Tag: Nickel

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This Afternoons Top Story – Is Age Just a Number In This US Election?

With the US elections in full swing it got me around to thinking about the age of both candidates and the obvious question for me was, are they both too old? I don’t intend to talk about their politics or policies and who would be better for the US and the world. As far as the US is concerned it is up to them for who they vote for and up to the rest of the world to deal with whoever they offer up. Also, I have no formal qualifications so what I express below comes from a personal view and nothing else.

The incumbent, Donald Trump, was born in 1946 and the person who is wanting to knock him out of office, Joe Biden, was born four years earlier in 1942. With age we are told comes experience, knowledge and wisdom. Also, with age comes health issues, which can detract from the performance of a person, and in some cases senility and other mental health issues can manifest.

With both candidates well into their 70s are they capable of dealing with this ever-changing world that, from my point of view, younger people are more adept at dealing with? Trump is renowned for his avid use of Twitter, a modern-day communication medium that young people love, but I don’t think he has grasped that Twitter rants at 3am are doing him more harm than good. Biden on the other hand seems to use social media discretely and probably leaves it up to one of his many media advisers to handle it all. As I have a dislike for social media, I score the eldest of the two more highly here.

Do these old candidates understand the world we live in and can they relate to the younger people and can the younger people relate to them? If there is no connection between these parties, or worse, animosity, then there is bound to be unrest for the next four years.

Both candidates have shown bouts of forgetfulness during the campaign. None more apparent than when Biden seemingly referred to Trump as George. Most pundits observed this as Biden referring to George W Bush who hasn’t been in the Whitehouse for 12 years. He later said he was mentioning some obscure person who works in the background, but it came over as a hollow excuse. Glory be to any politician who owns up to a mistake, which Biden should have done. They get far more respect from the hoi polloi than someone who tries on a lame excuse that everyone sees through.

I could go on about things that both candidates have done that question their suitability for the top job, but I will leave it at that. My opinion is that Americans are faced with a poor choice when they cast their vote that could determine where America fits in the political maelstrom that the world is faced with.

The argument for younger leaders can be best illustrated here at home where for the last 13 years our Prime Ministers have mostly been under the age of 60. I can hear you say we have had some duds, and I couldn’t agree more with you. Both sides have produced good and bad leaders in this time, but on the whole, we have been well served by energetic people that are capable of meeting the rigours of high office.

Prime Minister, Scott Morrison is only 52 years old, didn’t join a political office out of university but worked in marketing before becoming a politician. He was first elected in 2007 at the age of 39 and was promoted early to the front bench. He currently seems to be doing the job well and I think his life experience before entering politics bodes well for him. The other side of politics also has members that fall into the same category as Morrison and would do an equally good job if ever given the opportunity.

In conclusion, and at the age of 63, I believe we are better served by people who can withstand the physical and mental rigours of the job. These are people in their 50s who have experienced life and

should be mature, yet young enough to relate to the younger generation. We have had exceptions in Hawke and Howard and their mentorship would have been appreciated by following leaders.

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Morning News Bites – November 4

Neometals Completes Mini-Pilot Test Work.

On top of Neometals (ASX: NMT) yesterday announcing its venture into battery recycling it has released details of the successful completion of its mini-pilot test work campaign on the Company’s Vanadium Recovery Project. Results confirmed excellent vanadium chemical product purity (>99.5% V2O5), strong recoveries (>75%) and reduced residence time for Neometals’ patent pending hydrometallurgical process for recovering vanadium from Slag.

Neometals executed a collaboration agreement with Critical Metals, to jointly evaluate the feasibility of constructing a facility to recover and process high-grade vanadium products from vanadium-bearing steel by-product in Scandinavia.

The Mini-Pilot was constructed, commissioned and operated continuously through the campaign without any safety incidents or process challenges. Of particular significance was the achievement of chemical-grade vanadium pentoxide at high recovery rates and low residence times. Passing this major technical milestone is important and gives Neometals the strong confidence to continue its project development by commencing the PFS.

Neometals Managing Director Chris Reed commented: “We are very pleased with the results of the Mini-Pilot campaign. This substantially de-risks our patent-pending processing flow sheet and gives us the confidence to commence the PFS. We now shift our attention to the design phase of the larger proposed pilot plant which will leach material from three of SSAB’s steel operations in a mild carbonate solution at moderate temperatures and atmospheric pressure. The beauty of our process is that the main reagent is carbon dioxide, which we plan to capture from third-party emission to sequester some 65,000 tonnes in our leach Residue rendering it inert and available for secondary use.”

Marmota Strikes it Rich.

Marmota (ASX:MEU) has announced that the drilling program completed in September 2020 at Aurora Tank has achieved multiple successes.

Marmota Chairman, Dr Colin Rose, said: “ This has primarily been an extensional program, testing out new ground. It is also Marmota’s eighth drilling program at Aurora Tank. We are very fortunate that every one of those programs so far has been a success.

This program has yielded new high-grade extensions to the North, West and at depth, significantly extended the NW flank, and yielded our current highest 4m intersection. I am delighted that Aurora Tank keeps on growing, that underlying fundamentals are strong, and so too the potential rewards to shareholders.

Aurora Tank is fortunate to combine high-grade intersections that are close to surface, with excellent metallurgy, making Aurora Tank potentially amenable to low-cost low capex open-pittable heap leach methods, which are our clear focus. ”

Drilling yielded outstanding high-grade gold intersections including: 4m @ 70 g/t gold (from 64m downhole) and 4m @ 25 g/t gold (from 52m downhole).

Marmota has intersected very high grades close to surface [typically just 20m to 50m from surface], this program is also the first time that Marmota has also intersected high grade gold at depths below 80m. In particular, a reconnaissance hole designed to test for an extension to the west of the NW flank intersected 4m at 7.3 g/t at a depth of 120m downhole with follow up drilling required to prove it up.

Strandline to Power Up with Contract Power.

Strandline Resources (ASX: STA) has released details of its development of its Coburn mineral sands project in Western Australia by appointing Contract Power Australia as preferred contractor to build, own and operate the power generation facilities for the project.

