at the Break of Day and Lena deposits to evaluate options to optimise cash flow.

 

Email: info@musgraveminerals.com.au

Website: www.musgraveminerals.com.au

 

Exploration Key to Gold Road Resources’ Future

/in , /by

THE INSIDE STORY: Development of the Gruyere gold project is on schedule to promote Gold Road Resources (ASX: GOR) to be an Australian gold producer.

As exciting that is, the company is determined to maintain its reputation as an explorer for, and discoverer of, rich gold deposits.

Gold Road Resources’ Yamarna exploration tenements cover 180 kilometres of greenstone strike, making it one of Australia’s largest greenfields gold exploration projects.

To put that in perspective, the tenements cover the same distance that separates the Western Australian goldfields hubs of Kalgoorlie and Norseman.

To focus the $23 million of exploration drilling Gold Road is conducting this year, it has separated its tenements into three delineated hubs.

The 100 per cent-owned Northern Hub encapsulates the Ibanez (Corkwood) and Bloodwood targets.

The Southern Hub, also 100 per cent Gold Road-owned, includes the Smokebush, Toppin Hill, and Wanderrie targets.

“Each of these hubs is a geological target area with multiple targets within each one,” Gold Road Resources’ Executive Director – Exploration & Growth Justin Osborne told The Resources Roadhouse.

“They are close enough to each other that should we start finding deposits within a camp that may be close enough to a deposit in another we could possibly develop another mining/processing centre, into which we can feed material from multiple camps.

“We want to be a producing exploration company: we want to be a decent sized producer at 150,000 ounces per year, but we also still want to be an aggressive exploration company.”

The company’s 50 per cent interest in the Central Hub includes the Gruyere gold project, where construction is being managed by Gruyere Management Pty Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company’s 50 per cent Joint Venture partner Gold Fields Limited.

Currently all Yamarna Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves are located within the Gruyere JV tenements.

The Ore Reserve for Yamarna was recently increased by 6.3 per cent to 97.35 million tonnes at 1.2 g/t gold for 3.74 million ounces of gold.

This included a maiden combined Ore Reserve of 3.59 million tonnes at 1.55 g/t gold for 179,000 ounces for satellite deposits at Attila and Alaric after a Pre‐feasibility Study into developing each as open pit mines to provide satellite feed to the Gruyere process plant was completed.

Modifications to the mine design operational plan increased Ore Reserves at Gruyere by 44,000 ounces following to 93.76 million tonnes at 1.18 g/t gold for 3.56 million ounces.

Six million dollars (100 per cent basis) of Gold Road’s 2018 budget will fund drilling at the Gruyere JV focusing on resource definition drilling on additional high‐margin satellite deposits.

Early this year, RC drilling to convert the existing Attila‐Alaric Trend 12.32 million tonnes at 1.5 g/t gold for 596,000 ounces Mineral Resource to Ore Reserve commenced on the Montagne Deposit, which along with the Argos deposit contributes 207,000 ounces to the above figure.

“Exploration activity we have planned for the Central Hub, within the Gruyere JV, is focused along the Golden Highway – the Attila-Alaric Trend,” Osborne explained.

“Most of that will be infill drilling, and hopefully identify some new higher-grade zones in some of the Central Hub deposits, such as Montagne and Argos.

“If we can start proving those up on closer spacing, we might establish some pockets of high-grade Reserves that can be trucked across to Gruyere.”

In February 2018 Gold Road achieved 100 per cent-ownership of the Southern Hub tenements by acquiring the 50 per cent interest of its JV partner since 2013, Sumitomo Metal Mining Oceania Pty Ltd (SMMO).

Subsequent drilling confirmed high-grade mineralisation at the Smokebush Camp and along the 14-kilometre-long Supergroup Trend in the Wanderrie Camp, starting approximately 15 kilometres north of the Smokebush Camp.

