Day One Announcements Set Tone for Successful RIU Explorers Conference

/in , /by

THE CONFERENCE CALLER: There were plenty of ASX announcements from companies eager to attract attention of delegates to get things started on Day One of the RIU Explorers Conference.

 

Global Lithium Resources (ASX: GL1) reported the results of a Scoping Study carried out at the company’s Manna lithium project east of Kalgoorlie in Western Australia.

Global Lithium owns 100 per cent of the Manna lithium project that hosts a Total Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) of 32.7 million tonnes at 1 per cent lithium oxide (Li2O), with 58 per cent in the Indicated category.

“The results of the Scoping Study show the true quality and real potential of the Manna lithium project,” Global Lithium managing director Ron Mitchell said.

“The exploration team worked extremely hard throughout 2022 to provide a solid foundation for the Manna lithium project.

“The development team will now diligently progress all the necessary technical components and engineering work streams to ensure the project is sufficiently de-risked allowing the company to progress to a final investment decision next year.”

 

READ MORE HERE

 

Cygnus Metals (ASX: CY5) announced assay results from the first two drill holes undertaken at the company’s Pontax lithium project in the James Bay region of Québec, Canada.

Results from the first two holes returned multiple intercepts including individual intersections of up to 16.5 metres at 1.1 per cent Li2O that are some of the thickest Cygnus has achieved to date, which it said highlights the scope for growth at Pontax.

“These are very strong results which demonstrate Pontax has both grade and width,” Cygnus Metals managing director David Southam said.

“Given that spodumene has already been outlined over a 700 metres strike length, the results highlight the significant potential for growth through systematic exploration.”

 

READ MORE HERE

 

Miramar Resources (ASX: M2R) declared results from analysis of end of hole samples from aircore drilling it believes to have increased the potential for the company’s 100 per cent-owned Whaleshark project to host iron oxide copper gold (IOCG) mineralisation.

End of hole (EOH) samples from the 2022 aircore drilling campaign were analysed for a multi-element suite, including IOCG pathfinders with one hole returning the highest copper and cobalt results Miramar has seen from Whaleshark to date.

“At Whaleshark, we have the right aged rocks, the right style of alteration and the right combination of elements typically associated with IOCG mineralisation,” Miramar Resources executive chairman Allan Kelly said.

“As we continue to explore the project, we see more similarities with the signatures of various large IOCG deposits.”

 

READ MORE HERE

 

Ausgold (ASX: AUC) informed punters of initial results from a multi-rig drilling program it commenced in December 2022 at the company’s 100 per cent-owned 2.16 million ounces Katanning gold project (KGP) in Western Australia.

The company received initial program results for reverse circulation (RC) drilling (55 holes for 4,763m) it declared to demonstrate the presence of new high-grade zones of mineralisation along strike from and within the projects’ Central Zone and Southern Zone Resource areas.

“High-grade results from new drilling highlights the strong case for the Katanning gold project to be a much larger project,” Ausgold managing director Matthew Greentree said.

“The 25,000 metres drilling program is testing areas along strike from known Resource areas.

“With the majority of the program still underway, these early results anticipate further discoveries to extend Resource areas and expand targeted opportunities regionally at the Duggan, Stanley and Lake Magenta prospects.”

 

READ MORE HERE

 

All Indicators Point to a Big First Day at RIU Explorers 2023

/in , /by

THE CONFERENCE CALLER: The competition for delegate attention is already heating up on the eve of the RIU Explorers Conference with presenting companies releasing eye catching announcements.

 

Alto Metals (ASX: AME) reported RC drilling at the historic high-grade Oroya Mine, located within the company’s 100 per cent-owned Sandstone gold project intersected high-grade gold mineralisation beyond the boundaries of historical workings.

The wide-spaced step out drilling confirmed Alto’s current geological model as it targets extensions of the Sandstone Main reef and unmined mineralisation to the north-west beyond the north end of the pit, along with extensions down dip to the west.

READ MORE HERE

 

Medallion Metals (ASX: MM8) reported further expansion of the JORC 2012 Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) at the company’s Ravensthorpe gold project in Western Australia.

The expanded MRE at Ravensthorpe now totals 19.5 million tonnes at 2.1 grams per tonne gold and 0.3 per cent copper for 1.3 million ounces of gold and 59,000 tonnes of contained copper metal.

There are 790,000 ounces (61%) of the gold and 36,000 tonnes of the copper (60%) metal estimated in the her confidence Indicated category, the remainder is in Inferred.

