Image Resources Hits New Production Records at Boonanarring

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THE BOURSE WHISPERER: Image Resources (ASX: IMA) reported record monthly production from the company’s 100 per cent-owned, high-grade, zircon-rich Boonanarring Mineral Sands project located north of Perth in Western Australia.

Image Resources reported record high monthly production of heavy mineral concentrate (HMC) in December 2019 and again in January 2020.

This was in line with the company’s expectations of higher ore grades that were forecast for mining in Block ‘B’ at Boonanarring.

Prior to December 2019, the highest monthly HMC production Image had achieved was in January 2019 at 25500 tonnes from ore mined in the northern section of Boonanarring Block ‘C’.

Since relocating mining activities from Block ‘C’ to the overall higher-grade Block ‘B’ in mid-November 2019, HMC production for December set a new record high at 31400 tonnes, and in January 2020, HMC production reached a new high at 35300 tonnes, providing a strong start for Q1 and CY2020 production.

The company highlighted that HMC production in December and January was in line with its updated mining model estimates which include the uplift in forecast heavy mineral and zircon grades as reported in the updated Ore Reserve results published in December 2019.

Image expects average monthly HMC production levels to moderate through the year to an average of 25-28kt/month to achieve published market guidance for CY2020 HMC production of 300-330kt.

In January 2020 the sale of a regular monthly scheduled shipment of HMC was completed and discussions are underway with off-take partners for Q1 follow-on shipments.

To date, the only impact to Image from the uncertain economic conditions in China following the emergence of the coronavirus has been a delay of a planned February shipment of HMC into March.

Image is working with its partners to expand the size and/or frequency of HMC shipments going forward, to accommodate the higher 2020 HMC production schedule.

The company is investigating interests in the purchase of its HMC from entities outside of China, as a step to minimise geographical risk and to expand marketing opportunities.

“We continue to meet our production targets at Boonanarring which for 2020 are significantly higher than 2019 targets,” Image Resources managing director and CEO Patrick Mutz said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“Our efforts have been supported by substantially higher HMC production capacity following modifications to the processing plant in 2019.

“These modifications have now been proven to allow HMC production at levels substantially above original plant design capacity.

“We also remain focused on, and confident of the outcome of, accelerating exploration and the development of new Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves under the formal banner of Project ‘MORE’ with the goal of extending the mine-life at Boonanarring as quickly as practicable.

“And, in response to the recent softening of the zircon market, which were largely offset by rising TiO2 prices, we continue to evaluate value-adding steps aimed at incrementally increasing product revenue.”

 

Email: info@imageres.com.au

Web: www.imageres.com.au

 

Cassini Resources and OZ Minerals Deliver PFS for Low-Carbon, Long-Life, Low-Cost Mine

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THE BOURSE WHISPERER: OZ Minerals (ASX: OZL) and Cassini Resources (ASX: CZI) finally delivered the long-awaited results of the West Musgrave, Nebo-Babel Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS).

The West Musgrave project in Western Australia is a Joint Venture between OZ Minerals (70%) and Cassini (30%).

The PFS has determined a long life for the project, coming in with an approximate 26-year open pit copper and nickel sulphide mine.

The study also delivered a maiden Probable Ore Reserve of 220 million tonnes at 0.36 per cent copper and 0.33 per cent nickel, representing around 22 years of the estimated 26-year life of mine with the balance of the mine life underpinned by a combination of Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resource.

The study included an innovative 50MW base case power supply proposal that will use a hybrid solar-wind-battery-diesel solution, although a gas pipeline remains a secondary option.

Baseline data collected since 2018 has demonstrated a high quality, consistent solar and wind resource is available, with higher wind velocities at night offsetting the lack of solar.

Although the current base case assumes power will be purchased under a Power Purchase Agreement arrangement, the final ownership structure for power assets will be further considered during the next phase of project development.

Modelling has demonstrated that around 70 to 80 per cent renewables penetration can be achieved for the site, with the current mix modelled to be an optimised mix of wind, solar and diesel supported by a battery installation.

The JV declared that should the renewables option be implemented, this innovative power supply solution would make West Musgrave one of the largest fully off-grid, renewable powered mines in the world.

The solution would result in the avoidance of in excess of 220,000 tonnes per annum of carbon dioxide emission compared to a fully diesel-powered operation.

