Silver Demand Skyrocketing, Investigator Tells RIU Sydney

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THE CONFERENCE CALLER: “Silver demand is skyrocketing” due to increasing industrial and green energy demand, Investigator Resources (ASX: IVR) managing director Andrew McIlwain told the 2023 RIU Sydney Resources Round-up.

The silver price has risen about 20 per cent over the past year to circa US$26 an ounce or A$38 per ounce.

The silver market was going through structural changes, McIlwain told Resources Roadhouse on the sidelines, referring to recent figures from the Silver Institute showing the market had achieved its second consecutive annual structural deficit.

Demand reached a new high of 1.24 billion ounces in 2022, according to the Institute, while global mine production fell to 822.4 million ounces, creating “possibly the most significant deficit on record”.

Investigator is advancing the Paris project in South Australia, which it describes as the country’s highest-grade undeveloped silver project.

Paris contains 53 million ounces of silver and 98,000 tonnes of lead, which McIlwain said in gold terms equated roughly to a 700,000oz gold project.

Recent results from Paris South included “the highest 1m silver assay” from Investigator’s 2022/23 drilling program, of 1m at 2,410 grams per tonne silver within 25m at 207g/t form 73m.

The company expects to announce a resource update in June and a definitive feasibility study early next year that will include Paris’ lead potential, unlike a 2021 prefeasibility study which focused on silver only.

Investigator has also stepped into the critical minerals space, recently gaining the option to earn into Thor Energy’s Molyhil tungsten and molybdenum project in the Northern Territory.

McIlwain told the conference the molybdenum price had risen substantially from the US$15 a pound used in Molyhil’s 2018 DFS, to about $60/lb.

 

St George Mining Enjoying Support For Lithium Quest

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THE CONFERENCE CALLER: St George Mining (ASX: SGQ) is receiving plenty of encouragement for its focus on lithium opportunities, executive chairman John Prineas said on the sidelines of the 2023 RIU Sydney Resources Round-up.

Prineas told Resources Roadhouse the company’s initial drilling to test the pegmatite potential at its flagship Mt Alexander project in Western Australia in 2022 had returned “very positive” results.

The company recently reported assays with a peak value of 1.8 per cent lithium oxide, while earlier rock chip samples from outcropping mineralisation had returned up to 3.25 per cent lithium oxide (Li2O).

“That’s given us a lot of encouragement to go out harder this year and do a 20,000 metres program,” Prineas said.

St George had also received “great validation and support” through strategic relationships with three of the world’s biggest lithium-ion battery heavyweights, with two providing $2 million each to help fund the drilling program, Prineas said.

Mt Alexander is along strike from Delta Lithium’s (previously Red Dirt Metals) recently-established Mt Ida lithium resource, comprising 12.7 million tonnes grading 1.2 per cent Li2O.

Delta took 60,000m of drilling to establish its resource, Prineas said, while St George had only done about 5,000m so far.

“Hopefully as we continue drilling, we’ll establish a resource similar to them – we have basically the same geological setting, right next to the Copperfield Granite which is the source of the mineralised pegmatites,” he said.

Two rigs were in action at Mt Alexander this week.

St George recently expanded its lithium focus, acquiring seven projects in the Yilgarn.

Prineas said the area had been described as a “super province for lithium”, given several companies had established resources and the tussle for control of Essential Metals and its Pioneer Dome lithium deposit.

St George is also investigating the nickel-copper-platinum group elements (PGE) potential in its portfolio.

 

Warriedar Exploring for the ‘Next Mine in the Murchison’

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THE CONFERENCE CALLER: Warriedar Resources (ASX: WA8) has launched into an exploration strategy to determine where the next gold mine will be in the Murchison, managing director and CEO Amanda Buckingham said on the sidelines of the 2023 RIU Sydney Resources Round-up.

The company opened a new chapter this year, changing name from Anova Metals and adding two Murchison projects containing almost 1 million ounces of gold to its portfolio, which already holds 1.01 million ounces in Nevada.

The Fields Find and Golden Range projects host 10 deposits along a 70km mineralised shear in a “commanding land position” in Western Australia’s north of 813 square kilometres.

Buckingham said surrounding operations in the Murchison “tap deep” such as Golden Grove being mined at 1,800m, indicating the potential on its holdings where the average drilling depth was 42m.

The company has drilled 25,000m so far at the projects this year but received less than 20 per cent of the assays, however Buckingham said they showed the exploration plan was working, revealing two significant high grade deposit extensions.

At Windinne Well, extensional drilling returned results including 4m at 5.17 grams per tonne gold, while highlights from Rothschild included 11m at 3.39g/t.