READ MORE HERE

 

Azure Minerals (ASX: AZS) intersected lithium-bearing pegmatites while drilling diamond holes in late 2022, testing nickel targets on its Andover project in WA.

Azure drilled ANDD0199 to test a nickel target near the an airborne electromagnetic (VTEM) anomaly, which at a downhole depth of 313.9 metres returned a strong lithium intersection of 1.51 per cent lithium oxide (Li2O) over 7.2m, including an internal high-grade zone of 1.87 per cent Li2O over 3.1m.

Azure interpreted this result to be further evidence of the mineral endowment of Andover as a battery metals project hosting nickel, copper, cobalt and now lithium.

READ MORE HERE

 

Encounter Resources (ASX: ENR) declared confirmation of lithium and other critical minerals bearing LCT pegmatites at the Crawford target part of the company’s Junction lithium project in the Northern Territory.

“The first on-ground activities completed have identified a trend of lithium and critical minerals bearing LCT pegmatites,” Encounter Resources managing director Will Robinson said.

“Crawford is a new critical minerals occurrence in the North Arunta and is located approx. five kilometres east of Core Lithium’s Ringing Rocks prospect which further serves to highlight the potential of the broader Junction region.”

READ MORE HERE

 

Dreadnought Resources (ASX: DRE) announced an Exploration Target for the approx. 40kms strike of the Yin Ironstone Complex within the company’s 100 per cent-owned Mangaroon project, located in the Gascoyne Region of WA.

The Exploration Target follows Dreadnought’s recent expansion of the Yin Ironstone Complex to 43kms of strike, combined with extensive geological knowledge of the REE ironstones in the region has provided the foundation for the Exploration Target.

The Exploration Target covers over 40kms of the near surface ironstones at Yin and importantly, excludes the current Yin Resource, any mineralisation at depth (underground potential) and the C1-C7 carbonatites.

READ MORE HERE

 

Black Cat Syndicate (ASX: BC8) updated the JORC 2012 Mineral Resource at Paulsens Underground, part of the company’s 100 per cent-owned Paulsens Gold Operation in WA.

Black Cat has increased the total gold Resources at the Paulsens Gold Operation by 73 per cent to 401,000 ounces at 3.3g/t gold.

Total Measured and Indicated Resources increased 65 per cent to 163,000 ounces at 8g/t gold.

“To triple the underground Resource after only two months of drilling is a sensational start to our growth and mining ambitions at Paulsens,” Black Cat Syndicate managing director Gareth Solly said.

“We see huge upside in the near mine area as well as potential repeat targets and the greater region.”

READ MORE HERE

 

De Grey Mining (ASX: DEG) has identified a new structurally controlled gold zone at the Withnell gold deposit, within the company’s Mallina gold project in the Pilbara.

De Grey reported drilling results from Withnell South it said provides opportunity to increase shallow, open pit resources.

Multiple new lodes were defined over 800m of strike and 200m vertical depth remaining open to the east and at depth.

The company believes these demonstrate the potential to increase the resource base and future production from its existing, structurally hosted, regional deposits.

READ MORE HERE

 

Caspin Resources (ASX: CPN) reported on final drilling, rock chip and soil geochemistry results from recent programs at the company’s Mount Squires project in WA.

There recent activity identified a two kilometres long gold in soil anomaly on the Handpump Fault, known as the Regal prospect, which is the largest and strongest gold geochemical anomaly Caspin has defined at the project to date.

This is surrounded by several other smaller gold anomalies.

Further gold and molybdenum results were achieved from aircore drilling at the Duchess prospect where deeper RC drill testing is to be carried out in 2023.

READ MORE HERE

 

 

Once More into The Conference Breech for 2022

/in , /by

THE CONFERENCE CALLER: The conference season comes to a close next week with the RIU Resurgence Conference in Perth.

As always, the line-up of companies in attendance and presenting will be varied in both commodities and market caps.

A quick look at the table to our left shows the Resurgence Conference has once again attracted companies that represent investment opportunity across the board.

De Grey Mining stands out with its $1.85 billion market cap, and it will be remiss of any market watcher to not take the opportunity to quiz technical director Andy Beckwith regarding the recent Gold Road Resources / Barrick Gold scuttlebutt being peddled across different media platforms.

One anomaly that stands out is the $1 market cap attributed to Burley Minerals. We put the code into the ASX machine a number of times hoping they had amended this, but that is what the ASX says, so that is what we report here.

