News

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.”

Dreadnought Resources Limited announced an update on drilling activities at Yin, part of the 100% owned Mangaroon project, located in the Gascoyne Region of Western Australia. Wide-spaced, first-pass, RC drilling is testing the Yin Exploration Target. Drilling to date (40 holes for 5,697m) has confirmed ~3kms of mineralisation along strike of the Yin Resource. Mineralisation has been confirmed by portable XRF (“pXRF”) with assays expected in the June 2023 quarter. These results are expected to grow the Resources which will be upgraded in the June 2023 quarter. A second RC rig and a diamond rig have arrived on site and commenced drilling. The second RC rig will focus on the first pass, wide-spaced drilling of the C1-C7 carbonatites. The diamond rig will provide ongoing support for Resource upgrades, metallurgical test work and geotechnical studies. These systematic drill programs have the potential to rapidly add significant Resources.

Dreadnought’s Managing Director, Dean Tuck, said:

“Identifying ~3kms of mineralised ironstones along strike from the 3km long Yin Resource has certainly got the 2023 drilling program off to a flying start. These results are expected to grow the Resource in the June 2023 quarter. We are excited to have two RC rigs on site and to be re-commencing our unfinished first pass, wide-spaced drilling of the C1-C7 carbonatites. We are now in full swing at Mangaroon.”

Antipa Minerals Limited advised that it intends to significantly expand the planned 2023 exploration activities at its 100%-owned, 877km2 Minyari Dome Project in Western Australia’s Paterson Province. Based on the recently completed analysis of the H2 CY2022 Phase 2 greenfield drilling at Minyari Dome, Antipa is of the view that the two targets immediately north of Minyari plus the GEO-01 soil/air core target, combined with other high-priority regional targets worked up to drill-ready status, warrant a more aggressive exploration focus this year than previously envisaged. This enlarged 2023 exploration programme at Minyari Dome is now set to comprise up to a 12,000-metre drill programme which will focus on new resource growth opportunities with the ability to enhance the project development opportunity. Drilling is expected to commence in May.

To allow the 2023 drilling programme results to be included into the Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS) as well as to ensure the Company has sufficient funding for the expanded exploration activities at Minyari Dome this year, Antipa has elected to pause the current PFS workstreams on the Minyari Dome Project. Progress on these workstreams has affirmed the general technical and economic parameters presented in the Scoping Study completed in August 2022. Antipa expects to recommence the PFS programme in early 2024, incorporating all results from 2023 drilling activities into the PFS programme. 1 The Minyari Dome Project is located within 35km of Newcrest Mining’s Telfer gold-copper-silver mine and mineral processing facility and 54km along strike from Newcrest-Greatland Gold’s Havieron goldcopper development project (Figures 4 and 5).

Antipa’s Managing Director, Roger Mason said

“As we worked through the results from last year’s H2 greenfield drilling in more detail, the scale of the growth opportunity in front of us became increasingly magnified. Put simply, this opportunity demanded increased investment, relative to what we previously planned for 2023 drilling at Minyari Dome. “As a result, we are now set to significantly expand our 2023 drilling plans at Minyari Dome. This approach has the potential to materially change the scope of the Minyari Dome development and so we will pause our PFS programme until these results are received. We are convinced this strategy is the right one, given its potential to add substantial further value to the Minyari Dome Project through the course of this year. We also have the benefit of being able to carry forward almost all PFS work completed to date without significant need for refreshment upon recommencement.”

Black Cat Syndicate Limited provided an update on regional exploration activities and the Cu-Ag-Au potential at the 100% owned Paulsens Gold Operation.

Black Cat’s Managing Director, Gareth Solly, said: “We are excited by the regional exploration potential at Paulsens. The project contains several crustal-scale faults which provide deep plumbing for mineralising fluids. Strong copper and gold anomalism is common and historical mining is not isolated to the main Paulsens operation with examples of workings
present throughout the project area. Paulsens is already one of the highest-grade underground gold deposits in Australia and we have numerous copper, gold and silver targets that have the potential to host additional mineralised bodies.  Our early exploration planning is prioritising targets for drilling later in 2023

 HIGHLIGHTS

• High resolution photogrammetry survey and photo geology interpretation completed over Paulsens with multiple new quartz veins identified for follow-up.
• Reprocessing of historical geophysical data has refined and complemented regional targeting studies.
• Reconnaissance surface rock chip sampling to further define Cu-Ag-Au anomalies and drill targets is ongoing. 
• Integration of data into a comprehensive regional targeting database is also ongoing to inform the new geology model and support regional drilling commencing in mid-2023.