“The Pre-Feasibility Study is now complete and has confirmed the project can be a low carbon, low cost, long life mine producing copper and nickel, both in-demand minerals for the renewable and electrification industries,” OZ Minerals CEO Andrew Cole said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities exchange.

“Building a viable asset in a remote part of Australia is challenging, but through our collaborative approach we have developed innovative off-grid renewable power and processing solutions, increased stakeholder awareness and involvement in the project and we have built confidence in the Mineral Resource itself.

“Furthermore, we have been able to reduce and eliminate a number of potential project risks.”

OZ Minerals will continue to sole fund the Nebo-Babel studies until the FS and decision to mine are delivered as per the current agreement.

In respect of any amount funded by OZ Minerals, Cassini will be loan-carried for its 30 per cent contribution, with principal and capitalised interest to be repaid five years after the commencement of production at West Musgrave.

“Completion of the PFS is a significant milestone for the West Musgrave Project and all its stakeholders,” Cassini Resources managing director Richard Bevan said.

“The high quality PFS demonstrates the strategic value of this project by confirming robust economics on a long life, low operating cost copper and nickel mine at the Nebo-Babel deposits.

“The province offers the potential to add value to the project over time with continued exploration and development activities.”

 

Email: admin@cassiniresources.com.au

Web: www.cassiniresources.com.au

 

Lithium Australia Subsidiary Awarded Federal Battery Development Grant

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THE BOURSE WHISPERER: Lithium Australia (ASX: LIT) 100 per cent-owned subsidiary VSPC is to participate in a federal government Co-operative Research Centres Projects (‘CRC-P’) program.

VSPC– together with CSIRO, University of Queensland (UQ) and Soluna – will receive a grant totalling $1.6 million for its participation in a $5 million CRC-P program to develop fast-charge lithium-ion batteries for use in new-generation trams.

Battery-powered trams eliminate the need for overhead power lines, which are expensive, visually polluting and potentially hazardous.

CSIRO has expertise in the design of Li-ion batteries as well as experience and intellectual property relating to fast-charge batteries for application in trams and other forms of transport, such as e-buses, ferries and military applications.

VSPC will partner with battery researchers at CSIRO’s Clayton site in Victoria to design, manufacture and test fast-charge Li-ion battery prototypes.

The UQ team at the Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology – led by Professor Lianzhou Wang from the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology – has extensive capabilities with respect to the analysis of advanced materials.

VSPC will work with the UQ team on both the characterisation and optimisation of VSPC’s battery materials.

Soluna, meanwhile, will advise on manufacturing and also lead commercialisation of the fast-charge battery products developed.

“This is an unparalleled opportunity to combine VSPC’s battery-materials technology with some of the world’s leading research,” Lithium Australia managing director Adrian Griffin said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“The aim is to deliver an Australian product that puts this country at the forefront of battery development … and there’s more to it than trams; successful application of what is currently at our fingertips will lead to myriad other fast-charge applications, many of them not yet thought of.”

 

Email: info@lithium-au.com

Web: www.lithium-au.com

 

Southern Gold Raises $10 Million From Institutional Placement

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THE BOURSE WHISPERER: Southern Gold (ASX: SAU) received binding commitments from sophisticated and institutional investors to raise $10 million.

Southern Gold said the objective of the placement of just over 71.4 million ordinary shares at 14 cents per share was to lift the company’s gold exploration effort in South Korea to higher level, including a doubling of the field teams and diamond drilling rate.

The placement resulted in AIM-listed investment specialist, Metal Tiger subscribing for a cornerstone position under a subscription agreement that provides the right for Metal Tiger to nominate one director to the company Board.

Prominent geologist, Terry Grammer has been nominated under this provision.

Also joining the Southern Gold Board, effective immediately, is economic geologist, Douglas Kirwin, who has been acting in a technical advisory capacity for Southern Gold but now steps up into a much more prominent role as non-executive director of the company.

“This is a truly transformative transaction as it injects significant project advancement funding that can immediately lift the exploration work rate across our South Korea gold holdings,” Southern Gold managing director Simon Mitchell said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“Metal Tiger, as a new cornerstone investor, is technically sophisticated and highly selective.

“Its investment is an important vote of confidence in Southern Gold’s ability to leverage this unique position in South Korea into one of advanced discovery and value uplift.

“This is reinforced by the appointment to the Board of two industry-leading geologists, Douglas Kirwin and Terry Grammer, both with enviable discovery records, are top tier area-selection geologists and who appreciate what we are uncovering in South Korea.”

