Resources Top 5: It's all gold as price smashes through $US1817/oz

Gold gains 1.4% to $US1817/oz
Horizon Gold hits numerous thick, shallow intersections like 77m @ 1.1g/t Au from 64m at ‘Gum Creek’
1VG (gold), MRZ (gold) and TNR (gold, cattle) up on no news

Here are the biggest small cap resources winners in early trade, Monday August 30.

HORIZON GOLD (ASX:HRN)

Horizon’s main game is the ‘Gum Creek’ gold project in WA’s Mid West, which historically produced more than 1 million ounces (Moz) of gold from 37 open pits and three underground mines.

Horizon is drilling several prospects to add ounces to the current resource of 1.36Moz.

Today, it announced drilling at the 204,000oz ‘Howards’ prospect had pulled up numerous thick, shallow intersections like 77m @ 1.1g/t Au from 64m (including 31m @ 1.8g/t Au from 75m).

Gold at Howards remains ‘open’ to the north, south and at depth and is now defined over a continuous 1.3km strike, the company says.

“With broad, shallow zones of potentially open pittable gold mineralisation defined and still open in all directions, the Howards Prospect has the potential to be the core of a future Gum Creek mining hub,” Horizon managing director Leigh Ryan says.

The $41m market cap stock is still down 5% over the past month and 21% year-to-date.

VICTORY GOLDFIELDS (1VG)

(Up on no news)

The WA gold explorer has enjoyed a strong start to listed life, up +70% on its July IPO price of 20c per share.

Victory’s tenement portfolio in the Cue region includes 52 historic gold mines, many of which are more than a century old.

The company has prioritised three drill-ready targets – the Coodardy, Emily Wells and Eaglehawk prospects.

Last week, Phase 1 Diamond Drilling (DD) program for Coodardy was completed.

The drill rig has commenced Phase 1 DD at Emily Wells before it relocates to Eaglehawk to complete the Phase 1 DD program there.

The Phase 1 and Phase 2 DD programs are part of Victory’s strategy to test the continuity and depth extensions of historical drilling results and known mineralisation at these three advanced projects, it says.

Assay results are expected late this quarter/early next quarter.

MONT ROYAL RESOURCES (ASX:MRZ)

(Up on no news)

The gold explorer’s focus is the unexplored ‘Wapatik’ gold-copper project in Quebec, Canada, where a 115sqkm airborne mag survey has just been completed.

Over the last quarter Mont Royal also finalised its property scale ‘till survey’ (soil sampling) program.

“Numerous outcrops have been observed during the till sampling phase; however, the project remains largely underexplored despite a favourable context for shear-related gold mineralisation,” it says.

The next step is a more focused prospecting phase of fieldwork on the most favourable sectors – “a key step in our maiden drill program design”, the company says.

Mont Royal is up 55% over the past month, and 16% year-to-date.

MEDALLION METALS (ASX:MM8)

(Up on no news)

The recently listed explorer is divesting its nickel assets into privately-owned neighbour Australasian Mining — which will take the project to investors under the name NickelSearch – to focus on gold.

The company is targeting over +1moz at the 674,000oz Ravensthorpe gold project as a springboard to development.

Recent notable gold hits include 3.3m @ 10.1 g/t gold, 3.08% copper, and 38.6 g/t silver from 54m at the ‘Kaolin’ deposit.

‘Kaolin’ is the foundation of the current mine plan, contributing 54% of feed ounces to the feasibility study, managing director Paul Bennett says.

“This drilling demonstrates the pit will almost certainly extend to the west and at depth along its entire length,” he says.

“As the structures remain open there is also the potential for underground mining to extend off the base of the pit.

“With plenty of drilling still to come from Kaolin it’s going to provide a big boost to our aim of surpassing 1 million resource ounces.”

$20m market cap Medallion is currently right on its IPO price of 25c per share.

TORIAN RESOURCES (ASX:TNR)

(Up on no news)

The explorer recently purchased the 424,748 acre ‘Tarmoola’ Station, about 25km from Leonora in the goldfields of WA.

Tarmoola Station is 50% covered by mining or exploration leases, including operating and abandoned mines like Torian’s Mt Stirling project, Red 5’s (ASX:RED) KOTH Operation; Round Oak Minerals’ Jaguar project, and the operating Bentley underground mine.

Torian would even score Carhill Contracting, a mining services business which is cash flow positive, and 700 head of cattle in the deal.

Earlier this month Torian started drilling the ‘Diorite East’ and ‘Diorite North’ prospects at Mt Stirling, an area which hosts numerous historical mines and workings like the historic 73 g/t gold Diorite King mine.

Drilling will be completed soon, with results to follow about one month later. Additional assay results from Mt Stirling are due imminently, the company says.

The $30m market cap stock is down ~7% over the past month.