SP Angel Morning View -Today’s Market View, Monday 17th March 2025

Gold prices poised to break through $3,000/oz again as focus remains on US growth slowdown

MiFID II exempt information – see disclaimer below

First Quantum (FM CN) – First Quantum to suspend arbitration against Panama state

Great Southern Copper (GSCU LN) – Mostaza drilling results, Chile

Guardian Metal Resources (GMET LN) – Positive preliminary engineering appraisal of historic tungsten mine in Nevada

Power Metals Resources* (POW LN) – (Power Metals* holds a 19.5% stake in Guardian Metal Resources)

Kavango Resources* (KAV LN) – Additional mineralisation identified beneath historic workings at Prospect 1 in Zimbabwe

Landore Resources (LND LN) – Drilling underway at the BAM gold project, Ontario

Oriole Resources* (ORR LN) – Phase 5 drilling programme completed, MRE expansion and upgrade expected

Panther Metals (PALM LN) – Drilling results from the Dotted Lake project, Ontario

Peak Rare Earths (PEK AU) – Shenghe transaction update

Tertiary Minerals* (TYM LN) – Mushima North silver results

Ramelius Resources (RMS AU) – Acquiring Spartan to boost production to 500kozpa by 2030

Gold ($2,998/oz) prices poised to break through $3,000/oz again as focus remains on US growth slowdown

• Gold prices have held their recent rally, having touched $3,005/oz, a key level.
• The dollar continues to weaken amid strength from the Euro, Yen and GBP, with the dollar index sliding 5% ytd.
• Treasury yields also continue to slide, following more comments on a growth slowdown in the US from Treasury Secretary Bessent yesterday.
• FT reports that footfall to US stores fell 4.3%yoy in March, whilst the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index record the third monthly drop, hitting November 2022 lows.
• Lower US equities are expected to also feed into weaker consumer sentiment.
• Gold ETF holdings continue to rise as Western investors accumulate positions, with holdings rising from 82moz at the beginning of the year to 86.7moz today.
• China’s central bank has added holdings for the past four months supporting the move higher.
• Central bank buying has doubled from 500tpa to >1,000tpa since the beginning of the Ukraine war.

Copper ($9,820/t) extends rally on China smelter closures whilst Cobre Panama restart looms

• Copper has now rallied 11% ytd, pushing higher on tariff concerns, China supply cuts and concentrate limitations.
• The metal is sitting at its highest level since October 2024 and rallied again last week on reports of China smelter closures.
• Major refiner Tongling is slashing capacity and bringing forward maintenance programmes on weak profitability for smelters.
• Copper Tc/Rcs ‘treatment and refining charges’ for concentrates are as low as anyone can remember at minus -40/4 .
• Around 500,000t of copper concentrates look likely to be lost to the market this year including around 350,000t for Cobre Panama and >100,000t from Indonesia.
• CRU are forecasting a copper concentrate deficit of 400,000t for 2025 growing to 900,000 for 2026 indicating that a restart of Cobre Panama will not make up the market.

• Disruption caused by the grid collapse in Chile and ongoing strife in Peru and now largely resolved power issues in Zambia will likely cut a few thousand more tonnes out of the market.
• Chinese port concentrate stock levels are at a three-year low which given the ramp up in copper smelter capacity and the ramp-up in demand indicates severe shortages.
• Meanwhile, Trump is exploring routes to boost domestic production and tariff foreign imports.
• Meanwhile, First Quantum has rallied on expectations that the Panamanian government will allow the export of 120kt of copper concentrate.
  • Panama has authorised the removal of copper products from the Cobre Panama mine site
  • The move indicates a softening of the government’s position and a potential future settlement
• India has also joined the hunt for copper with the Indian government openly looking for projects in Zambia and officials said to be in the DRC looking for offtake.
• India has remained relatively quiet and has risked being left out as China and the US move to secure new mines, prospects and offtake agreements.

