Pic: Via Getty
Resources Top 5: We’re tripping over gold, rare earths and a heap of the purest Colombian thermal coal
Mining
share
- Maiden drilling returns “promising mineralisation” at Avenira’s Jundee South gold project
- Ronin preps for a maiden coal drilling program, is reviewing several acquisitions
- Desert Metals, Titanium Sands, Odessa up on no news
Here are the top small cap resources performers in early trade, Wednesday June 29.
DESERT METALS (ASX:DM1)
(Up on no news)
The junior base metals explorer recently added a rare earths string to its bow at the Innouendy project, where a first pass drilling pulled up some nice REE numbers in the shallow clay layers.
Subsequent metallurgical tests showed these valuable REEs could be recovered quite easily, which is important.
Clay-hosted REEs, which makes up the vast majority of rare earths produced in the world, have been getting more attention following a spate of discoveries.
DM1 has now engaged the services of REE expert Dr John Mair, who has experience taking complex REE projects from discovery through various feasibility studies to development ready status.
A ~20,000m program of Aircore and RC drilling is planned at Innouendy to follow-up the high grade REE’s, as well as recent nickel and platinum-palladium (PGE) results.
The aircore drilling is scheduled to kick off mid-July.
The $11m market cap stock is down 32% year-to-date. It had $1.5m in the bank at the end of March.
AVENIRA (ASX:AEV)
AEV’s main game is phosphate with some gold on the side.
Today, it announced that maiden drilling completed late 2021 at the Jundee South gold project in WA has returned “promising mineralisation”.
Highlights include high grade chunks like 4m at 7.29g/t from 160m.
“This maiden RC program at the Jundee South project allowed Avenira to test beneath existing anomalies,” AEV exec chair Brett Clark says.
“While the assay results have been delayed due to backlogs at the laboratory, it is gratifying to see this promising mineralisation. We will now interpret these results and plan for the next stage of exploration.”
AEV rerated after refocusing on its advanced 550Mt ‘Wonarah’ phosphate project in the NT in November last year.
Wonarah, currently one the largest and highest-grade phosphate projects in Australia, has been in the portfolio since 2007.
It reached advanced feasibility study level in 2013 before it was dumped to the back of the portfolio.
A new scoping study (the first proper look at the economics of building a project) is now investigating the development of Wonarah to produce fertiliser and critical end products for LFP (lithium iron phosphate) batteries.
AEV had about ~$1.7m in the bank following a recent cap raise.
TITANIUM SANDS (ASX:TSL)
(Up on no news)
TSL has a flagship mineral sands project called ‘Mannar’ in economic basket case Sri Lanka.
Earlier this month it started the last part of an ‘infill’ drilling program that is required to increase the 93Mt at 5.24% THM high grade zone resource from ‘Inferred’ to the higher confidence ‘Indicated’ category.
This is required by the ASX so TSL can release a revised Scoping Study, the first proper look at the economics of building a mine.
The $15m market cap stock is down 20% year to date. It had about $2.4m in the bank at the end of March.
In May, an insto placement for an initial $500,000 was done at 4.5c – a ~300% premium to the closing price of the company’s shares on 10 May.
ODESSA MINERALS (ASX:ODE)
(Up on no news)
In April, this diamond explorer branched out into lithium and rare earths, acquiring the 606sqkm ‘Lyndon’ project near Carnarvon in WA.
There is also nickel and copper potential, ODE says, and a uranium project next door.
But diamonds are still the focus for ODE, one of only three diamond companies on the ASX.
In May, the company started detailed planning for a drilling program over the Aries Kimberlite Complex in WA.
“There has been no significant exploration at Aries in nearly 2 decades and the diamond market has changed significantly in recent years making Aries a very attractive development project today,” CEO Alistair Stephens says.
“Aries will now be assessed with the detail needed to determine its true size and its capacity to supply high-value, gem-quality diamonds.
“This kick-off drilling and sampling program will for the first time define the accurate surface outline of the greater kimberlite complex at Aries, diamond grade potential, and gem qualities.
“With the amount of work planned for 2022, we expect an exciting year for Odessa shareholders.”
The $4m market cap minnow is down 25% year-to-date. It had $5.5m in the bank at the end of March.
RONIN RESOURCES (ASX:RON)
The junior explorer’s flagship is ‘Vetas’: a large, high-grade, thermal coal project in Colombia containing a JORC Compliant Exploration Target.
RON is now finalising preparations for a maiden drilling program “designed to validate the presence, continuity and correlation of coal seams and allow the sampling of all seams at depth”.
This process has been hampered by the recent Presidential elections and the election of Colombia’s first leftist President, it says.
Separately (and not because of this, it says), the explorer is looking for new business development opportunities.
“To date, the company has reviewed a number of opportunities and high-level due diligence remains ongoing,” it says.
The $4.3m market cap stock is down 25% on its IPO price of 20c per share. It had $4.48m in the bank at the end of March.
