Resources Top 5: Lithium drilling, visible copper and a popular ASX debut

Newly listed explorer WA1 Resources up 30% in early trade
Dual-listed Solis hits visible copper in Chile
Latin Resources to start drilling ‘Salinas’ lithium project within two days

Here are the biggest small cap resources winners in early trade, Tuesday February 8.

WA1 RESOURCES (ASX:WA1)

Today’s ASX listing is moving quickly out of the gate.

The spinout of private project generator Tali Resources has three WA exploration projects — the flagship ‘West Arunta’ plus ‘Madura’ (IOCG) and ‘Hidden Valley’ (nickel, copper, PGEs).

Iron oxide copper gold ore deposits (IOCG) — like BHP’s Olympic Dam mine or more recent Oak Dam discovery — can be huge, and simple-to-process concentrations of copper, gold and other elements like uranium.

Hidden Valley contains a number of potential intrusive bodies considered prospective for mafic-ultramafic intrusion-hosted Ni-Cu-PGE sulphides, à la Chalice Mining’s (ASX:CHN) Julimar.

The leadership team includes non-exec chair Gary Lethridge, who was CFO at the highly successful Jubilee Mines until its $3.1 billion takeover by Xstrata.

ODIN METALS (ASX:ODM)

ODM purchased the 2600sqkm ‘Koonenberry’ project in NSW early last year after its ‘Monte Azul’ project in Brazil turned out to be a fizzer.

The Koonenberry project covers ~150km strike of its “significantly underexplored” namesake copper belt near Broken Hill NSW.

A maiden 12-hole, 960m scout drilling program at the ‘Cymbric Vale’ area targeted significant copper hit in two shallow (~30m) historic exploration holes 600m apart, and a large anomaly to the south known as ‘Big Mother’.

Most holes hit better-than-expected mineralisation, ODM says, including a highlight 6m at 3.2% copper from 37m.

“The drill results support the existence of larger higher grade primary copper mineralisation at Cymbric Vale in comparison to that reported in the two historic holes, with mineralisation remaining open in all directions and at depth,” it says.

Meanwhile, ODM reckons it might have grabbed the tail of an IOCG monster at Big Mother.

“Drilling completed at Big Mother intersected intensive shallow magnetite alteration associated with a mafic gabbro intrusive system,” it says.

“ODM now plans to model the recent HeliTEM data to assess the shallow magnetite alteration system intersected at Big Mother and its potential to host an Iron Oxide Copper-Gold (IOCG) deposit.”

Assay results from initial RC drilling at the nearby Grasmere deposit are also expected soon, ODM says.

Grasmere is more advanced, containing a non-JORC 2012 resource of 5.75 Mt @ 1.03% copper, 0.35% zinc, 0.05g/t gold, and 2.3g/t silver.

The 4km-long semi-continuous mineralised zone at Grasmere is defined by 75 drill holes and is open at depth and along strike, ODM says.

The $12m market cap stock is flat year-to-date. It had $2.1m in the bank at the end of December.

SHREE MINERALS (ASX:SHH)

The iron ore minnow has done a good job reinventing itself as a more diversified explorer.

SHH’s 190% gain in 2022 is mostly due to its ‘Dundas’ lithium project in WA which is interpreted to be along strike from Liontown’s (ASX:LTR) 14.8Mt ‘Anna’ resource, about 25km away.

It also has the advanced ‘Nelson Bay River’ iron project in Tasmania, which is looking attractive at current prices of $150/t.

But the explorer also has a bunch of other ‘irons’ in the fire (haha), including a big chunk of ground in the mineral-rich Lachlan Fold of NSW.

Today it announced a new acquisition in the LFB called ‘Oak Hill’ which is prospective for gold.

Oak Hill is right next door to a 154,000oz resources held by Aureus Mining, the company says, with soil geochemistry indicating the mineralisation could extend into its ground.

A 15-hole, 1000m drilling program is expected to kick off at the nearby ‘Rock Lodge’ project this month.

SOLIS MINERALS (ASX:SLM)

The recently listed explorer has logged “widespread” copper sulphides in the first two holes at the ‘Mostazal’ project in Chile.

Solis’ maiden four-hole, 2000m drill program at Mostazal is targeting both near surface ‘manto-style’ copper mineralisation and a possible porphyry ‘feeder’ at depth.

Porphyries are multigenerational monsters responsible for ~60 per cent of the world’s copper, most of its molybdenum, and significant amounts of gold and silver.

Their easy-mining large volumes make up for the low grades, typically between 0.3 per cent to 1 per cent copper equivalent.

These first drill holes were designed to test the near surface manto-style mineralisation encountered in historic drilling.

Logging has confirmed the presence of disseminated copper sulphide mineralisation throughout the first two holes, CEO Jason Cubitt says.

“Assay sampling of MODD001 is now well underway, with an expected laboratory turnaround time of at least four weeks from the receipt of samples,” he says.

“The drill rig has now moved and commenced drilling at the third planned hole (MODD003).

“This drillhole is targeting the heart of the interpreted IP chargeability geophysical anomaly, which we believe may represent a feeder structure for the extensive manto-style copper mineralisation found closer to surface at Mostazal and drilled in our first two holes.”

SLM, which raised $6m in an IPO, is already listed on the TSX.

It has three large-scale copper exploration projects in Chile and Peru, including the recently acquired Mostazal as well as ‘Ilo Este’ and ‘Ilo Norte’ in Peru’s southern coastal copper belt.

LATIN RESOURCES (ASX:LRS)

Two drill rigs are on the ground and ready to go at LRS’ ‘Salinas’ lithium project in Brazil.

Due to kick off in the next two days, the 14-hole, 2000m program will test two target areas where sampling returned multiple high-grade results including 2.71% Li2O and 1.45% Li2O (anything ~1% Li2O and above is ore grade) “from highly weathered spodumene bearing pegmatites”.

These peggies have been mapped over a strike length of +1.2km within LRS’ tenure, but never drilled.

“We are extremely excited to be finally drilling our Salinas lithium projects,” managing director Chris Gale says.

“The team we have assembled on site will hit the ground running with drilling to start within a few days.

“We are very confident our exploration field work along with this drilling will deliver positive news over the next few months.”

The $51m market cap lithium-kaolin explorer is up 20% in 2022. It had just $643,000 in the bank at the end of December.