Tag: Gold

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Morning News Bites – July 24

The first gold pour for Horizon Minerals - Supplied

In today’s morning news bites – Gold nears 1900US/oz overnight (~$2644A/oz), National cabinet meets today and Apple delays its iPhone 12.

A first diamond drill hole for Talisman Mining has resulted in 0.81m @ 2.34 g/t Au from 467.1m Including 0.14m @ 4.10 g/t Au from 467.1m and 0.45m @ 1.34 g/t Au from 491.5m at its Lucknow Gold Project in New South Wales. According to Talisman the hole intersected a highly fractured zone which is interpreted to represent the flat-lying fault that has offset the main lode controlling stratigraphy, but did not intersect the targeted ultramafic contact due to what appears to be a second cross-cutting fault. Talisman’s Lucknow Gold Project is part of a farm-in with privately-owned Lucknow Gold Limited.

Gold Road Resources JV Gruyere mine produced a record 71,865 ounces of gold during the quarter and remains on track to meet 2020 annual guidance 250,000 to 285,000 ounces. In some financial news Gold Road Resources became debt free having repaid the remaining $25 million of debt on 21 July 2020, while retaining liquidity in excess of $85 million. Gold Road also secured funding for five projects on Gold Road 100% owned tenements or through the Gruyere JV and Cygnus JV with the WA State Government Exploration Incentive Scheme The $560,000 of funding will be used to advance greenfields exploration and geological understanding.

Drill results for Phase Three with Kin Mining at Cardinia Hill have been announced. The results of the RC drilling include a highlight of 17m at 2.35g/t Au from 6m including 5m at 5.2g/t Au. A resource definition at Cardinia Hill is set to start soon. Kin Mining Managing Director, Andrew Munckton, said: “The initial phase of RC drilling at Cardinia Hill undertaken as part of the broader Phase 3 program has been successful in upgrading our understanding of the geometry and scale of the deposit – providing a solid foundation for planned resource drilling. “Confirmation of the presence of two shoots of north-plunging higher grade mineralisation coincident with strong magnetic signatures from our new airborne magnetic survey work is an important development which gives us confidence that we can advance the Cardinia Hill deposit to a Mineral Resource estimate relatively quickly”.

Dr Colin Rose, Marmota Limited Chairman has announced the drill program for Aurora Tank is the most exciting to date “This is Marmota’s largest ever RC drill program at Aurora Tank and with a special focus on primary mineralisation extensions. It is shaping up as one of our most interesting, varied and exciting drill programs to date.” he said. Drilling has commenced with a RC drill program of 85 holes over 7,500m for around 3 – 4 weeks.

The first gold pour for Horizon Minerals - Supplied

The first gold pour for Horizon Minerals has taken place from its Boorara Gold Mine. Jon Price Horizon Managing Director said “First gold production from Boorara is an exciting milestone for the Company and it is extremely pleasing to see the mine performing to expectations. The Horizon team and our contracting partners have done an excellent job to date with the Lakewood Mill running extremely well.” Mining commenced at Boorara on May 5 2020 and the initial gold pour took place July 23, 2020.

 

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Morning News Bites – July 23

Today’s Industry Link Media Morning News Bites :

Blow out in the Federal Budget – WA and Mining holding it together. Gold reaches over $1870US/oz overnight and this is set to lift the market in open.

Northern Star Resources has announced its Quarterly activities report with a record 262,717oz of gold sold at an AISC of A$1,475/oz, which included the KCGM Operations. Regional exploration for Northern Star was largely suspended due to COVID-19 and this affected Jundee/Yandal, Kanowna, Pogo and South Kalgoorlie, however at Paradigm a short surface RC resource definition drilling program was completed. The Pogo operations were affected by 36 COVID-19 cases and Northern Star expects Pogo volumes to remain around the levels seen in the June quarter, equal to ~25% lower than would otherwise be the case. Northern Star’s A$10M Community COVID-19 fund has provided significant funding to assist local health services, communities and businesses in the areas Northern Star operate. The option to acquire Newmont’s Power Business has lapsed and as such multiple future power options for KCGM now being explored. Executive Chairman of Northern Star Resources Bill Beament, said “Our quarterly sales of 262,717oz was not only a record, but also very solid given the imposts stemming from the COVID-19 measures we moved quickly to put in place,”  When speaking about Pogo, Mr Beament said “Pogo sold 50,251oz in a quarter during which we managed 36 cases of COVID-19, We now have a strong insight into the impact of the virus on Pogo and it is clear that this asset will continue to produce at about 75 per cent of its potential while the virus remains in Alaska. However, the 18-month transition to long-hole stoping is finished and the benefits of this new mining method are being reflected in the results, albeit somewhat restricted by COVID-19″ Northern Star is also looking to reduce its hedging to increase margins and free cashflow. On July 16, Northern Star paid a fully franked interim dividend of 7.5cps.

Essential Metals (previously Pioneer Resources) has announced drill intercepts at its Cade deposit at the Dome North lithium project. A thick shallow high-grade intercept of 21m at 1.79% Li2O was discovered from recent RC Drilling. Essential Metals Managing Director, Tim Spencer, said “The outstanding shallow intercept of 21m @ 1.79% Li2O shows the Cade Deposit contains high lithia grades near surface, while drilling across the project has identified a number of other prospective areas for follow-up. The metallurgical test work is important for us to understand the best development route for the Dome North Lithium Project. The test work completed so far bodes well for achieving good recoveries in a DMS-flotation process route and we await completion of the second phase of test work to see if this is the case.” The Dome North project targets a 20 km strike length around 130km south from Kalgoorlie Boulder.

