RIU Explorers 2021 - Conference Companion

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WALLY GRAHAM Taking a look at the editorial written for last year’s Explorers magazine we regarded with interest it noted a decline in the global economy for the year passed, which was 2019.

Global finger pointing at this stage was at Donald Trump and China’s main man, Xi Jinping and their sabre-rattling regarding world trade.

Their shenanigans had provided a rich soil from which the prices for iron ore (the Vale mishap, too was an unwilling contributor) and gold were already on the ascendency.

As much as the finger pointing at Donald increased for other reasons during 2020, Xi Jinping managed to keep his light under his bushel, maintaining a healthy distance from pro-democracy clamp downs in Hong Kong.

Nevertheless, the 2020 Explorers Conference went off without a hitch, going down as one of the most successful to date, enjoying a buoyant industry mood and a sense of optimism permeating the room with greater effect than the air conditioning.

Then...well, we all know what happened then.

They say that when Wall Street sneezes the world catches a cold. Unfortunately, this time it was a province in China that sneezed and we all caught a very, very nasty flu that roamed the world unchecked until movie stars and sportspeople started to fall ill and people realised something was definitely amiss.

As the world imploded and governments ran around like headless chooks, our girtness protected us, supported by quick precise decision making from all levels and flavours of Australian government, which meant our population remained healthy and, just as importantly so did our resources sector and demand for the fruits of its labours.

“The outlook for Australia’s energy and resource commodity exports has improved overall since our last report in September, despite further waves of COVID-19 in many of the world’s major economies,” the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources said in its Commonwealth of Australia Resources and Energy Quarterly December 2020.

“The markets for most minerals have tightened in recent months, as manufacturing and travel activity — and hence resource and energy commodity demand — recovers, alongside some cuts to supply.

“The global supply of some commodities has declined as the low prices of the June and September quarters forced plant closures, and as COVID-19 outbreaks impact on workers at various mining and refining operations around the world.”

According to the DISER boffins Australian iron ore earnings appear set to record an all-time high in 2020–21, due mainly to continued strong demand from China and a recovery in American, Japanese, South Korean and European demand, which ongoing supply problems in Brazil aren’t going to meet.

“After topping $102 billion in 2019–20, iron ore export earnings are forecast to be $123 billion in 2020–21,” DISER said.

Gold rode a roller coaster throughout, but in historic terms remains high with export earnings on track to set a new record (of about $30 billion) in 2020–21.

One only needs to run an eye over the money raised by exploration companies throughout 2020 to see investment in Australia’s minerals projects has entered a new growth cycle.

Record gold prices have seemed to give investors a renewed faith in the sector driving an increase in gold exploration, development and extraction.

Even with new gold mines yet to come on stream the sector has seen a number of Australian gold mines unmothballed and returned to production, some of which had been closed for more than 20 years.

The real future, however, lies in battery technology that has also driven greater investment in nickel, cobalt, rare earths and lithium.

Australia now hosts some 60 projects in the ‘battery commodity’ space, over which the market will, no doubt, be casting a well-intentioned eye this year.

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You Must Be JORCing THE CONFERENCE CALLER: A feature of just about every

ASX announcement by a listed exploration company is its compliance to the 2012 JORC Code.

The JORC Code is something not everybody understands, but is definitely something everybody is aware of, and knowing why a five-page release suddenly numbers 32 pages is important when it comes to where and when investors place their resource sector related bets.

“It is clear that in order to have a healthy and vibrant minerals exploration sector, we must strive to establish an environment where investors can invest with confidence that they are getting the right information, in a manner they can understand, and a clear articulation of the risks involved,” Stavely Minerals managing director Chris Cairns told The Resources Roadhouse.

“The consequences of a poorly executed project development can be financially devasting for investors (especially unsophisticated Mums and Dads) and the industry’s track record in this respect offers significant room for improvement.”

The Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves, otherwise known as the ‘JORC Code’, is designed to keep companies honest when reporting drilling results and the subsequent calculation of Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves.

“The JORC Code provides a mandatory system for the classification of minerals Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves according to the levels of confidence in geological knowledge and technical and economic considerations in Public Reports,” declares the JORC web page.

The JORC Code was first published in 1989, was updated in 1992, and again most recently in 2012.

The Australasian Joint Ore Reserves (JORC) Committee has decided 2021 is as good a time as any for a renewal of vows and has released for public submission an online survey seeking comment from resources professionals ahead of a review and update of the JORC Code.

The committee has recognised a need exists across several areas where industry, regulator and public expectations have evolved since the last update in 2012.

That being said, it is important the key focus of the Code remains to provide principles-based disclosure transparency for investors and potential investors in the mining and exploration markets.

The need for updating the code stems from the committee noting changes in social value/societal expectations and technology/ innovation, updates to peer regulatory Codes.

One moot point already fed into the JORC Code update discussion highlights the possible need for the review to include some form of certification for Competent Persons.

“On the Competent Person issue, it is understandable that ASIC

(as populated by lawyers) would take a dim view of lawyers being able to self-identify as competent without any need for professional accreditation, while that is exactly the situation in the resources industry in that a geologist can self-assess their ability to act as a Competent Person,” Chris Cairns said.

“At the junior end of the market — notably where most of the JORC Code-related concerns occur — that represents some $10 billion of shareholder value in some 600 companies.

“The singular asset backing of that collective value is the companies’ Mineral Resources and Exploration potential — each reported in compliance with the JORC Code with the consent of a Competent Person.

“No other profession is more lightly regulated in terms of professional certification.

“It is unsurprising that this is a key area of scrutiny.”

To enable industry stakeholders to participate in the first review JORC Code has undertaken since 2012, a survey opened online at www.jorcsurvey.org running until 12th February 2021, as a critical next step of the review process.

The consultation survey was open to individuals, companies and other stakeholder groups to provide feedback on the JORC Code including their views on specific areas for review, improvement or alignment within the Code.

If you missed out fear not as this will be followed by a summary issues paper to be circulated for industry feedback at the end of April 2021 before finalisation of the updated code.

“These are important issues for companies and individuals in the sector and it is important that they take the opportunity to provide input by completing the JORC Survey currently open,” Cairns said.

“If they fail to do so, it follows that they have little credibility to criticise the outcomes.”

JORC chair, Steve Hunt noted the importance of seeking consultation from professionals in the industry throughout the review and update of The Code.

“The JORC Code is a cornerstone of our sector and underpins global confidence in the Australian industry,” Hunt said.

“It’s essential therefore to consult widely with professionals to ensure The Code remains relevant and fit for purpose.

“The survey allows us to start receiving feedback from various stakeholders and to plan for more direct engagement in mid-2021 particularly as Covid-19 restrictions ease.”

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5

Miramar Resources

Chalice Mining

(ASX: M2R)

It didn’t take too long after listing on the Australian bourse last October for Miramar Resources to prove it was deadly serious about quickly establishing high quality mineral projects in its home state of Western Australia. By Mark Fraser Just before the close of 2020, Miramar successfully completed its first 96-hole aircore drilling program at its 80 per cent-owned Gidji gold Joint Venture in WA’s Eastern Goldfields, where it holds a strategic land position along the Boorara Shear.

Shortly thereafter it was formally granted access to some elephant country in the state’s North West.

In terms of Gidji — the first of Miramar’s three Eastern Goldfields projects — the initial target area is an interpreted (approximate) four kilometre long north-south trending structure that sits precariously close to Northern Star Resources’ (ASX: NST) neighbouring 314,000 ounce Runway deposit, where historical shallow drilling has returned gold intersections like 9 metres at 1.25 grams per tonne from 52m (end-of-hole), 4m at 0.83g/t (from 65m), another 4m at 0.9g/t (from 44m), 1m at 0.5g/t (from 51m EOH) as well as 0.5m from 1.1g/t (from 56m).

According to Miramar, the rig intersected mainly clastic sediments and felsic volcanoclastic rocks in the southern section, while mafic and ultramafic rocks were encountered to the north.

Encouragingly, quartz veins and/or sulphides were observed in several holes.

Located around 15km north of Kalgoorlie-Boulder and within close proximity to both the Goldfields Highway and established world class mining infrastructure, Gidji consists of three granted tenements and 14 applications covering a strike length of about 12km.

The project hosts several walk-up drill targets, including 8-mile Dam, which Miramar believes could be a potential extension of Runway given it is a high-grade oxide zone containing both a west-dipping intrusive body — where drilling has returned intersections of 281m at 1.03g/t, 229m at 1.64g/t, 76m at 1.39g/t and 28m at 2.19g/t — and higher-grade east-dipping quartz veins that, so far, have yielded assays of 1m at 17.45g/t and 2m at 10.97g/t.

Meanwhile, the second of the Eastern Goldfields targets, Glandore, sits 40km east of Kalgoorlie-Boulder and has been subjected to episodic exploration by the likes of WMC and AngloGold Ashanti (ASX: AGG) since the late 1980s.

Despite this interest, though, it has remained overlooked due to salt lake cover.

Miramar is confident Glandore has a large supergene gold footprint, with some of this thinking influenced by the fact previous drilling has already returned high grade gold intercepts within favourable host rocks (namely dolerite, gabbro and porphyry) — including bedrock results of up to 8m at 22.5g/t.

Here, the first target — currently known as Eastern — has mineralisation over 2km, with earlier exploration revealing intercepts (in

(ASX: CHN)

addition to the aforementioned bedrock one) like 4.1m at 3.12g/t and 5m at 1.76 g/t. It remains open both at depth and 800m southwards.

Meanwhile, previous drilling at the similarly-named Western, which remains untested over 2km, has already yielded intersections of 9m at 1.85g/t, 4m at 1.25g/t and 4m at 1.46g/t.

Miramar’s third Eastern Goldfields’ project — Randalls — is a folded banded iron formation (BIF) adjacent to Silver Lakes’ 1.5 million ounces Mt Belches gold operation.

It too is in the right address, being not only in similar rocks, but also conveniently close to existing mining and processing operations.

Additionally, Miramar is chasing elephants in two other key jurisdictions within regional WA. In the under-explored Murchison, the company has three large gold projects covering previously ignored greenstone belts: Lang Well, Lakeside and Garden Gully.

Miramar also has two very greenfields polymetallic plays sitting within WA’s previously unrecognised Capricorn Orogen.

Just east of the coastal town of Onslow is Whaleshark, a large mineralised BIF complex sitting under Carnarvon Basin sediments, where historic work indicates anomalous gold in sulphidised BIF. While early days, the junior is confident it may host a Homestake lookalike.

In addition, large gravity anomalies have indicated the potential for iron-oxide-copper-gold (IOCG) mineralisation.

Meanwhile, about 150km to the south west of Whaleshark is the nickel-copper-platinum group element Bangemall play, where favourable geology and early basic exploration results confirm high prospectivity for similar Proterozoic mineralisation similar to that of Voisey’s Bay in Canada and Nova in Miramar’s home state of WA. During early January, the company had some further success when it was granted the first of six exploration licences by the WA Government for Bangemall, which contains targets that were generated by the same geological datasets used by Chalice Mining when it was on the path to discovering the exciting Julimar polymetallic deposit to the south.

EMAIL info@miramarresources.com.au WEB www.miramarresources.com.au DIRECTORS Allan Kelly, Marion Bush, Terry Gadenne

Since joining the Australian bourse via a $7.5 million initial public offering back in 2006, Chalice Mining has carved quite a niche amongst the country’s home-grown exploration stocks. By Mark Fraser And it’s not just because the company looks set to consolidate itself as a leader in Australia’s almost non-existent platinum group elements (PGE) sector.

Rather, it’s more to do with the fact that over the past 15 years Chalice has pursued fairly eclectic investment options while successfully creating wealth for its shareholders — a practice the company will no doubt continue as it advances three solid on-the-ground domestic mineral projects in 2021.

Since its IPO, Chalice has invested in a number of money-making assets which combined have — as of June last year — generated over $110 million in after-tax proceeds and sales.

Chalice’s portfolio pipeline has included district-scale precious and base metals projects, robust royalty opportunities as well as other sundry investments — both domestically and abroad.

Along the way the company has boosted its exposure to the global financial sector market through a listing on the New York-based OTCQB Venture Market, a mid-tier over-the-counter securities trading platform on which trades are conducted via dealer networks as opposed to a centralised exchange.

By taking advantage of this expertise — and using its own corporate initiatives — Chalice was able to finish 2020 with a market capitalisation of $1.27 billion (based on a then share price of $3.80), a cash balance of $126 million, combined cash and investments worth $140 million and no debt.

It was also during 2020 that the company raised $130 million to progress its wholly-owned platinum group element--nickel-coppercobalt discovery at Julimar, some 70 kilometres north east of Perth in its home state of Western Australia.

Using high resolution airborne magnetics, Chalice interpreted the possible presence of a mafic-ultramafic layered intrusive complex (the Julimar Complex), which is now believed to extend over some 26km of strike.

This work also identified several large-scale electromagnetic anomalies (Hartog, Baudin and Jansz), which are located directly along strike from the company’s world class Gonneville PGE-nickel-copper-cobalt-gold discovery that was found during a systematic greenfields exploration program over the Gonneville Intrusion in mid-2019.

Hartog, Baudin and Jansz all represent high quality greenfields discovery opportunities over 20km of strike length across the Julimar target area.

The Hartog anomaly is Chalice’s highest priority target given its similar EM signature to Gonneville.

Exploration activities — which have been approved by the WA Government — will initially comprise prospect-scale soil geochemical sampling (200 by 100m) in conjunction with 200m-spaced moving

loop EM (MLEM) and ground gravity surveys (200 by 50m) centred over the three EM anomalies.

This will be followed by infill soil geochemical sampling and further MLEM to define targets for drill testing.

The entire (approximate) 20 by 30km exploration corridor along the interpreted Julimar Complex will also be subjected to first pass exploration, including wide-spaced soil geochemistry and ground gravity surveying as well as/or MLEM. Any further areas of interest will be infilled to define potential targets for future drill testing.

Chalice managing director Alex Dorsch said the strength and scale of Hartog’s EM target had drawn significant interest and the company now believed it could represent a different section of the intrusive complex which may be prospective for new styles of nickel-copper-PGE mineralisation.

“It should also be noted that the lack of an airborne EM response in other areas does not preclude the presence of mineralisation, as evidenced by our drilling at Gonneville,” he explained.

“The planned initial reconnaissance activities aim to define drill-ready targets, which will then form the basis of a second stage approval process for drill testing.”

Early stage metallurgical testwork completed to date on selected high grade and disseminated sulphide mineralisation samples from Gonneville returned promising flotation results, giving initial encouragement the sulphide-hosted mineralisation will be amenable to conventional flotation under standard conditions.

Chalice’s second major wholly-owned exploration project is at Pyramid Hill in Victoria, where the company holds over 5,000 square kilometres of prospective real estate north west and north east of the Fosterville gold mine.

So far it is particularly excited about a new (plus) 4km gold trend and two gold-bearing diorite intrusions.

All sit undercover in unexplored terrain. By the end of last year there were two diamond rigs working at the 4km long Karri prospect.

The third project is Hawkstone (nickel-copper-cobalt) in WA. Described as a “new greenfield nickel sulphide opportunity in a frontier province”, it sits within an (over) 1,800sqkm holding east of the Merlin nickel-copper-cobalt prospect

EMAIL info@chalicemining.com WEB www.chalicemining.com.au DIRECTORS Tim Goyder, Alex Dorsch, Morgan Ball, Stephen Quin, Garret Dixon

7

Legend Mining

Breaker Resources

(ASX: LEG)

It seems the market has yet to fully appreciate the fact that Legend Mining is sitting on something quite massive at its nickel-copper-cobalt Rockford project in the emerging Fraser Range district of Western Australia. By Mark Fraser Drilling of the Mawson prospect has continued to come up trumps, with the company recently reporting “the best hole to date” in RKDD034, in which diamond drilling returned assays of 31.1 metres at 2.8% nickel, 2.04% copper and 0.15% cobalt from 200.7m — an increase in value of 3.26%, 3.84% and 0.17% respectively.

Shortly thereafter, assay results from RC holes RKRC038 and RKRC039 confirmed the mineralised intrusive package extended 150m south and 200m east of the Mawson discovery, which currently enjoys a mineralised footprint of around 2 kilometres by 600m aerially and is producing results from a depth of 300m.

In relation to diamond hole RKDD034, it was designed as a twin of RKDD008, which is to be used in the phase one metallurgical test work of Mawson’s mineralisation.

The zone of 31.1m of entirely massive nickel-copper was significantly thicker than that intersected in RKDD008 (with its three zones of 5.6m, 6.9m and 12.8m totalling 25.3m within a 48.3m interval).

Subsequently, the assay results from the massive sulphide intersected in RKDD034 resulted in the thickest and highest-grade intercept at Mawson to date.

This, Legend managing director Mark Wilson said, spoke to the potential for more mineralisation to be discovered at the prospect while the drilling footprint expanded.

“The combination of the widths and grades of the massive sulphides in this hole support our conviction that we are dealing with a mineralised system of substance at Mawson,” he noted.

“The purpose of the hole was to conduct phase one metallurgical tests and the results of this test work will be reported once received.”

Meanwhile, further assay results from the 2020 drilling programs are rolling in and once integrated with existing data, will assist in future drill planning for the 2021 field season.

In another development, RC holes RKRC028 through to RKRC036 intersected a thickened package of metasediments and meta-banded iron formation through to a depth of 316m, pushing the rig to the best of its ability.

The current geological model of Mawson suggests this metasedimentary cap thins considerably to the south and east, and this is validated with the limited drilling completed to date.

This current model also suggests potential for intrusive mafic/ ultramafics below the metasedimentary cap, which will be one of the of the drill testing targets during 2021.

Additionally, RC hole RKRC037 intersected a highly prospective olivine gabbronorite and pyroxenite intrusive package to 296m downhole, finishing in meta-BIF that was interpreted to be a basal contact position.

8

(ASX: BRB)

Disseminated nickel-copper sulphide was encountered from 204m depth, confirming the mineralised intrusive package continued south of existing drilling.

Legend said RKRC038 intersected an upper metasedimentary assemblage of meta-BIF and felsic granulites before hitting the highly prospective olivine gabbronorite through to 289m downhole.

Highly encouraging heavy disseminated to matrix nickel-copper sulphide mineralisation was found between 267-275m. This was interpreted to be the southern extension of the Mawson chonolith, host of the target’s main mineralisation.

Nickel values of up to 1.43% and copper ones reaching 0.60% suggested the mineralised Mawson intrusive had been intersected and was open to the south, west and down-plunge.

Downhole transient EM surveying completed on RKRC037 and RKRC038 was now to be subjected to geophysical modelling and interpretation before diamond drill targets could be generated.

In the meantime, RKRC039 was drilled due south of the eastern aircore geochemical anomaly, intersecting a dominantly olivine gabbronorite intrusive suite with intermittent pegmatite zones to 231m downhole before finishing in a metasedimentary assemblage of meta-BIF felsic gneiss.

Despite all of this good news, as at the second half of January Legend’s share price was still only around 14 cents, indicating the company is undeniably undervalued.

At least broker Euroz Hartleys seems to think so.

During November it issued a note suggesting there were some geological similarities between Mawson and other massive global ore bodies like Noril’sk, Jinchuan and Voisey’s Bay. “Comparisons with major magmatic nickel-copper sulphide discoveries globally suggest that the plus-90m drill intercepts of semi-massive nickel-copper mineralisation seen at Mawson place the discovery in rarefied company,” it reported.

“And though the mineralised intrusive source has not yet been drilled out to an economic discovery, occurrence of high-grade massive sulphides within ultramafic intrusive rocks, net textures consistent with analogous major deposits and the presence of platinum group elements and gold suggest this is a matter of time and not ‘if ’.”

EMAIL legend@legendmining.com.au WEB www.legendmining.com.au DIRECTORS Michael Atkins, Mark Wilson, Oliver Kiddie

Words like “predictable” and “repetitive” are not usually uttered by junior explorers as they seek funds to look for gorillas in elephant country. By Mark Fraser But language like this does appear in market releases from time to time, particularly if an exploration house is looking for something with the right geological recipe, but comes with low risk.

During the December 2020 quarter Breaker Resources executive chairman Tom Sanders used both terms while describing the outcome of a field campaign at the company’s wholly-owned Lake Roe gold project 100 kilometres east of Kalgoorlie-Boulder in Western Australia.

Sanders was referring to new mineralisation Breaker identified via diamond and RC infill drilling below the evolving Bombora open pit ore body, which is just part of a 9km long gold system with an established resource of 23.2 million tonnes at 1.3 grams per tonne gold for 981,000 contained ounces.

This drilling provided Breaker with more firm evidence that Bombora enjoys significant scale, high-grades, continuity of mineralisation and predictable geometry and returned some healthy gold intercepts, including: 9.15 metres at 7g/t from 558.85m (including 2m at 26.15g/t) and 3.68m at 10.58g/t from 607m (with 2.88m at 13.03g/t) from the northern section of the deposit.

In the central part a new steep lode 800m below surface was discovered yielding the deepest intercept to date of: 2.64m at 11.7g/t from 933.08m, including 1.92m at 14.03g/t.

The numbers here will form part of a global resource update planned for April 2021 to incorporate the Bombora, Kopai-Crescent and Claypan areas.

Regular updates are then planned as infill drilling is completed on structures such as the Tura lode.

Sanders said the latest results established the continuity of high-grade mineralisation over a 2km length directly below the existing 1Moz resource.

“They also show that the continuity and geometry of the mineralisation at Bombora is typical of the Archean deposits seen in WA’s Eastern Goldfields,” he noted.

“The lodes are predictable and repetitive and directly comparable to many well-known mines including the Golden Mile deposit.

“This augurs extremely well for the resource update we are planning for April 2021.

“The increasing predictability of structure is helping to identify a lot of new drilling targets.

“For example, we plan to trace some of the big flat structures we are seeing at Kopai-Crescent, Claypan and Bombora eastwards into the magnetite-rich contact of the syenite.

“These are lighting up geochemically in our aircore drilling over a 12km distance.

“We also have a lot of targets identified by aircore drilling over 30km of strike that don’t yet have an RC drill hole.”

Lake Roe comprises five granted tenements and one application covering an overall greenfields area of 556sqkm.

Aside from its close proximity to Kalgoorlie-Boulder, it also sits just 60km south-south east of the operating 3.5Moz Carosue Dam gold mine and 35km north of the historic 900,000 ounce Karonie yellow metal deposit.

Wide-spaced reconnaissance drilling has delineated a large-scale gold anomaly over 8km of strike that includes Bombora, which now extends over a continuous strike length of 3.2km and remains open in all directions.

Following the discovery of Bombora in 2015, Breaker — which listed on the ASX in 2012 with the objective of applying modern, systematic exploration techniques to the largely under-explored Eastern Goldfields superterrane of WA — completed 250,000m of RC and diamond drilling to establish a 1Moz open pit resource and create an extensively de-risked development option in a single pit configuration.

This deposit is a typical Archean, multi-lode gold ore body hosted by dolerite.

It has yielded some of the best drill hits in the state over the past few years , including 17m at 15.85g/t, 7m at 61.78g/t and 32m at 15.31g/t.

Resource drilling started in late 2016 and a maiden resource of 11.9Mt at 1.6g/t gold for 624,000oz contained gold was announced in April 2018.

In September 2019 an upgraded resource of 23.2Mt at 1.3g/t gold for 981,000 oz of contained gold was announced. The company has also released an exploration target of 1.2-1.4Moz at a grade of 4.5-5.5g/t gold over and above the estimated resource.

According to broker Bell Potter, since the start of material step-out drilling in 2020 the company has identified three large areas of discovery targeted for ongoing resource growth and confirmed the project’s underground mining potential.

Importantly, the pattern of drilling and consistent discovery established each quarter over a five-year period bears all the hallmarks of a new gold camp, while regional drilling indicates scope for a 30km long gold system.

EMAIL breaker@breakerresources.com.au WEB www.breakerresources.com.au DIRECTORS Tom Sanders, Mark Edwards, Mike Kitney, Linton Putland, Eric Vincent

9

Centaurus Metals

Musgrave Minerals

(ASX: CTM)

Emerging Latin American base metals player Centaurus Metals finished 2020 on a high note after drilling one of the best ever holes at its Jaguar nickel sulphide project in northern Brazil. By Mark Fraser During December, Centaurus announced drilling had returned a robust 30.8 metres at 3.3 per cent nickel, 0.22 per cent copper and 0.06 per cent cobalt from a depth of 180.7m at the Jaguar Central deposit, which has become a key element in the strong and early economics underpinning the project’s proposed development.

Centaurus has established a JORC-compliant mineral resource estimate at Jaguar of 48 million tonnes grading 1.08 per cent nickel for 517,500 tonnes of contained nickel — including 7.4 million tonnes at 1.13 per cent nickel for more than 80,000 tonnes of contained nickel for Jaguar Central.

Meanwhile, a high-grade resource of 20.6 million tonnes at 1.56 per cent nickel for 321,400 tonnes of contained nickel includes a near-surface component at Jaguar Central of 4.1 million tonnes at 1.44 per cent nickel for around 60,000 tonnes of contained nickel.

The latest step-out hole targeted a 30m zone of semi-massive to massive nickel sulphides.

The above-mentioned 30.8m intercept — which included 12m at 2.31 per cent nickel, 0.21 per cent copper and 0.05 per cent cobalt from 180.7m and 12.1m at 5.38 per cent nickel, 0.31 per cent copper and 0.09 per cent cobalt (from 195.3m) — confirmed down-dip extensions to the high-grade nickel mineralisation shoot at Jaguar Central, which is now over 500m long and remains open at depth and along strike.

Further evidence demonstrating “the significant growth potential and upside at the deposit” came when another step-out hole located 100m east intersected the top of the high-grade shoot, returning 11m at 0.76 per cent nickel, 0.03 per cent copper and 0.02 per cent cobalt (from 127m) and 20.2m at 1 per cent nickel, 0.04 per cent copper and 0.03 per cent cobalt (from 153.3m).

While encouraged by all of this good news, Centaurus Metals managing director Darren Gordon said the 30.8m diamond hole intercept announced just before Christmas was, for the time being, the second-best nickel sulphide intersection drilled across the entire Jaguar project.

