From early stage explorers to mine developers to producing miners, there is plenty of corporate and exploration action for the savvy investor.
It is all systems go at Core Lithium’s Finniss lithium project in the NT following the successful completion of the company’s $100 million capital raise last week and news it had signed its first DSO sales contract and reported further strong hits at proposed second mine BP33.
ChemX Materials was similarly active during the week, signing a memorandum of understanding with Pure Batteries Technologies to supply manganese to PBT’s proposed Australian battery material refinery hub and revealing results that suggested the Kimba kaolin-rare earths project on the Eyre Peninsula was shaping up nicely.
And Gold Road Resources ensured investors were clear on its interest in De Grey Mining after committing $26 million to maintain a 19.99 per cent stake in the Mallina gold project developer.
Following Core’s (ASX: CXO) $100 million capital raising last week, the company signed its inaugural DSO sale contract from Finniss, near Darwin in the Northern Territory, and flagged a substantial resource upgrade for BP33, the second proposed mine at Finniss.
Among other growth initiatives stated by Core, a significant portion of its $100 million capital raise will be dedicated to fast-tracking resource growth programs at Finniss. The company upgraded its exploration spend to $25 million, dwarfing last year’s $6 million program and the previous year’s $3 million budget.
Core’s confidence in the ability to extend the Finniss mine life was bolstered by outstanding diamond drilling assays from the final three holes of the 12-hole program at BP33.
Assays confirmed that deep diamond holes had all intersected spodumene-mineralised pegmatites at depths below previous drilling. Importantly, intersections were made more than 400m outside the current resource. Core said investors could expect substantial resource extensions.
For Core investors and lithium supply squeezed battery manufacturers, a resource upgrade could not come quick enough. The demand for Core’s maiden DSO cargo, to be delivered later this quarter, was highlighted by a US$951/dmt successful tender. The 15,000 dmt DSO sale was tendered on a CIF basis to several pre-screened participants active in the lithium-ion battery supply chain.
ChemX (ASX: CMX) is still in the early stages of its battery materials story though said the MoU with PBT could see the company supply manganese from its Jamieson Tank high purity manganese sulphate monohydrate (HPMSM) project on the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia to PBT’s proposed battery material refinery hub in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia.
Under the MOU, which is non-exclusive for either party, ChemX and PBT will meet their own costs in undertaking the studies and work towards negotiating a binding offtake agreement should Jamieson Tank proceed to development. The parties aim to complete the studies within the next six months.
ChemX is building an exciting portfolio of battery materials exploration prospects on the Eyre Peninsula.
Down the road from Jamieson Tank at Kimba, final assays from drilling are starting to hint at the potential for a world-class kaolin deposit.
ChemX said the results provided a step forward in the geological understanding of kaolin mineralisation and the broader kaolin-rare earths potential across the Kimba tenements.
Gold is finding its friends again courtesy of the uncertain macro-economic environment, which is why De Grey (ASX: DEG) had little difficulty finding investor support for a $130 million placement (to be complemented by a $20 share purchase plan) to fund definitive feasibility studies for its world-scale Malina gold project in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.
Of most interest in the marketplace was whether Gold Road (ASX: GOR), already a 19.99 per cent De Grey shareholder, would participate in the capital raise and protect its position.
Gold Road did just that, committing $26 million to keep its position as De Grey’s largest shareholder.
It ensures Gold Road has an important seat at the table as De Grey finalises the best way to develop the $1 billion Mallina project, which includes the 5.1 million ounce Hemi deposit.
Gold Road knows better than most what is required to ensure a world-class discovery is turned into a successful, high-margin gold mine, based on its success with the first-class Gruyere asset in the Goldfields.
