Top Resources Stocks: Cardinal, Wiluna, Thor and King Island are today’s investor favourites

The bidding war for gold project developer Cardinal Resources (ASX:CDV) continues to heat up, with Russian suitor Nordgold now increasing its offer price from 66c to 90c per share.

This is a substantial step up from the most recent 70c per share all-cash offer from major Chinese gold producer (and preferred suitor) Shandong Gold Mining.

It’s an even bigger step up from Nordgold’s initial ~45c offer, first announced in March.

The ultimate prize for these companies is Cardinal’s advanced 5.1-million-ounce Namdini gold project in Ghana.

Cardinal has advised shareholders to ‘take no action’ on the revised bid.

Cardinal Resources (ASX:CDV) share price chart

King Island Scheelite (ASX:KIS) has inked a new offtake agreement for its advanced Dolphin tungsten project in Tasmania.

The 1,500-tonne-a-year, three-year deal with global commodity trader Kalon Resources accounts for about 50 per cent of projected annual production.

Based on current pricing for Ammonium Para Tungstate (APT), King Island would earn ~$23m a year in revenues from the agreement.

The company now has contracts for nearly 70 per cent of Dolphin’s initial annual expected production capacity, which “materially enhances the capacity to attract funding for production”, the company says.

Early stage sampling has returned “outstanding” gold assay results at Thor Mining’s (ASX:THR) Ragged Range project in WA.

The latest stream sediment sampling program was following up on results from late last year.

Stream sediment samples, which capture gold eroded and washed through creek systems, “become encouraging” when values approach 5 parts per billion (ppb), Thor chairman Mick Billing says.

“A cluster of results, in close proximity, significantly higher than this level, including up to 26 times higher, is considered by the directors to be an outstanding outcome,” he says.

“These results upstream of very positive 2019 sample results indicate we are heading towards gold-bearing source rocks.”

Drilling at Wiluna Mining’s (ASX:WMX) namesake mining operation in WA has returned grades up to 880 grams per tonne (g/t) gold.

These results will allow the miner to complete detailed resource estimates as part of its stage-one sulphides expansion project.

“At the Wiluna Mining Centre, from our first holes at Bulletin and Essex, Golden Age through to Calvert and the East Lode, this ongoing program has delivered consistent exceptional high-grade drilling results which shows that Wiluna remains one of the largest undeveloped gold systems in Australia,” exec chair Milan Jerkovic says.

“We do believe the drilling results show we are awaking a sleeping giant.”