Welcome to our roundup of some of the must-read investment, exploration, and development stories on Theassay.com over the last seven days. To keep up to date with all the latest headlines, subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Financing news
We kick off with Cannon Resources (ASX: CNR), which has entered into a bid implementation agreement (BIA) with Kedalion Nickel Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of critical minerals-focused private equity fund Kinterra Battery Metals Mining Fund, LP.
Pursuant to the BIA, Kinterra will offer to acquire all the ordinary shares in Cannon including those issued upon exercise of options via a unanimously recommended conditional off-market takeover offer of A$0.45 per share, less any dividends or distributions.
“Kinterra’s offer creates an excellent opportunity for Cannon shareholders to realize value for their investment whilst moving the asset to Kinterra who can take Fisher East to the next stages of development.
“Fisher East is at an inflection point and this transaction removes the risks and equity dilution associated with the next phase of intensive project development work,” said Cannon’s chairman, Alex Passmore.
Tudor Gold (TSXV:TUD) subsidiary Goldstorm Metals Corp. has closed a non-brokered private placement, raising gross proceeds of $3,900,000.12. through the issuance of:
Tudor Gold is seeking to spin out its interest in Goldstorm (which holds six contiguous Golden Triangle-area mineral properties, comprising the Mackie East, Mackie West, Fairweather, High North, Delta and Orion and Electrum properties to the current shareholders of Tudor through a plan of arrangement.
Upon completion of the spin-out arrangement, it is intended that the net proceeds from the sale of Non-FT Units will be used for exploration work at the properties, as well as for working capital requirements and other general corporate purposes.
Exploration news
In Nevada, U.S., Cypress Development (TSXV: CYP | OTCQX: CYDVF) has selected Thyssenkrupp Nucera USA, Inc. to provide the design and engineering for the chlor-alkali plant as part of the ongoing Feasibility Study on the company’s Clayton Valley Lithium Project.
The chlor-alkali plant is an essential component which will allow the project to self-generate two key reagents required for processing lithium-bearing claystone through to a Li2CO3 (lithium carbonate) product.
“The company’s selection of Thyssenkrupp Nucera is another important step towards completion of the feasibility study for the project’s production of lithium carbonate. Their experience and proven track record as an electrolysis technology company with worldwide knowledge in the chlor-alkali field will add to our feasibility study” said Bill Willoughby, president and CEO of Cypress Development.
Giga Metals (TSXV:GIGA) has updated its NI 43-101 mineral resource estimate (MRE) for the Turnagain nickel project in British Columbia, Canada.
The new MRE increases is based on an additional 15 drill holes totalling 6,295m drilled in 2021 that were drilled for resource expansion and resource classification upgrade in addition to supplying geotechnical data.
Measured plus Indicated resources at Turnagain have increased by 42% to 1.52Bt, while contained nickel increased by 35% to 7.0B lbs.
“The updated mineral resource estimate for the Turnagain Project represents an important milestone in the path towards developing a large, long-life operation,” CEO, Mark Jarvis, said.
Drilling results
Hot Chili (ASX: HCH) (TSXV: HCH) has obtained further strong results from drilling across the company’s Costa Fuego coastal range copper-gold project in Chile.
Assays from metallurgical testwork diamond drillholes have continued to exceed expectations, with near-surface, high-grade intersections returned at the Productora and Alice porphyry deposits.
This is in addition to two new significant intersections at the Valentina high-grade satellite, which represents a potential front-end, open pit ore source for the combined Costa Fuego coastal copper super-hub.
First-ever drill results from the large-scale Santiago Z porphyry target have returned several wide silver and molybdenum intersections from shallow depths. However, no significant copper-gold intersections were encountered.
The results of this programme are being reviewed and a follow-up programme is being planned. Only 35% of the target area at Santiago Z has been drill tested.
Production news
South America-focused Cerrado Gold (TSXV: CERT | OTCQX: CRDOF) has released production results for the third quarter of 2022 from its Minera Don Nicolas Mine (MDN) in Santa Cruz Province, Argentina.
Mark Brennan, CEO and co-chairman, said, “The past year has been a building year for MDN. While we are pleased with the consistency in the operation to achieve our 2022 production guidance of between 45,000-55,000 gold equivalent ounces – and we continue to expect an increase in grades and expect further improvement as we bring the new pits into the mine plan – the real focus of operations has been to develop a long term strategy for MDN.”
During Q3 2022 Cerrado has reported that operations at its MDN mine continued under normalized operations for the fourth consecutive quarter, demonstrating that significant improvements have been achieved at the site.
Also in the news
Ionic Rare Earths (ASX: IXR) has revealed an independent panel of globally recognized ESG experts from Digbee ESGTM have awarded IonicRE an overall ESG rating of “BB” on both corporate and Makuutu Rare Earth Project in Uganda.
Makuutu is being developed by IonicRE’s 51% owned Ugandan subsidiary, Rwenzori Rare Metals Limited (RRM). This inaugural submission and review by Digby, demonstrates IonicRE’s continued strong commitment to ESG integration, reporting transparency and continuous improvement.
“Our commitment to a transparent ESG strategy, reporting and continuous improvement programme is exemplified by our partnership with Digbee ESGTM,” said Tim Harrison, IonicRE’s managing director.
“Now that the independent team of experts from Digbee ESGTM have identified IonicRE’s baseline credentials we will now incorporate all their recommendations in order to assist in improving our environmental, social and governance programmes, which will remain a key focus in the development of our assets, and in upholding the highest levels of business ethics,” he added.
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