The start of the financial year continues to deliver news to the market thick and fast.
Develop has entered a trading halt as it looks to acquire Essential Metals. The acquisition is to executed via a binding Scheme Implementation Deed under which Develop proposes to acquire 100 per cent of the issued shares in Essential by way of a Scheme of Arrangement.
A key piece of this acquisition is Essentials, Pioneer Dome, which is located in WA’s ‘Lithium Corridor’ 130km south of Kalgoorlie. This asset has a Project Feasibility Study underway on it at the moment. Pioneer Dome is a hard rock lithium development asset with a Mineral Resource of 11.2Mt at 1.16% Li2O.
Pioneer Dome – Essential Metals
Essential Metals major shareholder Mineral Resources, has thrown its support behind the proposal. Mineral Resources also hold shares in Develop as the second largest shareholder.
The Scheme Consideration is 1 new Develop share for every 6.18 Essential shares held, implying a fully diluted equity value for Essential of ~A$152.6 million and A$0.56 per share based on the closing price for Develop shares of A$3.46 per share on 30 June 2023.
This represents a significant premium of: 34.9% to the closing Essential share price of A$0.415 per share on 30 June 2023;
30.8% to the 20-day Essential VWAP of A$0.428 per share up to and including 30 June 2023;
62.3% to the Essential share price prior to the pre-Tianqi Lithium Energy Australia (TLEA) Scheme price of A$0.345 per share on 6 January 2023 and 12.0% to the TLEA Scheme price of A$0.50 per share
Rivet Mining Services has gone into administration due to extreme weather events, labour shortages, project delays and rising costs.
Mining services, which provides bulk haulage and ancillary onsite services to mining companies in WA, is the only business within the Rivet Group effected.
Chris Hill, Vaughan Strawbridge and Hayden White from FTI Consulting have been made receivers and managers of the company.
Rivet Mining Services
Desert Metals has begun extensive field work at three of its key projects near Meekatharra.
The projects include drilling of a previously untested 15m greenstone belt for gold and other base metals at the Belele project; heritage surveys at the Dingo Pass project; and metallurgical work to determine recovery rates of clay hosted REE mineralisation at the Innouendy project to identify the most cost-effective processing methodology.
Rio Tinto has been the victim of a data hack.
Data on GoAnywhere software regarding former and current employees may have been stollen by hackers who have threatened to release stollen data.
“While investigations into this incident are ongoing and threats have been made by a cybercriminal group to release data on to the dark web, to date none of the records described above have been released, and we still do not know if the cybercriminal group holds these records or not,” a memo to staff said.
Several companies using GoAnywhere have reported data breaches, including Hitachi.
Rio Tinto
Lightning Minerals has identified lithium soil anomalism at its 100% owned Dundas project in WA.
Lightning Minerals CEO, Alex Biggs, said: “Further positive lithium in soil anomalism being identified at our Dundas project again supports our exploration strategy and belief in the region as an emerging lithium and critical minerals district.”
The S&P/ASX200 markets had a turbulent week, falling from 6,974 points o Monday to 6,900 on Tuesday, the market jumped again on Wednesday to 7,030 points before falling to 6,961 points on Thursday then finishing off the week at 6,955 points on Friday.
The All Ordinaries has lost 0.70% over the last 5 days. The market was at its lowest at close on Monday at 7,085 points. The All Ordinaries closed at 7,138 points on Friday.
Gold fell Tuesday afternoon from $1,985.88USD to $1,943.47USD before recovering the remainder of the week to $1,990.70USD on Friday, the highest price since April 2022.
Silver finished at $23.22USD on Friday, the highest it’s been since the start of February 2023.
Weeks after the West Australian Government raised concerns that Alcoa’s mines posed a risk to the Serpentine Dam and 1/5 of Perth’s drinking water, it has been discovered that the US miner has risked another WA dam.
Alcoa applied for approval to build pipelines over WA’s Waroona Dam to pump PFAS contaminated water from firefighting foam, and despite not yet receiving approval, has already built the pipeline.
The Water Corporation worries a leak in the pipeline could contaminate the dam and said Alcoa built it without their knowledge.
A spokesperson from Water Corp said “It is Water Corporation’s view that such a pipeline would, along with other concerns, present an unacceptable risk to drinking water quality, therefore, Water Corporation does not support Alcoa’s proposal in its current form.”