Copper production of 25,041 tonnes exceeded guidance for Aeris Resources as the company recorded a June quarter production of 6,672 tonnes which is a 10% increase on the previous quarter. The Acquisition of the Cracow Gold Operations was completed on July 1 which has a FY21 gold production guidance of 70,000oz – 75,000oz. with the first Aeris gold poured in early July. The copper production guidance at Tritton Copper Operations for FY2021 is between 23,500 tonnes and 24,500 tonnes. According to the company, there is cash and receivables of $69.4m at quarter end.

Record operating cash flow of A$352M, net mine cash flow A$225M and free cash flow A$188M has been reported by Evolution Mining as a June quarter highlight. Evolution produced group gold production increased to 218,104 ounces at an ASIC of A$1,088 per ounce. A breakdown of some highlights includes Cowal produced 60,594oz at an AISC of A$941/oz generating net mine cash flow of A$59.3 million. Ernest Henry produced 28,183oz at an AISC of A$(617)/oz generating record net mine cash flow of A$68.3 million. Mungari produced 37,178oz at an AISC of A$1,089/oz generating record net mine cash flow of A$39.8 million and Mt Rawdon produced 25,982oz at an AISC of A$1,305/oz generating record net mine cash flow of A$32.3 million The acquisition of the high-grade, long-life Red Lake gold mine in Ontario, Canada has added 27,428 ounces at an AISC of A$1,943 per ounce. A maiden Underground Ore Reserve and updated Mineral Resource at Cowal was made with a Maiden Underground Ore Reserve of 804koz and Mineral Resource increased to 2.9Moz Evolution Executive Chairman, Jake Klein, said: “This outstanding outcome has resulted in the potential to bring forward first production of higher-grade ore from the Cowal underground which will provide a step change to the operation’s production profile. Importantly, the Maiden Underground Ore Reserve is only a starting point on which to build on in the coming years. Our work at Cowal continues to demonstrate that this is a world class mineral system.”

Wrapping out a big day for gold operators as part fo the Morning News Bites June quarterly updates, Newcrest has released its figures for the quarter. There was a record annualised mined ore and mill throughput for the quarter at Cadia, which has been a top producer in Australia as reported by Surbiton Associates. Gold production was 7% higher for the quarter for Newcrest, Cadia again the shining light with a 21% increase in gold production compared to the prior quarter. Newcrest Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Sandeep Biswas, said “Newcrest has safely delivered a strong fourth quarter enabling us to meet our Group gold production guidance for the year, notwithstanding the challenges of addressing the risks associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Cadia exceeded the top end of its production guidance range and achieved record annualised mine and mill throughput rates in the quarter, further highlighting the strength of this world-class asset.”

Cadia Mine - Morning News Bites
Cadia Mine – Orange NSW, Supplied

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Morning News Bites – July 22

ASX drops on early trade after a four month high yesterday, Josh Frydenberg has eluded to a hit on the Federal Budget bottom line from wage subsidies and loss of tax revenue and Prince George turns 7!

  • Resolute Mining has produced 107,183oz for the June quarter at an All In Sustain Cost of US$1,033/oz. This figure has met expectations and results to deliver a full year guidance of 430,000oz according to Managing Director and CEO John Welborn “Production of 107,183oz of gold during the June quarter meets our expectations and results in year to date production to 217,946oz placing the Company in a strong position to deliver our full year guidance of 430,000oz. I am particularly pleased with the performance of the Syama Underground Mine and Syama Sulphide operations during the June quarter where we produced 35,248oz of gold based on achieving our targeted mining and processing outcomes including an improved overall recovery rate of 80%. We continue to focus on further improvements to Syama Underground and Sulphide operations while ensuring the positive performance in the June quarter is sustainable and sets a benchmark for quarterly performance from now on. We expect to continue to improve production and deliver lower costs at Syama in the second half of 2020 while we evaluate further value enhancements and exciting exploration opportunities. “Mako continues to deliver consistently strong results and cashflows. The announcement of an extension to mine life and an increase in expected life of mine production from 700,000oz to 900,000oz is a positive outcome for Resolute and Senegal. We continue to evaluate opportunities to generate additional value demonstrating that Mako is an outstanding Resolute gold mine.”
  • Contracting Group MACA has announced an extension to its contract with Ramelius Resources at Mount Magnet. MACA began working with Ramelius on the project back in 2017, with the extension consisting of open pit mining services including drilling & blasting, and loading & hauling. MACA CEO and Managing Director Mike Sutton said ‘We are pleased to continue our relationship with Ramelius Resources at Mt Magnet for a further 3 years. The services we provide at Mt Magnet and Edna May for Ramelius make up an important part of MACA’s Work in Hand in the gold sector’. It is expected the project extension will generate approximately $130 million in revenue for MACA over the 3 year term.
  • Legacy Iron Ore has received outstanding intersections at Mt Celia from a recent drill programme. The Significant intersections include 4m at 4.21g/tAu from 86m,  2m at 6.49g/tAu from 88m and 1m at 10.1g/tAu from 63min. Of 29 drill holes, 27 delivered mineralisation. Legacy will commence approx. 4,000m RC drilling to test numerous early-stage targets with potential for subparallel mineralisation within 100 m of the Kangaroo Bore resource, and an extension of Blue Peter resource along the strike. There is also approx.1,000 m of core drilling is planned in the month of September and October.
  • Galileo Mining is well positioned to continue its exploration programs, revealing it has $8.7m in cash as of the end of the 19/20 financial year. According to Brad Underwood, Galileo Managing Director, the recent quarter was incredibly important  “This was an important period for Galileo in which we laid the groundwork for the next round of RC drilling which is to be followed by the first ever diamond core drilling at our Fraser Range Lantern Prospect. Our aircore drilling outlined the prospective ultramafic unit at Lantern South and this target is now ready for advanced drilling. We also undertook electromagnetic (EM) surveying to define subsurface zones prospective for nickel sulphide mineralisation.” When it comes to the financial position, Mr Underwood said “During the quarter, we strengthened our cash position via a well-supported $5 million placement allowing us to effectively explore the entire area around our Lantern Prospect over the next six to twelve months. He also welcomed the investment by Independence Group and also the shareholding of the Creasy Group. Galileo will now commence RC Drilling at Lantern South and East targets later this morning and commence Diamond Drilling in August.
  • A major drilling program for Metalicity has commenced at Kookynie Gold Project. Managing Director of Metalicity, Jason Livingstone, says it is excited to be back at Kookynie  “It is exciting to be heading back out to Kookynie to follow up on the Phase One June 2020 drilling programme. The results we received were incredibly consistent and high grade. The Company is well funded to execute this programme and I sincerely look forward to presenting the results over the coming period.” The follow up on the previous drill results in June forms this programme. The Kookynie Gold Project is around 60km south of Leonora in Western Australia and includes the historic Cosmopolitan mine which produced 360,000oz at head grade of 15g/t
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Morning News Bite – July 21