Caprice Resources Ltd announced 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.

Caprice recently completed an 11-hole RC program at Lady Sampson, approximately 40km southeast of Northampton. The drilling tested north-south oriented base metals mineralisation over c.750m of strike. This is the first time drilling has been done in this area.

This program's first drill hole (23NHRC001) has returned excellent near-surface results, with outstanding grades and widths of mineralisation from 39m down hole. In addition, a second zone was intersected from 67m, with the hole finishing in mineralisation.

23NHRC0001 was the southernmost hole in the program and was drilled to 70m deep. The hole location was guided by historical costeans. The presence of two zones is very pleasing, as it indicates the potential for additional lodes to the mineralised system at depth, compared to the costean.

Whilst the remaining holes are expected to be received over the next few weeks, the results from 23NHRC0001 represent an immediate follow-up drill target and planning for an accelerated program is well advanced

• 14m at 7.6% lead, 1.1% zinc and 3.1 g/t silver from 39m;
  • incl. 6m at 11.4% lead, 1.7% zinc and 4.4 g/t silver from 40m; and
• 3m at 4.2% lead, 2.2% zinc and 4.6 g/t silver from 67m to EOH.

Managing Director Andrew Muir commented, “Given this is the first drilling in this area, we see these initial results as exceptional. The high grades and polymetallic nature, in addition to the presence of at least two zones, demonstrate the potential of the Lady Sampson Prospect. Whilst we have only received the first hole to date, we recognise the significance of these results and will look to fast-track follow-up drilling at Lady Sampson.”

Magmatic Resources Limited provided an update on the ongoing exploration program at its 100% owned Myall Project, located approximately 60 kilometres north along strike of the Northparkes Mine (owned by China Molybdenum/Sumitomo).

The world-class Northparkes porphyry copper-gold deposits have a current combined Resource and Reserve base of 607Mt at 0.55% Cu & 0.21g/t Au2 and Magmatic Resources is targeting similar Northparkes-style mineralisation and grades.

The Company has now drilled ten diamond holes totaling nearly 8,000 metres, with multiple +400 metres copper-gold intersections returned during the high impact program. Porphyry deposits provide more than 60% of global copper supply and are typically low grade (0.2 – 1.0% copper and 0.01 – 1.0g/t gold) and large tonnage (from 100 million to several billion metric tonnes). Magmatic’s two porphyry projects, Myall and Wellington North, are located near the two largest porphyry mines in Australia in the Northparkes and Cadia Valley Mines, respectively.

Commenting on the new results from the Corvette Prospect, Magmatic Resources’ Managing Director Dr. Adam McKinnon said: “The latest results from hole 422 are simply outstanding. Having decided to make our biggest step out at Corvette into the untested northern part of the prospect, to intercept the strongest interval of copper-gold mineralisation so far is a great result for the program, and speaks to the massive scale of the system.” “I am particularly pleased that, along with strong copper mineralisation, the last couple of holes have returned multiple zones with significant gold. Recent results from hole 421 have also shown very high grade molybdenum mineralisation is present in the Corvette system, with individual grades up to 1,100ppm.” “We are now starting to define portions of Corvette with copper-gold zones up to 600 metres wide and up to 800 metres deep, already suggesting the potential for a system with huge mineralised volumes at this early stage. Corvette continues to be open or poorly tested in all directions and I am very much looking forward to seeing what upcoming drilling to the north may yield.” “Perhaps the most exciting part of the recent drilling success at Myall is that we have only tested a tiny fraction of the highly prospective 245 square kilometre Myall tenement. We know that in our region porphyry deposits of this type, including the world-class Cadia and Northparkes Mines, tend to occur in clusters of multiple deposits within several square kilometres. Given everything we are seeing at Myall, from the geology and geophysics to the geochemistry and alteration signatures to the large-scale mineralised intersections, I am confident Myall has the potential to develop into a Tier-1 project.”