Resources Top 5: Is this shell company about to transform its fortunes with a big acquisition?

Shell company Copper Strike has been creeping higher ever since a mystery investor poured in $1.1m earlier this month
Geophysics surveys uncover two areas of “chargeability anomalism” at TechGen Metals’ WA copper project
Ballymore Resources is punching a 400m-long hole into a large copper porphyry target

The biggest small cap resources winners in early trade, Friday April 29.

COPPER STRIKE (ASX:CSE)

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CSE is a small cap explorer looking for new projects.

The right acquisition can transform a shell company’s fortunes. Just look at former minnow TAO Commodities (now Iperionx ASX:IPX), which caught a rocket after buying a big titanium, zircon and rare earths project in the US.

CSE has been creeping higher ever since a mystery investor poured in $1.1m earlier this month, at a small discount to the last closing price.

“Funds raised under the Placement will be used for general working capital purposes including costs associated with the potential acquisition of suitable project(s) including due diligence and any potential re-compliance costs,” the company said.

Then, last week, non-exec director Brendan Jesser bought 1m shares on market for $142,500 at 14.25c per share.

CSE is currently reviewing several different projects in the Materials space.

“We undertook high level due diligence on several of these and this continues today,” it says.

“Our current attention is on the Materials and related sectors, and we anticipate advancing projects during the current quarter.

“The company will keep shareholders informed of progress and will make an appropriate announcement when we are able.”

Besides looking for new projects, CSE holds 9.14 million shares in graphite miner Syrah Resources (ASX:SYR) and some minor investments in two unlisted companies.

The $25m market cap stock is up 35% year-to-date.

INTRA ENERGY (ASX:IEC)

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Another shell looking for fresh opportunities.

IEC is currently transitioning from African focused coal production into an Australian base and precious metals exploration.

The microcap stock has been relatively quiet since late last year, when it picked up some ground in NSW called ‘Talowla’, which has potential “for high-grade copper under shallow cover”.

“An initial field reconnaissance was undertaken by our geologist, Mr Mark Arundell, as the first step toward an exploratory drilling campaign being undertaken in 2022,” it says.

“The Company assessed other opportunities in the [December] quarter, including several licences in Western Australia, but no further agreements were reached during the quarter.”

Negotiations also continued with IEC’s partners in Mozambique over further investment in the ‘Minas du Lurio’ gold project.

“Discussions are continuing, and it is hoped that exploration can commence in 2022 after the monsoon season,” it said.

Which, according to the internet, is about now.

TECHGEN METALS (ASX:TG1)

Geophysics surveys have uncovered two areas of “chargeability anomalism” at TG1 ‘Station Creek’ copper project in WA.

That’s not as boring as it sounds. These surveys map sub-surface changes in electrical conductivity and are useful, early-stage tools for dialling in on mineral deposits.

One area, TA1, is next to recently reported copper and silver rock chip samples grading up to 54.8% copper and 249g/t silver.

The second area, TA2, is at the same location as a 7.32% copper rock chip taken by the company in 2020.

Promising stuff.

“The area of high-grade copper, silver and elevated gold sampled by rock chipping is still open to the NE and SW along a recently identified interpreted off-set splay fault that possibly extends to the high chargeability area (TA1 Prospect),” TG1 managing director Ashley Hood says.

“It is early-stage exploration, however an outstanding result to date and exactly what and where we were hoping to find a high IP chargeability response at our Station Creek project.”

Survey at TA1 has now been halted while the company undertakes three north-south Dipole-Dipole IP (DDIP) traverse lines across the highest chargeability and high-grade rock chip areas at TA1.

“The DDIP traverses will provide 3D data to depth to assist with detailed modelling and drill targeting,” Hood says.

The $6.5m market cap stock is up 10% in 2022. It had $2.6m in the bank at the end of March.

BALLYMORE RESOURCES (ASX:BMR)

BMR hit the bourse late last year with a portfolio of Queensland gold and base metals projects including Dittmer (a historic high-grade goldfield), Ruddygore (a large copper porphyry target) and Ravenswood (a bunch of drill ready targets in a 17moz gold province).

The company is currently punching a 400m-long hole in Ruddygore.

“Drilling to date has encountered broad zones of strongly altered and brecciated granodiorite with extensive quartz-carbonate-pyrite chalcopyrite-sphalerite veining and breccia infill,” BMR said today.

Emphasis ours. Chalcopyrite is the most abundant copper ore mineral, while sphalerite is the most important ore of zinc.

Drilling at Ruddygore will continue into the next quarter with initial drill assay results expected in May, BMR says.

In March, promising initial drilling at ‘Seventy Mile Mount’ at Ravenswood confirmed a “large gold system”, with grades improving at depth.

Highlight hits include 40m at 1.06g/t gold from 47m (including 3m @ 9.38g/t Au).

This may evolve into another gold deposit like the nearby ‘Mount Leyshon (3.8Moz) and Mount Wright (1Moz), BMR says.

The $16m market cap stock is up 41% year-to-date. It had $3.8m in the bank at the end of March.

IMPACT MINERALS (ASX:IPT)

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A $6m raise launched earlier this week could fund at least two years of exploration across the company’s WA projects, which are prospective for nickel, copper, PGMs, lithium and rare earth elements (REE).

The past 18 months has seen a significant change in IPT’s focus towards WA, says chairman Peter Unsworth.

“This has been driven by Impact’s technical team who have rapidly assembled a large and significant portfolio of very prospective early-stage projects in the emerging mineral province of southwest Western Australia following the discovery of the world class Julimar platinum group metal (PGM)-nickel-copper discovery close to Perth (Chalice Mining),” he says.

Most recently, IPT acquired the ‘Dinninup’ project, which has only been explored for bauxite.

The company says several high-priority nickel-copper-PGE, lithium, and rare earths targets have been identified at Dinninup in a first-pass soil testing.

Earlier last week, the company identified spodumene and yttrium-bearing apatite in pegmatite veins at its ‘Kalahari’ prospect, part of the ‘Hopetoun’ project in WA.

It’s the first-time lithium has been found at the project, which covers an interpreted extension of the Ravensthorpe greenstone belt – host to mines such as Allkem’s (ASX:AKE) Mt Cattlin lithium project.

“These new projects are very poorly explored and yet, based on our early assessment and initial results, have significant potential for a major discovery,” Unsworth says.

“The company is very excited about the potential of these projects and accordingly wishes to invite all current shareholders via this rights issue to participate in what we hope will be a very exciting time over the next 12 to 24 months.”

The $37m market cap stock is up 30% year-to-date.