SP Angel Morning View -Today’s Market View, Monday 29th April 2024

Copper prices hold $10,050/t as inventory levels tick lower

MiFID II exempt information – see disclaimer below

Adriatic Metals (ADT1 LN) – Q1 as steady state production by Q4 looms

Atalaya Mining (ATYM LN) – Transition from AIM to the Premium List

Aterian plc* (ATN LN) – Sale of NSR Royalty to Elemental Altus

Aura Energy* (AURA LN) – Tiris drill program continues to extend uranium mineral resources in Mauritania

Kavango Resources* (KAV LN) – Initial MRE for Nara tailings project, Zimbabwe

Keras Resources* (KRS LN) – Falcon Isle more than doubles sales in Q1. Commissioning of Phosul joint venture plant to start in May

Kore Potash* (KP2 LN) – Quarterly operational/financial update highlighting Kola EPC discussions progress with completion targeted for Q2/24

Ferro-Alloy Resources (FARF LN) – Final results as vanadium market remains weak

Serabi Gold (SRB LN) – 2024 delivers a reversal of previous year’s loss

Thor Explorations (THX LN) – Building on Segilola with additional exploration and with PFS work at Douta

Copper prices hold higher ground as inventories tick lower

• Copper prices have climbed to $10,050/t this morning, having bounced off the level last week.
• Prices have been supported as the wider market was alerted to potential copper shortfalls this decade following BHP’s hunger for Anglo’s assets.
• Inventories have ticked lower for the first time, falling to one-month lows.
• CRU expects a $150bn CAPEX deficit to 2032 to limit a copper deficit.
• However, the Yangshan premium fell to $0/t last week, suggesting Chinese demand for refined copper is weak.

IG TV: Gold and Copper. 10/04/2024:      https://youtu.be/KuGSbDqWglk?si=-8iikkOHxbbLSnPZ

Sharepickers TV:  It’s all about copper. 26/04/2024 podcast:  https://audioboom.com/posts/8496588-john-meyer-it-s-all-about-copper

         Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MV9_8K494rY

*SP Angel almost invariably acts as nomad or broker or nomad and broker to companies mentioned in the above videos and podcasts. We speak more about these companies as we have a good understanding of their business and can talk with a greater degree of confidence. As ever, however, it should be noted that our views do not take into account the circumstances and needs of any particular investor or investor type. So enjoy the talks, but please do your own research, including other companies not mentioned by us but operating in the same areas, and get professional advice where appropriate. SP Angel acts as Broker/Nomad or both for Anglo Asian Mining, Kodal Minerals, Power Metals Resources.

Economics

US – FOMC rate decision expected on Wednesday with no change forecast by markets followed by April US labour numbers on Friday.

• NFPs are expected to come in at 250k v 303k, the highest in almost a year, in March with both unemployment rate (3.8% v 3.8% Mar) and labour earnings growth rate (4.0% v 4.1% Mar) little changed.

China – Industrial profits fell 3.5%yoy in March highlighting ongoing lack of growth momentum in the sector.

• Poor profitability weighed down by persistent deflation in PPI and soft domestic demand, Bloomberg writes.
• Weaker profitability will limit investment and hiring with more fiscal stimulus required, the agency added.
• April PMI numbers are due this Tuesday in one of the first takes on the state of the economy in the beginning of Q2/24.
• Estimates are for a slightly slowdown in growth momentum in both manufacturing and services across both SMEs and large companies.

Japan – The yen went sub 155 this morning on a suspected FX market intervention from authorities after the currency briefly touched 160.

• The moves were helped by low market liquidity due to a local public holiday.
• Masato Kanda, Vice Minister of Finance for International Affairs, said he had “no comment for now”, when asked by reporters if the government intervened into the currency market.

Germany – Regional inflation data shows a pick up in consumer prices growth in April with nationwide numbers due later today.

• Estimates are for CPI to come in at 0.6%mom/2.4% compared to 0.6%/2.3% in March (EU Harmonised basis).

Spain – Headline inflation accelerated for a second month as the government removed support for consumers with an energy bill.

• Core inflation stripping out energy and some food costs, meanwhile, dropped more than forecast to 2.9% marking the lowest since early 2022.
• CPI (%mom, EU Harmonised, Apr/Mar/Est): 0.6/1.4/0.7.
• CPI (%yoy, EU Harmonised, Apr/Mar/Est): 3.4/3.3/3.2..

