News

Future Battery Minerals Ltd (ASX: FBM) has reported assay results from four high-priority holes at its Kangaroo Hills Lithium Project (KHLP) in Western Australia. The results have extended the lithium discovery, confirming the continuation of mineralisation beyond the previously discovered KHRC011. The drilling programme has so far identified a pegmatite unit of 200m in width, up to 30m in thickness, and at least 300m in length. The mineralisation remains open along the strike at a flat minus (-) 20-degree dip. The results indicate that the project could be highly significant for FBM, with a considerable amount of lithium potentially being present in the identified pegmatite unit.

The four holes that were drilled were immediate step-outs north, south and east from KHRC011, which returned 29m @1.36% Li2O. All four holes identified a thick pegmatite unit that is interpreted to be the same host rock of the high-grade lithium mineralisation. The drill holes were prioritised for assaying in order to better understand the immediate continuation of mineralisation and aid modelling of this important host rock before diamond core drilling (DD).

The assay results received from the four holes returned thick and shallow high-grade Lithium (Li) in spodumene-bearing pegmatite, including 27m @ 1.32% Li2O from 64m (KHRC017), 19m @ 1.03% Li2O from 42m (KHRC015), 16m @ 1.09% Li2O from 11m (KHRC022), and 12m @ 1.02% Li2O from 8m (KHRC021). The assays for 23 more holes drilled during Phase 2 drilling are still pending.

The company is extremely pleased with the results, which confirm the significance of the initial KHLP discovery. Diamond drilling (DD) has now commenced, with the first hole (KHDD001) infilling between KHRC011 and KHRC015. The aim of the DD programme is to confirm the orientation of the pegmatite and provide an important bulk sample for early stage mineralogical and metallurgical analysis. FBM Technical Director Robin Cox commented on the assay results, stating that the company is keen to better understand the mineralogy and metallurgy of this important discovery through the DD programme.

IGO announced today that it has secured land in Kwinana from the Western Australian Government for its proposed Integrated Battery Material Facility. This marks an important milestone in delivering IGO’s strategy to be vertically integrated into the battery supply chain. In conjunction with Wyloo Metals (Wyloo), IGO is working towards making a financial investment decision on the development of the Project, which involves integrating a downstream nickel refinery with a plant producing high-value nickel dominant precursor cathode active material (PCAM) for the battery supply chain. The proposed Project would combine IGO’s disruptive nickel refining technology with PCAM production expertise via a low-cost and low-carbon process. The Project would represent the first commercial production of PCAM in Australia and align with the State Government’s drive to grow Western Australia’s future battery industry.  

The proposed IBM Facility would be constructed in the Kwinana-Rockingham Strategic Industrial Area on approximately 30 hectares of vacant industrial land leased from the State Government. The land secured for the proposed IBM Facility is adjacent to the Kwinana Lithium Hydroxide Refinery, owned by Tianqi Lithium Energy Australia (TLEA), a joint venture between IGO and Tianqi Lithium Corporation.   Key workstreams required before a Final Investment Decision can be made include engaging a partner with experience in PCAM production, delivery of a Feasibility Study in mid-2024, environmental permitting and approvals, broad stakeholder engagement and the achievement of key commercial outcomes. IGO and Wyloo are currently advancing discussions with a global battery chemical manufacturer, which has indicated strong interest in partnering in the Project. This is essential in integrating the parties’ technologies with IGO’s critical minerals to capture value across the supply chain. 

IGO’s Acting CEO, Matt Dusci said; “Australia is already playing an important role in the global supply of critical minerals required as the world transitions to clean energy. We need to continue to expand our participation throughout the battery supply chain, beyond just the mining of key raw minerals, in order to capture a greater share of the value. We believe the area where Australia can be most competitive is in midstream battery chemical processing."

“We are excited about securing this site at Kwinana – a pivotal step in our ambitions to be better integrated into the battery supply chain.  We strongly believe that by bringing the right partners together, we will deliver a  fully optimised nickel supply chain delivering low-cost, low-carbon, responsibly produced battery chemicals for the global battery and electric vehicle industry, to be delivered through an integrated battery material facility here in Western Australia.” 

