Barrick Returns to Pakistan
Welcome to Mining Stock Daily. I’m Trevor Hall. And I’m Paul Harris.
Today is Monday, March 21st.
Since hitting $2080 on March 9th, gold has pulled back $159 through Friday, briefly trading below $1900 last Wednesday. On Friday the yellow dog fell $21, settling at $1921, with most of the price decline occurring after the Comex floor closed. This was standard Friday afternoon price control behavior, as the price management team takes advantage of the lowest volume period during the week to manage the gold price. Silver similarly traded as high as $27.50 on March 8th but has since pulled back $2.40 to settle at $25.09 as of Friday. The Mining Stock Journal pointed out that the metals typically are managed lower during a week when the FOMC meets, as it did last week. The good news is that the price pullback has somewhat relieved the technically "overbought" condition of the sector, with the RSI momentum indicator for gold and silver resetting to a neutral reading.
The mining stocks on Friday sold off along with the metals, as GDX fell 1.27%. The Mining Stock Journal noted that the GDX is up 26.5% since the end of January and that a pullback which consolidates that move plus resets the technical indicators will prep the mining stocks for the eventual next move higher. In that regard, the fundamentals that drive the precious metals sector continue to strengthen on a daily basis.
We will get to the news from the miners and explorers in a moment, but first a word about today’s sponsor.
This episode of Mining Stock Daily is brought to you by… Integra Resources.
Integra Resources is advancing the past-producing DeLamar Project in southwestern Idaho. The Company has continued to demonstrate resource growth and conversion through greenfield and brownfield exploration to further de-risk and advance the project towards permitting. Integra Resources trades on the TSX-V under ITR and the NYSE American under ITRG.
And here’s what you need to know this morning….
Barrick Gold announced a deal with the governments of Pakistan and Balochistan for the open pit Reko Diq porphyry copper-gold project to advance. The project was suspended in 2011 due to a dispute over the legality of its licensing process. The reconstituted project will be held 50% by Barrick and 50% by Pakistan, including a 10% free-carried, non-contributing share held by the government of Balochistan, with Barrick as operator. Antofagasta's position will be acquired by the Pakistani state-owned enterprises for US$900 million. The 2019 US$5.8 billion arbitration award to the partners received by the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) in their investment dispute against Pakistan will also be resolved. Reko Diq hosts an estimated 5.9 billion tonnes grading 0.41% copper and 0.22 grams per tonne gold. Barrick previously said Reko Diq would cost $6 billion to build and would produce 400,000-500,000oz/y gold and 400-500 tonnes per year copper for 50-years.
Magna Mining announced it has commissioned a second drill rig to accelerate exploration drilling at previously identified regional targets on the Shakespeare Nickel Project. The second rig was moved to site early this month, and recently began drilling at the Company's Spanish River Mine Option, located 1km south-west of the recent P-4 nickel discovery. Spanish River was previously in production as an underground Cu-Co-Au-Ag operation until 1970, and the current drill program is the first diamond drilling program since the mine closed. The first drill rig of the 2022 drill program started in January and is currently drilling the P-4 Nickel target, which was discovered during the 2021 regional exploration drill program. This drill is planning to complete an initial 2500m of drilling to further test the EM plate associated with the discovery hole, as well as the prospective trend of over 400m of strike length to the east. Magna Mining trades on the TSX V with NICU. News Release
Aris Gold entered into an agreement with Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Company to acquire a 20% operating joint venture interest in the Soto Norte gold project in Santander, for US$100 million with an option to acquire a further 30% interest for $300 million to bring its total participation to 50%. Soto Norte hosts an indicated resource of 8.5 million ounces with another 3.6Moz in inferred and has a feasibility study for the production of more than 450,000oz per year from a 5Moz reserve. Aris Gold operates the Marmato gold mine in Caldas, where a major expansion is under way. Aris also strengthened its financial position by US$100 million by upsizing the existing precious metals stream at Marmato by $65 million and arranging a $35 million convertible debenture. Aris Gold trades on the TSX under ARIS and on the OTCQX under ALLXF. News release
Wolfden Resources provided exploration results from its fall/winter exploration program at its Big Silver Project in Maine, USA. Drilling included 8 holes in some 1,750 metres across serval different target types. Part of the objective of the program was to determine the potential for expansion of the known mineralization to a depth of 400 metres, well beyond the historical work of 125 to 150 metres. Highlights from this program returned 173.3 g/t silver equivalent over 50.1 meters and 217.1 g/t silver equivalent over 42.9 meters. The Company holds the mineral rights to a land package of over 800 acres and has reasonable expenditure commitments to maintain and complete a 100% interest in the Project. Wolfden Resources trade on the TSX Venture with WLF. News Release
Surge Copper is back in the news this morning with results from the final two holes from the 2021 program at the Berg deposit located on the Berg Property in British Columbia. Drill holes 241 and 242 were drilled in the southern portion of the Berg deposit were designed to test the expansion potential of chalcocite blanket style mineralization between widely spaced historic drill holes. The results from these holes were 146 meters grading .52% copper equivalent from 20 meters downhole and 368 meters grading .58% copper equivalent from 28 meters downhole depth and the hole ending in mineralization. The Company has a right to earn a 70% interest in the Berg Property from Centerra Gold. The Company completed 9 drill holes at Berg in 2021. Surge Copper trades on the TSX Venture with SURG ad on the OTCQX with SRGXF. News Release
That concludes today’s morning briefing.
The Mining Stock Daily morning briefing is produced by Clear Creek Digital and Investment Research Dynamic’s Mining Stock Journal. It is distributed throughout the world through your podcast network of choice, and by our friends at the Junior Mining Network.
The information presented should not be considered investment advice. Mining stock daily and its affiliates are not responsible for any loss arising from any investment decision in connection with the material presented herein. Please do your own research or speak with a licensed financial representative before making any investment decisions.