UK – Job vacancies fell >17% yoy to end March (Adzuna)

• Average earnings on listed jobs advertised rose to £38,638 representing a near-3% rise over the past year and a 0.4% jump between February and March.
• CPI inflation fell to 3.2% in March

Currencies

US$1.0718/eur vs 1.0729/eur previous. Yen 155.26/$ vs 156.74/$. SAr 18.741/$ vs 19.027/$. $1.253/gbp vs $1.251/gbp. 0.656/aud vs 0.654/aud. CNY 7.246/$ vs 7.246/$.

Dollar Index 105.61 vs 105.69 previous.

Precious metals:         

Gold US$2,332/oz vs US$2,344/oz previous

Gold ETFs 81.2moz vs 81.2moz previous

Platinum US$917/oz vs US$923/oz previous

Palladium US$953/oz vs US$990/oz previous

Silver US$27.21/oz vs US$28/oz previous

Rhodium US$4,725/oz vs US$4,725/oz previous

Base metals:   

Copper US$ 10,008/t vs US$9,995/t previous

Aluminium US$ 2,559/t vs US$2,588/t previous

Nickel US$ 19,260/t vs US$19,400/t previous

Zinc US$ 2,870/t vs US$2,886/t previous

Lead US$ 2,214/t vs US$2,238/t previous

Tin US$ 32,500/t vs US$33,240/t previous

Energy:           

Oil US$88.6/bbl vs US$89.6/bbl previous

• The US Baker Hughes rig count was down 6 units to 613 rigs last week (-142 or 19% y/y), with oil rigs down 5 to 506 units (-85 y/y) and gas rigs down 1 unit to 105 units (-56 y/y) as Louisiana lost 4 rigs to 36 units.
• They say that bad numbers take longer to add up, partly explaining Petrofac’s 20% fall in early trading as it announces the Company’s shares will be temporarily suspended from 1^st May until delayed FY23 results are published on 31^st May. The Group continues talks with its lenders regarding the ongoing financial restructuring.

Natural Gas €28.3/MWh vs €30.2/MWh previous

Uranium Futures $87.3/lb vs $86.3/lb previous

Bulk:   

Iron Ore 62% Fe Spot (cfr Tianjin) US$119.2/t vs US$118.8/t

Chinese steel rebar 25mm US$522.5/t vs US$518.0/t

Thermal coal (1st year forward cif ARA) US$112.3/t vs US$117.9/t

Thermal coal swap Australia FOB US$133.5/t vs US$134.3/t

Hard Coking Coal Australia FOB US$326.0/t vs US$326.0/t

Other:  

Cobalt LME 3m US$27,830/t vs US$27,830/t

NdPr Rare Earth Oxide (China) US$55,477/t vs US$54,925/t

Lithium carbonate 99% (China) US$15,111/t vs US$15,111/t

China Spodumene Li2O 6%min CIF US$1,240/t vs US$1,240/t

Ferro-Manganese European Mn78% min US$972/t vs US$972/t

China Tungsten APT 88.5% FOB US$333/mtu vs US$330/mtu

China Graphite Flake -194 FOB US$480/t vs US$480/t

Europe Vanadium Pentoxide 98% 5.0/lb vs US$5.0/lb

Europe Ferro-Vanadium 80% 26.25/kg vs US$26.25/kg

China Ilmenite Concentrate TiO2 US$326/t vs US$328/t

China Rutile Concentrate 95% TiO2 US$1,415/t vs US$1,415/t

Spot CO2 Emissions EUA Price US$65.9/t vs US$64.4/t

Brazil Potash CFR Granular Spot US$305.0/t vs US$305.0/t

Battery News

China offers new incentives to boost car replacements

• China has announced a new policy encouraging consumers to trade in old cars for new ones, offering subsidies of up to RMB10,000 ($1,380) as part of an effort to stimulate new vehicle adoption.
  • NEVs will be eligible for the full RMB10,000.
  • Fuel vehicles that meet emission standards will be eligible for RMB7000.

