• Nagambie Resources chooses a golden day in the market to reveal its maiden JORC resource at its namesake project
  • Ausgold has bagged itself a new, company-making executive chairman in John Dorwood
  • Also on the rise today: Ironbark Zinc, Bastion Minerals and Athena Resources

 

Here are some of the biggest resources winners in early trade, Monday May 20.

 

There’s no stopping gold right now, with ongoing geopolitical and macroeconomic-related runny bottoms globally certainly prevailing overarching factors.

The price of gold is well up again today, surging to a yet another all-time high just now above US$2,430.

First up, then, here are two gold stocks taking advantage with some timely news…

 

Nagambie Resources (ASX:NAG)

Gold explorer Nagambie Resources’ share price hasn’t enjoyed the best year to date, but today it rises at least 20% on some welcome news.

The company has announced a maiden JORC resource for the shallow, high-graded gold mineralisation at its namesake gold and antimony mine in central Victoria.

Some specifics. The company’s talking an Inferred Resource here, of 415,000 tonnes averaging 11.5g/t gold equivalent and comprising 3.6g/t gold plus 4.3% antimony.

It also notes that the in-ground metal content of 153,000 ounces gold equivalent, comprises 47,800 ounces gold plus 17,800 tonnes antimony and the average 11.5g/t gold equivalent resource grade is 230% of the mineable cut-off grade of 5.0g/t AuEq.

This, says NAG, indicates a high-margin orebody at the Nagambie mine, where there are four shallow gold-antimony lode systems all open and at depth.

Nagambie chairman Tom Quinn described the maiden JORC Resource for the high-grade discovery as a “watershed moment” for the company, adding that “it comes in the context of recent all-time record-high gold prices and strong prices for antimony, an essential metal for military uses and high-performance solar panel manufacture.

“We are now focused on being able to commence the recommended follow-up drilling program, with our target being to significantly increase the maiden Resource.”
 

NAG share price


 

Ausgold (ASX:AUC)

Here’s another, bigger, goldie faring well today.

As Reubs highlighted earlier in Top 10 at 10, Ausgold has appointed veteran company maker John Dorwood as exec chairman to drive towards first production from the 3Moz Katanning project in WA’s South West.

“Ausgold’s growth potential and dominant ownership in the southwest Yilgarn Craton reminds me of Fronteer Gold, where I was VP-corporate development, which opened up a new frontier with its 2Moz Long Canyon gold project in under-explored eastern Nevada,” he says.

“Fronteer was acquired by Newmont in 2011 for C$2.3 billion after pioneering a region which had been overlooked for many years.”

Dorwood, noted Reubs, was more recently the boss of Toronto-listed Roxgold, which was acquired in 2021 by Fortuna Silver Mines Inc (NYSE: FSM|TSX: FVI) in an all-scrip deal valued at US$884m.


 

Ironbark Zinc (ASX:IBG)

Right then, enough gold for the moment. Let’s talk… zinc.

Ironbark Zinc is the 100% owner of the world class Citronen Zn-Pb project, which, according to Wood Mackenzie ‘energy transition’ analysts is one of the most advanced zinc pure plays in the world and the most “de-risked” large mining project in Greenland.

IBG’s share price is up about 25% today after the company revealed this morning some key dates related to the financing and commencement of production at the project.

The company notes that its licence for the Citronen project have been renewed with the Greenland government, and that plans are in place to essentially extend out financing until the end of the year for the project, with focus on a “much-revised asset investment plan in the second half of 2024″.

Production, meanwhile, is earmarked to kick off by the end of 2026.

IBG MD Michael Jardine noted that “these deadlines essentially comprise the ‘Use it or Lose it’ provisions within the Greenlandic Mining Act and Ironbark has successfully navigated several of these extensions in the past. We are pleased to have done so once again, albeit we are, for now, in a position whereby rolling 12-month negotiations will be necessary”.

Regarding the investment/funding of the project, Jardine also said that the company “will be considering all options, including full or part project divestment, spinning out the asset, further offtake sales, royalty financing and so on, to make sure Citronen is funded and able to progress in what is a more bullish zinc market than has been seen in some time.”
 

IBG share price


 

Bastion Minerals (ASX:BMO)

“Widespread visible uranium” is present at Bastion’s Morrissey project in WA, the company revealed this morning.

Investors liked that news, and BMO is subsequently up a goodly amount (about 25% intraday) at the time of writing.

This early-stage exploration minnow is also on the hunt for copper, gold, and various other green metals, and was in the news last week after providing updates on its hunt for high-grade rare earths and copper over in Sweden.

Regarding the 15.58km2 Morrissey project in the Gascoyne region of WA, however, Bastion notes it’s completed initial mapping and sampling from which its determined the widespread uranium oxide sighting.

The potential is there, says Bastion, for “economic surficial uranium, hosted at shallow depth in calcrete”.

Field work also confirmed extensive pegmatite occurrences throughout the property, with 211 rock chip samples submitted for analysis, to assess the grade and distribution of the uranium and lithium mineralisation.

A number of potential new uranium/REE targets were identified during the reconnaissance.

What next? Assays are due in about four weeks, so any follow-up actions of note will be determined when those come in.
 

BMO share price


 

Athena Resources (ASX:AHN)

Minerals exploration minnow Athena is on the rise after releasing details from its Scoping Study for the company’s Bryo iron ore project and its FE1 resource.

The study is suitably long and very detailed. We’ll give you the quick rundown of the exec summary of the project, based on the study.

The project is deemed to be “economically robust”, with a Mineral Resource of 29.3Mt at 24.7% iron.

A production target of 16.96 Mt at 26.1% iron from the MRE of 29.3Mt grading 24.7% iron has been noted, with a process rate of 2.4 Mtpa at an average grade of 26.1% Fe over an eight-year mine life “with significant potential to extend utilising additional resources”.

Additional notes from the study include:

• Magnetite recoveries are based on extensive testwork of 79.1%, with production of 5.0 Mt of magnetite concentrates grading 70% Fe, 1.8% SiO2, 0.4% Al2O3, 0.002% P and 0.03% S.

• The project expects extremely high grade concentrate with minimal impurities, “eminently suitable for DRI pellet production for supply to the emerging green steel market”.
 

AHN share price

 

 

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