We did our research well after the company had announced its acquisition of the Chubb Lithium project in Quebec, Canada, at least we were onto things.

Looking at the table we can see there are a lot of different numbers between $1.85 Billion and $1, which can only mean there are a lot of different stories on offer and, as we always say here at The Roadhouse, the in-person nature of a non-line conference enables Joe and Joanne Public the chance to ask questions.

The conference provides punters with the chance to check out the ‘Christmas stocking bargains’ on offer.

The market has taken a hit of late and now could be the time to take a well-informed plunge on some of the stocks on offer.

Remember, The Roadhouse is not an investment adviser, but merely an introductory service. Do your own homework or speak with appropriate professionals before making such investments.

Gold companies lead the roll call at 19 on the register, however, should we tote up the battery metals companies that include lithium, nickel, rare earths, and copper the tables are turned with just shy of 30 companies calling present when their name is called.

Keep an eye out on The Roadhouse web page next week as we drop all the interviews from Resurgence 2022.

There are companies attending we haven’t had the chance to chat with during the year, so we will be taking the opportunity to do so, and we encourage you to come along and do the same.

 

 

 

CHECK OUT THE CONFERENCE PROGRAM HERE

 

Nickel: A Complex Commodity with a Bright Future

/in , /by

THE CONFERENCE CALLER: The transition of energy as we look at electrifying our transport options through the application of renewable generation is going to require a lot more critical minerals than what we are currently using or finding.

This becomes way too obvious when we look at the periodic table of elements, a reference point we have been using as long as we have been using the elements it lists, and highlight the metals that, due to there use in our electrified future, are becoming more and more critical by the day.

This point was highlighted by CRU vice president sales – APAC, Daniel Rodriguez during the opening session of the Australian Nickel Conference in Perth.

 

 

“When we look at the periodic table, at the commodities that are required to support a low carbon future and energy transition away from coal and oil and gas, it places a great deal of stress on the smaller commodities,” he said.

“Some of these markets are in short supply or have processing risk and/or political risk.”

Copper, nickel, cobalt, and rare earths were given special mention by Rodriguez regarding the risks faced by each as there are limited substitutions for the role each plays as well as geological and processing restraints.

Being the keynote speaker at a nickel conference, Rodriguez spoke more on that particular commodity than the others.

“Nickel costs in line with a lot of other costs have significantly increased due to inflation,” he said.

“We have seen a sixty per cent year on year increase across the whole industry, and that’s across all nickel products.

“These are the highest levels we have seen since 2007.”

In the September 2022 Resources and Energy Quarterly from the Department of Industry, Science and Resources the Office of the Chief Economist predicted, “nickel prices are expected to average US$24,900 a tonne in 2022, boosted by the fallout from the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

“Prices are expected to ease over the outlook period, as a result of increased Indonesian production and improving liquidity in the LME nickel market.

These recent high prices have been good for Australia’s nickel export earnings, which reached $4.4 billion in 2021–22.

The DISR bean counters anticipate export earnings to rise to $5.1 billion in 2022–23, before easing to $4.6 billion in 2023–24.

“Australia’s export volumes are estimated to rise from 157,000 tonnes in 2021–22 to 202,000 tonnes in 2023–24, supported by the need for Australian nickel for the transition to low-emissions technologies,” they said.
The demand for nickel over the long term is that it should retain its global demand drivers.

Rodriguez said CRU expects the demand for nickel in batteries alone to reach 1.1 million tonnes by 2026 and to then continue that rise.

“We do see Asia-Pacific being a significant influencer in the global landscaper for nickel,” he said.

“We certainly know it is a buzz commodity, that’s for sure, and we at CRU think it to be one of the more complex commodities that we cover, but obviously one that has an extremely bright future.”

That demand is sure to increase in Europe where electric vehicle demand is thriving to the point where waiting lists are longer than the distance most EVs can travel on one charge.

 

New World Metals Investment Series 2022 Melbourne

/in , /by

Tony Rovira Azure Minerals ASX: AZS

Jeremy Robinson RareX ASX: REE

David Crook Charger Metals ASX: CHR

Tim Mason Eagle Mountain Mining ASX: EM2

Iggy Tan Altech Chemicals ASX: ATC

Bruce Maluish VRX Silica ASX: VRX

Keith Coughlan European Metals ASX: EMH

Gavin England Narryer Metals ASX: NYM

Brendan Cummins Black Canyon ASX: BCA

John Prineas St George Mining ASX: SGQ

Dean Tuck Dreadnought Resources ASX: DRE

Andrew Radonjic Venture Minerals ASX: VMS

Coal Elimination Makes Room for Gas and Renewables Emission Reduction

/in , /by

THE CONFERENCE CALLER: RISC managing director Martin Wilkes opened his address at the 2022 RIU Good Oil and Gas Energy Conference in Perth by telling the crowd that although he has green tendencies, he is a pragmatist rather than an activist.