 

Email: info@southerngold.com.au

Web: www.southerngold.com.au

 

Ramelius Resources Makes Move on Spectrum Metals

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THE BOURSE WHISPERER: Ramelius Resources (ASX: RMS) and Spectrum Metals (ASX: SPX) have struck a Bid Implementation Agreement (BIA) that will result in Ramelius offering to acquire all of the issued and outstanding ordinary shares in Spectrum that it does not already own.

Spectrum Shareholders will receive one Ramelius share for every ten Spectrum shares held and cash consideration of 1.7 cents per Spectrum share held, valuing Spectrum shares at 15 cents each – a 52 per cent premium to Spectrum’s last closing price of 9.9 cents on 7 February 2020.

On Ramelius’ radar is Spectrum’s 100 per cent-owned Penny West gold project, located approximately 150 kilometres south-east of Ramelius’ Mt Magnet mining and processing operations north-east of Perth in Western Australia.

Spectrum recently announced a maiden Mineral Resource estimate for the Penny West gold project of 799,000 tonnes at 13.8 grams per tonne gold for 355,500 ounces, including 569,000 tonnes at 16.8g/t gold for 306,800 ounces at Penny North.

The two companies consider the proximity of Ramelius’ Mt Magnet processing facility to Spectrum’s Penny West gold project provides potential to realise capital cost savings and operational synergies in developing the Penny West while maintaining exposure to ongoing exploration potential.

“There is clear logic in the combination of Spectrum’s assets with Ramelius’ WA operations,” Ramelius Resources managing director Mark Zeptner said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“After the successful acquisition of the Marda and Tampia Hill gold projects in 2019, Ramelius is focussed on building on its growth strategy to extend mine life and maximise the value of existing infrastructure in its portfolio.

“This compelling offer is the next step in that growth strategy and is expected to provide significant benefits to both Spectrum and Ramelius shareholders.”

The deal appears a good one for shareholders of Spectrum, who will not only remain exposed to all of the upside from exploration and development of Penny West but will benefit from having access to cash flow generating assets at Edna May, Mt Magnet and Vivien, while gaining exposure to the Marda and Tampia Hill projects through being a shareholder of the enlarged combined group.

“The last year has been one of exceptional growth for Spectrum which we are particularly proud of,” Spectrum Metals chairman Alex Hewlett said.

“The Penny West gold system is developing into one of significant value, I am firmly of the view that this transaction with Ramelius will unlock the full value of Penny West for the benefit of all of our shareholders.

“The combination of Penny West with the existing assets of Ramelius will build a gold business capable of delivering exceptional future returns for our shareholders.”

 

Email: ramelius@rameliusresources.com.au

Web: www.rameliusresources.com.au

 

Lithium Australia Now 90% Owner of Battery Recycler Envirostream

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THE BOURSE WHISPERER: Lithium Australia (ASX: LIT) announced that it has taken its stake in Envirostream to a 90 per cent ownership interest.

Envirostream is the only company in Australia with the integrated capacity to collect, sort, shred and separate all the components of spent lithium ion-batteries (LIBs), making it a perfect fit with Lithium Australia’s battery-metal-processing expertise.

Envirostream is an onshore mixed-battery recycling company that offers safe, sustainable and innovative management solutions for the disposal of LIBs, which is emerging as one of the biggest challenges facing the domestic waste industry.

The company has agreements with retailers and manufacturers regarding spent batteries and is looking to expand a collection network nationally with safe, reliable battery recycling units that are fully compliant with Australian standards.

The aim is to enable every Australian with reasonable access to drop-off points for spent batteries, in order to avoid them being relegated to kerbside collections and landfill.

“Envirostream offers a complete recycling solution for spent lithium-ion batteries, and in so doing is helping to safeguard the Australian environment by diverting toxic materials from landfill,” Lithium Australia managing director Adrian Griffin said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“With recycling yields exceeding 90 per cent by weight, our business is a major contributor to the sustainability of the battery industry.”

 

Email: info@lithium-au.com

Web: www.lithium-au.com

 

Alicanto Exercises Swedish Project Acquisition Option

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THE BOURSE WHISPERER: Alicanto Minerals (ASX: AQI) exercised an option to acquire 100 per cent of shares in Zaffer (Australia) Pty Ltd.

Zaffer is the owner of the Oxberg and Naverberg VMS (Volcanogenic Massive Sulphide) projects within the highly endowed copper-gold-zinc-lead-silver Bergslagen Mining District of Southern Sweden where Alicanto has been undertaking exploration activities over the past six months.