“We are uncovering more gold, we are learning which of our deposits are likely to turn into a significant resource and moving into the third quarter, once we get all the assays back, we will design a deeper diamond drilling program to really answer the question ‘Where will the next mine be in this belt?’” she said.

The Fields Find project contains the former Warriedar copper mine and the company was looking forward to soon drilling high-priority copper targets as well, Buckingham said.

Overseas, Warriedar was in the process of acquiring a larger exploration permit for its Big Springs project in Nevada, a state Buckingham described as “the land of giants” as it hosted individual deposits of up to 40 million ounces.

“Our focus is on WA [this year] but we still consider it to be an extremely important asset and we will work on it or will commercialise it in some way at the appropriate time,” Buckingham said.

 

Hammer Well-Positioned with Kalman MRE Update

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THE CONFERENCE CALLER: A resource update this week for its polymetallic Kalman project in Queensland positions Hammer Metals (ASX: HMX) with a baseload of material to push towards development, managing director Daniel Thomas said on the sidelines of the 2023 RIU Sydney Resources Round-up.

Drawing from his experience at Sandfire Resources, Thomas also pointed to comparisons between Kalman and the project that Sandfire acquired from MOD in Botswana that contained a reserve at the time of 22 million tonnes at 1.1 per cent copper-equivalent.

He said the open pit component of the updated Kalman resource contained 27.7 million tonnes at 1.1 per cent copper-equivalent, adding there was a difference between a resource and reserve but saying Kalman was in a great jurisdiction surrounded by mining operations and established infrastructure.

Kalman’s contained metal has increased 39 per cent from a 2016 Mineral Resource Estimate to about 500,000 tonnes copper-equivalent.

The total updated resource comprises 39.2 million tonnes grading 0.53 per cent copper, 0.27 grams per tonne gold, 0.1 per cent molybdenum, 1.5g/t silver and 2.1g/t rhenium.

“We’ve had aspirations for some time to grow our resource base to a number of 600,000 tonnes of copper-equivalent metal,” Thomas told Resources Roadhouse.

“When you combine Kalman now with our other resources – Elaine, Jubilee and Overlander, we’re very close to that figure if not exceeded that figure.”

He said one of the key questions, in a capital constrained market, was how to advance the project near Mount Isa.

“Our focus as a company is on growing this mineral inventory,” he said.

A rig was expected to turn up within weeks to start testing high-priority targets.

“More copper, more inventory, more people taking notice,” Thomas said of the company’s plans.

“Above all else, delivering that shareholder uplift through good exploration results as we’ve seen with our neighbours.”

Hammer also has a joint venture with Sumitomo Metal Mining in Queensland and the Yandal gold, lithium and nickel projects in Western Australia.

 

Black Cat Grows Paulsens MRE, Eyes First Gold in 2024

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THE CONFERENCE CALLER: Black Cat Syndicate (ASX: BC8) announced a 25 per cent boost to its high-grade Paulsens gold resource today but managing director Gareth Solly told the 2023 RIU Sydney Resources Round-up he expects it to further expand. By Ngaire McDiarmid

The mothballed Paulsens, in Western Australia’s Pilbara, is the mine that proved a company-maker for Northern Star Resources and was acquired by Black Cat less than a year ago.

Since then, the company has increased the underground resource 360 per cent to the current 322,000 ounces grading 10.1 grams per tonne gold.

Along with the Coyote underground resource near the Northern Territory border comprising 356,000oz at 14.6g/t gold, Black Cat has two of Australia’s highest-grade gold deposits.

The company also has a 1.3 million ounce gold resource at its Kal East project in WA’s Goldfields.

However, Paulsens is the frontrunner, thanks to its existing infrastructure including a 110-person camp and 450,000 tonne per annum mill.

A restart study is underway and a decision is slated for mid-year, with Solly eyeing the prospect of a first gold pour at Paulsens in 2024.

“It’s a great time to be in gold,” he told delegates.

The company can draw from the experience of Silver Lake Resources founding members Paul Chapman and Les Davis, who are on Black Cat’s board.

“We do expect to continue to grow the [Paulsens] resource,” Solly said, and pointed to the “potential transformational discovery opportunities” at the Lower Gabbro.

He also said the project hosted regional potential, including the possibility of “another Paulsens?” at the Belvedere deposit 5km away, plus the polymetallic growth headlined by the project’s 1.2 million tonnes Mt Clement resource containing Australia’s third-largest antimony deposit.