Coburn’s purpose-designed power facility is based on a low-cost, low-emission solution integrating natural gas fuelled generation with state-of-the-art solar and battery storage technology. The proposed power solution will enable Strandline to capture energy supply cost savings relative to the DFS published in June 2020.

The power station is designed for a maximum demand capacity of 16 MW and average consumed power of ~10 MW. Natural gas will be supplied by others under an industry standard long-term LNG supply agreement and trucked to an on-site storage and re-vapourisation facility supplied by Contract Power. The LNG then feeds a set of efficient engine generators on an N+1 basis and has ~30% solar (renewable) penetration for the major stable loads.

Generation is at 11kV with step up to 22kV for power transmission to the project loads across the mine site.

Strandline Managing Director Luke Graham said the appointment marked another key step in its strategy to bring Coburn into production and establishes an important relationship with Contract Power, a leader in sustainable clean energy generation in Western Australia.

Pantoro Confirms Two High-Grade Lodes.

Pantoro (ASX:PNR) advised that further drilling and initial level development have confirmed the presence and continuity of two additional high grade lodes at the Wagtail Underground Mine at their Halls Creek Project. Both lodes extend the mineralisation at the Wagtail Underground Mine and are located in the hanging wall of the current Rowdies ore system.

Development and drilling defined a North East oriented splay lode (REV Lode) developing off of the current Rowdies lodes. The new REV Lode currently has a strike length of 50 metres and vertical extent of 100 metres. The lode remains open at depth and drilling is ongoing.

The REV Lode interacts with the newly discovered high grade North Striking Lode in the hanging wall.  The sulphide rich REV Lode appears to be a direct analogue to the Mother/Darcy lodes at Nicolsons, where significant upside was realised in the early stages of the projects development.

Managing Director, Paul Cmrlec said: “The discovery of these new lodes is great news for the Wagtail mine, and for the Halls Creek Project as a whole. The splay lodes at Nicolsons provided significant value to Nicolsons mine, and this discovery has the potential to provide the same upside at Wagtail.

The deepest drilling in the lode has returned some of the most exciting results to date, and the team at Halls Creek eagerly awaits the development of additional drilling platforms to enable the full drill out of this lode.

In addition to REV Lode extensions, we continue to test the existing lodes outside of the current Mineral Resource envelope and look forward to reporting extensions to mineralisation which may further increase the mines life.”

Horizon Cracks Good Grades at Crake Project.

Horizon Minerals (ASX: HRZ) announced further excellent high-grade drilling results from the 100% owned Binduli gold project area located 9km west of Kalgoorlie-Boulder in the heart of the Western Australian goldfields.

The announcement comes off the back of a 29-hole, 2,460 metre drilling program that drilled to a depth of 144 metres at their Crake and Coote projects.  In particular the Crake project showed encouraging results with grades nearing 20g/t in some holes. The current Mineral Resource Estimate for Crake stands at 1.27Mt @ 1.82g/t Au for 73,820oz at a 1g/t Au lower grade cut-off and remains open to the north, west and at depth.

Commenting on the latest drilling results, Horizon Minerals Managing Director Mr Jon Price said: “Binduli has become an outstanding emerging gold camp with Crake continuing to grow in scale and quality and the adjoining Coote deposit now firming up to have similar potential. Both projects remain open with extensional RC drilling underway and we look forward to further drilling results this quarter from multiple rigs currently operating across the wider project area.”

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This Afternoons Top Story – Is Our ABC, Our ABC?

33 years ago, there was an ABC campaign that proudly told us that “Our ABC” only cost each Australian eight cents a day to operate.  Not bad value back then when you think of the services they provided.  It was only radio and TV as online services had not even been thought of then, but even so it was still great value.

The ABC provides a great service to the nation as a government owned entity. This service has increased with the addition of online services that gives us a lot of information at our fingertips. ABC rural services have been of great benefit to farmers and regional listeners and viewers; it has been part of the bush telegraph that many people rely on during the good times and when emergencies threaten communities.

The radio service first started in 1932 with TV being introduced in 1956.

Programs that have become iconic in Australians’ minds in past generations have also stood the test of time and are enjoyed by toddlers.  Play School is one such program that every Australian would have seen at some time and the show has followed the same format for decades.  The show has endured, and many Australian actors and wannabes have participated in its production.

Some iconic programs are now a thing of the past.  Blue Hills first ran on radio in 1949 and continued until 1976 and was a popular series that often-brought social issues into the program. The Argonauts Club that eventually evolved into the Children’s hour was also much loved and ran from 1933 to 1972.

Their news service has been second to none over the years and you can set your clock to the hour from when the Majestic Fanfare starts, to indicate a news bulletin is about to commence.  There was a huge backlash recently when the ABC announced it was going to drop its 7.45am, 15-minute radio news bulletin.  A lot of people thought it was a cynical exercise to try and embarrass the government over its decision to not increase the corporation’s budget by CPI.

And this brings me to my question of “is it still our ABC?”  Firstly, all other media organisations in this country a private companies or companies listed on the ASX.  Very few rely on any government funding and those that do receive some funds, receive it on the proviso of delivering a particular service.  These companies are responsible to their owners, including shareholders, and the commentary generally side with one side of the political spectrum.  For Instance, Sky News and the Australian newspaper are predominantly to the right of that spectrum and they do not shy away from that.

There has been increasing concern that the ABC has shifted too far left in its reporting of the news when it comes to politics and also that instead of reporting news it editorialises by journalists giving opinion. I have always believed that journalists should report the facts and allow the people consuming it to make up their own mind on any political implications.  Alas, across all media, it happens all to often these days that a report is spiked with an opinion.

And social media is becoming a trap for journalists who use this media to express their personal views on a government decision or to make a point about a politician.  With ABC journalists and producers, the target is often the right of politics and sometimes it can be seen in their reporting of politics.

I used to watch Sky Channel news and then switch over to watch the ABC News at 7pm.  I have cancelled my Foxtel subscription so no longer get to see Sky.  However, the reason I watched both bulletins was so I could get to see both slants on an issue and make up my own mind of what I thought of it.  I shouldn’t have to do that, especially with the ABC.