Anon via WA Today
BHP has announced it is selling its Daunia and Blackwater mines in Queensland, citing a 9.3B (32%) drop in its half-year profits and increased royalties.
BHP Mitsubishi Alliance asset president Mauro Neves said the Queensland Government’s decision to raise cola royalties had made the state uncompetitive.
Mineral Resources has entered into two binding agreements with Albemarle Corporation, the first to change their 40% ownership of the joint owned Wodgina Mine to 50% and the second to increase investment in lithium in China.
MinRes managing director Chis Ellison said “We are delighted to have reached these binding agreements, which cement MinRes’ place as a world-leader in lithium mining and leverage our partner Albemarle’s strong track record in battery chemical production.
“By growing our battery chemicals business and expanding into global chemical marketing, MinRes will become one of the world’s largest fully integrated lithium chemical suppliers to auto manufacturers, capitalising on the increasing demand for sustainable battery mineral products.”
The Federal and West Australian governments will invest $565m into expanding and upgrading the port at Port Headland.
In the first stage, two seawalls and a causeway will be constructed, increasing the port’s capacity to export lithium and copper.
MGN Civil will complete the construction works, with 90 per cent of materials and suppliers being sourced within the Pilbara region along with partnerships with First Nations businesses.
Anthony Albanese said “Demand is growing locally and overseas for clean energy sources and our Government’s investment in the Lumsden Point expansion will help position northern Australia to take advantage of the economic opportunities this demand presents.”
Town of Port Hedland
Magnis Energy Technologies has entered into an agreement with Tesla to supply them with critical minerals for electric vehicles.
Tesla will buy a minimum of 17,500 tonnes per annum of lithium and other critical minerals from February 2025.
Magnis chairman Frank Poullas said “We are really excited to bring our high-performing AAM to market that requires no chemical or thermal purification throughout the whole process, which differentiates this sustainable material in the market and provides great value to all parties.”
Tesla
The S&P/ASX200 markets have continued its month-long downward path. The week started at 7,354 points, falling sharply on Tuesday and Wednesday, before raising slightly to 7,307 points at close of day Friday.
The All Ordinaries saw similar drops on Tuesday and Wednesday. The index lost 0.52% for the last 5 days.
Gold had a somewhat disappointing week, dropping from $1,848.42USD on Monday to $1,828.95USD on Friday, continuing the downward trend for the month.
Silver stayed steady at the start of the week, though stumbling at the end of the week to finish off at $21.58USD.
Newcrest has rejected Newmont’s $24.45B takeover bid after week-long deliberation.
Newcrest’s board said it is still open to negotiations but thought the offer didn’t represent sufficient values for shareholders.
Newcrest Minerals
The missing men whose vehicle fell into a hole approximately 100 meters underground in the collapse in the Dugald River underground mine have died.
Trevor Davis and Dylan Langridge were found on Thursday evening by drones.
Perenti chief executive Mark Norwell said “This is a devastating outcome and I want to extend my deepest sympathies and condolences to the families, friends, colleagues and loved ones of Trevor and Dylan, both of whom should have come home safely from work yesterday.”
Mineral Resources has secured control of Norwest Energy after their voting power increased to 53.86% on Thursday.
Norwest recommended its shareholders accept Mineral Resources’ $497M offer which would give them 1 fully paid Mineral Resources’ share for every 1300 Norwest share.
Mineral Resources’ managing director, Chris Ellison said “I’m delighted that so many Norwest shareholders have already accepted our revised offer and that we now have majority control of Norwest.”
Norwest Minerals
Catalyst Minerals now has 88.1% voting power in Vango Mining from its takeover offer which was declared unconditional on Wednesday.
Vango shareholders will receive 5 fully paid Catalyst shares for every 115 Vango shares.
Catalyst Metals
The S&P/ASX200 markets have continued to fall this week, with some ups and downs throughout the week.
Starting at 7,425 points on Monday, it peaked on Tuesday at 7,477 points before falling to 7,338 points on Wednesday. The markets recovered again on Thursday at 7,421 points then fell again on Friday to 7,347 points.
The All Ordinaries spiked on Tuesday to 7,672 points but fell to 7,552 points on Friday.
Gold stayed stable though much of the week, before falling to $1,827.50 USD on Friday.
