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12 Months of Mining Recap

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.

 

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What You Missed This Week in the News

BHP has offered Oz Minerals a takeover offer of $28.25/share, including $9.6B, three months after their initial unsolicited offer.

BHP offered a$25/share, $8.4m takeover offer in August, which Oz Minerals rejected, saying it failed to properly value the company’s portfolio.

The offer comes after the two renewed talks on Thursday, and Oz Minerals board have accepted the offer, OZ Minerals Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Andrew Cole said: “BHP’s Revised Proposal is a clear reflection of OZ Minerals’ unique set of highly strategic, quality assets in quality jurisdictions. We look forward to working with BHP in a collaborative way to progress the Revised Proposal in the best interests of OZ Minerals’ and its stakeholders.”

 

MetalsGrove Mining has announced that drilling contractor Topdrill has mobilised its drill rig in preparation to commence the inaugural drilling at their Upper Coondina Lithium Project.

The project is located 100km south of Marble Bar, near Port Hedland.

 

Town of Port Hedland

BHP, Curtin University and Greening Australia have partnered to trial vegetation barriers to improve air quality and capture dust in the West End scheme in Port Hedland as part of BHP’s Pilbara Air Quality Program.

Phase 1 which involved planting 80,000 seedlings, has been completed and another 80,000 is scheduled to be planted in the next few months.

 

The ”What’s Down the Track” Forum was held in Kalgoorlie Boulder on Thursday. The event, run by the Kalgoorlie-Boulder Chamber of Commerce, provides a 12-month forecast into the drivers that support the growth and opportunities that exist within the region.

The event included speakers and exhibitions from BHP, Kai Rho Contracting, Deep Yellow Limited, St Ives, Northern Star, Lynas Rare Earths, Evolution Mining and Epiroc.

 

Kalgoorlie-Boulder Chamber of Commerce

The S&P/ASX200 markets stumbled at the beginning of the week, starting off on the month’s high of 7,196 points before falling to 7,106 points on Wednesday. The markets made a comeback to finish the week at 7,152 points. Oz Minerals was the top performing stock, up 3.92% after their takeover offer from BHP.

The All Ordinaries us up too, finishing the week on 7,355 points.

 

Gold is trading at $1,765.52USD after a stable week, and silver at $21.35USD, after peaking early on Tuesday at $22.28USD.

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What You Missed This Week in the News

 

Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest

 

Mining magnate Twiggy Forrest at the Egypt COP27 climate summit this week, is pushing to restrict seabed mining until it has the same protections as land mining.

In sentiments echoed by conservationist groups, Forrest voiced concerns about the environmental impact of seabed mining – which could begin as early as mid 2023.

“The deepest seabed supports some of the least understood ecosystems on the planet.” He said and argues that seabed mining should not commence “until we can match existing regulations placed on mining on land.”

 

QX Resources is scheduled to commence drilling at their Turner River hard rock lithium project by the end of the month. The project is located in the Pilbara Region, Southeast of Port Hedland.

 

OD6 Metal’s share price skyrocketed on Wednesday by 97.84% to $0.459 after announcing outstanding results from their recently completed drilling campaign at their Splinter Rock project northeast of Esperance.

 

BHP have announced record shipments from their iron ore in WA for the third year running. In their AGM this week, BHP released their income figures, including $33.9B EBITDA from iron ore.

 

 

In the AGM, BHP CEO Mike Henry and Chairman Ken MacKenzie also announced their commitment to a total elimination of sexual harassment, racism and bullying in BHP workplaces.

“That is why I want to apologise to all those who have experienced or continue to experience, any form of sexual harassment, racism or bullying anywhere at BHP,” MacKenzie said.

“We are determined to eliminate these harmful behaviours. At BHP, we are committed to providing a safe, inclusive, and supportive workplace culture where everyone can bring the best of themselves to work.”

 

The S&P/ASX200 jumped sharply today to 7,143.10 points, jumping 2.79% (194.0 points). The markets rounded out the week by following the upward trend that started on the 11th of this month.

 

ASX

 

All Ordinaries followed suit, gaining 204.40 points (2.86%) to 7,350.10

Gold had a good week, ending on a high compared to the start of the week. The spot price rose 2.45% from $2591.72oz t to $2655.23oz t.

Silver rose from $32.36oz t to $33.37oz t this week.

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What you missed in the news this week 4 Nov 2022

Rox Resources announced a 110% increase of production to 187koz Au since 2018.

The increase is at their Mt Fisher and Mt Eureka gold projects in the Eastern Goldfields.

Rox Resources

 

Rio Tinto and BHP have joined forces to for research into technology to increase water recovery from mine tailings.

They are currently trialling a large-volume filter unit to remove up to 80% of water in the trailing stream before it is deposited in a storage facility.

Removing more water would reduce risks associated with moisture in storage facilities, reduce the foot print of these facilities and allow them to productively reuse tailings are raw material.

 

After unsuccessfully suing the Western Australian Government, Clive Palmer is trying again, planning to sue the Commonwealth for billions in damages over his stalled iron ore mine in the Pilbara.

Palmer plans to bring the claim under the international courts through his Singapore-based company Zeph International.

If Palmer is successful, tax payers can expect to foot the bill of upwards of $32B.

 

Classic Minerals has commenced construction on their new Kat Gap gold mine, south of Southern Cross.

Classic Minerals has begun building internal roads and clearing space for the camp but has yet to receive processing approval.

