Kainantu Resources Ltd (TSX-V:KRL) CEO Matthew Salthouse told shareholders that the Asia-Pacific-focused resource company spend a busy first quarter putting the pieces in place to develop its portfolio of projects.
The Canadian firm’s focus during 1Q was on priority projects at Kili Teke and Ontenu/KRL South, it said in a statement.
Ongoing work at the Ontenu prospect helped to define drill targets, with samples ranging up to 1.55ppm gold (Au); 3,893ppm copper (Cu) and 20.8ppp silver (Ag).
Elsewhere, the firm delivered a technical report for the Kili Teke project, with an estimated inferred mineral resource of 237 million tons at 0.34% Cu, 0.24 grams per tonne (g/t) Au and 168ppm molybdenum (Mo), for a total of 802,000 tons of Cu, 1.81 million ounces of Au and 40,000 tons Mo (at a 0.2% Cu cut-off).
And, capping off a busy period, the company completed a study at the Mountain Gate prospect on the May River project, where geochemical analysis identified a likely shallow buried gold and copper-rich porphyry target.
In total, Kainantu spent around $320,000 on exploration and evaluation activities and the same amount used for operating activities.
The operating loss for the period was $0.31 million, largely in line with $0.26 million in 2022 with small increases in travel costs and professional fees relating to fundraising, the firm noted.
More recently, Kainantu announced it had secured C$1.4 million via a senior convertible debenture to fund its projects and operations.
“During the quarter, considerable focus was applied towards funding initiatives to enable the consolidation and development of our foundation assets; providing a platform to preserve and build upon our blue chip portfolio at Kainantu, May River and Kili Teke,” CEO Salthouse told shareholders in a statement.
“The recently announced convertible debenture supports this strategy, providing funding to lock in value generating initiatives; primarily at Kili Teke and Ontenu/KRL South.”
Kainantu’s three prospective gold-copper projects, KRL South, KRL North and May River, are all located in premier mining regions in Papua New Guinea.
Contact Angela at angela@proactiveinvestors.com
Follow her on Twitter @AHarmantas