Xiaomi sees 10,000^th SU7 EV roll off production line

• 32 days after the model was launched, the new automaker announced the milestone on Weibo.
• The company is confident that it will meet its delivery target of 100,000 units in 2024.
• Within five days of the launch of the SU7, Xiaomi had 100,000 firm orders and 40,000 locked-in orders.
• As of 24^th April, the Xiaomi SU7 had more than 75,000 locked-in orders

Nio begins trial of 150kWh semi-solid state battery pack

• Nio has begun trial operations of the 150kWh semi-solid battery pack a month before official operations of the ultra-long-range battery pack set to begin.
• Customers who rent a Nio vehicle from Nio Destination for three days or more during May could have the chance to experience the 150kWh battery pack.
• The 150kWh battery pack will become officially operational on 1^st Hune, when Nio owners will be able to rent the pack on a daily basis.
• The base price for the 150kWh battery pack is RMB150 ($21) per day for the first seven days, compared to RMB100 ($14) per day for the 100kWh model.
• After the first seven days, customers will need to pay an additional RMB50 per day.
• Nio expects the 150kWh battery to only be used in rare cases.

CATL aiming for solid-state battery production by 2027

• CATL has aims to produce all-solid-state batteries in small batches by 2027, but says high-volume production will still face challenges in particular, cost.
• On a score of 1-9 using technology and manufacturing maturity as a rating system, CATL’s all-solid-state battery development is currently at a 4, the company’s chief scientist Wu Kai said.
• CATL’s goal is to reach a score of 7-8 by 2027, meaning it could produce all-solid-state batteries in small batches.

Tesla clears key regulatory hurdles to roll out self-driving software in China

• Tesla has reached an agreement with Baidu, China’s major internet search engine, to use the Chinese tech giant’s mapping license for data collection on China’s public roads, according to Reuters sources.
• The deal clears a final regulatory hurdle for Tesla’s driver assistance system, which Tesla calls Full Self Driving (FSD), to be made available to its vehicles in China.
• In China, all intelligent driving systems must have a mapping qualification before they can operate on public roads and foreign firms must have a domestic partner that has already obtained the license.
• Baidu is one of a few companies to have secured the license.
• With their partnership, Tesla will be legally able to operate its FSD software on Chinese roads, allowing its fleet to gather data about road layouts, traffic signs and nearby buildings.

Company News

Adriatic Metals (ADT1 LN) 233p, Mkt cap £700m – Q1 as steady state production by Q4 looms

• Adriatic provides its quarterly report for the period to 31^st March 2024.
• The Company announced the official Vares mine opening on 5^th March 2024.
• Adriatic reports a continued ramp up in production, with nameplate capacity expected in 4Q24.
• First concentrate sale is expected this quarter.
• The Company’s exploration programme is focused on the northern and southern extremities of Rupice.
• Financially, the Company held $46.7m at the 31^st March, and secured an additional $25m debt facility from Orion last week.
• Net expenditure for the quarter stood at c.$30m, including $22.7m on CAPEX.
• Underground development continues, with first stopes expected to be reached in July 2024 to support steady state production in Q4.
• Adriatic provided maiden production guidance of 240-300kt mined in 2024 at 4.5-4.9% Zn, 261-348g/t Ag, 3.2-4.2% Pb, 0.5-0.6% Cu and 2.1-2.8g/t Au for 2024.
• This then ramps up to 750-850kt mined in 2025 at 5.8-7.8% Zn, 259-345g/t Ag, 3.6-4.9% Pb, 0.5-0.7% Cu, 2.4-3.2g/t Au.
• The Company is exploring options to boost plant throughput to over 1mtpa.

*An SP Angel mining analyst has visited Adriatic Metals operations in Bosnia

Atalaya Mining (ATYM LN) 447p, Mkt Cap £625m – Transition from AIM to the Premium List

• Atalaya Mining, the Spanish based copper producer,  reports that it has completed its transition from London’s AIM market to the LSE’s Premium List.
• CEO, Alberto Lavandeira described the move as “a significant milestone for Atalaya … [which shows] … our commitment to building upon the significant growth we have achieved to date and reflects our confidence in our future prospects, our expanding investor base and our ambition to become a multi-asset copper producer with a portfolio of sustainable, scalable and low-risk operations”.

