SP Angel Morning View -Today’s Market View, Thursday 13th March 2025

Gold pushes higher on weaker CPI and more buying plans for Central Banks

MiFID II exempt information – see disclaimer below

Alba Mineral Resources (ALBA LN) – Progress at Clogau, North Wales

Aura Energy* (AURA LN) – Interim report highlights progress at both Tiris and Häggån

Barrick Gold (GOLD N) – Jaffar Express retaken by Pakistan security forces from Baloch Liberation Army

Botswana Diamonds (BOD LN) – Botswana exploration licence applications

Cornish Metals* (CUSN LN) – Annual results highlight progress at South Crofty tin mine in Cornwall, UK

Gem Diamonds (GEMD LN) – High value diamonds from Letšeng bolster 2024 results

Orosur Mining* (OMI LN) – C$5m placing to fund gold exploration in Colombia

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

Solidcore Resources (CORE KX) – Acquisition of Tokhtar project, Kazakhstan

Thor Energy (THR LN) – Licensing approval for South Australian hydrogen/helium exploration

Gold ($2,948/oz) pushes higher on weaker CPI and more buying plans for Central Banks

• Gold is climbing higher, testing all-time highs again following a weaker-than-expected CPI reading.
• However, the data failed to push Treasury yields lower on expected stronger PCE data.
• Gold is being supported amid wider market volatility, with a rally in the Yen upending the associated carry trade, causing selling in US equities.
• Gold’s safe haven status is coming to the fore, with the SP500 and Nasdaq down 4.4% and 6.5% respectively ytd whilst gold has rallied over 12%.
• Bolivia has announced plans to quadruple gold purchases this year to boost their foreign reserves.
• The buying plans account for c.$1bn worth of gold at spot prices and ties in with a wider theme of de-dollarisation in favour of gold for central banks.
• Chinese has been leading this trend, with the PBoC now buying gold for the past four straight months, having resumed purchases in November.

Copper ($9,750/t) continues rally as major Chinese smelter cuts output amid fee slump

• Copper prices pushed higher on the LME and COMEX amid ongoing tariff concerns, weak dollar and output cuts in China.
• Bloomberg reports Tongling has slashed processing of concentrate by 10%, on weak TCRC fees.
• Fees have been sliding since last year following a large-scale rollout of smelter capacity from China, Indonesia, and the DRC.
• The Group is bringing forward maintenance plans for two plants with >700ktpa refined capacity, having originally been scheduled for 2026.
• A third Tongling smelter, also with 700ktpa refined capacity, has shut a 200ktpa furnace for maintenance.
• Firms recently agreed $20/t for concentrate processing.
• Bullish calls continue to escalate on copper, amid expected ex-US physical market tightening through May/June and Trump’s Section 232 on the metal.
• Refined copper output rose 5.25% to 1.9mt from January to February with a further strong 4.3% rise expected in March before falling in April on maintenance shutdowns (Antaike)
• China’s new grid infrastructure upgrades alongside its Belt and Road plans are likely to drive ongoing consumption.

Tungsten – Tungsten prices rise as China tightens export controls

• European spot prices for APT jumped 8% on 6 March after China restricted exports of tungsten, tellurium, bismuth, molybdenum and indium in probable retaliation the US additional 10% tariff.
• Rather unusually, the restrictions are immediately effective with China producing  81% of global tungsten raw material supply.
• Tungsten APT prices have risen to US$358/mtu from $343/mtu in September for for 88.5% FOB China (Asian Metals)
• Tungsten Oxide WO3 has jumped to $360/mtu from $340/mtu for 99.95% min FOB China.
• Ferro-Tungsten prices have leapt to $46.6/kg from $43/kg for 75% min FOB China.

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 – Federal reserve likely to cut interest rates further after inflation falls to 2.8%

Equity indices closed higher on lower than forecast February inflation reading helped by a bounce in risk sentiment post Monday sell off.

• 10y yields fell on the announcement more than 5bp only to recover afterwards currently trading above 4.3%.
• Markets are continuing to price in a 25bp cut in June followed by further two before year end.
• The government is heading for the first shutdown since December 2018 as Senate Democrats indicated they will not support a Republican stop gap funding bill. (FT)
• Republicans narrowly passed the bill through the House on Tuesday night to extend funding at current levels to the end of September.
• “Funding the government should be a bipartisan effort but Republicans chose a partisan path, drafting their continuing resolution without any input from congressional Democrats,” Chuck Schumer, Democratic Senate minority leader said.
• While Republicans hold a 53 to 47 majority in the Senate, a “supermajority” of 60 is required to pass the bill in the chamber.
• President Trump said that he would respond to the EU’s countermeasures against 25% steel and aluminium tariffs.

