Ioneer Increases South Basin Mineral Resource at Rhyolite Ridge

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Ioneer (ASX: INR) reported an updated Mineral Resource estimate for the South Basin at the company’s Rhyolite Ridge lithium-boron project located in Nevada, USA.

The updated South Basin Mineral Resource estimate comprises:

• Tonnage increase from 146.5 million tonnes to 360 million tonnes (up 145%)
• Lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) increase from 1.2 million tonnes to 3.4 million tonnes (up 168%)
• Boric acid equivalent (BAE) increase from 11.9 million tonnes to 14.1 million tonnes (up 18%)
• Cut-off grades unchanged at 1,090ppm lithium and 5,000ppm boron.

Approximately 80 per cent of the Mineral Resource is classified as Measured and Indicated.

Approximately 44 per cent of the Mineral Resource is classified as high-boron lithium mineralisation (HiB-Li) and 56 per cent as low-boron lithium mineralisation (LoB-Li).

“To date, we have focussed heavily on progressing our development plan for Rhyolite Ridge,” Ioneer managing director Bernard Rowe said in the company’s ASX announcement.

“With binding offtakes in place, debt and equity commitments of nearly US$1.2 billion and the project in the final stage of permitting, we can now begin demonstrating the broader scale potential at Rhyolite Ridge.

“The updated Mineral Resource base for the South Basin is a fantastic start and we look forward to building on this further with significant growth potential through South Basin extensions as well as increased exploration efforts on the mineralised and much larger North Basin.”

 

TO READ THE FULL ANNOUNCEMENT: CLICK HERE

 

Thor Energy Review Highlights High-Grade Rare Earths at Alford East

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Thor Energy (ASX: THR) has uncovered rare earth element (REE) drill results from a review of the previously announced 2021 copper and gold drilling at the company’s Alford East project in South Australia.

Thor Energy completed a REE review that has revealed eight out of nine of the 2021 diamond drill holes intersected wide zones of highly enriched REEs in kaolin altered, copper rich oxide zones of IOCG style mineralisation.

The company explained the mineralisation is open over an approx. five kilometres trend due there having not been REE assays carried out on historical drilling at Alford East, to the best of its knowledge.

REE drill intercepts (>500ppm TREO) from the review include:

21AED005
36.7 metres at 1568ppm (0.16%) total rare earth oxide (TREO) and 1.2 per cent copper from 6.3m, including 11.8m at 2095 ppm (0.21%) TREO and 1.2 per cent copper from 10m, and 11m at 2088ppm (0.21%) TREO and 0.8 per cent copper from 47m, Including 2m at 5042ppm (0.5%) TREO from 47m;

21AED002
11.6m at 1699ppm (0.17%) TREO and 0.26 per cent copper from 30.4m including 6.1m at 2262ppm (0.22%) TREO from 34m; and

21AED001
16.8m at 1721ppm (0.17%) TREO and 0.5 per cent copper from 91.4m.

Buoyed by the results, Thor now has a full geochemical review of the historic drilling underway to access the lateral extent of the REE potential within the Alford Copper Belt, to generate drill targets and to fully assess the economic potential of this discovery.

“I am absolutely delighted to report these thick zones of shallow, high-grade REE intercepts, found to be associated with oxide copper-gold mineralisation at the Alford East project,” Thor Energy managing director Nicole Galloway Warland said in the company’s ASX announcement.

“This batch of results compares very favourably in terms of depth, thickness and grade to its peer group in the fledgling Australian REE sector.

“Importantly, this discovery has significant potential to be a large deposit based on the approx. five kilometres lateral extent of the north-south trending, structurally controlled troughs hosting IOCG mineralisation.

“It is promising that aside from the nine 2021 diamond drill holes reported today, none of the other historic drilling at Alford East is known to have ever been assayed for REE content.

“Priority drill program design is underway in conjunction with detailed geochemical reviews of the historic drilling, along with further studies on the nature of the REE mineralisation encountered to date.”

 

 

TO READ THE FULL ANNOUNCEMENT: CLICK HERE

 

Forrestania Resources Encounters High-Grade Lithium at the Giant Pegmatite

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Forrestania Resources (ASX: FRS) reported assay results the latest lithium targeted RC drilling program completed at the company’s Forrestania project in the southern Yilgarn region of Western Australia.

Forrestania Resources completed five drill holes at the Giant pegmatite to determine the extent of a mineralised pegmatite intersected by historic drilling.

