- Alchemy Resources wins ground near 9.9Mt Manna lithium deposit and 1.7Moz Lake Roe gold project
- Important assay results pending from Magmatic Resources (copper, gold) and Apollo Minerals (zinc, lead)
- Winsome Resources reports “exceptionally high-grade assays” up to 4.89% lithium at the Adina project
Here are the biggest small cap resources winners in early trade, Friday September 30.
ALCHEMY RESOURCES (ASX:ALY)
The explorer was drawn first in a ballot for new ground along strike of Global Lithium Resources’ (ASX: GL1) 9.9Mt Manna lithium deposit and adjacent to Breaker Resources’ (ASX: BRB) 1.7Moz Lake Roe gold project.
It’s no wonder the 24.8sqkm tenement was in demand. ALY beat out “multiple parties”, the company says.
It will be added to ALY’s 1,220sqkm Karonie lithium and gold project, about 120km east of Kalgoorlie.
“The acquisition of this tenement builds on our footprint of highly prospective and strategic tenure which sits in proximity to some of the most prolific lithium and gold projects in Western Australia,” ALY CEO James Wilson says.
“The new lease covers 24.8km2 of greenstone and intrusive units and has seen limited drill testing with modern exploration methods.
“We are delighted to have secured this ground and look forward to starting work as soon as the tenement is granted.”
A maiden lithium-focussed drill program of 3,000-5,000m is set to kick off in October, initially targeting the nearby Hickory prospect.
The $24m market cap stock is up 160% year-to-date. It had ~$2m in the bank at the end of June.
MAGMATIC RESOURCES (ASX:MAG)
(Up on no news)
In August, the porphyry hunter rerated after pulling up 740m of visible copper sulphides in a single hole at the Corvette prospect, part of the Myall project in NSW.
MAG managing director Dr Adam McKinnon says this was an ‘absolutely stunning’ result for the first full hole of the company’s drilling program.
Subsequent assays released in September included 111m at 0.55% Cu, 0.10g/t Au, 1.8g/t Ag and 5ppm Mo from 499m, containing a 21m high grade chunk at 1% Cu, 0.21g/t Au & 3.1g/t Ag.
Results for the remainder of the hole — from 650m to 1,014.7m – are pending. Follow up holes are already in progress.
And given the “exceptional initial results” MAG has approved an additional 5,000m of diamond drilling at the site, taking the current program to 8,000m.
The $30m market cap stock is up ~15% in 2022. It had ~$5m in the bank at the end of June.
APOLLO MINERALS (ASX:AON)
(Up on no news)
The John Welborn-backed explorer is focused on the large scale, near surface Kroussou zinc-lead project in Gabon.
So far, the company had defined 18 prospects along an 80km trend.
This includes the most recent Target Prospect 13 (TP13), where a new style of mineralisation was uncovered late August.
Assay results are pending.
“The new style of mineralisation observed at Target Prospect 13 is a game-changing discovery,” AON managing director Neil Inwood says.
“We interpret these new mineralised zones to represent primary feeder-structures for high grade zinc and lead.
“We expect that the assays, when received, will indicate a step change in the target grade-profile at Kroussou.”
The $27m market cap stock is down 30% year to date. It had ~$4m in the bank at the end of June.
IRIS METALS (ASX:IR1)
(Up on no news)
This once-humble explorer is up ~600% since picking up some early-stage lithium ground in South Dakota in June.
IR1 is now the largest holder of lithium mining claims in South Dakota, it says, after increasing its footprint at the Black Hills project by 290% to ~42,287 acres.
“The company now has a great mix of drill-ready targets and extensive prospective corridors over known lithium bearing LCT pegmatites,” executive technical director and head of exploration Chris Connell said August 18.
“I am currently on site, directing and supervising the staking and exploration activities over an area that is exhibiting regional scale lithium potential.”
In September, IR1 acquired more ground around the Kookynie project in WA, which is prospective for gold and lithium.
It includes the historical Standard Mine site, which produced 1,783 tons at an average grade of 15.27g/t gold.
The $118m market cap stock is up 200% year-to-date, and +870% on its September 2021 IPO price of 20c per share.
It had $4.5m in the bank at the end of June.
WINSOME RESOURCES (ASX:WR1)
WR1 is reporting “exceptionally high-grade assays” up to 4.89% lithium in sampling of a new discovery at the Adina project in Quebec.
10 of the 26 samples collected graded over 2% Li2O. But the proof will be in the drilling, which is set to kick off early next month.
“These exceptional results, of up to 4.89% Li2O, demonstrates the extent of lithium mineralisation at Adina is much larger than previously thought.,” managing director (and lithium veteran) Chris Evans says.
“The results confirm the effectiveness of our current exploration strategy which has defined multiple drilling targets for the upcoming drilling campaign.
“This offers a great opportunity to develop a maiden resource at Adina, while simultaneously advancing [the flagship] Cancet and our other existing projects in the region.”
A maiden resource for Cancet is due in 2023.
The lithium-focussed Metalstech (ASX:WR1) spinoff is down 13% year-to-date. It had $13.5m in the bank at the end of June.