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Galena Mining Drills High-Grade MRE Follow-Up Results

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Galena Mining (ASX: G1A) reported results from recent drilling undertaken at the company’s 60 per cent-owned Abra base metals mine in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia.

Galena Mining explained the result had just missed out on inclusion of a recently released Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) of 33.4 million tonnes at 7.1 per cent lead and 17 grams per tonne silver (5% Pb cut-off grade).

The total MRE includes:
Measured 0.3 million tonnes at 7.3 per cent lead and 32g/t silver;
Indicated 16.2 million tonnes at 7.3 per cent lead and 19g/t silver; and
Inferred 16.9 million tonnes at 6.9 per cent lead and 15g/t silver.

Latest drilling results include:
18.9m at 17.1 per cent lead and 30g/t silver;
38.3m at 12.1 per cent lead and 15.4g/t silver;
26.4m at 11.9 per cent lead and 28.6 g/t silver;
35.7m at 11.7 per cent lead and 53.4g/t silver;
10.4m at 11.4 per cent lead 29.9g/t silver; and
38.9m at 10 per cent lead and 40.9g/t silver.

“These strong results complement our mine plans over the next 12 months,” Galena Mining managing director Tony James said in the company’s ASX announcement.

“Geologically they show the importance of the interface between the Core and Apron zones and the potential extension of the deposit to the Northeast.

“As mining progresses in these areas on multiple fronts and levels, it will generate enormous opportunity for us as we continue improving our production profile.”

 

TO READ THE FULL ANNOUNCEMENT: CLICK HERE

 

Small-Cap Companies to Contribute at Diggers & Dealers (part 2)

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THE CONFERENCE CALLER: The Roadhouse continues its look at the smaller explorers presenting at the upcoming Diggers & Dealers Forum in Kalgoorlie.

This week we look at some of these smaller explorers whose share prices currently sit over 10 cents and under 20 cents per share (at time of writing).

 

Peel Mining (ASX: PEX) 16.5 cents

 

 

Peel Mining has been busy interpreting results generated by drilling at the Mallee Bull and Wirlong deposits at the company’s South Cobar copper project in New South Wales.

Results from a 2021/22 resource drilling program at Mallee Bull highlighted the deposit’s quality and continuity of mineralisation throughout the infill program.

At Wirlong, results also confirmed quality and continuity of the deposit with high-grade copper intervals intersected throughout the Wirlong mineral system.

Wirlong is developing into an important part of Peel’s South Cobar Copper strategy alongside Mallee Bull.

The company anticipates the results from Wirlong, along with the results from Mallee Bull, to have a positive impact on the South Cobar copper Resource upgrade planned for mid CY2022.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nickelsearch (ASX: NIS) 11.5 cents

Earlier this year, NickelSearch conducted an integrated and systematic nickel sulphide targeting study that identified and prioritised over 30 greenfield exploration targets across the company’s wholly-owned Carlingup nickel project, located in Ravensthorpe, Western Australia.

The study produced 11 Priority 1 targets and defined a highly prospective mineralised corridor at Carlingup South over a strike extent of nine kilometres, with three drill-ready targets, subject to receiving necessary approvals and conducive ground conditions.

This targeting work was enhanced by ultra fine soil assay results along the Carlingup South trend that returned highly anomalous Kambalda and Platinum Group Metals (PGM) responses, which Nickelsearch considers being indicative of komatiitic nickel sulphides at depth.

NickelSearch is embarking on a modern, rigorous, and comprehensive exploration program across its entire tenement package.

This is the first time this land package has been consolidated under one company.

 

Panoramic Resources (ASX: PAN) 18.75 cents

Ignore Panoramic Resources at your peril with the company recently advising that commercial production has been achieved at its Savannah nickel project in Western Australia.

The company commenced commercial production at Savannah from 1 April 2022 following the first production of concentrate in October 2021.

Panoramic signalled the ramp-up of underground mining will continue throughout FY23 as development of additional levels opens new areas for production, from Savannah North.

Annual production from Savannah is forecast to increase in FY23 with guidance of:

6,600 – 7,100 tonnes of nickel in concentrate;
4,100 – 4,500 tonnes of copper in concentrate; and
400 – 500 tonnes of cobalt in concentrate.

FY23 production guidance for nickel in concentrate reflects a blended production of ore from Savannah (remnants) and Savannah North (new mine).

Savannah North provides approximately 62 per cent of the ore feed, with Savannah providing the balance.

 

Galena Mining (ASX: G1A) 13.5 cents

Galena Mining’s 60 per cent-owned Abra base metals mine is a lead-silver project located in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia.

