The gold sector has seen $40 billion in merger and acquisition activity this year, providing reasons for optimism. Despite the price of gold being unstable since the beginning of the year, it has increased by 7.2% since January.
China registered an increase in its gold reserves for the third consecutive month in February, while the Central Bank of Croatia purchased nearly two tonnes of gold in December, marking the bank’s first gold purchase in 20 years.
There are reasons to be optimistic about these gold miners with gold briefly reaching above US$2,000
Marula Mining Plc (AQSE: MARU), is set to double production at the Blesberg Lithium Mine with the arrival of new equipment. Under standard hire purchase arrangements, the new equipment arriving at the Blesberg mine site during Q2 of 2023 will enable Marula Mining Plc’s mining contractors to increase their capacity to mine the stockpiled material by more than double and also start mining the underlying hard rock resources found in the identified pegmatites.
Xtract Resources plc (AIM: XTR) has released its production update and interview for the fourth quarter of 2022. As per the company’s announcement on 21 July 2022, Mutapa Mining and Processing, LDA (“MMP”) successfully extracted and processed the first gold from ore mined at the Fair Bride concession. During the fourth quarter of 2023, a total of 79.15Kg of gold was produced. Xtract Resources plc is optimistic about a positive 2023 as the Fair Bride operation continues to mature and stabilize.
@ecrminerals Blue Mountain acquisition: #ECR CEO Andrew Haythorpe & @AndrewScottTV
· Shallow gold mineralisation, close to other QLD projects
· Lolworth Nb Ta Li Au next steps
· Creswick drilling
· Hurricane drill-ready targets
· Funding position https://t.co/U4CJ4Pw7tU pic.twitter.com/5KWMZ0ikUF— Share_Talk ™ (@Share_Talk) April 5, 2023
ECR Minerals plc (LON: ECR), a company that focuses on gold exploration and development in Australia, has announced a conditional agreement for the acquisition of the Blue Mountain Project in Queensland, Australia, along with the Denny Gully Gold project, through its subsidiary Lux Exploration Pty Limited (the “Proposed Acquisition”). The total consideration for this acquisition is GBP200,000, which will be settled through the issuance of 31,913,196 ordinary shares at a price of 0.6267p (based on the 30-day VWAP prior to the Agreement’s date), subject to the satisfaction of the condition precedent.
MetalNRG PLC (LSE: MNRG) announced that it had won an unfair dismissal case brought against it by former associate Pierpaolo Rocco, following a ruling by The Sheriff in Scotland. The court denied Rocco’s application in the first instance and also rejected his appeal.
Power Metal Resources’ Share Holder Q&A with CEO, Sean Wade – Part 1
Anglesey Mining PLC (AIM: AYM) provided an update on the planning application process for its Parys Mountain copper-zinc-lead-silver-gold (Cu-Zn-Pb-Ag-Au) project in North Wales. The company’s CEO, Jo Battershill, emphasized the importance of regulatory compliance, environmental responsibility, and social considerations in securing the project’s license to operate. The update came after a Pre-Application Consultation held on-site on 4 April.
Zak spoke to Brian Hall, Executive Chairman, Great Western Mining Corporation PLC (AIM – GWMO, Euronext Growth – 8GW) about the recent company update, mill construction, 2023 work season, and drilling programme.
Brian Hall, Executive Chairman commented: “In-depth work over recent months has made our copper potential look ever more interesting and we are actively seeking a development partner for M2. Once we have completed our studies of the Huntoon Valley and the Eastside Mine copper prospects, we will report on these as well.
Trident Royalties PLC (AIM: TRR) has received approval for the trading of its ordinary shares on the OTCQX Market in the US, with trading set to commence under the ticker symbol TDTRF starting today, 5 April 2023.
As a diversified mining royalty company, Trident expects cross-trading of its ordinary shares on the OTCQX to bring several benefits to investors. These include easier trading access for US-based investors, as well as greater liquidity resulting from a wider pool of potential investors across geographies.
Scotgold Resources Limited’s shares (AIM: SGZ) surged by 18% as it secured the much-needed financial support of US$500,000 and announced a cost-effective ore extraction method at its mine near Loch Lomond.
The funding is an advance on an offtake deal, and the company’s main debt provider has deferred interest payments until the year-end. Despite the positive news, the shares have lost 75% of their value this year and closed at 14.62p, up 2.12p.