Aterian plc* (ATN LN) 0.65p, Mkt Cap £6.6m – Sale of NSR Royalty to Elemental Altus

• Aterian plc reports it has sold a portion of its Net Smelter Return Royalt over the HCK Project in Rwanda.
• The agreement will see Aterian sell an interest of 1.4% of the Rio Tinto JV to Elemental Altus for a £200k gross consideration.
• The royalty will fall to 1.25% following the issue of the Musasa licence in Rwanda.

Conclusion: Aterian continues to practise financial discipline as it seeks to extract value from its portfolio of assets. The deal with Elemental Altus strengthens Aterian’s balance sheet and the Company notes it plans to conduct more ‘asset value realisation efforts across our portfolio.’

*SP Angel acts as Broker to Aterian Plc

Aura Energy* (AURA LN) 9.25p, Mkt Cap £68m – Tiris drill program continues to extend uranium mineral resources in Mauritania

• Aura Energy report the completion of the Tiris extensional drill programme.
• New assay data will feed into an updated uranium ore Mineral Resources to be released in June quarter.
• Drilling “defined two significant new areas of shallow and high-grade mineralisation at Hippolyte South and Sadi, as well as extensions to numerous other previously defined mineralised areas over the Tiris Project area”
  • Hippolyte South: high-grade shallow mineralisation over 8km of strike length with the deposit open in all directions
    • 4.4m grading 283ppm U3O8 from 0.8m
    • 3.1m grading 387ppm U3O8 from 0.2m
    • 3.1m grading 340ppm U3O8 from 0.7m
    • 4.5m grading 212ppm U3O8 from 0.3m
  • Sadi: mineralisation extended >2km further south from the existing mineralised trend and remains open to the south.
    • 9.4m grading 165ppm U3O8 from 1.0m
    • 5.4m grading 246ppm U3O8 from 1.3m
    • 5.0m grading 230ppm U3O8 from 0.4m
    • 3.4m grading 266ppm U3O8 from 0.6m
• Current uranium Mineral Resource:
  • 58.9Mlbs U3O8  based on 21,990m of drilling in 5,619 holes at a cost of US$0.20/lb U3O8.

FEED study economics updated for new contract pricing:

• • NPV@8% = US$388m
  • IRR 36%
  • AISC US$ 34.5/lb
  • Payback 2.5 year pay-back
  • Assumes U3O8 price of US$ 80/lb
  • Ore grade: 255ppm U3O8
  • Concentrate grade: 1,743ppm of U3O8
  • Production: 2m lbs pa of U₃O₈.
  • Life of Mine : 17 years
  • Capex : US$230m
  • Offtake contract: 150,000lbs pa U₃O₈ under fixed price terms averaging US$74.75/lb U₃O₈ and 150,000lbs U₃O₈ per annum at spot less 4% discount over 7 years.
    • Reduction in contracted volumes to 2.1mlbs from 2.6mlbs over 7-year term.
• Offtake: “fixed price contract price increases 70% to US$74.75/lb U₃O₈ from US$44.09/lb U₃O₈”, subject to a FID ‘Final Investment Decision’ by 31^st March 2025.

Conclusion:  Drilling continues to enlarge the Tiris mineral resource in Mauritania. Adding scale is generally helpful to the FID ‘final investment decision’ and financing of a mineral project. The ability to expand or extend the mine life makes a project more attractive to long term offtakers and government’s alike, particularly in an industry where very substantial capital and logistics underpinned by the regular supply of concentrate feedstock.

*SP Angel acts as Nomad and Broker to Aura Energy

Kavango Resources* (KAV LN) 1.23p, Mkt Cap £16m – Initial MRE for Nara tailings project, Zimbabwe

• Kavango Resources has announced plans to raise £3m through the issue of 257m shares.
• The accelerated bookbuild will be undertaken at a price of 1.2p/share, underwritten by Purebond Ltd who are subscribing for 135m shares.
• Funds will be used to continue drilling at Hillside, where recent intersections included 7.2m at 9.95g/t Au. Focus will be on testing the target along strike.
• Kavango is set to begin its 5,000m drilling programme at their Karakubis Copper Project on the Kalahari Copper Belt, following some encouraging surveying and mapping.
• Funds will enable an accelerated programme by adding a second rig to the Karakubis Project.