This has consisted confirmation drilling on the Oxberg project that intersected high-grade copper, gold and zinc mineralisation beneath extensive surface anomalies, which remains open in all directions.

Extensive field mapping and surface geochemistry sampling defined both a new copper gold target and substantial extensions of base metal mineralisation confirming a +45km mineralised trend, which the company thinks deserves further exploration activity and maiden drill testing.

During this time, Alicanto acquired additional tenure consolidating the Oxberg-Naverberg-Wolf Mountain projects into a contiguous land package where it completed an initial IP (Induced Polarisation) geophysical survey highlighting a large-scale, undrilled copper-gold target, complemented by surface rock chip results.

At this stage, the Wolf Mountain prospect is undrilled and these newly identified IP anomalies represent high priority drill targets for the company.

The acquisition of the Oxberg and Naverberg project concessions will give Alicanto an aggregate 130 square kilometres holding on two major VMS horizons, including ownership of the historic Skyttgruvan mine and targets only five kilometres along strike from the historic Falun Mine.

The combined projects are located within the larger highly prospective Bergslagen District in Sweden, which is also host to the operating mines of Garpenberg and Zinkgruvan, operated by Boliden and Lundin respectively.

“We are very pleased to move ahead with the acquisition which is identified as an exciting district-scale project consisting of highly prospective and underexplored tenements within the prolific Bergslagen high-grade VMS district in Sweden,” Alicanto Minerals chairman Didier Murcia said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“High-grade deposits such as Garpenberg, Zinkgruvan and Falun highlight the prospectivity of the region, and we look forward to exploring new targets at Oxberg and Naverberg.

“The Oxberg-Naverberg project and newly identified Wolf Mountain project were selected following a detailed review of the region, conducted by geologists with more than 25 years’ experience in the region, including multiple discoveries.

“The exploration potential, and results received to date, strongly support our decision to move forward in Sweden.”

Alicanto indicated it intends to immediately follow up the identification of multiple large-scale IP anomalies with initial drill testing over the next few months as well as completing maiden diamond drilling over the Oxberg and Naverberg target areas in the coming months.

 

Email: admin@alicantominerals.com.au

Web: www.alicantominerals.com.au

 

African Gold Granted West Mali Exploration Permit

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THE BOURSE WHISPERER: African Gold (ASX: A1G) has been granted the Yatia-Sud Exploration Permit in the Kenieba region of West Mali.

African Gold said the grant allows for commencement of exploration works on the permit, which is located within the gold producing Kedougou-Kenieba Inlier and close to the Senegal Mali Shear Zone that is known to host over 45 Million ounces of gold deposits.

The Yatia-Sud area is scattered by active artisanal mining sites, which African Gold believes demonstrates the gold potential of the property.

Previous explorers on the site include BHP Minerals (1995), Alpine Exploration Corporation and Robex Resources (1996-1998), Great Quest Metals Ltd (2002-2007) and Desert Gold Ventures Inc (2008- 2018).

This historical work has intersected gold mineralisation by way of drilling and trenching at a number of locations on the Yatia property.

“As part of our strategy we continue to build and get access to highly prospective ground in the Kedougou-Kenieba Inlier in western Mali,” African Gold CEO Glen Edwards said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“Not just acreage but prospective permits in excellent geological address, on which mostly ‘piece meal’ historical work has already defined walk up targets.

“The inlier has long been known as a world class gold producing district hosting mines such as Sadiola, Yatela, Loulo, Gounkoto and Tabokoto.

“In more recent year’s exploration continues to deliver success after success such as Fekola, Sabodala, Boto, Kofi, Mako and many others.

“The company’s land position has been carefully chosen and contains under-explored areas hosting conceptual and empirical targets with real chances of delivering significant exploration success.”

African Gold indicted it has commenced its maiden exploration program that includes soil sampling, rock chipping and first pass shallow drilling on initial target areas on its other granted permits in the Kedougou-Kenieba Inlier in western Mali.

 

Email: admin@african-gold.com

Web: www.african-gold.com

 

Antipa Minerals Welcomes Continued Rio Tinto Interest at Citadel

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THE BOURSE WHISPERER: Antipa Minerals (ASX: AZY) reported that Rio Tinto Exploration Pty Limited has elected to proceed with the next earn-in stage into Antipa’s Citadel project which is located immediately adjacent to Rio Tinto’s Winu project in the Paterson Province in Western Australia.