Diamond drilling at Smokebush improved understanding and continuity of high-grade dolerite hosted mineralisation, returning intersections of:

18SMDD0005
56.25 metres at 1.95g/t gold from 98.75m, including 5.41m at 4.22g/t gold from 133.65m and 7.73m at 5.45g/t gold from 144m;

15SYDD0008
6.76m at 31.13g/t gold from 167.71m, including 0.94m at 191.36g/t gold from 173.06m; and

15SYRC00034
71m at 2.95g/t gold from 123m, including 6m at 5.34g/t gold from 143m

Diamond and RC drilling results from Wanderrie also confirmed potential to define several deposits, including:

18WDRC0149
2m at 17.45g/t gold from 80m;

18WDRC0157
1m at 17.27g/t gold from 134m and 5m at 4.5g/t gold from 140m;

18WDRC0156
5m at 3.63g/t gold from 85m and 2m at 10.31g/t gold from 130m; and

18WDRC0159
5m at 3.64g/t gold from 57m.

18WDDD0021
10.53m at 4.19g/t gold from 165m

“At both of those targets we intersected high-grade mineralisation,” Osborne said.

“We believe both have potential to progress to where we would like them to be by the end of the year, which would be ready to commence Resource drilling.”

Another Southern Hub target is Toppin Hill where previous drilling encountered 12m at 4.7g/t gold and 9.1m at 3.5g/t gold.

Toppin Hill was part of the South Yamarna JV with SMMO where the company had limited opportunities to conduct follow-up drilling after the original discoveries.

Aircore drilling on the Wanderrie Supergroup Trend confirmed 11 kilometres of strike, returning mineralised intersections of:

Satriani
17WDRC0033
2m at 14.74g/t gold from 73m;

Santana
17TARC0028
1m at 17.73g/t gold from 68 metres; and

17TARC0025
5 metres at 2.03 g/t gold from 108m.

The Northern Hub has demonstrated plenty of potential and Gold Road is eager to complete current diamond and RC testing at one of its highest‐ranked targets, Ibanez, within the Corkwood Camp.

Previous results from Ibanez include:

17CWRC0037
10m at 28.67g/t gold from 240m, including 2m at 136.57g/t gold from 240m; and

17CWDD0015
8.20m at 11.63g/t gold from 229.67m, including 3.33m at 27.48g/t gold from 232.26m.

Unseasonable heavy rainfall stymied Gold Road’s plans to gain access to Ibanez and the broader Corkwood area in February, however all necessary clearances have since been approved and the access track repaired allowing drilling of Ibanez to recommence.

The company’s true exploration roots will be on show when it gets to the Romano and Bloodwood targets in the Northern Hub.

Bloodwood and Romano will be the first ‘untested’ camps that Gold Road will have drilled for more than three years.

“Romano sits north of Gruyere along the same Dorothy Hills Shear and is a target we have been trying to get to for two or three years,” Osborne enthused.

“At Bloodwood we will be drilling out an approximate 15-kilometre strike length that is completely untested between Corkwood and Attila-Alaric.

“The magnetics we have seen from Bloodwood indicate there are some interesting target zones that don’t look any different to the target zones we originally encountered along the Attila-Alaric Trend.

“There is now 600,000 ounces of Resources at Attila-Alaric so if we are able to repeat that at Bloodwood and establish substantial Resources at Romano and Corkwood, that would then become the backbone of a new processing centre.

“The same goes for the Southern Hub.

“If we were to find half a million ounces at each of Smokebush, Wanderrie and Toppin Hill – that’s 1.5 million ounces in a centre that would be enough to justify a separate project development.

“Don’t get me wrong, it would be fantastic to find a one-million-ounce deposit in its own right, but if we were to establish three half-million-ounce centres, then that’s fine too.”

Anticipation is high amongst the Western Australia gold community for the opening of the Gruyere gold project.

As Australia’s next tier one gold mine, the Gruyere gold project is an important new project for WA that is expected to produce an average of 270,000 ounces per annum over the 13-year life-of-mine and low all in sustaining costs.

To give those figures some perspective it is worth noting that Australia is the second largest producer of gold in the world with 288 tonnes of gold produced in 2016-17.