An SP Angel Analyst holds shares in Kavango

Keras Resources* (KRS LN) – 1.7p, Mkt cap £1.3m – Falcon Isle more than doubles sales in Q1. Commissioning of Phosul joint venture plant to start in May

(Keras holds 100% of the Diamond Creek phosphate mine in Utah, USA)

• Kera Resources reports commissioning to start on the Falcon Isle integrated milling and granulator plant in Utah in the second half of May.
• The 520tpm plant can ramp up to 920tpm if it moves to double shift working and is a cornerstone of the jv with Phosul LLC.
• The plant uses Keras’ high pressure grinding rolls and an HPGR mill from Keras’ original Spanish Fork site.
• The jv has added a 5tph granulator plant from a China OEM which will be scaled up to continuous operations by the end of the year.
• The Integrated Plant will produce Phosul® granules and will be marketed by Phosul LLC predominantly in the west of the USA
• The Phosul® formula uses 80% Falcon Isle rock phosphate from the Diamond Creek mine
• The mine will produce and sell some 760tpm at full production to be sold into the jv increasing sales of 50 mesh product for the balance of 2024 and the remainder of the initial five year jv term.
• Keras’ Falcon Isle business will continue to produce organically certified 10 mesh and 50 mesh dry sized products with total sales for Q1 2024 of 1,969t, a 109% increase relative to the 941t sold during the same period in 2023 (Q1 2022: 829t).
• At full production, the jv is expected to increase Falcon Isle’s quarterly sales of 50 mesh by approximately 2,280t / quarter equating to a 115% increase on the Q1 2024 sales.
• 100% of the revenue from the sales to the jv are attributable to Falcon Isle with while also sharing 50% in of the profit from the Phosul® product produced from this material.
• Demand for Phosul® currently outweighs production capacity at Phosul’s Idaho processing plant indicating potential to increase sales from Keras’ Diamond Creek 25,000tpa rock phosphate mine.
• The Phosul jv will consume ~10,500tpa of 50 mesh phosphate vs 2023 sales of 2,111t.
• Phosul® granules are currently selling for $40 for a 25lb bag on eBay or $75 / 50lb bag on Amazon in the US.

• Manganese: Keras sold its Nayega manganese mining project to the government of Togo last year receiving $1.7m in cash along a 1.5% royalty advisory fee plus 6.0% of gross revenue generated from the Nayéga mine for the lesser of 3.5 years or 900,000t of beneficiated manganese ore produced and sold from Nayéga”.
• The deal with the Togo government should give nearly $0.9m a year at a price of $3.5/dmt for manganese and production of 7,480tpa equating to some $2.6m over three years.
• Manganese ore is currently selling for 4.46-4.60/t for 13% min EXW China and $5.52-5.80/t for 36% ore landed in Quixhou or Tianjin ports in China.
• The current price indicates potential for >$3-4m in royalties over the first three years at a production rate of 7,480tpa and potentially up to $14m if production runs at 23,375tpa.

Conclusion:  Q1 sales more than doubled yoy to 1,969 tons indicating a significant increase in revenues for the mine and the jv with Phosul.

We look forward to more information on how much of the Phosul product is sold via direct sales and for a forecast on potential Phosul sales for the year.

*SP Angel acts as nomad and broker to Keras

Kore Potash* (KP2 LN) 0.5p, Mkt Cap £22m – Quarterly operational/financial update highlighting Kola EPC discussions progress with completion targeted for Q2/24

• The Company remains in discussions with PowerChina regarding final terms of the EPC proposal for the Kola Potash Project.
• Full EPC documentation is expected to be agreed and signed in Q2/24.
• The Company is meeting PowerChina in Beijing in early May.
• The Summit Consortium represented by advisors, funding partners and engineering firms, is expected to provide the financing proposal for the full capex of the Kola Project within six weeks once final EPC Contract is signed.
• New CEO, Andre Baya, met with the Minister of Mines post quarter end providing an update on the Kola EPC contract discussions progress,
• Minister is reported to have reiterated the full support for the project.
• The Company had US$1.4m in cash and no debt as of quarter end having spent $0.6m on Kola in Q1/24.
• The closing cash balance includes ~$0.5m raised in new equity during the quarter with a further ~$150k due to come in from Daivd Hathor, Chairman, subject to a shareholder approval at the 13 May GM.