For a wholly government funded news service I don’t think we are getting balanced reporting at the moment.  I would much rather see just the facts and the viewer allowed to form their own opinion.  So, at the moment I think my eight cents has been devalued and I am not getting the same value I did 33 years ago.  This is a pity for me, as I still appreciate the ABC and all it has done for Australia over the many years it has been operating.

Written by Gary Brown. 

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Morning News Bites – November 2

Nexus Releases High Grade Assay Results.

Nexus Minerals (ASX: NXM) has released significant high-grade assay results from the Reverse Circulation holes drilled at the Pinnacles JV Gold Project, in the eastern goldfields of Western Australia. All RC drilling assay results have now been received from this program.

Nexus consultants have been engaged to undertake a pit optimization study and mine development plan options, to assist in determining the financial viability of establishing a gold mining operation at Pinnacles. Due to the pre-existing ore sale and purchase agreement with Saracen, Nexus believes there is minimal capital expenditure required to initiate mining, with any ore mined to be processed through Saracen’s Carosue Dam Operation. The Feasibility Study will incorporate this resource definition drilling, geotechnical drilling, environmental studies and metallurgical test work along with other key assessments and permitting.

The RC program successfully tested 3 specific areas of the proposed open pit and U/G operations and some of the grades included:

7m @ 6.25g/t Au from 54m, Including 4m @ 9.68g/t Au

9m @ 9.51g/t Au from 70m, Including 4m @ 20.13g/t Au

5m @ 6.86g/t Au from 99m, Including 2m @ 13.60g/t Au

Managing Director Andy Tudor said “The results received from this RC drill program have confirmed the grade profile we have modelled at the different levels of the proposed mining operation, in particular the high-grade mineralisation in the base of the proposed open-pit. We have also made significant advancements on the feasibility study inputs, with the end of year timeline for the completion of the study remaining our goal. The low capital cost of the development significantly de-risks the project metrics and accelerates the project time- line”.

Great Boulder Hopes Further Drilling Will Unlock Full Potential.

Great Boulder Resources [ASX: GBR] announced assays from the remaining seven RC holes at the Side Well gold project near Meekatharra in Western Australia. This report follows the original announcement on 19 October which included a best intersection of 7m @ 3.35g/t Au from 122m.

The RC program consisted of twelve RC holes for a total of 2,257m targeting strike extensions to mineralisation intersected in previous drilling. Immediately after this a 66-hole air-core (AC) program was completed for 6,166m, with east-west fences of holes drilled between the previous 400m-spaced lines to increase anomaly definition and provide information for future RC planning.

These results are approximately 2km north of the RC drilling and tested the conductive corridor highlighted in Doray’s 2013 Heli-TEM survey. Samples from the other 61 AC holes are expected to be received in the coming weeks (Figure 2).

Great Boulder’s Managing Director Andrew Paterson said that the initial results suggest Mulga Bill sits within a large mineralised system, with gold identified over more than 3km of strike and coincident with a deeper weathering profile and extensive shearing.

“These initial RC holes have given us a lot of information on Mulga Bill, particularly the rock types and alteration associated with the gold.

“Our air-core program covered more than 3km of strike which will be a valuable targeting tool for ongoing work. The southern-most line is 650m further south than any previous exploration drilling.

“The depth of weathering and variable shearing we’ve logged in the main corridor of Mulga Bill indicate this is a big system. We believe further drilling will be the key to unlocking its full potential.”

Red 5 Award Engineering, Procurement and Construction Contract.

Red 5 (ASX: RED) has advised that it has taken another key step towards the development of its 2.4Moz, 16‐year Life‐Of‐Mine King of the Hills Project (KOTH) in Western Australia, after issuing a Notice of Award for the Engineering, Procurement and Construction contract (EPC Contract) and the bulk earthworks for the Process Plant to multi‐disciplined mineral processing provider MACA Interquip (ASX: MLD).

The EPC contract and bulk earthworks – which encompass the KOTH processing facility, equipping of the bore fields, high voltage power distribution, workshop, warehouse and bulk earthworks – will be undertaken as a fixed‐price contract.

The Notice of Award provides for the immediate commencement of the design and procurement activities for the process plant as well as mobilisation of earthmoving equipment to site.

Red 5 Managing Director Mark Williams, said the award of the EPC Contract and bulk earthworks marked another important milestone for the Company as it prepares to make the transition to become a multi‐operational, mid‐tier gold producer.

“Our decision to award these key contracts and make commitments to significant long‐lead items prior to completing project debt funding reflects our confidence in the robustness of the King of the Hills Project,” Mr Williams said.

“Importantly, the commitments made to date are below budget for this stage of the KOTH Project, and should give our stakeholders confidence that we are well on track to progress the development of this major project, with production planned to start in June Quarter 2022.”

WA Government Launches Digital Resource for Jobs and Training.

The McGowan Government, in partnership with Western Australia’s resources sector, has launched a new digital resource to link Western Australians to jobs and training opportunities in the sector.

Premier Mark McGowan joined the Chamber of Minerals and Energy (CME) and Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association (APPEA) at the SkillsWest Careers and Employment Expo to announce the Working in WA’s Resources Sector webpage.

The online tool, accessed through Western Australia’s Jobs and Skills WA website, provides information on current and future training and employment opportunities in the resources sector, and advice on how they can be accessed.

The Working in WA’s Resources Sector webpage includes information on TAFE courses that have had fees reduced, with a focus on courses that relate to the resources sector.

Specific information on opportunities for Aboriginal people and women who are interested in working in the sector will also be available.

Premier Mark McGowan said:  “This new online resource will ensure Western Australians have all the information they need to prepare for a career in the resources sector.

“We have made it clear that employing workers from the eastern states is no longer viable for our State, and we want Western Australians to be trained for future jobs in the mining and oil and gas industries.”

Education and Training Minister Sue Ellery commented:  “There is such a diverse range of job opportunities in the resources industry and the McGowan Government has made training more affordable than ever.