This, he said, enabled him to approach the thesis of his presentation, Emissions Reduction and Energy Security, Can We Have Both?

Confident that he would not alienate the industry types in the audience, Wilkes began by showing a graph that demonstrated the energy intensity use for a number of western countries.

France, he explained, was way below the average due mainly to its reliance on nuclear energy.

In first and second place respectively, Australia and the US share similar trajectories, the difference between the two being our nuclear moratorium, but both have introduced limited restrictions on coal-fired power, sending each graph on negative downturns.

England has recently lowered its energy use by almost eliminating coal entirely from the power reliance equation.

“If you can take coal out of the mix, you will see a significant drop in emissions,” Wilkes said.

By replacing coal with variable renewables and gas to the point where power demand for 100 per cent for any one point in time, emissions are reduced to a point where they are negligible.

“Keeping gas in the mx is a good idea,” he said.

“If you don’t keep gas in the mix, and you keep coal in the mix, you actually don’t do much in terms of emissions reduction.”

Wilkes used the analogy of a home BBQ compared to a power station.

Using a gas BBQ, he said provided the advantage of turning on the gas lighting the flame, cooking then turning the gas off.

When using a charcoal BBQ, he said, meant lighting the beads, waiting for them to reach a suitable heat, cooking your meal then leaving the charcoal to cool down in its own time.

“It’s the same with power stations,” he suggested.

“Gas-fired power stations turn on and off easily,” he said.

“Coal-fired power stations don’t.”

New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria, the states most reliant on coal-fired power generation, account for a vast majority of the Australia’s emissions.

Western Australia, with around sixty per cent gas generated power produces much less while Tasmania, which operates on around 90 per cent renewables due to hydro-electricity is a big winner.

South Australia produced renewable-fired power headlines when it removed coal from its power mix, giving column space that spruiked the state’s moments of 100 per cent renewable generation.

“That’s all great,” Wilkes said.

“But the reality of it is that they are still reliant on gas for about 40-odd per cent of their power generation.

“They installed the world’s largest battery in 2018 – it is still one of the top four or five – but it doesn’t actually provide storage capacity or dispatchable capacity.

“It provides firming and grid stability and what they call ‘inertia’.”

What the data appears to be telling us is that there is an avenue for Australia to substantially reduce its emissions while eating its energy security cake.

Coal-fired power generation can be replaced, at the moment, with a combination of renewables and gas.

“Beyond that, I don’t believe we yet have a viable solution to get to net zero,” Wilkes said.

“It may come, but I think for the next ten to fifteen years we should concentrate on what we can do, and that is getting coal out of the mix.”

“Which, I think means we do need to accept the fact that we might need to increase gas-fired power generation.”

 

Companies Highlight Green Credentials at Diggers & Dealers 2022

/in , /by

THE CONFERENCE CALLER: A famous puppet once famously said, ‘it’s not that easy being green’, a sentiment that rings true in the modern mining landscape as companies strive to have the potential of their new technology-focused projects recognised.

 

Australian Strategic Materials (ASX: ASM) was just one of the companies presenting at Diggers & Dealers on Day One spruiking new technologies and the commodities needed to keep them greening the planet.

It is also one of several, over the three-day gabfest, to lay claim to being set to become a provider to the world’s growing greening with its contribution anticipated to advance electric vehicle and wind turbine operations.

Non-executive chairman Ian Gandel told his audience of phase one commissioning of the company’s Korean Metals Plant that will produce neodymium products initially aiming to produce both metals and alloys utilising refined material from the company’s Dubbo mine in New South Wales.

Hyundai Engineering in Korea has awarded engineering, procurement and construction work and funding to advance the plant in Ochang which was officially opened by Australian Strategic with the Koreans in May.

Gandel reeled off the variety of high purity metal products to be produced including permanent magnet alloys, neodymium, praseodymian, dysprosium and terbium.

 

IGO (ASX: IGO) managing director and CEO Peter Bradford used his turn at the lectern on Day Two to espouse the green virtues of his company.