Sharepickers: Video – Last Time this Happened Gold went up by 180%:  

• Podcast: https://audioboom.com/posts/8658123-john-meyer-last-time-this-happened-gold-went-up-by-180

Economics

US – Consumer sentiment pulled back for third consecutive time in March to the lowest reading since November 2022 while inflation expectations are rising reaching the highest level in 32 years, University of Michigan data showed.

• The UoM consumer sentiment index fell to 57.9, down from 64.7 in February.
• 1y and longer term inflation expectations jumped to 4.9% and 3.9%, marking the highest level since November 2022 and 1993, respectively.
• Unemployment concerns among consumers climbed to levels last seen in the 2008 financial crisis.

What if: Trump’s genius team are able to cut Federal taxes to zero or near zero – it is possible!

• What if this supports new growth to offset recession – it could happen!
• What if Trump does Makes America Great Again though the reshoring of industry – substantial reshoring is ongoing!
• What if Trump policies keep inflation around 3% enabling the Fed to hold lower interest rates – so far inflation is below 3%!
• What if Trump offers Canadian’s the prospect of Zero Federal taxes and they vote en-masse to join the US as its 51^st state – tempting but feels unlikely!

• What if Trump succeeds in bringing Candan and Mexico into his Tarriff area under ‘USMCA’ – reckon this is likely!
• What if Russia agrees to a peace deal – feels unlikely but maybe some other event in the world might push Putin towards a peace deal!
• What if Israel ends the war in Gaza and Lebanon kicks out Hezbollah – We are hopeful for this!
• What if Iran agrees to stop developing nuclear weapons and funding proxy groups like Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis?
  • Unlikely without substantial military pressure or total regime change.
• If this all works out Trump will be up for a Nobel prize for peace and maybe an economic laureate as well!
  • But, what happens if it does not quite work out this way?

China – Retail sales growth picked up at the start of the year although industrial production growth slowed slightly and unemployment climbed. (Bloomberg)

• Retail sales were up 4.0%yoy in January-February, accelerating from a 3.7% increase in December and exceeding market estimates.
• Industrial production was up 5.9%, higher than estimates but down on growth recorded in December.
• New house prices fell at a quicker pace in February in a mark of a weakening sentiment despite government efforts to boost the sector.
• The government laid out steps to revive consumption by boosting incomes, the official Xinhua News Agency reported on Sunday. (Bloomberg)
• Authorities are also looking at ways to stabilise the stock and real estate markets and offering incentives to raise the nation’s birth rate.
• China will promote “reasonable growth” in wages and set up a mechanism for adjusting the minimum wage.

Yemen – The US launched a series of sir strikes on Houthi rebels in Yemen on Saturday and warned Iran to halt support for the militant group “immediately”. (FT)

• Trump gives order for local commanders to fire at will on Houthi targets in Yemen
• Strikes followed days after the Houthis threatened to resume attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
• Houthis warned that strikes will resume after Israel blocked the delivery of all aid into Gaza to put pressure on Hamas as parties negotiate the second phase of the ceasefire deal.
• Houthi attacks on merchant vessels and US navy ships in the Red Sea were paused after Israel and Hamas agreed a ceasefire in January.
• We suspect Trump is keen to keep the Red Sea open for trade and to send a message to Iran that he will take military action.
• Reports suggest 40-48 US attacks yesterday and overnight in Yemen. Houthi thought to be preparing to attack US bases in Saudi Arabia.

Russia/US – President Trump is said to be holding talks with Vladimir Putin on Tuesday regarding a cease fire deal in Ukraine. (FT)

• The call is coming as the US and G7 nations warned Moscow on Friday they could dial up sanctions and use frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine.
• The G7 froze about €300bn in Russian assets in 2022 following an invasion in Ukraine.
• The rouble has been appreciating and is trading sub 85, down from >110 at the start of the year, on expectations for a progress in US/Russia talks and potential easing of some sanctions.

