Sheffield Resources Signs Maiden Thunderbird Offtake Deal

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THE BOURSE WHISPERER: Sheffield Resources (ASX: SFX) has secured a maiden binding offtake agreement for the future sale of premium zircon from the company’s Thunderbird mineral sands project in Western Australia.

Sheffield Resources said the agreement had been struck with Ruby Ceramics Pvt Ltd , which it described as , “a highly respected, industry leading Indian ceramics company”.

The deal is based on a minimum annual supply of 6,000 tonnes of premium zircon, for an initial three year period, which represents approximately 12 per cent of the estimated total volume of premium zircon to be produced from Stage 1 of Thunderbird.

“The Agreement with Ruby Ceramics provides a strong endorsement of Thunderbird and the quality premium zircon product to be generated from the project over the 42 year life of mine,” Sheffield Resources managing director Bruce McFadzean said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“This maiden binding offtake agreement is a milestone achievement for Sheffield and is an important de-risking step as we progress project development.

“We welcome this relationship with Ruby and remain steadfast in delivering our offtake and funding objectives over the coming months.

“Negotiations continue towards signing binding agreements with counterparties who have already signed non-binding memorandums of understanding (MoUs) in relation to the sale of premium zircon and zircon concentrate and Sheffield’s high-quality low-temperature roast (LTR) ilmenite.

“Collectively these agreements account for an estimated 70 per cent of premium zircon, 45 per cent of zircon concentrate and 45 per cent of LTR ilmenite products from Stage 1 of Thunderbird.”

Email: info@sheffieldresources.com.au

Website: www.sheffieldresources.com.au

Middle Island Makes Second Sandstone Neighbor Acquisition

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THE BOURSE WHISPERER: Middle Island Resources (ASX: MDI) has signed an Option Deed to acquire a 100 per cent interest in the Dandaraga gold project.

Middle Island has executed the option deed by way of its 100 per cent-owned subsidiary company, Sandstone Operations Pty Ltd (SOPL), under which SOPL has the option to acquire the Dandaraga gold project, comprising granted Exploration Licence E57/1028, from SLS Exploration Pty Ltd.

The option deed requires payment of an initial option fee of $20,000, with the option to acquire a 100 per cent interest exercisable at any time within the next three years on payment of a further $200,000 in cash and/or MDI ordinary shares.

Dandaraga is situated 16 kilometres southeast of Middle Island’s Sandstone gold project and processing plant, and 4km south of the haul road from the Lord Henry and Lord Nelson deposits.

The Dandaraga project incorporates a series of historic gold workings that remain untested or poorly tested by modern gold exploration, of which the Agnes workings are developed on a zone of stockwork quartz veining within a dolerite unit, adjacent to which free gold has been identified in a highly brecciated, gossanous and quartzveined BIF.

Middle Island said the Dandaraga acquisition presents both an immediate and attractive open pit exploration target at the Agnes gold prospect, and consolidates considerable exploration acreage into the company’s Sandstone gold tenure.

The company considers the transaction to be consistent with its stated strategy to extend and enhance the proposed production schedule for the 100 per cent-owned Sandstone gold processing plant.

It will be the second such expansion, following the company’s recent option to acquire the Wirraminna gold project, situated immediately adjacent to the Sandstone project and within 1km of the processing plant.

“Dandaraga represents a second consolidation for Middle Island in the space of three months, again delivering an opportunity to extend and enhance the proposed production schedule for the Sandstone gold processing operation,” Middle Island Resources managing director Rick Yeates said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“The Agnes prospect is considered to offer a significant, more immediate, exploration target, while extensions of the Agnes dolerite provide additional exploration upside, all of which can be readily and cost-effectively explored via conventional means.”

Email: info@middleisland.com.au

Website: www.middleisland.com.au

Rumble Resources to Acquire Barramine Project

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THE BOURSE WHISPERER: Rumble Resources (ASX: RTR) has signed a binding option agreement to acquire up to 70 per cent of the Barramine copper-lead-zinc-silver project in Western Australia.

Rumble Resources said the binding option agreement allows it to complete due diligence for up to three months, after which time it may elect to enter a Joint Venture agreement.

The Barramine project E45/4368 is located approximately 150 kilometres from Marble Bar in the Pilbara and is contiguous to the company’s Braeside project, where it recently identified base metal trends and VTEM conductors that appear to extend north into the Barramine project.

Rumble explained the Barramine project consists of a number of untested high-grade copper, lead, zinc, silver and gold prospects.

Two locations within the Barramine Project have been subject to historical prospecting pits and minor grab sampling for base metals in the Barramine and Camel Hump prospects.

Previous work has shown the historical samples were taken on the structures to be similar in style to the Braeside-style structures to the south east. 

At the Barramine prospect a channel sample collected by Blatchford in 1925 assayed 25.32 per cent copper, 279 grams per tonne silver, and a trace of lead.