 

Toweranna Adding More Allure to De Grey’s Mallina

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THE CONFERENCE CALLER: De Grey Mining (ASX: DEG) has reported “outstanding” intercepts from infill and extensional drilling at its Toweranna deposit, ahead of a presentation to the 2023 RIU Sydney Resources Round-up today. By Ngaire McDiarmid

Resource definition drilling results at Toweranna, the initial intrusion that led to De Grey’s large-scale Hemi discovery, included 2m at 64.2 grams per tonne gold, within 10m at 13.2g/t from 288m.

A highlight from drilling outside the existing resource was 41.5m at 4.7g/t gold from 12m.

Executive technical director Andy Beckwith said the results would be included in the definitive feasibility study underway, and the extensional results offered a longer-term new focus.

“That’s probably a structure on the margins of the intrusion,” he said.

“Now we want to try and track that around the deposit and along strike.”

Toweranna currently hosts a Mineral Resource of 525,000 ounces, part of the overall 10.6 million ounces at the Mallina project in WA’s north which De Grey is advancing towards production.

Mallina is expected to produce 540,000oz annually for the first 10 years, according to a 2022 prefeasibility study.

The PFS presented “compelling financial metrics” post-tax including undiscounted free cash flow of $4.2 billion, an internal rate of return of 41 per cent and a 1.8-year payback period.

The DFS is due mid-year.

Beckwith told Resources Roadhouse that test work showed Toweranna’s mineralisation could be optimised by ore sorting, which the company had been investigating “well before the Hemi discovery”.

He believed ore sorting could optimise the deposit – “it’s not needed to make it work” – and cited potential benefits, including reduced haulage, a higher-grade feed and improved financial metrics.

“The technology has leapt in the last five years and now, I think the benefits it can bring is going to be immense in the next 10 years,” he said.

 

REE Results “Exciting” But Meeka Focused on Advancing Gold Project

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THE CONFERENCE CALLER: Meeka Metals (ASX: MEK) announced the highest rare earth grades yet at its Circle Valley project, the same day as it presented to the
2023 RIU Sydney Resources Round-up this week, but the company’s focus remains on its advanced Murchison Gold Project. By Ngaire McDiarmid

Speaking to Resources Roadhouse on the conference sidelines, managing director Tim Davidson said it was really exciting to receive results of up to 7,475 parts per million Total Rare Earth Oxides (TREO) from Circle Valley, near Esperance in Western Australia.

“They’re the highest grades we’ve seen in the drilling at Circle Valley, ever,” he said.

“Generally, you see rare earth grades in the 1,000-2,000ppm … we saw grades from individual samples over 7,000ppm, so five to seven times what you’d expect as a high-grade result.”

He said that set the stage for next phase of work which includes the initial resource estimate, slated for June, understanding the metallurgy and assessing how to monetise the resource.

“We’re getting great results and we’re advancing it but we’re not losing sight of how important the gold is to us,” Davidson said.

“It’s the most important part of our portfolio.”

Meeka is advancing its flagship gold project towards “production ready” and expects to release a prefeasibility study in June.

The Murchison Gold Project has a 1.2 million ounce resource grading 3 grams per tonne across several deposits.

The 1.2 million ounces includes the initial St Anne’s Indicated Mineral Resource of 25,000oz, announced last week.

 

Newmont-backed Legacy Confirms Epithermal Discovery

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THE CONFERENCE CALLER: “There’s a reason why we bring the rocks to the table,” Legacy Minerals Holdings (ASX: LGM) CEO and managing director Chris Byrne explained from the company booth at the 2023 RIU Sydney Resources Round-up.

Legacy Minerals announced that assays had confirmed high-grade mineralisation and the potential for a large-scale, low-sulphidation epithermal deposit at its Bauloora gold project in New South Wales, where the Newmont subsidiary recently entered a $15 million farm-in and joint venture to fund further drilling.

Highlights from the new Bluecap prospect included 6m at 8 grams per tonne gold-equivalent from 57m.

“What we’ve intercepted is the top of an epithermal system,” Byrne told Resources Roadhouse, indicating a sample on the table in front of him.

“There was a lot of excitement around our visuals that came out 10-odd weeks ago, and what the combination of the grades and the textures demonstrate, is that we’ve got a preserved high-level epithermal system.

“The importance of that preserved system is that we’ve got a boiling zone at depth … and those boiling zones are typically associated with bonanza grades of gold and silver.”

Byrne said Bauloora was “incredibly early stage” and the company had only done one other drill campaign at the 330 square kilometre project.

In answer to why people should get involved in such an early-stage project, Byrne said that was why he brought the rocks to the table.

“It’s the weight of … geological evidence that there is potential for a world-class system,” he said.