Job support for Australians extended at a reduced rate, Western Australia Premier Mark McGowan says mining companies need to stop relying on FIFO and face mask purchases restricted at major supermarket chains.

  • Downer EDI is starting trade in July 21 in a trading halt as an acquisition is on the cards. The company made the announcement about the acquisition and fully underwritten accelerated non-renounceable entitlement offer of ordinary shares on a pro-rata basis to existing eligible shareholders of the Company. The trading halt is expected to last until the earlier of either the Company making an announcement to the ASX in relation to completion of the institutional component of the Entitlement Offer or the commencement of trading on Wednesday, 22 July 2020.
  • BHP has released is quarterly report with Iron Ore in Western Australia achieving record production. Increased petroleum production at Bass Strait due to higher seasonal demand, partially offset by lower volumes at Atlantis due to planned maintenance and preparation work for Phase 3 project commissioning, and lower demand in Trinidad and Tobago was the difference in Mar – Jun Qtr reports. Other highlights included Olympic Dam completing a quarter of higher production due to improved operating sustainability, Higher volumes at Queensland Coal including record production at Poitrel mine and higher nickel volumes due to the ramping of full capacity at the Kwinana refinery and Kalgoorlie smelter during the prior quarter. BHP Chief Executive Officer, Mike Henry also commentated on the impact of COVID19 in its operations  “BHP safely delivered a strong operational performance in the 2020 financial year, achieving record production in a number of our operations, and an improved cost base. This performance, achieved in the face of COVID-19 and other challenges, is a result of the outstanding effort of our people and the support of our communities, governments, customers and suppliers. We have sought to support those who rely on BHP through the pandemic with increased hiring, shorter payment terms for small, local and indigenous suppliers, support for contract workers and community funding for health and social services” He said. “We expect to continue to generate solid cash flow through the cycle and we remain confident in the outlook for demand for our products over the medium to long-term. We continue to focus on becoming even safer, delivering exceptional operational performance, maintaining disciplined capital allocation, creating and securing more options in future facing commodities and building social value. We have learned new ways of working, both internally and with others, through the COVID-19 pandemic. We will seek to embed these in a way that helps to reinforce these priorities.” according to Mr Henry.
  • An expanded drilling program for Gateway Mining is set to be undertaken after a $7m capital raising. Gateway are set to embark on a program of 5,000m of Reverse Circulation (RC) and 10,000m of air-core (AC) drilling to be completed at priority targets around the Montague Dome. CEO at Gateway Mining Peter Langworthy commented on the drill program by saying “We have positioned the Company to the point we can effectively accelerate our drilling programs to unlock the true potential of what we believe to be an emerging large-scale gold system. Having sufficient funding in place means that we can maintain a fast pace of drilling activity, with drill programs set to be maintained continuously right through to the end of the year and into 2021.” “The current program of RC drilling is making excellent progress and already approaching the halfway point of the expanded 4,500m of drilling. This will be followed by one of our biggest programs of air-core drilling to date, before we embark on what will be a crucial program of RC and diamond drilling through to the end of the year.” he said

 

Silver Lake Resources – Rothsay Mine (pic via Silver Lake Resources LinkedIn)

  • Quarterly group production was a record 71,291 ounces gold and 494 tonnes copper with sales of 64,593 ounces gold and 416 tones copper at a sales price of A$2,300/oz and AISC of A$1,344/oz for SilverLake Resources. Mount Monger mining camp produced 45,333 ounces and 42,331 ounces recovered, of this 38,017 ounces were sold at an AISC of A$1,471/oz with record annual sales from Randalls of 154,900 ounces at an AISC of A$1,414/oz. Deflector has a record quarterly gold production of 28,960 ounces and 494 tonnes of copper with record annual gold production of 104,376 ounces gold and 2,356 tonnes copper. Average mill grades at Deflector were also higher for the quarter. Meanwhile the Box Cut for Rothsay has commenced this month as significant approvals progress has taken place with mining camp and occupation taking place on July 1.
  • Image Resources has reported a strong quarter at its high-grade, zircon-rich Boonanarring mineral sands project, located 80km north of Perth. Image has increase to production  in the June quarter of 83kt, on pace with guidance Heavy Minerals Concentrate sales increased substantially quarter on quarter to 65kt and sales volumes are expected to further increase in the second half to achieve guidance. Managing Director and CEO of Image Resources Patrick Mutz said “In the first half of 2020 Image has demonstrated strong operational performance with production of 167kt Heavy Mineral Concentrate, despite the significant adjustments to daily work practices aimed at minimising the potential spread of COVID-19. The June quarter represents a turning point for our sales volumes which were up sharply from the prior quarter. It was therefore particularly pleasing, subsequent to period end, to receive a sales agreement with our off-take partners for 100kt of HMC to be delivered over the next 3-5 months to monetise our HMC inventory, while keeping open the opportunity to sell additional material to others outside of the off-take agreements. The Company remains in a very strong position to achieve our original guidance and we have a strong balance sheet, solid underlying assets and exciting opportunities for future growth.” he said.
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Morning News Bites – July 17

Bluescope is conducting a strategic review of its New Zealand Operations, FMG hits record high and Westpac has been served with class action.