Antipa Minerals explained that Rio Tinto recently earned an initial 51 per cent interest in Citadel having sole funded $11 million of exploration expenditure from when the Citadel project Farm-in Agreement was originally signed with Antipa.

The passing of the expenditure milestone triggered the formation of the Citadel Joint Venture between the two parties.

Under the terms of the Farm-in Agreement, Rio Tinto may spend an additional $14 million to increase its interest in the Citadel JV to 65 per cent.

Rio Tinto has informed Antipa that it will move forward into this second stage, however the original period in which this additional amount was to be spent was three years, and now the parties have agreed that this will be extended to five years to allow for an orderly completion of exploration activities.

Antipa anticipates Rio Tinto will commit to an exploration program in excess of $2 million in the 2020 calendar year, with field activities currently planned to commence in April.

“We are very pleased that Rio Tinto has decided to continue to sole fund exploration on the Citadel tenements and we look forward to extending what has been a very rewarding partnership to date,” Antipa Minerals executive chairman Stephen Power said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“The Calibre and Magnum resources within Citadel have significant potential for further growth which, together with the regional exploration targets, establishes excellent growth prospects for the company.”

The Citadel project sits beneath shallow cover and hosts a global Mineral Resource of 63.8 million tonnes at 0.8 grams per tonne gold and 0.2 per cent copper for 1.6 million ounces of gold and 127,000 tonnes of copper.

The resource is split over two deposits, Calibre (47.7Mt at 0.9g/t gold and 0.15% copper for 1.3Moz gold and 69,500t copper) and Magnum (16.1Mt at 0.7 g/t gold and 0.37% copper for 339,000oz gold and 57,800t copper), both within 45km of Rio Tinto’s Winu copper-gold-silver deposit.

 

Web: www.antipaminerals.com.au

 

Neometals Produces High Purity Dioxide Hydrolsate

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THE BOURSE WHISPERER: Neometals (ASX: NMT) has successfully produced high purity (>98%) titanium hydrolysate (hydrated titanium dioxide ‐ TiO2.2H2O) from the titanium recovery stage of the Australian pilot plant trial at the company’s Barrambie titanium and vanadium project in Western Australia.

Neometals noted that the titanium recovery from Barrambie concentrate exceeded 90 per cent, adding that the batch Titanium Pilot results confirm the technical feasibility of the company’s process at pilot scale for the production of a high purity intermediate (hydrolysate) used in the titanium pigment process.

The Barrambie resource contains high‐grade ilmenite intergrown with a vanadium‐bearing magnetite (iron).

The Neometals process flowsheet has demonstrated it can produce a superior intermediate feed material that is safer, cleaner and cheaper to produce titanium pigment from.

Further upside in this flowsheet for Barrambie is the recovery of the accessory vanadium and iron in a saleable form.

Neometals explained the Titanium Pilot is the first key evaluation milestone under a memorandum of understanding (MoU) the company has with Chinese metallurgical group, IMUMR.

Under the terms of the MoU, if IMUMR funds the demonstration plant program at its extensive research facilities in China, and both parties agree to jointly fund a formal evaluation study for a mining and concentrating operation at Barrambie with subsequent downstream processing in China, the parties may negotiate in good faith the terms of a 50:50 production JV.

Samples of titanium hydrolysate have been freighted for evaluation by prospective concentrate offtake customers, being titanium pigment producers within and outside of China.

Neometals indicated the next evaluation step is the recovery and production of a vanadium by‐product from the primary leaching stage of the Titanium Pilot Plant.

While all this is going in, Neometals is preparing approximately 10 tonnes of gravity and magnetic concentrates from the high titanium grade Eastern Band for a proposed Chinese demonstration plant trial.

The company anticipates the vanadium test work and concentrates shipment should be completed by the end of the March Quarter 2020.

“We are confident our flowsheet can produce the highest value‐in‐use for potential customers and recover maximum value from the deposit for Neometals and its partners,” Neometals managing director Chris Reed said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“Proving an ore can be concentrated and converted to high purity chemicals at good recoveries is the first step in attracting quality offtakers to enable the development of globally significant industrial mineral projects, whether they be lithium or titanium.

“The outcomes to date bode well for advancing our commercialisation plans in 2020.”

 

Email: info@neometals.com.au

Web: www.neometals.com.au