There are currently 66 operating gold mines in Australia including 14 of the world’s largest, 11 of which are in Western Australia making it the country’s major gold producer, accounting for almost 70 per cent of Australia’s total gold production.

This means that if it was a country – which many Sandgropers would prefer – Western Australia would ranks as the fifth largest gold producer in the world.

The Gruyere Gold Project was discovered by Gold Road in October 2013 on the South Dorothy Hills Trend.

Just 10 months after making the Gruyere discovery, Gold Road had defined a substantial high-grade gold deposit which has since grown to 144 million tonnes grading 1.3 grams per tonne for 5.9 million ounces of contained gold, making it one of the largest undeveloped gold deposits in Australia.

The project attracted the attention of Gold Fields Ltd, which entered a 50:50 Joint Venture with the ambitious explorer.

Construction of the 7.5 million tonnes per annum Gruyere gold project commenced at the beginning of 2017 and since then the Project team has managed to tick off several important milestones, the biggest of which is to come in the shape of the first gold pour, scheduled for the beginning of the 2019 June quarter.

The delivery from discovery to first gold of 5.5 years will represent a great achievement by Gold Road and Gold Fields.

The Project milestones achieved over the past 18 months include:

Installation and establishment of the 648 room Gruyere Village by McNally Construction which was opened by the Hon. Bill Johnston, WA Minister for Mines in August 2017;

Construction of the Anne Beadell borefield, the main water supply for the Gruyere Village and early earthworks by GR Engineering Services and Desert Sands;

Completion by MACA of the all-weather 100 seater jet capable Gruyere airstrip, Gruyere main access road, clearing and part pre-stripping of the Stage 1 Pit and the life-of-mine Tailings Storage Facility, and commencement of the Yeo borefield which will provide water for mine operations;

Over 50 per cent completion progress by the Amec Foster Wheeler Civmec Joint Venture (ACJV) on construction of the Gruyere Process Plant and other infrastructure;

Completion of the 198 kilometre Yamarna Gas Pipeline (YGP), which was installed by Nacap Australia Pty Ltd on behalf of APA Group slightly ahead of schedule. All generators and gas engines have been installed at the 45MW Gruyere Power Station. Integrity testing is in progress ahead of anticipated commissioning of the power station in the December 2018 quarter; and

Delivery of all significant plant and equipment including SAG, Ball Mills and crushing circuit to site with installation underway.

The construction is fully funded by the Gruyere Joint Venture.

Construction of mining infrastructure commenced in the March 2018 quarter and mining activities are scheduled to begin in the December 2018 quarter.

At the peak of the mining services contract, Downer expects to deploy 170 personnel at Gruyere charged with moving approximately 31 million tonnes of material per year.

The Gruyere gold project will employ a total of 350 personnel once in operation.

 

Gold Road Resources (ASX: GOR)
…The Short Story

HEAD OFFICE
Level 2
26 Colin Street
West Perth WA 6005

Ph: +61 8 9200 1600

Email: perth@goldroad.com.au
Website: www.goldroad.com.au

DIRECTORS
Tim Netscher, Ian Murray, Justin Osborne, Sharon Warburton, Brian Levet

 

 

Pioneer Resources Encounters Further Sinclair Lithium Mineralisation

/in , /by

THE DRILL SERGEANT: Pioneer Resources (ASX: PIO) has hit further thick zones of lithium mineralisation whilst drilling at the company’s 100%-held Pioneer Dome project in the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia.

The Pioneer Dome project includes Pioneer Resources’ proposed Sinclair Zone caesium mine over which it recently received approval for the Mining Proposal.

