Morning Briefing: Negotiations between Barrick and the Government of Mali Appear to be Unsuccessful
Good morning and welcome to the Mining Stock Daily Morning Briefing. I’m Ian Wagner
Its Monday, December 16th.
Gold lost more than $75 in its price in the last two days of trading last week. It closed friday at $2675 per ounce on the front month basis. It did attempt to test the upper limits of its most trading range around $2,760 Thursday morning, but that level continues to be stiff resistance. Silver had a similar trading pattern and despite showing strength earlier in the week, silver actually ended the week down 1.77%, closing friday at $31.03 per ounce. It is expected that the Federal Reserve will deliver another rate cut this week, but to what extent in 2025 is still unknown.
We’ll get to the news from the miners and explorers here in a moment, but first a quick word about today’s sponsor.
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And here’s what you need to know this morning…..
Barrick Gold provides an update on its Mali operations. The company says they had previously agreed on a framework to achieve a global resolution of the disputes with the Government of Mali over the Loulo-Gounkoto complex, it has to date been unsuccessful in arriving at a final resolution despite numerous good-faith attempts to negotiate and a willingness to compromise beyond its legal rights. Barrick says local operating conditions have deteriorated significantly with employees imprisoned without cause and gold shipments blocked. If shipments remain suspended, Barrick will be compelled to suspend operations, further impacting the viability of this critical economic driver for Mali. (NYSE:GOLD) (TSX:ABX) News Release
Meridian Mining published new drill results from the Santa Helena deposit in Brazil. Today’s results include another high-grade lateral extension of the deposit with 58.9m of 3.6 g/t AuEq in the western domain. The recent intersection strengthens the interpretation of a thickened WNW-plunging gold-dominant sector of the sheet, with an interpreted true width of up to 17m. The Santa Helena VMS package to the east can reach widths of up to 28m and the company will undergo further work in the continuing delineation of these extensions, where previously a gap in the continuity of the sheet has been projected. Because of the success in the area, the company’s mineral resource for Santa Helena has been extended to January. (TSX:MNO) (OTCQX:MRRDF) News Release
Brixton Metals published results from drilling its North Target at the Thorn Project in British Columbia. The maiden drill program at North has intercepted a Mo-Cu porphyry system with mineralization starting from surface consisting of Multiple generations of porphyry-style quartz and quartz-anhydrite veins. Results included 638m of .023% Mo and .04% Cu and 409m of .013% Mo and .11% Cu. Further ground-truthing of other anomalies at North is planned for the 2025 field season. (TSX-V: BBB, OTCQB: BBBXF) News Release
Endurance Gold announced assay results rom the deepest drill test to date at the Reliance Gold Project at the Imperial Zone. Drill hole DDH24-106 successfully intersected the down-dip extension of the Imperial Zone and discovered a new deeper mineralized zone an additional 210 metres vertically below Imperial. Assays returned 3.51 g/t Au over 6.7m commencing at a downhole depth of 386.9m. The New Lower Imperial Zone was discovered 210m below Imperial and returned 7.18 g/t Au over 8.3m. This deep Lower Imperial Zone intersection successfully demonstrates that the Royal Shear structure hosts gold mineralization over a vertical distance of 1.1 km and remains open to expansion. (TSXV: EDG) (OTC Pink: ENDGF) News Release
Rio2 published an update on the progress at the Fenix Gold Mine in Chile. Advancements to the project include the commencement of hiring of our Chilean workforce, mobilization of civil construction and plant construction contractors, completion of civil works for the processing plant site and commencement of construction of the heap leach pad and adjoining PLS pond. Rio2 will provide guidance in January 2025 for the construction schedule and associated budget, along with a projection of when the first gold production is expected to be achieved. (TSXV: RIO; OTCQX: RIOFF) News Release
And on late Friday, it was announced that Fireweed Metals had been awarded US$15.8 M (~C$22.5 M) from the U.S. Department of Defense and up to C$12.9 M from the Government of Canada in support of of MacTung Project in Yukon. With this funding, Fireweed’s team will advance its Mactung tungsten project to a final investment decision, while concurrently leading the planning for improvements to regional infrastructure, including road and power, that serve the entire critical mineral district at Macmillan Pass. The award will support an expansive, Fireweed team-led program that includes mine design optimization, geotechnical investigations, and metallurgical test programs, culminating in the development of a new feasibility study. A range of environmental studies will be undertaken, supporting the pursuit of licenses and permits necessary to construct Mactung. (TSXV: FWZ; OTCQX: FWEDF) News Release
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