“Working in WA’s Resources Sector is a fantastic tool to find out more about the industry and the training that is needed to kick start a resources career.

“I encourage all young people and jobseekers to check out the new web page and get into the city for the SkillsWest Careers and Employment Expo.”

Marvel Gold Successfully Rattles Tin for $5.7 Million.

Marvel Gold (ASX: MVL) has announced that it has received binding commitments to raise a total of $5.7 million (before costs) through the placement of 95 million shares at $0.06 per share to professional and sophisticated investors.

The Placement ensures the Company is fully funded to undertake a substantial growth-focused exploration program across its Mali gold exploration portfolio, with a focus on the Tabakorole and Lakanfla gold projects.

Managing Director Phil Hoskins, commenting on the capital raising:  “This is a fantastic time to be undertaking gold exploration in Mali, an underexplored and highly prospective country. The combination of Marvel’s exciting portfolio, focused exploration strategy, and well-credentialed team has seen a number of high-quality institutions join our register. Marvel’s strategy is to add value through exploration and discovery, a strategy supported by the well-documented decline in the mining reserves of global gold companies.

“Following this Placement, the Company will be fully funded to undertake systematic exploration programs with a primary focus on growing the 910,000oz Tabakorole mineral resource. We have also been encouraged by ongoing drilling at the Lakanfla Project which has proved the existence of a karst, which is a deposit model responsible for the 4.5Moz Yatela deposit 30km to the north of Lakanfla. With assays expected in December, this funding gives us flexibility to accelerate drilling should these extensive karsts prove to be mineralised.”

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Morning News Bites – October 30

Liontown to Roar After $12.5 Million Raising.

Liontown Resources (ASX: LTR) has confirmed it has accepted firm commitments for a $12.5 million capital raising to underpin the continued advancement of its 100%-owned Kathleen Valley Lithium-Tantalum and Moora Gold-PGE- Nickel-Copper Projects in Western Australia.

As a result of the raising the Company’s flagship Kathleen Valley Lithium- Tantalum Project will be fully funded through to completion of a DFS in Q4 2021, underpinning the next stage of its journey to become a significant second-generation Australian lithium-tantalum producer.

The capital raising was undertaken at $0.23 per share and comprises:

– A $10.33 million placement via the issue of 44,923,913 New Shares to institutional and sophisticated investors within the Company’s 15% placement capacity in accordance with ASX Listing Rule 7.1; and

– A $2.17 million placement via the issue of 9,423,913 New Shares to the Company’s Directors (and their associates), subject to shareholder approval.

The issue price of $0.23 per New Share represents a 13.2% discount to the last closing price of $0.265 on Monday, 26th October 2020.

Liontown’s Managing Director, David Richards said:  “This placement further de-risks Liontown’s development pathway and puts us in a great position to advance our high-quality Kathleen Valley Lithium-Tantalum Project rapidly towards completion of a DFS and project financing. The strong demand from investors is testament to the quality, grade, scale and location of the Kathleen Valley Project – which is now firmly established as Australia’s fifth largest spodumene-lithium resource.”

Breaker Encouraged by Results at Lake Roe Project.

Breaker Resources (ASX: BRB) has reported strong drilling results from three areas outside the 1Moz open pit Resource at Bombora, situated within the Company’s 100%-owned Lake Roe Project, 100km east of Kalgoorlie, Western Australia.

The drilling is part of a major program underway to grow the Resource, expand an extensively de- risked open pit mining option and realise the full potential of a 30km gold system outlined by regional aircore drilling.

Breaker Executive Chairman Tom Sanders said the new results continued to demonstrate the growth potential at Lake Roe, where a pattern of drilling and consistent discovery has been established each quarter over five years. This bears all the hallmarks of new gold camp.

“We are now starting to close the drill spacing at Bombora and Kopai-Crescent in preparation for resource delineation drilling. It is too early to put a timing on the next resource update as we are still firming up the geometry and extent of the gold mineralisation in several areas.”

Pilbara Minerals to Acquire Altura Lithium Project.

Following the appointment of KordaMentha as the Receiver of Altura Mining (ASX:AJM), Pilbara Minerals  (ASX: PLS) has entered into an Implementation Deed with the senior secured loan noteholders of Altura which provides it with a path to potentially acquire the Altura Lithium Project through the purchase of the shares in Altura Lithium Operations Pty Ltd (“ALO”) for approximately US$175 million, subject to completion of the receivership process.

The acquisition of the Altura Project would provide Pilbara Minerals with an opportunity to consolidate the two neighbouring projects into a single integrated operation. Of particular interest to the Company is the opportunity to mine that section of the Altura orebody that is otherwise sterilised without access being granted to Pilbara Minerals’ ground to undertake mining activities.

Pilbara Minerals’ Managing Director, Ken Brinsden, said:  “This potential acquisition represents a logical consolidation of two neighbouring operations to unite the greater Pilgangoora orebody, unlocking tangible synergies in both the short and long term”

If successful, Pilbara Minerals claims the acquisition will position the company as the largest pure-play ASX-listed lithium company by enterprise value and will provide strong leverage to the expected recovery in lithium prices, driven by the increasing demand for electric vehicles and energy storage applications evident across the world.

MACA and Carabella Place Mine in Care and Maintenance.

MACA Limited (ASX: MLD) in conjunction with Carabella Resources have agreed to place the Bluff PCI project mine on care and maintenance while the coal price remains below economic levels and uncertainty remains regarding Chinese Government policy relating to Australian metallurgical coal imports. The parties are working to fulfil current coal sales obligations with mining services expected to halt around the end of November 2020.

The carrying value of the receivable amount owing from Carabella for mining services performed and the working capital facility as at 30 June 2020 was $34.7M. Whilst the monthly balance fluctuates with the working capital cycle MACA expects the overall future recoveries to be materially in line with the carrying value of the receivable.

