• 50m capped stock Toro Energy is leading a pack of ASX uranium stocks up in early trade today
  • Alma Metals hits monster 441.5m intersection at 0.21% copper from just 8m depth
  • A successful legal claim in Ghana will see $8m capped Viking Mines receive ~$4m from purchasers of Akoase gold project

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

 

TORO ENERGY (ASX:TOE) (and all the other uranium stocks)

(Up on no news)

If you believe the hype, uranium’s renaissance is imminent.

$50m capped stock TOE is leading a pack of ASX uranium stocks which are up in early trade today.

The company’s 62mlb Wiluna project is one of WA’s only advanced uranium projects with environmental approval from the state and federal governments. It also has 68.3Mmlb of vanadium inside the uranium resource which could be processed at low marginal cost, the company said last year.

A scoping study (the first proper look at the economics of building a mine) on the Lake Maitland deposit at Wiluna returned a solid $610m NPV, capex of $270m, and all in sustaining costs of US$28.02/lb.

Spot pricing is currently ~US$50/lb.

In December, TOE raised $5m to be spent on a scoping study extension, further evaluation of the vanadium resource at Lake Maitland, and planning for a pilot program as part of the Lake Maitland pre-feasibility study.


 

ALMA METALS (ASX:ALM)

In August 2021, ALM inked a deal with Canterbury Resources (ASX:CBY) to earn up to 70% of the Briggs porphyry copper deposit in Queensland by spending up to $15.25m on exploration over nine years.

New drilling outside the current resource at Northern Porphyry has pulled up a monster 441.5m intersection at 0.21% copper, starting from just 8m depth.

Higher grade zones (>0.3% copper) are also evident over numerous +10m intervals.

The results confirm the mineralised porphyry system is substantially larger than previously interpreted and remains open in all directions, ALM says.

Drilling is ongoing with the second hole (22BRD0014) into the Northern Porphyry target nearing completion.

This one also looks good, the company says.

On completion of hole 22BRD0014, the drill rig will move to Briggs Central to complete further drilling aimed at increasing the size of the current Inferred Mineral Resource (143Mt at 0.29% Cu).

When it comes to porphyry deposits, size counts.

These multigenerational monsters are 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 0.2% to 1% copper equivalent.

$12m capped ALM is up 30% year-to-date.

READ: Explainer — Why are so many explorers chasing a porphyry payday?


 

VIKING MINES (ASX:VKA)

A successful legal claim in Ghana will see $8m capped VKA receive ~$4m from the purchasers of the Akoase gold project, who are liable to pay VKA the full royalty on 50,000oz of gold.

It has been a long process to get to this point, but the company has remained steadfast in the knowledge that the defendants were mining at the Akoase project and royalties were due, says VKA boss Julian Woodcock.

“The amount owed exceeds A$4M at the current USD exchange rate and, when received, will further bolster our strong cash position of A$3.83M at the end of the December quarter,” he says.

“We will be using the funds to rapidly advance the Canegrass battery minerals project which has exceptional potential to deliver significant returns for Viking’s shareholders.”

In late November, VKA inked a farm-in deal over the Canegrass vanadium project in WA, which has an existing resource of 79Mt at 0.64% V2O5.

The resource is based on just 1.9km of an 8km-long mineralised trend, the company says.

Old drilling outside the resource completed +30 years ago hit some juicy numbers, including 20m at 1.01% V2O5, 291ppm Ni, 801ppm Cu & 102ppm Co.


 

VARISCAN MINES (ASX:VAR)

The outlook for zinc – used in galvanising steel, wind turbines, solar panels, and batteries – is strong.

Tiddler VAR is now hitting thick, high-grade zinc in drilling, 1.2km from its historical San Jose mine in Spain.

Initial core logging indicates two diamond drillholes have hit more than 20m of continuous zinc mineralisation “that appears to be a continuation of the same mineral system”, VAR says.

The all-important assay results are pending and should be released shortly.

“These major intersections indicate wider zones of mineralisation and will be prioritised in future follow-up surface drilling,” boss Stewart Dickson says.

“Further underground drilling at the San Jose mine is anticipated to commence shortly as we proceed with mineral resource definition and a Mine Re-Start Concept Study to identify the potential economics and workstreams to support a restart of mining at the San Jose mine.”

Meanwhile, is hitting thick, high grade zinc and lead in drilling at the nearby Buenahora exploration licence, with highlights including 16.05m @ 5.84% Zn + 1.21% Pb.

The drill campaign over the Buenahora exploration licence was the first significant exploration drilling there for at least three decades, Dickson says.

“The underground drilling and channel sampling program confirmed consistently high-grade zinc-dominant mineralisation in the SW part of the Buenahora exploration licence, and its considerable vertical extent, exceeding 20m in places,” he says.

“Surface diamond drilling conducted on untested areas of the licence area targeting new regional prospects intersected mineralisation in most holes.

“This campaign has confirmed the prospectivity and the complexity of the Buenahora exploration licence, further demonstrating the value embodied in the wider Novales-Udias project.”

VAR has pencilled in a resource estimate for April-May this year, ahead of the San Jose mine restart concept study.

The $6m capped stock is up 25% year-to-date. It had $1.3m in the bank at the end of September.


 

EUROPEAN METALS (ASX:EMH)

EMH’s 49% owned Cinovic lithium-tin project in the Czech Republic is now classified as ‘strategic’ by the European Commission, prioritising the near-term development for hefty EU grants.

The total amount allocated by the huge Just Transition Fund (JTF) for the Usti region where Cinovic is located is CZK 15.8B (~€632m).

The max amount that could applied to Cinovic is ~€49m (A$75m), the company says.

“The proposed grants from the Just Transition Fund could play an important part in accelerating the development of the Cinovec project,” executive chairman Keith Coughlan says.

“For example, the initial entry into the deposit via twin declines and ancillary road network at the proposed Dukla site are likely to be early-stage beneficiaries of this funding.

“This could reduce the time until first ore is produced by the Cinovec project post final investment decision.

“As the funding is in the form of a non-repayable grant this could also have the additional benefit of not diluting the existing shareholders of the company.”

At 7.39Mt LCE, the Cinovec resource is bigger than all the other hard rock projects in the EU combined, EMH says.

The integrated mine and processing operation would produce 29,386tpa lithium hydroxide over an initial 25 years at operating costs of $US5,567/t, according to a recent pre-feasibility study (PFS) update.

This would give it an $1.9bn NPV based on a lithium hydroxide price of just $US17,000/t. It would cost $US644m to build.

The $130m capped stock had a shocker in 2022 but is staging a nascent rebound, up 25% year-to-date.


 
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