Conclusion: Management focus remains on finalising EPC Contract terms for the Kola Potash Project targeted for completion in Q2/24 that should lead to Summit Consortium providing a funding proposal within following six weeks.

*SP Angel acts as Nomad and Broker to Kore Potash

Ferro-Alloy Resources (FAR LN) 5p Mkt Cap £24m – Final results as vanadium market remains weak

• Ferro-Alloy report their final results for the year ending 31^st December 2023.
• 310.5t of vanadium pentoxide produced in 2023, 34.3t of molybdenum.
• The Company reported revenues of $6.2m, 9% down yoy.
• Cost of sales at $6.8m, with stabilising reagent and fuel costs.
• Overall loss for the year of $5.3m.
• Phase 1 feasibility study ongoing for Balasausqandiq, with delivery expected Q4 this year.
• Cash at year end of $2m, rising to $4.4m at 31^st March.
• Management highlights the deterioration in the vanadium price as a result of the sustained weakness in the Chinese construction sector.
• Concentrate production is expected to improve through 2024 following upgrades to the processing plant.

Serabi Gold (SRB LN) 64p, Mkt Cap £49m – 2024 delivers a reversal of previous year’s loss

1. Serabi Gold reports a 2023 after tax profit of US$6.58m and a closing cash balance of US$11.6m reversing 2022’s loss of US$1.0m.
2. 2023 gold production of 33,153oz (2022 – 31,819oz) at a cash cost of US$1,300/oz (2022 – US$1,322/oz) and all-in-sustaining costs of US$1,635/oz (2022 – US$1,615/oz) underpin the financial outcome.
3. The production included “over 8,800 ounces” from the development of the Coringa mine which is expected to deliver most of the planned increase to “38,000 to 40,000 ounces” in 2024.
4. CFO, Clive Line, also explained that “despite continued development of Coringa, cash has also improved with net cash up by US$4.75 million. Cash generated from operations and after capitalised mine development expenditure was US$7.7 million, a significant improvement on the net outflow of US$1.7 million of 2022”.
5. He said that “2024 will … be another year of investment. In addition to the purchase and installation of the crushing and ore-sorting plant, we are undertaking an underground drilling campaign on the Serra orebody at Coringa. This will allow the Group to issue a new Technical Report with updated mineral reserves and resources for the Coringa project later this year”.
6. Chairman, Michael Lynch-Bell, explained that the “change in government in Brazil at the start of 2023 has not brought significant change to the regulations or financial treatment of the mining sector and whilst the outlook for the country as a whole is relatively good, as a company that incurs much of its costs locally, our planning and budgeting processes have been helped by the exchange rate remaining fairly stable over the last 12 months”.
7. Confirming Serabi Gold’s commitment to expansion in Brazil, and also explaining the benefits of operational scale in the industry, the Chairman said that “In parallel with organic opportunities, we continue to explore appropriate corporate opportunities to accelerate our objective of transitioning to a 200,000 ounce per year producer over the next few years”.
8. Mr. Lynch-Bell acknowledged the previously reported withdrawal of Vale from its exploration alliance but said that Phase 1 exploration of the Matilda Prospect has provided “greater technical understanding” and “Whilst Vale have now decided to not progress to Phase 2 we do have other parties interested to pick up their position, giving the Group the potential for continued exposure to copper exploration but allowing management to focus on the Group’s core gold activities”.

Conclusion: Chairman expresses long term aspiration to build Serabi Gold to a 200,000oz pa Brazil-focussed gold producer.