Silver was slightly less stable, slowly decreasing throughout the week to $21.66 USD.
Hancock Energy has increased its offer to buy Warrego Energy from $0.28 cash per share to $0.36 cash per share, totalling $447m if the offer is approved.
Three of the Four Warrego directors have recommended shareholders accept the deal over an offer made by Strike Energy, offering one Strike share for every Warrego share.
Hancock Prospecting
Great Western Exploration will extend its Firebird Gold Project after gold anomalism was found at their Greenstone Belt site, located near Wiluna.
The announcement saw a 4% share price increase for Great Western Exploration to $0.052.
Fortescue CFO Ian Wells has announced his resignation in order to spend time with family and friends.
Wells is the ninth executive in two years to resign, not long after Guy Debelle resigned in November last year.
Wells said that despite his resignation, “Fortescue is in a strong position to be able to deliver on short-, medium- and long-term growth options through the Iron Bridge magnetite project, Fortescue’s decarbonisation, and FFI’s (Fortescue Future Industries) portfolio of opportunities.”
Fortescue Metals
Everest Metals Corporation’s share price jumped 20.87% to $0.110 per share after an initial drilling program at their Mt Edon mining lease saw positive pegmatite levels, causing EMC to push to exercise its exclusive farm-in option to acquire the right to 100% interest in the Mt Edon Project.
Chief Operating Officer, Simon Phillips said “EMC is pleased to announce its decision to exercise its right to farm into the Mt Edon LCT Pegmatite Project, subject to Shareholder approval. The company is pleased to have the opportunity to take the next step towards 51% ownership in a project with such an extensive array of pegmatite outcrops over six kilometres. The recent reconnaissance drill program gave EMC the data it needed to commit to the next stage of exploration at this highly fertile pegmatite field as part of the Company’s commitment to its Battery Minerals project development strategy”
Lithium Power International has commenced its drilling program at its East Kirup Lithium Prospect this week.
East Kirup is located in the Greenbushes region, Southwest of Collie.
LPI Executive Director, Andrew Phillips said ““The results of this drilling program will be used − along with previously completed environmental surveys − to prepare a CMP to allow drilling on new tracks, the commencement of phase three.
The intention is to hit the ground running in 2023, and we are pleased that the commencement of the program is so early in the year.”
The S&P/ASX 200 started off the week slow at 1,178 points before falling to 7,126 points on Wednesday. The market picked up again, increasing 202 points to finish off at 7,328 points.
The All Ordinaries finished at 7,540 points. The top performing stocks where Poseidon Nickle and Andromeda Metals.
Gold had a slow rise this week, starting at $1,882.00 USD and rounded the week off at $1,898.90 USD at the close of the ASX.
Silver was more turbulent, falling from $24.30 USD to $23.89 USD on Tuesday, raising again to $24.17 USD on Wednesday, then falling again on Thursday to $23.88 USD before finishing off the week at $23.94 USD.
A lot has happened in 2022 so we’ve compiled some of this year’s biggest mining news:
January
Rio Tinto expects the introduction of battery-electric powered trains in the Pilbara will help them halve their emissions by 2030.
They hope the trial will pave the way for its entire fleet of 220 diesel locomotives to go electric.
Fortescue Metals Group also plans to replace diesel-powered vehicles by 2030 in their plan to decarbonise.
Then FMG chief executive Elizabeth Gaines said to achieve carbon neutrality: “we will have to replace our mining fleet, our rail fleet, shipping, all of those areas that are mobile that rely on the use of diesel.”
Rio Tinto
February
Lynas has received approval from WA Environment Minister Reece Whitby to build $500m rare earths refinery at Kalgoorlie.
The plant is scheduled to begin production next year and is expected to create over 120 jobs.
Kalgoorlie-Boulder Mayor John Bowler said he hopes the plant will operate for decades: “This is the next big metal, something totally different from gold and nickel … it’s a big occasion and great day for Kalgoorlie-Boulder.”
May
Ron Sayers, West Australian mining tycoon who founded the Perenti Group, has died after his battle with stomach cancer and Alzheimer’s disease.
Sayers began as a fitter on Kalgoorlie’s Golden Mile before founding his company Ausdrill in 1987.
Today the ASX200 listed company employs more than 8,000 employees across 12 countries.