• CPI (%mom, Feb/Jan/Est): 0.2/0.5/0.3

• Core CPI (%mom, Feb/Jan/Est): 0.2/0.4/0.3
• CPI (%yoy, Feb/Jan/Est): 2.8/3.0/2.9
• Core CPI (%yoy, Feb/Jan/Est): 3.1/3.3/3.2
• The US is ultimately looking to create a common agreement with Mexico and Canada against China.

China – Chinese vehicle sales rose 13.4% yoy in February vs -0.5% in January

France – The Bank of France cuts its growth forecasts by 0.2pp to 0.7% for 2025 amid tariffs uncertainty.

UK – London property market is expected to post the largest drop in the near term as the capital is disproportionately hit by economic uncertainty and higher taxes. (Bloomberg)

• New buyer sentiment weakened to the lowest since Nov23, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.
• Agents expect London home values to fall over the next three months more than anywhere else across the country.

Starmer to cut ‘flabby’ state

• Is Starmer the new Elon Musk and Margaret Thatcher?
• Starmer is looking to fund £13bn to fund the new defence budget and there are few other options for funding.
• First Starmer cut the foreign aid budget and now they are cutting the ‘flabby’ state?
• The UK Civil Service has grown by 130,000 since the EU referendum with no discernible improvement in front-line services.
• Will be interesting to see how the unions react to the news.

UK small cap funding – We are hearing reports of new funding being directed into UK small cap investment funds

• We hear a significant tertiary educational institution is directing funds towards UK small cap specialist fund managers
• We also hear some of the Mansion House Pension fund money is also coming into the early-stage market

Ukraine/Russia – US officials land in Moscow to start discussions over a ceasefire deal as President Trump is expected to have a call with President Putin

• Russia reported that it pushed out Ukrainian troops from Sudzha, a key town in the Kursk region. (Bloomberg)
• The news may weaken Kyiv negotiating position as President Zelenskiy planned to use those territories as a potential bargaining chip in the peace talks.

Trump threatens to ‘devastate’ Russian economy if Putin refuses 30-day ceasefire

• We suspect Putin will pretend to talk while continuing to degrade Ukrainian infrastructure and push to gain ground on front lines.
• Has Trump forgotten that Putin and Xi are looking to collapse the dominance of the US dollar and degrade the US economy.
• If Putin agrees to a ceasefire we worry Russia will simply rebuild its stock of drones and missiles in preparation for a surprise attack against Ukraine following some made-up infringement of the ceasefire.
• We suspect this would leave Ukraine in a worse state than the current situation.
• Putin is has also said captured Ukrainian soldiers will be “treated as terrorists” rather than prisoners of war. Reports indicate Russian forces have already murdered Ukrainian prisoners.

Currencies

US$1.0880/eur vs 1.0911/eur previous. Yen 147.81/$ vs 148.38/$. SAr 18.367/$ vs 18.345/$. $1.296/gbp vs $1.293/gbp. 0.630/aud vs 0.629/aud. CNY 7.243/$ vs 7.244/$

Dollar Index 103.618 vs 103.576 previous

Precious metals:         

Gold US$2,941/oz vs US$2,918/oz previous

Gold ETFs 86.3moz vs 86.2moz previous

Platinum US$977/oz vs US$988/oz previous

Palladium US$948/oz vs US$956/oz previous

Silver US$33.1/oz vs US$32.9/oz previous

Rhodium US$5,400/oz vs US$5,750/oz previous

Base metals:   

Copper US$9,729/t vs  US$9,744/t previous

Aluminium US$2,685/t vs US$2,715/t previous

Nickel US$16,480/t vs US$16,645/t previous

Zinc US$2,928/t vs US$2,926/t previous

Lead US$2,072/t vs US$2,073/t previous

Tin US$33,395/t vs US$33,390/t previous           

Energy:           

Oil US$71.1/bbl vs US$69.9/bbl previous

• Crude oil prices were flat as the EIA estimated a US inventory w/w build of 1.4mb to crude, offset by draws of 5.7mb to gasoline and 1.6mb to diesel stocks, refinery utilisation up 0.6% w/w to 86.5% and 13.6mb/d output.
• European natural gas prices were stable as EU natural gas storage levels fell by 1.1% w/w to 36.2% full (vs 46.7% 5-Yr average) with aggregate inventory now at 415TWh and Germany falling to 31.5% full.
• Scatec has signed a 25-year USD-denominated corporate Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Egypt Aluminium for a $650m 1.1GW solar + 100MW/200MWh BESS project, which will enable the decarbonisation of its aluminium production to meet EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) requirements.