And while it “couldn’t quite pip” an earlier hole at Jaguar South which returned 34m at 3.31 per cent nickel, it nevertheless was “another clear demonstration of the potential of this project to deliver thick zones of semi-massive to massive high-tenor nickel sulphides”.

“Importantly, this hole and other recent step-out holes are located well beyond the current mineral resource boundary, demonstrating the exceptional growth potential and upside the Jaguar project still has to offer as we continue to step out and drill deeper holes across the project area,” Gordon noted.

“Our recent drilling has confirmed the continuity of thick high-grade mineralisation at depth at Jaguar Central, with the growth of the deposit in this area having the potential to either drive down

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the depth of any future open pit or facilitate a quality start-up option for a future underground operation.

“Our recent drilling has also further enhanced our growing understanding of the potential economics of the Jaguar Central deposit. The in-fill and step-out drilling at Jaguar South is also going very well with results demonstrating the consistency of the mineralisation both along strike and down-dip.

“These results are all expected to contribute to an excellent outcome for the JORC mineral resource estimate upgrade planned for early in the first quarter of 2021.”

Located on the western side of the well-established Carajás Mineral Province in the Pará state of Brazil, Jaguar was discovered by Vale in 2007.

Centaurus acquired the project in 2019 with over 55,000m of drilling already completed along with baseline metallurgical studies.

The company’s tenure in the region is over 100 square kilometres incorporating Jaguar, which spans over a prospective strike of about 7km.

The project sits on low population density farmland with only four key landowners.

The Pará state is a mining friendly jurisdiction and the Carajás region has established transport routes to port (road and rail), power infrastructure, a skilled mining workforce and access to key mining services.

High voltage power comes from Vale’s Onça-Puma ferronickel plant 15km to the north and with rail accessible from the iron ore hub of Parauapebas.

Initial metallurgical testwork shows potential for around 82 per cent nickel recoveries producing a 16 per cent nickel concentrate for the Jaguar South and Onça Preta deposits.

Centaurus is aiming to generate a single flowsheet for all mineralised material to provide flexibility in co-treating ores from various deposits in the project.

EMAIL office@centaurus.com.au WEB www.centaurus.com.au DIRECTORS Didier Murcia, Darren Gordon, Bruno Scarpelli, Mark Hancock, Chris Banasik

An $18 million capital raising at the end of last year will enable Musgrave Minerals (ASX: MGV) to meet its 2021 exploration priorities.

By Mark Fraser These include advancement of an emerging gold Joint Venture in Western Australia with one of the country’s new generation of yellow metal producers.

For the past few years Musgrave has been making impressive progress at its high-grade Cue gold project in WA’s historic, but still under-explored, Murchison region some 600 kilometres north east of Perth.

The current resource estimate for Cue totals 6.4 million tonnes at 3.2 grams per tonne gold for 659,000 ounces.

This includes the Break of Day (797,000t at 0.2g/t for 262,000 oz of contained gold) and Lena (4.3Mt at 2.3g/t for 325,000 oz) deposits.

The former is located approximately 30km south of the Cue township (and just 5km from the Great Northern Highway). Just to its north west is Lena.

In terms of the overall Cue project, Musgrave said it would systematically test targets, make new discoveries and seek to grow the project’s gold resource base while undertaking development studies and starting pre-feasibility work to help define a clear path to production.

The junior is also seeking mining approvals for Break of Day and Lena.

In addition, basement drill testing of the nearby Lake Austin gold targets under a JV with Evolution Mining (ASX: EVN) continues with the aim of finding a large economic gold system.

During January, Musgrave told the ASX follow-up aircore drilling at Target 5, which is situated just 4km to the south of Break of Day, had returned strong high grade near-surface gold results, including 6 metres at 10.62g/t from 30m, 6m at 5.23g/t from 24m within a broader interval of 18m at 1.97g/t from 24m to the end of hole, 6m at 4.45g/t from 36m to EOH, 6m at 3.24g/t from 36m to EOH, 30m at 1.1g/t from 12m to EOH and 18m at 1.15g/t from surface.

Mineralisation at Target 5 was interpreted as two sub-parallel zones over a strike extent of more than 120m, which remained open.

Further near-surface gold intersections were also recorded at both Target 14 and Target 20, and included 2m at 7.3g/t from 73m, 7m at 1.39g/t from 51m, 12m at 1.36 g/t from 18m and 6m at 1.02g/t from 36m to EOH. Musgrave managing director Rob Waugh said further strong earlystage near- surface gold hits were received from a number of targets, with Target 5 being the highlight.

“Target 5 is open along strike, both to the north and south, with significant potential to extend the mineralisation,” he noted.

Waugh observed that many of the drill holes ended in mineralisation, so the extent of the gold intersections was not fully defined.

Further drilling, he said, would be completed as a priority.

This mineralisation is hosted within a combination of felsic schists, porphyry and basalts.

The level of anomalism and the multiple EOH intercepts, Musgrave indicated, were extremely encouraging signs.

Moreover, there is no drilling for 500m to the south of Target 5 towards Target 20; nor is there any to the north for over 2.5km to Target 14.

Another promising development for Break of Day and Lena is the fact metallurgical testwork has seen a total 96-99% recoverable gold from conventional gravity and carbon-in-leach processing, with high gravity recoveries (over 70-80%) in the fresh rock.

This was good in comparison to typical Yilgarn gold ores and suggested low reagent use and reduced processing costs.

Furthermore, there were no deleterious elements.

During the 2020 December quarter, Musgrave reported recent aircore results from Lake Austin had extended gold anomalism and defined high-grade zones of regolith gold for basement drill testing.

New gold intersections included 5m at 12.1g/t from 90m (with 1m at 53.7g/t from 90m), 13m at 1.9g/t from 96m (including 1m at 17.2g/t from 106m) and 69m at 0.8g/t from 126m to EOH. This last intercept also assayed 23m at 1.3g/t from 159m.

The phase two regional aircore program for the project has now been completed.

Drilling for the first two phases totalled more than 48,895m and successfully identified multiple high priority basement gold targets for follow-up diamond drilling.

Waugh said these results had strengthened Musgrave’s exploration model for a large gold system beneath Lake Austin.

“This large regional scout drilling program, as part of the Evolution JV, has generated some excellent regolith gold results and has significantly extended the gold anomaly around the Lake Austin North target, highlighting the potential of the area to host significant basement gold mineralisation,” he declared.

EMAIL info@musgraveminerals.com.au WEB www.musgraveminerals.com.au DIRECTORS Graham Ascough, Robert Waugh, Kelly Ross, John Percival, Brett Lambert

11

Vimy Resources

Image Resources

(ASX: VMY)

Vimy Resources may well be sitting on Australia’s largest near-term uranium deposit, but it is also headquartered in a country that has very little sympathy for nuclear energy. By Mark Fraser As a result, Vimy’s attractiveness as an investment destination has been misunderstood by domestic punters who live in an environment where there is a healthy dose of hostility towards yellowcake.

No doubt these thoughts crossed the company’s mind as it decided to expand its access to the global pool of capital by listing on the US-based OTCQB Venture Market.

Operated by the OTC Markets Group in New York, this mid-tier over-the-counter securities trading platform offers transparent trading for entrepreneurial and development stage companies that – amongst other factors - are current in their financial reporting and have undergone an annual verification and management certification process.

These standards provide a strong baseline of transparency, as well as the technology and regulation to improve the information and trading experience for investors.

Furthermore, there are no additional compliance or regulatory standards over and above Vimy’s compliance with the ASX listing rules.

In addition, OTC trading is non-dilutive to the company’s existing shareholders as no new shares were issued to enable trading on the US-based exchange.

According to Vimy Resources managing director and chief executive, Mike Young, the move to the alternative bourse will enhance the visibility and accessibility of the company to North American shareholders and media partners.

“The start of the OTCQB trading coincides with the best couple of months the uranium equities market has seen since 2007,” he said.

“Trading on OTCQB opens Vimy up to a much larger pool of investors including specialised uranium investors in the USA and Canada - two jurisdictions that not only get nuclear power, but actually use it.

“Since the USA is our target market for future customers of uranium concentrate from our Mulga Rock and Alligator River projects, it makes sense to trade on a North American platform, increasing our exposure to a deeper pool of capital.”

Vimy will continue pushing its two big uranium projects – the flagship Mulga Rock in its home state of Western Australia and Alligator River in the Northern Territory.

Located east-north east of Kalgoorlie-Boulder in WA, Mulga Rock is the most advanced, having had its definitive feasibility due diligence updated in 2020.

The rebooted study demonstrated the 15 year project – which is looking to produce 3.5 million pounds of U3O8 (yellowcake) annually - will generate even stronger financial returns than previously predicted in the original January 2018 appraisal.

Some of the strong project economics include a net present value

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pre-tax of US$393 million (a 14% increase), an internal rate of return of 31% (up 23%), a capital cost of US$255 million (a 20% reduction), a payback period of 2.4 years (cut by eight months) as well as a free cash flow of US$61 million per annum (a 22% increase).

In addition, the updated documentation delivered some strong operating cost results, including a cash operating cost (C1) of US$23.33 per lb U3O8 over the first five years (an 8% fall), a C1 of US$26.02/lb over life-of-mine (a 7% decrease), an all in sustaining cost of US$28.09/lb over the first five years and a US$31.22 over LOM (an 8% drop in both instances).

Vimy’s second project, the Alligator River Joint Venture with Rio Tinto in the north east NT’s Arnhem Land, has been described as the “Athabasca Basin Down Under” given its geology, structures and mineralisation are similar to those found in the unconformity uranium deposits of Canada’s high-grade Athabasca Basin.

Rio holds 21% of the project, the tenure contains some of the most prospective land in the province (750Mlbs of mined and remnant resources, dominated by the Ranger, Ranger Deeps and Jabiluka deposits) that has undergone very little modern exploration.

The project’s Angularli deposit has an inferred resource of 26Mlbs of yellowcake grading 1.3% U3O8, while metallurgy has confirmed around 98% uranium recovery and low reagent consumption.

When looking at the Vimy story, it is important to take on board a few points raised by Canaccord Genuity in an investment note issued last year.

First, nuclear energy will maintain an important role in reducing carbon emissions (effectively meaning uranium is a critical mineral) while providing affordable baseload power generation. Second, against this backdrop, the global supply of yellowcake is becoming constrained.

Finally, the US remains the world’s largest consumer of nuclear energy, making the North American market a perfect place to be for a formidable Australian uranium developer.

EMAIL info@vimyresources.com.au WEB www.vimyresources.com.au DIRECTORS The Hon. Cheryl Edwards AM, Mike Young, David Cornell, Tony Chamberlain, Luca Giacovazzi

It hasn’t taken premier Australian mid-tier mineral sands producer Image Resources too long to set itself a high corporate bar as it consolidates its place in the country’s modern mining sector. By Mark Fraser Aside from punching above its weight when it comes to the operations of its Boonanarring heavy minerals project just north of Perth in Western Australia’s Perth Basin, the company is also scoring points in the environmental arena — particularly when it comes to reducing carbon emissions and mine rehabilitation.

Image has a co-ordinated exploration strategy, aptly known as MORE, in place to expand the project’s resources.

At the close of 2020, Image announced its final sale of heavy mineral concentrate (HMC) for the year was a nominal 23,000 tonnes (to off-take partner Shantou Natfort Zirconium and Titanium, or Natfort) — a shipment which marked a quarterly sales record of 110,000t and saw total sales for the past 12 months reach a healthy 310,000t within an anticipated guidance range of 300-330,000t.

Preliminary figures indicate the revenue from this will be around $174 million, some 20 per cent higher than 2019.

According to the miner, this was a testament to the demand for its HMC despite the general economic and market uncertainties resulting from global responses to the onset and persistence of COVID-19.

Natfort has already indicated it wants all of Image’s production for the first quarter of 2021, while expressions of interest from others — including some from outside of China — continue to be received and evaluated.

When it comes to the resources house negating its carbon footprint, during the second half of last year the construction of a 3-megawatt DC/2.3 MW AC ground mounted, single axis tracking solar farm adjacent to the Boonanarring wet concentrator plant was completed and commissioned.

The farm was constructed on Image’s land by builder/operator Sunrise Energy Group.

The miner is now contracted to purchase electricity from Sunrise in a behind-the-meter arrangement.

This deal has been facilitated and supported by WA’s Alinta Energy, which also provides grid-based electricity to the Boonanarring operations.

Energy from the solar farm automatically feeds into the mine’s supply lines whenever it is available and displaces grid electricity.

The provision of solar and/or grid-based electricity to Boonanarring, based on processing equipment demand, is seamless to Image.

Purchases involving the electricity generated by the solar farm started in October, and the company has since been receiving over 25 per cent of its total electrical requirements in a renewal-driven form during the hotter months of the year.

Meanwhile, in another environmental development, the company completed mine rehabilitation (including re-vegetation) over the first

13 hectares of the initial operation’s box-cut after just two-and-a-half years since the initial topsoil was removed.

Early surface disturbance (topsoil removal over the initial box-cut area) started in April 2018, followed by ore mining and stockpiling through the following November before the beginning of ore processing in December.

Mine rehabilitation ramped up at the same time as the ore processing, and involved the disposal of sand tailings back into the initial mined-out pit.

In terms of updating its mineral inventory, Image said the targets of Boonanarring Northern Extension Area, Boonanarring Northwestern Extension Area and Gingin North had indicated “very promising mineralisation”, with early assessments suggesting each area would likely contain resources that could, in part, be converted to reserves.

Preliminary studies had provided the company with sufficient confidence to assign exploration targets.

They were conducted by an independent consultant and based on drill samples analysed by independent laboratories.

This included heavy mineral determination and XRF analysis.

Composite samples were then created from individual one metre drill sample sachets and analysed for mineralogy using a combination of internal XRF measurements and QEMSCAN analysis by external laboratories.

While Image was confident sufficient drilling and assaying — including composite analysis for mineralogy — had been conducted to finalise mineral resources estimates, further drilling and assaying would be completed if and as required to enable the conversion of the exploration targets to mineral resources.

As it stands resources estimates are expected to be completed during the first quarter of 2021.

Image managing director Patrick Mutz said the MORE project had been expanded to include the identification of additional mineral resources and ore reserves within economic pumping or hauling distance from the wet concentrator once it was re-located to the Atlas project area.

The goal, he noted, was to extend the mine life beyond Atlas’ current ore reserves.

“Preliminary results appear very promising from two nearby 100 per cent-owned projects — Helene and Hyperion,” Mutz added.

EMAIL info@imageres.com.au WEB www.imageres.com.au DIRECTORS Robert Besley, Patrick Mutz, Chon Veoy (Aaron) Soo, Peter Thomas, Chaodian Chen, Fei (Eddy) Wu, Huang Cheng Li

13

Prodigy Gold

Ardea Resources

(ASX: PRX)

Northern Territory explorer Prodigy Gold — with the help of the NT Geological Survey — started 2021 on the front foot following completion of a 400-metre diamond hole at its wholly-owned Reynolds Range gold-copper project in the Tanami Desert. By Mark Fraser The drilling was following up on a compelling electromagnetic target at the Scimitar prospect after a moving loop EM (MLEM) survey and detailed mapping identified evidence of copper mineralisation at surface within a three-kilometre-long geochemical anomaly.

Of 127 samples collected in the area during late 2020, 39 returned notable anomalism of up to 7.5 grams per tonne gold, 1,950g/t silver, 19.3% copper and 21.3% lead.

Within the larger 3km anomaly, separate copper-gold and silver-lead zonation was observed, confirming the presence of strong gold and base metal anomalism at Scimitar.

The drill hole, which was co-funded by the NT Government as part of the Resourcing the Territory Initiative, was designed to confirm a base metal association with a 2km long south-west dipping MLEM conductor in the centre of the geological anomaly.

It intersected a package of interbedded sandstones and siltstones with minor black shales and diorite intrusions.

Sulphides, including pyrite, pyrrhotite, sphalerite, galena and minor chalcopyrite, were associated with quartz veining in deformed black shales over several intervals.

The strongest part of the conductor was modelled to start 240m vertically below surface.

Minor sulphide was intersected in the drill hole at the target depth of 350m.

According to Prodigy Gold, the sphalerite and galena in the intersected black shales may be the source of a surface zinc and lead anomaly.

Downhole EM should now confirm whether the sulphidic shales identified in the drilling were the cause of the airborne and MLEM anomalies.

Meanwhile, a stronger zone of EM conductor, sitting some 600m to the hole’s north, remains untested.

A second 500m diamond hole is planned to drill this conductor depending on assay results and the down-hole EM survey.

The source of the high-grade copper and gold soil and rock chip anomaly (1km long) has not, though, been confirmed by the first hole.

Prodigy Gold is currently planning RC drilling closer to these surface anomalies.

Scimitar is along trend from the historic Reward copper deposit which, during its life, enjoyed an average grade of 11% red metal.

It will be the first of several targets to be tested at Reynolds Range over the coming months.

Prodigy Gold managing director Matt Briggs said the second diamond hole 600m to the north would test the strongest zone of the

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EM conductor, “and we expect to complete this hole at the cessation of the wet season”.

“The initial round of drilling is the first phase of our broader exploration strategy for Reynolds Range, which aims to test several highly prospective targets with favourable structural indicators for hosting gold and base metal mineralisation,” he explained.

“Many of these targets are associated with historical exploration and mine workings, yet have had little exposure to any form of modern exploration, which provides an excellent opportunity for Prodigy.”

Drilling is planned to test other priority targets at Reynolds Range, including follow up work at Scimitar, the Reward copper-gold EM target, Falchion (where past gold intercepts have included 12m at 3.76g/t and 16m at 3.67g/t) as well as the Sabru prospect (17m at 3.93g/t, 26m at 2.73g/t and 24m at 2.59g/t).

Mineralisation was first identified in the area during the early 1900s with over 500 different mineral occurrences and old mines found — including extensive tin fields at Coniston (Reynolds Range), old copper workings, silver-lead-zinc mines and numerous gold occurrences.

A series of shear zones transect the project areas.

These zones, in places, have retrograded the amphibolite facies country rock to greenschist facies.

Here, gold mineralisation consists of sheared and sheeted-quartz vein deposits with the potential for economic ore bodies.

Several occurrences have been identified which include high-grade copper and silver (plus or minus gold) associated with distal lead-zinc occurrences.

The Jervoise deposits (located further east in the Arunta), the Bumblebee discovery (near Kintore in the South Arunta/Warumpi Margin) and the Tennant Creek deposits (situated to the north of the Tenant Creek Inlier) are described as iron oxide-copper-gold targets.

The rocks at Reynolds Range are believed to have similar potential.

Prodigy Gold has a unique mixture of greensfields and brownsfields exploration properties in the proven multi-million gold ounce Tanami province.

It will continue prioritising drill targets for its Tanami, North Arunta and Reynolds Range projects, systematically evaluate high potential, early stage targets as well as form joint ventures to expedite further discoveries.

EMAIL admin@prodigygold.com.au WEB www.prodigygold.com.au DIRECTORS Tommy McKeith, Matt Briggs, Brett Smith, Mike Stirzaker

Having been kept busy sizing up one of the world’s largest undeveloped nickel-cobalt-critical minerals laterite plays in its home state of Western Australia, Ardea Resources now looks set to devote a large portion of 2021 complementing this with a gold spin off. By Mark Fraser While the company has had its hands full progressing the massive (not to mention long-awaited) Goongarrie base metals-scandium project some 70 kilometres north of Kalgoorlie-Boulder, it ended 2020 conducting further RC drilling on the nearby Zeus gold discovery, where yellow metal mineralisation has proven to be both high grade and near-surface.

Although still early days, gold intercepts like 10 metres at 12.97 grams per tonne from 42m (including 4m at 28.25g/t from 44m) and 6m at 2.07g/t (from 68m) have given the junior plenty of food for thought.

Located on the same tenure as Goongarrie, Zeus — at this stage of the game at least — represents a potential shallow gold mining opportunity.

In terms of the bigger picture, which will also involve further field activities at Lily Albany and Big Four Gold, it could well be the leader of a major new gold camp.

Sitting less than 2km to the east of Goongarrie’s 25km-long line of nickel-cobalt-scandium lateritic deposits, Zeus has been subjected to 19 drill holes varying in depth from 40-140m to test a number of targets.

They include the down-plunge and up-dip extension of Lode 1, confirmation of Lode 2 and the up-plunge, near-surface daylighting extent of Lode 2.

Additionally, historic gold anomalism — similar to that which initially highlighted Zeus’ potential — is evident around 200m to the north west.

A set of closely-spaced drill holes, similar to the prospect’s discovery program, aims to delimit gold anomalism and mineralisation distributions.

Just before Christmas the company said RC drilling at Zeus was typically rapid due to the soft, fresh nature of the chlorite schist host rocks, the shallow target depths as well as the negligible transported cover that is typically (or less than) 5m thick.

This work enabled Ardea to schedule the next RC program at the nearby Lily Albany gold discovery, where several targets will now receive the company’s attention.

These include the shallower oxide discovery zone for initial resource definition and assessment of open pit mining potential; the primary gold mineralisation immediately south of the discovery area that coincides with a suite of deep, strong demagnetisation targets; in addition to the Southeast Line of mineralisation, anomalism and demagnetisation targets which are coincident with the top of the target layered mafic-ultramafic intrusive.

This work will also test the northern Hinge Zone of gold anomalism and demagnetisation that coincides with faulted and/

or folded intersection of the limbs of the layered mafic-ultramafic intrusive as well as the down-dip — and down-plunge — primary gold mineralisation throughout the areas drilled to date.

Ardea said a regularly-spaced (40m) drill-out over four 40m-spaced lines was designed to define the oxide zone resource potential throughout the discovery area.

Given the recent, “very positive metallurgical results” announced to the market towards the end of last year, the definition of shallower, oxide gold mineralisation would also help assess Lily Albany for its open pit potential.

Additionally, regularly-spaced drill holes should penetrate to fresh rock, thereby providing representative sampling of the entire weathered profile for resource modelling.

Seventeen drill holes for 2,610m will evaluate the top 130m of this profile.

Additional holes, Ardea noted, had been designed if the expansion of this program became warranted.

Should a resource be defined from this program, it was expected it would be between the base of the transported material (between 10-40m depth) and the top of the fresh rock (from 80-150m).

Diamond drilling is also scheduled for the Zeus, Lily Albany and Big Four Gold prospects to enable the full assessment of the controlling structures for gold mineralisation.

This would both ensure the drill directions were optimised and greatly assist resource estimation modelling and the targeting of gold mineralisation.

“Multiple work streams are continuing on other Ardea project areas, such as gold target generation and corporate structure for the planned gold spin out, nickel sulphide exploration drilling and down-hole electromagnetic surveys at the Binti Gossan target at Emu Lake, Kalpini, nickel sulphide target refinement at Highway, Black Range and other targets — and copper target refinement at Ghost Rocks,” Ardea Resources managing director and chief executive Andrew Penkethman explained.

“Work also continues apace in completing Ardea’s Goongarrie Line nickel-cobalt resource which will also include a maiden scandium resource component.”

EMAIL ardea@ardearesources.com.au WEB www.ardearesources.com.au DIRECTORS Mathew Longworth, Andrew Penkethman, Ian Buchhorn

15

Ardiden Limited

Matador Mining

(ASX: ADV)

It’s appears likely that Canada-focused explorer Ardiden will have two of the world’s biggest gold producers looking over its shoulder during 2021 as it advances its flagship district-scale Pickle Lake gold project in north western Ontario. By Mark Fraser Both Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE: GOLD; TSX: ABX) and Newmont Corp (NYSE: NEM; TSX; NGT) will no doubt be watching the junior with a healthy degree of interest as it enters the next phase of ground activities at Pickle Lake, where it has already made much progress sizing up the growing Kasagiminnis yellow metal deposit.

Located around 380 kilometres north west of Thunder Bay in a part of the world Barrick and Newmont are already familiar with, Ardiden’s tenure covers some 857 square kilometres in which 22 identified gold prospects and deposits are already in place.

Of these, three — Kasagiminnis, Dobie and Dorothy — are advanced, while the next cabs off the rank are the New Patricia/Esker, South Limb, West Pickle and Tonsil brownfields prospects.

Just before the end of the December quarter Ardiden had plenty to report the market when it came to its field activities, which picked up some serious momentum as 2020 drew to a close.

At Kasagiminnis — which currently has a maiden JORC (2012) inferred resource estimate of 110,000 gold ounces at 4.3 grams per tonne — the summer drilling campaign was completed, with 15 holes drilled from five pads returning some 3,117m of diamond core.

Here, gold intercepts of 3.72g/t from pads three and four to the west suggested the mineralisation was either offset further to the north or less pronounced in the near-surface western zone.

As a result, the drilling was relocated back to the central portion on pad one to test a deeper (380m) previously-discovered intersection of 6m at 4.23g/t (including 2m at 9.53g/t).

While results were pending at the time of publication, structural measurements and geological interpretation suggested there was a significant plunge of gold mineralisation to the east.

Moreover, in addition to the main zone at Kasagiminnis, the interpretation of geophysics identified several other prospective structures nearby that had not been drill tested.

During December Ardiden announced drilling at its South Limb gold prospect would begin in January.

Situated 17km north east of Kasagiminnis, this target directly adjoins Newmont’s Dona Lake gold operation, which produced 246,500 gold ounces of gold at 6.6g/t to a depth of 450m before its closure in 1993 due to a weak gold price.

For this work Ardiden designed a five hole, 1000m diamond drill campaign to provide an initial test of mineralisation within the iron formations extending south from Dona Lake.

According to the junior, the concentration of iron formation in this largely untested area — which is in close proximity to a known gold deposit — makes this a high priority target to drill test.

In addition, and with the objective of expanding field activities at the Western Hub and starting drilling at the Esker gold prospect

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(ASX: MZZ)

during 2021, Ardiden successfully applied to Ontario’s mines department for a permit to undertake exploration work at Esker.

First Nation Agreement discussions are now also well underway.

A review of airborne magnetics flown by the company during 2020 over the entire New Patricia gold prospect revealed multiple tier one, large scale structural targets similar to known gold mine settings in the district — namely Golden Patricia (Barrick) and Musselwhite (Newmont).