Construction has begun on a 580km pipeline in WA that will take gas from the Perth basin to the Goldfields.
The $460m pipeline will form part of the Northern Goldfields Interconnect pipeline, aimed to significantly increase the volume of gas available inland.
June
The United States Department of Defence has awarded Lynas Rare Earths a $120USD contract to build a processing facility on the Gulf Coast in Texas.
The production of the facility aims to reduce the US’ reliance on China for rare earth minerals.
Lynas managing director Amanda Lacaze says the deal demonstrates the priority that the US is placing on “ensuring that supply chains for these critical materials are resilient and environmentally responsible”.
July
Australian mining company Lucapa has unearthed a rare 170-carat pink diamond, one of the biggest pink diamonds ever found.
“The Lulo Rose” is believed to be the largest found in 300 years.
Lucapa Diamond
October
Two people have died in 72 hours in separate mining incidents in WA.
The first died after a rock fall at the Hamlet underground mine at Saint Ives near Kambalda.
The second died at the Capricorn Metals’ Karlawinda gold mine near Newman when his vehicle was run over by a large dump truck.
November
A $750m community investment trust funded by WA’s big fish in mining has been set up by the state government to help fund infrastructure in remote communities and legacy projects.
The government hopes to eventually have $1b in the fund, so far Rio Tinto and BHP have contributed $250m each, Hancock Prospecting has contributed $100m, Woodside $50m, Chevron $50m and Mineral Resources has contributed $50m.
Projects to be funded include an Aboriginal Cultural Centre for Perth’s CBD, the refurbishment of the Perth Concert Hall and upgrades to the Perth Zoo as well as several projects in remote WA.
Swedish company, Epiroc, has agreed to acquire Kalgoorlie Boulder company, Remote Control Technologies Pty Ltd.
RCT was founded 50 years ago and provides automation solutions to mining companies.
RCT is the second Kalgoorlie Boulder company acquired by Epiroc this year, after their acquisition of JTMEC earlier in the year.
The acquisition is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
RCT
December
St Barbara and Genesis Minerals have announced their merger to create Hoover House,
St Barbara will acquire 100% of the shares in Genesis. Genesis shareholders will own 41% of Hoover House, with St Barbara shareholders owning 38%.
Hoover House will have a production target of over 300,000oz of gold per annum.
St Barbara chair, Tim Netscher, said: “The merger with our Leonora neighbour, Genesis, to create Hoover House, will accelerate our Leonora Province Plan. Shareholders will reap the benefits of more production at lower cost and lower risk from this prolific mining district.”
Genesis Managing Director, Raleigh Finlayson, said: “By combining with St Barbara, we are creating Hoover House, the premium Australian gold company we envisaged, with sustainable, high-quality production.”
St Barbara
Elizabeth Gains is stepping down as CEO of Fortescue to become their ambassador for their global green hydrogen brand. Gains will remain a non-executive director.
Gains will be responsible for promoting green hydrogen, green ammonia and green energy.
Since Gains began leading the company in 2018, Fortescue’s share price has quadrupled, and shareholders have grown from less than 35,000 to 170,000.
“ I don’t see this as a departure of any shape or form. I think it’s just the opportune time for Fortescue who are genuinely transitioning,” Ms Gaines said.
St Barbara and Genesis Minerals have announced their merger to create Hoover House,
St Barbara will acquire 100% of the shares in Genesis. Genesis shareholders will own 41% of Hoover House, with St Barbara shareholders owning 38%.
Hoover House will have a production target of over 300,000oz of gold per annum.
St Barbara chair, Tim Netscher, said: “The merger with our Leonora neighbour, Genesis, to create Hoover House, will accelerate our Leonora Province Plan. Shareholders will reap the benefits of more production at lower cost and lower risk from this prolific mining district.”
Genesis Managing Director, Raleigh Finlayson, said: “By combining with St Barbara, we are creating Hoover House, the premium Australian gold company we envisaged, with sustainable, high-quality production.”
St Barbara
The federal government has announced a cap on gas and coal prices as part of its Energy Price Relief Plan.
The plan includes the 12-month emergency gas price cap, a targeted energy bill relief for households and businesses, and investment in cleaner, cheaper and reliable energy.
Anthony Albanese said the action is designed to “provide all Australians with a buffer in unprecedented times.”