Bradford has been on something of a green technology crusade in recent times, holding the reins of the company’s transformation from gold and base metals to what he declared as being a “fantastic” portfolio of upstream and downstream clean energy projects covering lithium, nickel, copper and cobalt.

The company’s recent friendly $1.26 billion takeover of independent nickel producer Western Areas added the producing Forrestania mine and Cosmos development project to IGO’s high-quality, low-cost Nova operation and its likely Silver Knight satellite source.

They sit alongside a 25 per cent stake in the Greenbushes hard rock lithium mine and 49 per cent interest in Australia’s first fully automated battery-grade lithium hydroxide plant in Kwinana, both in Joint Venture with Chinese major Tianqi Lithium Energy Australia.

“Our strategy … is creating a company that’s globally relevant in the supply of clean energy metals, and we do that because we want to create a better planet,” Bradford said.

 

Neometals (ASX: NMT) has long been a trend setter in the recycling of battery materials.

Neometals managing director Chris Reed outlined recent advances made by the company at Diggers & Dealers, including its Primobius battery recycling Joint Venture in Germany with SMS group.

This partnership resulted in Mercedes Benz selecting Primobius as a battery recycling partner that will design and construct an integrated hydromet plant at Mercedes production facilities in Kuppenheim.

Neometals has developed three business units supporting energy transition in the electric vehicle (EV) and energy storage system (ESS) supply chains, encapsulating lithium-ion battery recycling, nickel-cobalt recovery and lithium chemicals.

As well as its German alliances, Neometals is advancing vanadium recovery in Finland, lithium chemicals in Portugal and lithium battery recycling with Stelco in Canada.

 

 

Kicking the dew off the grass on Day Three, Chalice Mining (ASX: CHN) continued running the ‘greener than the rest’ theme at the Forum, claiming its Julimar project to be the embryo that will be first born of a new green metals province in WA.

Chalice Mining is advancing strategic planning for the development of a starter mine at the company’s 100 per cent-owned Julimar project just 70km from Perth.

Chalice Mining managing director Alex Dorsch the final day crowd at Diggers & Dealers that the company’s work since its initial discovery two and a half years ago was confirming Julimar as WA’s first major platinum discovery and the starting point for a world-class multi-district green metals province.

Dorsch boasted the unique composition of platinum group elements, nickel, copper, cobalt at Julimar would deliver the green metals essential for the de-carbonisation of the world, feeding technologies such as batteries, electric vehicles and hydrogen production.

 

Liontown Resources (ASX: LTR) managing director Tony Ottaviano outlined the targeted production start for the company’s Kathleen Valley lithium project in Western Australia’s north eastern goldfields, which is pencilled in for the second quarter of 2024.

Ottaviano told Diggers & Dealers the company had now ticked major development milestones at Kathleen Valley, including completing a definitive feasibility study, raising required equity, securing debt funding and gaining three major offtake agreements.

Kathleen Valley currently has a Resource estimated at 156 million tonnes at 1.4 per cent lithium oxide, while the company’s other lithium deposit at Buldania in WA’s central south east has a resource of 15 million tonnes at one per cent lithium oxide.

 

Lynas Rare Earths (ASX: LYC) has accepted the challenge laid out by the accelerating pace of global demand for rare earth materials by bringing forward a $500 million expansion of the company’s Mt Weld mine and concentrate plant in Western Australia’s north-eastern Goldfields.

The expansion was announced by managing director-CEO Amanda Lacaze on Day Three of Diggers & Dealers, which she indicated aims to lift Mt Weld’s rare earth concentrate production capacity to 12,000 tonnes per annum by 2024 from its current level of 7,000 tonnes per annum.

This is a leapfrog of Commonwealth Games winning standard over the company’s previous expansion target of 10,500 tonnes per annum, which was laid out in the Lynas 2025 growth plan launched three years ago.

The neodynium-praseodymium concentrate produced at Mt Weld is shipped to Lynas’s advanced minerals plant in Malaysia for processing into high-quality rare earth materials for the manufacture of electric vehicles, wind turbines and other electronic applications.

 

Gold Bugs Scratch Precious Metal Itch at Diggers & Dealers

/in , /by

THE CONFERENCE CALLER: The big hitters were out and about in Kalgoorlie this week with the usual suspects delivering the latest news on the industry’s glittering prize.

Newcrest Mining (ASX: NCM) was in an instructive mode when the company’s exploration general manager Fraser MacCorquodale strode to the Diggers & Dealers stage on Day One.