At the Camel Hump prospect, rock chip samples were assayed up to 13.4 per cent copper, 6 per cent lead, 1.8 per cent zinc and 131g/t silver.

Limited modern exploration to the South East of the Barramine project with the poly-metallic mineralisation not been tested by detailed geophysics, geochemistry and drilling.

Rumble indicated that, subject to successful completion of due diligence and exercise of the option, the company will then outline its proposed exploration program.

“Rumble are pleased to secure the option to acquire the high-grade Barramine project,” Rumble Resources managing director Shane Sikora said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“Our recently announced exploration results at the Braeside project identified significant base metal trends and VTEM conductors that appear to extend north into the geological structures of the Barramine project.

“Historic sampling has highlighted the high-grade nature of the project with the key geological structures unexplored for base metals with modern exploration techniques.

“Based on the earlier litho-geochemistry work competed by Rumble which identified the VMS potential of the Braeside project, and the exploration work completed to date, Rumble has strategically worked to secure all the prospective ground in the Braeside project area in the event a new VMS province is discovered.”

Website: www.rumbleresources.com.au

Metallica Minerals Sells SCONI Project for $10M

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THE BOURSE WHISPERER: Metallica Minerals (ASX: MLM) has executed a Sale and Purchase Agreement with Australian Mines (ASX: AUC) for the SCONI cobalt-nickel-scandium project in North Queensland.

Metallica Minerals said the $10 million cash and shares sale covers 100 per cent of the project tenements to Australian Mines, superseding a Farm-in and Joint Venture Agreement announced by Metallica in October 2016.

The terms of the transaction include payment of $3.5 million in cash by Australian Mines to Metallica and the issue of $1.5 million worth of Australian Mines shares to Metallica upon the completion of a Definitive Feasibility Study by Australian Mines or by 30 June 2018, whichever comes first.

A further $5 million in cash or issue of more Australian Mines shares following the commencement of commercial production from the SCONI project.

Australian Mines shares issued to Metallica will be subject to a three-month escrow period;

“With Metallica’s focus firmly on the development of the Urquhart bauxite project, the SCONI project has become a non-core asset, which was reflected in the earn-in agreement signed with Australian Mines in 2016,” Metallica Minerals CEO Simon Slesarewich said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“This transaction represents an opportunity for SCONI to be progressed even more effectively, to the benefit of both parties.

“Metallica is set to retain significant exposure to the project by taking equity in Australian Mines and having additional payments linked to commercial production.

“The cash to be received will be used to advance the Urquhart bauxite project and potentially to assist Metallica with its strategic objective of increasing bauxite production to five to seven million tonnes annually, over the next three to five years.”

Email: admin@metallicaminerals.com.au

Website: www.metallicaminerals.com.au

Australian Potash Completes Review of Yamarna Gold Project

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THE BOURSE WHISPERER: Australian Potash (ASX: APC) provided a progress report on exploration at the company’s Yamarna gold project, north-east of Laverton in Western Australia’s Eastern Goldfields.

The Australian Potash tenements cover an estimated 65 kilometres of strike, 60 kilometres north-west of the 6-million-ounce Gruyere mine development of neighbour Gold Road Resources (asx: GOR).

APC has had a review carried out of the Yamarna gold project by CSA Global, which it said shows the project encompasses an interpreted lateral ramp thrust (LRT), which has offset the Yamarna Shear Zone to the west.

The review interpreted a dilational zone that opens up through the middle of APC’s tenement holding with 18 gold targets identified along a 62km strike length, including nine areas now considered highly prospective.

Australian Potash said it anticipates drill targets will be identified by the current work program, adding that the architecture of the LRT is thought to be favourable for orogenic gold mineralisation, being considered appropriate for hydrothermal fluid flow and in which structural-stratigraphic traps are considered likely to occur.

CSA Global have noted the structural setting interpreted for the Yamarna gold project has a number of points of similarity to the architecture and setting of the world-class Timmins district of the southern Abitibi in Canada.

“In progressing the exploration program on the Yamarna gold project, our geological team have this week finalised their review and resampling of pulps and chips from the limited amount of previous work done across the project area,” Australian Potash executive chairman Matt Shackleton said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“Two hundred and thirty samples will be submitted for multi-element assay in the coming days.

“These multi-element assay results will feed into the model being developed by industry leading geological consultancy CSA Global, following their recent review into the prospectivity of the Yamarna Greenstone Belt tenementsi and will significantly enhance understanding of regional level structural and mineralisation controls.

“The next steps in this exploration program will be field based, collecting further samples for multielement analysis, and detailed mapping to better define higher priority drill targets.

“We expect to have completed this first stage field program by the end of September, and very much look forward to commencing drilling in Q4.”