A South African researcher has developed a new way to remove contaminates from water used in mining.
The process involves small polystyrene beads that chemically bond with pollutants as the water passes through, cleaning the water and collecting the pollutants for reuse.
Ed Hardwick, owner of Cwenga Technologies said the beads extract valuable materials from the water: “What has been identified in some streams, especially coal mining streams, is that the acid that’s produced from the mine waters actually dissolves out some rare earth materials.”
Aruma Resources has announced its recently completed diamond core drilling program at their Salmon gums Gold Project has expanded the project’s Greenstone footprint to over 75km2.
The drilling, located at their Norseman Gold Camp was designed to provide a deeper geological understanding of the project and opened up the potential for the project to host multiple horizons.
Kin Mining has completed their first deep diamond drill-hole at Helens-Rangoon Fault – which saw wide zones of shallow gold – to test an Induced Polarisation anomaly.
The drilling was completed at their Cardinia Gold Project near Leonora and has intersected significant zones of gold mineralisation.
Kin Mining Managing Director, Andrew Munckton, said: “This represents a strong start to the 5‐hole diamond drill program, which is designed to test the first generation of deeper targets at Cardinia with the aim of uncovering new, high‐grade discoveries within the exciting Eastern Corridor.”
Shire of Leonora
S&P/ASX 200 markets started out the week a little lower, at 7,163 points before climbing to 7,253 points at the end of Wednesday. The markets saw a sudden drop Friday morning, falling from 7,209 points to 7,122 points before making a slight comeback to finish the week.
The All Ordinaries followed a similar trajectory, falling 91 points to 7,304 points Friday morning, before climbing again throughout the day.
Gold peaked at a 3-month high of $1,813.70USD on Wednesday, before dropping again to $1,787.85USD to round out the week.
Silver saw a 6-month high of $24USD on Wednesday before a slight decline to $23.35USD to end the week.
IGO’s Nova Mine will cease operations for several weeks after a fire started in the diesel engine room.
No one was injured in the fire, but the West Australian mine safety authorises have launched an investigation into the incident.
The mine is located in the Fraser Range, 160km east of Norseman.
IGO’s acting chief executive, Matt Dusci said “We are thankful that all our people are safe and unharmed. We have activated our contingency plans and will work to re-establish operations at Nova as quickly and safely as possible.”
IGO’s Nova Mine
The Saint Barbara Festival took place last week in Kalgoorlie.
The annual event consists of the Miners Memorial Service on Thursday 1st December and the St Barbara’s Parade on Sunday 4th December.
St Barbara’s Parade
Codrus Minerals has announced high grades at their Niobium-Rich Karloning REE Project in north of Mukinbudin in the Wheatbelt.
Codrus Managing Director, Shannan Bamforth said: “We are excited by the high grades returned from 3 samples that exceeded the upper detection limit in the original assaying. Seeing grades for heavy REE elements of this magnitude is very positive, particularly given that these metals are intrinsically linked to the decarbonisation thematic.”
The S&P/ASX 200 closed on a lower note this week. Starting at 7,321 points on Monday, before finishing at 7,213 points on Friday.
Champion Iron and Sandfire Resources were top performing shares, gaining 5.15% and 4.81% respectively.
The All Ordinaries finished on 7,406 points, falling from the high of 7,551 from Monday.
Gold dropped on Tuesday from $1,810.70USD to $1,7744.54USD before rising again over the last few days to finish up at $1,798.80USD.
Silver also fell significantly on Tuesday from $23.49USD to $22.63USD but gained it back during the week to $23.44USD
Surbiton Associates has announced Australian gold production for the September 22 quarter is down 9% from the June 22 quarter.
The September quarter saw 76 tonnes compared to the 83 tonnes from the June quarter.
Surbiton Associates director, Dr Sandra Close said gold production for the quarter is somewhat disappointing and stated “some wet weather and Covid-19 problems affected output adversely” but is confident these effects are slowly receding.
Gold Fields has awarded their Barren Lands open pit project to establish a new mine at their Agnew Gold Mine, 150km Northwest of Leonora to MLG Oz.
The project will run alongside their current St Ives cooperation.
MLG founder and managing director Murray Leahy said “we are very proud to continue to support Gold Fields at their St Ives and Agnew operations extending what has, and continues to be, a long and rewarding relationship.”
