Gold wrap: AuStar, Genesis Minerals and Metals Australia deliver the goods

Market analysts say fresh geopolitical tensions and liquidity injections by the US Fed are supportive of even higher gold prices.

“Yellow metal buyers are pumping up following news suggesting an escalation of Sino-American tension,” FXStreet analyst Anil Panchal said in a report.

There are several hotspots of China-US tension around the globe currently.

The Trump administration has ordered the closure of China’s Consulate in Houston, Texas, and military exercises begin this week in the Philippine Sea led by American aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan.

Liquidity injections from the US central bank are also healthy for gold prices.

“What’s driving markets right now is Fed action,” Lisa Shalett, chief investment officer at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management told Reuters.

Genesis Minerals

Several gold companies that updated the market on the progress of their exploration activities were rewarded with share price rises, Thursday.

Genesis Minerals’ (ASX: GMD) shares took off in morning trade, rising 12 per cent to 65 cents, as it kicked off a 25,000m drilling program at its newly acquired Kookynie tenements in WA.

Focusing on the 15km corridor that lies between its Ulysses to Orient Well deposit at its Ulysses gold project, the drilling aims to boost the Ulysses project’s 17 million tonne existing resource at 2.34 grams per tonne of gold for 1.28 million oz.

“This corridor has been shown to be highly mineralised, with current resources of 1.28 million oz over five deposits and some exceptional targets for growth,” managing director Michael Fowler said.

An initial drilling zone will take in a strike of 1.8km containing the Admiral, Clark and Butterfly resources estimated to contain 4.6 million t at 1.7 g/t of gold for 246,000 ounces.

An expanded feasibility study based on a larger standalone Ulysses project fed by an underground mine and open pit ore sources is set to be completed in Q1 2021.

GMD share price chart

AuStar and Metals Australia

AuStar Gold (ASX: AUL) has re-started drilling at its Morning Star mine in Victoria after a pause lasting a few months and is testing new opportunities at its Stones and McNally gold reefs. AUL shares rose 6 per cent to 27 cents.

Two holes have been drilled at the company’s target zones in the Morning Star Adit and existing workings using its two recently acquired diamond drill rigs.

At one time one of Australia’s largest gold mines, producing 800,000 ounces at an average 26.5 g/t, Morning Star mine is 120km east of Melbourne in the historic Walhalla to Woods Point gold field. The mine is again producing.

Metals Australia (ASX:MLS) has pinpointed numerous targets and extensive gold potential at its Eade project in Quebec, Canada following a satellite survey.

The explorer’s share price jumped 100 per cent to 2 cents.

Further field survey work is planned for August at the Eade project which has over 15km of strike length and is located in the gold-bearing Lac Guyer greenstone belt of northern Quebec.

Sample testing for the Eade gold project revealed gold prospects with 7.4 g/t up to 12g/t.