• Riedel comes out of suspension to announce US gold project acquisition
  • TNT Mines teams up with Spectrum Metals’ founders to explore WA project
  • King Island to advance “critical” tungsten project to development decision

Here’s your top ASX small cap resources winners in morning trade Friday, October 23.

Riedel Resources (ASX:RIE) has finally come out of suspension to announce a US gold-silver project acquisition.

The Kingman Project in Arizona was last mined in 1942 and has seen almost no modern exploration, the company says.

“We believe the opportunity is outstanding given there are numerous shallow, extensive and high-grade drill targets available over what is a large consolidated tenement position,” Riedel chairman Grant Mooney says.

“We plan to be drilling key targets early in the new year in areas where high-grade mineralisation has previously been mined and where we see the best opportunity to progress the Kingman Project along an early development path.”

Recently featured in our ‘How to find the next multi-bagger resources stock’ series, the former shell company had been reviewing projects since March 2019.

 

Explorer TNT Mines (ASX:TIN) will acquire private WA gold explorer Warriedar Mining, run by the same team that made Spectrum Metals the most exciting exploration success story of 2019.

Spectrum founders Alex Hewlett, James Croser say the Eureka and Warriedar assets in WA were identified as having the potential to deliver another ‘Spectrum-like’ success story.

“Warriedar Mining stands out as a unique opportunity to acquire two WA gold projects with a history of production and close access to infrastructure, and to join with a management team that has a very successful track record in the exploration and redevelopment of ex-production gold assets in WA,” TNT executive director Brett Mitchell says.

 

King Island Scheelite (ASX:KIS) says a $2.5m placement will advance the high grade Dolphin Tungsten mine redevelopment to the point where financing is locked in and construction can begin.

Tungsten is a super hard metal considered ‘critical’ because China dominates supply.

It cannot be substituted in things like aeronautical and automobile manufacturing, armaments, semiconductors, electronics, lighting, rail, chemicals and high tech.

The KIS placement was oversubscribed by institutional and sophisticated investors.

“Our strategy has positioned us well to move forward with our plans to redevelop King Island’s Dolphin tungsten mine,” KIS exec chairman Johann Jacobs says.

“The capital we raise through this placement will empower us to see the project through to financial close.”

The mine will have an initial eight-year life, a net present value (NPV) and internal rate of return (IRR) of $146m and 47 per cent and will cost just $65m to build.

Both NPV and IRR are metrics used to assess the profitability of a project – the higher the number is above 0, the more profitable it will be.

 

US gold play Hawkstone Mining (ASX:HWK) reckons the Devil’s Canyon project could host gold mineralisation “similar in style” to the nearby 5.9moz Bald Mountain deposit.

The explorer has now identified seven priority drilling targets, with rock chips from target 1 returning results up to 92.2 g/t gold, 59.2 g/t silver, and 1.23 per cent copper.

Hawkstone is currently undertaking due diligence (a comprehensive assessment) with a view to acquire the project.

 

Up on no news:

Coal/renewable energy minnow Pacific American (ASX:PAK) recently dipped a toe into WA gold (like every other explorer on the ASX, it seems), where it is about to kick off exploration.