PepinNini Lithium Dealing in the Lithium Triangle

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THE BOURSE WHISPERER: PepinNini Lithium Limited (ASX: PPN) announced two transactions with Lithia Inc, a private company owned by Canadian LSC Lithium (TSX: LSC) in separate announcements on the ASX yesterday. By Jack Baker

PepinNini Lithium first announced it had secured all of Salar De Pular within Argentina from Lithia Inc.

The agreement involves an option to purchase Mina Patilla for US$1.075 million, the addition of which to PNN’s Pular Lithium Brine project will establish total ownership of the Salar on the Argentine side of the border.

Minutes later, the company announced a direct swap with Lithia Inc for its tenement on Salar de Incahuasi in exchange for tenure at PNN’s larger holding at Salinas Grandes.

PepinNini Lithium managing director Rebecca Holland-Kennedy said she was pleased to have negotiated a position in a more prospective area.

“While SG (Salinas Grandes) may still hold some potential, it is a huge area that is difficult to target and more expensive to explore,” Holland-Kennedy said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“We are much more hopeful that the area we have obtained in Incahuasi will yield positive results, and we look forward to explore there in the near future, in a program that better fits with our aggressive exploration.”

 

Email: admin@pepinnini.com.au

Website: www.pepinnini.com.au

 

Australian Mines: Potential Prime Cobalt Player

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THE CONFERENCE CALLER: Addressing a crowd of potential investors at the 2018 RIU Explorers Conference, Australian Mines (ASX: AUZ) managing director Benjamin Bell declared the company’s status as the most advanced cobalt-nickel-scandium producer in Australia. By Jack Baker

Australian Mines announced on Monday that it has entered into a $5 billion off-take agreement with Korean company, SK Innovation.

The contract, for up to 13 years, is for SK to purchase 100 per cent of the product from Australian Mines’ Sconi plant in Queensland, totalling roughly $400 million worth of cobalt-nickel per year.

Part of the agreement is for SK to provide funding and to potentially take a 20 per cent stake at a 30 per cent premium.

Bell emphasised that the arrangement was more than a simple off-take relationship.

“The reason why we did this deal with SK, we’ve spoken to a number of companies, car battery manufacturers and the like,” he told the full auditorium.

“It’s not just a buyer seller relationship, it’s a partnership.

“They’ll help build the plant, come onto our board and take the product…it de-risks the project, it means it gets built.

“This is the only one in the country that shows a clear path into production.”

Bell admitted that many cobalt nickel companies have forecast growth in battery-metal demand based on the promise of the electric car but emphasised that Australian Mines is already there.

“Our cobalt-nickel is specifically going into that car,” he said.

“This is not a picture of a conceptual car…it’s going straight into Mercedes-Benz via the SK plant in Hungary.”

The company has constructed a demonstration plant in Perth for investors.

Capable of producing nickel and cobalt sulphate for sale, the plant is also capable of producing scandium oxide for other interested off-take parties.

Australian Mines has additional cobalt projects in the pipeline with the Sconi project essentially completed.

The second is in Flemington where it begins drilling next month with a third near Broken Hill.

Bell said the company would inevitably be compared to Clean TeQ (ASX: CLQ), Australia’s largest cobalt company, but iterated his belief in Australian Mines’ standing as the most advanced.

“In addition to getting ours in production probably first and being able to show a clear pathway to that, you’re also getting the upside for more than one project,” he stated.

 

Website: www.australianmines.com.au

 

Pilbara Minerals Wins 2018 Craig Oliver Award

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THE CONFERENCE CALLER: Pilbara Minerals (ASX: PLS) has been awarded the Craig Oliver award on the second morning of the RIU Explorers Conference in Fremantle. By Jack Baker

The award is presented each year at the Explorers Conference in memory of Craig Oliver who was killed when the plane carrying board members of Sundance Resources (ASX: SDL) crashed in the Congo in 2010.

The award is given to the company that is considered to exemplify an all-round excellence in several fields over the past year, including exploration, mining, corporate, market results, environment and community.