Magmatic Resources has commenced drilling at Boda North. There is the mobilisation of a second rig and commencement of RC drilling activity at Boda North as RC drilling continues at Lady Ilse, with four holes completed. Drilling at Lady Ilse has been delayed due to wet conditions and some mechanical issues. There has been a replacement rig on site to increase production rates. While the maiden drilling program at Boda North will comprise of approximately six RC holes and is designed to assess the geochemical ‘fertility’ of the anomalies (gold + pathfinder elements) prior to potential deeper drill testing. Boda North is north of Cadia Valley in Central New South Wales.

National Tyres and Wheel limited has entered a conditional Agreement to acquire Tyres 4 U’s importing, wholesale and retailing business assets in Australia and New Zealand. This will create a prescence in the truck & bus, industrial and agricultural tyre segments where NTD currently has little or no presence. The synergy between the two entities commenced some years ago.  Tyres for U CEO Les de Celis said: “Some years ago, I met with Peter Ludemann and others from NTD to discuss the prospects of a merged T4U and NTD business. We were very enthusiastic back then about the benefits we could deliver to suppliers and customers with an abundance of complementary skills in our teams and no significant overlap of products or suppliers. Changes in the industry since then have only made the case for getting together more compelling and we are extremely excited to join forces with NTD”. While Peter Ludemann NTD CEO said “The purchase of T4U is testament to the power of belief and persistence. When we first met, we were struck by the fact that, despite each being tyre wholesalers for more than 25 years, we did not bump into each other in the marketplace. Different business models, different products and different routes to market made it immediately obvious that everyone could benefit from getting together, without disturbing our core businesses or values.” The aquistion makes NTD one of the largest tyre wholesalers in Australia and New Zealand.

Rio Tinto has released its second quarter results with iron ore and bauxite the stronger performers. Rio Tinto Chief Executive J-S Jacques said “We delivered a strong performance, particularly in iron ore and bauxite, demonstrating the underlying resilience of our business and ability to adapt in difficult conditions. Our iron ore assets are performing well in a strong pricing environment and we are on track to meet our 2020 iron ore guidance. Despite various COVID-19 related challenges, all our assets have continued to operate, with our first priority to protect the health and safety of all our employees and communities. “Our focus is to maintain a business as usual approach with many safeguards at a very unusual time. Our operational teams are continuing to run our assets safely so we can continue to contribute to local and national economies and serve our customers.” Mr Jacques also remained committed to the Rio Tinto relationships with local communities. “We remain even more committed to our relationship with communities, following the Juukan Gorge events in the Pilbara, and we are engaging extensively with Traditional Owners around our operations and across Australia.” He said. Rio Pilbara iron ore shipments of 86.7 million tonnes (100% basis) were 1% higher than the second quarter of 2019 despite the impact of COVID-19 related operational controls. This is a 3% increase for the same time 2019.

A desktop analysis by Torian Resources has uncovered a large area of interest at the Mt Monger – Wombola Gold  Projects, with significant discovery potential. Up to 50,000m of historical drilling results to be reviewed and reinterpreted.  Torian Chairman Mr Louie Simens said, “As previously announced we have had fresh eyes digging into the extensive datasets across TNR’s projects and early indications from desktop analysis have yielded significant indicators of potential for further discoveries at the Mt Monger – Wombola projects. We are embarking on a property-wide systematic exploration effort at the Mt Monger – Wombola Project which enfolds much of Silver Lake Resources (ASX: SLR) flagship Mt Monger Mine.” Torian’s Joint Venture partner Dampier have announced a major drilling  program at the jointly held Zuleika Gold Project with an aim of rapidly defining JORC compliant  resources.

The first milling campaign has commenced at Lakewood Mill with the first gold pour due next week for Horizon Minerals. According to Managing Director Jon Price “We are extremely pleased with progress at Boorara and now commencing the first milling campaign at Lakewood producing first gold next week and revenue shortly thereafter. Along with capitalising on the strong current gold price, the Stage One development of Boorara will provide mine to mill reconciliation outcomes to de-risk the larger scale development plan.” Total material movement to date of 357,000 BCM, 30% above plan with ore mined to date of 80,000t at a fully diluted grade of 1.5g/t Au, in line with reserve model estimates.

 

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Morning News Bites – July 16

News for tradies today, the AFR reporting the federal government will today announce $2 billion to subsidise the jobs of an extra 100,000 apprentice and train or reskill 340,000 school leavers, The end of Jobkeeper and Job seeker in September could have an impact on hard state border closures according to the Grattan Institute senior associate Matt Cowgill – he told the ABC and twitter accounts have beeb hacked of Elon Musk, Joe Biden, Bill Gates and Apple.