Putin demands any ceasefire should address the root causes of Russia’s conflict with Ukraine

• What does Russia think it needs?
  • Russia misses having an empire and the serfs which go with it.
  • Russia needs more customers for its products as its genera population don’t have much in the way of funds to buy much at home.
  • Russia wants to dominate other nations. “Make Putin Great Again!”
  • Putin likes to humiliate his opposition, with Trump’s envoy kept waiting for eight hours. Putin also kept the Queen waiting for 14 minutes.
    • Her Majesty said ‘dogs have interesting instincts, don’t they?’ after David Blunket’s guide dog barked at Putin.
  • We note, Putin was particularly uncomfortable when President Erdogan kept him waiting for 50 seconds in 2022.
• And what does Russia need:
  • Russian needs a captive consumer base – its products are poor quality and generally unsaleable in the rest of the world
  • Russia needs manufacturing industry to add value to the basic materials it produces.
    • Acquiring Ukraine would give it many factories which supply western manufacturers and consumers.
  • New passenger car sales in Russia grew by 48.4% to 1.57m vehicles in 2024 but most vehicles sold were not Russian.
    • China sold >1m cars into Russia representing >62% share of the Russian market.
    • Russia only sold $200m worth of cars into China in 2003 that’s going o be around 10,000-20,000 vehicles at most.
  • Russia needs to sell its, poor-quality, cars to a ‘captive’ audience.
    • Eg Ukraine where the conquered population will be queuing up to show their loyalty to the new state.
  • Russia has produces military hardware, most of it has been proven to be of poor quality, so a war is a useful way to use these products.
    • Erosion of Russian military hardware stocks should reduce their ability to wage further wars.
• Potential solutions:
  • Give Ukraine to Russia, we are not suggesting this.
  • Sign a tariff-free trade deal to promote Russian products in the US and Europe.
  • Invite Putin for tea with King Charles
  • Make Putin head of the EU

Pakistan / Baluchestan – Assassination attempt of IRGC officers in Taftan, Sistan and Baluchestan kills one officer and injured another.

Syria – Turkey reported to be striking former Assad forces in in Aleppo & Western Syria.

South Africa – Ambassador expelled from Washington

• Ebrahim Rasool, South Africa’s ambassador to the US has been expelled due to his ties to American Islamist Organizations, close ties to the Saar network.
• An expose by the MEF ‘Middle East Forum’ warned Rasool’s links to terrorism and history of extremist statements.
• MEF has detailed Rasool’s meetings with top Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad officials, his support for Iran and Hezbollah.

Currencies

US$1.0879/eur vs 1.0856/eur previous. Yen 148.64/$ vs 148.82/$.SAr 18.197/$ vs 18.220/$. $1.294/gbp vs $1.294/gbp. 0.632/aud vs 0.631/aud. CNY 7.237/$ vs 7.244/$.

Dollar Index 103.718 vs 103.950 previous.

Precious metals:         

Gold US$2,998/oz vs US$2,998/oz previous

Gold ETFs 86.7moz vs 86.3moz previous

Platinum US$997/oz vs US$1,016/oz previous

Palladium US$967/oz vs US$979/oz previous

Silver US$33.8/oz vs US$34.0/oz previous

Rhodium US$5,250/oz vs US$5,250/oz previous

Base metals:   

Copper US$9,781/t vs US$9,850/t previous

Aluminium US$2,682/t vs US$2,706/t previous

Nickel US$16,470/t vs US$16,664/t previous

Zinc US$2,973/t vs US$2,984/t previous

Lead US$2,069/t vs US$2,093/t previous

Tin US$35,282/t vs US$35,585/t previous

Energy:           

Oil US$70.6/bbl vs US$70.7.9/bbl previous

Natural Gas €42.2/MWh vs €40.7/MWh previous

• Crude oil prices rose after the US ordered military attacks on Yemen’s Houthis, which could led to further shipping attacks and disruption in the Red Sea.
• The US Baker Hughes rig count was unchanged at 592 units last week (-37 or 6% y/y), with oil rigs up 1 to 487 units (-23 y/y) and gas rigs down 1 to 100 units (-16 y/y), as Canada lost 35 on break-up to 199 units (-8 y/y).