Drill hole FGIR0004 where pegmatite was logged from 73 – 84m, returned:

10 metres at 1.49 lithium oxide (Li2O) from 74m, including 2m at 2.64 per cent Li2O from 75m.

Drill hole FGIR0002 where pegmatite was logged from 45 – 49m, returned a tantalum intercept of:

4m at 1,106ppm tantalum (and 3m at 0.1% Li2O), from 45m, including 1m at 2,870ppm tantalum.

Forrestania noted this to be above the typical ore-grade tantalum range of 100 – 400ppm.

The company highlighted there being an untested section in between the two drilling areas where it has interpreted a dolerite dyke to occur based on regional geophysics.

This, it stressed however, is not at all constrained or validated by available drilling data, and Forrestania is excited about plans to drill test the area.

“These latest positive results confirm the potential for significant new discoveries at our Forrestania project,” Forrestania Resources managing director Michael Anderson said in the company’s ASX announcement.

“It’s always exciting to drill high-grade intersections and we are confident there is potential for more at Giant, and indeed elsewhere, as we continue to systematically test our high priority anomalies and targets.

“We certainly have plenty more to do to ensure that we do justice to the demonstrable prospectivity at Forrestania, and it is obvious to me after only a few weeks in the role that our team is well equipped to do that.

“We look forward to keeping shareholders informed as work progresses.”

 

TO READ THE FULL ANNOUNCEMENT: CLICK HERE

 

Maximus Resources Identifies New Nickel/Gold Targets

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Maximus Resources (ASX: MXR) has generated new drill targets having completed a multi-target air-core drill program across the company’s Spargoville project near Kambalda in Western Australia.

Maximus Resources reported the drilling revealed elevated nickel, copper and platinum group metals within the regolith it considers strongly associated with Kambalda-type nickel sulphide deposits.

The company said multiple nickel targets were identified for follow-up drilling.

Highlights include:

Central – Nickel
CTAC060
20m a 0.32 per cent nickel, 139ppm copper, 22ppb PGE from 0m, including 4m a 0.44 per cent nickel, 76ppm copper, 23ppb PGE from 12m;

Hilditch West – Nickel
HWAC001
16m a 0.32 per cent nickel, 178ppm copper, 30ppb PGE from 20m, including 4m a 0.41 per cent nickel, 134ppm copper, 30ppb PGE from 28m; and

Kemble – Nickel
KBAC028
27m a 0.29 per cent nickel, 88ppm copper, 21ppb PGE from 8m.

“In addition to the success in defining a fertile nickel-sulphide komatiite channel at the Misho nickel prospect, the complete multi-target low-cost air-core drill program has delineated additional gold and nickel targets at Central, Hilditch and Kemble,” Maximus Resources managing director Tim Wither said in the company’s ASX announcement.

“These early-stage air-core drill programs provided vital geochemistry to vector-in on prospective targets for follow-up RC drilling.”

 

 

TO READ THE FULL ANNOUNCEMENT: CLICK HERE

 

Thor Energy Drills Positive Vanadium Assay Results at Wedding Uranium Project

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Thor Energy (ASX: THR) reported recent drilling results from the company’s 100 per cent-owned Wedding Bell and Radium Mountain uranium and vanadium projects in the Uravan Mineral Belt, Colorado, USA.

Thor Energy said the assay results had validated previous downhole gamma readings the company had recorded for uranium as well as confirming broader enriched vanadium mineralisation.

Vanadium assay results included:

Groundhog
22WB012A
1.5 metres at 2660ppm (0.27%) vanadium pentoxide (V2O5) from 83.8m; and

22WB012
3m at 1640ppm (0.16%) V2O5 from 83.8m.

Rim Rock
22WB014
1.5m at 1776ppm (0.18%) V2O5 from 59.4m

Section 23
22WB011
1.5m at 1026ppm (0.10%) V2O5 from 83.8m

Thor Energy indicated it will commence close-spaced airborne magnetics and a radiometric survey over all three projects, once the ground conditions are suitably dry.

“We are pleased to receive these very encouraging vanadium assay results for the selection of physical samples sent for analysis,” Thor Energy managing director Nicole Galloway Warland said in the company’s ASX announcement.

“The assay results confirm the uranium mineralisation determined by downhole gamma and highlight broader enriched vanadium haloes of up to 0.27 per cent vanadium.

“These vanadium-rich halos are typical of this style of ‘Salt Wash’ sandstone-hosted uranium mineralisation.

“Drill permitting is underway for our next round of drilling at Wedding Bell, and initial drilling at Vanadium King, Utah, following the airborne geophysical survey.