  • Moho Resources has completed phase 1 of its RC Drilling at East Sampson Dam. 16 RC holes were drilled for total of 1,426m, with these samples now sent for fire assays. Results should be known in August, with the commencement of  phase 2 and diamond drilling expected to start in the 2nd quarter 20/21. According to Moho Managing Director Shane Sadlier “Moho is expediting the gold exploration programs and mining studies around East Sampson Dam as they are important steps for the Company’s future development and growth” East Sampson Dam is north of Northern Star Resources Kanowna Belle operation and adjacent to the Silver Swan mine.
  • Quarterly production of 20,707oz has been recorded for Red 5 as its looks to scaled down its underground mining at King of the Hills and transition into a new production strategy. Managing Director Mark Williams said “The transitional production strategy articulated towards the end of the June 2020 Quarter will see underground mining at KOTH progressively scaled-down in the second half of this year. The strategy provides a roadmap for our operations over the next 12-18 months while we complete the KOTH Final Feasibility Study and move towards the proposed construction and development of a significant new Australian gold mine at King of the Hills. We believe that the operational measures implemented and the new transitional production strategy will put us in a strong position to deliver on our production and cost targets.” Red 5 had one LTI from a rolled and fractured ankle from an underground operator during this time, but still maintains a Total Recordable Injury Frequency Rate of 6.49. Also to note for production figures was a 50% reduction in production due to the failed drive shaft on the tertiary crusher, which lasted several days. This had an impact due to time spent sourcing parts and having them transported to site. This reduction had an impact on around 3,200oz during this time. With lower than expected gold production a review has taken place and has seen production at Darlot increase back to guidance once guidelines had been implemented.
  • Roswell and San Antonio has delivered significant infill results for Alkane Resources south of its Tomingley Gold Operations in Central New South Wales. Roswell highlights includes 22.0 metres grading 5.41g/t Au from 208 metres; incl 2.0 metres grading 19.8g/t Au from 226 metres and 11.0 metres grading 1.14g/t Au from 355 metres and 9.0 metres grading 1.93g/t Au from 374 metres. While San Antonio has delivered  41.0 metres grading 2.51g/t Au from 57 metres. This drilling has confirmed the continuity to the defined resources as earlier released by Alkane Roswell Deposit: 7.02 Mt @ 1.97 g/t Au for 445 koz and San Antonio 7.92 Mt @ 1.78 g/t Au for 453 koz. Drilling at Roswell is nearing completion and an updated resource calculation for Roswell is anticipated to be released along with preliminary mine plans for Roswell and San Antonio in Q4 2020.
  • Alumina Limited has announced its 2nd quarter results with results at record production despite COVID-19. Alumina prices have risen in recent times and global demand is having an impact on stockpiles with market sentiment improving and economic recovery. Alumina Limited’s CEO, Mike Ferraro, said “AWAC has achieved record quarterly daily alumina production for the current system despite the challenges from the COVID 19 pandemic. The joint venture continues to focus on the safety of AWAC employees and the wider communities. The strong production performance and lower caustic soda input costs and energy prices resulted in the cash costs of alumina production falling by $11 per tonne. External market factors drove the overall Alumina Segment result lower with the lagged alumina index price falling 10% from the previous quarter. Alumina Limited received $58.6 million of net cash distributions in the second quarter, up from $31.3 million for the previous quarter. AWAC continues to focus on cash saving strategies as it seeks to navigate the challenging market conditions. Alumina prices have risen from their lows of $225/t in April following increased importing of alumina by China and are now at $284/t. Global demand for smelter-grade alumina so far in 2020 is slightly higher than 2019 volumes. Market sentiment globally has improved and there are signs of a promising economic recovery in China. However, it is still to be seen how the economic impact of the pandemic will pan out.”
  • King River Resources will commence it’s 2020 gold exploration program next month following delays with COVID-19. King River Resources has two high grade gold projects – Mount Remarkable in WA and Tennant Creek in the NT. A 2,500m RC drill program is slated for Mount Remarkable which has shown results of 4m @ 113.29g/t Au including 1m @ 346g/t Au and 6m @ 60g/t Au including 2.8m @ 108g/t Au previously will be actioned with a look at further regional drilling. While at Tennant Creek, a 2,000m RC drill programme to follow up on positive geophysical results from its 2019 ground magnetics and gravity surveys will take place. According to a directors statement “At Mt Remarkable, the drilling will initially target potential high-grade extensions of the Trudi vein, where our previous drilling had intersected gold mineralisation of up to 4 metres at 113 grams/tonne. Numerous other shallow gold targets in the general vicinity of the main Mt Remarkable area are also targeted based on anomalous surface sampling and structural mapping. At Tennant Creek our drilling will be targeting copper-gold mineralisation at two well defined co-incident magnetic-gravity anomalies, the first being the Lonestar target (which is ~700 metres along strike from the Emmerson Resources Mauretania deposit where 20m @ 38.5g/t Au was returned in 2019), and the other being the Commitment prospect.” 
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Morning News Bites – July 15

Woodside has posted a record production, Afterpay launches in store in the US and artist Banksy has been a rat…. painting rats on the London Underground with a COVID-19 flavour.

A worker has died after being involved in an incident at Saracen Minerals Dervish mine at Carosue Dam. Saracen Managing Director Raleigh Finlayson expressed the Company’s deepest sympathy to the worker’s family, friends and colleagues. “This is an extremely tragic accident and all our thoughts are with his family at this very difficult time”, Mr Finlayson said. “The health and safety of our people is always our first priority. Saracen is currently working closely with the WA Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety on the continuing investigation, while working with our contract partners to ensure full support is provided to the family and all Saracen employees and contractors.” Processing operations have recommenced with underground  and open pit to commence imminently. Saracen has announced the Company’s other operations are continuing as normal. Saracen’s FY21 production guidance remains unchanged.

Lynas Corporation’s Kalgoorlie facility is on the way to construction with Metso Outotec awarded the contract for Kiln construction. The 110 metre long, 1500 tonne kiln is the largest and longest lead time piece of equipment required for the plant’s operation. Lynas Corporation Managing Director Amanda Lacaze said “The kiln is the longest lead time item for our Kalgoorlie project and placing this order is an important milestone in the development of our new processing plant in Kalgoorlie. We are making good progress on the project, and we look forward to working with Metso Outotec on the engineering and supply of the kiln.” Construction will begin immediately with components from Australia and Europe. The contract is valued at approximately USD 15 million (AUD 21.6 million), including the discharge housing, combustion chamber and burner, motor control stations and delivery to Kalgoorlie.