Of these, Esker is the most obvious one as it sits directly along strike of the underground Golden Patricia mine which, between 1988-1997, yielded 619,796 gold ounces at 15.2g/t to depths of 750m.

Ardiden managing director and chief executive Rob Longley said the exploration potential of Kasagiminnis remained “outstanding” due to the lack of systematic previous work.

The company, he explained, was working progressively towards its exploration target of 4-5.8 million tonnes at a grade ranging between 3.9-6.6g/t (for 500,000-1.2 Moz).

This, Ardiden believed, was potentially achievable through sensible and smart exploration drilling campaigns over time.

However, by expanding drilling to South Limb, Esker and then the massive Dorothy-Dobie mineralised system, the company was enhancing its ability to establish a significant tier one scale gold deposit at Pickle Lake.

“The mag survey we completed over the Esker and New Patricia gold prospects has highlighted some really enticing tier one scale structural targets which are just screaming out to be drill tested,” Longley noted.

“We have commenced the permitting process to accelerate our ability to work the Western Hub, as well as our Eastern Hub gold prospect, in 2021.”

EMAIL info@ardiden.com.au WEB www.ardiden.com.au DIRECTORS Neil Hackett, Rob Longley, Pauline Gately

Canada-focused gold explorer Matador Mining may well have found itself at the forefront of Australian juniors when it comes to using a much-lauded tax-based exploration funding mechanism which has received very little political sympathy Down Under. By Mark Fraser During the middle of 2020, the West Australia-based company — which is well on the way to developing its emerging Cape Ray gold project in Newfoundland — raised $8.7 million through a share placement, adding a 40% premium to its stock via the Canadian charity flow-through shares scheme.

Not only did this help Matador fund its planned 2021 Canadian field program, it also saw the junior become one of the first ASX-listed outfits to complete such a placement — in effect making it a leader of an industry tax reform movement which hasn’t received much publicity lately, but has remained in the background since the case for this investor-friendly tax mechanism was unsuccessfully made to consecutive Coalition and Labor federal governments during the first decade of the 2000s.

No doubt the company will be successful in highlighting the effectiveness of this incentive to the appropriate authorities, judging from the results it’s achieving while turning Cape Ray into a viable investment concern.

Matador controls 425 square kilometres of exploration tenements in Newfoundland’s lightly explored, but highly prospective, Cape Ray Shear Zone, a geological structure which runs about 400km through the island province.

The company is the largest ground holder along this shear (about 120km of continuous strike) and its tenement boundary sits around 50km along strike from Marathon Gold’s (TSX: MOZ) 4.2-millionounce Valentine Lake gold project.

When completed Valentine will be the largest gold mine in Atlantic Canada and a major contributor to the Newfoundland and Labrador economies.

As of last October, Cape Ray had a total mineral resource of 12.9 million tonnes at 2.02 grams per tonne for 873,000 gold ounces.

This, however, didn’t take into account the new Angus discovery, about 1km south west of the already existing Window Glass Hill ore body, where five of the first eight holes intersected multiple intervals of yellow metal including 12 metres at 8.3g/t from 85m, 35m at 0.52g/t from 34m and 10m at 0.67g/t from 15m.

Towards the end of 2020, Matador released further drill results that caught the market’s eye sourced from three target areas — Window Glass Hill, the Isle Aux Morts and Angus.

Resource infill and extension drilling at Window Glass Hill returned gold assays of 15m at 1.01g/t from 34m and 6.7m at 1.51g/t (within 13m at 0.87g/t) from 116m, as well as 0.34m at 12.31g/t from 151.4m.

Meanwhile, at the Isle Aux Morts, some of the better mineral resource infill drilling numbers were 20m at 5.08g/t from 8m (including 1.67m at 35 g/t), 11m at 2.51g/t from 7m (including 6m

at 4.12g/t), 12m at 1.02g/t from 45m (including 2.47m at 3.84g/t), 1.47m at 1.7g/t from 72m and 1m at 1.96g/t from 79m.

As for Angus, the intersections kept coming, including 7m at 2.02g/t (within 30m at 0.74g/t) from 19m, 3m at 0.67g/t from 67m as well as 1m at 2.66g/t from 92m in one hole, followed by 7m at 1.27 g/t (within 11m at 0.9g/t) from 98m, 7m at 1.12g/t from 116m and 21m at 0.34g/t from 71m in another.

This was followed by 3m at 1.95g/t from 48m (including 0.3m at 17.73g/t).

Matador’s stage-gated “drill and assess” approach to Angus was implemented to allow detailed structural analysis and modelling of the early drill results in order to optimise the follow-up drilling of this new target area.

Cape Ray executive chairman Ian Murray said the resource expansion and greenfields exploration drilling continued to deliver shallow multi-gram per metre gold intersections.

“Approximately 75 per cent of the 2020 drill program was focused on newly identified greenfield targets and resource expansion step-out drilling,” he explained.

“Results to date reinforce our thesis that we are in a sizeable, but poorly explored, gold system as we focus on materially growing our current mineral resource.

“Whilst drilling has successfully concluded for the year, we still have 31 holes/4,325m of drilling pending assay results, which we anticipate will be announced during the March 2021 quarter.”

Matador’s corporate strategy is to increase its resource base to a size that will support a 10-year operation.

This will come from a combination of expanding the resource at existing discoveries and drilling greenfields targets.

The company is undertaking a target generation program at the project, to systemically test a number of previously underexplored priority areas where there appears good potential for gold mineralisation.

EMAIL info@matadormining.com.au WEB www.matadormining.com.au DIRECTORS Ian Murray, Dr Nicole Adshead-Bell, Justin Osborne, Mick Wilkes

17

Azure Minerals

Firefly Resources

(ASX: AZS)

During the second half of 2020 Azure Minerals confirmed its outstanding geological credentials. By Mark Fraser From acquisition, it took the company just 10 weeks with the drill rig to unequivocally prove its Andover nickel-copper Joint Venture in Western Australia’s Pilbara is a winner.

Covering 70 square kilometres and located just south of the small town of Roebourne, Andover is essentially a new nickel-copper discovery in a layered mafic-ultramafic intrusive complex.

Nickel sulphides were originally discovered there back in 2018

by WA prospecting legend Mark Creasy, when two target areas containing semi massive and disseminated sulphides, a gossan and sulphide stringers returned 7 metres at 2.62% nickel and 0.65% copper from 43m, 2m at 2.1% nickel and 0.44% copper from 15m, 4m at 1.1% nickel and 0.8% copper from 6m as well as 2m at 1.77% nickel and 0.53% copper from 62m.

When the Tony Rovira-led Azure arrived on the scene in September 2020 as the project’s 60% JV partner (with 40% holder Creasy), it surveyed 12 electromagnetic targets before making what has become the VC-07 target its top priority.

Diamond drilling subsequently started in October.

By November the JV had completed five holes, intersecting massive nickel-copper sulphides in every one.

Just before Christmas, Andover’s seventh drill hole — which was also the first step out one for VC-07 — intersected a 21.7m-wide interval containing nickel-copper sulphide mineralisation located just 120m along strike to the west of two previously reported mineralised drill holes.

This mineralised interval started at a down-hole depth of 407.9m and was extended by the 21.7m to 429.6m.

It contains multiple zones of matrix, semi-massive and massive nickel-copper sulphides — including 2.7m of matrix to massive nickel-copper sulphides from 407.9m, 1.4m of matrix nickel-copper sulphides from 413m and 0.5m of massive nickel-copper sulphides from 429.1m.

It also intersected a nickel-copper sulphide mineralised interval 120m to the west-north west of the earlier holes along the interpreted strike and down-plunge, indicating a continuity of mineralisation in that orientation.

Whatever the finer geological detail, the important take-home message regarding Azure’s rapid success at Andover remains that all seven of its seven drill holes intersected broad zones of significant nickel-copper sulphide mineralisation.

As expected, the company released further mouth-watering Andover assay results to the market during January.

They included 10.7m at 1.69% nickel and 0.71% copper from 325.3m downhole (including 6.7m at 1.98% nickel and 0.86% copper from 325.3m) as well as 19.2m at 1.47% nickel and 0.41% copper from 4.06.3m (with 4.6m at 2.59% nickel and 0.67% copper from 413.7m).

18

(ASX: FFR)

Azure has interpreted VC-07 to represent a continuous body of bedrock-hosted sulphide mineralisation extending east-west over a 1,050m strike length.

The mineralised zone dips at about 60-80 degrees to the north, with a down-dip extent of more than 200m (as modelled by down-hole transient electromagnetic surveying). It remains open to depth.

According to the company, these dimensions highlight the great potential of this body to represent a substantial nickel-copper sulphide deposit, and the drilling program planned for 2021 is focused on progressing the delineation of this mineralised system to JORC resource standard.

Using up to three diamond rigs, initial drilling at VC-07 will define the along-strike and up-dip and down-dip extents of the mineralisation.

This will be followed by close-spaced infill drilling to assess internal continuity and viability. It will yield around 30,000m of diamond core.

Based on fixed-loop electromagnetic surveying, 12 other EM conductor anomalies have been identified within Andover’s project area and the drilling of the first of these, VC-23, has started.

“Having confirmed a significant nickel-copper discovery at Andover, the board of Azure is transitioning the company’s focus from exploration of the VC-07 mineralised body to resource definition,” Rovira — who co-discovered the high-grade Cosmos nickel mine in WA for the now-gone Jubilee back in the 1990s — said.

“With the VC-07 conductor extending east-west for 1,050m, more than 200m vertically and remaining unconstrained at depth, we believe there is excellent potential to define a major nickel-copper sulphide deposit at Andover.”

Azure also has three Pilbara projects with a gold orientation: Turner River (the largest at 450sqkm), Coongan (223sqkm) and Meentheena (141 sqkm).

It also has Barton, which comprises 200sqkm of mostly soil-covered and very under-explored land in the Kookynie gold district south of Leonora in WA, where limited bedrock drilling has already intersected shallow gold mineralisation.

Although early days, one target — the Daisy Corner prospect, which was drilled in the 1990s — has returned gold intercepts of 40m at 0.2 grams per tonne, 18m at 0.77g/t (including 7m at 1.26g/t) and 8m at 0.53g/t.

EMAIL admin@azureminerals.com.au WEB www.azureminerals.com.au DIRECTORS Peter Ingram, Tony Rovira, Hansjorg Plaggemars, Wayne Bramwell

In making its case for the planned spinning off of manganese assets into a new Australian publicly-listed identity, Firefly Resources came up with four compelling reasons for the move. By Mark Fraser First, there has been a systematic shift in the global manganese sector over the past decade, with South Africa — the largest exporter globally — now facing significant challenges regarding logistics, labour and fiscal regimes.

Coinciding with this is the fact Australian operations are currently experiencing higher operational costs, declining head grades and/or are approaching the end of their mine lives.

In this regard, manganese head grades are also starting to decline across the board, while the carbon steel material’s demand continues to grow as a key and un-substitutable element within steel production.

Second, overlying supply-side challenges have emerged, with the uptake in lithium-ion battery utilisation significantly enhancing investor understanding of manganese’s importance.

Third, Firefly’s Oakover manganese project — which is located 85 kilometres east of Newman and some 200km south of the high-grade Woodie Woodie manganese operation in Western Australia’s East Pilbara — is uniquely positioned to capitalise on projected demand and potential supply shortfall through its planned focus on exploration and development of direct shipping ore (DSO) opportunities.

Amongst other advantages, the Firefly spin off can undertake expansion capacity through the evaluation of beneficiation processes in order to upgrade medium grade mineralisation. Furthermore, Oakover sits in a tier one mining jurisdiction that is ideally located given the short shipment time to key Asian markets.

Additionally, it already has significant resource expansion potential based on a firm targeting model.

Finally, the fourth key reason for the development is the fact the demerger would be a “win-win” for the company, allowing it to crystallise shareholder value from the non-core Oakover asset while ensuring its management had the time and resources available to remain focused on both its wholly-owned flagship Yalgoo gold project in WA’s Murchison as well as its Paterson copper-gold play, which is also in the state’s East Pilbara.

Firefly launched its maiden drilling program for Yalgoo in August last year and — during mid-December — announced it had further consolidated the asset via the acquisition of the historic high-grade City of Melbourne gold mine.

Since beginning operations in 1937, it has produced 8,500 ounces at an average grade of 14.7 grams per tonne over four years.

It was briefly opened again in 1991, but with no recorded production, before lying dormant once more until mining resumed in 2015.

As it stands the historic (non-JORC) inferred resource for the operation is 40,348 tonnes at 5.9 grams per tonne gold for 6,602 gold ounces.

It is currently functioning as a small-scale underground operation employing hand-held mining methods wherein high-grade gold is extracted from a consistent quartz “reef ” narrow vein gold system.

The City of Melbourne’s mineralisation is associated with a north-south porphyry intrusive that has pushed in along a structural contact.

This is analogous to the company’s neighbouring Melville gold deposit, which has been the main focus of drilling since the Yalgoo asset was acquired.

“With the market currently ascribing little or no value to Firefly for the Oakover manganese project, this demerger represents an outstanding opportunity to release substantial value to Firefly shareholders as a stand-alone ASX-listed vehicle,” Firefly Resources managing director Simon Lawson explained.

“The demerger will enable shareholders to retain exposure to this high-quality manganese exploration and development opportunity, while also allowing Firefly management to focus its efforts on the flagship Yalgoo gold project and the drilling of our exciting Paterson Province assets in early 2021.”

Upon listing the new company — to be called Firebird Metals (ASX: FBM) — will undertake in-fill drilling of the current resource.

It will also conduct along-strike extensional drilling over an identified 4km strike, assess multiple advanced regional prospects that have undergone limited drill testing to date, evaluate additional metallurgical beneficiation testing in parallel with the assessment of DSO strategies (to potentially increase overall project scale) as well as look at consolidation opportunities within the region.

Back in 2012, JORC-compliant due diligence noted that Oakover’s manganese mineralisation appeared to be a partially regolith-controlled supergene enrichment of epigenetic manganese mineralisation of the underlying Balfour shale, where very rich (up to 55% manganese) surface layers overlie thicker deposits of layered manganese in shales of varying grade.

According to Firefly, the drill hole spacings differ only by a small degree, generally conforming to 50m along lines and 100m between them.

Drill coverage at depth is variable, with the maximum hole being 122m.

Drilling density, Firefly said, was considered appropriate at this stage of development.

EMAIL info@fireflyresources.com.au WEB www.fireflyresources.com.au DIRECTORS Michael Edwards, Simon Lawson, Ashley Pattison, Geoffrey Jones

19

Auteco Minerals

Poseidon Nickel

(ASX: AUT)

Nine months of reconnaissance drilling at the one-million-ounce Pickle Crow brownfields gold project in Ontario, Canada has Auteco Minerals ready to grab 2021 by the horns. By Mark Fraser Since the rig hit the ground in May, Auteco has defined multiple new extensive mineralised envelopes in several areas outside of Pickle Crow’s existing JORC 2012 inferred resource of one million ounces at 11.3 grams per tonne.

Along the way Auteco started to focus on identifying high-grade gold shoots within these envelopes, and it now has a 45,000m diamond program underway.

If all goes to plan, the West Australian-based junior should have an updated resource in place during the first half of 2021.

Late in the December quarter the company also announced it had built its Canadian technical team to help expand Pickle Crow.

At the time this talent was led by Marcus Harden (chief geologist) and former Newmont Corp (NYSE: NEM; TSX: NGT) geologist Jim Edwards (exploration manager).

Also appointed were a senior geologist, a consultant project generation geologist, a project geologist, five field technicians as well as four Mishkeegogamang First Nations field technicians.

This team has extensive skills and experience in Canadian Archean Lode gold systems similar to that hosting Pickle Crow.

With a slew of high-grade drilling results yet to be included in the resource estimate, mineralisation is open in every direction and there are numerous regional targets still to test.

Not surprisingly, Auteco believes there is immense potential to continue growing and upgrading this resource.

Historic production at the mine was 1.5Moz at 16g/t (using a generous cut-off grade of 8g/t) between 1935-1966, and the junior has no issue with the fact it is well and truly exploring in the “shadow of the headframe”.

A good part of the reason for this is Auteco — with its 320sqkm landholding — is located in one of Canada’s most prolific mining districts, with Ontario hosting a number of golden winners including Evolution Mining’s (ASX: EVN) Red Lake, Newmont’s Musselwhite, First Mining Gold’s (TSX: FF; QTCQX: FFMGF; FRANKFURT: FMG) Springpole, Pure Gold Mining’s (TSX-V: PGM; LSE: PUR) Madsen as well as West Red Lake Gold’s (CSE: RLG; QTCQB: RLGMF; FSE: HYK) titular deposit.

Exploration efforts are currently focused on the definition of additional resources within the top 500m from surface and the core trend, which hosts the current inferred resource and historical mining infrastructure.

Numerous walk-up drill targets in the headframe’s shadow have been identified from historical drilling datasets and the drill rig is adding geological confidence to the significant intercepts for conversion to the JORC 2012 compliant resources.

20

(ASX: POS)

Recent discovery holes in areas outside of Pickle Crow’s current gold resources include the Vein 5 extensions (0.6m at 99.4 g/t and 3.6m at 8.2g/t), Vein 11 (1.6m at 19.6g/t), Vein 112 (3m at 7.4g/t) as well as some banded iron formation mineralisation (8.54m at 12.2 g/t and 23.03m at 6g/t gold).

Meanwhile, there are some brownfields targets in proximity to exiting mine infrastructure, including Springer Shaft (1.7m at 36.6g/t), F Vein (4.6m at 9.3g/t), SW Powderhouse (6.1m at 7.3g/t) and the East Pat Shear (6m at 7.7g/t).

In addition are a number of interesting regional targets.

One is the Tarp Lake Shear, which has more than 14km of mineralised shear zone, where some of the drill intersections are 1.8m at 66.9g/t from 164m, 4.6m at 7.2g/t from 76.9m and 36m at 1.5g/t from 158m.

Then there’s the Core Mine Shear, where some positive intercepts have come up at the Springer Shaft target (1.7m at 36.6g/t from 15.1m), the F Vein target (4.6m at 9.3g/t from 27.1m) and the SW Powderhouse target (6.1m at 7.3 g/t from 86.6m).

Furthermore, two intersections at the East Pat Shear target (35.7m at 2.2g/t from 21.5m and 6m at 7.67g/t from 232m) also look promising.

Auteco chairman Ray Shorrocks said the intensive drilling campaign planned for the next six months was designed to achieve rapid growth in the Pickle Crow resource.

“We know there is a lot of low hanging fruit at Pickle Crow, thanks largely to the lack of exploration for several decades,” he noted.

“The drilling will target extensions of known lodes, where the mineralisation is open in every direction and we will start testing regional targets for the first time early in the new year.

“We expect this extensive campaign to generate a strong news flow over coming months and continue to demonstrate the size and high-grade nature of this outstanding mineralised system.”

EMAIL info@autecominerals.com.au WEB www.autecominerals.com.au DIRECTORS Ray Shorrocks, Steve Parsons, Michael Naylor

Despite being a proudly self-proclaimed nickel sulphide development company, Poseidon Nickel is not restricting its money earning activities to the base metals sector — particularly when the gold price is high.

By Mark Fraser Late last year Poseidon took a robust interest in the Lancefield gold tailings project — so much so that it updated its mineral resource to a JORC 2012-compliant 1.5 million tonnes for 1.25 grams per tonne of gold and 3.6g/t of silver for 62,300 gold ounces.

Poseidon purchased an option to acquire the right to treat Lancefield’s tailings and is now looking into the possibility of incorporating its inventory into the definitive feasibility study being undertaken on its own Windarra North and South tailings dam project, which currently boasts a resource endowment of 105,000 ounces.

Located 720 kilometres north east of Perth, 260km north-north east of Kalgoorlie-Boulder and about 8km north-north west of the Laverton in Western Australia’s northern Goldfields, the project contains tailings from the gold operations conducted at the Lancefield open pit and underground mines that came under the auspice of Western Mining circa 1979-94.

Ore was processed on-site until 1981, after which material was trucked to WMC’s nearby Windarra plant where the tailings were deposited — mainly on the North and South dams — until the operation’s closure.

Lancefield’s updated estimate followed a sonic drilling program undertaken during the fourth quarter of 2020, complementing some resource definition activities completed back in 2009.

Last year’s drilling program comprised 23 holes — 10 of which twinned.

An extensive pulp re-assay program was also conducted on the rejects from the 2009 drilling, when Cervantes Gold carried out resource definition work at the project via an 87-hole aircore program.

No Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QAQC) information remained, but the majority of the pulp residues from the drilling was available for re-assay.

The Cervantes holes were drilled upon an approximate 50 by 30 metre grid.

The 2020 work, completed by Geosonic Drilling on behalf of Poseidon, used an EP 26 sonic rig to drill the 10 holes that twinned the Cervantes ones (with collars within 2m of the original) along with the other 13 infill holes.

All holes were drilled vertically until they intersected the underlying pre-deposition surface using 1m sampling intervals.

The sonic rig generated a “core” tube, which was collected in a plastic sleeve before being split in half.

Each metre of every hole was sampled. The 2020 collars were picked up by a GPS, with a horizontal accuracy of 2-3m.

At the time of the 2020 drilling, an LIDAR drone survey was flown over the tailings, providing an accurate description of their

location and volume. Both Cervantes’ and Poseidon’s drilling “draped” onto the LIDAR pickup, providing centimetre accuracy in the vertical dimension.

If Poseidon goes ahead with Lancefield, it expects to remove all material from site by truck and shovel before transporting it to Windarra for processing — thereby negating the need for selective mining or reporting a cut-off grade.

Around the time the company made this announcement, it also told investors it was going to raise $10 million to accelerate exploration activities at its Black Swan nickel project in WA. This will involve looking aggressively at the Southern Terrace, where Poseidon recently discovered the high-grade Golden Swan massive sulphide nickel mineralisation, which last November returned a stunning assay of 6.4m (3.7m true width) at 9.6% on the Southern Terrace basal contact that included 1.6m (0.9m true width) at 14.89%.

According to Poseidon managing director and chief executive Peter Harold, this latest undertaking would include completing up to 15,000m of diamond drilling on Golden Swan, conducting diamond drilling from surface and/or underground to further test Southern Terrace’s potential to host additional high-grade nickel mineralised zones as well as carrying out additional down hole electromagnetic surveys.

Poseidon owns the Black Swan, Windarra and Lake Johnston nickel projects in its home state of WA. In addition to the mines and infrastructure — including concentrators at Black Swan and Lake Johnston — these assets have exploration opportunities, as demonstrated by the discovery of Abi Rose at Lake Johnston and Golden Swan at Black Swan.

“Funds will be allocated to completing the Golden Swan drill drive, the Golden Swan resource drilling program, further exploratory drilling and EM surveys within the Southern Terrace, and resource to reserve conversion drilling of the Silver Swan resource,” Harold said.

“All these activities are aimed at building a sufficient high-grade inventory at Black Swan to allow mining to recommence after a 10-year hiatus.”

EMAIL admin@poseidon-nickel.com.au WEB www.poseidon-nickel.com.au DIRECTORS Derek La Ferla, Peter Harold, Felicity Gooding, Dean Hildebrand, Peter Muccilli

21

Carawine Resources (ASX: CWX)

Late last year busy exploration house Carawine Resources further revealed its commitment to becoming a bigger force in Australia’s base and precious metals sectors. By Mark Fraser This became evident after it announced plans to spin off a highly prospective manganese holding in its home state of Western Australia.

Just before Christmas the company executed a binding Heads of Agreement with the yet-to-be listed Black Canyon to help get its wholly-owned Oakover manganese-copper-cobalt-iron project in WA’s East Pilbara up and running.

In doing so, it will be able to concentrate more fully on its plan to develop four other key exploration assets it currently has in Victoria and WA. Under the terms of the Oakover deal, which is still subject to regulatory approvals, Black Canyon will have exclusive rights to farm into eight granted exploration licences within the Braeside, Oakover East, Oakover West and Mt Frank tenements.

Covering about 950 square kilometres of tenure around 400km south east of Port Hedland, the aptly-named Oakover is centred on the Oakover Basin, a world class manganese province that hosts Consolidated Minerals’ Woodie Woodie manganese mine, an operation that has been producing premium grade product since the 1950s.

Boosting the project’s upside is the fact the region also has several other historic manganese mining centres in addition to numerous separate manganese and copper occurrences.

Apart from a drilling program completed in late 2018 at the Western Star copper prospect, Carawine’s work in the area to date has comprised largely of target generation activities based on reviews of historic exploration, reconnaissance-level mapping and surface sampling.

Carawine managing director David Boyd said his company’s tight focus on its high quality precious and base metals exploration opportunities at Jamieson (Victoria), as well as those at Tropicana North, within the Paterson Province and along the Fraser Range (all in WA), had effectively seen Oakover slip down the list of corporate priorities.

“We believe Oakover has significant potential for manganese discoveries and we are pleased that Black Canyon is preparing to take this opportunity,” he explained.

“If Black Canyon is successful with its ASX listing, this deal will ensure the manganese potential of the Oakover project is explored, with Carawine retaining an interest and the ability to share in the benefit of any discoveries.”

Of the four remaining projects in the junior’s portfolio, the most advanced would arguably be Jamieson and Tropicana North.

At the former, which sits near its namesake township in the north eastern Victorian Goldfields, the focus is on the search for gold-copper/zinc-gold-silver across two exploration licences that cover 120sqkm.

22

Hot Chili Limited ACN 611 352 348

This tenure contains the Hill 800 gold-copper and Rhyolite Creek copper-gold and zinc-gold-silver prospects, which both sit within Cambrian-aged felsic to intermediate volcanics.

Carawine is testing the strike and dip extents of Hill 800’s mineralisation (which is currently open) and searching the region for a potential copper-gold porphyry source.

Diamond drilling at Hill 800, the company said, had been progressing well, with the second drill hole in the current program targeting the down-plunge extension of previously-intersected high grade mineralisation involving a down-hole depth of 436.2m.

A follow-up drill hole — designed to further test down-plunge from this zone — was, at the end of last year, in progress and would be completed before the rig was moved to the Rhyolite Creek prospect some 5km to the south.