Pioneer’s recent drilling included 44 drill holes, which returned noteworthy lithium intersections, including:

PDRC187
27m at 1.86 per cent lithium oxide (Li2O) from 46m (Lepidolite)

PDRC190
11m at 3.15% Li2O from 52m (Mixed)

PDRC199
22m at 1.98 per cent Li2O from 37m (Petalite)

PDRC202
27m at 1.60 per cent Li2O from 35m (Petalite)

PDRC207
15m at 2.47 per cent Li2O from 36m (Petalite)

PDRC210
17m at 1.90 per cent Li2O from 39m (Lepidolite)

PDRC211
21m at 1.83 per cent Li2O from 33m (Petalite)

PDRC212
15m at 2.59 per cent Li2O from 39m (Petalite)

PDRC215
21m at 1.65 per cent Li2O from 42m (Mixed)

Pioneer flagged it has fielded enquiries from third parties interested in purchasing parcels of lepidolite, petalite or mixed lithium mineralisation that can be excavated from the Stage 1 Sinclair caesium mine or from an extended Stage 2 Pit.

“The company’s first proposed mining operation, the Sinclair caesium mine, is advancing rapidly with approvals now in place,” Pioneer Resources managing director David Crook said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“Recent drilling results have confirmed the continuity of the pollucite mineralisation, and the potential to derive further income from the sale of potassium and lithium minerals significantly de-risks the project from an ore supply perspective and enhances the economic returns.”

 

Email: info@pioresources.com.au

Website: www.pioresources.com.au

 

Rox Resources Pleased by Collurabbie Drilling

/in , /by

THE DRILL SERGEANT: Rox Resources (ASX: RXL) received assay results from a recent aircore drilling program completed at the company’s Collurabbie project, 250 kilometres north of Laverton in Western Australia.

Rox Resources completed the program, which consisted 109 holes for 3,910 metres, testing several targets within its tenements.

Stand out results came from the Troy, Olympia North and Zeus South prospects, including:

TROY

CXAC123
12 metres at 0.8 per cent nickel, 0.03 per cent copper, 0.06 per cent cobalt from 8m; and

CXAC124
24m at 0.47 per cent nickel, 0.01 per cent copper, 0.02 per cent cobalt from 28m.

OLYMPIA NORTH

CXAC156
4m at 0.24 per cent nickel, 0.01 per cent copper, 0.02 per cent cobalt from 4m.

ZEUS SOUTH

CXAC187
28m at 0.48 per cent nickel, 0.00 per cent copper, 0.03 per cent cobalt from 8m; and

CXAC186
20m at 0.33 per cent nickel, 0.00 per cent copper, 0.02 per cent cobalt from 8m.

Rox explained the Troy prospect lies along the north trending ultramafic Beta Sill where previous diamond drilling intersected 0.6m at 2.2 per cent nickel, 1 per cent cobalt.

The company has follow-up drilling planned for the next quarter.

“We continue to generate highly anomalous aircore results at Collurabbie, and it appears to be a significant province for nickel sulphides,” Rox Resources managing director Ian Mulholland said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“We will undertake further exploration drilling to better define and understand this mineralisation as soon as possible.”

 

Email: admin@roxresources.com.au

Website: www.roxresources.com.au

 

Draig Resources now known as Bellevue Gold

/in , /by

THE BOURSE WHISPERER: Draig Resources (ASX: DRG) announced a name change to Bellevue Gold Limited (ASX: BGL).

There’s nothing more confusing than waking up to an ASX ticker in your watchlist that wasn’t there yesterday.

But, that’s what happened today with Draig announcing its new handle in a brief declaration to the ASX.

Although the names have changed, the song remains the same, and we were fortunate enough to catch up with company MD Steve Parsons to discuss progress at the Bellevue Mine and the Tribune gold discovery.

CLICK HERE: To read more about Bellevue Gold’s recent activities.

 

Email: admin@draigresources.com.au

Website: www.bellevuegold.com.au

 

Pioneer Resources has Sinclair Mine Plan approved

/in , /by

THE BOURSE WHISPERER: Pioneer Resources (ASX: PIO) announced it has received government approval for the mining plan for the Sinclair caesium mine.

The Sinclair mine is part of the company’s 100 per cent-owned Pioneer Dome project in the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia, which includes the Sinclair Zone Caesium Deposit.

Pioneer Resources said it the Western Australia Department of Mines Industrial Relations and Safety had given its approval the project’s Mining Proposal, including Mine Plan and Mine Closure Plan, as well as the Project Management Plan.

