Global Mineral Exploration News to Begin the Week
Welcome to Mining Stock Daily. I’m Trevor Hall. And I’m Paul Harris.
Today is Monday, February 28th.
After trading up to as high as US$1,976 per ounce very early on Thursday, gold fell off a cliff to as low as $1,880 as the possibility of escalation of the Russia/Ukraine tensions seemed to ease. Gold closed out last week at $1,890 but was trading at $1,913 early Sunday evening.
Silver similarly spiked up late last week to as high as $25.70 per ounce but then fell also off a cliff to as low as $23.90 before settling the week at $24.30. It was trading up at $24.47 early Sunday evening. The Mining Stock Journal noted that, for now, the directional trading in the precious metals will be dictated by the realities and perceptions of realities in the Russia/Ukraine conflict.
Interestingly, the mining stocks largely ignored the volatile swings in the metals on Thursday and Friday. On Friday the GDX actually closed higher than its Thursday close and nearly 1% above its closing price on last Wednesday despite the fall in and gold and silver. The Mining Stock Journal commented that the mining stocks continue to be historically cheap relative to the prices of gold and silver and especially relative to all other financial assets.
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… Rio2.
Rio2 is advancing the Fenix Gold Project in Chile, the largest undeveloped gold heap leach project in the Americas. Fenix consists of 5 million ounces in the measured and indicated resource category and 1.4 million ounces in the inferred resource category. With a robust PFS in place, Fenix is set up for fast-tracked construction and production. You can find a list of project and company information on their website, rio2.com.
And here’s what you need to know this morning….
Orca Gold entered into a definitive agreement with Perseus Mining under which Perseus will acquire all of the issued and outstanding common shares of Orca. Holders of Orca Shares that are not already owned by Perseus have been offered 0.56 Perseus shares for every Orca Share held. Based on Perseus's closing price on February 25th, Perseus's offer implies consideration of C$0.896 per Orca Share, representing a premium of 62.9% to the last closing price of Orca Shares. Total consideration to be paid by Perseus is C$215 million including C$17 million in cash paid to acquire its initial 15% equity interest. Orca Gold trades on the TSX V with ORG. Perseus trades on the ASX and the TSX with PRU. News Release
Ivanhoe Mines issued a feasibility study update for its Platreef PGM project in South Africa featuring a steady state production rate of 5.2 million tonnes per year and an accelerated ramp-up through the earlier development of shaft 2 and a new phased development pathway to fast-track Platreef into production by the September quarter of 2024 with annual forecast production of more than 590,000 ounces of palladium, platinum, rhodium and gold, plus more than 40 million pounds of nickel and copper. The project will yield an after-tax net present value of US$1.7 billion at an 8% discount rate and IRR of 18.5% at long-term consensus metal prices, rising to 29.3% at current spot metal prices. Ivanhoe Mines trades on the TSX under IVN and on the OTCQX under IVPAF. News release
Filo Mining said diversified miner BHP will invest C$100 million into the company to advance the Filo del Sol project in San Juan, Argentina. BHP will buy 6.3M shares at a 12% premium of C$15.95 in a private placement to own about 5% of Filo. For Filo, the money represents the next leg of funding to rapidly expand exploration plans. Drilling this year will be a combination of step-out holes to further test the extent of the sulphide mineralized zones, and resource definition holes to provide a better understanding of the deposit geology and grade distribution. Filo is planning to have eight drills active by the end of the month. Filo Mining trades on the TSX under FIL and on the OTCQX under FLMMF. News release
Foran Mining announced a feasibility study on its expanded and re-scoped initial mine plan for its McIlvenna Bay project in Saskatchewan, Canada for a 4,200tpd operation for 18.4 years. The underground mine would produce an average 38.8 million pounds of copper, 63.6Mlb zinc, 20,000oz gold and 486,000 silver or 72.8Mlb copper equivalent over the first 15 years of mine life following an initial capital cost of C$368 million. The project would yield a base case after-tax internal rate of return of 22% at US$3.50/lb copper and US$1.20/lb zinc, increasing to 38% at spot prices with a payback of 2.2 years. McIlvenna Bay has a probable mineral reserve of 25.7 million tonnes grading 2.51% copper equivalent and Foran is targeting a carbon neutral mine with ore to be moved using battery electric vehicles. Foran Mining trades on the TSXV under FOM and on the OTCQX under FMCXF. News release