Marula Mining (AQSE: MARU), provide an update on recent exploration activities at the Bagamoyo Graphite Project (“Bagamoyo” or the “Project”), in which the Company has a 73% interest, located in the Bagamoyo District in the Pwanai Region of Tanzania.
@JB_MiningAfrica A must-watch for #MARU investors to understand the strength of QGC and the potential impact it will have on @MarulaPlc. Q Global Commodities has expanded its operations by acquiring strategic resources to supplement its current operations while developing new… https://t.co/D7fW2zp5tL pic.twitter.com/TYLSAnVDGi
— Share_Talk ™ (@Share_Talk) April 8, 2023
Geofields Tanzania Limited (“Geofields”) has now completed the Phase 1 Program of exploration activities (announced on 11 January 2023) and the preliminary results have observed two graphite trends at the Mihuga and Saadan South Graphite Prospects within the Project area, which extend over two kilometres and where several outcrops of graphitic schist and graphitic gneiss occur with large flake sizes visibly observed and to be now quantified by accredited laboratory testing in Tanzania.
Kavango Resources PLC (LSE: KAV, OTC: KVGOF) has announced the discovery of additional indications of a potential larger mineralized system at the i10 target of the Ditau project located in southwest Botswana.
The company reported logging two exploration holes from the past in the same vicinity as Kavango’s DITDD004 hole that was drilled a year ago. Both historic holes have shown clear evidence of mineralization, according to Kavango.
Tirupati Graphite PLC (LSE: TGR, OTCQX: TGRHF) has announced the commencement of commercial production of 97% pure flake graphite from its Vatomina project in Madagascar.
Certain markets require high-grade flakes, which are in high demand and can command premium prices. Tirupati has produced its first container of 97% jumbo flakes of greater than 50 mesh size for a German speciality graphite products manufacturer and is planning to increase its high-grade output and sales.
Mila Resources PLC (LSE: MILA) has acknowledged being in talks concerning a joint venture partner for a transaction pertaining to the Kathleen Valley project in Western Australia.
As per a brief statement issued by the post-discovery gold exploration accelerator, the company is in further discussions and negotiations with its partners in the license regarding the transaction. However, no certainty exists that a deal will be finalized. The statement was released after the market’s close on Monday, in response to the company’s share price movement.
Marula Mining (AQSE: MARU), provide an update on its Kinusi Copper Project, located in the Mpwapwa District in the Dodoma Region of central Tanzania, where the Company recently increased its commercial interest in the Project to 75% through an amended agreement with a Tanzanian mining company, Takela Mining Tanzania Limited (“Takela”), as announced on 20 February 2023.
Wishbone Gold PLC (AIM: WSBN, AQSE: WSBN) has disclosed the results of an additional analysis conducted by Expert Geophysics on the Red Setter project situated in Australia.
Expert Geophysics has now stated that subject to geological assumptions that are yet to be tested, the Red Setter structure could potentially be similar to Newcrest’s Telfer deposit, a major gold-copper mine with over 26 million ounces of gold. This interpretation was made after reviewing recent magnetotelluric surveys, and Telfer is located approximately 15 kilometres northeast of Red Setter.
ZaksTradersCafe Interview: Shishir Poddar, Executive Chairman, Tirupati Graphite
Tirupati Graphite PLC (LSE: TGR, OTCQX: TGRHF) has announced the attainment of commercial production of 97% pure flake graphite from its Vatomina project located in Madagascar.
The company highlighted that some specialized markets demand high-quality flakes, which can be sold at premium prices.
Marula Mining (AQSE: MARU), provide an update on its Nyorinyori Graphite Project (“Nyorinyori” or the “Project”), in which the Company has a 75% interest, located in the Simanjiro District, in the Manyara Region of Tanzania.
Marula’s CEO Jason Brewer and representatives of Takela Mining Tanzania Limited (“Takela”) recently completed a technical site visit to Nyorinyori during which high-grade graphite mineralisation and the presence of jumbo graphite flakes were observed on the granted mining licenses.
Premier African Minerals Limited (LSE: PREM) update on the first production at the Zulu Lithium and Tantalum Project (“Zulu”). According to CEO George Roach, two factors have caused delays in production over the past weekend. The first is the need for one final approval from a Zimbabwean authority, who is working closely with Zulu to expedite the approval process.
The second issue is the delayed delivery of an outstanding reagent, which was short-ordered due to an error on the part of the plant supplier. While the reagent is readily available, it is not in Africa, and complications regarding the airfreight of a chemical substance have caused the delay. It should be noted that the delay on this reagent may affect the grade of spodumene concentrate produced, but it does not necessarily halt the production of spodumene.
