Resources Top 5: Which explorer just hit precious metal paydirt?

Mithril intercepts high grade gold-silver in maiden drilling
Shree Minerals picks up more ground in NSW’s red-hot Lachlan Fold Belt
Barra Resources gets green light to mine the 20,400oz Burbanks North deposit

Here’s your top ASX small cap resources winners in morning trade Tuesday, November 3.

Mithril Resources (ASX:MTH) pulled up a highlight 8.70m at 4.24 g/t gold equivalent (AuEQ) – or 3.07 g/t gold and 93.6 g/t silver — in first drilling at the El Refugio target, part of the Cometa project in Mexico.

There’s evidence of “continuing grades for gold and silver at depth”, the company says, which still has a bunch of other targets to test.

“In November, we are drill testing three other projects in the Copalquin District where historic high-grade production from multi-level workings has been reported,” managing director John Skeet says.

“The Copalquin District is a large epithermal centre for gold and silver, the maiden drill program has provided important additional data and given clear evidence of multiple mineralisation events typical of large systems.

“The Mithril team has only scratched the ‘tip of the iceberg’.”

Nice malaphor.

Diversified explorer Shree Minerals (ASX:SHH) has picked up another gold project called ‘Rock Lodge’ in the NSW’s Lachlan Fold Belt, home to some truly monstrous mines and exciting new discoveries.

Historic drilling shows the “highly mineralised” Rock Lodge shows similarities with “other major mineral deposits within the Canberra to Cooma region of the Lachlan Fold Belt”, the company says.

It follows the July acquisition of the Turondale project, also in the Lachlan Fold.

Shree is now up 160 per cent over the past 12 months.

Barra Resources (ASX:BAR) has government approvals to mine the 20,400oz Burbanks North deposit, part of the ~145,000oz Burbanks gold project in WA.

In April, Barra inked an exploration and mining JV over the Burbanks project with privately owned miner and processor FMR Investments.

As part of the deal, FMR funds drilling and mining costs but the first $8m in profits go into a ‘future fund’ for deep exploration below historic workings.

Any additional profits will be distributed 80/20, with Barra having a minimum 20 per cent ‘free carried’ interest.

A mining proposal for the 20,200oz ‘Main Lode’ is also expected to be approved prior to Christmas, ahead of first mining in early to mid 2021.

Up on no news:

What’s cooking at explorer Raiden Resources (ASX:RDN)? The exploration stock – backed by big time small cap investor Tolga Kumova — is now up ~350 per cent over the past month.

Also up on no news was New Age Exploration (ASX:NAE) which has gold projects in the Pilbara and the South Island of New Zealand, but is also looking “to acquire new opportunities”.