Meanwhile, at the 1,800sqkm Tropicana North gold project in the emerging Tropicana region, two granted exploration licences were the subject of a joint venture between Carawine (90%) and Thunderstruck Investments (the remaining 10%), with the exploration house set to free-carry its minority partner to the completion of a bankable feasibility study — at which point Thunderstruck may elect to contribute to further expenditure or dilute its interest.

Here, aircore drilling at the Neale and Don King tenements is complete, with 80 holes drilled for 4,124m.

Further to the north at the Paterson project, which sits in the Paterson Province at the eastern edge of WA’s Pilbara Craton, Carawine has nine granted exploration licences and seven applications (five subject to ballot) over an area of about 1,500sqkm that cross 10 tenement groups.

One notable aspect about these holdings is the fact the explorer has entered into separate and robust farm-in/JVs with two mining houses — Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) and Fortescue Metals Group (ASX: FMG) — covering different properties.

Finally, there’s the Fraser Range project, which includes six granted exploration licences in five areas and is considered prospective for magmatic nickel-sulphide deposits.

Again, Carawine has formed a robust JV — this time with miner IGO (ASX: IGO).

EMAIL info@carawine.com.au WEB www.carawine.com.au DIRECTORS Will Burbury, David Boyd, David Archer

(ASX: HCH)

Everything is moving at such a rapid pace for Perth-based Hot Chili in Chile that even the most ardent of investors may have difficulty wrapping their heads around it all. By Mark Fraser Hot Chili has three compelling stories in its investment bow, each complementing the other as the company makes its way towards becoming one of the new generation of global copper producers.

On the greenfields exploration front is the Cortadera ore body, located some 50 kilometres from the coast near the Chilean city of La Sarena, where the company has put together a maiden resource — primarily sourced from a large, significant cluster of porphyry deposits — of 451 million tonnes grading a copper equivalent of 0.46 per cent and containing 1.7Mt of copper, 1.9M ounces of gold, 9.9Moz of silver and 27,000t of molybdenum at a 0.25% copper equivalent lower cut-off grade.

Then there’s Productora, which sits 14km away and where a copper equivalent resource of 1.417Mt has been established.

Aside from its mineralised endowment, this project has infrastructure and, through it, Hot Chili has secured access to all-important power and transport amenities as well as surface rights.

The company has demonstrated this high tonnage asset is amenable to large scale open cut mining and processing, with a proposed central processing facility at Cortadera sourcing run-of-mine ore from Cortadera, Productora and the greater Costa Fuego project, the latter of which will effectively put the operation’s entire Chilean inventory under the one JORC umbrella.

Costa Fuego lies 600km north of Santiago with a maiden resource of 724Mt at a 0.48% copper equivalent (grading 0.40% copper and 0.12 grams per tonne gold) for 2.9Mt of copper, 2.72Moz of gold, 9.9Moz of silver and 64,000t of molybdenum.

Put together, these numbers essentially make it one of the top 20 copper-gold resources world-wide not controlled by a major mining house.

As 2020 came to a close, Hot Chili issued a number of announcements suggesting it was ready to tackle 2021 without delay.

The last of these came in the form of updated drilling results below Cuepro 2, the middle of the three Cuepro porphyries at Cortadera, where the rig returned 248m at 0.4% copper and 0.1g/t gold from 446m, including 32m at 0.6% copper and 0.3g/t gold.

Importantly, one hole recorded two high-grade zones of 32m at 0.6% copper and 0.3g/t gold and 24m at 0.6% copper and 0.2g/t gold in association with increasing porphyry B-vein intensity.

Only two previous historical drill holes had tested Cuerpo 2 at depth, with both recording high grade copper-gold results in association with similar intensity.

Higher grade intervals within these holes included 42m at 0.8% copper and 0.4g/t gold (from 206m) and 64m grading 0.6% copper and 0.1g/t gold.

Increasing grade at depth in association with increasing porphyry B-vein abundance was key to discovery of the high-grade core within the main porphyry by Hot Chili in August 2019.

The company has completed three pre-collar RC holes in preparation for deep diamond drill testing below Cuerpo 2 and the gap zone between Cuerpo 2 and 3.

Clearing is underway to provide access to the remaining planned drill holes planned across the large Cortadera North “look-alike” target, located 2km north of Cortadera.

Once additional platforms are prepared, the company plans to complete a further six RC holes targeting the large induced polarisation chargeability anomaly in addition to areas of outcropping copper-bearing B-veins.

In another development, Hot Chili — through its Chilean subsidiary company Sociedad Minera El Aguila SpA (SMEA) — announced it had been granted a maritime concession for extraction of sea water just 60km from Costa Fuego.

Following a rigorous seven-year application process, Hot Chili is now one of the few copper developers in Chile controlling such a maritime concession.

This adds significantly to critical infrastructure access requirements already secured, including surface rights and water as well as electricity easements.

Hot Chili said the water rights represented a major step forward in establishing an infrastructure-ready major coastal copper development which could leverage from a central processing and combined infrastructure approach.

Also through SMEA, Hot Chili late last year announced a significant expansion to its lease mining and processing agreement with Chilean government agency ENAMI. The company has granted ENAMI a further concession for an additional 60,000t of oxide ore supply per annum to its Vallenar processing facility, located 15km north of Productora.

This additional concession for lease mining and processing allows a maximum 180,000tpa of oxide and sulphide ore supply from Productora.

EMAIL admin@hotchili.net.au WEB www.hotchili.net.au DIRECTORS Murray Black, Christian Easterday, Dr Allan Trench, Roberto de Andraca Adriasola, Randall Nickson

23

De Grey Mining

Bellevue Gold

(ASX: DEG)

One of Australia’s most exciting greenfields gold discoveries received yet another shot in the arm earlier this year when the company behind its development — De Grey Mining (ASX: DEG) — added more sizzle to its exploration upside. By Mark Fraser During January De Grey said further strong mineralisation covering one kilometre of strike had been confirmed at its exciting Hemi discovery in Western Australia’s Pilbara via the Falcon intrusion.

Sitting around 600 metres west of the Brolga ore body and immediately south of Aquila, Falcon was initially discovered last year after ongoing shallow aircore drilling within the company’s whollyowned Mallina gold project identified a highly brecciated and extensively sulphide-altered sub-vertical intrusion which extended west and south of the Aquila zone.

Some of Falcon’s recent mouth-watering gold intercepts just returned from the field include: 92m at 1.3 grams per tonne from 124m, 67m at 1.6g/t from 119m (within an overall interval of 93m at 1.2g/t from 110m), 66.7m at 1.4g/t from 198.3m (within 145.7m at 0.9g/t from 198.3m), 25m at 2.1g/t from 268m (within 90m at 1g/t from 210m), 20.9m at 1.9g/t from 369m (within 133.4m at 0.7g/t from 256.5m) and 6m at 5.9g/t from 99m.

According to De Grey, Falcon’s bedrock mineralisation is covered by about 30-40m of transported material.

This cover is similar to that found at the Aquila, Brolga and Crow deposits.

In addition, there are also similarities in the style and intensity of alteration and brecciation between the mineralised intrusion and the nearby Aquila deposit.

The company said step out and infill RC and diamond drilling results had demonstrated consistently thick zones of gold mineralisation up to 80m wide, 350m down-dip and over 1km in strike.

Mineralisation at Falcon remained open at depth along the entire strike.

Drilling will continue to expand this material to define a resource during mid-2021.

In this regard RC drilling was continuing on an 80 by 40m pattern, with diamond tails testing mineralisation at depth.

“The latest results at Falcon demonstrate the consistently high gold endowment of this zone along a strike of 1,000m and to a depth of at least 350m,” De Grey managing director Glenn Jardine said.

“The company has recommenced its drilling program with eight drill rigs operating on site — two aircore rigs, three RC rigs and three diamond rigs. As well as delineating the existing zones at Hemi, aircore and RC drilling is progressively expanding to known and new intrusive targets in the Greater Hemi area.

“Aircore and RC drilling designed to identify new zones outside Hemi is currently focused to the north and west of Crow.”

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(ASX: BGL)

One observant broker impressed by Falcon’s early potential was Bell Potter’s David Coates who, last September, wrote quite extensively in an investment note on De Grey.

“In our view the discovery of the Falcon zone is a further significant development at the Hemi discovery,” he said.

“These new intersections (of 2020) have identified a material, additional ore zone and significantly increased the overall footprint of the Hemi discovery.

“We are encouraged by the initial aircore results being comparable to many of the intersections achieved in the early stages of the Aquila discovery and the similar style of mineralisation that has been reported.

“Confidence in the discovery is also increased due to the first phase of follow-up RC drilling having so far returned broad gold intercepts showing continuation of the intrusion to depths of up to 250m along the first 320m of the 2.4km strike.”

Located around 60km south of Port Hedland, Hemi represents a new style of gold mineralisation for the Pilbara which, according to another broker, displays attributes of an intrusive-related gold system where the mineralisation is broadly disseminated throughout a strongly altered intrusive body.

“At Hemi, mineralisation is hosted within a mafic intrusive (sanukitoid), equivalent to the lamprophyres described in many instances in the (WA) Goldfields,” Canaccord Genuity reported.

“If the direct relationship between those intrusions and gold mineralisation is still unclear, latest studies show that the magmatic events associated with the emplacement of sanukitoids or lamprophyres are associated with a very high level of volatile elements meaning that they carry or mobilise large volumes of mineralising fluids.”

Aside from its geology, De Grey’s Mallina gold project has a few other attractive development attributes — including its Pilbara location.

For start, it is accessible by sealed roads, with two major highways sitting within 10km of Hemi and two rail lines crossing its tenure.

Second, there are accessible gas pipelines, as there is a major 220 kilovolt electricity transmission line, which is about 20km away.

EMAIL admin@degreymining.com.au WEB www.degreymining.com.au DIRECTORS Simon Lill, Glenn Jardine, Andy Beckwith, Peter Hood, Eduard Eshuys, Bruce Parncutt

Bellevue Gold well and truly cemented its place as one of Australia’s leading brownfields gold developers after increasing the indicated resource of its namesake project in Western Australia by an impressive 20 per cent.

By Mark Fraser The company is currently sitting on a total resource of 2.41 million ounces of gold at 10 grams per tonne, which is comprised of 1.04Moz at 11.4g/t (indicated) and 1.37Moz at 9.2 g/t (inferred).

Given Bellevue’s busy field schedule over the past 12 months, these numbers are expected to increase during 2021.

Located 430 kilometres north of Kalgoorlie-Boulder, and 40km north of Leinster within the wealth-generating Agnew-Wiluna Greenstone Belt in the Goldfields of WA, the historic Bellevue mine produced around 800,000 ounces from 15g/t ore in a predominantly underground gold operation that ran from 1987-1997.

According to Bellevue, the increased estimate — which was announced during the December 2020 quarter — will further strengthen the baseline economic study now underway at the Bellevue mine while providing scope for a longer mine life, an increased production profile and some stronger financial returns.

This all primarily stemmed from drilling completed between August and November 2020 that focused predominantly on Deacon North and the new Armand lode.

A total of 46,000 metres of diamond core was completed since the previous estimate in July 2020, including further infill, extensional exploration and geotechnical work.

Generating some excitement is the golden high-grade core of Viago and Deacon which — when combined with the third separate mining area of Armand — totals 1.15Mt at 15.2g/t for 560,000 ounces (indicated) and 940,000t at 11.5g/t for 350,000 ounces (inferred).

“This is an outstanding result which demonstrates the exceptional quality of the mineralised system at Bellevue,” the company’s managing director Steve Parsons said.

“To have an indicated resource of this size and this grade, and with such immense scope for further increases, highlights the underlying strength of the project.

“Despite the huge success we have had, I have no doubt that there is still a lot more high-grade gold to be found at Bellevue.

“We are consistently hitting gold along strike and are continuing to find new discoveries with ongoing drilling.”

Bellevue has now completed 292,000m of diamond drilling at the project, infilling selected areas of a previous 80 by 80m drill grid, on which the inferred resources were based to 40 by 20m and 40 by 40m (and even closer spacing in select areas).

All drilling has been conducted as diamond core from surface.

Field activities during the December 2020 quarter also included the first deeper drill holes as part of the WA Government co-funded Exploration Incentive Scheme program which, as reported to the ASX

during October last year, resulted in the discovery of Armand, a new parallel mineralised shear zone to the east of Deacon.

Ongoing diamond drilling is continuing to both increase the global resource figure and convert further mineralisation into the indicated category.

Surface work was supplemented by the establishment of underground drilling during December.

The updated resource includes the initial resource for the Armand lode, which was reported as 200,000t at 15.4g/t gold for 100,000 ounces of indicated and 220,000t at 12g/t gold for 85,000 ounces of inferred resource.

Here, mineralisation remains open up-plunge and down-dip, and drilling is continuing at the target.

Intercepts obtained from Armand last year included the most northern drill hit achieved to date on the shoot, which returned an impressive 8.3m at 32.1g/t gold from 358.5m.

Other gold assays included 8.3m at 32.1g/t (from 358.5m), 6.5m at 23.4g/t (384.8m), 5m at 15.4g/t (360.2m), 1.9m at 29.7g/t (379.4m), 0.5m at 22.1g/t (358.5m) and 0.4m at 75g/t gold (360.2m).

Meanwhile, recent drilling at the Deacon lode, supplemented by drill hole electromagnetic data, resulted in the definition of an exciting new target known as the Maceline lode.

Here a significant conductor was defined over 550m by 250m of strike.

Bellevue considers Maceline to represent a major target for resource definition drilling, believing it demonstrates a potential scale similar to the Deacon Central area.

Follow up drilling to advance this discovery is being progressed from surface and underground platforms during the current quarter.

This recent flurry of activity has not been included in the resource upgrade.

The soon-to-be-revived Bellevue mine consists of a high-grade lode gold deposit hosted in the Mount Goode basalt.

The current upgrade represents the amalgamated resource estimate for the project and combined revisions to the previously-announced estimates — plus the new figures for Armand, which had not been previously released.

EMAIL admin@bellevuegold.com.au WEB www.bellevuegold.com.au DIRECTORS Kevin Tomlinson, Steve Parsons, Shannon Coates, Fiona Robertson, Michael Naylor

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Northern Minerals

Apollo Consolidated

(ASX: NTU)

Although the jury may still be out in Australia regarding the country’s current volatile trading relationship with China, Northern Minerals has inadvertently prospered from some of the controversy. By Mark Fraser The Perth-based company found itself in the driver’s seat as nations around the world seek to take on the Chinese hegemony of the global rare earths supply chain.

Both US and Australian federal governments have been active in trying to break their reliance on the Dragon for multiple critical minerals — with their respective strategies gaining political traction over the past year.

Just before his electoral defeat in November, for instance, former American Republican president Donald Trump signed an executive order formally declaring a critical minerals supply emergency stating there would be support for establishing alternative supply chains by both the US and its strong allies.

Meanwhile, in Australia, the Scott Morrison-led Coalition announced a $1.5 billion injection to be partly shared by the Modern Manufacturing Initiative and the Manufacturing Integration Scheme, which together will prioritise critical minerals processing and resources technologies as well as advance the integration of local rare earths producers into domestic and international supply chains.

Furthermore, the Commonwealth also renewed support for funding research and development tax offsets, which thus far have underpinned Northern Minerals’ capital investment ($269 million over 11 years as at December 2020) on heavy rare earths elements (HREE) manufacturing at its wholly-owned Browns Range project in WA’s north.

On top of this there has been an acceleration of government policy settings around the world to further incentivise the purchase of electric and hybrid vehicles while, at the same time, discourage the purchase of new diesel and petrol ones.

Late 2020, Northern Minerals welcomed another development, this time via the WA Labor Government, that the state was steering towards a cleaner future with the release of its first ever electric vehicle (EV) strategy.

As part of its $21 million electric vehicle fund there is now a commitment to build one of the world’s longest EV charging infrastructure networks from Perth to Kununurra in the north, Esperance in the south and Kalgoorlie-Boulder in the east.

Northern Minerals is also mindful that there are already a number of other factors working in its favour as it takes Browns Range through the advanced stages of due diligence.

For instance, the project will produce HREE from hard rock xenotime ore grading 600-800 parts per million dysprosium, which compares extremely well to the mining and processing of lower grade (only 20-40 ppm dysprosium) material in China, where 98 per cent of the world’s heavy rare earths are currently sourced.

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(ASX: AOP)

Browns Range will also be an ethical producer, with plans to incorporate continuous ion-exchange, continuous ion-chromatography and related advanced separation methodologies into its flowsheet instead of relying on dirty and environmentally dangerous in-situ leaching.

Moreover, demand for HREE, and in particular dysprosium and terbium, continues to be fundamentally underpinned by strong growth in the use of high-performance neodymium permanent magnets, which are utilised in renewable energy generation and transport electrification.

Finally, Northern Minerals wholly-owns the tenure and/or rare earths rights over the Browns Range Dome and currently has more than 2,300 square kilometres of real estate to play with.

The company has a strategy in place to increase minerals resources, and potential mine life, to over 20 years.

By the end of last year Northern Minerals had already established resources at eight ore bodies of 9.264 million tonnes grading 0.67% total rare earth oxides (TREO), 0.57 kilograms/t of dysprosium, 3.83 kg/t of yttrium, 0.08kg/t of terbium and 87% heavy rare earth oxides (HREO) for around 62.19 Mkg of TREO. Meanwhile proven and probable reserves for two of these deposits — Wolverine and Area 5 — were sitting at 3.29Mt at 6.78 kg/t TREO (for 22.4Mkg), 0.59 kg/t of dysprosium (for 1.95Mkg), 0.09kg/t of terbium (for 288,000kg) and 3.94kg/t of yttrium (for around 13Mkg).

A $5 million exploration agenda is now in place to expand this inventory, with the junior expecting to have drilled 16,500 metres by the end of June.

In recent times Northern Minerals has been highly encouraged by the exploration results at its Dazzler greenfields deposit, where grades of up to 10 times the average Browns Range resource grade have been revealed.

As a result, finding Dazzler “lookalikes” became the focus of an exploration program launched late last year — which is no surprise given its inferred mineral resource is currently 210,000t at 2.33% TREO, while some TREO intercepts to date including 19m at 6.05%, 21m at 7.71% as well as 52m at 4.15%.

EMAIL info@northernminerals.com.au WEB www.northernminerals.com.au DIRECTORS Colin McCavana, Yanchung Wang, Ming Lu, Liangbing Yu, Bin Cai

Apollo Consolidated will be busy during the first half of 2021 as it formalises — and adds to — the one million ounce-plus inventory already established at its wholly-owned Lake Rebecca project in Western Australia’s Goldfields. By Mark Fraser In 2020, while releasing the latest assay results for infill and stepdown drilling at the Rebecca deposit, Apollo indicated a re-estimation of mineral resources was planned which, in turn, would guide both exploration priorities and possible commercial studies moving forward.

Continued and sustained activity over 2020 progressed the Rebecca, Duchess and Duke ore bodies, as well as identifying new mineralisation at Duchess and Rebecca plus the discovery of exciting new zones of mineralisation under cover such as Cleo.

Infill and step-down RC drill holes had returned promising intercepts which are now expected to add further mineralisation to the project’s geological interpretation.

These included one hole that yielded three wide gold zones of 30 metres at 1.16 grams per tonne gold from 143m (the Laura structure), 33m at 1.46g/t from 217m and 15m at 1.74g/t from 255m (the Maddy structure).

These results confirmed — and extended -the broad mineralisation in this area.

Moreover, these intercepts were interpreted to be close to true width.

Meanwhile, another pre-collar hole intersected 10m at 1.46g/t gold (end of hole) from 350m, which was interpreted to be a mineralised position in the hanging wall of the Laura structure.

This hole will be extended with a diamond “tail” to further test the Laura structure (80m down dip from 4.7m at 19.1 g/t) in a previous hole.

Additionally, shallow drilling in up-dip positions identified additional near-surface gold mineralisation, including 10m at 1.22 g/t from 30m, 8m at 3.53 g/t from 43m and 3m at 8.22 g/t (with 1m at a spectacular 22.8 g/t) from 85m.

Ongoing drilling along the approx. 1.7km long Rebecca deposit, Apollo said, continued to demonstrate the strength of this mineralised system and it was “pleasing to see mineralisation intercepted as expected in geological modelling as well as in new structural positions”.

In addition, a further eight RC holes and four diamond drill holes were completed at Rebecca.

The major mineralised structures remain open to depth and will drive continued RC and diamond exploration drilling into 2021.

At the Duchess deposit a further 12 infill and step-out RC drill holes were completed, with a best result of 20m at 1.64g/t from 110m returned in a step-down hole which confirmed an extended and widening mineralised structure at this location.

Other holes drilled typically intersected gold mineralisation in expected positions, with results including 10m at 0.88g/t from 115m, and 4m at 1.59g/t (from 94m) as well as 3m at 1.28g/t (from 66m).

This hole is at the southern end of the Duchess drill-out and points to further exploration potential in the area extending toward Duke.

Apollo said ongoing drilling had built a greater understanding of the Duchess mineralised system, which was characterised by more advanced deformation and alteration than seen in other deposits in the project area.

The deposit comprises multiple north-south trending and west-dipping gold structures distributed over an area 900m long and around 400m wide.

Reported intercepts are generally interpreted to be close to true width.

Drilling since the announcement of the maiden Duchess mineral resource (180,000 oz Inferred) in February 2020 has defined a new mineralised position in the north east part of the deposit as well as local step-out and step-down extensions.

Shallow drilling is expected to continue into 2021, particularly to define near-surface mineralisation up-dip from known structures.

Apollo expects to re-estimate its mineral resources, the results of which will guide exploration priorities and possible commercial studies some time this year.

The company said drilling would continue in January, with multiple “live” targets available, led by open high-grade mineralisation at the Rebecca deposit.

It is expected all these results will be included in an updated mineral resource estimates planned for the current quarter.

Comprising 160sqkm of tenure located east of KalgoorlieBoulder, Apollo’s project area covers the eastern margin of the Norseman-Wiluna Greenstone Belt and sits at the southern end of the Laverton Tectonic Zone.

Located in a similar geological setting just 140-150km to the north-west are three world class gold operations — Barrick Gold Corp’s (TSX: ABX) Granny Smith and Wallaby mines as well as AngloGold Ashanti’s (ASX: AGG) Sunrise Dam project.

Apollo retains a valuable royalty interest over the one million ounces (plus) Seguela gold project in central Cote d’Ivoire in a JV with the Toronto-listed Roxgold.

EMAIL info@apolloconsolidated.com.au WEB www.apolloconsolidated.com.au DIRECTORS Roger Steinepreis, Nick Castleden, Tony James, Rob Gherghetta

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Tomorrow’s Discoveries are in Good Hands Exploration is the heart and soul of the mining industry and the WA Mining Club is doing its best to ensure the exploration plays of tomorrow will be worked up by the Young Professionals of today. By Craig Hook The Mining Industry has changed considerably over the past few decades.

It has seen significant changes in many areas and there are still many more to come.

The next generation of mining professionals will face more challenges such as aging workforce, commodity fluctuations, differing workforce requirements, automation, inclusivity, equality and equity, and changing regulatory standards.

The influx of Young Professionals to the mining industry over the years has helped to progress the required evolution by leaps and bounds through their open mindedness, adaptability, and passion to drive innovation.

The WA Mining Club Young Professionals was formed in late 2018 to adapt to a changing industry and be at the forefront of overcoming the gap between those entering the mining industry with established industry peers.

Since its inception, the WA Mining Club Young Professionals has rapidly established itself as a supportive and diverse community that empowers young professionals to share their passion with their peers and to engage with the broader mining community.

WA Mining Club Young Professionals do this through hosting industry thought leaders that present and discuss contemporary industry themes along with encouraging their members to take advantage of the opportunities that are offered within the WA Mining Club community.

Current Young Professionals have entered the workforce during a time of turbulence and uncertainty.

This has resulted in many of them honing and developing critical skill sets that in turn contribute to fostering industry evolution such as the interoperability boom we are currently undergoing.

This has also provided Young Professionals the opportunity to develop key soft skill sets such as critical problem solving, flexibility, resilience, and top-quality communication skills.

All of which are necessary in today’s rapidly evolving and ever more digital environment.

Today’s Young Professionals expect more out of their employment and employers than just performing a role on a day-to day basis.

This is driving further change in the industry, where companies now need to consider their approach to attracting and retaining talent from the younger generation within their organisations.

Many Young Professionals are motivated to work for companies that are directed by sound leaders that demonstrate commitment to innovation, diversity, inclusivity, equality, and a healthy work-life balance.

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They are more likely to seek out organisations that provide mentoring opportunities, and those that take their ESG obligations seriously.

The WA Mining Club and the WAMC Young Professionals provide a forum where it is possible for these young professionals to discuss their motivations and passions with peers who can help point them in the direction of organisations that align with their values.

The WA Mining Club was conceptualised in 1972 by a group of dedicated peers with the aim of regular networking and providing a forum to discuss industry issues and topics.

Since its inception, the club has grown and advanced with the industry as it develops and evolves.

As such, the Club now runs several initiatives such as scholarships, events, the buddy program, and our outreach program STEM united.

The WA Mining Club Young Professionals aspire to drive diversification and innovation within the mining industry through the creation of a forum that supports development and retention of young professionals.

We encourage a welcoming, inclusive environment which supports and facilitates diversity of thought.

We nurture the development of emerging leaders and provide opportunities to network and collaborate with industry experts whilst committing to socially responsible practices that contribute to the industry and wider community.

Lastly, the WA Mining Club Young Professionals conduct ourselves in an ethical manner demonstrated by practicing tolerance, fairness, and open communication.

To deliver on the above, the WA Mining Club Young Professionals provide many benefits and are driving several initiatives for their members to ensure the delivery of top value to their members.

These benefits include discounted tickets to the quarterly topical events, members only sundowners, the WA Mining Club monthly luncheons, as well at the Gala Ball and Golf Day. Attending the Mining Club events provides the opportunity to network with like-minded industry peers in many stages of their careers and provides an avenue to get involved with our buddy program initiative.

If you believe that you or a colleague would benefit from joining the WA Mining Club Young Professionals, please head to the website and fill out an application form: www.waminingclub.asn.au.