Accepting the award, Pilbara Managing Director and CEO Ken Brinsden said it was an honour to be nominated and humbling to win amongst the other esteemed nominees, adding that companies needed to take a leap of faith necessary to succeed in the mining industry.

“Our industry only thrives when people are prepared to take risk, to spend money in the ground and to continue to build resource,” Brinsden said.

“That’s where Pilbara had a fantastic head start, we had our founding directors and, in particular John Young and Neil Biddle, spending money on the ground when it wasn’t sexy to be spending money in Lithium.

“It wouldn’t happen unless they made that original investment, taken that first risk and been prepared to back the quality in the project.”

The emerging Lithium and Tantalum producer is busy bringing its world-class, 100 per cent-owned Pilgangoora project into production as demand for battery metals to power electric vehicles surges.

Brendan Oliver, presenting the award on behalf of the Oliver family, said that Pilbara Minerals ticked every box that Craig Oliver strived for and it is moving forward in a way that all companies in the state and country should aspire to.

The other nominees included Gold Road Resources, Sandfire Resources, Syrah Resources and Xanadu Mines.

 

Genesis Minerals Upgrades Gold Deposit as Drilling Commences

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THE CONFERENCE CALLER: Genesis Minerals (ASX: GMD) announced that recent drilling of the company’s Ulysses gold deposit has shown a 55 per cent increase in contained ounces and a 31 per cent increase in average grade. By Jack Baker

Genesis Minerals declared the total Ulysses Mineral Deposit now stands at 321,000 ounces of contained gold from 3.3 million tonnes at 3 grams per tonne gold.

The company described the results of its recent drilling program completed over the second half of 2017 as highly successful.

Genesis said the results had confirmed and extended a number of high-grade gold zones estimated at 1.2 million tonnes at 5.5g/t gold for 215,000 ounces.

“The significant gold endowment within these plunging high-grade shoots clearly has the potential to form the core of a significant long-term underground mining operation,” Genesis Minerals managing director Michael Fowler said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“Importantly, we now have a clear understanding of the geometry and controls on the mineralisation, which has allowed our exploration team to focus on the next phase of drilling, set to begin shortly.

“Ulysses is demonstrating all the attributes that we see in many gold systems in the Eastern and North-eastern Goldfields. Put simply, it continues to grow and improve at depth the more we drill.

“We are very excited about the potential to build a very significant gold inventory at Ulysses and we are looking forward to seeing the results from the next round of drilling, which commences later this week.”

The company is commencing 4000 metres of further resource expansion drilling to test potential depth extensions to the Ulysses resource and believe that strong potential exists in the hanging wall to the north of the Ulysses shear.

At the RIU Explorers conference in Fremantle, Fowler elaborated on what the next stage aimed to achieve for the company.

“What we’re looking to do is just expand the current resource between the 100 and 200 reduced level, it’s really just expanding,” he told The Resources Roadhouse.

“We’re really comfortable with what we’ve got in the top 200 metres and we expect it to continue at depth without any issues.

“We’ve done a lot of geological modelling and that shows that mineralisation will extend at depth and there’s no geological reason why that’s not the case.

“We’re pretty confident in being able to significantly expand the resource in the next round of drilling.”

 

Website: www.genesisminerals.com.au

Pioneer Resources Claims Discovery of Microcline in Deposit Overburden

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THE CONFERENCE CALLER: Pioneer Resources (ASX: PIO) announced the discovery of a potassium feldspar (microcline) deposit. By Jack Baker

Pioneer Resources claimed the discovery from results of two diamond core holes drilled in the company’s 100 per cent-owned Sinclair Zone caesium deposit in Western Australia.

Pioneer discovered the microcline dominating the caesium deposit’s overburden while moving towards open pit operations for extracting the constrained and high value mineral pollucite.

“The point of the drilling was to quantify very precisely the pollucite, that’s the high value product,” Pioneer Resources managing director David Crook told The Resources Roadhouse on the sidelines at the RIU Explorers Conference.

“Geologically that looks like it’s behaving itself and we’re gaining a lot more knowledge of the pegmatite that coexists with it and the microcline is just a bonus.

“Prior to us realising it was microcline we thought the overburden was waste. That was what we were going to mine and now all of that is a saleable product.”