MACA CEO Mike Sutton said  “In conjunction with our client, Carabella, we believe it is prudent to cease operations until a sustained recovery in the PCI coal price occurs. MACA are able to redeploy the majority of the Bluff fleet to existing and new projects which are commencing shortly. A relocation of the Bluff fleet will reduce the expected capital expenditure for FY21 by $35M as a result.”

SOR Escalates Self-Charging Battery Development.

Further to an announcement they made earlier, Strategic Elements (ASX:SOR) subsidiary Australian Advanced Materials Battery has agreed to escalate development of the self-charging flexible battery technology under collaboration with the University of New South Wales . The team will fast-track ink scale up to achieve 1 litre of ink within the next 4 weeks. To provide perspective, 1 litre of Battery Ink has the capacity to produce more than 2000 printable battery cells.

SOR Managing Director Charles Murphy said: “It took years for our team to understand how to scale up our Nanocube Memory Ink to a 1 litre batch size. Achieving this within 4 weeks for the Battery Ink will provide strong evidence of the potential to harness our previous electronic ink experience. It’s an ambitious goal but it’s a challenge the team have taken on. We have also agreed with UNSW to pursue Federal Government ‘matching grant funding’ opportunities for integration of the Memory, Battery and Electronic Circuit ink technologies”.

The self-charging battery technology is being developed under a collaboration with the University of New South Wales and CSIRO partially funded by the Federal Government . The Battery cells generate electricity from humidity in the air or skin surface to self-charge themselves within minutes. No manual charging or wired power is required. They are created with a printable ink and are ideally suited for use in Internet of Things (IOT) devices.

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Todays Top Story – The EV and Battery Storage Revolution Is Now, Are We Ready?

There is a lot of talk about the future of motor vehicles, battery storage and all things green when it comes to electricity.  But the talk doesn’t seem to be reflected in the commodity prices of those materials required to make up batteries for our EV and home battery storage future.  Is it because that is all it is, talk, or are we waiting for the worlds collective mind to realise that the future is now and we need to start doing it now?

There have been huge gains in EV and battery storage and I think once we refine processes further and increase battery duration, especially in EVs, it will really take off.  If I was to build a new house today I would have to be talked out of a battery storage solution rather than be talked in to it.  As for EVs, living in the country and driving long distances, it doesn’t stack up and diesel is the go to for me.  I hope that can change but I can’t see it happening in the short term.

Regardless of when it really takes off the minerals will be needed.  However the commodity prices seem to be struggling.  Lithium carbonate was the market darling a few years back when it reached a peak of $25,000/mt.  It is now trading at about $9,000/mt.  With the downward spiral of the carbonate the share prices of many lithium miners has followed and their debt increased.

Yesterday came news that Altura Mining was forced into receivership and administration by its lenders.  It came as a surprise to the company as it was in the process of restructuring its debt and had not received any notification of the move by the current lenders when they had flagged October 31 as the deadline.  It has left 13,000 shareholders holding the bunny as it looks like their hard earned has gone down the gurgler.

Cobalt is the other battery metal trying to gain traction in the market.  Most of the cobalt is found in Africa in the Democratic Republic of Congo.  Politically it is not the most reliable place to do business and the rules often change, especially for operators from foreign countries.  Their human rights record isn’t squeaky clean either and the place is renowned for using child labour.  Cobalt could become the market darling as stockpiles are predicted to fall to critical levels by the end of the year.  Cobalt prices are about a third of what they were two years ago and are back at 2014 levels.

Nickel is fairing pretty well at the moment.  It is the main component in batteries and used in many products too numerous to list.  The price seems to be on the up at the moment and is giving some momentum to nickel miners across the world.

There is no doubt that the EV and battery storage revolution will come.  If you had listened to some people we would have all been driving EVs now.  Alas that market is only a fraction of the new car sales market world-wide.  In Australia the market is far below other countries uptake of the technology.

The critical metals used in batteries will have their day in the sun again.  When? I can’t tell you but it will be an interesting market to watch and hopefully, those Altura shareholder will be able to recoup their losses on the next big thing.

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Morning News Bites – October 28

Galileo Confirm Prospective Nature of Fraser Range Lantern South Project.

Galileo Mining has announced assay results from recent diamond drilling have confirmed the prospective nature of the Company’s Lantern area in the Fraser Range Nickel Belt of Western Australia.

Commenting on the assay results Galileo Managing Director Brad Underwood said; “These results are a very important step forward for the ongoing exploration programs at our Fraser Range project. For the first time we have identified a small section of primary massive sulphide with high levels of nickel, copper, and cobalt. This means we have identified a mineralised system that can produce high grade nickel and copper. Our job now is to focus on those areas that have the potential to hold large accumulations of economic sulphides. We currently have two advanced prospects at Lantern South and Lantern East where more drilling is required to follow up on the work completed to date. And, given that we have confirmed the fertility of the rocks on our tenements, we will also be increasing our efforts to build our earlier stage prospects into drill targets as we look to create a suite of high quality prospects for drill testing.”

  • Assays received for disseminated sulphides in LARC013D from the Lantern South prospect include;
  • 66 metres @ 0.19% nickel & 0.14% copper from 132.67m including 5.95 metres @ 0.36% nickel & 0.29% copper from 134.82m.
  • First occurrence of nickel and copper rich massive sulphides over 7 cm section of drill core with assays of 4.6% nickel, 2.2% copper, 0.15% cobalt & 0.7 g/t palladium from 136.2m (LARC013D).
  • Assays confirm the mineralised system at the Lantern Prospect is capable of producing high grade nickel-copper sulphide.
  • Wide intersection of disseminated sulphides (pyrrhotite dominant) at Lantern East (LARC008D) may represent a halo zone to remodelled conductive target located 150 metres north of current drilling.

Dampier Gold Release High-Grade Results From Zuleika Project.

Dampier Gold has released results from its Phase 2 drilling on the Paradigm East Project in the Zuleika Gold JV with Torian Resources. The Aircore program was completed at the end of September and comprised 21 holes for a total 1055m of drilling. Results have been received for the entire program on 4m composite samples.