These add to the advancements already achieved at the project, including nomination of a Preferred Mining Contractor.

Dates for the commencement of mining will now be firmed up, as too will the commencement of infrastructure establishment and ground preparation that are scheduled to start during August 2018.

These include construction of site access, mobilisation of site buildings, site clearing, soil stockpiles and first blast drilling.

The Mine Fleet mobilisation is planned for September 2018.

“With the receipt of the Mining Proposal and Project Management Plan approvals, the company will complete final documentation with the State and Contractors, and work to a Commencement of Mining Operation start-date during the September quarter,” Pioneer Resources managing director David Crook said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

 

CLICK HERE: To read more about Pioneer Resources Sinclair Caesium mine.

 

Email: info@pioresources.com.au

Website: www.pioresources.com.au

 

Sinclair Caesium Mine: Small in Stature, Big in Value

/in , /by

THE INSIDE STORY: Pioneer Resources (ASX: PIO) changed the company’s focus and fortunes in 2016 following the discovery of the Sinclair Zone caesium deposit.

Up to that moment, Pioneer Resources had been one of many active exploration companies focused on pursuing lithium (and prior to that, gold and nickel) at its Pioneer Dome project, located in the Eastern goldfields of Western Australia, between Kalgoorlie and Norseman.

“Ironically we started with the Pioneer Dome when we listed and it’s where we took our name from,” Pioneer Resources managing director David Crook told The Resources Roadhouse.

“Here we are 14 years later, about to start our first mine there.

“Our progress over 14 years as an active exploration company has shown we understand our capabilities, and we’ve filtered a lot of ground.

“We are seeing the benefits of that now as interest is returning to the sector.”

Pioneer was one of the first WA-focused junior exploration companies to recognise the potential of lithium.

While others maintained a traditional, ‘this is Kalgoorlie, we must find gold or nickel’, approach, Pioneer saw lithium mineralisation potential at the Pioneer Dome project.

The revelation followed a review of historic exploration reports which recorded numerous pegmatite intersections in nickel or gold-focussed drilling completed since the 1960s.

Further work identified minerals consistent with those seen only in an extremely differentiated zone of a rare-metal lithium-ceasium-tantalum (LCT) pegmatite system.

Pioneer confirmed this mineralogy as pollucite, which indicated the company was on the trail of an extremely rare and valuable commodity, caesium.

The caesium mineral Pioneer found present at Pioneer Dome was determined as being the preferred feed material in the production of Caesium Formate, a high value, high-density fluid used in high-temperature/high-pressure oil and gas drilling.

Caesium Formate provide several benefits, including: minimal damage to hydrocarbon-bearing formations resulting in higher production rates, it acts as a lubricant, is non-corrosive and is considered a benign chemical when compared to alternatives.

Global supply is heavily constrained, and it has few genuine substitutes.

Fast-forward to the present and the Sinclair Zone caesium deposit is now a near-term mining proposition, from which Pioneer intends to extract and sell the high margin caesium mineral pollucite, and possibly potassium and lithium minerals, from the proposed Sinclair open pit mine.

Pioneer is working through the regulatory processes required prior to commencing mining operations.

The importance of the Sinclair deposit was highlighted when Pioneer announced an offtake agreement with Cabot Specialty Fluids Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of New York-listed Cabot Corporation (NYSE: CBT).

Cabot is a global specialty chemicals and materials giant and has long been the world’s dominant caesium formate manufacturer, producing around 8,500 barrels per annum, which equates to an annual EBITA of approximately $40 million for its Specialty Fluid’s division.

Cabot liked what is saw at Sinclair and has agreed to buy all of the caesium ore to be extracted from the proposed Sinclair mine that will mine the Sinclair Zone caesium deposit.

The Offtake Agreement also includes a US$4.8 million loan facility to fund mining operations at the proposed mine.

The Sinclair Mine will be Australia’s first ever commercial caesium ore producer.

“Signing that Offtake Agreement is a significant milestone for Pioneer and for the Sinclair Mine,” Crook said.