Metal Hawk Limited has announced diamond drilling at their Berehaven Nickel Project has commenced.
The project, located 20km Southeast of Kalgoorlie Boulder, continued after high grade nickel sulphide was discovered in the area last year.
Minerals Resources is offering starting salaries of over $140,000 to New Zealanders in an entice them to Perth. The campaign is set to see several hundred New Zealanders over the next 6 months.
The S&P/ASX200 stumbled slightly on Monday before recovering to start the month on a high of 7,372 points yesterday. The markets finished off the week on 7,302 points, dropping 0.72% from yesterday.
The All Ordinaries peaked at 7,572 points yesterday, finishing at 7,504 points today.
Gold was relatively stable at the start of the week, before picking up on Wednesday to finish the week at the biggest high since August at $1,802.25USD/oz.
Silver followed suit, starting stable before reaching the biggest high since June at $233.04USD/oz.
In Today’s Morning News Bites for September 1. WA motorists face toughest penalties in Australia if caught using mobile phones while driving. Telstra profits slide 15% for FY20, sighting disruption from the pandemic and bush fire crisis. Lefroy report results from Hang Glider Hill and Lucky Strike Gold exploration hubs 50km South-East of Kalgoorlie.
Lefroy Exploration Limited provided results from an 279-hole aircore (AC) drilling program completed at the Hang Glider Hill (HGH) and Lucky Strike exploration hubs within the Eastern Lefroy project 50km to the South-East of Kalgoorlie, WA. A total of 12,436m were drilled in a 279- hole program covering the Hang Glider Hill, Lucky Strike and Havelock areas. Results include: Hang Glider Hill – enhanced gold prospectivity of the target area that has highlighted a 3.5km corridor adjacent to the Hang Glider Hill fault to focus additional exploration. Lucky Strike confirms highly oxidised BIF over 700m of strike with gold anomalies. Enhanced potential for further discoveries along the remaining 1.3km strike of the trend.
Legacy Iron Ore Limited announced the completion of the first round of PQ size (85mm) diamond drilling for metallurgical studies at the Mt Celia project in Laverton, WA. The drilling was undertaken to generate cores for metallurgical test works. A total of 4 drill holes have been completed, with 1 more hole to be drilled in September 1st week to generate a few more composite samples. Geological logging of the PQ cores resulted in the visual confirmation of expected mineralised zones providing increased confidence for the upcoming metallurgical test works. 4 diamond PQ drill holes for metallurgical studies completed at the Kangaroo Bore and Blue Peter gold deposits.
RC Drilling is nearing completion at New Bendigo, part of the Tibooburra Gold Project in New South Wales. Manhattan Corporation has completed 34 RC holes for 4,175 metres. Approximately 900 metres remains to be drilled and is expected to be completed by Saturday 5th September. The first batch of samples (approximately 2,000 samples) are undergoing sample preparation at ALS Global Laboratories in Adelaide. Results are expected late September 2020. A second batch of samples (~1,800 samples) has been dispatched from site and are expected to arrive at the laboratory this week.
Results from early stage metallurgical test work for Chalice Gold Mines has been completed on a range of mineralisation styles from the Gonneville PGE-Ni-Cu-Co discovery at its Julimar Project in WA. Early stage sighter metallurgical testwork completed on limited samples of high-grade sulphide mineralisation from the G1 Zone, as well as disseminated sulphide mineralisation and oxide mineralisation (composite from four RC holes) from the Gonneville Intrusion. All sulphides in the G1 zone float readily under standard conditions at 75µm grind size – a positive indication that the sulphides appear to be amenable to conventional flotation concentration techniques. Managing Director Alex Dorsch commented, saying “The early stage metallurgical test work completed to date has returned promising results from selected samples, giving us good early encouragement that the sulphide-hosted mineralisation at Gonneville will be amenable to conventional flotation.”
Essential Metals reports that a drilling programme has commenced to test the northern extent of the Sinclair Caesium Deposit, 140km South of Kalgoorlie, WA. A mineralised corridor has been modelled using existing high grade caesium drill intersections which confirm mineralisation extends up to 80m from the northern open pit wall of the Sinclair Caesium Mine. The drill programme will target a total length of 120m as well as aim to infill and widen the mineralised zones around the existing drill intersections.