At latest report, construction of the Abra project is currently 75 per cent complete with Galena confirming first concentrate production on-target for Q1 2023.

The project’s CY2023 mill throughput is expected to be 0.8-1 million tonnes per annum resulting in ramp-up year lead production of 53,000-68,000 tonnes.

Following ramp-up, the life of mine average annual production is expected to average 93,000 tonnes of lead and 553,000 ounces of silver, with lead C1 direct cash costs of US$0.50 per pound.

 

Pantoro (ASX: PNR) 18.5 cents

Pantoro has a couple of major feathers in its operations cap at present, the first being its 50 per cent-owned Norseman project where construction continues apace.

The project has a substantial Ore Reserve of 900,000 ounces that increased 48 per cent since release of a Phase One DFS in October 2020.

Pantoro completed a $45 million capital placement earlier this year to accelerate mining at Norseman and maintain growth exploration activities at high rates while also supporting advancement of the Lamboo PGE project within the company’s second feather, the 100 per cent-owned Halls Creek project.

Recent step out drilling at the Lamboo nickel-PGE prospect returned strong PGE, nickel and cobalt assays.

An added extra was the inclusion of coincident rhodium and iridium grades returned in the northern extensions of the platinum-palladium-gold zones the company has drilled to date.

 

 

 

 

Galena Mining Kicks-off Abra DFS

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THE BOURSE WHISPERER: Galena Mining (ASX: G1A) has commenced a definitive/bankable feasibility study (DFS) for the company’s wholly-owned Abra base metals project, located in Western Australia.

Galena Mining announced it has retained Australian engineering consulting and contracting company, GR Engineering Services Limited (ASX: GNG) to undertake key portions of the DFS related to plant design, capital cost and operating cost estimation, process and non-process infrastructure evaluation.

“The recently published pre-feasibility study for Abra demonstrated outstanding investment returns and we’re keen to see it engineered to the highest standards so we’re in a strong position to commence construction next year,” Galena Mining managing director Alex Molyneux said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“In this regard we’re very pleased to have GR Engineering onboard in a key role.”

In addition to the appointment of GR Engineering, Galena also recently appointed a full-time metallurgy and study manager to lead the internal DFS work under the guidance of COO, Troy Flannery.

Galena explained that the DFS and various related appointments follow completion of a pre-feasibility study (PFS) for Abra that predicted a 1.2 million tonne per annum throughput underground mine and conventional floatation concentrator for the project to produce a high-grade, high-value lead silver concentrate containing 91,000 tonnes per annum of lead and 760,000 ounces per annum of silver over a 14-year mine life.

Key work items in the PFS were already completed to DFS-level including: geotechnical drilling; metallurgical testwork; environmental studies and reports; water supply analysis; hydrogeology; underground mine designs; and infrastructure design.

The DFS is targeted to be complete in mid-2019, while in the meantime, Galena expects to progress value-adding milestone workstreams in parallel.

Galena is maintaining its targeted commencement of construction at Abra in 2019, initial production in 2021 and the first full-year of steady-state commercial production in 2022.

 

Email: admin@galenamining.com.au

Website: www.galenamining.com.au

 

Galena Mining Confirms Mineralisation Outside Existing Resource

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Galena Mining (ASX: G1A) released further high-grade lead and silver intersections from four holes drilled as part of a 2018 Infill and Resource development program at the company’s Abra lead project in Western Australia.

Galena Mining said the results from holes AB95 to AB98 confirm high-grade mineralisation 150 metres outside of the Resource it released in March this year and remains open.

Of the new holes, AB95 was drilled as an infill hole within the envelope of the current Mineral Resource and returned results that met the company’s expectations.

Drill-holes AB96, AB97 and AB98 were drilled to test for shallow north western extensions to the Apron Zone outside of the March 2018 Resource.

All three drill-holes intersected high-grade lead mineralisation, including:

AB96
16.2 metres at 9.2 per cent lead and 44 grams per tonne silver, including 4.5m at 15.1 per cent lead, 44g/t silver and 0.9 per cent copper and 6m at 14.5 per cent lead and 28g/t silver;

AB97
6m at 11.8 per cent lead and 19g/t silver; and

AB98
4.6m at 5.9 per cent lead and 19g/t silver.

Galena said the results demonstrated the mineralisation is gently dipping so has interpreted intersection widths to be estimates of true widths.

“These results are very exciting because they confirm high-grade mineralisation extends 150 metres beyond the existing Resource model mineralised area,” Galena Mining managing director Alex Molyneux said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“This bodes well for achieving our Resource development ambitions when we come to publish an updated Mineral Resource estimate.”