GR Engineering Services has been awarded a contract for engineering, procurement and construction for the restart at the Ora Banda Mining Davyhurst Mine. The contract price worth $10.8 million includes refurbishment, optimisation and recommissioning of the existing 1.2 Mtpa Davyhurst Gold Processing Plant, borefields and associated infrastructure. Work will start immediately and Managing Director of GR Engineering Geoff Jones, said the company is excited to be working on the project. “GR Engineering is pleased to have been awarded the EPC contract for the Davyhurst Restart Project. We are excited to be working with Ora Banda’s management team and look forward to Ora Banda becoming Australia’s newest gold producer.” he said.

Stavley Minerals has divested its interests Mathinna/Alberton and Lefroy Goldfields tenements. as well as its Fosterville East tenement in Victoria to Nubian Resources Ltd for A$2.5 million in Nubian shares and cash. Executive Chairman Chris Cairns gave some insight into the divestment “The Fosterville East tenement is located just 10km to the east of the Fosterville mine, while the geology of the Mathinna/Alberton and Lefroy goldfields is the same sequence of sediments as those in central Victoria extending under Bass Strait into north-eastern Tasmania,” he said. “We are fully focused on defining the extents of the exciting Cayley Lode high-grade copper-gold-silver discovery at the Stavely Project, while also unlocking the full potential of this highly prospective, multilayered exploration opportunity for our shareholders,” While Mr Cairns also discussed the upside Stavely will retain significant exposure to the future upside from any exploration success via a significant shareholding in Nubian at a time of significant investor interest in the Victorian gold exploration industry in the North American market.”

Focus Minerals has revealed recent shallow drilling campaigns, which will deliver a 213% increase in total Mineral Resource at Beasley Creek South. The best intersect being 17m at 9.28g/t Au from 168m. This recent campaign has adjusted the total Mineral Resource to  1.014MT at  3.55g/t for a total of 115,761oz. The target for Beasley Creek has now also been adjusted to 1.8Mt to 2.0Mt at 2.6 g/t to 3.6 g/t Au for 150Koz to 243Koz. Focus Minerals’ CEO, Mr Zhaoya Wang said “The combination of Beasley Creek South and Beasley Creek could potentially deliver Focus a low CAPEX and OPEX operation in Laverton, which could accelerate the progress of achieving the Stage 2 production plan in Laverton. With the Stage 1 Laverton pre-feasibility study underway, we are looking forward to seeing what Laverton bring to our stakeholders for the near term.”

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Morning News Bites – July 14

Westpac have appointed a new Chief Financial Officer – Michael Rowland, joining Westpac from KPMG. New South Wales tightens some restrictions at licensed venues and former Channel 9 honcho David Gyngell suffers a heart attack.

  • Bardoc Gold has received broad high grade intercepts from drilling at Omega Lode. The highlights included 37m @ 6.21g/t Au from 90m including 13m @ 10.94g/t Au from 90m and were outside of the current Ore Reserves. These results show that the untested areas of the Aphrodite Deposit could deliver more mineralisation to the project. The lodes associated with Aphrodite includes Alpha, Phi, Epsilon, Sigma and the reported above, Omega. These intersects will result in further drilling with the impact set to be positive to the DFS. Follow up drilling will be sought and will be undertaken in coming months. According to Rob Ryan, CEO of Bardoc Gold “These breakthrough results clearly demonstrate the potential for significant Reserve growth at our cornerstone Aphrodite Deposit. Once again, a systematic and scientific approach to exploration has paid dividends with in-fill resource drilling delivering grades and widths well above expectation, further increasing our confidence in the geological models and identifying significant new areas of growth.” Mr Ryan also pointed out the recent cap raise attracted some interest from top level institutions “The recently completed capital raising has brought on board a number of Tier-1 Australian and Global Institutions who will support the company through the completion of the DFS and into production. We can now look forward with confidence and to begin early pre-production works in order to achieve our vision of becoming a mid-tier gold producer as expeditiously as possible.” he said.
  • Three new targets have been identified for Dreadnought Resources adjacent to its Metzke Find corridor north west of Menzies in Western Australia. The targets identified include Longmore’s Find: ~2.6km long gold in soil anomaly with historic workings and rock chips up to 18 g/t Au; Black Oak: 2km long gold in soil anomaly with peak gold in soil value of 0.25 g/t Au and Bald Hill: 1km long gold in soil anomaly with rock chips to 2 g/t Au, 5 g/t Ag and 2.6% Cu. Dreadnought Managing Director Dean Tuck said “These results are in or adjacent to the Metzke’s corridor, location of our recently successful drilling program. The Metzke’s corridor is 12km long and remains a vastly underexplored as does the whole Illaara Greenstone Belt. We are awaiting results from two further holes at Metzke’s Find in order to finalise our immediate drilling plans along this corridor.”
  • A joint venture at Frasers Range between Constellation Resources and Enterprise Metals has delivered anomalous nickel, copper and cobalt. Results included 21m @ 0.21% Ni, 0.08% Cu and 0.03% Co from 93m to BOH and includes: 4m @ 0.26% Ni, 0.13% Cu and 0.05% Co from 93m; and 4m @ 0.31% Ni, 0.08% Cu and 0.02% Co from 109m. The drilling at Orpheus Project has instigated further opportunities for systematically progressing all targets.
  • Recent drilling results for Bryah Resources at its Windalah Prospect has shown visible gold. A recent drill result of 12 m @ 4.32 g/t Au from surface, including 2 m @ 17.19g/t Au contained visible gold. An RC drilling update has also been given and Bryah has announced it is over half way through its current program which is targeting the high priority Windalah Prospect and a significant electromagnetic (EM) conductor target located 7km north of the Peak Hill Gold Mine and 65km west of Sandfire Resources’ DeGrussa Mine. The first samples are due for assay in Perth this week.
  • Whitehaven Coal has recorded its best ever safety result with a total recordable injury frequency rate of 4.13, while also having achieved run of mine coal and managed sales guidance.The June quarter, Whitehaven Coal managed ROM coal production of 8.2Mt, up 17% and managed saleable coal production of 6.2Mt, up 29% on previous corresponding period and a strong June quarter managed sales of produced coal 5.3Mt, up 13% on previous corresponding period. MD and CEO Paul Flynn said the result is a credit to the team and the company is now focused on optimisation “Despite drought, bushfires and COVID-19 it was great to finish the year so strongly and achieve our ROM and managed sales guidance.We recorded our best ever safety result – 4.13 TRIFR – which is a credit to the team and the strong safety culture we are building across all sites. “Our Vickery Project is now in the final stages of the NSW Government’s evaluation process and we expect a decision within weeks. “Against an uncertain global economic backdrop Whitehaven is focused on optimising existing operations and observing disciplined capital management”
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Morning News Bites – July 13

