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Resources Top 5: 10 BAGS CONFIRMED — Primo cap raise propels lithium fan favourite Solis into low orbit
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- Iceni Gold reports “spectacular” high grade gold in rock samples at the Everleigh Well target in WA
- Solis Minerals to raise $8.1m at a modest ~7% discount to the to the last traded price, and 57% premium to a 10-day VWAP
- FIN Resources identifies bunch of clay hosted lithium targets at the Gaspe project, Quebec
Here are the biggest small cap resources winners in early trade, Thursday June 8.
ICENI GOLD (ASX:ICL)
ICL has reported “spectacular” high grade gold in rock samples at the Everleigh Well target in WA.
Just check this out:
Peak assays from the outcropping vein were between 14,700g/t and 18,207g/t, it says.
Prospecting activity has also recovered gold nuggets across Everleigh Well.
The nuggets found near the vein are angular and show little or no signs of transport, ICL says, which means the primary source may be close by.
“Assay results from the discovery of the second outcropping quartz vein with visible gold in the Everleigh target area are exciting, as they back up the initial field observations that reported visible gold in outcrop,” ICL technical director David Nixon says.
“The high-grade rock chip results from the vein are supported by the underlying UFF+ soil anomaly, prospectivity indicators (including gold nuggets, workings and anomalous geochemical assays) and the multiple coincident targets generated by existing exploration work.
“The Everleigh Well target area continues to deliver in-situ gold bearing rock chips and significant numbers of various sized gold nuggets, where a number of key targets will be prepared for future exploration drilling.”
Its not the first time ICL has picked up a bagful of nuggety gold.
The $20m capped stock is up 30% year-to-date. It had $2.1m in the bank at the end of March.
SOLIS MINERALS (ASX:SLM) (TSX.V: SLMN)
Lithium’s ‘flavour of the month’ is up ~450% and counting since announcing the purchase of the Jaguar lithium project in Brazil late May.
It has now got firm commitments to raise $8.1m at a modest ~7% discount to the to the last traded price of A$0.59 and 57% premium to a 10-day VWAP of A$0.35.
Big brother and fellow Brazilian lithium play Latin Resources (ASX:LRS) will increase its investment in SLM to 17.79% as part of the placement.
At Jaguar – located in Bahia state — the company says there are rock chips grading up to 4.95% Li2O along a 1km long, 50m wide spodumene-rich pegmatite body.
“The Jaguar pegmatite hosts confirm LCT-bearing pegmatites with some of the coarsest and most abundant spodumene occurrences I have seen,” former Delta Lithium (ASX:DLI) boss and current SLM exec director Matt Boyes says.
“These tenements in what may be a new lithium province are a fantastic addition to our already large tenement position in the northeast of Brazil, and with drilling to commence immediately.”
SLM is up 910% year-to-date.
FIN RESOURCES (ASX:FIN)
FIN has identified a bunch of clay hosted lithium targets at the Gaspe project, part of the recently acquired Mount Tremblant tenement package in Quebec, Canada.
Gaspe covers a promontory (high land that juts out into a sea or large lake) drained by several streams, where government sampling returned extremely elevated stream sediment lithium up to 342ppm (0.0342%) Li2O.
FIN reckons Gaspe looks similar to that of CAD$80m capped Surge Battery Metals (TSX-V:NILI) in Nevada, where the Nevada North project “contains potentially significant lithium clay deposit”.
NILI says it shares similarities to Lithium America’s (NYSE:LAC) Thacker Pass – one of America’s largest lithium clay deposits — and Nevada’s Clayton Valley, home to America’s only current lithium production.
Further compilation of historical data and plans for field work across the Ross, Cancet West and Gaspe projects are now underway, FIN says.
The company has already uncovered early stage targets at Ross and possible outcropping pegmatites at Cancet West, both in James Bay.
FIN was previously focused on a ‘zero carbon’ multi-commodity operation at the 905sqkm Sol Mar project in northern WA but pivoted to lithium earlier this year.
The $9m capped stock is down 15% year-to-date. It had $2.3m in the bank at the end of March.
MACARTHUR MINERALS (ASX:MIO)
(Up on no news)
Another strong move on reasonable vols for the advanced iron ore project developer, which is up 57% since the start of the week on no news.
MIO hit the skids alongside the iron ore price in 2022, and never really recovered, until now.
According to a feasibility study released March last year, the flagship Lake Giles project in WA would produce 3mpta of high-grade concentrate over a 25-year life.
The giant magnetite project will cost ~$800m to build.
MIO is forecasting a post-tax NPV of $US315m and IRR of 13%, based on a long-term China sales price of $US131.40/t for its 66.1% Fe concentrate product.
The company is now dabbling in nickel exploration at Lake Giles, where it has identified 319 historical drill holes with highly anomalous nickel 0.1% or greater.
MIO also owns 21.64% of WA lithium-gold spinout Infinity Mining (ASX:IMI), which this week added to its Pilbara lithium exploration ground.
ADAVALE RESOURCES (ASX:ADD)
Two diamond drill rigs are now spinning at the Kabanga Jirani nickel project in Tanzania to follow up that 4.15m massive nickel sulphide hit announced earlier this week.
ADD says initial assay results are expected late June, early July.
Kabanga Jirani is adjacent to the Tier-1, high grade Kabanga deposit, one of the largest undeveloped nickel sulphide projects in the world.
It contains 58Mt of resources at an average nickel grade of 2.62%, up to an even higher equivalent of 3.14% when copper and cobalt credits are included.
Major miners Glencore and Barrick previously spent hundreds of millions on exploration and predevelopment at Kabanga, which was put in mothballs when nickel prices took a dive.
It is now part owned by BHP (ASX:BHP). Development of a 30-year, 65,000tpa ni eq operation is underway, with first production anticipated in 2025.