Galena has now completed twenty drill-holes (AB82 to AB101) as part of its 2018 Resource Infill and Development drilling program with assays for holes AB99 to AB101 pending.

The company outlined the 2018 Resource Infill and Development drilling program has two aims: (i) to infill areas of existing Inferred Resources with the aim to upgrade the volume Indicated Resources as part of the Pre-Feasibility Study work; and (ii) to test for extensions to the high-grade mineralisation with the aim to upgrade the overall Resource.

 

Website: www.galenamining.com.au

 

Abra Mine Shaping as Lead Heavyweight

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THE INSIDE STORY: Perth-based exploration play, Galena Mining (ASX: G1A) is making rapid progress developing the company’s 100 per cent-owned Abra lead-silver project in Western Australia.

The Abra lead-silver project is part of the company’s broader Abra base metals project, a regional tenement package in the Gascoyne region of WA that Galena believes holds potential for copper-gold deposits as well as further lead-zinc-silver deposits.

“We listed last year with the development of the Abra lead-silver deposit in Western Australia as our primary focus,” Galena Mining chief executive officer Ed Turner told The Resources Roadhouse.

“That is our focus and we are going flat out as we strongly believe that lead is not dead.

“The past ten years the London Metal Exchange (LME) lead stocks have been depleted due to not enough supply hitting the market.

“As a result, the price of lead has risen significantly during that time.”

Turner’s optimism and the company’s timing for the development of the Abra mine seems well placed as both coincide with a strong outlook for lead.

Although having been mined and used since people started digging materials out of the ground and using them to enhance their lifestyles, lead, just as some of its peer metals, has enjoyed renewed popularity.

Modern vehicles – be they electric or old school combustion engine driven – make up the largest use of lead in manufacture of batteries, which accounts for around 80 per cent of modern lead usage.

The remaining 20 per cent of applications include other traditional uses, such as weights and ballast, underwater cable sheathing, solder, casting alloys, chemical compounds, including PVC plastics and pigments, ammunition, glassware and radiation protection.

As technology advances, so too are expected uses for lead in the form of large storage batteries used for load-levelling of electrical power and in electric vehicles.

The growing market for electric bikes, in China alone, has led to an increase in demand for lead to make batteries for e-bikes.

Galena Mining recently released a Scoping Study for Abra that confirmed the lead-silver project as an economically and technically robust opportunity, with potential to become a long-life, high margin West Australian lead-silver producer.

The study delivered a pleasing economic outcome for the project by demonstrating that on pre-tax post royalties it can deliver a Base Case Net Present Value (NPV) of $394 million with an Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of 61 per cent (based on long term lead price of US$0.95 per pound, silver price of US$16.50 per ounce and USD: AUD of $0.75).

The study determined an initial mine life of 11 years, with opportunities identified to extend beyond 11 years, operating an annual throughput of one million tonnes per annum, with average grades of 9.7 per cent lead and 15g/t silver, producing 91,000 tonnes of lead and 450,000 tonnes of silver annually.

Processing of the ore will comprise conventional, off the shelf equipment, including crushing, grinding and two stages of conventional flotation and filtration to produce a lead-silver concentrate.

The processing facility construction cost is estimated at $66 million including $6 million of contingency costs.

Galena anticipates construction to commence during Q3 in 2019, with a 15-month time frame for commissioning.

The planned mining method will be via an underground mine accessed by a decline.

Mining activity is expected to commence early 2021 with the underground extraction undertaken through sublevel open stoping mining and partly by room and pillar mining, which in concert with paste filling high value stopes, will enable maximum extraction of the orebody.

“Our location in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia, not too far from the De Grussa mine, is advantageous, as we are looking at trucking the concentrate product,” Turner said.

“Should we produce one million tonnes per year from underground that will translate into around 130,000 tonnes of concentrate that we can truck down to Geraldton Port where they already export a lead concentrate product from Golden Grove and have done for some 20 years.

“We have all the permits in place for that.”

Average life of mine cash (C1) costs came in at US$0.46 per pound and total costs (C3) costs of US$0.56 per pound, including all royalties, making the proposed mine a high-margin, strongly cash generative operation.

Current market conditions and a favourable outlook for lead indicate strong upward movement in demand and pricing.

The lead price has averaged US$0.97 per pound over the last 10 years and peaking at US$1.14 per pound during June 2018.

The study was based on a lead price assumption of US$0.95 per pound.

Average LOM revenues are estimated to hit $251 million with operating cash flows of $104 million per year.