Torex Gold Resources announced an updated mineral resource estimate for the Media Luna gold project in Guerrero, Mexico, which now hosts a gold equivalent indicated resource of 4.39 million ounces grading 5.38 grams per tonne, a 24% increase in contained metal compared with the April 2021 estimate. 60% of the estimate is attributable to gold, 33% to copper and the remainder silver. With a $19 million exploration budgeted for Media Luna this year, the company expects infill drilling to upgrade additional resources and step-out drilling to expand the overall resource endowment. Some 80 holes from the 2021 program are yet to be included in the resource estimate. Torex Gold Resources trades on the TSX under TXG. News releas
NorthWest Copper announced that drilling at Kwanika in British Columbia, Canada intersected more high-grade copper-gold mineralization with highlights of 280m grading 1.08% copper equivalent including 13.85 metres grading 4.16% copper equivalent in hole 220, and 227.6m grading 0.82% copper equivalent in hole 222. The company said drilling showed the consistency of the high-grade core of Kwanika, within which are zones of much higher grade. Results from step-out drilling at Kwanika and the nearby Stardust deposit are pending. A preliminary economic assessment is planned for 2022. NorthWest Copper trades on the TSXV under NWST and on the OTCQX under NWCCF. News release
Arizona Sonoran Copper announced a positive review of the jurisdictional waters on the company’s recently rezoned LKY, ARCUS and Merrill areas by the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). As a result, all future permitting processes at its Cactus mine development in Arizona, USA will continue to be driven by state and county levels. USACE determined that the mine is not located within the jurisdictional Waters of the United States and therefore does not require a federal permit under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. The company said that this determination, state and county are the only remaining permits needed to re-open the Cactus mine. The company is working on a prefeasibility study. Arizona Sonoran Copper trades on the TSX under ASCU. News release
District Metals reported assay results for the remaining eleven drill holes from the Phase II drill program at the high-grade polymetallic Tomtebo property located in the Bergslagen mining district in south-central Sweden. Some 4,906m were drilled in eleven holes with highlights of 30.05m grading 10.9% zinc equivalent in hole 28 in the Steffenburgs zone. The company said this intersection shows a zonation from intense stringer sulphide veining in the stratigraphic footwall, followed by a thick interval of massive sulphide, which is in turn overlain by relatively weakly mineralized hanging-wall rocks. District Metals trades on the TSXV under DMX. News release
Heliostar Metals shared maiden drilling results from its Cumaro Project in Mexico. Gold mineralization was encountered in 10 of 11 drill holes from the Verde Target, including .89 g/t gold equivalent over 8.1 meters and 1.87 g/t gold equivalent over 1.15 meters. Verde is the first of five prospects which will be drill tested during this campaign. Assays are pending for five remaining drillholes at Verde and six holes at the Dos Amigos and Palmita vein corridors. Heliostar trades on the TSX V with HSTR and on the OTCQX with HSTXF. News Release
Solaris Resources reported assay results from a series of additional holes from mineral resource growth drilling at its Warintza Project in Ecuador. In fact, drilling has returned the highest grades reported to date from the northeast extension, including 100 meters of 1.64% copper equivalent from 50 meter depth, within a broader interval of 852 m of .56% copper equivalent. Other results reported were 906m of .53% copper equivalent, 817 m of .6% copper equivalent, and A full list of drill results will be found on this morning's news release. Solaris Resources trades on the TSX with SLS and on the OTCQB with SLSSF. News Release
That concludes today’s morning briefing.
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