Natural Gas €42.2/MWh vs €40.7/MWh previous

Uranium Futures $63.6/lb vs $63.3/lb previous

Bulk:   

Iron Ore 62% Fe Spot (China CFR) US$102.3/t vs US$102.2/t

Chinese steel rebar 25mm US$484.0/t vs US$483.9/t

HCC FOB Australia US$176.5/t vs US$177.0/t

Thermal coal swap Australia FOB US$106.5/t vs US$106.9/t

Other:  

Cobalt LME 3m US$36,170/t vs US$36,170/t

NdPr Rare Earth Oxide (China) US$61,486/t vs US$61,434/t

Lithium carbonate 99% (China) US$10,017/t vs US$10,009/t

China Spodumene Li2O 6%min CIF US$810/t vs US$810/t

Ferro-Manganese European Mn78% min US$1,005/t vs US$1,005/t

China Tungsten APT 88.5% FOB US$358/mtu vs US$358/mtu

China Graphite Flake -194 FOB US$430/t vs US$430/t

Europe Vanadium Pentoxide 98% US$4.9/lb vs US$4.8/lb

Europe Ferro-Vanadium 80% US$24.0/kg vs US$23.8/kg

China Ilmenite Concentrate TiO2 US$301/t vs US$300/t

Global Rutile Spot Concentrate 95% TiO2 US$1,543/t vs US$1,543/t

Spot CO2 Emissions EUA Price US$65.1/t vs US$65.1/t

Brazil Potash CFR Granular Spot US$335.0/t vs US$337.5/t

Germanium China 99.99% US$2,825.0/kg vs US$2,825.0/kg

China Gallium 99.99% US$390.0/kg vs US$390.0/kg

Battery News

BYD planning third facility in Europe with Germany likely location

• BYD is looking to build a third assembly plant in Europe, and is strongly considering Germany as the potential location.
• Chinese automakers are keen on establishing manufacturing and assembly plants in Europe as they look to increase the sale of their lower-cost vehicles in the region.
• Sales in China have also stagnated, and increasing sales in other regions is a strategy that is being adopted by these manufacturers.
• The move will also help Chinese EV makers avoid new European import tariffs imposed on Chinese-made vehicles last year.
• According to a source, Germany is viewed as the top choice for BYD, but the decision is still under deliberation due to Germany’s high labour and energy costs and low productivity.

VW to introduce unified cell platform strategy to improve performance and affordability

• Volkswagen is hoping to transform its EVs by moving from traditional module-based battery packs to a cell-to-pack architecture that directly integrates cells into the battery pack.
• The switch to a cell-to-pack architecture enhances energy density and reduces battery weight, allowing longer trips on a single charge.
• The adaptable cell format supports multiple chemistries, including NMC, LFP, and future solid-state and sodium-ion batteries.
• VW’s strategy aims to reduce battery costs and boost production efficiency with facilities in Germany, Spain, and Canada.
• The initiative supports Volkswagen’s broader transformation, integrating cutting-edge digital architectures and consolidating vehicle platforms.

Company News

First Quantum (FM CN) C$21, Mkt Cap C$18bn – First Quantum to suspend arbitration against Panama state

• The Company instructed its lawyers to suspend its arbitration cases against Panama (Bloomberg).
• The decision is likely to see a start to negotiations with the government regarding a potential restart to Cobre Panama operations.
• The government previously said that start of any discussions is subject to the Company dropping its arbitration case.
• The Company launched proceedings before the International Court of Arbitration in Miami late last year seeking $20bn from Panama in damages from a suspension of the mine in December 2023.

