Base Metals: Odin Metals pushes into Brazil with new zinc acquisition

Zinc explorer Odin Metals (ASX:ODM) had some deal news this morning, announcing it’s signed an option to acquire a 100 per cent in a Brazilian zinc project.

ODM will acquire the Monte Azul project — located in the mining state of Minas Gerais — from Brazilian mining major Vale.

The project is located near rail and highway transport and has drilling access in place.

Odin’s acquisition will give the company access to a historical resource estimate of 7.6 million tonnes (mt) at 6.1 per cent zinc equivalent, including a higher-grade core of 3.6mt at 9 per cent grades.

The company added that the resource estimated hadn’t been carried in accordance with current JORC standards, and further exploration would be required to prove it up.

Investors were mildly optimistic about the deal, sending Odin shares 5 per cent higher to 6.3c in morning trade. However, the stock is still off from 12-month highs of around 20c reached last August.

Odin said that as part of the deal, its board would be strengthened by the addition of two new executive directors — Simon Mottram and Luis Azevedo. The pair previously worked at copper producer Avanco Resources, which was acquired by OZ Minerals (ASX:OZL) for $440m in 2018.

The company said the Monte Azul project contained a “significant 40km magnetic anomaly that remains under-explored”.

The deal forms part of a broader strategic plan to connect the project with the “highly prospective” Alto Alegre zinc prospect — located to the northeast of Monte Azul — which Odin picked up in a separate acquisition.

Mottram said Monte Azul gave Odin access to “an advanced stage base metal project, with strong potential for resource expansion and near-term development”.

To finance the acquisition, lead manager and corporate advisor Discovery Capital Partners said it had received “firm commitments” for a share placement of $4.25m.

In other ASX base metals news today:

Great Boulder Resources (ASX:GBR) also announced an acquisition, signing an option agreement to acquire a 75 per cent interest in the Mt Jewell nickel sulphide project near Kalgoorlie. The Mt Jewell prospect shares a border with the company’s Whiteheads gold project, where earlier this month it outlined a “3.8km-long gold-in-soil anomaly”. Shares were up 14 per cent at 4c.

Venture Minerals (ASX:VMS) announced it had identified a new volcanic massive sulphide (VMS) target in WA, located along strike from the world class Golden Grove VMS mine. Venture said the target hosted a “similar sized geochemical copper anomaly and sits within WA’s premier VMS district”.

And Alta Zinc (ASX:AZI) announced new results from the drilling program at its Pian Bracca project in Northern Italy. The results were from eight new drill holes and five channel samples, and Alta said “every hole analysed to date has intersected significant zinc, lead and silver mineralisation”.