“When you look at the textures that we’re seeing in the drill core, the textures that we’ve seen in the rock chips, and if you’ve then seen that, on surface, over a footprint that’s close to 30 square kilometres, you’re talking about … a globally-significant project scale.”

He said it was also the rocks and the textures that had caught Newmont’s eye.
“These systems are Newmont’s bread and butter,” he said.

“They mine these projects, they’ve discovered them, they’ve developed them, they’ve got a good database so they know what they’re looking at – and New South Wales is a safe jurisdiction.”

Bauloora is one of Legacy’s seven projects in NSW’s Lachlan Fold Belt.

 

NickelSearch Well-funded for Nickel and Lithium Exploration at Carlingup

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THE CONFERENCE CALLER: NickelSearch (ASX: NIS) anticipates a “very busy six months” as it puts an underwritten $2.4 million raising towards more exploration at its Carlingup nickel project. By Ngaire McDiarmid.

Speaking with The Resources Roadhouse on the sidelines of the 2023 RIU Sydney Resources Round-up, managing director Nicole Duncan said the company was firmly focused on nickel sulphide at Carlingup, near Ravensthorpe in Western Australia, but was also investigating the project’s newly-defined lithium potential.

Carlingup currently hosts a recently-updated resource of 8.3 million tonnes for 155,000t of contained nickel.

Duncan told Resources Roadhouse the company was “on the ground drilling at the moment”, with RC drilling focused on greenfield nickel sulphide targets Serendipity, B1, Lipple and Wadley.

Diamond drilling was planned to test the strong electromagnetic conductor found earlier this year at the Sexton nickel sulphide target, Duncan said.

“We’re also going to be putting diamond holes into [the former high-grade nickel sulphide mine] RAV8, to test if there are extensions to the high-grade nickel shoots,” she said.

The money would also combine with state government EIS co-funding to drill a base metals volcanogenic-hosted massive sulphide target, west of RAV8, Duncan added.

As for Carlingup’s new lithium potential, NickelSearch had “boots on the ground” activities planned including mapping and rock chip sampling to test high-priority target areas, about 10km from Allkem’s Mt Cattlin lithium mine.

“It’s early days, but exciting,” Duncan said.

 

Widgie Nickel Unveils Discovery, Lodges Mining Proposal

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THE CONFERENCE CALLER: Well-placed Widgie Nickel (ASX: WIN) has outlined progress towards lithium mining plus a nickel discovery at the company’s flagship Mt Edwards project, ahead of today’s presentation to the 2023 RIU Sydney Resources Round-up.

“It’s very much a multi-dimensional story,” managing director and CEO Steve Norregaard told Resources Roadhouse on the sidelines.

The company is also in a very active corporate space. Its nickel assets are proximal to producer and takeover target Mincor Resources, while its Faraday lithium deposit is proximal to Essential Metals, which recently rejected a bid by Tianqi Lithium Energy Australia and welcomed Mineral Resources as a major shareholder.

On the lithium front, Widgie lodged a mining proposal on Monday for its Faraday direct shipping ore lithium operation, at Mt Edwards in Western Australia.

Norregaard said the company was making rapid progress, given only six months had passed since announcing finding rock chips with lithium and two months since releasing a maiden lithium resource.

“Now we’ve started the process of permitting for a starter pit … which is a big achievement and very much geared towards the fact that the demand for potential DSO products is probably going to be short-lived because we can see there’s many, many companies looking for lithium, there’s some very, very big deposits,” he said.

“We’re fortunate that Faraday occurs on a granted mining tenement so we have very, very little challenges in order to be able to bring this product to market, so I’m supremely optimistic that our starter pit will be approved ready for extraction, prior to the end of this financial year.”

He said lodging the mining proposal also gave confidence to potential lithium offtake partners.

Separately, the company – which floated on its nickel endowment – announced a nickel discovery south of its Gillett Resource, underpinning the growth potential in the Widgie South area at Mt Edwards.

Results included 30m at 1.17 per cent nickel, 0.14 per cent copper, 0.03 per cent cobalt, 0.04 grams per tonne gold, 0.11g/t palladium and 0.09g/t platinum from 214m.

“What we do find really exciting is that we were previously led to believe that Gillett was cut off to the south,” Norregaard said.

He said the Widgie South scoping study was underway and he was “supremely confident” they’d be in a strong position to understand the value Gillett South represented to the company by year-end.

Widgie was also in “the final throes” of a feasibility study on its advanced Armstrong nickel deposit, expected to be development-ready in late 2023.

The overall Mt Edwards project currently contains more than 168,000 tonnes of nickel across 12 deposits.