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Resources Top 5: Big nickel hits and a major rare earths discovery
Mining
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- Krakatoa announce a “major clay hosted rare earth discovery” at its Mt Clere project
- Anax hits high grade sulphides at Whim Creek project
- Small coal producer Ikwezi is now up 150% in 2022, 675% over the past year
Here are the biggest small cap resources winners in early trade, Tuesday April 12.
KRAKATOA RESOURCES (ASX:KTA)
KTA exploded out of a trading halt to announce a “major clay hosted rare earth discovery” at its ‘Mt Clere’ project in WA.
Clay hosted deposits – like the ones exploited in major producer China — are commonly considered to be some of the cheapest and most readily accessible sources of heavy rare earths.
The first batch of drilling assays from Mt Clere’s ‘Tower’ prospect have returned a multitude of thick, shallow hits like 15m at 1,395ppm (parts per million) total rare earth oxides (TREO) from 16m depth.
The company has only covered a 6km area so far, CEO Mark Major says, with the thick and shallow mineralisation remaining ‘open’.
More drilling results are pending.
“These results have now confirmed that widespread clay hosted, ready soluble REE’s exist at significant concentrations within the thick saprolite regolith [blanket of loose rock/dust that sit above bedrock] of the Mt Clere project,” Major says.
“This discovery has come at a great time for the company and our shareholders.
“Demand for these magnetic and critical REEs are expected to increase over the next ten years, as the world embarks on the electric revolution.
“Significantly, we have multiple other high priority targets within the extensive 2,300km2 property.”
A “comprehensive” infill (closer spaced) and extensional (step out) drill program at Tower and other highly prospective areas will now be fast tracked, the company says.
The $30m market cap stock is up 150% year-to-date. It had about $1.3m in the bank at the end of December.
ANAX METALS (ASX:ANX)
Another big hit, this time from nickel-copper project developer ANX.
Diamond drilling intersected ‘massive’ (high grade) copper and zinc sulphide mineralisation over ‘true widths’ up to 15m at the ‘Evelyn’ deposit and massive to semi-massive sulphides at the ‘Salt Creek’ deposit, both part of the ‘Whim Creek’ project in the Pilbara.
Assay results are pending.
“Both Evelyn and Salt Creek are very high-grade deposits,” ANX boss Geoff Laing says.
“Metallurgical test work is due to commence shortly and is expected to confirm visual estimates of compatibility with existing processing design engineering work.”
“It is intended for both high grade deposits to feed directly into the Whim Creek development scenario.”
A scoping study on ‘Whim Creek’ predicted ~11,000tpa copper production (Cueq) over an initial 5-7 years for free cash flow (profits) of ~$291m.
It would cost about $55m to build. A DFS is due to be released soon and, if that goes well, a final investment decision pencilled in for Q3.
ANX already has $US20m in debt funding locked in from global miner Anglo American, subject to the results of the DFS.
The $56m market cap stock is up 75% year-to-date. It had ~$9.3m in the bank following a February placement.
RAGNAR METALS (ASX:RAG)
And yet another enormous hit.
RAG says new drilling results — like 146.3m @ 0.56% Ni, 0.49% Cu & 0.05% Co from 393.5m — shows the potential scale of the ‘Granmuren’ discovery, part of the ‘Tullsta’ nickel project in Sweden.
“The modelling and interpretation to date show this to be an extensive system with the potential to host significant tonnage of Ni-Cu-Co metals,” RAG chairman Steve Formica says.
“The mineralisation within the Granmuren Gabbroic Intrusion starts from the surface and continues down to 400m vertical depth.”
“It is open and increasing in size and grade with depth, similar to Anglo American’s Sakatti Deposit in Finland which Ragnar continues to form its geological modelling around.”
A further 4 diamond drill holes will be planned “targeting the magmatic sulphide accumulations”, RAG says.
The $16m market cap stock is up 35% year-to-date. It had ~$3m in the bank at the end of December.
5EA ADVANCED MATERIALS (ASX:5EA)
(Up on no news)
5EA is the new name and parent company of American Pacific Borates Limited (ASX:ABR).
ABR’s focus was development of the Fort Cady Borate project in the US, which hosts a multi-generational borate resource where boric acid, borate specialty materials, gypsum, and potassium sulphate (SOP) would be produced for the global market.
ABR’s share price took a nosedive last year after studies showed the financial metrics on the three-stage rollout of the Fort Cady borate mine were in fact marginal, with a meaningful EBITDA only delivered on the completion of phase 1C.
5EA has now rebranded as a vertically integrated boron products business.
“Although relatively unknown, boron is a scarce resource and critical input to many traditional and future facing decarbonization applications, including permanent magnets, electric vehicles, wind turbines, and micronutrients,” CEO Henri Tausch says.
“Accelerating worldwide demand and limited supply from international, unstable sources is driving the need for a new, domestic source of boron.”
IKWEZI MINING (ASX:IKW)
(up on no news)
Coal prices are also going mental, and so is this small South African producer. IKW is now up 150% in 2022 and 675% over the past year.
IKW aimed to ramp up its ‘Emoyeni’ wash plant throughput to 90,000t a month in the March quarter. Wash plants improve product value.
Coal production would also be increased to 100,000 tonnes a month through production from both ‘Kliprand’ and ‘Goedehoep’ pits.
IKW had $4.5m in the bank at the end of December.