Pioneer said the deposit was discovered using the low-iron sample preparation technique required for the microcline analysis.

Of the 82 samples submitted from the 2 drill holes, 61 have returned analyses consistent with a published A-grade Microcline specification.

The company also believed it was noteworthy that microcline has been recorded in over 30 drill holes of the Sinclair Zone pit but had yet to be analysed using the low-iron sample preparation technique.

Pioneer’s core focus is to advance the Sinclair Zone Caesium deposit towards development.

Crook said the company aims to proceed with open-pit mining operations to extract the product in mid-2018.

 

Email: info@pioresources.com.au

Website: www.pioresources.com.au

 

Kin Mining Chairman Acknowledges Turmoil

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CONFERENCE CALLER: Pitching the investment case for Kin Mining (ASX: KIN) at the 2018 RIU Explorers conference in Fremantle, chairman Trevor Dixon briefly alluded to the company’s recent struggles. By Jack Baker

“Kin Mining is currently going through some growing pains with its business and a lot of you may want to know about that,” was all he said on the recent resignation of the company’s former managing director Don Harper.

The Kin Mining board of directors accepted Harper’s resignation and on Tuesday announced a restructure of the board on the company’s website.

“The company is pleased to announce the appointment to the Board of Mr Brian Dawes as non-executive director,” it said in its ASX announcement.

“The company is also seeking to appoint an independent chairperson, and managing director as part of the restructure and is currently in discussions with suitably qualified applicants and subject to due process; the terms and conditions of these appointments will be advised in due course.”

Dixon will continue as chairman in the interim until a new chairperson and managing director can be appointed.

 

Email: info@kinmining.com.au

Website: www.kinmining.com.au

 

2018 RUI Explorers Conference Day One

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The Resources Roadhouse covers Day One of the 2018 RIU Explorers Conference in Fremantle.

 

Aruma Resources Expands Gold System at Slate Dam

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Aruma Resources (ASX: AAJ) announced results from a maiden RC drill program at the company’s Slate Dam gold project in the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia.

Aruma Resources said the results, in conjunction with historical drilling assay results from the project area, have defined a new, very large gold system at Slate Dam.

The drill program defined two major gold shoots, hosting gold mineralisation, extending over 500 metres along strike to the north (North Shoot) and over 500 metres along strike to the south (South Shoot).

Both remain open in all directions.

It also defined interpreted tabular 20-metre-thick zones of gold mineralisation dipping at 30 degrees, extending from surface to a depth of approximately 200 metres.

These also remain open at depth.

Drill Intercepts include:

SDRC020
24 metres at 1.04 grams per tonne gold from 8m, including 16m at 1.35g/t gold from 11m, including 7m at 2.05g/t gold from 11m;

SDRC006
5m at 3.79g/t gold from 10m;

SDRC011
11m at 1g/t gold from 91m;

SDRC017
4m at 2.19g/t gold from 91m; and

SDRC037
5m at 1g/t gold from 15m.

“Aruma will now plan for its next phase of drilling as a priority to test new targets identified in the area of the recently discovered new geochemical anomalies, to the north of the company’s previous drilling, Aruma Resources said in its ASX announcement.

“The upcoming drilling will be designed to continue to expand size and scale of the already very large Slate Dam gold system.”

 

Email: info@arumaresources.com

Website: www.arumaresources.com

 

NSX Pitches its Case as an Exchange Alternative

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ON THE ROAD: On the opening day of the RIU Explorers Conference, National Stock Exchange (NSX) CEO and managing director Ann Bowering gave her reasoning on why the assembled companies should list with the alternative securities market. By Jack Baker

The NSX believes it can compete with the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) and among global markets.

NSX recently closed offices in Newcastle and Melbourne and, under a new management team, opened its current head office in Sydney with the purpose of engaging with stakeholders and to demonstrate its role and relevance.

Currently trading more than 80 securities totalling over $4.5 billion via participating brokers that include Patersons, State One, Morgans and Macquarie, the NXS has updated its old direct access model and stocks can now be exchanged over an IRIS terminal the same you would with ASX.