Pre-production CAPEX is estimated to be $153 million with a payback period of approximately 18 months.

The study incorporated a JORC code 2012-compliant Resource the company released in March this year, including:

Indicated Resource of 5.3 million tonnes at 10.6 per cent lead and 28 grams per tonne silver and an Inferred Resource of 5.9 million tonnes at 9.7 per cent lead and 29g/t silver (using a 7.5 per cent lead Pb cut-off) for a combined 11.2 million tonnes at 10.1 per cent lead and 28g/t silver.

This sits within a larger Indicated Resource of 13.2 million tonnes at 7.9 per cent lead and 19g/t silver and an Inferred Resource of 23.5 million tonnes at 6.9 per cent lead and 17g/t silver (using a 5 per cent lead cut-off) for a combined 36.6 million tonnes at 7.3 per cent lead and 18g/t silver.

“We proved up this high-grade Resource thanks to the amount of drilling we were quickly able to complete after listing just late last year,” Turner said.

“We drilled 8,000 metres of diamond core drilling between September and December 2017, which enabled us to establish that Resource estimate of 11 million tonnes at 10 per cent lead making Abra the highest-grade lead deposit in Australia.”

The Scoping Study results followed metallurgical testwork that demonstrated very high metal recoveries could be achieved at the project to produce an exceptionally high-grade and clean lead-silver concentrate.

The metallurgy results exceed the company’s expectations and what it had modelled previously.

Composite samples delivered lead concentrate grades ranging from 69 per cent to 81 per cent (averaging 74.5 per cent) with recoveries between 94 and 96 per cent (averaging 95 per cent).

Being able to produce such high lead grades in concentrate enables Galena to increase metallurgical recoveries above 96 per cent if it so desired while maintaining an extremely high lead-in-concentrate product.

“The exceptionally high-grade and clean lead-silver concentrate achieved at very high recovery grades should be viewed as having de-risked the metallurgy component of the project,” Turner said.

“It shows we are able to produce a very highly saleable product and a lot of smelters in China and Europe should be very keen to get their hands on it.”

For now, Galena’s next steps involve completing a Pre-Feasibility by September 2018 and completing further infill drilling to convert more JORC Inferred Resource material to the higher confidence classification of Indicated.

The company is also carrying out marketing exercises with potential buyers (i.e. smelters and traders) to obtain contract terms for Abra’s lead concentrate.

 

Galena Mining Limited (ASX: G1A)
… The Short Story

HEAD OFFICE
Unit 5
254 Churchill Ave
Subiaco WA 6008

Ph: +61 8 6166 3750

Email: admin@galenamining.com.au
Web: www.galenamining.com.au

DIRECTORS
Adrian Byass, Jonathan Downes, Oliver Cairns, Tim Morrison

 

Galena Mining Granted Lease Covering Vital Infrastructure

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THE BOURSE WHISPERER: Galena Mining (ASX: G1A) has had a General Purpose (GP) Lease granted for all planned mine processing facilities and supporting infrastructure for the company’s Abra base metal project in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia.

Galena Mining said the granting of the lease, which includes administration, mine camp and airstrip was important in terms of maintaining momentum towards development.

The company indicated process engineering as a significant component of the ongoing Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS) and having a permitted area for the associated infrastructure further de-risks the project.

“The granting of our GP lease is significant in that it provides security over the area adjoining the granted mining lease, which contains the Abra deposit, and enables us to expedite planning towards production,” Galena Mining CEO Ed Turner said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“The PFS is on track towards completion in September.

Galena is carrying out a PFS investigating the economic viability of the Abra lead-silver-copper-gold deposit.

Besides the lease granting, other PFS components are well advanced and on track for completion in September 2018.

These include Mining Studies covering scheduling, production ramp-up and rates as well as integrating infill drilling that is aiming to convert additional tonnes of Inferred Resources to Indicated.

 

Email: admin@galenamining.com.au

Website: www.galenamining.com.au

 

Galena Mining Completes Abra Scoping Study

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THE BOURSE WHISPERER: Galena Mining (ASX: G1A) released details of a Scoping Study undertaken at the company’s 100 per cent-owned Abra base metal project in Western Australia.

Galena Mining said the Study had confirmed Abra as an economically and technically robust opportunity, with potential to become a long-life, high margin West Australian lead-silver producer.