“A close-spaced airborne radiometric and magnetics survey is planned over all three projects area once the conditions are suitably dry given there is still a small amount of snow and water at present on the ground.”

 

 

TO READ THE FULL ANNOUNCEMENT: CLICK HERE

 

E79 Gold Mines Commences New Round of Laverton South Drilling

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: E79 Gold Mines (ASX: E79) informed the market this morning that has commenced “Big Drill Programs” at the company’s Laverton South gold in the North Murchison region of Western Australia.

E79 Gold Mines explained the drilling is to take place on its Pinjin tenements, specifically targeting the Target 3 and Target 4 exploration areas.

The company considers these to be early-stage exploration targets with drilling to date showing gold anomalism along defined trends.

A RC drill rig is due to arrive onsite in the coming week to follow up previous drilling at Target 3 to test this potential high-grade position.

An AC drill rig will drill test extensions to the Target 3 gold system to the south and to test the granite greenstone contact to the north of the previous RC drilling.

The AC drill rig will also test prospective areas of Target 4, identified from the previous program, which identified gold anomalism in fresh rock.

“We are implementing an aggressive exploration program to accelerate our potential to make material discoveries within our projects,” E79 Gold CEO Ned Summerhayes said in the company’s ASX announcement.

“We will resume the aircore rig and the RC rig, when it arrives, to further define gold mineralisation at Target 3, which is currently identified as 2,600 metres long and 200 metres deep and open in all directions.

“The Target 3 system hosts gold in mineralised pods, along the eastern side of a granite/greenstone contact, within a larger anomalous zone.

“While the aircore rig will test for extensions to the gold mineralised granite/greenstone contact, the RC drilling will target the interpreted high-grade zones based on the Granny Smith model where better gold grades are in areas of flattened contact.

“The aircore rig will also test prospective areas of Target 4, where gold anomalism is hosted within a 30 kilometres long regional gold trend.”

 

 

Miramar Resources Wins EIS Lottery to Drill Whaleshark

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Miramar Resources (ASX: M2R) has received a yes from the Western Australian Government’s Co-Funded Exploration Drilling Program “Exploration Incentive Scheme” (EIS).

Miramar Resources applied for co-funding of diamond drilling to be undertaken at the company’s 100 per cent-owned Whaleshark IOCG project in the Ashburton region of Western Australia.

To that end the company has picked up a handy $180,000 that it will put towards direct drilling costs, including mobilisation charges, subject to signing of a Funding Agreement.

Miramar explained the co-funded diamond drilling program will test a coincident gravity and aircore geochemical anomaly within a Proterozoic granite and Banded Iron Formation complex under sediments of the Northern Carnarvon Basin.

“The Whaleshark project presents a unique opportunity for discovery of a large IOCG deposit under cover and within the relatively under-explored Capricorn Orogen of Western Australia,” Miramar Resources executive chairman Allan Kelly said in the company’s ASX announcement.

“The discovery of a large IOCG deposit at Whaleshark could have a significant impact on exploration activities across the wider Gascoyne mineral province, similar to the discovery of the giant Olympic Dam deposit in the 1970s and the Prominent Hill and Carrapateena IOCG discoveries in the 2000s.

“We are very excited to be drill testing this highly prospective target and it is fantastic to have the support of the Western Australian Government.”

Miramar indicated it is now preparing for completion of heritage surveys over the proposed drill sites and, in line with the terms of the EIS funding, the co-funded diamond drilling will commence in June.

 

TO READ THE FULL ANNOUNCEMENT: CLICK HERE

 

Who’s Who in the Roundup Zoo

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THE CONFERENCE CALLER: With the RIU Sydney Resources Roundup fast approaching, we thought it would be the ideal time to check in an a few of the companies that will be presenting to see what they’re up to.

 

FYI Resources (ASX: FYI)

FYI Resources has developed an innovative process design for the integrated production of high quality, high purity alumina (HPA) predominantly for electric vehicles (lithium-ion batteries), sapphire glass, LEDs / micro-LEDs and other broader tech applications.

FYI is positioning itself to be recognised by the marketplace as a producer of 4N and 5N HPA in the rapidly developing high-tech product markets.

With this in mind, the company recently commenced an extended HPA production run tailored to meet customer specifications through the company’s wholly owned pilot plant located in Perth, Western Australia.

FYI is undertaking a long duration market sample production run of high quality HPA to supply to potential customers following requests for follow up samples produced to meet the specifications of certain end users.

The HPA will be generated via FYI’s innovative process flowsheet, which it has optimised through development work modifications and pilot plant testwork carried out over the past 12 months.