Natural Gas €42.4/MWh vs €42.4/MWh previous

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

Bulk:   

Iron Ore 62% Fe Spot (China CFR) US$101.9/t vs US$100.4/t

Chinese steel rebar 25mm US$483.9/t vs US$484.4/t

HCC FOB Australia US$175.5/t vs US$181.0/t

Thermal coal swap Australia FOB US$107.9/t vs US$110.2/t

Other:  

Cobalt LME 3m US$33,565/t vs US$29,210/t

NdPr Rare Earth Oxide (China) US$61,375/t vs US$61,295/t

Lithium carbonate 99% (China) US$10,010/t vs US$10,009/t

China Spodumene Li2O 6%min CIF US$810/t vs US$815/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$4.8/lb vs US$4.8/lb

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

China Ilmenite Concentrate TiO2 US$300/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$337.5/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$385.0/kg

Company News

Alba Mineral Resources (ALBA LN) 0.01p, Mkt cap £1.3m – Progress at Clogau, North Wales

• Alba Mineral Resources has issued a progress report on its continuing work at the historic Clogau St David gold mine in North Wales.
• The company has confirmed that its initial, Phase 1 underground blasting programme on No. 5 level has resulted in a total of 123t being “removed to surface … [made up of] … a combination of newly blasted ore and historic material left behind or deposited during previous mining periods”.
• Processing of 11.6t of the newly blasted ore has yielded ~109kg of concentrate from which “the Company’s usual third party refiner” has recovered 11.58g of gold implying a recovered grade of around 1g/t of ore treated.
• The company’s Executive Chairman, George Frangeskides, explained that as “the first phase of the blasting programme did not reach the proposed first incline raise and so the blasted material to date does not represent the projected high-grade zone within the Llechfraith Target, our primary gold target within Clogau. As such, the gold grades in that key zone remain to be ascertained”.
• Among the changes outlined in a revised work programme are:
  • The completion of “processing of the current surface stockpiles …totalling around 145 tonnes”; and
  • The completion of “the Waste Pit sampling programme to date, where bulk grades of up to 3 g/t gold were defined”; and
  • The resumption of “the underground development programme on No.5 Level to complete the planned 1-2 incline raises” which are intended to access the expected higher grade sections of mineralisation.
• Alba Mineral Resources acknowledges that the Level 5 blasting programme progressed slower than expected and the appointment, announced today, of former SRK Principal Mining Engineer, Dr. Peter Bolt, as Chief Mining Engineer may deliver improvements “in terms of our formulation of a forward plan for Clogau”.

Aura Energy* (AURA LN) 5.5p, Mkt Cap £50m – Interim report highlights progress at both Tiris and Häggån

(Aura Energy hold 100% of Tiris Uranium and 100% of the Häggån Project in Sweden, Häggån hosts 2.5bnt of vanadium, SOP ‘sulphate of potash’ and uranium resource)