“Our strategy is very clear,” Bowering told the large first day audience.

“Build a globally competitive exchange with a vibrant liquid and diverse debt and equity market competing head to head with ASX to attract the best listings in our market.”

Bowering believes the transparency and access of the NSX make it a viable alternative.

She stated that the NSX team works very closely with companies, giving the best chance of a successful listing and opportunity for a higher profile.

A key point of difference between the two exchanges is minimum spread requirements of 50 shareholders, targeted at allowing companies to access capital earlier, with lower cost and without the need to invest in excessive distribution.

She said their status as a dedicated listing and trading venue for equities gave them an advantage: “That’s what we eat, sleep, live and breathe.”

Bowering gave assurances that the corporate governance expectations and prospectus requirements of disclosure are the same no matter what exchange they are listed on.

“It goes to the heart of market integrity and investor confidence which underpins liquidity,” she said.

Australia has had a single stock market for the last 30 years, being the only advanced global market without a second exchange.

Bowering said the fact that the ASX top 200 has remained largely unchanged over the last 10 years showed inefficiency in the allocation of capital.

“On a global basis Australia has the fourth largest pool of investible funds and many fund managers look offshore to allocate their new capital,” she continued.

“It is important that the ASX has competition to facilitate innovation and broaden investment opportunities in the marketplace.”

Bowering said the ASX has made it clear who their target is: companies with a market capitalisation of $50 million to $500 million in the technology sector who come from foreign markets.

Alternatively, the sweet spot of the NSX was described as companies at IPO with market capitalisation ranging from $3 million to $50 million with proven growth potential and investment stories that resonate with potential backers.

Bowering declared that the NXS has put immediate focus on feeling out the resources sector of Western Australia.

“That’s why we’re here in WA,” she said.

“Because we know where Australia grows…we think there’s an opportunity in this sector.”

 

Web: www.nsx.com.au

 

 

Musgrave Minerals Defines New Gold Targets at Cue

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Musgrave Minerals (ASX: MGV) reported the completion of a regional gravity survey recently on the company’s Cue tenements in Western Australia’s Murchison district.

Musgrave Minerals said the survey highlighted 10 new high priority gold targets for drill testing.

The company has had the gravity data integrated with existing aeromagnetic, geochemical and historical drilling information to define targets along the prospective 20-kilometre long corridor.

Seven of the targets have historical broad-spaced aircore or rotary air blast (RAB) drill holes that returned anomalous gold in assay results.

The Lake Austin North gold target is a one-kilometre-long regolith gold anomaly interpreted to be on a parallel shear to the Break of Day/Lena shear zone under lake sediments.

Historical aircore drilling from 2002 intersected:

MOAC153
4 metres at 8.1 grams per tonne gold at 87m vertical depth that is open to the north and has not been followed up.

The target is only three kilometres north of Break of Day.

The West Island target is a 500m long gold target interpreted to be on a parallel shear to the Break of Day/Lena shear zone under lake sediments.

Historical aircore drilling from 2006 intersected 4m at 2.7g/t gold at 107m down hole, but no follow-up basement drilling has been conducted.

The target is eight kilometres north of Break of Day.

The Lake Austin target is a 500m long gold target interpreted to be on the continuation of the Break of Day/Lena shear zone under shallow lake sediments.

Historical aircore drilling from 1996 intersected 7m at 1g/t gold at 24m down hole but no follow-up basement drilling has been conducted.

The target is only one kilometre north of Break of Day.

Musgrave said the gravity data defined a parallel shear zone approximately 600m west of the Break of Day/Lena shear which has not been drill tested.

Planning is currently underway to commence drill testing of these targets in April.

“The integration of the new gravity data has significantly improved our interpretation of the geology at Cue and provided great assistance in defining and prioritising new targets for drill testing,” Musgrave Minerals managing director Rob Waugh said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“A number of the targets have an analogous setting to the two million-ounce Great Fingall deposit, 30 kilometres to the north.

“These are excellent targets and an opportunity for the company to make a game-changing discovery.”

 

Email: info@musgraveminerals.com.au

Website: www.musgraveminerals.com.au