Resources Top 5: Rare earths acquisitions and a monster nickel-cobalt project - these Canadian explorers have punters in a frenzy

Mt Monger Mines is up ~100% on volume since acquiring a Canadian rare earths-niobium exploration project called ‘Pomme’ last week.
Aston Minerals recently released large 2.82Mt nickel, and 115,000t cobalt resource at the ‘Edleston’ project in Canada
Kaolin stock Corella will convert newly acquired grain infrastructure ahead of mining at the nearby 24.7Mt ‘Tampu’ project

Here are the biggest small cap resources winners in early trade, Tuesday February 28.

MT MONGER RESOURCES (ASX:MTM)

MTM is up ~100% on volume since acquiring a Canadian rare earths-niobium exploration project called ‘Pomme’ last week.

It’s now cashed up to explore Pomme after raising $3m via placement at 10c per share, a small 4.8% discount to the last closing price on 23 February.

MTM directors will toss in a collective $70,000 as part of the placement, if shareholders approve.

Proceeds will be used in a maiden drill campaign and metallurgical testwork at Pomme, which it bought from TSX listed explorer Geomega Resources for ~$1m in cash and shares.

The company says it has similar geology to Geomega’s advanced 266Mt Montviel carbonatite REE-Nb deposit, just 7km away.

Just two holes were punched into Pomme back in 2012, but they both returned thick mineralised intersections interspersed with high grade chunks, including a highlight 508.3m @ 0.43% TREO, 413ppm Nb2O5 and 1.48% P2O5, from 73.7m depth.

MTM managing director Lachlan Reynolds say he will travel to site from early March “to progress our maiden drilling program”.

The company had previously said fieldwork at Pomme, including diamond drilling, was expected to commence after spring thaw in May 2023.

The $8m capped minnow has rebounded to five-month highs. It had an additional $1.9m in the bank at the end of December.

CORELLA RESOURCES (ASX:CR9)

Kaolin stock CR9 will convert newly acquired grain bin infrastructure ahead of mining at the nearby 24.7Mt ‘Tampu’ project, northeast of Perth.

The 6.12-hectare facility – consisting of ~15,000t storage shed, road loading facility, weighbridge, and site office with accommodation – will be “pivotal” for proposed mining operations, the company says.

It cost the company $255,000 in cash.

Meanwhile, drilling results at the Whitecap and Whitehills discoveries are expected imminently.

The company is also upgrading the existing resource into mineable reserves which, along with additional metallurgical results, will be used to underpin a Pre-Feasibility Study for the project.

The high purity of the Tampu deposit highlights the potential of the resource to qualify as feedstock for the lucrative high purity alumina (HPA) market, CR9 says.

The HPA market includes various technology applications including lithium-ion batteries, LED lights and semiconductors which can attract prices between ~$40,000–$70,000 per tonne.

The $14m capped stock has rebounded to be up 95% year-to-date. It had $2.3m in the bank at the end of December.

ALDORO RESOURCES (ASX:ARN)

(Up on no news)

The WA explorer has a portfolio of battery metals/critical minerals projects covering lithium, nickel and ultra-rare rubidium, which can generate an astonishing $1.4-1.5 million per tonne.

Rubidium — which is hard to process because ignites spontaneously when exposed to air and reacts violently with water – is used in vacuum tubes, photocells and special glasses, and as a propellant in ion engines on spacecraft.

ARN recently released a maiden resource for the ‘Niobe’ lithium-rubidium project of 4.6Mt @ 0.17% Rb2O and 0.07% Li2O, equivalent to 8,060t of Rb2O and 3,080t of Li2O.

Mineralisation remains ‘open’ at shallow depths.

A new drilling program is planned to grow the resource size and upgrade the classification.

It is also pushing ahead with development approvals and a scoping study, the first proper look at the economics of building a mine.

The $20m capped stock is up 10% year-to-date. It had $1.5m in the bank at the end of December.

GREENSTONE RESOURCES (ASX:GSR)

(Up on no news)

GSR is focused on the wholly owned Burbanks gold project and Mt Thirsty JV (50-50) with Conico Resources (ASX:CNJ), both in WA.

It has been a rollercoaster 12 months for the Mt Thirsty JV, which is just 200m from Galileo Mining’s (ASX:GAL) Callisto palladium discovery.

Initial drilling hoping to find extensions to the Callisto mineralisation at Mt Thirsty were disappointing, but new results — including the sixth best cobalt intercept in Australia for 2022 — represent a return to form for the JV.

In its recently quarterly GSR indicated it was looking to consolidate the joint-venture to support a future IPO.

“Outside of Burbanks, the Company firmly believes that base and precious metal assets rarely belong in the same company as it can often lead to confusion in both valuation and long-term strategy,” GSR boss Chris Hansen says.

“In the case of Mt Thirsty this is only further compounded by the fragmented ownership structure of the current 50:50 joint venture.

“As such, over the coming weeks we will be seeking to provide further clarity to our shareholders in relation to both an updated economic evaluation for Mt Thirsty and the potential consolidation of the joint-venture to support a future IPO.”

Meanwhile, GSR is “aggressively” exploring its historic 278,000oz Burbanks gold project, where an ongoing drilling program will hopefully lead to an updated resource.

The $30m capped stock is cashed up following a $3.3m placement.

ASTON MINERALS (ASX:ASO)

Last week, ASO released a monster maiden resource at the Edleston project in Canada of 2.82Mt nickel and 115,000 tonnes of cobalt.

The large, low-grade orebody (0.3% nickel eq) at ‘Boomerang’ is part of a ~6.5km long, 500-150m wide, and over 500m deep target area.

“Like BHP’s Mt Keith mine in WA (0.52% nickel) it is a bulk tonnage disseminated deposit, capable of producing world-scale amounts of nickel for multi decades,” Barry Fitzgerald says.

“Similar-scale projects held by juniors in Canada have been attracting the attention of the big end of town.

“Anglo American recently took up a 10% stake in the Toronto-listed Canada Nickel which owns the Crawford project (3.48Mt contained grading 0.24% nickel), and Japan’s Mitsubishi took a 15% interest in the Turnagain project (4.8Mt grading 0.21% nickel).

“Apart from multi-decades of mine life, their scale of operation means they could potentially produce in the bottom half of the nickel industry cost curve (Turnagain has reported a $US2.81/lb cash cost potential).

“Boomerang is in the same league, with a higher grade too.

“So don’t think ‘low’ grade means low profits. These things can throw off huge amounts of cash when mining and processing treatment rates get up to 40mtpa-plus.”

The project also hosts a 1.5Moz gold resource at an ore grade of 1g/t.

The $130m capped stock is up 45% year-to-date. It had $5.4m in the bank at the end of December.