Resources Top 5: Cyprium Metals locks in $35m ahead of copper mine restart

Cyprium Metals secures US$35mn offtake prepayment facility for Nifty Project restart
PolarX shares continue upward trajectory after Northern Star investment earlier this week
Carnaby Resources, Midas Minerals, and Volt Resources up on no news

Here are the biggest small cap resources winners in early trade, Thursday December 22.

CYPRIUM METALS (ASX:CYM)

CYM has signed an exclusive term sheet with Transamine SA for US$35mn in respect of a copper cathode offtake secured prepayment facility.

This is part of the targeted AUD$240mn to $260mn debt funding package to finance the restart of the Nifty Copper Project, which is expected to include senior secured financing and offtake financing.

With technical, legal, commercial, and financial due diligence activities wrapped up, CYM’s focus is now turning to completing the offtake and financing documentation for execution.

CYM says this is being done in conjunction with the prospective secured senior debt providers.

“The restart project economics remain very robust, and we have continued to make further improvements to the Nifty Copper Project during the financing process,” CYM managing director Barry Cahill says.

“We are looking forward to completing our total funding package so that we can commence executing our Nifty Copper Project restart development plans.”

CARNABY RESOURCES (ASX:CNB)

(Up on no news)

CNB rerated heavily in December last year after hitting a 41m long intercept at 4.1% copper — which included a 9m chunk grading 10.3% — at Nil Desperandum, part of the Greater Duchess Copper-Gold project in Queensland.

Earlier this month, CNB revealed further drill results from Greater Duchess, which demonstrated the growing economic potential from shallow, wide and high-grade zones at Mount Hope North to the strong continuity of zones at Mount Hope Central.

A standout result from pXRF readings from diamond drill core included 41m at 1.8% copper and 0.2 g/t gold from 113m.

Numerous drill results remain outstanding and technical works are underway to ensure an interim resource from Mount Hope will be included in the Greater Duchess Project mineral resource to be completed by Q2 2023.

MIDAS MINERALS (ASX:MM1)

(Up on no news)

MM1 was one of the top 50 small cap winners for the month of April, after it entered in an agreement with DiscovEx Resources (ASX:DCX) to acquire the ‘Newington’ project in WA, which is prospective for gold and lithium.

More recently, the company identified lithium pegmatite pathfinder elements during an initial auger geochemical sampling program at the Lake Seabrook project.

Midas plans to undertake further mapping and geochemical sampling to define and prioritise potential drill targets in early 2023.

VOLT RESOURCES (ASX:VRC)

(Up on no news)

VRC is a favourite of Peak Asset’s executive director Niv Dagan.

The company owns the Zavilievsky graphite mine in Ukraine, where operations restarted in August.

It also has an MoU with 24M Technologies, providing a pathway to supply coated spheronised purified graphite to big companies like Volkswagen, Freyr, Kyocera and Fujifilm.

Earlier this month the ~$50m market cap play appointed Prashant S. Chintawar to the role of CEO, beginning in January 2023.

Prashant joined VRC on 1 September 2022, having led the US industrialisation strategy for a top ten global EV and ESS battery producer, as well as previously serving as Director, Global Business Development & Sales for leading global chemical company BASF.

POLARX (ASX:PXX)

(Up on no news)

Shares in PXX are up 100pc for the month.

At the beginning of the week the $23m market cap tiddler gained a massive vote of confidence from Northern Star Resources (ASX:NST) after it made a $1m investment as part of a recent placement.

The major gold producer is now a 10pc shareholder in PXX.

PolarX is on the hunt for giant deposits at Star Canyon, part of the wider Humnboldt Range gold-silver Project in Nevada.

It also owns most of the Alaska Range Project in south-central Alaska.