The Zuleika Gold Project sits within the gold rich Kundana/Ora Banda district of the Kalgoorlie Goldfield and consists of a 223sqkm land holding along significant regional structures within highly prospective stratigraphy which has been the host to more than 20 million ounces of gold production over the last 30 years (still producing), with scope for more discoveries.

Best intercepts within the composite sampling were.

24m @ 6.4 g/t Au from 28m incl 4m @ 34.7 g/t Au from 32m and 8m @ 2.2 g/t Au from 48m including 4m @ 3.3 g/t Au from 48m.

Dampier’s Managing Director, Ms Annie Guo, said:

“Our latest successful exploration results have vindicated Dampier’s strategy of maintaining an aggressive drilling campaign in parallel with our technical team’s increasing understanding of the mineralised systems within the project area. I wish to congratulate Dampier’s team for this outstanding result.

We have hit more high-grade mineralisation in previously untested areas. These results extend the known limits of mineralisation. This points to a larger mineralised envelope which in turn will give greater scale to the project.

The success at Paradigm East enforces the significant potential of Dampier’s asset portfolio and together with the technical ability of its committed team, Dampier is on track with its focus of rapidly defining JORC Resources at its Zuleika project area which forms part of our Menzies/Kalgoorlie exploration strategy.”

Navarre Secures Lease in Victorian Goldfields.

Navarre Minerals believes it has strengthened its growth pipeline in the historical goldfields of Victoria, with the state’s Earth Resources Regulation granting the Company an exploration licence over the main producing areas of the St Arnaud Goldfield (EL6819).

Acquired after a competitive bidding process, the new ground is enveloped by Navarre’s broader tenement package at the St Arnaud Gold Project.  The tenure covers the majority of historical workings within the goldfield, which has produced 400,000 ounces of gold in the past.  Navarre has also lodged three exploration licence applications to secure a strategic tenement package, adjacent to its fully-owned St Arnaud Gold Project.

Managing Director, Ian Holland said;  “The granting of the tenement validates Navarre’s aggressive exploration program at a time of record gold prices and intense interest in the Victorian gold sector,” said Navarre managing director Ian Holland.  The St Arnaud tenement package further strengthens the Company’s hold over some of the most prospective ground in Victoria’s so-called Golden Triangle.”

The historical workings covered by exploration licence EL6819 include the Bristol, New Chum and Nelson lines of reef. These auriferous reefs extend for approximately five kilometres and dive under Murray Basin cover to the north, where Navarre’s drilling on an adjacent licence and identified gold and silver mineralisation extending for at least another five kilometres.

Ioneer Sign Contract for Caterpillar Machinery.

Australian based mining company, Ioneer Ltd, an emerging lithium– boron supplier, has released details of a partnership with Caterpillar as its exclusive heavy equipment partner for its Rhyolite Ridge Lithium-Boron Project in Nevada.

Caterpillar will supply haul trucks, hydraulic shovels, wheel loaders, and other mine site support machinery like track-type tractors (dozers), excavators, and motor graders. All equipment will feature the latest in high-precision GPS and real-time analytics in order to maximise efficiency and accuracy in material loading.

The equipment and services supplied by Caterpillar during the first five years of operation is valued at approximately US$100 million. In addition, Caterpillar will offer the Company finance solutions for the equipment through Caterpillar Financial Services. Both the supply of equipment and services and finance solutions are subject to a final investment decision being taken on the Project and definitive legal documentation.

The partnership will operate through Cashman Equipment, and will support the Rhyolite Ridge Project with technicians to assemble and service the equipment, operator trainers to assist with the most efficient machine operations, and product support consultants to facilitate a comprehensive Maintenance and Repair Contract (MARC) agreement.

Ioneer’s managing director, Bernard Rowe, said:  “We are extremely pleased to partner with the world’s leading manufacturer of mining equipment, Caterpillar. Ioneer is at the forefront of the US strategic imperative to develop a domestic lithium battery supply chain.”

Jupiter To Demerge Iron Ore Assets – Become Pure Manganese Company.

Jupiter Mines has announced that the Board has unanimously approved a demerger of its Central Yilgarn Iron Ore assets and subsequently an initial public offering.  The demerger will create an ASX listed company, to be named at a later date, which will work to progress the development of the Mount Mason DSO hematite project as its primary focus in the near term.

The demerger will be achieved via a distribution of the new company’s shares in-specie to Jupiter shareholders, in proportion to their existing shareholding in Jupiter.

Jupiter shareholders will also be offered the opportunity to acquire further shares in the new company above their in-specie allocation. Jupiter will retain a minority holding in the new company. Subject to all approvals, the demerger and listing is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2021. Full details and timetable will be announced in due course.

Jupiter has appointed Greg Durack as the Chief Executive Officer to lead the IPO and implement the new company’s strategy.  Greg will also serve as an executive director. Other board appointments will be made shortly.  The new company will be headquartered in Perth, to maintain proximity to the CYIP assets.  Post the demerger, Jupiter will become a pure-play manganese company, with the aim to continue to maintain its strong balance sheet and high payout ratio.

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Todays Top Story – Australia Post CEO Christine Holgate Is Under The Pump, But Why?

Most people you ask wouldn’t know who Christine Holgate is and what she does. Those that do know of her, know that she has been a highly successful CEO at Blackmores and now at Australia Post.

But it would seem she is doomed to be the fall guy because four expensive watches were given to four people who pulled off what is being touted as a $1Billion deal with three of Australia’s big four banks.  Now when I say expensive, the grand total of the watches is reported to be ~$20,000, the expense pales compared to the extra revenue for the company and the dividend to its one and only shareholder, the federal government.

Let’s go back a step and look at what has happened recently at Australia Post.  Ahmed Fahour preceded Ms. Holgate as the CEO and was remunerated handsomely for his turn-around of the ailing service.  He recognised that parcel delivery was the way forward for the business (for a business it is now – not a service) and drove the company towards where it sits today – king of parcel delivery in Australia.  This was despite the best efforts of global companies wanting their share of the pie and failing to make the same impact Australia Post did.