Website: www.australianpotash.com.au

Middle Island Resources Achieves High Two Mile Hill Gold Recoveries

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THE BOURSE WHISPERER: Middle Island Resources (ASX: MDI) declared it had received “exceptional results” from a preliminary metallurgical testwork program undertaken on the Two Mile Hill tonalite deeps mineralisation at the company’s 100 per cent- owned Sandstone gold project in Western Australia.

Middle Island said recent metallurgical testwork results had indicated gold recoveries of 93 per cent to 97 per cent for the Two Mile Hill tonalite deeps mineralisation at the Sandstone gold project.

The testwork, undertaken by Australian Laboratory Services (ALS) in Perth, used continuous intervals of diamond drilling core that were submitted to make a ‘ROM composite’ for gravity gold recovery (GRG), followed by leach testwork.

A bond ball mill work index test was also undertaken on additional diamond core.

Middle Island said the testwork had demonstrated over 58 per cent of gold is recoverable via gravity concentration prior to leaching with the leach testwork exhibiting rapid leach kinetics, with 90 per cent of total gold extraction achieved within the first two hours on run-of-mine (ROM) composite samples following gravity gold recovery.

The bond ball mill work index (16.4kWh/t) confirmed ore amenability for treatment through the Sandstone mill.

Middle Island indicated that with more than 58 per cent of the gold recoverable via gravity concentration in laboratory testwork, the Sandstone treatment plant gravity circuit will be utilised when treating ore derived from the tonalite deeps deposit.

The company anticipates future plant gold recoveries from the tonalite deeps to match historic recoveries from the Two Mile Hill oxide material treated late in the 1990s.

Further drilling is underway at the Two Mile Hill deposit to extend a previous hole that ended in mineralisation at 498.9m depth, with an intercept of 66.9m at 3.27g/t gold to at least 850m, and potentially up to 1,000m depth.

In addition, reverse circulation percussion (RC) pre-collared diamond drilling will also assess up-dip extensions of high-grade, BIF-hosted gold mineralisation, which includes a best intercept of 22m at 23.8g/t gold (true width), adjacent to the Two Mile Hill tonalite.

“While the Two Mile Hill tonalite deeps mineralisation was anticipated to be metallurgically benign, these results confirm and, indeed, exceed our expectations,” Middle Island Resources managing director Rick Yeates said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“This is particularly the case with respect to the high gravity recoverable gold and the rapid leach kinetics demonstrated by the testwork.

“The modest bond work index of 16.4kWh/t is also an exceptional result, no doubt due to the ameliorating influence of the pervasive sericite-carbonate alteration within the tonalite.

“Equally, the low indicative reagent (cyanide and lime) consumptions represent a significant bonus.

“While this testwork program is preliminary in nature, the consistency of the tonalite-hosted mineralisation is such that we would not reasonably anticipate any significant deviation in any future testwork.

“The results also serve to vindicate the company’s decision to extend diamond hole MSDD156 from 500 metres to at least 850 metres depth, and potentially as much as 1,000 metres depth.

“The result also provides the confidence to progress further drilling and studies on what is evolving into a substantial, well-mineralised target.”

Email: info@middleisland.com.au

Website: www.middleisland.com.au

Impact Minerals Raises $2M to Advance Commonwealth Project

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THE BOURSE WHISPERER: Impact Minerals (ASX: IPT) completed a Placement of $2 million of the shortfall from the company’s recent Share Purchase Plan.

Impact Minerals revealed the placement followed on the heels of recent results returned from an ongoing drill program underway at the company’s 100 per cent-owned Commonwealth project, located north of Orange in New South Wales.

The company said the funds would be primarily used for the ongoing drill program and resource work at the Commonwealth gold-silver project.

“We are very pleased to have had strong and mostly unsolicited demand for this shortfall because we are now well funded to continue the major drill program at our emerging high-grade gold-silver discovery at Silica Hill,” Impact Minerals managing director Dr Mike Jones said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

Impact Minerals said it had received firm commitments from sophisticated and professional investors to raise the $2 million through the placement of approximately 111 million shares and 166 million free attaching quoted options.

The shares and options issued under the placement will be issued on the same terms and conditions as those under the Share Purchase Plan, being 1.8 cents for each share, with three free attaching quoted options exercisable at 4 cents on or before 15 June 2020 for every two new shares subscribed for.

Email: info@impactminerals.com.au

Website: www.impactminerals.com.au

Blackham Resources Ties Up $72M Funding Facility

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THE BOURSE WHISPERER: Blackham Resources (ASX: BLK) secured up to $72 million in funds to continue to advance the Expansion Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) at the company’s 100% owned 6.2 million ounce Matilda and Wiluna gold operation in Western Australia.

Blackham Resources said the funds would allow it to manage its balance sheet whilst it continues to demonstrate improving operational cash flows from the operation.