“The Kwinana-Rockingham Strategic Industrial Area is rapidly emerging as a globally significant battery material hub with existing lithium hydroxide production, established infrastructure and a skilled residential workforce. I would like to acknowledge the support of the Western Australian State Government as we work together with a combined ambition of continued growth of the local battery chemical industry.”   

Caravel Minerals reported the outcomes of an independent metallurgical process review and update completed recently for its 100%-owned Caravel Copper Project, located 150km northeast of Perth in Western Australia. The results identified substantial opportunities to enhance Project value and confirmed the process flowsheet's suitability before the start of engineering for the Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS). The three-month review was undertaken by industry specialist engineering and project delivery firms Lycopodium Minerals (Lycopodium) and Orway Mineral Consultants (OMC). The key outcomes of the review support an incremental increase in process plant capacity of ~10% to 30Mtpa undertaken by Lycopodium and OMC, including a Molybdenum Recovery Circuit (MRC) undertaken by Caravel Minerals and the deferral of the previously considered Coarse Particle Flotation (CPF) circuit. Based on these changes, forecast annual copper production increases from 60ktpa to ~65tpa at steady state, supplemented by ~0.9ktpa of molybdenum production as a saleable by-product.

The combined financial benefits of these changes are significant, with Project NPV increasing by ~A$0.6B to ~A$2.0B and Project payback reduced to less than five years. All-in Sustaining Costs decrease by ~14% to ~US$2.07/lb of copper produced, and IRR increases to 21%. Following the completion of the review, the base case process flowsheet for the DFS has now been established. The DFS is scheduled for delivery in the first half of 2024.

Caravel Managing Director and CEO, Don Hyma, said: “Our decision to commission a wide-ranging independent metallurgical review of the Caravel Project flowsheet by leading engineering group Lycopodium, supported by a group of consulting technical experts, reflects our commitment to exhaustively analyse all aspects of the Project and to strive to ‘build it right’ from the beginning. “The results of this review and update have exceeded our expectations. The increase in copper production stems from relatively minor changes and enhancements to the project flowsheet, in combination with the inclusion of the previously flagged Molybdenum Recovery Circuit. Collectively, these changes result in a significant increase in Project cash-flow, NPV and financial returns for a modest increase in capital expenditure. Importantly, we have also used a modest assumed price of US$4/lb for copper and US$20/lb for molybdenum – with significant scope for upside on these prices. “The outcomes of this review will now be ‘frozen’ into the detailed engineering phase, and we are delighted to announce the appointment of Lycopodium as the Lead Engineer for the Definitive Feasibility Study, which will get underway in earnest in the second half of this year.”

29Metals today announced the results of its March quarter 2023 drilling program  at Capricorn Copper. The results of the program, completed before the recent extreme weather event, highlight the continuing potential of Capricorn Copper with demonstrated extensions of known mineralisation at Esperanza South (‘ESS’) and the Mammoth deposits and the identification of a new mineralised trend east of Mammoth. 
Mammoth
Key results include:  
▪ UDMAM22_110: 228.0m @ 1.2% Cu, 3g/t Ag, 50ppm Co, from 427.0m: Including 36.0m @ 3.9% Cu, 6g/t Ag, 188ppm Co, from 427m. 
ESS
Key results include:
▪ SDESS22_003_W3A: 70.0m @ 2.8% Cu, 26g/t Ag, 1083ppm Co, from 821m
▪ SDESS22_003_W2: 48.1m @ 2.7% Cu, 23g/t Ag, 1221ppm Co, from 878.9m
▪ SDESS22_003A_W1: 23.0m @ 3.0% Cu, 10g/t Ag, 779ppm Co, from 737m 

Commenting on the drilling results reported today, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer Peter Albert said: “These tremendous results continue to demonstrate the growth potential at the Capricorn Copper ore bodies, building upon the highly successful drilling at Capricorn Copper in 2022, which supported a significant increase in estimated Mineral Resource and Ore Reserves tonnes for ESS of 3.5 Mt or 23% and 3.9 Mt or 58%, respectively, in our end-of-year estimates. These results further demonstrate the medium and longer-term potential we see at Capricorn Copper and highlight the importance of our ongoing recovery work to safely return Capricorn Copper to operations following the impacts
of the extreme weather event in March 2023.”