Senior doctors are concerned about the latest COVID-19 cases in medical staff and the rising hospital cases could have a large impact on the health system in Victoria. New South Wales is on alert after an outbreak at a south west Sydney pub.

  • A Joint Venture between Alkane Resources’ Australian Strategic Metals and ZironTech has produced a 1kg ingot of neodymium metal alloy. Assays of the ingot indicated an intermediate neodymium (87%) and a further electrorefining to produce a 99.9% Nd metal is anticipated before July 31 2020.  The Australian Strategic Materials Managing Director, David Woodall said: “This is a major milestone in ASM’s integrated strategy that includes clean metal production for all products from the development of the Dubbo Project in Central West NSW. This integration of metal production into ASM’s business is consistent with the Australian Government’s objective of adding value within Australia, while ensuring supply security and stability of these critical materials to global and domestic Australian manufacturing sectors.” The metals produced by the Dubbo project feature zirconium, rare earths, niobium and hafnium.
  • A intercept of 4m at 113g/t Au from 0m was a find by Kin Mining from drilling at Comedy King from shallow RC drilling at Cardinia Gold Project. Phase 2 drilling has confirmed potential for significant mineralisation and multiple new discoveries at Cardinia that has been part of the 19,712m drill program. Two trending zones of mineralisation have been made in a clear NW/SE trend. Two zones at Comedy King, where the surface intercepts were made – follow this trend. All assays for the Phase 2 drilling have been returned and this has opened a new phase of drilling underway now across the newly defined areas. 45,000m of Reverse Circulation (RC), diamond (DD) and air-core (AC) drilling, designed to deliver maiden Mineral Resource estimate for the Cardinia Hill target. This will also provide an initial assessment of several compelling regional targets. Also during the quarter the Dismantling and relocation of the Lawlers Gold Processing Plant completed for future development optionality, with key items of the plant safely retrieved and stored. There is the potential for the use of the plant at the Cardinia Gold Project.
  • Dacian Gold produced 31,883oz for the June quarter which was down on guidance of 33,000-36,000oz but consistent with the March quarter production of 31,695oz. The impact on Dacian for the quarter was due to a slower than planned open pit mining rates during June at the Heffernans open pit delaying access to higher grade ore until late in the month, and localised geological variations at the upper boundary of the Cornwall Shear Zone at Heffernans. A Mineral Resource update for the high-grade Phoenix Ridge deposit is due in the September quarter and a FY2021-2023 average annual production of 110,000oz has been reaffirmed at an AISC of $1,425/oz (previously $1,350/oz). Dacian Managing Director, Leigh Junk commented: “Dacian has been busy on multiple fronts, striking the right balance between investing in its operations, to managing the risk profile across deposits, to maximising cash flows over the long term, as well as unlocking the significant exploration potential we see across our tenement package. “I would like to thank all our employees and contractors for their cooperation in helping reduce the risk and minimising any impact COVID-19 has had on our business to date. “Our optimisation work at MMGO has established a solid baseline on which to deliver our three year plan and execute our exploration and growth strategy.”
  • Reverse Circulation drilling is on track for Galileo Mining to commence late July with Diamond Core drilling to follow in August. Brad Underwood, Galileo Managing Director said its time to start on the most advanced targets for the Fraser Range project. “We have built a pipeline of prospects over the past 18 months at our Fraser Range project and it is now time to start drill testing the most advanced targets. Three priority zones will be tested – the area around existing mineralisation, a structural target 200m northwest, and an EM conductor 1.5km along strike. All targets have been carefully assessed and contain features indicative of nickel mineralisation. This is an exciting part of the exploration process and we look forward to updating the market with drill results.” He said. A 1,500 metre RC program is to be followed by a 500-metre diamond drilling campaign at Fraser Range, with Assays from RC due in August and assays from diamond drilling due in September. 
  • Zenith Minerals is set to accelerate its exploration program after a $5.1 million capital raising where support was strong and the raise oversubscribed. The company now – according to Managing Director, Mick Clifford has sufficient funds to accelerate exploration. “We are very pleased that the Company now sufficient funds to evaluate its portfolio in a systematic manner. The funding allows us to accelerate exploration activities to unlock what we believe to be the potential of the Company’s project portfolio. The more rapid evaluation of the portfolio will also generate significantly more news for the Company”. He said. Zenith now has a drill rig on a full-time basis and pending positive follow-up assay results the rig will work a continuous roster at Red Mountain. While further surface geochemical sampling and associated field work has also recently been completed at the Company’s 100% owned Flanagans gold and Develin Creek copper-zinc projects in Queensland.
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Morning News Bites – July 10

China is not happy with the Australian Government’s offer to assist Hong Kong citizens with a pathway to residency. A Victorian won $80 million in Powerball Lotto, pretty ironic as they cant go anywhere to spend it and Spot Gold is at $1803US/oz Iron Ore – $107.05US/t and Nickel ended down on Wall Street trade at $5.9914us/lb.