Trigg Mining

Saturn Metals

Trigg Mining signed off 2020 by claiming a new high-grade discovery at the company’s Lake Throssell sulphate of potash (SOP) project, located 170 kilometres east of Laverton in Western Australia.

The discovery came courtesy of Trigg Mining’s inaugural air-core drilling program at the Lake Throssell project that was testing the basal aquifer within an interpreted 46km palaeovalley target the company had derived from earlier ground gravity surveys.

Initial interpretation of the drilling determined the palaeovalley appears to be at least 1km wide and may be up to 3 to 4km wide in places.

“We are very encouraged by these early results from the maiden air-core drilling program at Lake Throssell, which build on the high-grade results encountered in the surficial aquifer and continue to show Lake Throssell has the potential to be a significant new sulphate of potash project,” Trigg Mining managing director Keren Paterson said.

“As soon as weather conditions permit, we anticipate recommencing the drilling program to continue to delineate this exciting high-grade SOP discovery.”

Beside Lake Throssell, Trigg Mining’s portfolio also includes the Lake Rason SOP project that covers 500 square kilometres of granted and pending tenements including around 190sqkm of playa lake area and 64km of interpreted palaeochannel.

The Lake Rason project contains a JORC Code-compliant Inferred Mineral Resource of 6 million tonnes SOP. Trigg Mining is looking to secure Australia’s sustainable agriculture future through the exploration of SOP, which is a potassium fertiliser necessary for global food production and human nutrition.

The company hopes to produce SOP sustainably through the solar evaporation of potassium-rich hypersaline brine water, without the need for large open pits or waste-rock dumps.

Saturn Metals ended 2020 on a high thanks to RC drilling results achieved at the Apollo Hill deposit within the company’s 100 per centowned Apollo Hill gold project near Leonora in the Western Australian goldfields.

The drilling scored at an appreciative rate with fifteen of sixteen holes intercepting gold above the Apollo Hill resource cut-off grade.

Thirteen of these holes reported mineralisation above the average resource grade providing further scope for resource extension.

The majority of the intersections from this round of drilling were encountered outside the Mineral Resource of 24.5 million tonnes at one gram per tonne gold for 781,000 ounces of gold, which the company interpreted to highlight the potential to increase the size and quality of the Apollo Hill gold system.

While all this was happening, Saturn Metals secured a second quality gold exploration project in New South Wales.

The company took an option to earn an 85 per cent Joint Venture interest in the West Wyalong project, which it considers being a high-grade vein opportunity on the gold prospective Gilmore suture within the renown Lachlan Fold belt of NSW. Reconnaissance activities involving some 20 rock chips taken from mullock dumps at several old workings to the north of West Wyalong returned a majority of samples containing gold mineralisation.

The rock chip results combined with historic Aircore (AC) drill results to highlight a mineralised footprint within a cluster of under-exploited historic mine diggings.

Follow-up infill and extensional AC drilling is planned.

“The consistent nature of these significant rock chip results, when combined with the cluster of promising aircore intersections and a strong geological setting, provide for another exciting target at West Wyalong,” Saturn Metals managing director Ian Bamborough said.

(ASX: TMG)

EMAIL info@triggmining.com.au WEB www.triggmining.com.au DIRECTORS Keren Paterson, Mike Ralston, Bill Bent

(ASX: STN)

EMAIL info@saturnmetals.com.au WEB www.saturnmetals.com.au DIRECTORS Ian Bamborough, Brett Lambert, Rob Tyson, Andrew Venn

Venture Minerals (ASX: VMS)

While waiting for its 100 per cent-owned Riley iron ore mine to come on stream, Venture Minerals reminded the market of the further value within its portfolio of projects in Western Australia.

Venture’s maiden drilling at its Golden Gove North priority Orcus prospect confirmed a Volcanic Massive Sulphide (VMS) System, returning assays up to seven per cent zinc and all holes hitting VMS mineralisation.

A recent trenching program, over some high-order gold in soil anomalies at the company’s 100 per cent-owned Kulin project delivered mineralised intervals of up to 31m at 1g/t gold.

Venture considers these broad, strongly mineralised gold zones in the trenches, not only confirm the soil anomalies, but also suggest potential exists for intersecting broad zones of gold mineralisation at depth, which a current diamond drilling program (in progress) is designed to test.

Once the initial diamond drilling program at Kulin is completed, the rig will head to Golden Grove North project, tareting extensions to the Orcus sulphide system where it previously confirmed a large EM conductor over 800m long and 600m down dip at Orcus to host VMS style mineralisation.

“We are looking forward to generating drill results from Kulin on completion of its maiden diamond drilling program,” Venture Minerals managing director Andrew Radonjic said.

“The confirmation of a VMS System with assays of high-grade zinc and copper, gold and silver from the first drill holes at Orcus suggests the Golden Grove North project has potential to host a significant body of VMS mineralisation.

“This early success at Orcus combined with numerous strong EM conductors identified throughout the project delivers an excellent opportunity to deliver on-going exploration success targeting what appears to be a significant VMS system.”

EMAIL admin@ventureminerals.com.au WEB www.ventureminerals.com.au DIRECTORS Mel Ashton, Hamish Halliday, Andrew Radonjic, John Jetter

Dreadnought Resources (ASX: DRE)

Dreadnought Resources attracted plenty of attention throughout 2020, due mainly to results achieved from the company’s Illaara gold-VMSiron ore project, located northwest of Kalgoorlie in the Yilgarn Craton along the Illaara Greenstone Belt of Western Australia.

In September Dreadnought reported eight RC holes intersected the mineralised lode at Metzke’s Find with results including: MZRC019 4 metres at 19.9 grams per tonne gold from 45m, including 2m at 39.2g/t gold from 45m; MZRC021 4m at 10.5g/t gold from 108m, including 3m at 13.8g/t gold from 108m; and MZRC022 4m at 10.5g/t gold from 19m, including 2m at 20.7g/t gold from 19m.

In October results came from maiden drilling programs at the mysterious Longmore’s Find and Black Oak deposits, the first ever undertaken at either prospect targeting three forgotten historical lodes identified by Captain Longmore in the 1920s.

Longmore’s Find has a Lassiter’s Reef feel to it, having been unearthed by Dreadnought while researching the history of Metzke’s Find in a 1923 newspaper article discussing the results of the No. 3 State Prospecting Party’s discovery six miles north of Metzke’s Find.

Both prospects confirmed gold mineralisation, including the highest-grade intercept to date within the Illaara Greenstone Belt of: LMRC005 1m at 100g/t gold from 56m.

The company ended 2020 with diamond drilling that included four extensional holes at Metzke’s Find seeing MZRD005 intersect a 1.05m wide quartz-sulphide vein with fine grained, visible gold from 163.85m to 164.9m.

“It was a strong end to the 2020 field season at Illaara with the completion of significant RC and diamond drilling programs and extensive target generation on the gold front,” Dreadnought Resources managing director Dean Tuck said.

EMAIL info@dreadnoughtresources.com.au WEB www.dreadnoughtresources.com.au

IGO Ltd

OZ Minerals

To get a solid grasp of IGO’s exploration strategy it is probably best to take a look at how the company is focused on creating value and sustainable growth through mineral deposit discovery.

To achieve these goals, IGO has, over the last four years, purposefully developed a comprehensive Greenfields exploration strategy.

This has resulted in the establishment of what it considers a ‘best in class’ exploration team, while having built a portfolio of orogenic belt-scale exploration projects, and invested with its ambition and ground position prospectivity in mind to fast-track material discoveries.

IGO’s approach to exploration is designed to maximise the chance of success and potential value generation.

Its investment in exploration and discovery is guided using the three key imperatives of: (i) commodity and deposit style, (ii) terrane selection and portfolio development, and (iii) geoscience excellence and execution capacity.

Today, IGO’s portfolio comprises orogenic belt-scale projects in the most prospective underexplored terranes within Australia, providing the opportunity to make multiple Tier-1 and Tier-2 discoveries.

These types of open ground belt-scale opportunities are rare, due mainly to much of the target tenure being held by junior explorers.

IGO has addressed this by systematically and proactively entering into Joint Ventures with multiple partners to secure access to belt-scale tenement packages.

Often, when entering into JVs, IGO subscribes for equity in its partnering junior to achieve the ideal JV structure of giving IGO access to the land, as well as owning a position in the JV partner should a discovery be made on JV ground.

As at 30 September 2020, approximately $75 million of IGO’s $113 million portfolio of listed investments was associated with exploration JVs in its portfolio of belt-scale terranes.

OZ Minerals considers growth through exploration as being central to adding value to the company.

To do this the company operates multiple exploration earn in agreements with highly regarded explorers who in turn provide exploration expertise in specific geologies or locations dotted around the globe.

Its partners are given access to operating capital, enabling them to undertake exploration activities, which in turn allows OZ Minerals to oversee projects while the junior partners manage the on ground activities.

A good example of how this all works is the company’s recent acquisition of earn in partner Cassini Resources.

The deal resulted in OZ taking full ownership of the West Musgrave project in Western Australia while providing a great result for Cassini Shareholders (see Caspin Resources).

OZ Minerals has since announced it intends on progressing its study of the West Musgrave project following the release of a Pre-Feasibility Study Update (PFSU) for the Nebo and Babel deposits.

Elsewhere across its portfolio, OZ Minerals is set to invest $47 million towards the expansion of the Prominent Hill copper-gold mine in South Australia.

OZ Minerals has signalled it intends to spend the majority of the investment on further infill drilling to convert the Prominent Hill inferred resources to reserves ahead of making a final investment decision sometime this year.

“The positive findings of the Prominent Hill Expansion Study on a relatively small case increases our confidence in Prominent Hill’s longevity and ongoing performance,” OZ Minerals managing director and CEO Andrew Cole said.

“We understand the orebody and the mining methods to be used.

“Underground mining rates are now averaging circa four million tonnes per annum and we expect to achieve rates between 4 to 5Mtpa from 2022.”

(ASX: IGO)

EMAIL contact@igo.com.au WEB www.igo.com.au DIRECTORS Peter Bilbe, Peter Bradford, Debra Bakker, Kathleen Bozanic, Peter Buck, Michael Nossal, Keith Spence, Xiaoping Yang

(ASX: OZL)

EMAIL info@ozminerals.com.au WEB www.ozminerals.com.au DIRECTORS Rebecca McGrath, Andrew Cole, Tonianne Dwyer, Peter Wasow, Charles Sartain, Richard Seville

DIRECTORS Paul Chapman, Dean Tuck, Ian Gordon, Paul Payne

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31

Ausgold (ASX: AUC)

Ausgold operates under a stated strategy to undertake low-cost exploration that delivers high value discovery.

The company’s main focus of late has been located on the under-explored greenstone belt around Katanning in Western Australia.

Although it is generating plenty of excitement at the Katanning Gold Project (KGP), Ausgold maintains three other exploration projects across highly prospective mineral belts.

These include the 100 per cent-owned Doolgunna Station and Yamarna projects in WA and the 100 per cent-owned Cracow project inn Queensland.

Reverse circulation (RC) drilling completed last year on the Jinkas South lode within the 100 per cent-owned KGP stretched mineralisation out over a further 1.3 kilometres.

The drilling encountered several broad zones of gold mineralisation to indicate the Jinkas South lode is increasing in thickness and put its name forward for inclusion into a Resource upgrade the company has planned for 2021.

“The Jinkas South lode is proving to be a significant addition to the project with grades significantly higher than the current Resource extending over 1.3 kilometres,” Ausgold managing director Matthew Greentree said.

“This new drilling provides further confirmation of our geological model which has enabled better targeting of high-grade mineralisation within both the Jinkas and parallel Jinkas South lodes.

“This new drilling significantly extends the high-grade gold mineralisation within the Jinkas South lode, which we anticipate will further add to the Resource upgrade planned for Q1 2021 and benefit the projects economics.”

At writing, the KGP Mineral Resource currently stands at 33.9 million tonnes at 1.1 grams per tonne gold for 1.2 million ounces, which hosts a higher-grade core of 10 million tonnes at 1.48g/t gold for 456,000 ounces gold sitting in the Measured and Indicated Resource categories.

EMAIL info@ausgoldlimited.com WEB www.ausgoldlimited.com DIRECTORS Richard Lockwood, Dr Matthew Greentree, Denis Rakich, Neil Fearis, Geoffrey Jones

32

Middle Island Resources

Encounter Resources

Galan Lithium

After confirming five satellite gold discoveries at its Sandstone gold project in Western Australia, Middle Island Resources delivered a copper discovery doosra to clean bowl market watchers at the close of play for 2020.

The discovery of the Crosswinds prospect at the company’s 100 per cent-owned Barkly copper-gold project in the Northern Territory came during a reconnaissance site visit taken by the company to better understand the physiography and logistic considerations in advance of a planned 2021 ‘dry season’ (April-October) exploration campaign.

Spot pXRF readings taken at the time of discovery ranged from 24.8 per cent to 76.2 per cent copper, which were later confirmed by composite chip samples, collected over continuous 20m to 65m intervals, ranging from 0.63 per cent to 0.93 per cent copper and aggregating 130m at 0.76 per cent copper.

“Even disregarding the high-grade copper results, the Crosswinds discovery is particularly significant in that it’s interpreted to provide ‘proof of concept’ for the Barkly mineralised model,” Middle Island Resources managing director Rick Yeates said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“Crosswinds is an extremely exciting discovery.

“While there is little doubt that more such surface occurrences will be identified by on-going exploration, the focus is the potential for significant primary copper deposits within the basement.”

The Barkly iron oxide-copper-gold (IOCG) mineralised model is based on research being undertaken by Geoscience Australia (GA) and the Northern Territory Geological Survey.

Given the extremely encouraging results achieved at the reconnaissance site visit, and the lifting of interstate COVID-19 travel restrictions between WA and NT, Middle Island triggered the formal grant of five Exploration Licences in the immediate vicinity of the Barkly and Tablelands highways.

Encounter Resources has developed a strong exploration presence, due in no small part to the company’s collaborations with high-quality partners to make new discoveries.

In September 2020, Encounter joined forces with BHP in an Option Agreement covering the Elliott copper project in the Northern Territory.

The Option Agreement provides BHP with the right to enter an earn-in and joint venture agreement to earn up to 75 per cent interest in Elliott by spending up to $22 million over 10 years.

Newcrest Mining funded diamond drilling targeting a discrete magnetic anomaly consistent with the scale of an Ernest Henry or Carrapateena style IOCG gold-copper system at the Aileron Joint Venture, located in the West Arunta region of Western Australia with assay results expected in 2021.

In November 2020, a diamond drill program commenced at the Yeneena copper-cobalt project under an earn-in and JV agreement with IGO Limited in the Paterson Province of WA. The drilling was funded by IGO, with co-funding under the WA Government Exploration Incentive Scheme (EIS) of up to $150,000.

As 2020 laboured to its close, Encounter Resources announced it was to regain 100 per cent control of the 100 kilometres long West Tanami gold project in WA. “We are delighted to be back in control of this major prospective land position, in a strong gold market, with immediate high quality drill targets for follow up in 2021,” Encounter Resources managing director Will Robinson said.

“The project contains open, high-grade gold intersections under shallow cover and large untested geophysical anomalies with supporting geochemistry.

“We anticipate strong partner interest in the West Tanami gold project, which represents a rare belt scale gold project in a Tier 1 jurisdiction.”

As 2020 reached its conclusion, Galan Lithium released a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) for its 100 per cent-owned Hombre Muerto West (HMW) project in Catamarca Province, Argentina.

Equivalent in nature to a Scoping Study, a PEA, at a minimum, complies with the Canadian NI 43-101 regulation and demonstrated MHW to possess long life production (40 years+) of 20,000 tonnes per annum of battery grade lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE).

“Galan now has a solid commercial base to move forward with a clean, proven, low tech and low energy solution with no JV or non-statutory royalties involved,” Galan Lithium managing director Juan Pablo (JP) Vargas de la Vega said.

“We have now a strong base to review and reduce Opex and Capex including the substantial US$101 million of contingency (30%).

“We remain...to hopefully be supplying lithium for the future lithium requirements needed for batteries in electric vehicles.”

This followed a revised JORC 2012-compliant Mineral Resource estimate for the HMW, based on Galan’s acquisition of the Del Condor concession and a review of specific yield values used in the resource calculations.

The key HMW concessions (Del Condor, Deceo III, Pata Pila and Rana de Sal) were combined to produce a total indicated resource of approximately 2.3 million tonnes of contained lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) product grading at 946mg/l lithium (with no Li cut off).

“Being the third largest publicly disclosed resource in the Hombre Muerto and overtaking POSCO, is an amazing milestone,” “This is something we were not even dreaming about when we first started drilling late last year.

“The increase from 1.4 million tonnes to 2.3 million tonnes of LCE at HMW is a huge step up for the project’s economic and technical potential.”

EMAIL info@middleisland.com.au WEB www.middleisland.com.au

EMAIL contact@enrl.com.au WEB www.enrl.com.au

DIRECTORS Peter Thomas, Rick Yeates, Brad Marwood

DIRECTORS Paul Chapman, Will Robinson, Peter Bewick, Dr Jon Hronsky, Philip Crutchfield

(ASX: MDI)

(ASX: ENR)

(ASX: GLN)

EMAIL admin@galanlithium.com.au WEB www.galanlithium.com.au DIRECTORS Richard Homsany, Juan Pablo (JP) Vargas de la Vega, Daniel Jiminez, Christopher Chalwell, Terry Gardiner, Jinyu (Ramond) Liu

33

DEPARTMENT OF MINES, INDUSTRY REGULATION AND SAFETY

Magnetic Resources

Kalamazoo Resources

Magnetic Resources closed out 2020 the same way it began the year, by making outstanding progress at the company’s Hawks Nets 9 (HN9) gold project in Western Australia.

In December the company reported a new thickened intersection of 90m at 0.37 grams per tonne gold from 80m that included 8m at 2.5g/t gold from 80m in MHNRC780 in the southern part of HN9.

This intersection was only 60m north of an intersection of 7m at 3.04g/t gold from 108m in MHNRC718.

This new Southern Thickened Zone is 600m south of the original Central Thickened Zone, which returned very thick intersections, including 104m at 0.82g/t gold from 8m in MHNRC582, including 20m at 2.23g/t gold from 95m and 70m at 0.49g/t gold from 13m in MHNRC54.

From the results achieved, Magnetic was able to determine the real extent of the mineralisation is growing in the southern direction and remains open to the northeast and at depth.

The company also commenced deeper follow-up drilling on the northern part of the Lady Julie project area after a promising intercept of 16m at 1.1g/t gold from 64m in MLJRC123.

Further drill testing of previous high-grade drilling results in other areas at Lady Julie of 2m at 13.2g/t gold from 33m in RFR474, 4m at 8.3g/t gold from 18m in RFB206, 19m at 1.6g/t gold from 43m in RFB165 and 10m at 7.5g/t gold from 24m in RFA331 was also set to be carried out.

The Lady Julie tenements have already proven to be well mineralised with 242 gold intercepts (1-19m) greater than 0.5g/t gold, which includes 101 greater than 1g/t gold, 34 greater than 2g/t gold, 20 greater than 3g/t gold and 13 greater than 4 g/t gold.

Kalamazoo Resources closed off 2020 in stylish fashion with completion of a maiden drilling campaign at the company’s Ashburton gold project in Western Australia.

The Ashburton project covers some 217 square kilometres on the southern edge of the Pilbara Craton in WA. The project boasts historical gold production of 350,000 ounces of gold between 1998 to 2004 and currently contains a JORC Code 2012-compliant Mineral Resource estimate of 20.8 million tonnes at 2.5 grams per tonne gold for 1.65 million ounces.

The 2020 program comprised 5,677 metres of Reverse Circulation (RC) and 104m of diamond drilling and focused around the Waugh and Connie’s Find prospects on the northern side of the Diligence Dome and at Peake and Peake West on the southern side of the Dome.

Kalamazoo had identified these prospect areas as high priority targets due to their current resources, including 3.7 million tonnes at 3.3g/t gold for 399,000 ounces at Peake and 0.59 million tonnes at 3.6g/t gold for 68,000 ounces at Waugh.

What is worth noting is that these prospect areas have seen little testing along strike or down dip, which means they could hold potential to host new oxide and primary sulphide gold mineralisation.

The prospective thick quartz-and-ironstone units intersected at the Waugh and Connie’s Find prospects are characteristic of ‘Waugh Type’ mineralisation contained in the existing Waugh Resource.

Preliminary interpretations have suggested these units occur in bedding sub-parallel planes down plunge from the Waugh Pit and within cross-cutting structures at Connie’s Find that parallel surface anomalism.

Two RC holes for 348m were drilled to provide material for gold deportment studies and adequate sample material for subsequent metallurgical testwork to be carried out early in 2021.

(ASX: MAU)

EMAIL info@magres.com.au WEB www.magres.com.au DIRECTORS Eric Lim, George Sakalidis, Julien Sanderson, Hian Siang Chan

(ASX: KZR)

EMAIL admin@kzr.com.au WEB www.kzr.com.au DIRECTORS Luke Reinehr, Angus Middleton, Paul Adams

resources

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Safe exploration: an industry imperative Commencing in 2019, the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety conducted a focussed exploration campaign.

The campaign was driven by a disproportionate number of exploration incidents (injuries and fatalities) over recent years, when compared to mining.

Over the preceding 24 months, 197 exploration-related serious incidents were reported to DMIRS. Outside of general incidents in the exploration environment, incidents of note included: » 116 directly related to drilling » 6 related to bullying or mental health.

As with the Registered Manager in the mining context, the Exploration Manager is responsible for compliance with the Act and Regulations, and should be appropriately competent to ensure the health and safety of personnel they are responsible for.

CAMPAIGN FOCAL AREAS Based on a detailed analysis of exploration data held by DMIRS, focal areas of the campaign were: » Line of fire hazards: Mechanical and technical hazard management » Working in remote areas: Emergency management arrangements » Health hazards: Physical and mental health.

During 2020, over 20 companies were inspected or audited over a period of seven months.

Numerous drill sites were visited on each occasion (e.g. reverse circulation, diamond and hydro drilling) as well as associated activities such as drill pad and infrastructure development.

The main issues identified included: » significant dust, both on drill pads and access tracks » a lack of dust suppression and control, compounded by inadequate knowledge and use of PPE » long roster lengths due to COVID-19, which meant workers were unable to return to their home states » most drill crews having at least one very inexperienced member.

This inexperience not only applied to exploration, but in most cases to the harsh outback environment » lack of PPE or knowledge of correct use » lack of toilets or other hygiene facilities » drill pads in poor condition.

As part of the safety campaign, DMIRS has developed a suite of new tools and processes within the inspectorate specifically for exploration inspections.

These resources: » ensure a consistent approach to exploration inspections » can be used for training and induction guidance » highlight significant hazards associated with the industry » add value to industry » demonstrate the Department’s expectation in managing relevant hazards.

HUMAN AND ORGANISATIONAL FACTORS There is, and always has been, a high prevalence of potential psychosocial hazards and injury associated with the drilling industry, with some newcomers who were exposed finding it difficult to cope.

However, in recent years there has been a notable increase in focus on mental health issues within the drilling industry, with improved recognition of hazards and implementation of controls.

There has also been a notable improvement in safety within the industry due to technology that either automates previously high-risk manual tasks or removes the operators from the vicinity of hazards during drilling operations.

The Department’s initial campaign and awareness forums set the scene for an ongoing management system based on: » identifying risk » implementing planned systematic site visits » collaborating with exploration companies » improving knowledge and resilience to hazards.

Along with areas specific to exploration, the campaign also focusses on ensuring that organisations are aware of the principles of human and organisational factors and embed them into their operational processes.

Human and organisational factors is the term used to describe all elements in a workplace that have an influence on the people who work there (e.g., workers, equipment, procedures).

How well these factors are managed will influence the likelihood of human failure, and are particularly important in the exploration context.

SITE RESOURCES AND VULNERABILITY Another focal area for the DMIRS campaign was the importance of managing risks associated with site resources and vulnerability.

Exploration site resources are critical to sites that are remote from support facilities, agencies or services.

An event such as a minor injury that occurs a long way from medical facilities or involves long response times may become an emergency.

This, and other similar risks, can be reduced by having better resources on site.

The unique circumstances and changing environment of exploration operations may make them more vulnerable to the effects of emergency events than permanent operations.

For example, a drilling operation in a low-lying area would be more vulnerable to the effects of flood than a nearby drilling operation on higher ground.

While the likelihood of the flood occurring may be the same for both operations, the potential consequence to the low-lying plant would be far greater, making it more vulnerable to the effects of the flood.

When carrying out exploration risk assessments, it is critical for organisations to identify and manage factors that increase risk levels.

Defining hazards associated with the exploration operation includes asking: » Where is it? » What resources are available onsite? » What is the physical environment like? » What is the weather likely to be? » What is access like? » What communication systems work?.

35

Mincor Resources

Kairos Minerals

Hammer Metals

Altech Chemical

Mincor Resources is moving project development activities along at a pleasing rate at the company’s 100 per cent-owned Kambalda Nickel Operations in Western Australia.

The company has been ramping-up mine development and construction activities on several fronts, including hitting a key milestone with the first firing of the portal face in the box-cut at the new Cassini nickel mine, heralding the start of development of the newest high-grade nickel sulphide mine in Australia in many years.

In concert with the firing has been the commencement of underground development at the Northern Operations, firstly at the take-off point in the Otter Decline to the Durkin North orebody.

Activity at the Long Decline resulted with installation of additional ventilation infrastructure and development of an incline to link the Long and Durkin North orebodies.

“Our transition to developer and re-establishment as a fully-fledged mining company is well underway and gaining momentum following the announcement of a Final Investment Decision in September,” Mincor Resources managing director David Southam said.

“In the space of just two months we have achieved a significant amount, leveraging off the detailed planning we did at an early pre-development stage and our early engagement of the mining contractor.

“There is a sense of achievement in having the first development firings at the Northern Operations and decline development underway at Cassini with the firing of the first cut in the portal.

“Cassini is the first new high-grade nickel sulphide mine to commence in Australia for many years and are we excited about our timing given the global structural changes occurring in the motor vehicle industry as the world sprints towards high nickel content EV batteries.”