MacCorquodale suggested grassroots explorers should think about linking up with his company as it continues its search for new drill-stage projects in Tier 1 locations around the world.

Such a move, he said, would hold the promise of the advantages of Newcrest’s high levels of technical capability, its flexibility in adopting partnership styles and, “experience in quickly transforming opportunities into long-term mines”.

McCorquodale highlighted Newcrest’s Havieron project in Western Australia as an example that is being explored under a Joint Venture with UK-based explorer Greatland Gold.

Newcrest currently holds 70 per cent of the project, and has until the beginning of September to pay $US60 million to exercise its option over an additional 5 per cent interest.

 

Evolution Mining (ASX: EVN) has raised the potential for extending the mine life and greater exploration success at depth with the posting of a 28 per cent increase in copper resources at its Ernest Henry copper-gold mine in Queensland.

Evolution Mining executive chairman Jake Klein outlined progress on mine extension planning for Ernest Henry and the proposal to unify a package of assets at Mungari in Western Australia during his presentation to the Diggers & Dealers crowd.

The project’s gold resource also improved by 24 per cent.

Klein said the copper and gold increases reinforced the mine, northeast of Cloncurry, as a premier copper-gold asset while highlighting its extension potential.

A revised measured, indicated and inferred resource estimate of 88.3 million tonnes at 1.28 per cent for 1.13 million tonnes copper and 0.73 grams per tonne gold for 2.07 million ounces gold is the result of over 30,000 metres of new drilling to the end of May, depleted for mining to June 30.

The upgraded resource model will be part of a prefeasibility study, due for completion by December 2022, on a mine extension program expected to provide a pathway for mining to continue beyond 2031.

 

Northern Star Resources (ASX: NST) has recently reported strong progress on organic growth plans while work gets under way on planning for the expansion of processing capacity and annual production at the company’s 100 per cent-owned Kalgoorlie Super Pit in Western Australia.

A prefeasibility study released in June outlined three options for an expansion program that would cost up to $1.4 billion to expand the Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines operation’s production capacity by up to 200,000 ounces per annum and reduce all-in sustaining costs by up to $200 per ounce.

Northern Star managing director Stuart Tonkin told Diggers & Dealers the company had overcome a dynamic and challenging environment to deliver progress in the first year of a five-year pathway to growth.

 

Genesis Minerals Views Leonora Goldfields from Lofty Height of Project Cherry Picker

/in , /by

THE CONFERENCE CALLER: Genesis Minerals (ASX: GMD) managing director Raleigh Finlayson pumped up one takeover while hosing down scuttlebutt of another when addressing the opening day audience at the 2022 Diggers & Dealers Mining Forum in Kalgoorlie.

Proving that old news travels fast, the auditorium at the Goldfields Arts Centre was chock-a-block for Mr Merger’s presentation of delegates anxious to hear what they already knew about the
agreed $111 million takeover agreement announced this month between explorer Genesis and miner Dacian Gold (ASX: DCN).

Genesis has hardly made a secret of its mergers and acquisitions strategy to achieve its aim to become a premium Australian gold producer, and has fingered Dacian as a natural pairing in the Leonora mining district.

The all-scrip transaction would combine Genesis’ own high-grade Ulysses project and organic growth opportunities with Dacian’s large-scale strategic milling infrastructure at the Mt Morgans project.

Seen as a ‘win-win’ proposition the deal would accelerate development of Ulysses’ high-grade core of 363,000 ounces at 6.4 grams per tonne gold while avoiding the $150-160 million price tag of establishing a stand-alone processing facility, adding further potential to increase production rates.

But why stop there?

The transaction has already set the Goldfields rumour mill in motion with those who are smarter than others in these matters pointing out possible future mergers and acquisitions activity in the Leonora district.

Most of the speculation focused on St Barbara (ASX: SBM) and its substantial Resources and infrastructure as a possible target.

This would be big, creating a company that would boast the size and quality of assets to bridge the gap between the individual enterprises with that of ASX100 status miners.

To keep things interesting, Finlayson acknowledged Genesis had reopened discussions with St Barbara, among numerous regional opportunities – so, nothing to see here.

“A further consolidation would offer the potential to hold a dominant resource and reserve position in Leonora coupled with the flexibility of optimised deposits and regional processing power,” he said.

While St Barbara itself has also talked about the prospects for consolidation in the region, Finlayson warned there were no assurances the current talks would lead to a transaction.