Kingston Resources Limited reported today that gold sales from the Tailings Project at Mineral Hill reached a monthly record of 1,776oz. ASIC decreased a further 12% in March to A$1,432/oz, while the average gold price received increased 7% to A$2,865/oz. Recently, the Company has seen a reduction in the cost of some critical consumables at the operation. The operational and sales performance has directly contributed to an increase in cash on hand for the Company, rising from $6.8m at the end of December to $9.5m at the end of March.

Kingston Resources Managing Director Andrew Corbett said, “The significance of the Tailings Project in providing us operating cash flow and setting us up for long-term growth at Mineral Hill is obvious from this performance. Being a low-cost gold producer in the current climate is a huge advantage, allowing us to improve our cash position while also meeting site capital needs, covering all corporate costs and continuing to move Misima forward. This financial strength gives us an excellent platform for growth.”

Newmont Corp. raised its takeover offer for Newcrest Mining Ltd. to around $19.5 billion, aiming to seal the largest-ever M&A deal in the gold-mining industry. Newmont’s decision to improve its all-stock offer for Newcrest, Australia’s largest listed gold miner, comes when gold prices are approaching a record high amid stress in the global banking system and heightened worries over the economic outlook. Newmont is offering 0.400 of its shares for each Newcrest share, Newcrest said in a regulatory filing on Tuesday. In addition, Newcrest said it is permitted to pay a special dividend of up to $1.10 a share around the time any deal completes.

Newcrest, which owns mines in Australia, Canada and Papua New Guinea, said this represented a 16% increase to an initial bid from Newmont that it had rejected. After assessing the latest proposal, Newcrest said it would open its books to Newmont to firm up a binding offer.

Newmont’s pursuit of Newcrest illustrates how gold producers are seeking to do deals at a time when the industry is struggling to make significant discoveries of the precious metal. In 2019, Newmont acquired Canadian gold producer Goldcorp Inc. in a transaction valued at $10 billion. The same year, Newmont and rival Barrick Gold Corp. formed a joint venture in Nevada to cut costs after an earlier offer from Barrick to buy Newmont was rejected.

Newmont previously said its business was complementary to Newcrest’s and that a combined entity could “set the standard for sustainable and responsible gold mining.” Newmont has indicated the latest bid is its best and final price unless a rival suitor emerges, Newcrest said. Barrick Gold previously signalled it wasn’t interested in making a competing bid for the Australian gold company. The revised offer represents an equity value of 29.4 billion Australian dollars ($19.5 billion) and an enterprise value of A$32.0 billion, Newcrest said. A deal would result in Newcrest shareholders owning about 31% of the combined company, with Newmont investors holding the rest.

An actual value of A$32.87 a share compares to Newcrest’s closing stock price of A$22.45 on Feb. 3, before Newmont’s interest became known. Newcrest’s stock rose by 6.2% to A$30.02 a share early in Sydney on Tuesday. Gold miners have found it challenging to add to reserves in low-risk countries for years, with many mines running low on gold that can be accessed quickly and exploration campaigns turning up few significant deposits. Of the 341 major deposits discovered between 1990 and 2021, only 28 were found in the past decade and contained only 6% of the gold discovered since 1990, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Newcrest’s suite of gold-mining operations and growth projects would cement Newmont’s position as the world’s largest gold miner. Newcrest’s assets can run for 22 years before becoming depleted, well above most of its listed rivals, according to analysts at Barrenjoey, an Australian investment bank. They would also boost Newmont’s exposure to copper, an industrial metal in high demand as the world decarbonizes.