  • Legend Mining has released its quarterly to the market this morning with the first phase of diamond drilling completed at its Mawson project bringing in a highlight grade of  4.5m @ 3.05% Ni, 2.32% Cu, 0.19% Co from 103.7m and a best intercept to date – 19.8m @ 2.71% Ni, 1.79% Cu, 0.13% Co from 227.8m. A 3000m RC program is underway and is expected to be completed in 4 – 6 weeks at Mawson on targets identified in the upper Ni-Cu sulphide zone between diamond holes RKDD007 and RKDD015, the main gravity high and the eastern aircore Ni-Cu-Co geochemical anomaly. Legend also raised $20M via placement to existing major shareholders, institutional and sophisticated investors. Legend also updated its Top 20 shareholders list and after the recent placement shows the top 2 share holders being Creasy Group have a 26.66% share and IGO (Independence Group) 14.12% share. Also during the quarter Legend was added to All Ordinaries Index and nominated for Mining News “Explorer of the Year” award.
  • Exploration work at Silver Lake Resources Deflector mine is resulting in mineral resource and ore reserve growth. Ore Reserves increased to 447,000 ounces and 7,000 tonnes copper, an increase of 30% or 102% after FY20 mine depletion and ore grade increasing 15% to 6.3 g/t. While Mineral Resources increased 54% to 1.27 million ounces (80% post FY20 mine depletion) and Resource grade has increased 18% to 13.5 g/t. Since Silver Lake’s acquisition of Doray Minerals Limited in April 2019, Deflector’s Ore Reserves and Mineral Resources have grown significantly in scale and quality, with Ore Reserves now at their highest in Deflector’s history.
  • Follow up drilling has commenced for Ardea Resources at the Aphrodite North gold target within the Bardoc Tectonic Zone. Assay results from resampling at 1 metre intervals has included 43-44m 1m at 2.46g/t Au 120-127m 7m at 2.48g/t Au.  According to Managing Director Andrew Penkethman the history of the area and some encouraging startpoints is proving significant. “ The land holding was originally acquired by Ardea for nickel-cobalt laterite, which occurs on major crustal structures on a specific ultramafic rock unit termed the Walter Williams Formation. Those same structures host some 100Moz of gold to the south along structure from the GNCP (Goongarrie Nickel Cobalt Project). Ardea thus controls a significant “greenfields” gold portfolio in which systematic gold drill evaluation is just commencing. Although AGSA0013 with 7m at 2.48g/t gold is an encouraging start, far more significant in the Aphrodite North aircore program was the confirmation of dolerite host rock, diorite and intensity of alteration over a 2.4km strike length and width up to 320m, all totally hidden beneath transported lake clay cover”. He said.
  • Further extensions have been confirmed at Brolga for De Grey mining in the Pilbara of Western Australia. Highlights have included 26.9m @ 1.5g/t, 19m @ 2.7g/tAu – with 3m @ 14.7g/t Au from 203mAu and 16m @ 1.2g/t Au. De Grey Technical Director, Andy Beckwith, said “The potential for Brolga to expand continues to grow with an 80m x 80m RC program currently underway at Brolga (South) and Crow. At Crow, the initial program of 160m x 80m spaced RC drilling has recently been completed with results expected in the coming weeks. Diamond drilling is currently focused on depth extensions beneath Aquila. The Company’s next twelve month drilling strategy involves expanding resources at Hemi, initially on 80m x 80m drill spacing to define “Inferred Resources” and then infill drilling to define “Indicated Resources”, aircore drilling for new discoveries along the Greater Hemi corridor and testing the many structural and new intrusion targets elsewhere within the 150km long Mallina Gold Project.” Mr Beckwith also confirmed 6 rigs are on site (2 AC, 2 DD 2 RC) operating at Hemi and advancing at Scooby and Antwerp prospect areas.
  • Bryah Resources has a 2,000 metre RC drilling program currently underway in the Bryah Basin Gold Copper project after recent RC drilling May delivered a best result of 3 metres @ 4.32 g/t Au from surface. At Bryahs Joint Venture Manganese project (which it hold 80%) Potential direct shipping grade (>30% Mn) manganese was intersected after a recent RC program and follow up drilling will commence in the September quarter. While at the Gabanintha Gold-Copper Project, the progression of a lease application for Tumblegum South Mining Lease is underway and there are negotiations to monetise the Tumblegum South Prospect on-going. Managing Director Neil Marston said”  During the quarter Bryah Resources has been working up its manganese assets, funded by our joint venture partner, OM (Manganese) Limited. A 1,680 metre RC drilling program yielded some very encouraging high-grade manganese results and the intention in the next quarter is to continue drilling to extend these zones of high-grade manganese and to test new target areas. Bryah completed a short gold drilling program at the end of our manganese drilling in May, with 3 holes drilled to test for the near surface extensions of high-grade gold intersected in 2018 drilling. One of the holes hitting a 12-metre zone of gold grading 4.32 grams/tonne from surface, including 2 metres at 17.19 g/t Au, which Bryah considers an excellent result.” Mr Marston also said the strongly supported share placement will be used to fund a drill program at the Windalah prospect. “Our plan for the next 6 months is to use these funds to undertake a rolling program of drilling to test the high priority Windalah prospect as well as numerous other gold target areas. Drilling is underway on a 2,000 metre program, so we look forward to reporting the first assay results in August.” he said.