• In its interim report for the six months to 31^st December, Aura Energy announces a net pre and after-tax loss of A$11.2m (2023 – A$3.0m loss) and a closing cash balance of A$20.6m.
• Operational highlights include the 49% increase in the mineral reserve estimate for the flagship Tiris uranium project in Mauritania announced in June and now standing at 62.8mt at an average grade of 243ppm U₃O₈ hosting 33.6m lbs of U₃O₈.
• Aura Energy expresses the view that the “Tiris Uranium Project also holds significant potential for further Mineral Resource and Ore Reserve growth around Tiris East, and across northern Mauritania within Aura’s 13,000km² of tenements under application”.
• The company also highlights the updated production estimates enabled by the increased reserve base which could potentially expand the mining rate to 6.25mtpa and produce “approximately 3,000,000 pounds of U₃O₈”.
• Aura Energy says that this expansion “could enhance the project’s net present value 8 by 9% to US$544 million, increase the IRR to approximately to ~45% post tax, and boost post tax, average annual cash flows by 37%”.
• Outlining its plans for the project during “second half of FY25, Aura will continue developing the Tiris Uranium Project, including basic engineering and early works definition, completion of water borefield testing, engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) documentation and progressing funding opportunities for the development of the project” which is expected to receive a final investment decision in 2025 and start operation in 2027.
• Elsewhere, Aura Energy describes “progress in advancing … [its Swedish]… Häggån … [project where it has ] … submitted an exploitation permit application … to the Swedish Mining Inspectorate”.
• Further progress at Häggån is expected following “a Swedish government inquiry … [which] … recommended lifting the national ban on uranium mining, in place since 2018”.
• “Aura welcomed this recommendation, highlighting that the Häggån Project contains approximately 800 million pounds of uranium. The Company stated that the project ‘could meet Sweden’s needs for over 300 years at current usage levels”.
• The company bolstered its financial resources through an A$9m placement to professional and sophisticated investors which will help “support development activities at Tiris beyond the Final Investment Decision (FID), expected in early 2025, with production targeted for late 2026/early 2027”.

Conclusion: Aura Energy confirms progress towards an FID on the Tiris project in 2025. Increased ore reserves at the project are expected to facilitate increased production and improve the project’s economics as it moves towards construction and production targeted for 2027.

*SP Angel acts as Nomad to Aura Energy

Barrick Gold (GOLD N) $18bn, Mkt cap US$32bn – Reko Diq project likely set back as Pakistan security forces retake Jaffar Express from Baloch Liberation Army

• The Baloch Liberation Army had demanded the release of Baloch political prisoners, activists, and missing persons within 48 hours.
• Militants were in communication with their handlers and masterminds in Afghanistan via satellite phones.
• The militants are said to have been wearing jackets filled with explosives.
• Reports indicate the Pakistan security have regained the train and killed the militants.
• They say 21 people were killed by the militants before the final clearance.
• Barrick Gold is looking to develop the Reko Diq mine in Balochistan for a total capex of $8.8bn (Phase1 $5.5bn, Phase 2 $3.5bn)
• The mine could produce some 200,000tpa and $74bn in free cash flow over 37 years.
• Barrick Gold holds 50% alongside the Pakistani government at 25% and the Balochistan provincial government at 25%.
• We suspect this latest incident will be a further setback to Barrick’s ambitions to the development of the Redo Diq project.

Botswana Diamonds (BOD LN) 0.11p, Mkt Cap £1.3m – Botswana exploration licence applications

1. Botswana Diamonds reports that it has applied for eleven additional Prospecting Licences covering an area of 7,322km² in Botswana and considered prospective for copper, silver, cobalt, gold, nickel, zinc and platinum group metals.
2. The new applications stem from the company’s “comprehensive country-wide AI exploration programme in Botswana where the initial focus was on diamonds … [which has been] … expanded to look for hidden polymetallic deposits”.
3. Explaining that the “applications have been accepted”, Chairman, John Teeling, explained that “During the initial analysis of the big database, it became clear that the AI technology could be used to identify other unknown minerals opportunities… [including] … a series of targets in copper cobalt, zinc and gold”.

Conclusion: We look forward to results of field exploration from the newly identified target areas in Botswana.

Cornish Metals* (CUSN LN) 7.6p, Mkt Cap £94m – Annual results highlight progress at South Crofty tin mine in Cornwall, UK

