Resources Top 5: These ASX explorers are firing on all cylinders today

Walkabout scores $US25m to build graphite project
African Gold to acquire big, high grade gold project in Côte d’Ivoire
New listing Native Mineral Resources hits copper porphyry in Queensland

Here’s your top ASX small cap resources winners in morning trade Friday, November 27.

A $US25m ($34m) loan will set Walkabout Resources (ASX:WKT) up to build its low cost, high return Lindi Jumbo graphite project in Tanzania.

The initial small scale 40,000 tonne per annum Lindi operation will cost just $US29.7m to build and average $US46.2m in annual earnings, the company says.

There are a few boxes that Walkabout must tick before this loan with the African Export-Import Bank is locked in, but investors loved the news, sending the stock up +30 per cent in early trade.

“We have been working with the Afreximbank team on securing the funding for the Lindi Jumbo project for some time and are very pleased that the application has now received initial approval,” Walkabout exec director Allan Mulligan says.

“Each of the development banks we have been working with recognise the outstanding economics of the Lindi Jumbo graphite project and benefits it will bring to our local community.

“There is already some price tension emerging in the natural flake graphite market and we are working towards the world class Lindi Jumbo mining reserve being able to deliver into that.”

African Gold (ASX:A1G) – which already holds a lot of ground in West Africa — is buying a big, high grade gold project in Côte d’Ivoire.

The Didievi Project straddles a major geological structure in a belt “with all the selection criteria required for multiple large gold deposits”, African Gold says.

Historical exploration delineated one significant gold system at Blaffo Gueto and seven untested advanced gold prospects.

Old drilling at Blaffo Gueto pulled up astonishing hits like 83.3m at 3.3g/t gold from 166.9m, including 18m at 12g/t.

Two certified multi-million ounce miner finders – Simon Bolster and Peter Williams – will also join the African Gold board.

Native Mineral Resources (ASX:NMR) – which only listed on the ASX earlier this month – has hit copper porphyry veins in maiden drilling at the Leane’s prospect in Queensland.

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

Native Minerals managing director Blake Cannavo says the first five holes intersected high grade copper close to surface.

Then a deeper hole hit the porphyry, suggesting the presence of a larger intrusive system underneath the shallow stuff, he says.

“Following these encouraging early results from shallow drilling, our field crew is now ready to commence a diamond drillhole to test mineralisation at depth as the current drillhole has intersected porphyry veins suggesting the presence of a larger intrusive system below the skarn-breccia zone.

“The first tranche of samples has been dispatched for analysis and we look forward to receiving the results in December.”

The stock is currently up ~20 per cent on its listing price of 20c per share.

Up on no news:

RareX (ASX:REE) is hitting high grade rare earths at its Cummins Range project in WA. The explorer is also in a promising joint venture with TSX-listed Kincora Copper in the Lachlan Fold Belt of NSW.

Then there’s sleepy North Macedonian gold explorer Genesis Resources (ASX:GES), which has been stingy with the news flow (or is is ‘news slow’? haha) for quite some time.