A portion of the generated HPA will be directed to specialised finishing (to be completed by the end user) for use as a separator ceramic coating in the electric vehicle battery market.

FYI is committed to progressing the HPA project strategy through to commercial production via a defined project engineering pathway.

This pathway will be laid once FYI receives all project data from Alcoa following the termination of a joint development agreement between the two companies.

FYI will establish a revised development schedule for the completion of both the small-scale production and commercial facilities, which it anticipates being released a soon as possible.

“With FYI now back in control of our HPA development, we are undertaking these HPA pilot plant production runs in response to end user requests that demonstrates the demand for our high quality HPA,” FYI Resources Managing Director Roland Hill commented:

“We see this production run as being a critical piece in addressing potential customer product assessment needs as the results may lead to further development commitments.

“As a company, we are committed to the development of the HPA project and will continue to address potential customer product specifications as a fundamental function of our project development and project value growth.”

 

Meteoric Resources (ASX: MEI)

Meteoric Resources went from chocolates to more chocolates with its purchase of the Caldeira project, a Tier 1 ionic clay rare earths project located in Minas Gerais State, Brazil.

The Caldeira project came with 30 licenses (21 Mining Licenses and 9 Mining Licence Applications) and a swathe of previous exploration, including 1,311 shallow auger drill holes for 13,037 metres across six of the licenses that had returned ultra-high-grade total rare earth oxide (TREO) intersections, all of which were reported from surface.

“The distribution of the rare earth elements at Caldeira is enriched in heavy rare earth elements (HREE),” Meteoric Resources director Dr Andrew Tunks enthused at the time.

“Additionally, the sample results to date are strongly enriched in the magnet rare earths of terbium, dysprosium, praesidium and neodymium, which make up more than 22 per cent of the total rare earth elemental composition.”

Meteoric wasted little time in carrying out a review of previous metallurgical testwork that had been performed on the project’s Capo do Mel prospect in 2019.

“The average recovery of the low temperature magnet REE, praesidium and neodymium, was 58 per cent and the average recovery of the more valuable high temperature magnet REE, terbium and dysprosium, was 43 per cent,” Tunks explained.

“These results were achieved by leaching with an ammonium sulphate solution [(NH4)2SO4)] in weakly acidic conditions [pH4] and atmospheric conditions.

“The excellent recoveries in this simple process is a crucial observation and shows that for the Capo do Mel prospect, a considerable portion of the target REE are adsorbed onto the clays.

“In layman’s terms, this means the REEs are bonded onto the outside of the clay minerals (adsorbed) and can be recovered by washing the clay in a weak ammonium sulphate solution at room temperature and pressure.

“This is not the case for many rare earth element projects, where the REEs are tightly bound within the mineral lattice or are even in colloidal suspension and require a much more intensive treatment process.”

In April, Meteoric announced a $25 million raising to fund its 2023 work program at Caldeira, that will include drilling, metallurgical testwork and commencing a Preliminary Economic Assessment.

 

Talga Resources (ASX: TLG)

Talga Resources recently increased graphite mineral Resources at the company’s Vittangi graphite project in Sweden.

The project already boasted the largest graphite Resource in Europe, the update for which will underpin potential expansion pathways to anode production beyond 100,000 tonnes per annum, which the company had earlier outlined for the project and expansion of the Niska deposit.

The update was based on Talga’s 2022 Niska drilling campaign and increased the Vittangi Global Mineral Resource estimate by 23 per cent to 36.9 million tonnes of graphite (Cg) ore at 23.1 per cent Cg using an 11 per cent Cg cut-off grade, containing 8.5 million tonnes of Cg.

This includes Indicated Resources estimated to total 27.8 million tonnes averaging 23.8 per cent Cg and Inferred Resources estimated to total nine million tonnes averaging 21.2 per cent Cg.

The estimate included a maiden Mineral Resource for new extensions to graphite mineralisation at the Niska deposit – now named the Niska Link – the delineation of which continues to support the continuity of graphite grade between known deposits.

The total Niska Mineral Resource was increased to an estimated total of 14.9 million tonnes averaging 21.8 per cent Cg, containing 3.3 million tonnes of graphite, including Indicated Resources estimated to total 12 million tonnes averaging 22 per cent Cg and Inferred Resources estimated to total 2.9 million tonnes at 21 per cent Cg.

A new Exploration Target is anticipated across the project area that will entail drilling of deeper potential extensions of the existing Mineral Resources, as well as infill drilling.