At the close of play for 2020, Kairos Minerals delivered the final phase of its 2020 exploration field season at the company’s 100 per centowned Pilbara gold project in Western Australia.

Since acquiring the project in early 2016, Kairos has established a JORC-compliant Indicated 8.56 million tonnes at 1.3 grams per tonne for 366,000 ounces and Inferred 12.36 million tonnes at 1.28g/t for 507,000 ounces for a Total Mineral Resource of 20.93 million tonnes at 1.3g/t gold for 873,000 ounces.

The work undertaken in 2020 entailed over 2,000m Reverse Circulation (RC) drilling being carried out at the Mt York project before the onset of the northern-Australian wet season.

The drilling focused on the Old Faithful deposit, targeting extensions to the current Resource as well as high-grade zones within the deposit, with the aim of upgrading the current unclassified Inferred and Indicated Resources into higher-confidence categories.

Old Faithful was prioritised for this late-season drilling due to extremely positive results received from a recently-completed Sub-Audio Magnetics (SAM) survey.

Kairos anticipates receiving assay results from the drilling early in 2021, together with results from other exploration activities completed at the Skywell and Croydon projects, including mapping, rock chip sampling and further infill geochemistry programs.

“Given the scale of the targets and the very wide-spaced nature of this initial drilling, these programs have given us a really good look at the opportunities in these areas,” Kairos Minerals executive chairman Terry Topping said.

“This will help us to focus on higher grade priority areas once we fully evaluate the results, including outstanding one-metre samples, correlate this with the geology and structures observed in the recent SAM surveys and refine our priority target areas for next year.”

The interests of Hammer Metals are spread across the country encapsulating projects in Western Australia and Queensland, two of Australia’s major mining jurisdictions.

In Queensland, Hammer holds a strategic tenement position covering approximately 2200 square kilometres within the Mount Isa mining district, with 100 per cent interests in the Kalman deposit, the Overlander North and Overlander South deposits and the Elaine deposit.

Hammer also has 51 per cent interest in the emerging Jubilee copper-gold deposit.

Hammer’s Mt Isa projects are fully funded by Joint Venture partner JOGMEC as part of an Earn-in agreement.

Hammer Metals received a Critical Minerals Exploration Initiative (CEI) grant from the Queensland Government to drill test rare earth mineralisation at the Koppany prospect located 2km to the south east of the Mary Kathleen uranium and REE deposit.

The two-drill hole program was designed to test strongly anomalous Lanthanum and Cerium responses in surface soil sampling.

In 2019 Hammer has acquired a 100 per cent-interest in the Bronzewing South gold project located adjacent to the 2.3 millionounce Bronzewing gold deposit in the highly endowed Yandal Belt of Western Australia.

In 2020 it acquired the North Bronzewing project from Alloy Resources, hosting gold targets on trend to Northern Star’s Julius (335koz) and Ramone deposits.

The company sees potential from developments at those deposits for discoveries within the northern part of this belt.

Work carried out at Bronzewing South in 2020 identified multiple prospective Reverse Circulation (RC) drilling targets along a 2km trend of gold mineralisation.

The company completed a third aircore program of 174 holes at the North Orelia target.

Each of the aircore programs completed at this target area have extended known mineralisation and provided multiple RC drilling targets.

Altech Chemicals is aiming high carrying aspirations of becoming one of the world’s leading suppliers of 99.99 per cent (4N) high purity alumina (Al2O3).

The company aims to achieve this through the construction and operation of a 4,500 tonnes per annum high purity alumina (HPA) processing plant at Johor, Malaysia.

HPA is a high-value product and the critical ingredient required for production of synthetic sapphire, which is used in manufacturing of substrates for LED lights, semiconductor wafers used in the electronics industry, and scratch-resistant sapphire glass used for wristwatch faces, optical windows and smartphone components.

HPA is used by lithium-ion battery manufacturers as the coating on the battery’s separator, which improves performance, longevity and safety of the battery.

Altech is in the final development stage of a high purity alumina (HPA) grade specifically designed for anode applications within lithium-ion batteries having recognised growing support for alumina within the anode component due to the positive impacts alumina coated graphite particles have on battery life and performance.

The company identified lithium-ion battery anode development trends in Europe from potential HPA users, and from work undertaken with research organisations such as the internationally renowned Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft Institute.

This led Altech to develop a its method for the alumina coating of graphite particles, thus extending the life of a lithium-ion battery.

An independent verification phase of testing is underway, which if successful will see Altech’s proposed Anode grade product range be produced at its already designed HPA plant in Johor, Malaysia.

As no new specialised equipment will be required, there is not expected to be any material change in the estimated capital cost for the Johor HPA plant from the proposed production of these new products.

EMAIL info@hammermetals.com.au WEB www.hammermetals.com.au

DIRECTORS Luke Atkins, Iggy Tan, Daniel Tenardi, Peter Bailey, Tunku Khyra, Uwe Ahrens, Hansjoerg Plaggemars

(ASX: MCR)

EMAIL mincor@mincor.com.au WEB www.mincor.com.au DIRECTORS Brett Lambert, David Southam, Michael Bohm, Liza Carpene, Peter Bewick

(ASX: KAI)

EMAIL info@kairosminerals.com.au WEB www.kairosminerals.com.au DIRECTORS Terry Topping, Neil Hutchison, Bruno Seneque

(ASX: HMX)

DIRECTORS Russell Davis, Daniel Thomas, Ziggy Lubienieki, David Church

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(ASX: ATC)

EMAIL info@altechchemicals.com WEB www.altechchemicals.com

37

Kin Mining

RareX Limited

Galileo Mining

Aruma Resources

Kin Mining wished its shareholders a Merry Christmas in the form of an update to the Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) for the company’s Cardinia Gold Project (CGP), located near Leonora in Western Australia.

Kin Mining delivered a 22 per cent increase in contained ounces over the previous MRE of 945,000 ounces it had announced in February 2020.

The updated MRE for the Cardinia Gold Project came in at 28.2 million tonnes at 1.27 grams per tonne gold for 1.15 million ounces of contained gold.

This included a maiden Inferred MRE for the Cardinia Hill deposit of 61,000 ounces, with plenty of scope for further growth.

The MRE update did not include results the company had earlier received from a final Reverse Circulation (RC) program completed at the Hobby discovery, located just seven kilometres from the proposed processing plant location at CGP. The resource definition program entailed RC and diamond drilling and extended the overall strike length of the mineralisation at Hobby to approximately 450m, with the deposit remaining open both down-plunge to the north and along strike to the south.

The drilling allowed the company to increase its understanding of the geology and sulphide zones at Hobby, confirming the presence of both wider zones of ore grade mineralisation and narrow high-grade mineralisation at depth associated with porphyry intrusions, laminated quartz veins and sulphide mineralisation.

The Hobby prospect is now demonstrating strong geological similarities to other important new discoveries at the CGP, such as Cardinia Hill, Comedy King and East Lynne/Collymore.

Next steps at Hobby include an updated Mineral Resource Estimate, step-out RC drilling to the south and further RC and diamond drilling to test the down-plunge extent to the mineralisation.

RareX Limited finalised 2020 preparations with an eye to upgrade the current Inferred Resource of the company’s 100 per cent-owned Cummins Range rare earths project, located in the Kimberley Region of Western Australia.

The company signed off the year by completing the final 20 holes (CRX0038 to CRX0058) of an in-fill and extensional drilling program at Cummins Range with the objective to both upgrade the current Inferred Resource of 13 million tonnes at 1.13 per cent total rare earth oxide (TREO) with 22.1 per cent neodymium and praseodymium (NdPr) and to define a high-grade component to support commercial development studies.

The results extended mineralisation with intercepts combining with drilling on previously reported sections to give RareX confidence in the potential to increase the existing Mineral Resource.

“With rare earths prices continuing to perform strongly, this is an exciting time to be progressing a high-quality asset in a Tier-1 jurisdiction and we believe that Cummins Range could represent a company-making opportunity for our shareholders over the next few years,” RareX managing director Jeremy Robinson said.

RareX demonstrated its faith in the rare earths space striking a deal with Talaxis Group Holdings to acquire its stake in TSV-Venture Exchange listed Canada Rare Earth Corp. (CREC).

CREC is developing an integrated rare earth industry business focused on supply chains connecting mining operations, rare earth concentration processes, rare earth separation, and refining facilities to major international customers.

“At a time of continued strength in rare earths prices and increasing demand globally, this is an exciting opportunity for RareX to become involved at other levels of the global rare earths industry through a possible partnership with an experienced global group such as CREC,” Robinson said.

EMAIL info@kinmining.com.au WEB www.kinmining.com.au

EMAIL info@rarex.com.au WEB www.rarex.com.au

Galileo Mining is implementing a strategy of rapidly exploring highly-prospective targets within the emerging Fraser Range nickel belt of Western Australia.

The company is due to commenced drilling with an RC rig capable of drilling greater than 300 metres deep to undertake the next round of drilling at its Fraser Range nickel project.

The program will be targeting EM conductors at the Lantern East prospect while it also has a look around for deeper mineralisation at the Lantern South prospect.

Galileo is using RC drilling as it considers it to be a fast, efficient, and effective method of drill testing.

Not too far away, in fact just six kilometres, an EM survey uncovered a large and strong conductor known as the Green Moom prospect where sulphides had previously been intersected.

The Green Moon prospect sits where near surface aircore drilling previously defined mafic intrusive rock types prospective for magmatic nickel-copper deposits.

“Each program of exploration we undertake is bringing us closer to understanding the potential of the ground we are working,” Galileo Mining managing director Brad Underwood said “Our ongoing EM surveys have revealed another strong conductor close to known zones of sulphide mineralisation at the Lantern prospect.”

At the Norseman project, Galileo completed soil sampling targeting nickel sulphides to integrate with exploration data sets.

These modern techniques are providing the company new ways to identify drill targets that were not previously available.

The Norseman area is located 50km south of the Cassini, Mariners, and Wannaway nickel deposits, and contains the komatiite stratigraphy prospective for Kambalda style nickel mineralisation.

“The Fraser Range is an exciting province to be exploring with excellent chances of a high value nickel discovery being made,” Underwood said.

The end of year focus of Aruma Resources was centred on the company’s recently acquired Saltwater gold project near Newman in Western Australia.

The Saltwater project hosts eight granted Exploration Licences for a total area of 736 square kilometres and covers a strike extent of more than 65 kilometres of the Nanjilgardy fault, the same regional structure reported as the primary source of gold mineralisation at Northern Star Resources’ Paulsens gold mine and the Mt Olympus gold mine, also in the region.

Aruma Resources completed its first RC drilling program at the Saltwater project, consisting 40 drill holes, of which 31 targeted the old mining area within the project, conducting for 3,618 metres of RC drilling.

This initial drilling program focused on the outcropping areas on the western end of the Saltwater Ring Structure, a large 60sqkm magnetic ring structure that sits within E52/3818 at Saltwater.

Drilling was conducted over four lines short, closer-spaced lines that were concentrated on an identified anomalous western area of the Saltwater Ring Structure.

Wider-spaced (regional) longer lines to the east targeted the ring structure/splay under cover, involving nine holes totalling 900m in two lines.

Not far away, south of the mining town of Pannawonica on the border of the Ashburton and West Pilbara Mineral Fields, is the Melrose gold project, consisting of nine Exploration Licence Applications over 282sqkm.

The Melrose Project sits on the same regional structure as the Saltwater, namely the main source of mineralisation for Paulsens and Mt Olympus.

The structural corridors controlling the mineralisation at Paulsens appear to continue into the Melrose area, where exploration targets have been identified.

Aruma has expanded the Melrose project area by adding new Exploration Licence Applications (ELAs).

DIRECTORS Joe Graziano, Andrew Munckton, Brian Dawes, Nicholas Anderson, Hansjoerg Plaggermars

DIRECTORS John Young, Jeremy Robinson, Shaun Hardcastle, Cameron Henry

(ASX: KIN)

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(ASX: REE)

(ASX: GAL)

EMAIL info@galmining.com.au WEB www.galileomining.com.au DIRECTORS Brad Underwood, Noel O’Brien, Matthew Whyte

(ASX: AAJ)

EMAIL info@aruma.com WEB www.aruma.com DIRECTORS Paul Boyatzis, Peter Schwann, Mark Elliott, Phillip MacLeod

39

Corazon Mining

Calidus Resources

Genesis Minerals

Peel Mining

Corazon Mining stepped back and took a new technological look at the company’s Lynn Lake nickel-copper-cobalt sulphide project in Manitoba Province, Canada.

The upshot from utilising the new tech was the identification of a substantial new geophysical anomaly, leading to the acquisition of new ground at the Lynn Lake project.

Corazon carried out an aerial MobileMT geophysical survey at Lynn Lake in 2020 that identified multiple new anomalies indicative of nickel-copper-cobalt sulphide mineralisation.

The most substantial and highest priority geophysical anomaly defined by the MobileMT survey was located on vacant tenure outside of Corazon’s Lynn Lake project area, sitting to the south and immediately adjacent to the prospective Fraser Lake Complex (FLC).

This new anomaly hosts two large magnetic pipe-like bodies, one of which is conductive, and interpreted by the company as being possibly indicative of a deep-seated intrusive pathway that appears linked to known nickel-copper-cobalt sulphide mineralisation within the FLC. All at once, this conductive anomaly became a priority drill target in Corazon’s exploration for massive sulphide mineralisation at Lynn Lake.

“We identified this feature almost immediately in the new geophysical data,” Corazon Mining chairman Terry Streeter said.

“These targets are the only pipe-like bodies defined in the Fraser Lake area, an area that exhibits widespread sulphide mineralisation.

“Importantly, they represent a critical ingredient to understanding the geological model at Fraser Lake.”

Corazon immediately set about organising a northern winter drilling program over the priority targets at Lynn Lake with the aim of drilling as soon as practicable, subject to Covid-19-imposed movement restrictions in Canada.

The first stage of the drilling program will be the preparation of access tracks and drill sites taking advantage of any freezing conditions.

Calidus Resources has put the pedal to the metal in recent times as it accelerates the development of the company’s 1.5-million-ounce Warrawoona gold project (WGP)in the East Pilbara district of Western Australia.

Having gained approval from the Western Australian Department of Mines and Petroleum (DMP) for its Project Management Plan for the WGP, Calidus wasted little time getting site constructions underway, although it was still waiting on two approvals, being the Mining Proposal and Works Approval to be granted.

These will pave the way for main construction to commence, which is anticipated this year.

Results from a Feasibility Study released in September 2020, confirmed the robustness of the projects economics allowing construction of a 240 room accommodation village to progress; the installation of a 65m telecommunications tower to provide 100Mb/s data connection to site (which is probably better than The Roadhouse gets in Shenton Park); installation of pipe work to connect the bore field into process plant area and camp supply; and engineering of the site access road.

“The pace of construction continues to gain momentum,” Calidus Resources managing director Dave Reeves said.

“Installation of the key base infrastructure has rapidly advanced and will provide a springboard to allow on-ground activities to kick off in earnest in early 2021.

“With the completion of the $110 million debt financing announced recently, and the PMP approval, we will now look to conclude all major contracts, and once the final regulatory approvals are obtained, to commence main project construction.”

The debt facility alluded to above was overshadowed when Calidus received firm commitments to raise $31.875 million from institutional and sophisticated investors via a Placement to fund development of Warrawoona.

Genesis Minerals blew hard on new year celebratory noise makers announcing results from ongoing Resource drilling at the company’s Ulysses gold project in Western Australia.

Genesis Minerals’ recent results confirmed the potential to expand and upgrade existing Resources within the Ulysses project, including all deposits within the recently acquired Kookynie group of tenements.

The latest highly-encouraging results were from Reverse Circulation (RC) drilling completed prior to Christmas at both the Orient Well and Butterfly-Clark deposits.

The drilling at Orient Well was designed to expand and upgrade the existing 61,000-ounce Mineral Resource, where results have demonstrated strong potential to grow the existing Resource.

All of the latest results are outside the current Resource.

Drilling on the Clark-Butterfly area targeted the Hercules and Clark shears and also focused on upgrading parts of the Inferred Resource at Butterfly.

“This is a great way to start the New Year, with another batch of impressive assay results from both the Orient Well and Butterfly-Clark areas,” Genesis Minerals managing director Michael Fowler said.

“At Orient Well, all of the new results are from outside the current 61,000-ounce Resource and show clear potential to grow this Resource.

“At Clark-Butterfly, recent drilling has focused on the potential of the Hercules and Clark shears and also intersected significant mineralisation outside the known deposits.

“Drilling has now re-commenced across the greater Ulysses project with one RC rig currently on site.

“We expect to deliver an updated project-wide Mineral Resource in the first quarter of 2021, which will underpin the completion of a Feasibility Study and provide a solid platform from which to progress the development of a significant new standalone gold mining and processing operation at Ulysses.”

Peel Mining completed its new year resolution by finalising the acquisition of former Joint Venture partner, CBH Resources’, 50 per cent interest in the Mallee Bull project in New South Wales to take the company’s ownership of the project to 100 per cent.

The Mallee Bull project contains both the Mallee Bull copper deposit, and the May Day gold-polymetallic deposit.

Both deposits host predominately inferred resources and are open in most directions offering strong exploration upside.

The Mallee Bull prospect contains a JORC Resource of 6.76 million tonnes at 1.8 per cent copper, 31 grams per tonne silver, 0.4g/t gold, 0.6 per cent lead, 0.6 per cent zinc.

The May Day deposit has a maiden Inferred Mineral Resource Estimate of 1.13 million tonnes at 1.3g/t gold, 19g/t silver, 0.74 per cent zinc, 0.5 per cent lead, 0.09 per cent copper (1.8g/t gold equivalent) using 0.65g/t gold equivalent cut off.

The acquisition followed Peel regaining full ownership of the Wirlong copper deposit, taking the company 100 per cent ownership of its entire Cobar Basin tenement package.

“CBH’s funding was instrumental in helping to delineate the Mallee Bull deposit,” Peel Mining managing director Rob Tyson said “Under the Joint Venture, Mallee Bull rapidly advanced into a major copper discovery with mineralisation extending from near surface to at least 800m below surface.

“It is the company’s intention to undertake a resource drill-out at Mallee Bull to establish a primarily Indicated Resource.

“The acquisition of Mallee Bull delivers 100 per cent control of Peel’s entire Cobar Basin tenure, whilst significantly increasing the company’s exposure to copper, and expanding the company’s asset base in its objective to achieve critical mass to support a standalone processing plant.”

(ASX: CZN)

EMAIL info@corazon.com.au WEB www.corazon.com.au DIRECTORS Terry Streeter, Brett Smith, Dr Mark Yumin Qui

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(ASX: CAI)

EMAIL info@calidus.com.au WEB www.calidus.com.au DIRECTORS Mark Connelly, David Reeves, Keith Coughlan

(ASX: GMD)

EMAIL info@genesisminerals.com.au WEB www.genesisminerals.com.au DIRECTORS Tommy McKeith, Michael Fowler, Craig Bradshaw, Gerry Kaczmarek, Nic Earner

(ASX: PEX)

EMAIL info@peelmining.com.au WEB www.peelmining.com.au DIRECTORS Rob Tyson, Simon Hadfield, Graham Hardie, Jim Simpson

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Alicanto Minerals (ASX: AQI)

Alicanto Minerals announced a maiden JORC 2012-compliant Inferred Resource in 2020 of 500,000 ounces at 1.8 grams per tonne gold at the company’s 100 per cent-owned Arakaka gold project in Northwest Guyana, South America.

The Maiden Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) for the Arakaka gold project was calculated across two separate domains, the Purple Heart and Gomes deposits.

The Purple Heart resource lies within a stacked thrust system where mineralisation has been observed to extend to approximately 150 metres vertical depth.

At Gomes the current resource is located within approximately 500m of strike along a West South West dipping regional scale shear, the Temberlin shear zone.

Mineralisation has been observed to extend approximately 100m vertical depth.

“This Resource is shallow, the mineralisation remains open in all directions and we already have numerous intersections outside the resource which will form part of the next estimate,” Alicanto Minerals managing director Peter George said.

“We also have multiple walk-up targets with multi-million-ounce bulk tonnage potential that remain to be drilled.”

Alicanto Minerals followed up the MRE at Arakaka with news of a placement to institutional and sophisticated investors to raise $6 million.

The proceeds from the placement, however, are earmarked for further international travel, this time to fund an extensive 20,000m follow-up drilling program at the company’s Greater Falun copper-gold project in Sweden.

Greater Falun is located in the Bergslagen region, which hosts world-class base and precious metals projects such as the Garpenberg mine operated by Boliden and the Zinkgruvan mine operated by Lundin.

“The strong demand for the placement reflects the growing recognition of the huge potential of Greater Falun, the strength of the initial drilling results and its location in a tier-1 jurisdiction” George said.

EMAIL info@alicantominerals.com.au WEB www.alicantominerals.com.au DIRECTORS Ray Shorrocks, Peter George, Didier Murcia

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Ramelius Resources (ASX: RMS)

Ramelius Resources continues on its merry gold producing way having exceeded the company’s December 2020 Quarter Production Guidance range by producing a healthy 72,896 ounces of gold.

The company produced the gold whilst maintaining an even healthier balance sheet boasting a strong box containing cash and gold of $221.5 million and a reduced debt figure of $8.1 million as at the end of the December 2020 Quarter, giving a net cash position of $213.4 million.

Ramelius owns and operates the Mt Magnet, Edna May, Vivien and Marda gold mines and owns a 90 per cdent interest in the Tampia Hill gold project, all in Western Australia.

Ore from the high-grade Vivien underground mine is trucked to Mt Magnet where it is blended with ore from both underground and open pit sources.

Edna May processes ore from its underground and open pit operations as well as hauled ore from the Marda gold mine.

Ramelius’ Group Quarterly gold production of 72,896 ounces (Guidance: 67,000 — 72,000oz) included contributions from Mt Magnet (incl. Vivien) with 43,055 ounces and from Edna May (incl.

Marda) of 29,841 ounces.

More of the same is expected in 2021 as Ramelius follows up its Decision-to-Mine to bring the Penny project into production in the June 2021 Quarter as a result of compelling financial outcomes from the Penny Feasibility Study.

At Edna May, infill and extensional diamond drilling enabled a resource model update, with the revised Mineral Resource much larger than previous.

Progress of an underground bulk versus high-grade only mining study has continued, although the company indicated that any decision to change from the current high-grade lode mining method is best considered alongside the potential Stage 3 open pit study.

EMAIL ramelius@rameliusresources.com.au WEB www.rameliusresources.com.au DIRECTORS Michael Bohm, Mark Zeptner, David Southam, Natalia Streltsova

Caspin Resources

Cyprium Metals

Caspin Resources takes its name from where it came from being the spin out of Cassini Resources after it was taken over by OZ Minerals.

OZ Minerals left taking the West Musgrave project, leaving Caspin with a more than desirable portfolio of exploration ground that had already been given a thorough going over.

The Yarawindah Brook (80% Caspin) project, is located in newest nickel-copper-PGE frontier, the emerging New Norcia province, where the company intends advancing exploration on multiple fronts using soil geochemistry and Airborne EM in search of new nickel-copper-PGE sulphide deposits, after which Caspin will commence exploring the most prospective targets with drilling programs.

This was on show recently with the company conducting new soil geochemistry results and a reassessment of existing data support several new targets within the Yarawindah Brook project to open up three exploration fronts, including: Several priority airborne electromagnetic (AEM) conductors including XC-29; the Aries prospect with highly anomalous PGE results from rock chip samples; and the Yenart prospect boasting anomalous PGE and copper in soils with a coincident magnetic anomaly.

“Our target mineralisation styles range from massive nickel and copper sulphide to low sulphide PGE-rich mineralisation,” Caspin Resources CEO Greg Miles said.

“We’re in a great position with multiple pathways to discovery.”

At the 100 per cent-owned Mount Squires project that sits adjacent to the western border of the West Musgrave Project, Caspin has identified a 50km structural corridor with substantial gold mineralisation.

The company will conduct further soil sampling and reconnaissance drilling to identify new targets along strike from the Handpump prospect.

Caspin will concurrently continue to evaluate the potential for nickel-copper mineralisation along strike from the One Tree Hill prospect and Nebo-Babel deposits.

Cyprium Metals made an early start to 2021 by commencing a Reverse Circulation (RC) drilling program at the Nanadie Well copper-gold project, part of the company’s Murchison copper-gold projects in Western Australia.

While a diamond drilling program, commenced last year, continues, Cyprium Metals will complete 3,500m of RC drilling designed to test the supergene mineralisation of the deposit.

The company anticipates data from this and subsequent drill programs to contribute to a JORC Code 2012 compliant mineral resource, for the Nanadie Well deposit during 2021.

The company recently reported the fifth diamond drill hole of the Phase 1 diamond program has continued to intersect consistent sulphide mineralisation at shallow depths ranging from 45m to 290m.

The diamond drilling is serving a number of purposes in the definition of the Nanadie Well copper-gold mineralisation: Provide core for geological logging and mapping, in both supergene and sulphide material, to gain a better understanding of the mineralisation; To assay for a broad range of payable metals in the mineralisation, including copper, gold, silver, nickel, cobalt and PGE’s, that are normally associated with magmatic deposits; Test the geological model of the flat fractionated layers and the higher-grade sections of the layers; Provide metallurgical sample material to commence test work for the optimised extraction method in both the supergene and sulphide mineralisation; and Enable downhole geophysics to be performed to target the orebodies higher grade zones together with extensions along strike and below the currently defined mineralisation.

“We have been impressed from what we have seen in the diamond drill holes completed to date and we look forward to providing detailed of the assays results as they become available,” Cyprium Metals executive director Barry Cahill said.

EMAIL admin@caspin.com.au WEB www.caspin.com.au

EMAIL info@cypriummetals.com WEB www.cypriummetals.com

DIRECTORS Cliff Lawrenson, Justin Tremain, Simone Suen, Dr Jon Hronsky

DIRECTORS Gary Comb, Barry Cahill, Nicholas Rowley

(ASX: CPN)

(ASX: CYM)

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Platina Resources

Strickland Metals

Platina Resources ensured its upcoming exploration endeavours are funded after completion of $13.7 million sale of its Skaergaard gold and palladium project in Greenland to Canadian-listed Major Precious Metals Corp last year.

