• Elevate Uranium now trading on OTCQX – the top tier of OTC Markets in the US
  • Cannon Resources increases nickel resources at ‘Musket’ prospect by 44%
  • Hammer Metals calls Ajax target “exceptional” after 11m at 5% copper and 2.5g/t gold hit
  • Cobalt Blue is up almost 60% since the start of March, Shree pushes to restart iron ore production as prices surge

Here are the biggest small cap resources winners in early trade, Wednesday March 9.

 

SHREE MINERALS (ASX:SHH)

(Up on no news)

Iron ore prices are surging once again. SHH’s most advanced project is the small ‘Nelson Bay’ iron ore asset in Tassie, which has been under care and maintenance since 2014.

The company is currently pursuing re-permitting to restart production.

In October, SHH also identified lithium potential at the ‘Dundas’ project which is interpreted to be along strike from Liontown’s (ASX:LTR) 14.8Mt ‘Anna’ resource, about 25km away.

Drilling is planned, initially around and along strike of historical drillholes with recorded pegmatite intervals, following completion of statutory surveys.

It also has ground in the mineral-rich Lachlan Fold of NSW, including a new gold acquisition called “Oak Hill’. Oak Hill is right next door to a 154,000oz resources held by Aureus Mining, the company says, with soil geochemistry indicating the mineralisation could extend into its ground.

A 15-hole, 1000m drilling program kicked off at the nearby ‘Rock Lodge’ project earlier this month.

The busy $16m market cap explorer is up 80% year-to-date. It had $3.9m in the bank at the end of December.

 

COBALT BLUE (ASX:COB)

(Up on no news)

COB is up almost 60% since announcing that its Broken Hill cobalt project (BHCP) — the only large scale, non-African, greenfield primary cobalt project in the world — had snagged Major Project Status from the Federal Government earlier this month.

CEO Joe Kaderavek says Major Project Status will “greatly assist” COB raise the ~$560m in development costs by recognising the strategic importance given to this project by the Australian Government.

From a practical POV this designation provides COB with a single ‘entry point’ for Australian Government approvals, project support and coordination with State approvals.

The 81,000t BHCP could be in production by mid to late 2025

It would produce +3,500tpa cobalt metal eq over 20 years at a very low all-in sustaining cost of $US12/lb – making it profitable even at record low prices.

The cobalt price recently hit $US34/lb and continues to rise.

In 2022, COB is planning to operate its demonstration plant — a smaller version of the real thing — and deliver large scale samples to potential offtake partners.

Project approvals and a BFS will be finalised by the end of the year, ready for a final investment decision on the project by Q1 2023.

 

CANNON RESOURCES (ASX:CNR)

The recently listed Rox Resources (ASX:RXL) spinout has already boosted nickel resources at the ‘Musket’ prospect by 44% to 45,500t.

The overall ‘Fisher East’ project resource in WA is now 91,800t nickel (at a higher grade) in three deposits.

There’s room to grow this further, the company says, with Musket alone open in multiple directions. ‘Open’ just means CNR hasn’t found the edges of the deposit.

In addition, a PGE resampling program has allowed CNR to estimate a PGE resource at Musket for the first time — 2.4 Mt @ 0.5g/t (Pt+Pd) for 38,580oz.

Musket is now delivering on the potential the company expected, CEO Steve Lynn says.

“The 44% jump in Mineral Resource to 45.5 Kt of contained nickel is an exciting development.

“In addition, we have estimated the combined PGE grade at 0.5g/t Pt + Pd. The PGE number is dominated by palladium, which is a fantastic and welcome outcome as well.”

Palladium prices recently hit record highs after Russia, a significant global producer, was hit by global sanctions.

The current extent of drilling at Musket is ~600 metres vertically, which means there is ample scope to substantially grow the resource beyond the current limits, Lynn says.

“This is exactly what we plan to do with aggressive and focused diamond and RC drilling campaigns of over 9,000 metres,” he says.

“These are designed to infill Musket resource growth targets and other key prospects and scheduled to begin in March 2022.”

The $36m market cap stock is up 140% since listing in August last year. It had a substantial cash pile of $6.1m at the end of December.

 

HAMMER METALS (ASX:HMX)

HMX confirms a high-grade copper-gold intercept at the ‘Ajax’ prospect, part of the ‘Mt Isa’ project in QLD.

The highlight hit was 11m at 5% copper and 2.5g/t gold from 24m ~350m from a giant 500m long, 500m deep conductor. This prompted MD Daniel Thomas to call Ajax “one of the more exceptional exploration targets that I have observed”.

A giant call, seeing as Thomas was formerly business development manager at celebrated mine finder Sandfire Resources (ASX:SFR).

“Copper grades above 5% are rare, especially with the potential relationship of this intercept to a nearby sizeable geophysical target,” he says.

“Given the absence of graphite in the immediate area, the conductor may represent a prospective sulphide horizon.

“Another high-quality target has now been added to our drilling sequence and is a testament to the high-quality work being delivered by the Hammer team.”

Drilling of follow-up holes at Ajax is planned for mid-March, with a hole designed to test the EM conductor likely in early April.

HMX, which has one of the best exploration teams in the business, has a two-pronged focus at Mt Isa: increase its inventory of >400,000 tonnes of copper through near mine exploration, as well as hunting for large scale Iron Oxide Copper Gold (IOCG) deposits.

Ajax could represent a new discovery and is one of 12 targets in HMX’s current drilling program.

The $75m market cap stock is up 58% in 2022. It had just over $8m in the bank at the end of December.

 

ELEVATE URANIUM (ASX:EL8)

The yellowcake stock formerly known as Marenica Energy has been ‘elevated’ to trading on OTCQX – the top tier of OTC Markets in the US.

Over 11,000 US and global securities trade on the OTCQX, operated by OTC Market Group in New York.

It significantly expands the pool of investors able to invest in EL8, whose primary listing remains on the ASX.

EL8 is currently the largest uranium exploration tenement holder in Namibia, a world-class uranium province with an established mining industry.

It has an existing 61 Mlb U3O8 resource at ‘Marenica’ project. In December quarter, a resource drilling program at the nearby ‘Koppies’ project defined a +6.4km long uranium-rich paleochannel. A maiden resource is expected soon.

The company is well funded to accelerate exploration across its portfolio with $16.4m in the bank at the end of December.

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