• Ragusa acquires gold project in Alaska, halloysite-kaolin project in WA
  • Investment company Acorn Capital snaps up substantial 13.79% stake in recently listed Australian Rare Earths
  • Alchemy pulls up thick and shallow gold — at reasonable grades — in drilling near Kalgoorlie

Here are the biggest small cap resources winners in early trade, Monday July 5.

 

RAGUSA MINERALS (ASX:RAS)

This sub-$10m market cap minnow is looking to transform its fortunes with a couple of project acquisitions – gold in Alaska and halloysite-kaolin in WA.

The ‘Monte Cristo’ gold project in Alaska neighbours multi-million ounce projects owned by Nova Minerals (ASX:NVA) (4.7 million ounces) and Gold Mining Inc (4.8 million ounces).

‘Burracoppin’ in WA is next door to Latin Resources’ (ASX:LRS) recently discovered Cloud Nine halloysite kaolin deposit.

The company is currently delineating drill targets at its existing ‘Lonely Mine’ gold project in Zimbabwe, which produced over 1.1 million oz up to 1942 at a grade of 17.5g/t.

 

 

AUSTRALIAN RARE EARTHS (ASX:AR3)

Investment company Acorn Capital snapped up a substantial 13.79% stake in this rare earths explorer, which has rocketed 210% since listing late last week.

Its Koppamurra project in South Australia and Victoria “is Australia’s largest prospective ionic clay hosted rare earth element deposit” and one of only two exchange-listed opportunities globally –  the other belonging to Uganda-based Ionic Rare Earths (ASX:IXR).

IAC deposits – like the ones exploited in southern China — are commonly considered to be some of the cheapest and most readily accessible sources of heavy rare earths.

 

GODOLPHIN RESOURCES (ASX:GRL)

(Up on no news)

The explorer is drilling top grow the polymetallic resource at ‘Lewis Ponds’ in NSW, currently estimated to be 6.2 million tonnes at 2g/t gold, 80g/t silver, 2.7% zinc, 1.6% lead, and 0.2% copper.

Follow-up drilling was due to kick off June targeting the essentially untouched ‘Quarry Lode’ where shallow “precious metal rich intersections” were made in a Godolphin drill program in late 2020.

New managing director Janeta Owens – most recently exploration manager at the neighbouring Northparkes copper gold mine – was appointed late last week.

 

ALCHEMY RESOURCES (ASX:ALY)

~$13m market cap Alchemy has pulled up thick and shallow gold — at reasonable grades — in drilling at the ‘Karonie’ project, near Kalgoorlie in WA.

Highlight results from the 27-hole program include 12m at 1.26g/t from 24m.

“Mineralisation remains open at depth and along strike at all three prospects so its early days of testing what appears to be multiple significant mineralised systems,” chief exec James Wilson says.

“Our understanding of these systems has advanced significantly and will be utilised in planning for our next phases of drilling.”

 

SANTANA MINERALS (ASX:SMI)

(Up on no news)

Chaired by high profile mining personality Norman Seckold, Santana’s main game is the ‘Bendigo-Ophir project in New Zealand.

Recent solid drilling results like 20 metres @ 2.47g/t gold from 80m will help the company build on the existing 252,000oz resource.

“Our drilling objectives for this maiden campaign have been threefold — to define the style of the gold mineralisation by completing diamond core drill holes where only RC holes previously existed, to begin to define the along-strike limits of three of the known areas of gold mineralisation, and to begin to define and follow these shoots down the flat NE plunge of the structures,” exec director Dick Keevers said July 1.

“I am pleased to report we have made excellent progress on all three fronts.”

The ~$11m market cap stock is down 40% year-to-date.

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