CLICK FOR PDF – https://feeds.bbci.co.uk/news/articles/cjr85edxj24o

• Cornish Metals report annual results for the year to end-December 2024.
• Total operating expenses came in at C$8.8m vs C$4.9m in 2023 due to increased corporate activity and settlement with former CEO
  • C$2.8m was also spent on land next to the surface infrastructure at South Crofty.
  • C$2.2m was spent on replacement equipment for the South Cofty tin mine;
    • inc. final payments for the permanent pumps for the underground pump station, cages and the new winders, and associated commissioning costs.
  • Dewatering cost C$5.5m for power, reagents, sludge disposal and maintenance of the treatment plant.
  • C$13.2m was spent on engineering studies and NCK shaft re-access & refurbishment along with other advances to the project.
  • C$1.6m was also spent on exploration at the Wide Formation.
• The company says that “operating expenses have risen reflecting increased investor & media engagement, higher professional fees associated with more corporate activity and termination settlement payable to the former CEO.”
• Loss for the period fell to C$1.1m vs C$2.7m
• Net cash used in operating activities rose to C$4.5m vs C$2.7m as the mine worked on renovation of the main shaft
• Net cash used in investing activities C$24.9m vs C$28.2m
  • C$3.0m was received as an R&D tax credit.
  • C$12.3m was also received in net proceeds received under the secured debt facility entered into with Vision Blue.
  • Cash held fell by $16.2m to C$9.6m at end December due  mainly due to ongoing development South Crofty, partially offset by disposal of non-core assets in North America and the debt facility entered into with Vision Blue.
  • The company posted a gain of C$4.7m from the sale of the Mactung and Cantung royalties with US$1.5m deferred till August 2025.
• Net cash (used in) provided by financing activities C$12.0m vs C$32.1m
• Cash at end of the period C$9.6m vs C$258m
• Cornish Metals raised £57.4m in January conditionally supported by £28.6m from the National Wealth Fund Limited and £18.1m from Vision Blue with a further £10.7m other investors and £1.4m from a retail offer.
• Cornish Metals highlights the January 2025 £57.4m fundraising including the participation of the National Wealth Fund (NWF) and pre-existing shareholder, Vision Blue helping to de-risk the refurbishment of the South Crofty mine and “advance it towards a formal final investment decision”.
• The company confirms that the funds are being raised “in two tranches with the first tranche of 133,817,678 shares issued on February 7, 2025. The second tranche of 583,325,689 shares is expected to be issued on or around March 24, 2025, subject to shareholder approval at the Special Meeting to be held on March 18, 2025”.
• Today’s announcement also highlights the appointment of CEO, Don Turvey, in August 2024 and his track record of taking “new projects and historic mines through to production”.
• Cornish Metals also reiterates the principal conclusions of its April 2024 PEA for South Crofty which describes the investment of US$177m in pre-production capital delivering an after tax NPV8% of US$201m and IRR of 29.8% from the production of ~49,000t of tin metal at ana average all-in-sustaining cost of US$13,661/t over a 14-year mine life.
• The announcement also describes progress of near-mine exploration identifying additional potential hosted in the ‘Wide Formation’ project in the area south of the mine

*SP Angel acts as Nomad and Broker to Cornish Metals. An SP Angel analyst formerly worked in the South Crofty tin mine in the 1980s and holds shares in Cornish Metals

Gem Diamonds (GEMD LN) 9.9p, Mkt Cap £13m – High value diamonds from Letšeng bolster 2024 results

• Reporting its results for the year ending 31^st December 2024, Gem Diamonds announces a profit of US$8.1m (2023 – US$1.6m) and closing net debt of US$7.3m (2023 – US$21.3m).
• Revenue of US$154.2m (2023 – US$140.3m) is underpinned by the production of 105,012 carats (2023 – 109,656 carats) comfortably exceeding the revised guidance range of 98-101,000carats.
• The company explains that, despite the uncertain global economic and geopolitical backdrop the increased revenue resulted from the sale of “13 diamonds greater than 100 carats … [which] … together with the implementation of numerous cost reduction initiatives resulted in a 95% increase in underlying EBITDA … [to US$29.7m] … compared to 2023” (US$15.2m).
• Gem Diamonds explains that during 2024 it optimised its mine plan for Letšeng with steeper pit walls leading to a meaningful reduction in waste volumes to be extracted from the Satellite pit.
• CEO, Clifford Elphick, explained that Gem Diamond is now focusing on “the safe implementation of Letšeng’s updated mine plan, which will significantly reduce waste volumes. The next four years will be challenging with limited access to higher-value Satellite ore. We will continue to look for opportunities to further optimise our mine plan to ensure the profitability of our operations”.
• Commenting on the rough diamond market, Mr. Elphick said that “2025 has begun with modest improvements in prices of both rough and polished diamonds … [and he expressed optimism] … that this will continue throughout the year”.

Conclusion: The Letšeng mine’s ability to recover large, high-value diamonds helped drive an improvement in revenue, EBITDA and profit during 2024.  The company expresses optimism for a continuation in the price improvements for both rough and polished diamonds experienced so far this year.