Great Southern Copper (GSCU LN) 3.62p, Mkt Cap £18m – Mostaza drilling results, Chile

• Great Southern Copper has reported results from a further three holes from its drilling at the historic Mostaza mine located in its Cerro Negro copper/gold/silver target within its Especularita project.
• The company “holds … [an] … option to own 100% of the Mostaza mine and Cerro Negro project”.
• The results from holes DD-002, 003 and 005 “demonstrate continuity of high grades building upon earlier reported assays for hole CNG25 DD001 which … [intersected] … 20.0m of 3.31% Cu and 269.9 g/t Ag from 27m, including … 7.0m of 5.72% Cu and 489.6 g/t Ag from 31m”.
• The results reported today include:
  • An intersection of 4.2m at an average grade of 1.73% copper and 126.5g/t silver from a depth of 38.9m in hole DD-002; and
  • An intersection of 13.0m at an average grade of 2.48% copper and 198.1g/t silver from a depth of 39m in hole DD-003, contained within a wider section of 18.6m at an average grade of 1.85% copper and 146.6g/t silver from 36.6m depth; and
  • An intersection of 12m at an average grade of 4.24% copper and 369.5g/t silver from a depth of 40m in hole DD-005 and including 7.0m from 45m depth at an average grade of 5.08% copper and 449.6g/t silver.
• The company explains that the mineralisation remains open in all directions and that, with the results showing higher grades than were reported in historical drilling it is still awaiting results from holes DD-006-009.
• A second phase of drilling is “in progress aiming to expand on historically reported resources and test exploration targets”.
• CEO, Sam Garrett, described the results as “outstanding” and said they “demonstrate that the former Mostaza mine has the potential to be a high-grade high-value Cu-Ag deposit”.
• Confirming that two drilling rigs are currently on-site, he said that the company has “a lot of work to do as we progress to demonstrate the potential economic viability of this exciting deposit”.
• The drilling currently underway includes “resource and exploration drilling … [while metallurgical] … studies of drill core, stockpiles and tailings are also being planned. Extensions of mineralisation at depth and along trend under cover may also be targeted with geophysical surveys”.

Conclusion: The latest of drilling at Cerro Negro is confirming the continuity of high grade mineralisation around the old Mostaza mine and Great Southern Copper is progressing resource estimation and working to obtain geotechnical and metallurgical information. We await further news as the exploration progresses.

Guardian Metal Resources (GMET LN) 34.25p, Mkt Cap £43m – Positive preliminary engineering appraisal of historic tungsten mine in Nevada

Power Metals Resources* (POW LN) 13p, Mkt cap £15m – (Power Metals* holds a 19.5% stake in Guardian Metal Resources)

• Guardian Metal Resources reports that its’ on site appraisal of the Tempiute Tungsten Mine & Mill, also formerly known as the Emerson Tungsten or Black Dog Mine which it holds under an option to acquire has been positive.
• The former tungsten mine, located around 240km north of Las Vegas, operated into the 1980s and is located on patented mine claims, which should facilitate permitting, and also has “infrastructure, including but not limited to ore loading facilities, mill & concentrate buildings, foundations, load out bays, and water pipes & pumps … [which] … were evaluated and are considered usable for potential future operations”.
• The company says that its “appraisal determined the infrastructure to have an indicated market value of US $17,890,000”.
• The announcement confirms that “grid sampling of the Project’s tailings facility has been commissioned and will commence before the end of the month with a view to determine the suitability of the material for reprocessing”.
• It also explains the “scale and strength of the Tempiute Tungsten mineralising system … [describing a deposit which] has been mined for 60 years with reported 200,000 feet (60,000m) of underground workings which span 1,200 feet (360m vertically)”.
• Our research on data from the USGS indicates that the Emerson mine produced ~0.5m short tonnes of tungsten ore between 1938 and 1982 making it the 2nd largest producer of the 20 Nevada operations included in the USGS data.
• The combination of the existing useable infrastructure and the geological potential for further skarn mineralisation prompts the company to describe “Tempiute as a co-flagship asset and as such it will be advanced and derisked towards production in parallel with … [its existing Nevada tungsten project at] … Pilot Mountain”.
• CEO, Oliver Friesen, explained that “our engineering site assessment covering Tempiute has further demonstrated the significance of this asset. With robust existing infrastructure in place, the location lying within patented mining claims, and a sizeable and well-endowed mineralising system, we believe this Project has the potential to be a game-changer for Guardian Metal”.