The company explained the funding arrangement is underpinned by the ability to draw up to $72 million from The Australian Special Opportunity Fund, a New York-based institutional investor, managed by The Lind Partners.

Blackham indicated it plans to utilise its operating cash flows to fund the Expansion PFS but will also require a suitable funding solution.

The Lind Facility provides the company with time to choose the optimal funding solution.

Blackham said its final funding solution for the Operation’s Expansion will ideally mean:
• the securing of a fully funded solution for the Expansion;
• minimising dilution to existing Blackham shareholders;
• providing flexible funding solutions to ensure continuation of exploration and reserve definition; and
• facilitating an increase in the company’s current hedge facilities to manage gold price risk.

“As Blackham demonstrates strengthening production from its gold operations and pushes forward with the Expansion DFS, the Lind Facility gives the company maximum flexibility in choosing the best future funding solution for shareholders to grow the Matilda-Wiluna gold operation into a 200,000 ounces per annum long mine life asset,” Blackham Resources managing director Bryan Dixon said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“Lind Partners has long been a supporter of Blackham and we are pleased to have renewed our association with Lind.”

Email: info@blackhamresources.com.au

Website: www.blackhamresources.com.au

Blackham Resources Confirms Wiluna Expansion

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THE BOURSE WHISPERER: Blackham Resources (ASX: BLK) released results of an Expansion Preliminary Feasibility Study (PFS) on the company’s 100 per cent-owned Matilda and Wiluna Gold Operation in Western Australia.

Blackham Resources informed the market that the PFS demonstrated robust economics and improved economies of scale supporting an expansion to the operation.

The company explained that historically, over the last 20 years, previous owners had relied on underground feed to support the operation.

Blackham has done things differently by identifying 15 million tonnes at 2.3 grams per tonne gold (85% at Reserve classification) in open pit feed, which is included in the Expansion PFS Mine Plan.

Blackham has identified, consolidated, and defined orebodies all within 20 kilometrs of the existing Wiluna gold plant.

From the operation’s existing Resource base of 61 million tonnes at 3.1g/t for 6.2 million ounces of gold, the Expansion PFS brings into Reserves 1.2 million ounces (15Mt at 2.5g/t) – an increase of 116 per cent in one year.


Source: Company announcement 

“The Wiluna Expansion Plan aims to achieve a step change in gold production from the 6.2 million ounce resource at the Matilda/Wiluna Operation,” Blackham Resources managing director Bryan Dixon said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“The Expansion PFS has confirmed gold production averaging 207,000 ounces per annum is achievable on a very capital efficient basis for a likely long mine life.

“Very few Australian gold operations operate at this scale with long mine lives, which proves the significance of the Wiluna goldfield as a major gold province for the future.”

Email: info@blackhamresources.com.au

Website: www.blackhamresources.com.au

Southern Gold JV Partner Locates South Korea Access Points

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THE BOURSE WHISPERER: Southern Gold (ASX: SAU) has been informed of positive progress at the company’s Gubong gold project in South Korea.

Southern Gold said it had received notification through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Southern Gold Korea (SGK) from development partner, London Stock Exchange-listed Bluebird Merchant Ventures that it has located historical access points at the Gubong gold project.

The company explained this work has been conducted under the farm-in phase of the Farm-In and Joint Venture Agreement it signed with Bluebird in March.

The location of access points has been made by a combination of referral to historical maps, the use of ground penetrating radar and advice from local community members, some of whom worked at the mine in the 1960s.

Bluebird has advised Southern Gold that in addition to the Decline Shaft, access points have also been located at Korean Main Adit #2, Adit #3 and Adit #4 with early indications showing some effort has been made to close off the mine with rubble or soil fill that will require excavation.

Bluebird does not anticipate this being an impediment to progress.

Southern Gold said that once underground access has been gained, ground conditions will be studied carefully and survey work completed to establish a good baseline for future work.

As this happens that Bluebird team will begin mapping and sampling the dry areas of the mine to establish the extent of remnant ore available either in partially completed development or left behind by previous workers.

“Bluebird is making very good progress at the Gubong gold project…in what has been trying operating conditions with significant rainfall and having to work from old historical references, the Bluebird team have shown great perseverance and been rewarded by locating multiple access points into the mine,” Southern Gold managing director Simon Mitchell said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“I have also been impressed with the professional way they have gone about their business and in particular being careful with retained water management and close engagement of the community.

“Hats off also to our local Southern Gold Korea team who have been instrumental in establishing excellent relations with the county government and local community.

“This sort of work is always critical and will hold us in good stead for the long-term progress of the project.

“Once Bluebird get underground I think it will astound investors and analysts alike as to the scale of what we are dealing with at Gubong and the potential for a significant mining operation will start to become obvious.

“In the longer term we believe Gubong will evolve into a significant company building asset.”

Email: info@southerngold.com.au

Website: www.southerngold.com.au