The company will use the funds to advance its projects in Western Australia.

“Our focus is now concentrated on building our gold presence in proven Australian provinces on the back of our acquision of the Challa project,” Platina Resources managing director Corey Nolan said.

“We’re also looking to make the most of our other assets which includes the Platina Scandium project in New South Wales and the Munni Munni project in Western Australia which has the potential to host one of Australia’s largest undeveloped palladium deposits.

“Gold and palladium prices have climbed to record highs this year.

“A large reconnaissance soil geochemistry program has just been completed at Challa to identify potential targets for deeper drilling.”

The soil geochem project is following up initial soil sampling completed in November last year that confirmed a number of highly prospective zones.

Assaying of 696 soil samples identified a strong correlation to mineralised outcropping veins previously identified by a previous reconnaissance program that returned grades of 1.62 grams per tonne gold and 5.89g/t gold in rock chip samples.

“Historically, Challa has not been systematically explored due to the transported sands and silts which cover a large part of the project area,” Nolan said.

“Our new soil sampling has demonstrated soil sampling can be an effective and low-cost method for identifying gold anomalism.

“As a result, we have identified a number of target areas to be followed up with a more comprehensive gridded soil program to pinpoint targets for follow-up drilling.”

Strickland Metals garnered market attention, from both investors and ASX overseers, after reporting on the progress of drilling activities at the company’s Doolgunna project in Western Australia.

Strickland Metals completed a second drill hole DGDD002 to a depth of 555.3 metres.

On its journey, DGDD002 intersected interbedded black shales and siltstones from 140 to 408 metres with increasing pyrite/pyrrhotite at depth, including trace chalcopyrite from 380 metres.

The hole also discovered copper sulphides in strata-parallel, while a semi-massive pyrrhotite-chalcopyrite zone was intersected over 0.5m at 413m depth.

The company has been undertaking a thorough review of all data prior to further field exploration being undertaken.

The second diamond drill hole was originally designed to test below the centre of an outcropping gossan at a depth of around 200 to 300m depth.

This was extended to become a stratigraphic hole to ensure the entire anomalous zone was definitely intersected through the package of interbedded shales and siltstones into a basal sandstone unit.

The result was similar to the first hole, which also encountered a thick package of interbedded siltstones and black shales through the upper part of the hole, with beds of graphitic shales from 0.2 to 6m width with disseminated pyrite and pyrrhotite, becoming more common towards the base.

“The presence of copper bearing sulphides in a previously thought barren sequence within the Bryah Basin, vindicates the Board’s decision to secure an Option to acquire exploration licence E52/3495 earlier in the year,” Strickland Metals executive chairman Andy Viner said.

“The company is looking forward to accelerating exploration activities in early 2021 with a view to further proving the base metal potential within the Licence.”

EMAIL admin@platinaresources.com.au WEB www.platinaresources.com.au

EMAIL info@stricklandmetals.com.au WEB www.stricklandmetals.com.au

DIRECTORS Brian Moller, Corey Nolan, Dr Chris Hartley, John Anderson

DIRECTORS Andy Viner, Gary Powell, Paul Skinner, Kevin Hart

(ASX: PGM)

(ASX: STK)

Blackstone Minerals

Gascoyne Resources

Blackstone Minerals has spent the best part of the last couple of years progressing the company’s Ta Khoa Nickel-Copper-PGE project in Vietnam.

The attention the company has paid to the project is understandable, especially given the way it has paid back its efforts, including a maiden resource and scoping study for the large-scale Ban Phuc nickel-PGE deposit.

The Ban Phuc DSS deposit underpins the maiden Indicated Mineral Resource of 44.3 million tonnes at 0.52 per cent nickel for 229,000 tonnes nickel.

The Scoping Study demonstrated an economically robust nickel sulphide project to produce downstream nickel-cobalt-manganese (NCM) precursor products for the Lithium-ion battery industry.

The success at Ta Khoa has put Blackstone’s portfolio of domestic gold projects well and truly on the backburner, a place the company realises is not suitable for the potential each holds.

This unrealised potential has led Blackstone to the decision of spinning out these non-core gold assets into a new Initial Public Offering (IPO), Codrus Minerals Limited.

Projects to be part of the new company include: Record Mine project, Silver Swan South project, Red Gate project, and Middle Creek project.

“The Codrus spin out will see a dedicated management team focussed on driving value into Blackstone’s non-core assets,” Blackstone Minerals managing director Scott Williamson said.

“Codrus will provide an excellent platform and catalyst for both growth and monetisation of these assets.

“The Proposed Transaction also better positions Blackstone to focus on the development of the Ta Khoa project.”

Blackstone considers the spin out an obvious move as it reinforces the focus on the flagship Ta Khoa project, and endorses an ongoing strategy to provide additional benefit to Blackstone shareholders through maximising value from its non-core assets.

Gascoyne Resources was reinstated to the boards of the ASX in October 2020 after some time in the investment wilderness and immediately made its presence felt with news flowing from the company’s Dalgaranga gold project in Western Australia.

Nine resource definition RC drill holes completed at the Gilbey’s, Sly Fox, and Plymouth deposits demonstrated the potential for mine life extensions with the final Gilbey’s hole intersection returning 19 metres at 0.8 grams per tonne gold confirms depth continuity and width of the Gilbey’s Main Zone.

Further results soon followed from outside the current resources and mine plan and within 1.5km of the processing plant.

Sly Fox 11 metres at 15.7 grams per tonne gold from 142m; and 21m at 3g/t gold from 144m, including 15m at 3.9g/t gold; and Plymouth 12m at 3g/t gold from 141m, including 6m at 4.9g/t gold; and 18m at 1g/t gold from 111m.

“The results from both Sly Fox and Plymouth have returned high-grade intercepts over minable widths within the mineralised envelopes,” Gascoyne Resources managing director and CEO Richard Hay said.

“These results have clear potential to significantly increase the existing Mineral Resources in both deposits.”

Gascoyne soon updated the JORC Code 2012-complliant Mineral Resource estimate for the nearby Glenburgh gold project to 16.3 million tonnes at 1g/t gold for 510,100 ounces of contained gold.

The combined Mineral Resource for Dalgaranga and Glenburgh now exceeds 1.3 million ounces of gold.

“Breaking through the one million ounce mark with robust resource models at Dalgaranga and Glenburgh has firmly advanced Gascoyne on the growth path,” Hay said.

“We believe there is immediate upside to the Glenburgh resource and will progress drilling and desktop studies into development options during 2021.”

(ASX: BSX)

EMAIL admin@blackstoneminerals.com.au WEB www.blackstoneminerals.com.au DIRECTORS Hamish Halliday, Scott Williamson, Andrew Radonjic, Peter Plakidis, Hoirim Jung

44

(ASX: GCY)

EMAIL admin@gascoyneresources.com.au WEB www.gascoyneresources.com.au DIRECTORS Richard Hay, George Bauk, Rowan Johnston

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Great Boulder Resources

Moho Resources

Great Boulder Resources’ first 2021 announcement revealed results from a maiden reverse circulation (RC) drilling program carried out in November 2020 at the Blue Poles Prospect, situated within the company’s Whiteheads project north of Kalgoorlie in Western Australia.

Great Boulder Resources declared the drilling had confirmed the discovery of new gold mineralisation at Blue Poles.

Fifteen RC holes were drilled to test primary gold mineralisation beneath air-core (AC) drilling intersections.

The program identified primary mineralisation over a 700 metres strike length, including broad zones of up to: 20BPRC006 52 metres at 1.02 grams per tonne gold from 28m to the end of hole.

Lower grade intersections were also encountered over considerable widths including: 20BPRC010 28m at 0.61g/t gold from 32m; 20BPRC009 29m at 0.66g/t gold from 68m; and 20BPRC012 42m at 0.45g/t gold from 28m.

“This is an exciting development at Blue Poles,” Great Boulder Resources managing director Andrew Paterson said.

“There are two key takeaways here: firstly, we’ve identified primary gold over a 700 metres length in our first few RC holes, and it remains open at depth and to the south.

“That means the deposit is in-situ and not just a shallow supergene deposit limited to the weathered, near-surface material.

“Secondly, these intersections up to 52 metres wide demonstrate the potential for a large mineralised system.

“The next round of drilling will test the true thickness of these zones.

“These initial holes are on lines 100 metres apart, so the discovery remains at a very early stage.”

Great Boulder immediately began planning a second round of RC drilling to define and extend these results expected to commence following the completion of gravity survey processing and target planning.

Moho Resources surprised itself by discovering that drilling for mineralisation can lead to finding it.

Moho Resources reported it had encountered “additional unexpected high-grade gold assay results” from a diamond drilling campaign to infill and extend gold mineralisation at the company’s East Sampson Dam gold prospect in Western Australia.

The Sampson Dam prospect lies within the company’s Silver Swan North project northeast of Kalgoorlie.

Silver Swan covers around 55 square kilometres and includes five granted tenements and one tenement application.

The drilling intersected multiple zones of high-grade gold mineralisation in diamond drill hole SSMH0100, including: 7 metres at 4.78g/t gold from 51m, including 1m at 22.2g/t gold from 53m; 5m at 8.01g/t gold from 59m, including 1m at 23.5g/t gold from 60m; 2m at 6.91g/t gold from 77m; and 3m at 0.79g/t gold from 72m.

SSMH0100 discovered four new unexpected and significant gold intercepts outside of known mineralised zones.

The predominantly high-grade gold intersections appear to extend high-grade mineralisation previously discovered in MRC008, SSMH0067 and SSMH0091 into new areas.

This new mineralisation is found in saprolitic tuff with minor quartz veining and is in line with previous observations of there being no visible high-grade gold in the drill core.

Moho geologists have now characterised, and have confidence in, the visible characteristics of previously reported key offsetting structures.

“These unexpected diamond drilling results are very encouraging and highlight the potential to discover additional high-grade gold zones at Moho’s 100 per cent-owned East Sampson Dam prospect,” Moho Resources managing director Shane Sadlier said in the company’s ASX announcement.

The company’s other projects include the Burracoppin gold project, also in Western Australia and the Empress Springs gold project in northern Queensland.

(ASX: GBR)

EMAIL admin@greatboulder.com.au WEB www.greatboulder.com.au DIRECTORS Greg Hall, Andrew Paterson, Melanie Leighton

46

(ASX: MOH)

EMAIL admin@mohoresources.com.au WEB www.mohoresources.com.au DIRECTORS Terry Streeter, Shane Sadlier, Ralph Winter, Adrian Larking, Andrew Smyth, Jane Reid

Horizon Gold

S2 Resources

Horizon Gold closed off 2020 on the back of results from the RC drilling at the company’s 100 per cent-owned Gum Creek gold project located in the Mid-West Region of Western Australia.

Horizon Gold designed the drill program around the Swan and Swift deposits, which are centrally located in the Gum Creek tenure.

The Swan and Swift deposit areas cover a cluster of open pit and underground mines that were developed between 1987 and 2005.

The drilling results are to be included in updated Mineral Resource Estimates for the Swift and Swan North deposits to support the future development potential for what are shallow, free milling deposits.

Results from Swift North and South included: SBRC105 29 metres at 9.1 grams per tonne gold from 70m, including 5m at 37.3g/t gold from 78m; and 9m at 12.7g/t gold from 111m, including 3m at 25.9g/t gold from 113m.

SBRC110 12m at 7.4g/t gold from 113m, including 3m at 22.3g/t gold from 116m.

Results from Swan North included: SBRC114 17m at 3.7g/t gold from 139m, including 4m at 8.3g/t gold from 142m and 2m at 11.9g/t gold from 153m; and SBRC124 24m at 2.7g/t gold from 143m, including 8m at 4.8g/t gold from 157m.

Horizon Gold explained the drilling at Swan and Swift represents only two of nine resource areas at Gum Creek and will be used to update the Mineral Resource Estimates in due course.

The company finalised a comprehensive geological review of the Gum Creek gold project with the objective of identifying and prioritising key resource growth areas and new brownfields and advanced exploration targets.

The review will drive the future exploration strategy and priority of targets to be drill tested in 2021.

S2 Resources, like many of its peer group, took advantage of the circumstances dictated by the covid-19 pandemic to concentrate on the domestic side of its project portfolio.

S2 Resources opened up exploration activities on multiple fronts across the company’s Western Australian projects that included drilling campaigns in the Fraser Range (nickel-copper-cobalt) and the Jillewarra Joint Venture (gold-base metals).

Early geochemical and electromagnetic (EM) surveys were also planned for the West Murchison and Three Springs projects, both located along the western margin of the Yilgarn Craton, which S2 considers prospective for Julimar-style PGE and base metal mineralisation.

“It is exciting to be increasing our on ground activities in Australia, particularly in the Fraser Range, where this team made the province-defining Nova-Bollinger nickel-copper-cobalt discovery in 2012 as Sirius Resources,” S2 Resources CEO Matthew Keane said.

“At Jillewarra, we can earn a majority interest in an underexplored greenstone belt with known gold mineralisation.

“To attain control of a consolidated belt, adjacent to the Mt Magnet and Meekatharra mining camps, which have a plus-20 million ounces of gold endowment, is a rare opportunity.”

Deciding to focus on its home form did not, however, curtail S2’s international ambitions and the company continued drilling at its Aarnivalkea gold prospect in Finland.

From there It was able to report a high-grade gold intercept within a broader zone of mineralisation of: FAVD0064 20.4 metres at 2.3g/t gold from 193.1m, including 8m at 4.8g/t gold from 198m.

“S2 has barely scratched the surface at Aarnivalkea after making a virgin gold discovery in 2019,” Keane said.

The four deeper holes drilled in October 2020 were designed to test the depth potential of the ‘smoke’ identified in this earlier shallow reconnaissance drilling.”

(ASX: HRN)

EMAIL info@horizongold.com.au WEB www.horizongold.com.au DIRECTORS Peter Sullivan, Leigh Ryan, John Morrison, Jamie Sullivan, Peter Venn

(ASX: S2R)

EMAIL admin@s2resources.com.au WEB www.s2resources.com.au DIRECTORS Mark Bennett, Jeff Dowling, Anna Neuling, Matthew Keane

47

Black Cat Syndicate Gold Road Resources (ASX: BC8)

(ASX: GOR)

Stavely Minerals

Red 5 Limited

Black Cat Syndicate heralded the arrival of 2021 with the recommencement of RC drilling activities at Fingals Fortune and Imperial/Majestic, which comprise part of the company’s Kal East gold project in Western Australia.

Drilling at Fingals Fortune during the latter part of 2020, identified several new zones of mineralisation.

Intersections achieved from 2020 drilling include: 20FIRC105 7 metres at 9.12 grams per tonne gold from 18m; — infill 20FIRC102 2m at 19.2g/t gold from 46m; — extensional 20FIRC073 5m at 5.63g/t gold from 172m; — extensional 20FIRC094 3m at 7.14g/t gold from 95m. — extensional These results demonstrated the potential for a much larger pit than had been determined by the November 2020 Scoping Study.

Black Cat commenced drilling with one RC rig in place that was soon joined by another.

The drilling program is to include a substantial amount of infill drilling, designed to upgrade the current JORC 2012-complaint Mineral Resource.

Another rig carried out a sterilisation program for the proposed processing and tailings storage facilities adjacent to Imperial/Majestic.

“The recommencement of drilling is part of our strategy to increase and upgrade Resources ahead of mining,” Black Cat Syndicate managing director Gareth Solly said.

“Fingals Fortune is shaping up to be a large pit and remains open in all directions and at depth.

“Drilling will be looking to ensure that Fingals Fortune underpins and further extends the life of mine at the Kal East gold project.

“This drilling will be included in ongoing Resource upgrades and the next round of studies.

“These programs support our aim to define one million ounces of Resource and have a wholly owned processing facility with at least three years Ore Reserves ahead of it.”

Gold Road Resources completed a pleasing end to 2020, which it reported on just prior to the Explorers Conference.

The company’s December Quarterly report indicated an improvement across the board at the Gruyere gold mine.

The company’s Gruyere gold Joint Venture with Goldfields produced 70,794 ounces of gold during the December quarter, compared to the September quarter of 55,919 ounces.

Annual production for 2020 was 258,173 ounces, which was in line with annual guidance (between 250,000 to 270,000 ounces).

Gruyere ore tonnes processed totalled 2.1 million tonnes at a head grade of 1.12 grams per tonne gold and a gold recovery of 91.8%.

Plant throughput increased during the December quarter, following a program of mine to mill optimisation and processing circuit improvements.

The company anticipates 2021 guidance for Gruyere will be announced with the updated 2021 Mine Plan in the March 2021 quarter.

On the discovery front, Gold Road received high-grade assays from diamond and RC drilling carried out at the Gilmour deposit and Smokebush prospect, which included: Gilmour 20WDDD0052W1 4.9 metres at 5.16 grams per tonne gold from 353.1m; and 20WDDD0051 3.75m at 3.66g/t gold from 535.35m.

Smokebush 20SMRC0038 15m at 6.37g/t gold from 144m; and 20SMRC0039 25m at 2.02g/t gold from 172m.

Gold Road completed commissioning of its Yamarna solar farm and energy storage hub, comprising a solar Photovoltaic (PV) array combined with a Tesvolt lithium energy storage hub.

The idea is to reduce onsite diesel generators along with carbon emissions, and the cost of diesel and related logistics, at the remote Yamarna Exploration Camp.

This 100 per cent off-grid self-sustaining energy solution will offset around 70 per cent of the camp’s diesel consumption, delivering environmental and cost benefits.

Stavely Minerals provided a merry 2020 Christmas for its investors in the form of drilling results from the central portion of the Cayley Lode discovery at the Thursday’s Gossan prospect, part of the company’s 100 per cent-owned Stavely copper-gold project in Victoria.

Late 2020, Stavely was conducting an intensive resource drill-out with a focus of extending the deposit to the northwest within the 1.5 kilometres-long discovery zone, with in-fill and step-out drilling continuing based on a roughly 40m by 40m drilling grid.

Drill hole SMD108 returned two Cayley Lode intercepts including: 21.7m at 2.06 per cent copper, 0.53 grams per tonne gold and 17g/t silver from 150.9m down-hole, including 6.3m at 3.57 per cent copper, 1.17g/t gold and 25g/t silver from 164.9m; and 10m at 1.33 per cent copper, 0.16g/t gold and 7.8g/t silver, from 254.6m down-hole, including 4.4m at 2.24 per cent copper, 0.29g/t gold and 12g/t silver from 255.2m.

“It has been another great year for Stavely with a consistent flow of drilling results, some that have steadily added to the story and others which, from time to time, have stood out as spectacular drill intercepts,” Stavely Minerals executive chairman Chris Cairns said.

“As the shallow Mineral Resource definition drilling progresses to its conclusion in the first Quarter next year, and the drills are re-deployed to target the Cayley Lode mineralisation at depth, we are confident there will be many more large, high-grade drill intercepts to come.

“Stavely Minerals remains well-funded through the shallow Mineral Resource drill-out, a planned Scoping Study to be completed by mid-next year, the drilling of the deep holes testing the porphyry targets and further drilling of the Cayley Lode high-grade mineralisation at depth.

Red 5 Limited received jolly news just as it was hanging its stockings over the Christmas hearth in December 2020.

The company was able to announce taking another major step towards the development of its 2.4 million ounce, 16-year Life-Of-Mine King of the Hills (KOTH) gold project in Western Australia, after receiving approval for the Mining Proposal from the Western Australian Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (DMIRS).

The news meant all approvals for the commencement of construction of the processing facility were now in place and the company’s EPC Contractor, MACA Interquip, was able to mobilised to site and commenced earthworks in the Process Plant area.

At the time, debt funding was being negotiated with lenders, and Red 5 declared it expects to have the project debt finance in place in the March Quarter 2021.

The approval of the Mining Proposal and the mobilisation of the EPC contractor obviously resulted in a flurry of activity on-site.

“With final approval for the commencement of construction of the processing plant now in place, we have a hive of activity underway at King of the Hills, with bulk earthworks progressing and installation of the village well underway,” Red 5 managing director Mark Williams said.

“Major components of the mill are being manufactured or undergoing refurbishment and upgrade, putting all of our workstreams on-track for the achievement of first gold production from the four million tonnes per annum KOTH bulk mining operation in the June Quarter of 2022.”

The village construction well advanced, with all Central Facilities Buildings now on site.

Detailed design of the processing facility is also well advanced, with many aspects of the circuit being leveraged off previous similar plant designs.

EMAIL admin@blackcatsyndicate.com.au WEB www.blackcatsyndicate.com.au DIRECTORS Paul Chapman, Gareth Solly, Les Davis, Alex Hewlett, Tony Polglase

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EMAIL perth@goldroad.com.au WEB www.goldroad.com.au

(ASX: SVY)

EMAIL info@stavely.com.au WEB www.stavely.com.au DIRECTORS Chris Cairns, Jennifer Murphy, Peter Ironside, Amanda Sparks

(ASX: RED)

EMAIL info@red5limited.com WEB www.red5limited.com DIRECTORS Kevin Dundo, Mark Williams, Andrea Sutton, Ian Macpherson, John Loosemore, Steve Tombs

DIRECTORS Tim Netscher, Duncan Gibbs, Justin Osborne, Brian Levet, Sharon Warburton, Maree Arnason

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Matsa Resources

PolarX

Auroch Minerals

Regis Resources

Matsa Resources’ main focus is the company’s 563 square kilometres Lake Carey gold project in Western Australia that hosts the Fortitude gold deposit and the Red October gold mine.

Matsa Resources is confident Lake Carey is highly prospective for new gold discoveries.

This confidence was repaid late last year with recent work on the existing JORC 2012 underground resource at Red October resulting in the identification of 173,000 ounces of gold at 5.8 grams per tonne gold.

This was a substantial increase to Matsa’s previously reported underground JORC resource of 82,000 ounces gold at 13.2g/t.

The increase came on the back of assays results from 15 diamond drill holes at Red October that returned high-grade results, including: ROGC770 5.7 metres at 27.94g/t gold; ROGC768 2.02m at 9.3g/t gold; ROGC755 0.75m at 61.2g/t gold; and ROGC794 1m at 17.45g/t gold.

The drilling was designed to test continuity of lodes and high-grade shoots below previously mined areas, infill the existing resources and provide grade control for existing production.

The results achieved reinforced Matsa’s view that new ounces would be delivered into the Red October mine plan.

Exploration prospects at Lake Carey include Fortitude North and Devon, the latter of which provided encouraging drill results in time for Christmas.

RC drilling confirmed gold mineralisation in zones of high-grade, narrow, strongly sulphidic shears and quartz veins, with similarities to those seen at the Red October mine.

The Devon prospect is no stranger to mining attention, having historically produced 6.8k ounces at 19.5g/t from shallow underground workings between 1913 and 1929.

More recent open pit mining carried out between 2015-2016 reported production of 47,302 tonnes at an average grade of 5.3g/t gold to a depth of 42m.

PolarX picked up an option to acquire a Mining Lease Agreement over the Humboldt Range gold-silver project in Nevada, USA. The Humbolt Range project comprises 177 lode mining claims, over which the option gave PolarX a 120-day exclusive period to conduct due diligence.

Humboldt Range sits between two large-scale active mines: the Florida Canyon gold mine, and the Rochester silver-gold mine and contains geology typical to Nevada being consistent with bonanza-style epithermal gold-silver mineralisation.

High-grade gold and silver assays from previous rock-chip sampling of outcropping veins and grab sampling from the dumps of old mine workings occur in both groups of claims, with peak values up to 3,384 grams per tonne gold, 2,837g/t silver, 22.9 per cent lead and 3.1 per cent zinc.

PolarX paid US$35,000 to secure the option, which it can exercise by paying a further US$175,000 and issuing five million shares to the vendor and paying the owner a 2.5 per cent NSR upon production with US$10,000 monthly advance royalty payments from September 2022.

Humboldt Range will enable PolarX to leverage its existing management team at its Alaska Range project.

“Surface grades from rock-chip sampling and mine dumps at Humboldt Range are exceptionally high, with multiple samples exceeding 100 grams per tonne gold along with high-grade silver, lead and zinc,” PolarX managing director Frazer Tabeart said.

“It’s surrounded by large producing mines which shows the geology is conducive to significant modernscale operations.

“Seasons in Nevada will allow us to work from April to December each year, enabling us to generate strong news flow virtually all year round and leverage our current team, most of whom live in relative proximity and are familiar with the region.”

Auroch Minerals welcomed 2021 by commencing reverse-circulation (RC) drilling at the company’s Nepean nickel project south of Coolgardie in Western Australia.

The Nepean nickel project contains the historic high-grade Nepean nickel sulphide mine, which was the second producing nickel mine in Australia, producing approx. 1.1 million tonnes of ore between 1970 and 1987 for 32,202 tonnes of nickel metal at an average recovered grade of 2.99 per cent nickel.

The drilling is targeting a series of untested highly prospective aeromagnetic targets to the north and south of the Nepean mine that align with the mine’s stratigraphy and are considered by the company to represent a serpentinised core or high magnesium oxide unit of the komatiitic unit.

The targets extend for over 10km of strike and Auroch believes each has potential to host substantial massive nickel sulphide mineralisation.

The drillholes at these exploration targets have been planned to intersect the ultramafic-basalt contact and to define channel geometry, fertility and the presence of any nickel sulphides.

“We are...very excited by the huge potential to build on the existing nickel sulphide mineralisation as well as uncover further significant high-grade nickel sulphides,” Auroch Minerals managing director Aidan Platel said.

“Many forecasts for the price of nickel have recently been upgraded as we continue to see a greater disconnect between supply and demand for nickel, and in particular for Tier 1 nickel, forecasted for the next few years.

“Auroch has aggressive work programs planned for 2021 as we consolidate our existing high-grade nickel sulphide resources and move towards scoping studies, whilst at the same time continue to aggressively explore for new nickel discoveries, and we look forward to creating real value for our shareholders this year.”

Regis Resources is a gold miner with operations at the Duketon gold project in the North Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia and the McPhillamys gold project in the Central Western region of New South Wales.