Conclusion: Existing useable infrastructure combined with permitting advantages and what appears to be a prolific mineralised system leads Guardian Metal Resources to plan parallel development with its existing Nevada tungsten project at Pilot Mountain.

*SP Angel acts as Nomad and Broker for Power Metals

Kavango Resources* (KAV LN) 0.80p, Mkt Cap £12m – Additional mineralisation identified beneath historic workings at Prospect 1 in Zimbabwe

• Kavango Resources has identified new gold bearing reefs during underground rehabilitation work at its Prospect 1 site at the Hillside project near Bulawayo.
• The company says that it “intersected a reef, hosting quartz and sulphide bearing veins, in a previously inaccessible level of the historic Main Shaft at Prospect 1 during shaft restoration”.
• “Recent mapping and sampling of the reef on existing development levels together with the discovery of further mineralisation while rehabilitating the old Main Shaft and West Shaft indicates previously unknown potential for both lateral and vertical continuity”.
• Kavango Resources clarifies that “recent channel sampling on Level 2 and Level 3 at Main Shaft indicates grades are increasing with depth … [and that] … removal of historic waste material from the first two levels of the Main Shaft during the restoration work, revealed a deeper, third level. The nature, location and type of waste suggests it was dumped on purpose and Kavango believes this level was blocked by a previous owner to protect the underlying ore body from illegal mining and preserve it for future development”.
• The company confirms that it “now plans to test the extent of the reefs through a combination of surface and underground drilling”.  This work includes “an infill drilling programme between West Shaft and Pump Shaft (Figure 5) to confirm reef continuity, grade distribution along the reef structures and test inferred plunging ore shoot geometry”.
• Chief Executive, Ben Turney, said that the “new reefs identified add to the growing number of opportunities for near-term, significant gold production at Hillside … [and commented]… it appears a previous owner of Hillside’s efforts to protect the future mining potential at Prospect 1 hid the true potential of the historic mine and with it the opportunity for much greater gold production”.
• Mr. Turney said that “We look forward to bringing the drill rig back to Prospect 1 as soon as we can. The new reefs are open on strike, with grades appearing to increase with depth. After establishing the reefs’ extent, we hope to move into defining a resource we can bring into production as quickly as possible”.

Conclusion: The identification of additional mineralisation at depth beneath Prospect 1 at Hillside elevates its potential scale. We look forward to further results as the company brings back rigs to clarify the depth and lateral extent of mineralisation and develop a mineral resource estimate.

*Two SP Angel Analysts recently visited Kavango’s Hillside mines and licenses in Zimbabwe. An SP Angel analyst holds shares in Kavango

Landore Resources (LND LN) 3.3p, Mkt Cap £10m – Drilling underway at the BAM gold project, Ontario

• The Company reports that its previously announced 3,500m drilling programme at its BAM Gold Deposit at the Junior Lake property, Ontario is now underway.
• The drilling aims to provide “greater clarity on the structure of the orebody, increasing overall confidence in the grade, size and continuity of the resource, as well as testing the considerable down-dip potential”.
• It aims to “upgrade BAM’s Inferred resources to the Indicated category” with an update expected in Q3 and subsequently to “develop a Pre-Feasibility Study (‘PFS’) in 2026”.
• The company’s website shows an ‘Indicated & Inferred’ resource for the BAM deposit totalling approximately 49mt (at a 0.3g/t cut-off) at an average grade of 1g/t gold hosting ~1.5moz of gold. Around 31mt of the resource is currently designated ‘Indicated’ containing ~1moz.