They are hoping to have stage 1 open-pit mining before the end of the year.

 

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.

Courtesy of Epiroc

MLG celebrates 20 years this week. The Kalgoorlie Boulder based company started with founder and managing director Murray Leahy and his truck to a business that services 29 sites across Western Australia and the Northern Territory.

 

S&P/ASX 200 peaked this week on Wednesday at 7,009.00 points, before taking a sharp fall to 2,849 points on Thursday. The markets rounded out the week at 6,893 points.

 

ASX

 

All Ordinaries followed suit this week, peaking on Wednesday at 7,194 points before plummeting to 7,015 points. The All Ords finished the week at 7,089 points.

 

Gold is sitting at $2,600.28oz t today, making a solid comeback from Tuesday’s fall. Gold is sitting at a similar position to how October started the month, with $2,567.36oz t on 3rd October.

Silver finished off at $31.48oz t, finishing a little lower than yesterday’s $31.05oz t.

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Savannah Set To Restart – Letters of Intent Placed

Savannah Nickel Mine

Hot on the heels of the Cassini mine opening near Kambalda recently, another Western Australian nickel project is making the move this morning – Panoramic Resources Savannah Nickel Project in the East Kimberley. Panoramic is preparing with the restart of mining from August 2021 and the first shipment of concentrate earmarked for December. A 12-year mine life with an average annual production target of 9,072t nickel, 4,683t copper, and 676t cobalt in concentrate is earmarked.  

Savannah Nickel Mine
Savannah Nickel Mine – Pic Supplied

The Savannah Nickel Project has had quite a busy 12 months since April 2020 and has resulted in a more optimised project moving forward. Panoramic Managing Director and CEO Victor Rajasooriar said 

“It is pleasing to see that Savannah, one of the most advanced nickel sulphide development assets in Australia, is forecast to come into production as the battery thematic continues to grow worldwide. We learnt many lessons in the lead up to the temporary suspension of operations at Savannah in April 2020, amid the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since that time, we have recapitalised the business and undertaken a range of planning and site-based initiatives to put the operation in a much stronger position for the restart. This process of optimisation combined with the improved outlook for Savannah’s high-quality nickel, copper and cobalt products, has given the Board confidence in approving the restart with a target of the first shipment from Wyndham Port by the end of 2021.  I would like to thank our staff, contractors, local stakeholders, and shareholders for being patient as we de-risked the project over the past 12 months, enabling Savannah to now be well-positioned for future success.” 

As part of the announcement this morning, Panoramic also has announced it has engaged with Letter of Intents with two contractors – Perenti’s Barminco for underground mining and NRW subsidiary Primero, for its operations and maintenance contracts.  

Under the contract with Barminco, it is intended that Barminco will provide all underground mine development and production works with mobilisation expected in July 2021. While Primero will operate and maintain the processing and surface infrastructure facilities at the Savannah nickel mine for an initial term of three years, with an option to extend an additional two years.  

Perenti Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Mark Norwell said: “We are very pleased Panoramic has elected to restart the Savannah Nickel Project and we look forward to finalising the contract details for Perenti to support the recommencement of operations at this long-life project.” while NRW CEO Jules Pemberton said, “This agreement further strengthens the annuity revenue stream that our Minerals, Energy and Technology division has been building through its various businesses. RCR and its product support and maintenance business, DIAB through its shutdown and maintenance activities and now this significant award to Primero for a three year plus two-year option delivering operations and maintenance services to the Savannah Nickel Project”. 

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Australian Gold Production Up

Surbiton Associates have released their Australian gold production report for the quarter and there was an increase of over 10% from the March quarter. The June quarter produced 85 tonnes up from the 77 tonnes for the March quarter. The FY gold production for Australia was 328 tonnes worth almost $25 billion at an average price for the financial year.

According to Dr Sandra Close director of Surbiton Associates “I cannot recall so much interest in gold since the modern boom began almost 40 years ago, There is a high level of activity overall, from investment, increased capital raisings and initial public offerings, to greater exploration and drilling and a scramble to peg new ground. Just look at the gold price graphs, the price increases over the last year or 18 months have been extraordinary, both in Australian and United States dollars,” Dr Close said. “Sadly, this is a reflection of the uncertainty and unrest around the world.”

Dr Close also identified the Top 5 producers of Gold for the FY.

 

Operation
Ounces
 Owner
Cadia
843,338
 Newcrest Mining Ltd
Boddington
673,000
 Newmont Corp
Fosterville
664,191
 Kirkland Lake Gold Ltd
Tanami
495,000
 Newmont Corp
Tropicana – JV
463,556
 AngloGold Ashanti Ltd 70%, IGO Ltd 30%
Cadia Mine, New South Wales

“Almost all operations have increased output in the June quarter 2020,” Dr Close said. “The largest increases were Cadia East (Newcrest), up 41,500 ounces, then Jundee (Northern Star) and Boddington (Newmont) both up 26,000 ounces and Mount Magnet (Ramelius) was up 22,000 ounces.”

Dr Close also mentioned the KCGM operations which recently announced a resource reserve update “The latest update on the Super Pit is most encouraging,” Dr Close said. “After the problems with the large wall slip are resolved by the cut-back now underway, production should return to more usual levels, with Super Pit probably once more joining the list of top five Australian gold producers.”

Surbiton Associates Pty. Ltd are Melbourne-based gold mining consultants.

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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 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 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.