• Deal struck for heavyweight lithium producer Ganfeng to run pipeline through Pepinnini’s copper gold project
  • Gladiator beefs up gold-uranium-rare earths portfolio in Tanzania
  • Aruma (gold, lithium), Comet (graphite), Revolver (copper) up on no news

Here are the biggest small cap resources winners in early trade, Friday September 24.

 

PEPINNINI MINERALS (ASX:PNN)

What a busy week for the lithium, copper-gold minnow.

In a poorly worded announcement, it appears a deal has been struck for heavyweight lithium producer Ganfeng to run a brine pipeline through PNN’s ‘Santa Ines’ copper gold project in Argentina.

That’s right – this has nothing to do with lithium for PNN.

Santa Ines in the same rocks as BHP’s (ASX:BHP) world-class Escondida copper-gold mine in Chile, 80km away, PNN says.

While the announcement does not mention compensation, the agreement will see PNN and Ganfeng jointly pay for an Induced Polarisation (IP) geophysical survey on 11 kms of the proposed pipeline area within Santa Ines.

For PNN, it will be an exploration tool to find copper-gold targets for drill testing.

It will also give Ganfeng reassurance that the pipeline trace will not require relocation in the event of a mineral discovery.

Earlier this week PNN jumped after announcing that blended brines from its ‘Rincon’ and ‘Incahuasi’ salares in Argentina creates a lithium concentration of 8,500 mg/kg — a level 14 times that of Incahuasi brine and seven times that of Rincon brine.

Nearby lithium producer Orecobre (ASX:ORE) concentrates to 7,000 mg/kg.

The $26m market cap stock is up 83% over the past week.

 

COMET RESOURCES (ASX:CRL)

(Up on no news)

The graphite from Comet’s ‘Springdale’ project in WA is perfect for use in lithium-ion batteries, test work shows.

The graphite is also appropriate for ‘jet milling’ – a product which, like battery anode precursor material, can achieve premium pricing in graphite markets.

Additional test work will be conducted to optimise these “already impressive” initial test results, the company says.

“The results from the specialist test programs in Germany are fantastic,” managing director Matthew O’Kane says.

“They confirm graphite material from Springdale has met key battery anode grade benchmarks as well successfully producing high value jet milled product.”

The $20m market cap stock is up 50% year-to-date.

 

GLADIATOR RESOURCES (ASX:GLA)

GLA is beefing up its gold-uranium-rare earths portfolio in Tanzania, with seven exploration licenses totalling 1,764sqkm now granted.

Many of the tenements are well known and have been the subject of substantial exploration expenditure by past owners, GLA says.

The Tenements were previously owned by Uranium One, Uranex, Mantra Resources, Western Metals and Uranium Resources “and substantial data is believed to exist in respect to most of the tenements based on historical work completed by previous owners”.

$20m market cap GLA is up 370% year-to-date.

 

REVOLVER RESOURCES (ASX:RRR)

(Up on no news)

This fresh-faced copper play is now up 60% since listing yesterday.

The focus is two advanced copper projects in Queensland – Dianne, which is a near-term production prospect near Cairns; and Osprey, which consists of six exploration permits north of Mt Isa.

Historically, Dianne produced 63,578 tonnes of copper at an eyewatering average ore grade of 22.7% copper.

The cashed-up company – which raised ~$12m in its IPO — aims to kick off drilling at Dianne in preparation for a maiden JORC resource.

 

ARUMA RESOURCES (ASX:AAJ)

(Up on no news)

Punters are uncovering a bunch of explorers hiding lithium exposure in the recesses of their respective portfolios, like Aruma Resources (ASX:AAJ).

Aruma’s main game is gold, but it also has the early stage ‘Mt Deans’ lithium project near Norseman in WA where a 12-hole drilling program is due to kick off this month/ early next.

The company will follow that with a 3,000m drilling program at the ‘Salmon Gums’ gold project in October.

 

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