Resources Top 5: It's all junior lithium, gold stocks as ASX investors buy the rumour

Ragusa Minerals expands NT Supergroup lithium project area; drilling to begin ‘shortly’
Has Nelson Resources found the next Tropicana?
Kula Gold (lithium), Enterprise Metals (lithium), Kalgoorlie Gold (gold) up on no news

Here are the biggest small cap resources winners in early trade, Tuesday September 20.

RAGUSA MINERALS (ASX:RAS)

RAS has nabbed another lithium exploration tenement in the NT.

The wider NT ‘Supergroup’ lithium project area is within the Litchfield Pegmatite Belt – host to Core Lithium’s (ASX:CXO) neighbouring Finnis Project, Lithium Plus (ASX:LPM), Charger Metals (ASX:CHR) and others.

Two more tenement applications are currently being processed by the NT Mineral Titles office.

“This is another very positive milestone that puts Ragusa in a strong position to rapidly accelerate the development of our project within a proven high-quality lithium district,” RAS chair Jerko Zuvela says.

“We have a significant opportunity to utilise our exploration and development experience to rapidly progress our NT Lithium Project and realise the massive upside value potential in a Tier 1 jurisdiction close to major infrastructure at a time of record lithium prices.”

RAS started acquiring the early-stage Northern Territory lithium project back in May.

In August, initial desktop review works indicated there was high-grade lithium-gold across the site with rock chip samples returning 5.46% Li20, 2.27g/t gold, and 4.59g/t gold.

Since then, the share price has gained almost 300%.

$40m market cap RAS has completed planning of an initial drilling program, which is set to begin “shortly”, the company says.

KULA GOLD (ASX:KGD)

(Up on no news)

On Monday, KGD announced plans to raise $1.8m to fast-track its WA lithium exploration and “assess new opportunities in the sector”.

Funds raised from the placement will focus on accelerating lithium exploration work at the company’s 100% owned Brunswick project in WA — ~45km from the Greenbushes lithium mine — as well as follow up recently identified Westonia Ni/PGE/Gold prospects adjacent to the Edna May gold mine, also in WA.

“Kula is also assessing new opportunities in the lithium sector that would complement the existing Brunswick lithium project,” it says.

This $7.5m market cap junior explorer is now up 40% since yesterday morning.

NELSON RESOURCES (ASX:NES)

(Up on no news)

Has NES hit the big one?

The junior explorer is looking for the next tier one 7.7Moz ‘Tropicana-like’ gold deposit at the Woodline and Tempest projects in the Fraser Range of WA.

Woodline was previously owned by a Newmont JV which spent $16m delineating several early-stage targets. This exploration stopped back in 2012 when the gold price began to free-fall.

A 10,800m aircore program kicked off at Woodline early August, closely followed by a 3,000m program at Tempest.

This junior gold explorer has been bouncing around on decent volumes since last week.

No news has been forthcoming to explain the movement, and in response to an ASX query a bunch of drilling assays were still at least 4 weeks away from being released.

They have some though, tucked away.

“The first assay batch results were received by the Company’s Exploration Manager [ex-Tropicana JV manager for regional exploration Derek Shaw] on 8 September 2022 whilst he was still in the field,” NES writes September 13.

“At this time there have been no other assays received and the results of the initial batch have not, as yet, been reviewed or interpreted.

“In respect of confidentiality, the Company treats the security and confidentiality of all assays with the utmost importance.

“ The assay security is maintained by the Exploration Manager. Following the initial compilation and interpretation they are then provided to the Board.

“In relation to arrangements the Company has in respect to Confidential information, the Company’s Corporate Governance policy for Directors and Management expressly prohibits the release of price sensitive information and this is strictly enforced.”

ENTERPRISE METALS (ASX:ENT)

(Up on no news)

ENT is a bit of a project generator, meaning it partners with other (usually more cashed up) companies to help pay for exploration across its portfolio of projects – spreading the risk, and the reward.

It currently has earn-in JVs with Sandfire Resources (ASX:SFR) and Constellation Resources (ASX:CR1), as well as a handful wholly owned projects.

One of these is Bullfinch North, where recent soil sampling identified ~7.5km strike of pegmatite (lithium hosting rock).

A more detailed soil sampling program kicked off late August. Assays are pending.

KALGOORLIE GOLD MINING (ASX:KAL)

(Up on no news)

This $11m explorer – a spinout of battery metals play Ardea Resources (ASX:ARL) — has accumulated over 1,000sqkm around Kalgoorlie, the gold capital of Australia.

The company’s primary focus is the ‘Bulong Taurus’ project, just 35km east of the City of Kalgoorlie Boulder.

Historically, Ardea’s focus at Bulong was the high-grade laterite hosted nickel-cobalt. There has been minimal gold exploration in recent decades.

And yet the full 18km strike length of the ‘Goddard Fault’ within KAL’s tenure has historic gold shafts, current alluvial gold workings and historic non-JORC compliant mineral resource estimates at the ‘Central and ‘Great Ophir’ prospects.

Drilling to test for down-dip, high-grade gold mineralisation extensions at the La Mascotte prospect at Bulong will kick off later this month.

A JORC resource estimate will follow, incorporating 13,000m of old drilling. Big bonus, says KAL.

“KalGold is well advanced in defining the detailed 3D geometry of the La Mascotte gold system,” KAL boss Matt Painter says.

“Importantly, the Company’s diligent sourcing of historic drilling and associated data is beginning to pay dividends with modelling indicating that all historic drilling can be incorporated into a new JORC (2012) Resource estimate.

“This potentially saves KalGold millions of dollars in drilling and assay costs.

“Results from the upcoming RC program will be fed into the current modelling and we look forward to updating the market as soon as these results are received.”