He introduced higher postage stamp prices and slower delivery times, much to the chagrin of the Australian public but concentrated more on the lucrative parcel delivery.  As it turned out the results were stunning for the enterprise.

Not everyone took a liking to Mr. Fahour and one Prime Minister took exception to his salary and bonuses being more than ten times his own salary.  So, when Mr. Fahour departed from Australia Post it was decided that the next CEO would be paid a lot less.  Enter Ms. Holgate who left a lucrative role at Blackmores to take on the challenge of growing the business that had already grown extensively under Mr. Fahour.

Ms. Holgate joined Australia Post in 2017 and set about revitalising the ailing Post Office shops run by mums and dads around Australia.  These shops were integral to increasing revenue and Ms. Holgate knew that.  It came to be that a deal was done with three of the four big banks and these small shops were revitalised as they took on banking services, particularly regional stores.  So not only did this deal bring in a lot more revenue to Australia Post it gave a lifeline to struggling business working under the umbrella of the company.

As a result of this deal four people were given a bonus in the form of a watch.  I wonder if the same four people were given an equivalent cash bonus, or even triple the value, whether this would be even talked about?  Probably not, and there is no logic to it.  It is my opinion that given the size of the deal the $20,000 spent on watches was insignificant.  It’s taxpayer’s money you cry!  Technically yes, but without them doing the deal the government would be getting millions less as a dividend.  It was a win-win situation in my view.

I think both the government and the opposition are showing faux outrage on the issue as they try to outdo each other in clambering for the moral high ground in the eyes of the voters.  Behind closed doors they would be admiring Ms. Holgate’s business acumen to get the job done.

I think that Ms. Holgate has been thrown under the bus by the Prime Minister as he showed poor political judgement when he answered a question in parliament.  He stated; “She has been instructed to stand aside and if she doesn’t wish to do that, she can go.”  Maybe he has wanted her to go and this is the opportunity to make it happen.

This does not auger well for Ms. Holgate who deserves better than this.  More accusations of excessive spending have since surfaced, one in particular, her $34,000 hotel bill for nine months stay.  That is about $4,000 per month or $200 per night if you allow for 20 business days per month.  Hardly extravagant on a nightly basis.

If Ms. Holgate was not getting the job done and the business was going backwards, I could understand that people would be concerned, but when the business is growing and profits increasing it is hard to fathom the “outrage”. In isolation $20,000 is a lot for four watches.  When it is looked at as part of a $1Billion deal that will return millions to the government it is a trivial amount.

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Morning News Bites – October 27

Wiluna Mining Excited About Latest Drill Results.

Wiluna Mining has released high-grade results from a further 45 holes and 10,534m of resource development drilling “under the headframe” at the Wiluna Mining Centre. So excited are they by the results that they titled their announcement: “The Giant is Now Very Much Awake.”

The Company is targeting infill definition and further extensions to high-grade sulphide zones in the initial areas to be mined, because every 1 g/t increase in the grade in the sulphides should result in an additional 25kozpa of production in Stage 1 and 50kozpa in Stage 2, resulting in lower production costs per ounce.

Wiluna Mining Executive Chair, Milan Jerkovic, commented:  “Exceptional drilling results continue to flow from high priority sulphide mining zones at the Wiluna Mining Centre. This is noteworthy because results will underpin our updated Ore Reserves estimate to be published in January 2021. The Company is targeting high-grade zones, because every 1 g/t increase in the grade should result in an additional 25kozpa of production in Stage 1 and 50kozpa in Stage 2.

Some of the results went ~11metres at 29.4g/t and 3 metres at 100g/t with other holes producing grades well over 5g/t.

They say that exceptional drill results from each of the priority mining areas continue to validate the Company’s Stage 1 target of mining approximately 750,000 tonnes of underground sulphide ore per annum to produce, when fully ramped up, approximately 120,000oz per annum in gold doré and gold in concentrate commencing in October 2021.

Stavely Reports Biggest Hits Yet at Cayley Lode.

Stavely Minerals released resource drilling within the high-grade Cayley Lode discovery at the Thursday’s Gossan prospect, part of its 100%-owned Stavely Copper-Gold Project in Victoria, has returned one of the most significant intercepts since its discovery in September last year.

The spectacular new intercept in diamond hole SMD104, located ~275m south-east along strike from the discovery intercept of 32m at 5.88% Cu, 1.00g/t Au and 58g/t Ag in SMD050 continues to reinforce the scale, continuity and shallow nature of the copper-gold-silver mineralisation within the Cayley Lode.

An intensive resource drill-out is continuing with a focus of extending to the northwest within the 1.5km long discovery zone, with in-fill and step-out drilling continuing based on a roughly 40m x 40m drilling grid.  The Mineral Resource drill-out is well advanced and progressing well.

Very broad zone of significant copper mineralisation intersected from shallow depths in the Cayley Lode in drill hole SMD104:

144m at 1.04% Cu, 0.15g/t Au and 3.4g/t Ag from 35m down-hole, including: ▪ 84m at 1.55% Cu, 0.23g/t Au and 5.0g/t Ag from 95m, including: 28m at 3.31% Cu, 0.49g/t Au and 7.1g/t Ag from 151m

Resource drilling will continue on a 40m x 40m drilling grid with four rigs operating and two further large-capacity rigs expected on-site within the fortnight.

RareX claim Bonanza Grades for Rare Earths in Latest Drill Campaign.

RareX reported further significant results from recently completed in‐fill and extensional drilling at its 100%‐owned flagship Cummins Range Rare Earths Project in the Kimberley region of Western Australia.

Results from the two latest RC holes include significant widths of high‐grade rare earths and niobium mineralisation with broad zones of bonanza grade mineralisation encountered in one of the holes.

The north‐west trending channel of mineralisation encountered in previously released drill holes has been confirmed in the latest results, further enhancing the potential size and grade of the Resource in this area.

Previous historical drilling on surrounding sections had confirmed the presence of high‐grade mineralisation down to 70m below surface. The current drill program has now extended the zone of high‐grade mineralisation to 130m below surface.