*An SP Angel analyst has visited the Serabi’s gold mining operations in Brazil

Thor Explorations (THX LN) 15.5p, Mkt cap £102m – Building on Segilola with additional exploration and with PFS work at Douta

• In its final quarter and annual results for 2023, Thor Explorations reports a profit for the year of US$10.8m (2022 – restated as US$37.9m) and a closing cash balance of US$7.8m.
• The company also highlights a reduction in its senior debt to US$22.6m by 31^st December 2023 and adds that a further US$8.2m of the facility has subsequently been paid.
• The financial results are the result of the production of 84,609oz of gold during the year at a cash cost of US$1,006/oz and at US$1,313/oz on an all-in-sustaining cost basis.
• The company confirms its expectation to produce 95-100,000oz of gold from its Segilola mine in Nigeria during 2024 at all-in-sustaining costs in the range US$1,100-1,200/oz.
• CEO, Segun Lawson, confirmed that 2024 “will be focused on growth. The first priority is to extend the Segilola Mine life where there is currently an underground resource of over 100,000 ounces that has not been incorporated into the existing mine plan. At the current prevailing high gold prices, we aim to assess our options in re-optimising the Segilola Pit to produce gold from this resource prior to transitioning into an underground mine”
• He said that the company will also “carry out further exploration at depth aimed at increasing the existing underground resource which has not been closed out”.
• He also commented on the continuing pre-feasibility level work on the company’s Douta gold project in Senegal where it recently expanded its exploration holdings.
• At Douta, during 2024, the company aims to “focus on increasing the oxide component of the existing Douta resource in parallel with the PFS workstreams … [aiming to] … increase the oxide resource, where high recoveries are metallurgically straightforward, to a target of 500,000 ounces”.
• Currently, Douta hosts and ‘Indicated’ resource of 20.2mt at an average grade of 1.3g/t hosting ~875koz of gold with an additional ‘Inferred’ resource of 24.1mt at a grade of 1.2g/t hosting a further ~909koz.

Conclusion: Thor Explorations is targeting around 100,000oz of 2024 gold production from it Segilola mine and is also working towards a pre-feasibility study for its Douta gold project in Senegal

No.1 in Base Metals: SP Angel mining team awarded No 1. ranking for Base Metals forecasting in LSEG Quarterly Starmine Award for Reuters Polls Q1 2024

No.1 in Copper:  “The winner of the 2020 Fastmarkets Apex contest for copper was the team at SP Angel comprising John Meyer, Sergey Raevskiy and Simon Beardsmore, with an accuracy score of 93.8%”

No1. In Gold:  “SP Angel’s trio took the top spot for the gold price prediction throughout the year, with an accuracy score of 97.59%”

The SP Angel team also ranked 1st in Palladium, 3rd in Tin and 5th in Silver in the fourth quarter of 2020

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

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.

DISCLAIMER

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.

This note is intended only for distribution to Professional Clients and Eligible Counterparties as defined under the rules of the Financial Conduct Authority and is not directed at Retail Clients.

This note is confidential and is being supplied to you solely for your information and may not be reproduced, redistributed or passed on, directly or indirectly, to any other person or published in whole or in part, for any purpose.

This note has been issued by SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP (‘SPA’) to promote its investment services. Neither the information nor the opinions expressed herein constitutes, or is to be construed as, an offer or invitation or other solicitation or recommendation to buy or sell investments. The information contained herein is based on sources which we believe to be reliable, but we do not represent that it is wholly accurate or complete. All opinions and estimates included in this report are subject to change without notice. It is not investment advice and does not take into account the investment objectives and policies, financial position or portfolio composition of any recipient. SPA is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of such information. Where the subject of the research is a client company of SPA we may have shown a draft of the research (or parts of it) to the company prior to publication to check factual accuracy, soundness of assumptions etc.

Distribution of this note does not imply distribution of future notes covering the same issuers, companies or subject matter.

Where the investment is traded on AIM it should be noted that liquidity may be lower and price movements more volatile.

SPA, its partners, officers and/or employees may own or have positions in any investment(s) mentioned herein or related thereto and may, from time to time add to, or dispose of, any such investment(s).

SPA is registered in England and Wales with company number OC317049.  The registered office address is Prince Frederick House, 35-39 Maddox Street, London W1S 2PP.  SPA is authorised and regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority and is a Member of the London Stock Exchange plc.

MiFID II – Based on our analysis we have concluded that this note may be received free of charge by any person subject to the new MiFID II rules on research unbundling pursuant to the exemptions within Article 12(3) of the MiFID II Delegated Directive and FCA COBS Rule 2.3A.19.

A full analysis is available on our website here http://www.spangel.co.uk/legal-and-regulatory-notices.html. If you have any queries, feel free to contact our Compliance Officer, Tim Jenkins (tim.jenkins@spangel.co.uk).

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 of less than 15%