Orosur Mining* (OMI LN) 11.2p, Mkt Cap £29m – C$5m placing to fund gold exploration in Colombia

• Orosur reports a placing of 29,411,764 C$0.17/unit for gross proceeds of C$5m.
• Each unit will consist of one common share and one half of one common share purchase warrant.
• The warrant will entitle the holder to purchase one common share at C$0.25 within 24 months of the closing date.
• The Agent will also be able to sell an additional 5,882,353 units for C$1m in gross proceeds.
• The Company will use the funds to progress exploration at Anzá.

Conclusion: Orosur is now well-funded to progress the Pepas project, having drilled out the high-grade zone, boosting their understanding of the geometry of the gold mineralisation which seems to be defined by two converging faults. We see the prospectivity of scale to the north as a potential game-changer for the Company, and this placing will enable the Company to progress vital exploration, whilst gold continues to push towards $3,000/oz.

*SP Angel acts as Nomad and Broker to Orosur Mining

Panther Metals (PALM LN) 42.5p , Mkt Cap £2.1m – Geochemical soil results from the Dotted Lake project, Ontario

• Panther Metals reports that geochemical soil sampling over 5.5km strike length of its Dotted Lake exploration project in Ontario has “delineated multiple new target areas around Lampson Lake”.
• The project area is around 16km from the Hemlo gold mine of Barrick near Marathon Ontario.
• Anomalous levels of nickel, cobalt, copper and gold were identified in 2021 and follow up sampling in 2024 “has extended soil geochemistry data coverage on both the northwestern and northeastern shores of Dotted Lake … and has provided exciting new target areas and trends for further investigation with standout areas of interest in the vicinity of Lampson Lake and along the north shore of Dotted Lake”.
• As well as anomalous levels of copper zinc, nickel, cobalt and gold identified in lake sediments around Lampson Lake, the survey has shown “highly anomalous, regionally significant, nickel and cobalt anomalies coincident with ultramafic intrusive targets along the eastern north shore of Dotted Lake”.
• Today’s announcement confirms that the “Soil Survey work is supported by the Ontario Junior Exploration Program (“OJEP”), a provincial government grant to help junior companies finance early exploration projects. OJEP covers 50% of eligible costs for approved programmes, with the agreed contribution to Panther for this work totalling Canadian $56,930”.

Solidcore Resources (CORE KX) $3.6, Mkt Cap $1.7bn – Acquisition of Tokhtar project, Kazakhstan

• Formerly Polymetal, Solidcore has acquired the Tokhtar mining licence, which holds a JORC MRE of 1.1moz Au.
• The project lies 180km SW from Solidcore’s Varvara hub.
• Solidcore will acquire a 51% interest in the Project for US$25m, with an additional 23% acquired following a reserve estimate at a price based on the estimate results.
• The remaining 26% will be acquired following a KazRC-compliant reserve estimate for the Barambay area.
• The seller will also receive a deferred variable consideration linked to future metal processing volumes.
• The ore will be processed at the Company’s Varvara flotation plant and concentrate treated at Ertis POX.
• Solidicore notes the Project supports an extended mine life for Varvara, a low-CAPEX development and leverages the Company’s processing expertise.
• The Company expects to produce 468koz GE this year, and is currently executing a large-scale programme due for completion in 2029.
• Solidcore is aiming to boost reserves to 25moz from c.11moz currently and grow production to 1mozpa by 2029.
• The Company is prioritising Kazakhstan for growth potential, alongside Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Saudi.
• Their large-scale POX plant, Ertis, is expected to end commissioning in 1H28 and begin ramp up.

Thor Energy (THR LN) 0.58p, Mkt Cap £5.8m – Licensing approval for South Australian hydrogen/helium exploration

• Thor Energy reports that its 80.2% owned Go Exploration Pty has received approval to convert an existing petroleum exploration licence in South Australia to a “regulated substance exploration licence” allowing it to explore for “regulated substances, including hydrogen and helium”.
• The company confirms that “Go Exploration will now progress to planning and executing the initial exploration phase”.
• Welcoming the State’s Department for Energy Mining decision, Managing Director, Andrew Hume described it as “a pivotal development for our hydrogen project … [and confirmed that] … the results of our prospective natural hydrogen and helium resource assessment … [are] … expected to be released to the market in the coming weeks”.

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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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