The company is confident that both issues will be resolved in the coming days and will provide an update to the market thereafter.
Kodal Minerals PLC (AIM: KOD) has completed a total of 41 reverse circulation and 18 diamond drill holes at its Bougouni Lithium Project located in southern Mali. The extensive drilling campaign, which amounted to 6,360 meters (m), was primarily aimed at developing and expanding the Ngoualana prospect, and it has revealed significant potential for expansion at the site.
ECR Minerals plc (LON: ECR), a company primarily focused on gold exploration and development in Australia, has released the final results of the Niobium and Tantalum stream sampling campaign conducted at the Lolworth Range project in North Queensland, Australia.
The company, through its wholly-owned subsidiary, owns 100% of three exploration tenements (EPM27901, EPM27902, and EPM27903), which cover the Lolworth Range situated 120km west of the Charters Towers gold district. The project is being explored by ECR’s Australian subsidiary, Lux Exploration Pty Ltd (“LUX”).
Anglesey Mining PLC (AIM: AYM) has shared an updated resource assessment for its Parys Mountain project located on Anglesey Island.
The company has revised the resource estimates for the White Rock and Engine Zones based on 10 new drill holes completed in 2022 and a comprehensive review of the earlier geological interpretations.
KEFI Gold and Copper PLC (AIM: KEFI, OTC: KFFLF) has disclosed the maiden resource estimate for the Al Godeyer project, which is a component of the Hawiah Complex situated in Saudi Arabia.
The project is held within KEFI’s Saudi Arabian joint venture, Gold and Minerals Company Limited.
Tungsten West PLC (AIM: TUN) is presently engaged in a restructuring effort and is seeking interim funds to commence production at Devon’s Hemerdon mine.
To achieve this objective, the company is planning to raise a minimum of £5 million and up to £6.95 million through the placement of convertible loan notes, as well as an additional £2 million via an open offer of stock.
Great Southern Copper PLC (LSE: GSCU) has published findings from its mapping and sampling efforts at the Victoria prospect, which is one of several prospects being investigated at the Especularita project in Chile.
During the sampling exercise, the company obtained assay grades from rock chips of outcropping vein-breccias, with copper levels of up to 6.9% and gold concentrations of 1.85 grams per tonne.
Tirupati Graphite PLC (LSE: TGR, OTCQX: TGRHF) has announced the successful completion of the acquisition of Suni Resources SA, a subsidiary of ASX-listed Battery Minerals Limited incorporated in Mozambique, on April 1, 2023.
According to Executive Chairman Shishir Poddar, this acquisition is a strategic move that will bolster the company’s existing portfolio by adding two world-class graphite assets situated within one of the largest commercially operating global flake graphite projects.
Here are four noteworthy players to keep an eye on:
Shanta Gold Limited (AIM: SHG, OTC: SAAGF) has attracted interest from three potential buyers, including Chaarat Gold, a UK-listed firm. Shanta Gold’s objective is to boost production in Tanzania at the New Luika Gold Mine and achieve its first gold pour at Singida, ultimately aiming for an annual production of 100,000 ounces.
Caledonia Mining Corporation PLC (AIM: CMCL, NYSE-A: CMCL) recently raised £10.5 million in a successful fundraiser, which will enable it to expedite its work program in Zimbabwe. The company expects to extract up to 97,500 ounces this year from its Blanket and Bilboes operations in the country. Caledonia’s ability to generate solid quarterly dividends suggests it remains a profitable cash generator for investors.
Greatland Gold PLC (AIM: GGP, OTC: GRLGF) is another notable contender, with a 30% stake in the Havieron copper-gold project in Western Australia’s Paterson region. Newcrest owns the remaining share and is developing the deposit, which has the potential for 6.5 million gold equivalent ounces, making it a world-class asset. However, Havieron’s future, and consequently Greatland’s, may be influenced by the outcome of Newcrest’s potential acquisition by Newmont.
Finally, Ariana Resources PLC (AIM: AAU) has demonstrated that good things do come in small packages. The company’s Kiziltepe Mine in Turkey produced a record-high of gold ounces in 2022 (28,421) and revenue (US$58 million), marking the sixth year in a row that output exceeded guidance. While 2023 may not match the previous year’s performance, the recent 26% drop in Ariana Resources’ stock price appears unjustified.