Talga is in talks with European battery maker Automotive Cells Company SE looking to complete a binding offtake agreement for supply of Talga’s trademarked active anode material for Li-ion batteries, Talnode-C.

Talga and French battery manufacturer Verkor finalised a non-binding Letter of Intent to supply Talnode-C.

Talga has long been ahead of the graphite game and is well placed as the European lithium-ion battery market continues to grow.

Demand for coated graphite anode in Europe is tipped to reach over 1.3 million tonnes per year.

This, along with Talga’s increasing number of customers, underscores the company’s ambitions to further increase the Vittangi resource.

 

Sayona Mining Boosts Moblan Lithium Resource

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Sayona Mining (ASX: SYA) reported an expansion to the company’s Canadian lithium resource base.

Sayona Mining released an initial JORC Mineral Resource estimate for its 60 per cent-owned Moblan lithium project (SYA 60%; SOQUEM Inc 40%), that includes maiden resources for the recent South dyke discovery.

The company said the numbers highlight the potential for its northern lithium hub in Québec’s highly prospective Eeyou Istchee James Bay region.

Sayona has now estimated a total JORC Measured, Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resource of 70.9 million tonnes at 1.15 per cent lithium oxide (Li2O) (0.25% Li2O cut‐off grade), which it claims to represent one of North America’s single largest lithium resources.

This includes higher grade tonnage opportunities with Measured, Indicated and Inferred Resource of 51.4 million tonnes at 1.31 per cent Li2O (0.55% Li2O cut‐off grade in the sensitivity analysis).

Sayona aims to further enhance the size and grade of this Resource through additional drilling, with extra drilling planned at Moblan.

“Speed and tonnes are crucial and with our North American Lithium operation in production, we are now bringing significant added resources to the market,” Sayona Mining managing director Brett Lynch said in the company’s ASX announcement.

“Moblan now represents one of the single largest lithium resources in North America, justifying our move to fast‐track a major drilling program that has delivered a resource within just a year of acquisition.

“Sayona already has the leading advanced lithium resource base in North America and this latest expansion further entrenches our competitive advantage, particularly given our projects’ favourable access to infrastructure, market proximity and availability of low‐cost, sustainable hydropower.

“Together with our established Abitibi lithium hub in the south, Sayona has quickly developed two emerging centres of lithium production amid surging demand from North America’s EV and battery revolution.

“As we progress these projects from spodumene concentrate production towards downstream processing, the significance of these assets will only increase as the market scrambles for supply.”

 

TO READ THE FULL ANNOUNCEMENT: CLICK HERE

 

Musgrave Minerals Releases Stage 1 PFS Results for Cue Gold Project

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Musgrave Minerals (ASX: MGV) released results of a Stage 1 Prefeasibility Study (PFS) on the company’s 100 per cent-owned Cue gold project in the Murchison region of Western Australia.

Musgrave Minerals reported the outcomes of the study demonstrate the Cue project to be a technically and financially robust project.

The company explained the Stage 1 PFS Life of Mine (LOM) plan focuses predominantly on the current 417,000 ounce Indicated component of the 868,000 ounce Southern Area Mineral Resource to generate gold production of 345,000 ounces with compelling physical and economic metrics.

Musgrave indicated it would now advance to Stage 2 PFS, which is expected to extend the LOM as ongoing drilling tests new prospects and extends and upgrades existing Inferred Mineral Resources into the mine plan, within the company’s 100 per cent-owned tenure.

“The excellent Stage 1 PFS outcomes demonstrate that Musgrave’s Cue gold project is one of the highest margin, undeveloped gold projects in Australia,” Musgrave Minerals managing director Rob Waugh said in the company’s ASX announcement.

“This potential new standalone development has a rapid payback period of nine months from first processing due to the extraordinary near-surface, high-grade nature of the Break of Day and White Heat deposits.

“The project has an IRR of 95 per cent (pre-tax) and the potential to deliver over 65,000 ounces of gold annually over an initial five year period, including 80,000 ounces/year for the first three years, at an AISC of $1,315 per ounce and AIC of $1,675 per ounce (based on full amortisation of start-up capital).

“The project generates cashflow of $314 million (before tax) and an EBITDA of $528 million (at $2,600/oz) with a C1 cost of $934 per ounce.

“With this cost profile (based on Q1 2023 capital and operating cost assumptions), the project is expected to be in the lowest cost quartile of gold producers in Australia.”

“The Stage 2 PFS, is set to add mine life through the extension and conversion of existing Inferred Resources to the higher confidence Indicated category, together with the potential inclusion of newly discovered resources.”