Oriole Resources* (ORR LN) 0.2p, Mkt cap £7.8m – Phase 5 drilling programme completed, MRE expansion and upgrade expected

(BCM International is earning a 50% interest in Mbe and Bibemi by spending US$4m on exploration respectively)

• Oriole Resources reports the final results from their Phase 5 drilling programme at Bibemi, Cameroon.
• The Company is aiming to expand and upgrade their JORC MRE at Bibemi, which currently holds 375koz at 2.3g/t Au.
• Drilling has targeted three sub-prospects, BZ1-MRE, BZ1 NW and BZ1, SW, with tighter spacing over the existing MRE main pit design.
• The final seven holes today include 49 reported intervals of mineralisation, using a 0.2g/t Au cut-off.
• The seven holes reported today, with assay results available here, all fall within the existing MRE pit shell design, show gold mineralisation continuing between the existing fence lines.

Conclusion: Oriole has now successfully completed the Phase 5 drilling programme at Bibemi. Following these results, Oriole now expects they will be able to expand and upgrade the resource of the JORC MRE. Oriole will now advance metallurgical testwork to establish an appropriate processing flowsheet. Addditionally, they have submitted an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment report as part of their Exploitation Licence Application.

*SP Angel acts as Broker to Oriole Resources

Panther Metals (PALM LN) 40.4p , Mkt Cap £2.1m – Drilling results from the Dotted Lake project, Ontario

• Panther Metals reports that hole DL24-004 at its Dotted Lake project on the northern limb of the Schreiber-Hemlo greenstone belt near Marathon Ontario has intersected 53m of mineralisation at an average grade of 0.14% nickel, 0.01g/t platinum, 0.03g/t palladium and 0.89% chromium from a depth of 194m.
• Drilling targeted an “extensive ultramafic body which is mineralised with platinum group elements (“PGE”), platinum (Pt) and palladium (Pd), as well as nickel (Ni), chromium (Cr) and silver (Ag), and which displays distinct ultramafic layering”.
• The announcement confirms that the results reported today “only include the bottom 53m of the 94m wide ultramafic intrusive intersection sampled in drill hole DL24-004 … with the assay results for the remaining 96.75m sampled awaited”.
• Today’s announcement also confirms that “Drill hole DL24-005 intersected 55.1m of anomalous Ag, Pt, Pd plus anomalous Cr without intersecting ultramafic, plus 0.4m @ 1.63 g/t Au from 123.5m”.
• CEO, Darren Hazelwood, said that “Our two primary objectives of the Dotted Lake drilling campaign have been met and exceeded with the partial assay results for drill hole DL24-004 alone”.
• He said that “We have verified the existence of an extensive ultramafic body and have shown that the body is mineralised. DL24-005 also returned highly anomalous promising results to the north of the intrusive contact boundary”.

Conclusion: Early, partial, results from drilling at Dotted Lake confirm mineralisation associated with a large scale ultramafic intrusion – we await the remaining results from the programme and news on the company’s follow-up plans.

Peak Rare Earths (PEK AU) A$0.10, A$37m – Shenghe transaction update

• The Company continues to work with Shenghe Resources to finalise equity investment and project funding.
• Under the non binding term sheet signed July 2024, Shenghe (a 19.9% investor in the Company) will acquire a 50% stake in the subsidiary holding a 84% interest in the Ngualla Rare Earth Project for ~A$96m while arranging a debt facility for the balance of project development capital cost with no requirement for Peak to provide equity funding.
• Both parties are discussing several outstanding issues (not related to transaction valuation) as well as assessing the potential impact from draft RE regulations published by the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).
• The Company is referring to a proposal by MIIT to begin public consultation on new regulation to tighten control over its rare earth sector.
• Regulations are aimed to tighten oversight and restrictions in the sector including limiting mining, refining and separation of REs in China to designated SOEs and their affiliates and more stringent enforcement of production quotas.
• New regulations were announced February and public consultation launched March this year.
• Subject to the outcome of the consultation, Peak and Shenghe may consider alternative transaction structure.
• The Company is continuing to progress its sale of the 49-acres Teesside land packaged in the UK.