Not one to rest on its laurels, Regis has a Value Growth strategy in play, which it exercised to great benefit during 2020.

The company acquired the North Brightstar project from Stone Resources in 2020, which included the Ben Hur deposit that came with a 2012 JORC-compliant Resource of 5.8 million tonnes at 1.6 grams per tonne gold for 290,000 ounces.

Regis believes Ben Hur could become bigger than itself holding potential to add further life to the Duketon operations.

The company wasted little time before commencing confirmation and extensional drilling to establish updated Reserves in the new year.

The acquisition of Ben Hur during the quarter and the associated ground is a welcome addition to our portfolio of value growth opportunities and we have already commenced work to confirm and grow the reserve potential,” Regis Resources managing director Jim Beyer said.

Progress of the McPhillamys gold project remains Regis’ top priority.

McPhillamys is one of Australia’s largest undeveloped open pit gold projects with an Ore Reserve of 61 million tonnes at 1g/t gold for 2.02 million ounces.

The company crossed off the third of five assessment phases of the McPhillamys Development Application by submitting the Amendment Report and Responses to Submissions (RTS) to the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (DPIE).

“While very early days, we are very pleased to see our increased exploration efforts starting to deliver on our Value Growth strategy, with potential life extending resource targets being identified and tested,” Beyer said.

WEB www.polarx.com.au

EMAIL admin@aurochminerals.com WEB www.aurochminerals.com

(ASX: MAT)

(ASX: PXX)

DIRECTORS Mark Bojanjac, Frazer Tabeart, Jason Berton, Bob Boaz

(ASX: AOU)

DIRECTORS Edward Mason, Aiden Platel, Mike Edwards

(ASX: RRL)

EMAIL enquiries@regisresources.com WEB www.regisresources.com DIRECTORS James Mactier, Jim Beyer, Fiona Morgan, Steve Scudamore, Lynda Burnett, Russell C. Barwick

EMAIL reception@matsa.com.au WEB www.matsa.com.au DIRECTORS Paul Poli, Frank Sibbel, Andrew Chapman, Ratha Kheowkhamsaeng (Thailand)

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51

Western Areas

Alliance Resources

Duke Exploration

Impact Minerals

Western Areas is a rare breed, being an Australian based nickel sulphide miner, supplying local and international smelter and refinery operators with high-grade nickel concentrates.

The company’s main production asset, the 100 per cent owned Forrestania nickel project, located east of Perth in Western Australia.

Western Areas comes in second as Australia’s second largest independent sulphide nickel miner, producing approximately 18,000 to 20,000 nickel tonnes in concentrate per annum from its Flying Fox and Spotted Quoll mines — two of the highest-grade nickel operations in the world.

Emerging through the company’s ranks is the company’s key growth project: the long-life Odysseus mine located at the Cosmos nickel operation.

With a mine life in excess of ten years and expected low operating cost, the Odysseus mine will underpin the company’s nickel production well into the future.

Construction and development activities for the Odysseus mine hit a number of important milestones during 2020.

The new, twin Odysseus declines commenced following completion of underground rehabilitation and dewatering works.

Surface civil works for the hoisting shaft were finished and installation of a sub-brace concrete pad allowed for commencement of the shaft raise bore pilot hole.

Refurbishment of the shaft infrastructure was completed in South Africa then shipped to Australia.

The Odysseus base case was boosted by a maiden Ore Reserve estimate for the AM6 deposit, comprising 2.1 million tonnes at 2.2 per cent nickel for a total of 47,100 nickel tonnes.

Inclusion of the AM6 material greatly enhances the Odysseus mine plan, and lifts the total Ore Reserves at Cosmos to 211,620 tonnes of nickel.

Western Areas is one of the few independent nickel sulphide miners that can demonstrate a 10-plus year mine life based on published Ore Reserves.

As 2020 drew to a close Alliance Resources provided the market with an update of Resources of both commodities at the company’s Weednanna gold-iron deposit in South Australia.

Alliance came to the Weednanna deposit via its acquisition of the Wilcherry project from Ironclad Mining, which planned to develop Weednanna as part of a larger iron ore mining operation designed to produce DSO and magnetite concentrate.

In 2013 Ironclad Mining estimated an iron mineral resource for Weednanna of 11.2 million tonnes at 41.97 per cent iron.

Since that time Alliance has drilled 363 RC holes and 5 diamond holes, totalling 50,281 metres, in the same general area to test for economic concentrations of gold.

Alliance Resources’ maiden iron Mineral Resource was calculated to 1.15 million tonnes at 59.4 per cent iron, wihc the company claimed to have confirmed the Direct Shipping Ore (DSO) iron potential of the Weednanna gold and iron project.

The iron ore Resource also provides support to the revised gold Mineral Resource the company released of 1.106 million tonnes at 4.3 grams per tonne gold for 152,000 ounces of gold.

The company said the double Resource confirmed that Weednanna is a quality mineral deposit with outstanding economic potential.

The company has had an independent scoping study completed at Weednanna that returned a positive assessment, supporting the construction of a new, 250,000 tonnes per annum gold plant for the deposit.

The study determined total indicative capital cost to be approximately $44 million, which included an open pit pre-strip cost of approximately $8 million.

The company has a non-renounceable rights issue underway to raise up to approximately $5.05 million to cover exploration drilling, feasibility study work, process plant engineering and mine design.

Duke Exploration listed on the ASX in November last year and wasted very little time before posting news from drilling completed at its Mt Flora project in New South Wales.

Duke drilled 15 holes at Mt Flora, intersecting visible copper mineralisation in stacked mineralised zones from surface to 230 metres down dip and in the Bundarra granodiorite beneath mapped historic massive sulphide copper veins.

“The copper lodes are predictable down dip, which is always important for resource estimation and mining,” Duke Exploration chairman Toko Kapea said.

“Copper is being found in the granodiorite beneath the known copper mineralisation at Mt Flora, which not only suggests the Mt Flora mineral system could be much larger, but it also opens up new areas for exploration in the Bundarra pluton.

The chance for new discoveries increased not too long after with Duke announcing a pXRF soil sampling survey at the Quorn prospect confirmed its main conductive anomalies are associated with up to 0.47 per cent pXRF copper in soil samples and the main conductive anomaly areas associated with anomalous copper soil values.

“The results from the soil sampling allowed us to better compare the reported anomalies at Quorn with Mt Flora and we are very encouraged to see similar scale systems at Quorn to that mapped at Mt Flora where we are drilling near surface copper and silver bearing sulphide veins,” Kapea said.

“This increased our confidence that we will soon be able to announce discoveries of new bed rock mineralisation in the Quorn area.

“We are already planning to fast track the acquisition of additional electrical geophysical data and pXRF soil data over potential extensions to the anomalies mapped at Quorn to the south and east.

Impact Minerals provided much Christmas cheer for shareholders with the unwrapping of some highly-encouraging drill results from the company’s 100% owned Broken Hill project in New South Wales.

Impact received assays that confirmed the presence of strongly anomalous PGE-copper-nickel mineralisation over a distance of at least 400 metres in first pass reconnaissance drilling at the Rockwell prospect, part of the wider Little Broken Hill Gabbro (LBHG) area at the Broken Hill project.

The assays were from within a more extensive zone at least 1,500m long that contains anomalous mineralisation in the basal unit of the LBHG that had been identified from previous Impact assays and hand held XRF data.

The basal unit extends for 6.5 kilometres and is untested elsewhere and importantly mineralisation appears to be increasing in thickness and grade at depth and from north to south into a priority target area interpreted by Impact to contain potential “feeder zones” to the main LBHG. “We were pleased to deliver this very exciting present to shareholders at the end of what had been a difficult year for many,” Impact Minerals managing director Dr Mike Jones said.

“These new assays demonstrate that the basal ultramafic unit of the LBGH contains thick widths of modest grades of PGE, nickel and copper with higher grades in many places over a significant strike extent.

“Given that our drill program is the first ever to test the basal unit, which extends over the entire 6.5 kilometre long extent of the intrusion, further supports our growing belief that the LBHG may potentially contain a vast reservoir of PGE’s and possibly nickel and copper.

“We are looking forward to drilling here as soon as possible in 2021.”

EMAIL info@westernareas.com.au WEB www.westernareas.com.au

DIRECTORS Ian Gandel, Tony Lethlean, Steve Johnston, Kevin Malaxos

(ASX: WSA)

DIRECTORS Ian Macliver, Dan Lougher, Rick Yeates, Tim Netscher, Natalia Streltsova, Yasmin Broughton

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(ASX: AGS)

EMAIL info@allianceresources.com.au WEB www.allianceresources.com.au

(ASX: DEX)

EMAIL md@duke-exploration.com.au WEB www.duke-exploration.com.au DIRECTORS Toko Kapea, Eugene Iliescu, Paul Frederiks, Ian McAleese

(ASX: IPT)

EMAIL info@impactminerals.com.au WEB www.impactminerals.com.au DIRECTORS Peter Unsworth, Dr Mike Jones, Paul Ingram, Dr Markus Elsasser

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Wiluna Mining Corporation

Estrella Resources

Focus Minerals

Eagle Mountain

Wiluna Mining Corporation is a gold mining company that controls over 1,600 square kilometres of the Yilgarn Region in the Northern Goldfields of Western Australia.

The Yilgarn Region has a historic and current gold endowment of over 380 million ounces, making it one of most prolific gold regions in the world.

That figure got even more interesting last year with the company announcing the high-grade Mineral Resource at the Wiluna Mining Centre to have grown to 4.24 million ounces at 4.89 grams per tonne gold (above a 2.5g/t cut-off).

The addition of 477,000 ounces to the Resource represented an 11 per cent increase since the company’ previously released update in September 2020.

The result is over 50 per cent of ounces now sit in the Measured and Indicated categories.

“Our ongoing $30 million drilling campaign has focused on high-grade areas with the potential to be mined at the start of our Sulphide Development schedule,” Wiluna Mining executive chair Milan Jerkovic said.

“Significantly, this ongoing work continues to confirm that Wiluna is a very large-scale, very high-grade gold system.

“It affirms our strategy to pursue the large sulphide resource housed within the Wiluna gold system.

“We believe we can eventually end up as one of the largest gold deposits in Australia and become a Tier 1 gold mine in a Tier 1 jurisdiction.

“This belief is based on the fact that the entire Wiluna Gold Operation is now the 7th largest gold district in Australia under single ownership based on overall JORC Mineral Resource, and the Wiluna Mining Centre, which will be the focus on our staged Sulphide Development, is now rated the 10th largest gold deposit on its own and is larger than Jundee.”

Estrella Resources picked up 2021 where it left 2020 by returning to its drilling campaign on the company’s Carr Boyd Rocks (CBLC) nickel-copper project in Western Australia.

Estrella Resources is drilling to test the T5 discovery on the project further at depth and along strike.

The company outlined its timetable to include commencement at diamond core hole CBDD042 near discovery hole CBDD030 and underneath CBDD041, which was its final drill hole of 2020 that intersected the interpreted ‘mineralised conduit confirming the T5 discovery over potential strike length of at least 450m.

The diamond drilling of T5 makes sense from geophysical and geological perspectives with a large relative mid-high conductivity EM response plunging away from initial discovery RC and diamond holes.

T5 is close to the historic Carr Boyd mine which, is known to run around 6 per cent nickel and 3 per cent copper, providing a further target for exploration.

“Last year’s diamond drilling campaign at Carr Boyd was an outstanding success,” Estrella Resources CEO Chris Daws said in the company’s ASX announcement.

“We have discovered what is now clearly looking very much like a ‘feeder’ to the CBLC and the hunt is now well and truly on in 2021 to uncover the massive nickel and copper sulphide source I have always believed existed at Carr Boyd.

“The strongly mineralised conduit has been intersected in multiple diamond drill holes at T5 and providing our team with a clear geological model.

“With every hole that we drill we are one step closer to delivering a successful outcome for our shareholders and I am certainly looking forward to each and every meter of drill core that is placed on the core-farm racks.”

Focus Minerals has been very busy in recent times, with recent activities centred on the company’s Laverton and Coolgardie gold projects in Western Australia.

Focus is well advanced with identifying sufficient open-pit mineral resources across its highly prospective Laverton tenements for a Stage 1 mining operation where it completed a Mineral Resource increase for the Karridale gold deposit taking it to an Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resource of 27.7 million tonnes at 1.33 grams per tonne gold 1.19 million ounces of gold.

The updated Resource came in to support a Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS) into a Stage 1 mining operation at the Laverton project, of which Karridale is a core asset.

Still at Laverton, Focus also updated the Burtville Open Pit Mineral Resource to support the PFS adding an extra 110,000 ounces across the Indicated and Inferred categories while highlighting the potential for resource extension and possible link to Burtville South.

“Our review of the Burtville Deposit has delivered an open-pit mineral resource estimate inclusive of reasonable mining recovery/ dilution,” Focus Minerals CEO Zhaoya Wang said.

“The updated mineral resource is the latest piece of positive exploration news at Laverton and will be incorporated into our PFS activities.”

Meanwhile, over at Coolgardie, Focus announced results of its Pre-Feasibility Study while providing a refresh and Ore Reserve upgrade taking the numbers there to JORC 2012 Total Proved and Probable Ore Reserves of 6.64 million tonnes at 1.97 grams per tonne gold.

“The 2020 Coolgardie PFS Refresh indicates opportunity to develop a robust production schedule with further upside,” Wang said.

“Our technical team is continuing to develop additional potentially mineable resources that can improve the economic case for a resumption of mining in Coolgardie.”.

Focus Minerals has been very busy in recent times, with recent activities centred on the company’s Laverton and Coolgardie gold projects in Western Australia.

Focus is well advanced with identifying sufficient open-pit mineral resources across its highly prospective Laverton tenements for a Stage 1 mining operation where it completed a Mineral Resource increase for the Karridale gold deposit taking it to an Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resource of 27.7 million tonnes at 1.33 grams per tonne gold 1.19 million ounces of gold.

The updated Resource came in to support a Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS) into a Stage 1 mining operation at the Laverton project, of which Karridale is a core asset.

Still at Laverton, Focus also updated the Burtville Open Pit Mineral Resource to support the PFS adding an extra 110,000 ounces across the Indicated and Inferred categories while highlighting the potential for resource extension and possible link to Burtville South.

“Our review of the Burtville Deposit has delivered an open-pit mineral resource estimate inclusive of reasonable mining recovery/ dilution,” Focus Minerals CEO Zhaoya Wang said.

“The updated mineral resource is the latest piece of positive exploration news at Laverton and will be incorporated into our PFS activities.”

Meanwhile, over at Coolgardie, Focus announced results of its Pre-Feasibility Study while providing a refresh and Ore Reserve upgrade taking the numbers there to JORC 2012 Total Proved and Probable Ore Reserves of 6.64 million tonnes at 1.97 grams per tonne gold.

“The 2020 Coolgardie PFS Refresh indicates opportunity to develop a robust production schedule with further upside,” Wang said.

“Our technical team is continuing to develop additional potentially mineable resources that can improve the economic case for a resumption of mining in Coolgardie.”.

EMAIL info@focusminerals.com.au WEB www.focusminerals.com.au

EMAIL info@focusminerals.com.au WEB www.focusminerals.com.au

DIRECTORS Dianfei Pei, Zhaoya Wang, Zaiqian Zhang, Gerry Fahey

DIRECTORS Dianfei Pei, Zhaoya Wang, Zaiqian Zhang, Gerry Fahey

(ASX: WMC)

EMAIL info@wilunamining.com.au WEB www.wilunamining.com.au DIRECTORS Milan Jerkovic, Neil Meadows, Sara Kelly, Greg Fitzgerald, Tony James

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(ASX: ESR)

EMAIL info@estrellaresources.com.au WEB www.estrellaresources.com.au DIRECTORS Leslie Pereira, John Kingswood, Steve Brockhurst, Christopher Dawes

(ASX: FML)

(ASX: EM2)

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Kopore Metals

Rox Resources

Kopore Metals recently executed a binding earn in and Joint Venture agreement in relation to tenements surrounding the historical Horseshoe Lights copper-gold mine near Meekatharra in Western Australia.

Kopore inked the agreement, that relates to an area of 32.4 square kilometres of largely unexplored land surrounding the Horseshoe Lights Mine, with Horseshoe Metals subsidiary Murchison Copper Mines.

“We are excited to have the opportunity to earn into a virtually unexplored area of the Bryah Basin right next to a historical high-grade copper/gold mine,” Kopore Metals managing director Simon Jackson said.

“We were initially attracted by an untested geophysical target that looks similar to the geophysical signature of the historical mine containing a high-grade gold drill intercept that has never been followed up.

“This attractive opportunity provides initial targeted areas to be tested with a systematic exploration approach, in areas close to the historically high-grade Horseshoe Lights Mine.

“We are looking forward to getting on the ground and commencing exploration.

“The structure of the earn in gives Kopore shareholders an immediate exploration focus in Western Australia.

“We are planning an exploration program to achieve the initial $250,000 earn in using existing cash on hand.”

Kopore is keen to explore within the Agreement Area for potential additional zones of volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) copper-gold style mineralisation and/or shear zone hosted gold mineralisation.

VMS deposits are commonly found in clusters, so Kopore aims to explore an area within 2km to the west of the Horseshoe Lights mine.

The targeted areas have not been tested by geochemical or drilling programs but are interpreted to lay within a similar stratigraphic, structural position and potentially shallowest depth to the Narracoota Formation, which hosts the Horseshoe Lights mine.

Rox Resources has a portfolio of advanced gold and nickel projects in Australia, including a 70 per cent interest in the Youanmi gold mine, and 100 per cent-ownership of the Mt Fisher gold project and the Fisher East and Collurabbie nickel projects, all located in Western Australia.

The company’s main project is the Youanmi gold mine, which is a Joint Venture with Venus Metals Corporation (ASX: VMC).

Rox is responsible for the management of the project, which it believes to offer upside in both development and exploration potential.

The Youanmi gold mine has a JORC 2012 compliant Mineral Resource Estimate of 12.4 million tonnes at 2.97 grams per tonne gold for approx. 1.2 million ounces of gold, including a ‘near surface portion of 10 million tonnes at 1.65g/t gold for 532,000 ounces of gold.

2020 drilling at the Youanmi project consisted a program of 52 Reverse Circulation (RC) holes at the OYG JV, in particular on the Grace area.

Rox’s exploration model indicates that the Grace zone has strong potential for enhancing near mine gold inventory.

The company has determined the southern part of the Grace structure likely intersects the Youanmi mine shear below and south of the historically mined Pollard lodes.

Rox’ drilling in the Grace area has defined very high-grade zones of mineralisation (greater than 30 gram-metres) within a broader wide continuous / semicontinuous zone of gold mineralisation, extending to an area south of the Youanmi mill where Grace was initially discovered.

The corridor that hosts Grace, Grace North, and Plant Zone has a strike length of over 2.5 kilometres.

Mineralisation is hosted within brittle-ductile fault-fracture arrays within the Youanmi granite and is associated with quartz-sericite alteration.

EMAIL info@koporemetals.com WEB www.koporemetals.com

DIRECTORS Stephen Dennis, Alex Passmore, Brett Dickson, John Mair

(ASX: KMT)

DIRECTORS Peter Meagher, Simon Jackson, Grant Ferguson

56

(ASX: RXL)

EMAIL admin@roxresources.com.au WEB www.roxresources.com.au

PVW Resources PVW Resources is targeting projects it considers to have geological potential, positive exploration results or historical production that it can fast track from exploration to feasibility.

The company has strategically secured over 1,000 square kilometres land holding encompassing gold exploration projects in world class regions of Western Australia.

By doing so, PVW has positioned itself to explore and discover gold resources across three well known gold provinces in Western Australia, arguably the best place it be in the current global environment.

The three current projects, Kalgoorlie, Leonora and the Tanami boast positive historical activities and results giving the company good reason to recommence exploration on the projects.

Each project has demonstrated positive results and prospective geology providing the basis for extensive minerals exploration, for which the company is well funded with $6 million in the bank.

PVW aims to fast track these projects to cash flow.

The PVW team has a track record of quickly accelerating assets and intends to leverage existing relationships to rapidly drive PVW to success.

The team comprises experienced mining professionals with an extensive track record of quickly advancing projects.

The Board is chaired Colin McCavana, who has 35+ years’ experience in the mining sector, having led projects in Australia, Tanzania and the United States.

Non-executive director, Aaron Maurer has 20+ years’ experience in mine operations, including a senior executive role with Mineral Resources taking full responsibility for the Mt Marion lithium operation and the re-start of the Koolyanobbing iron ore project.

Part of non-executive director, George Bauk’s 25 years in the resources industry was as managing director of Northern Minerals.

George has held global operational and corporate roles with WMC Resources, Arafura Resources and Western Metals.

EMAIL info@pvwresources.com.au WEB www.pvwresources.com.au DIRECTORS Colin McCavana, Aaron Maurer, George Bauk

AVZ Minerals (ASX: AVZ)

AVZ Minerals closed off 2020 in style by signing a strategic offtake agreement with GFL International Co. Limited, a subsidiary of Ganfeng Lithium Co Ltd, China’s largest lithium compound producer.

This is the first offtake agreement the company has signed in relation to its Manono lithium and tin project in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in central Africa.

The lithium offtake agreement is for an initial five-year term and with an option to extend for a further five years for spodumene concentrate from the Manono project.

Under the terms of the GFL offtake agreement, annual supply will ramp up to 160,000 dry metric tonnes of spodumene concentrate from year three onwards.

GFL is a leading global battery metals producer that is expanding lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide production capacity.

“That GFL has agreed to take 30 per cent of our Manono project’s initial SC6 yearly tonnage is a massive endorsement for the project as we continue negotiations with other off-takers for our lithium and tin materials,” AVZ managing director Nigel Ferguson said.

The company welcomed 2021 with an independent assessment demonstrating the Manono project could have one of the lowest carbon footprints of any global hard rock lithium miner.

The result was due to AVZ’s strategic location adjacent to the Mpiana Mwanga Hydro Electric Power Plant (HEPP) which, once refurbished, is anticipated to provide all the Manono project’s electricity requirements.

“Ultimately, we want to see the electricity generated from the Mpiana Mwanga Hydro Electric Power Plant used to operate all our mining equipment, making the Manono Project a 100 per cent ‘green’ mine,” Ferguson said.

“Any surplus power may be provided into the national grid for use in the town of Manono.”

EMAIL admin@avzminerals.com.au WEB www.avzminerals.com.au DIRECTORS John Clarke, Nigel Ferguson, Rhett Brans, Graeme Johnston, Peter Huljich

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Hard Work Never Goes Out of Fashion For Miners.

(But its rewards are hugely variable).

Mining is hard work. Trying to find the next mine, generally in the middle of nowhere, is even harder.

It’s not for nothing that people who create and or promote bitcoin and all its cousins, out of thin air, say they “mine it”. That’s because there isn’t anyone anywhere that doesn’t know that mining is hard work. They want you to think they worked hard and they created something. It’s also not for nothing that the very same people, regularly present it in the physical form (when there is no physical form) of a gold coin. That’s because there isn’t anyone anywhere that doesn’t know gold used to be money and has always been an enduring store of value. However, right now it’s in fashion; financial fashion. If it disappeared tomorrow the world would go on and for most of us there would be no change. None.

Mining and oil and gas production (and farming) on the other hand are essential, but it’s fair to argue they are out of financial fashion. With bitcoin and modern-day lay-by stocks soaring and easy money being made lending money and creating “new money”, investing in mining is seen almost as a curiosity to many investors and not for the first time. By virtue of a huge skew in capital allocation to other areas of the global economy, commodities (particularly those you extract from the ground) are cheap. Possibly, even including recent rises, the cheapest they have been in the last century or more.

Financial markets have devalued commodities, and those who would produce them, to such a point that as a broad sector it is wildly underinvested. Just as it was in the late 1990’s, the last time hard work was out of fashion, when the world was going “dot-com”.

Importantly, when I say cheap, I am not talking about the price expressed in terms of the currency. I am talking purchasing power versus other assets. In particular against a broad-based portfolio of equities. Which now seem to be every central banker and politicians’ proxy for the economy.

Governments are all printing money at an alarming rate. If each week the amount of currency in an economy increases faster than real things that you and I can buy, then the sellers of things shouldn’t accept the same amount of currency as they did a year ago. But they often do, because that new money does not flow evenly over the financial landscape, often for long periods. Instead, that new money

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flows to where it looks easiest to make money. In such periods where money is observed to be made without work (hard work) there is clear evidence in the accompanying charts that the value of real things, of which the creation requires hard work, go out of fashion for the majority of investors.

A simple way to identify these periods in history is to get rid of money; go back to barter. Remove all currency references and instead look at the long-term price history of any two assets (or group of assets) as a ratio of one to the other.

Over time the direct barter of the day versus the value of that same barter today reveals the lower the number, the lower number of shares an investor would need to sell to buy the same fixed basket of goods.

Ratio low hard work out of financial fashion.

You can see why people started saying commodities were cheap back as far as 2014/15 when they went below what we know were bargain basement levels in the late 1990’s - the last time hard work went badly out of fashion. Now we are in the bargain basement!

What is the trigger for the next seismic shift in this ratio? Quite possibly it’s something very few have on their investment radars.

History suggests when it does change direction it could be quick; it will be meaningful; it will last for quite some time and it will likely end in some kind of crisis driven crescendo.

Today’s hard work may not be rewarded properly for a few years but the seeds for every commodities/mining boom are sown when the majority think there will never be another one because they have all figured out easier ways to make money. My money’s on hard assets and hard work!

ANZ SUPPORTING

NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENERGY SECTOR ACROSS THE FULL PROJECT LIFE CYCLE

EVALUATION & DEVELOPMENT

PRODUCTION & RE-INVESTMENT

EXPLORATION

FRANK VAN ROOYEN

JONATHAN BLOCH

ROBERT BERDEN

Head of Natural Resources Australia M. +61 413 011 789 Frank.vanRooyen@anz.com

Head of Strategic Banking Australia M. +61 423 848 156 Jonathan.Bloch@anz.com

Relationship Manager Junior Resources M. +61 466 523 348 Robert.Berden@anz.com

anz.com.au/business Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited (ANZ) ABN 11 005 357 522. Item No. 97403 01.2020 WX240900

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