Newmont’s approach comes amid an upheaval at Newcrest, which said Sandeep Biswas would leave the company after eight years as chief executive in December. Newcrest named Chief Financial Officer Sherry Duhe interim CEO while searching for Mr Biswas’s successor.

Dart Mining commenced diamond drilling of their Lithium- Caesium-Tantalum (LCT) bearing pegmatites in an initial 3,000m Phase 1 diamond drill program, testing five pegmatite targets along the northern portion of the Dorchap Lithium Project.

• Drilling is underway on the first diamond drill hole at the Eagle Dyke with pegmatite intersected from 77.6m down the hole with a planned hole depth of 250m.
• Rock chip highlights from Eagle Dyke: 10m @ 0.9% Li2O and duplicate sample 10m @ 1.0% Li2O
• The Dorchap Lithium project is fully funded by Dart Mining’s joint-venture partner, Sociedad Química y Minera (SQM), under a A$12m / 6-year earn-in agreement.

Chairman, James Chirnside commented: “We are working closely with our joint venture partner SQM to efficiently progress the drilling of these LCT pegmatite targets, and at the same time  maintaining rock chip sampling crews in the field, who are mapping and sampling additional LiDAR pegmatite targets

Established Australian copper-gold producer and explorer, Aeris Resources Limited announced a maiden JORC 2012 Mineral Resource estimate for the Kurrajong deposit, located within the Company’s 100% owned Tritton tenement package in New South Wales. The MRE comprises 2.2 million tonnes @ 1.7% copper, including a high-grade massive sulphide lens of 1.1 million tonnes @ 2.5% copper.  The Kurrajong deposit is located approximately 20km east of the Tritton Processing plant. 

Aeris’ Executive Chairman, Andre Labuschagne, said “The high-grade nature of the deposit and possibility of further extensions at depth makes Kurrajong an attractive potential future ore source for the Tritton Operation.  The high-grade massive sulphide lens contained within the MRE has a similar copper grade tenor to that of the Avoca Tank resource.” 
“Even though over 900,000 tonnes of copper has already been discovered on the Tritton tenement package 2, we believe it remains highly prospective for further discoveries.” 

Bellevue Gold provided an update on construction and development at its Bellevue Gold Project in WA. Open pit mining contractor NRW is now fully mobilised to the site. Mining has started at the Vanguard open pit and clearing is underway at the tailings storage facility (TSF). NRW is one of Australia’s leading mining contractors with significant experience in hard rock open pit mining and has all the required staff and equipment available for the Vanguard project. The contract, which includes mining of the Tribune boxcut, has a total value of ~$24m, which is in line with the pre-production capital expenditure forecast.

Mining at the Vanguard open pit will offer Bellevue the opportunity to generate early cash flow via a toll-treating arrangement. The pit is scheduled to provide approximately 10,000oz gold, which is expected to be available for processing in mid-2023, in advance of the forecast completion of the Bellevue processing facility. The Company is exploring toll treatment options with mining companies in the region and discussions are ongoing. Once mined, waste material from Vanguard will form the basis of the TSF.  

Caprice Resources Ltd provided an update on the Northampton Polymetallic Project (Northampton), located in the Northampton Mineral Field of Western Australia. Northampton is a historical mining area with over 100 years of base metals mining, with minimal on-ground exploration completed during the last 50 years. Phase 2 RC drilling has commenced at Lady Sampson, approximately 40km southeast of the town of Northampton. Phase 2 is following up the February RC drill program, which was the first drilling completed in the area. The maiden program was very successful, intercepting high-quality base metals mineralisation in the majority of the holes completed. This new program aims to test the grade continuity between the original intercepts, as well as strike and depth extensions. The new program is being drilled towards the west, which should yield an optimal orientation to assess the potential of Lady Sampson.

Managing Director, Andrew Muir, commented: “The first drill results from Lady Sampson were excellent, considering it was a maiden program in a new area. Phase 2 will yield further insights into the potential for the Prospect given the zone remains open at depth and along strike. We look forward to seeing how this exciting new area develops, and as a proof of concept for future targeting in the region.”