Tertiary Minerals* (TYM LN) 0.054p, Mkt Cap £2m – Mushima North silver results

• Tertiary has announced additionally assay results from their Mushima North Project, where they previously returned encouraging silver grades.
• The Company today reports available assays from hole 24TMNAC006P, with more results from the same hole due.
• The hole returned:

• • 20m at 30g/t Ag, 0.21% Cu, 0.34% Zn from 36m down hole.
  • This included 12m at 54g/t Ag, 0.21% Cu and 0.33% Zn over 12m from 31m
• The remaining samples from the hole, alongside holes 24TMNAC003, 008P, 005, 015 and 023, have been submitted for multi-element analysis to analyse for silver mineralisation.
• The Company is targeting a 1.4km long and 300m wide silver-in-soil geochemical anomaly coincident with a broader zinc/copper anomaly.

*SP Angel acts as Nomad and Broker to Tertiary Minerals

Ramelius Resources (RMS AU) A$2.2, Mkt cap A$2.52bn– Acquiring Spartan to boost production to 500kozpa by 2030

• Australian gold producer Ramelius is acquiring the remaining shares of Spartan it does not own.
• Ramelius will issue 0.6957 shares for each Spartan share, alongside A$0.25/share in cash.
• The acquisition implies a value of Spartan at A$1.78/share and a fully diluted equity value of A$2.4bn.
• The price marks a premium of 28% to Spartan’s 30day VWAP.
• Spartan shareholders will own 39.5% of the pro-forma combined group.
• Combined group mineral resource estimate of 12.1moz Au and an ore reserve of 2.6moz Au.
• The Group will aim to boost production to 500kpza by 2030.
• Spartan’s Dalgaranga holds the 2.5mtpa plant, currently on C&M and a resource of 2.9moz at 5.6g/t Au, with reserves expected this year.
• Ramelius will ‘supercharge the Mt Magnet mine plan’ with the higher grade ore from Dalgaranga.
• Dalgaranga feed grade expected to increase overall ounces produced, decrease per-ounce production costs and increase per-ounce margins.
• Ramelius will also look at restarting the Dalgaranga plant alongside exploring capacity upgrades at Mt Magnet.

LSE Group Starmine awards for 2024 commodity forecasting:

No.1 in Precious Metals: SP Angel mining team awarded No 1. ranking for Precious Metals forecasting in LSEG Annual Starmine Award for Reuters Polls 2024

No.2 in Base Metals: SP Angel mining team awarded No 2. ranking for Base Metals forecasting in LSEG Annual Starmine Award for Reuters Polls 2024

Analysts

John Meyer – John.Meyer@spangel.co.uk – 0203 470 0490

Simon Beardsmore – Simon.Beardsmore@spangel.co.uk – 0203 470 0484

Sergey Raevskiy –Sergey.Raevskiy@spangel.co.uk – 0203 470 0474

Arthur Parish – Arthur.Parish@spangel.co.uk – 0203 470 0476

Sales

Richard Parlons –Richard.Parlons@spangel.co.uk – 0203 470 0472

Abigail Wayne – Abigail.Wayne@spangel.co.uk – 0203 470 0534

Rob Rees – Rob.Rees@spangel.co.uk – 0203 470 0535

Grant Barker – Grant.Barker@spangel.co.uk – 0203 470 0471

SP Angel                                                            

Prince Frederick House

35-39 Maddox Street London

W1S 2PP

*SP Angel are the No1 integrated nomad and broker by number of mining brokerage clients on AIM according to the AIM Advisers Ranking Guide (joint brokerships excluded)

+SP Angel employees may have previously held, or currently hold, shares in the companies mentioned in this note.

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This note is a marketing communication and comprises non-independent research. This means it has not been prepared in accordance with the legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and is not subject to any prohibition on dealing ahead of its dissemination.

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SPA research ratings – Based on a time horizon of 12 months: Buy = Expected return of more than 15%, Hold = Expected return between -15% and +15%, Sell = Expected return