Study results include:

Initial mine life of 11 years, with opportunities identified to extend beyond 11 years;

Annual throughput of one million tonnes per annum, with average grades of 9.7 per cent lead and 15 grams per tonne silver, producing 91,000 tonnes per annum of lead and 450,000 ounces of silver annually; and

Average life of mine cash (C1) costs of US$0.46 per pound and total costs (C3) costs of US$0.56 per pound (includes all royalties) – high margin, strongly cash generative operation.

Galena declared exploration potential exists to add to the lead-silver mineralisation already identified to be converted to JORC Resource with additional drilling.

The company believes the potential development of Abra coincides with a very strong outlook for lead with increasing demand and reducing supply producing an average spot lead price of US$0.97 per pound over the last 10 years.

Base case analysis in the study uses a US$0.95 per pound lead price.

On the back of the study results, Galena has signalled it is progressing into the next phase of work at Abra, across multiple fronts and at a maximum pace.

A Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS) is due for completion in September 2018.

“This Scoping Study has confirmed the economic viability of the Abra project and has increased our confidence in the real potential of the project as a near-term Western Australian development opportunity,” Galena Mining CEO Ed Turner said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“This is an exciting long life, high margin and low capital project in a Tier-1 jurisdiction.

“Abra’s latest representative metallurgical test work demonstrates that it can produce a very high-grade (74.5 per cent lead and 140g/t silver), high quality clean concentrate that is in high demand.”

 

Website: www.galenamining.com.au

 

Galena Mining Achieves High Lead Recoveries from Abra PFS

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Galena Mining (ASX: G1A) has completed Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS) metallurgical test-work at the company’s 100 per cent-owned Abra lead project in Western Australia.

Galena Mining said completion of the final locked-cycle processing stages delivered further excellent metallurgical results, confirming very high metal recoveries in a high-grade and clean lead-silver concentrate.

Results exceeded both the company’s expectations and what had been modelled in internal Scoping Study test-work.

Composite samples delivered lead concentrate grades ranging from 69 per cent to 81 per cent (averaging 74.5%) with recoveries between 94 per cent and 96 per cent (averaging 95%).

Galena indicated that the very high lead grades in concentrate achieved by the PFS will aloow the company to increase metallurgical recoveries above 96 per cent if desired while still maintaining an extremely high lead-in-concentrate product.

“This is the most comprehensive level of process metallurgy completed on Abra to date,” Galena Mining COO, and PFS manager Troy Flannery said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“The results not only confirm but exceed positive results from previous work.

“The exceptionally high-grade and clean lead-silver concentrate achieved at very high recovery grades gives Galena great flexibility in optimising throughput and capital cost components of the PFS which is currently underway.

“These results should be viewed as having de-risked the metallurgy component of the current economic study at Abra.

“The finalisation of metallurgy work now paves the way for GR Engineering to complete their work which is already highly advanced on plant and site layout.”

 

Email: admin@galenamining.com.au

Website: www.galenamining.com.au

 

Galena Mining Releases World-Class Resource for Abra Lead-Silver Project

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Galena Mining (ASX: G1A) claimed a new world-class Resource at the company’s 100 per cent-owned Abra lead-silver project located in the Gascoyne Region of Western Australia.

Galena Mining said the Resource grade and size confirms Abra to be one of the largest undeveloped lead-silver projects in the world.

The company indicated the high-grade resource would be integrated into a Pre-Feasibility study.

The company also noted that extensive copper and gold mineralisation at depth within the project was not included in this resource estimate.

The combined JORC 2012 resource estimate for the Abra project breaks down as follows:

Indicated Resource of 5.3 million tonnes at 10.6 per cent lead and 28 grams per tonne silver and an Inferred Resource of 5.9 million tonnes at 9.7 per cent lead and 29g/t silver (using a 7.5% lead cut-off)

For a combined:

11.2 million tonnes at 10.1 per cent lead and 28g/t silver.

Within an Indicated Resource of:

13.2 million tonnes at 7.9 per cent lead and 19g/t silver and an Inferred Resource of 23.5 million tonnes at 6.9 per cent lead and 17g/t silver (using a 5.0% Pb cut-off).

For a combined:

36.6 million tonnes at 7.3 per cent lead and 18g/t silver.

“These resource numbers have exceeded our expectations and confirm Abra as a truly world class asset with global significance in the lead market,” Galena Mining CEO Ed Turner said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“What is even more exciting for the company and its shareholders is that this looks like just the beginning of a much bigger project and that potential upside exists in and around where we have drilled to date.

“We have a clear strategy to bringing Abra on line as one of Australia’s next base metals producers and our focus now is progressing a robust Pre-Feasibility Study over the coming months.”

 

Email: admin@galenamining.com.au

Website: www.galenamining.com.au