One of the holes contained wide ultra‐high grade zones including 13m at 10.7% TREO and 1.04% Nb2O5 from 76m and 8m at 9.1% TREO and 0.58% Nb2O5.

RareX Managing Director, Jeremy Robinson, said: “We continue to be impressed by the consistency of this thick, high‐grade mineralisation within this north‐west channel within the Resource. These impressive results provide strong support for the potential both to upgrade the Resource and to define a high‐grade component within the broader Resource.

“Understanding the controls on the high‐grade mineralisation in the weathered zone will also assist with targeting potential high‐grade primary mineralisation in follow‐up drilling to further expand the overall size of the Resource.”

Horizon Says Pre-Feasibility Results Are Positive.

When releasing the pre-feasibility results for Horizon (ASX:HRZ) Managing Director Mr Jon Price said:  “Our Joint Venture partner RVT has done an excellent job demonstrating the quality and viability of this world class oxide vanadium resource. The Lilyvale deposit alone can provide globally significant supply for the next 100 years and easily expand production to meet the increasing demand from both the steel and emerging battery storage markets.”

“With this increase in demand in coming years and the reduction in the supply of vanadium from steel slags, we see the vanadium price continuing its steady climb and look forward to advancing the project to DFS level and commencing commercial production discussions with interested offtake partners.”

The Richmond – Julia Creek Vanadium Project is located approximately 50kms north-west of Richmond in North West Queensland. Richmond is a regional service town of 520 people situated 500kms by road to the west of Townsville and 400kms east of the mining town of Mt Isa.

The Mineral Resource update has resulted in improved grades over the previous Mineral Resource Estimate, and led to 76% of the Mineral Resource upgraded to the Indicated JORC Category for estimation of maiden Ore Reserves. In addition, the drilling enabled a large metallurgical sample representative of the orebody for additional concentration and downstream processing test work to also feed into the Pre-Feasibility Study.

A couple of nibbles for our News Bites:

Dacian Gold has re-negotiated their gold hedging for the next couple of years with 27,324 ounces moving from FY20121 to FY2022.

Managing Director, Leigh Junk, commented: “The restructuring reduces our obligations during FY2021, providing additional cash flow over the remainder of the current financial year by increasing our spot gold exposure. Now that our hedge profile is aligned with our production profile, the Company will be in a stronger position to pursue its corporate objectives.”

It would seem Mr Junk is turning the fortunes of the company around since coming on board.

Strategic Elements is developing a self-charging battery that it says will self-charge, be non-flammable, flexible, light and thin and environmentally friendly when compared to lithium batteries.  The batteries are “printed” and ideal for Internet of Things (IOT) devices.

SOR Managing Director Charles Murphy said: “Early stage results are extremely promising as we apply years of experience and intellectual property in electronic inks into the development of a Battery Ink that generates electricity from the environment. From the Automated Robotic Security Vehicle we are building with US giant Honeywell, the ongoing commercialisation of the Nanocube Memory Ink, this new development in Battery Ink and other commercial activities on the horizon, SOR is generating significant momentum”.

 

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Tonight’s Top Story – Will the New Work Health and Safety Bill Solve More Problems Than it Causes?

The new Work Health and Safety Bill introduced and passed in the WA State parliament lower house in February and last week passed in the upper house, advances new industrial manslaughter laws that have been mooted for some time now. In essence it means that individuals and business entities can be held responsible for the death of a worker and face serious penalties of incarceration or hefty fines. Some amendments by the upper house will need to be ratified in the lower house but it is expected to go through.

After the death, earlier in the month, of a worker on a construction site in Perth, unions staged a protest to put pressure on upper house members to act on the stalled legislation. Whether this was the catalyst for the upper house to finally vote on the legislation is hard to determine.

What is important now is that it has passed. There has been an outpouring of relief in some quarters that this has finally come to pass. Families Left Behind spokeswoman Regan Ballantine welcomed the passage of the bill. She has been the passionate spokesperson for the group since losing her 17 year old son in a workplace accident in 2017.

Unions and Families left behind have been campaigning for sometime now for the legislation to pass as they believe it will make a big difference in the way business conducts itself in regards to safety.

However not everyone is happy with the new legislation that exposes businesses owners, management and directors to large fines and incarceration. Some groups are saying that the new legislation goes too far and exposes employers to penalties for things that happen that are not within their control. Unfortunately because there are employers or people who work under them that like to cut shortcuts or do other things that put themselves or others at risk we will need legislation like this. I hope that these are the people that the legislation will target and not those that place the safety and well being of their health as a priority.

Lets look at an example that highlight what I mean. There are two companies in the same sort of business operating the same sort of machinery – The Good People Company and the Bad People Company. Both companies receive an urgent memo from a machinery manufacturer that says a piece of machinery they are operating could lose a rotating part that could cause serious injury or death to the operator or someone in the vicinity.

The Good People Company immediately take the piece of machinery out of service and advise their employees through a memo and a follow up toolbox meeting that until the manufacturer rectifies the problem the machine is not to be used.

The Bad People Company, knowing the machine is integral to the production process says nothing and their employees are allowed to continue using it, oblivious to the fault.

An employee from the Good People Company, anxious to get the job done quickly, and without the knowledge of anyone else uses the machinery he knows he shouldn’t use. In doing so the rotating part comes off, strikes him and kills him.

Over at the Bad People Company, a worker oblivious to the fault of the machinery, uses it as he has done many times before and the rotating part comes off and kills him.

Now when it comes to the Bad People Company, providing it can be proved that the company new of the fault and advice from the manufacturer, it would be a fairly easy decision to charge those who concealed the fault under the new legislation. I think most people would say it is obvious that the employer has culpability in this situation.

The Good People Company, under the new laws would still come under a lot of scrutiny, even if they proved they did everything in their power to inform employees and take the machinery out of service. Unfortunately, you cannot legislate for stupidity, which is what happened here but some groups are concerned that the new legislation will not take stupidity into account when dealing with workplace deaths.

On the whole I think it is good legislation, I just hope that businesses that are doing the right thing aren’t caught up in a piece of law that is intended to stop cowboys causing so much suffering.