• Helix hits 30m copper interval at Canbelego project
  • Thor (copper) and Talisman (iron ore) fly on analyst reports
  • Carpentaria finalises deal to buy Pure Metal’s 24% share of the Hawsons Iron Project

Here are the biggest small cap resources movers in early trade, Wednesday May 12.

 

HELIX RESOURCES (ASX:HLX) and AERIS RESOURCES (ASX:AIS)

What a great time to make a copper discovery.

Drilling has hit 29.5 metres of copper sulphides at the advanced Canbelego project in NSW, ~80 metres ‘down dip’ from a previously reported 24m interval.

Canbelego is a joint venture with Aeris Resources, which also gained ~28% in early trade.

A new zone was also hit which may represent a second copper lens, or structural ‘repeat’ of the existing 1.5Mt Canbelego resource, Helix says.

Assays aren’t due until June, but just check out the chunk of copper above.

“This is an exciting hit – notably there is more massive copper mineralisation in this drill hole which is very encouraging for a high-grade copper zone when the assays come in,” managing director Mike Rosenstreich says.

“As a bonus, there is the possibility of a second copper position emerging after we intersected chalcopyrite veins much higher in this hole.

“Clearly, these two recent drill holes at Canbelego have extended the copper mineralisation nearly 100 metres below the previous base of the mineralisation envelope, which I am sure will be confirmed by the assays expected in June.”

 

 

THOR MINING (ASX:THR)

(Up on no news)

A research report on this diversified explorer called “Pivoting toward copper” was released last night.

Hallgarten & Company have a price target of 6c on Thor — a 300% gain on its pre-open share price.

“With copper shaking off its long-term blues in the second half of 2020 and soaring from being rangebound below $3 per lb to around $4.30 (before pulling back to around $4), the opportunity has arisen to refocus the company on its copper assets while waiting for tungsten moving to a more profitable range to develop or pondering over solutions for the tungsten assets,” Hallgarten & Company analyst Christopher Ecclestone says.

“In this update we shall look at how copper is pulling ahead of tungsten as the main focus at Thor.”

 

CARPENTARIA RESOURCES (ASX:CAP)

Iron ore, like copper, has entered unprecedented territory.

Carpentaria has finalised a deal to buy Pure Metal’s (PM) 24% share of the Hawsons Iron Project in NSW for 90 million shares.

The shares will be sold by PM by way of off-market transfers to “two or more non-associated third parties”.

The deal should be finalised on or around May 19.

Carpentaria executive chairman Bryan Granzien says the deal will clear the path of obstacles that have held up Carpentaria’s efforts to realise the full value of the world-class project.

“We now expect to be able to do justice to the Hawsons Project and raise the funds necessary to complete the bankable feasibility study then proceed to development of the project,” he says.

 

TALISMAN MINING (ASX:TLM)

(Up on no news)

Capital H’s Josh Baker reckons that the flagship asset of gold-copper explorer Talisman is actually a royalty over the Wonmunna iron ore project, acquired when it sold off the project in 2011.

The project is now owned by Mineral Resources (ASX:MIN), which is currently drilling to grow the resource.

“As such, we think there is a strong likelihood that the scope of the deposit will be expanded and able to support a 10Mtpa scale operation for 5yrs+,” Baker says.

“At the current average price for 58% graded ore for CY21 to date (~USD142/t), this implies a revenue run-rate of ~$9 million p.a. from TLM’s royalty.

“Should MIN be successful in doubling the production run-rate asap, it would imply a revenue run-rate of ~$18 million p.a. on the same assumptions, in stark contrast to [Talisman’s] current $37 million market cap.”