“We anticipate being cashflow positive from the caesium zone before Christmas and that will lead us to commercialisation of other products at the Sinclair Zone deposit that we have to mine through to get to the caesium.

“With the new-found cashflow we anticipate earning we will continue to drill the lithium aspect of the project, because it is a well-endowed lithium area and we have been discovering lepidolite – the lithium micas that most of our peers like the look of and would like to find on their ground.

“We have also been finding petalite, which is a very pure form of lithium that goes into the manufacture of ceramics and glass.

“We are also starting to see the presence of spodumene, which is the holy grail of lithium explorers.

“But, since we have discovered Australia’s first caesium deposit, for now we are in a rarefied space.

“We have been telling people all along how rare a caesium find is, let alone one of this size.

“Not only will it be Australia’s first, and only caesium deposit to be mined, it will also be the only caesium deposit to be currently mined world-wide.

“There’s got to be more out there within the project area – we hope.”

Elsewhere in the Eastern Goldfields, Pioneer has its 100 per cent Golden Ridge project, located 26 kilometres south east of Kalgoorlie.

Golden Ridge includes substantial areas prospective for lateritic cobalt, plus the suspended Blair nickel sulphide mine that was closed in 2008 during a time of depressed nickel prices, having produced 1.26 million tonnes of nickel sulphide ore at 2.62 per cent nickel.

Pioneer has drilled at four cobalt targets: Rocket, Leo’s Dam, Anomaly 13 and Anomaly 14, intersecting cobalt mineralisation across all.

The prospects are within granted mining leases and an exploration licence along the eastern flank of the Blair Dome, a geological structure within the Golden Ridge project.

“We bought the Blair mine, just outside of Kalgoorlie, for its nickel sulphide potential, it turns out that a lot of the ground has also quite a lot of cobalt associated with it,” Crook said.

“We did some drilling this year and got some very good results.”

Pioneer’s 2018 drilling corroborated the Golden Ridge project to have a well-developed lateritic cobalt mineralisation mantle at the four prospects drilled.

Earlier drilling indicated widespread cobalt mineralisation throughout the project, and Pioneer has flagged future work will be directed towards defining resources.

Upcoming work at Golden Ridge will include detailed analysis of geochemical and geophysical datasets, and integrating drilling to generate an estimated Exploration Target, precise RC drilling to generate a Mineral Resource, and bulk sampling for bench-scale extractive metallurgy which will focus initially on an ore concentration technique.

A further nickel sulphide discovery at the Leo’s Dam prospect reinforced the company’s Blair Dome exploration model and the project’s prospectivity to host nickel sulphide deposits, both near-mine and regionally.

The progression of the cobalt and nickel sulphide potential at Golden Ridge will be a strong component of the company’s focus moving forward.

Lithium remains firmly on the company radar, and Pioneer holds an option to earn up to 80 per cent of the Mavis and Raleigh lithium projects in Canada from Joint Venture partner, TSXV-listed International Lithium Corp.

The Mavis and Raleigh Llthium projects are situated 19 and 80 kilometres respectively east from the town of Dryden.

Recent work targeted the Fairservice Pegmatite 6 prospect, comprising nine diamond core holes, all of which intersected spodumene mineralisation, usually in the form of multiple wide zones of pegmatite.

“Obviously the company’s core focus is to advance the Sinclair Zone caesium deposit into production,” Crook said.

“That project on its own has the potential to be a high margin operation.

“And, we also have a number of other very good projects and knowing we can move onto the Golden Ridge area for the cobalt and nickel sulphide as well as having the Canadian spodumene project sitting in our back pocket is comforting, to say the least.”

 

Pioneer Resources Ltd. (ASX: PIO)
… The Short Story

HEAD OFFICE
21 Ord Street
West Perth WA 6005

Ph: (08) 9322 6974

Email: pioneer@pioresources.com.au
Web: www.pioneerresources.com.au

DIRECTORS
Craig McGown, David Crook, Wayne Spilsbury, Allan Trench