Altus Strategies* (LON:ALS) – Multiple mineralised high grade gold veins discovered at Laboum
Anglo Asian Mining* (LON:AAZ) – Site visit reveals fast pace of new mining activity
Caledonia Mining (LON:CMCL) – Record quarterly production
Ortac Resources* (LON:OTC) – First assay results from the drill programme at Akyanga
SolGold* (LON:SOGL) – SolGold sweep up awards at Toronto’s Mines and Money Americas Conference
W Resources (LON:WRES) – £1m equity raise
Commercialisation of Toshiba’s ‘titanium niobium oxide’ next generation battery brings growing demand to Bluejay Mining Plc’s flagship ilmenite project
• The ‘game changing advance’ in Japanese tech major Toshiba’s next generation SCiB battery is set to transform the range and performance of current electric vehicles.
• The Super Charge-ion Batteries rely on a proprietary titanium niobium oxide (TNO) ceramic nanoporous anodes to provide transformative performance compared to existing lithium-ion batteries, which rely on graphite based anodes.
• The new batteries are expected to provide over double the lithium storage capacity by volume, translating into a three-times improvement to electric vehicle range, up to 320km, from a 6-minute charge.
• Toshiba achieve next-generation performance via the synthesis and disarrangement of TNO crystals in order to store charge-carrying lithium ions in a more efficient crystal structure.
• The batteries display long-life recharge potential at high current rates, and are less likely to experience degenerative lithium metal deposition characteristic of traditional technology.
• The company has stated that the technology operates at “high power” without stating watts.
• In comparison with the proposed Toshiba solution, todays Tesla fast chargers operate at 480v producing circa 120kw providing an additional 170 miles of range for a 30 minute charge.
• Toshiba plans to put the technology into practical application in just two years, which coincides favourably with the expected first production of titanium products Bluejay Mining Plc’s Pituffik high-grade mineral sand ilmenite project.
Dow Jones Industrials +0.09% at 22,662
Nikkei 225 +0.01% at 20,629
HK Hang Seng +0.73% at 28,379
Shanghai Composite Closed for holidays 3,349
FTSE 350 Mining +1.03% at 17,414
AIM Basic Resources +0.10% at 2,470
Economics
Currencies
US$1.1772/eur vs1.1753/eur yesterday. Yen 112.70/$ vs112.55/$. SAr 13.603/$ vs13.584/$. $1.319/gbp vs$1.327/gbp.
0.783/aud vs0.785/aud. CNY 6.653/$ vs 6.653/$.
Commodity News
Precious metals:
Gold US$1,275/oz vsUS$1,276/oz yesterday
• Gold traded within a level range on robust U.S. service sector growth throughout September, despite deflated Treasury Yields.
• Markets wait for Friday’s announced U.S. non-farm payroll data to impact the dollar index, with investor expectations supporting a reduction in new jobs following disruptions from Hurricanes Harvey and Irma.
• Despite the Trump administration admitting a direct contact with North Korea over its missile and nuclear tests, there have been few developments in resolving the talks.
• Fed fund futures displayed an 83 percent chance of a December rate hike by the U.S. central bank.
• The fall in gold price is expected to peak interest in Chinese investors as they return from the week-long National holiday.
Gold ETFs 69.1moz vsUS$69.1moz yesterday
Platinum US$914/oz vUS$915/oz yesterday
Palladium US$927/oz vsUS$921/oz yesterday
Silver US$16.62/oz vsUS$16.76/oz yesterday
Base metals:
Copper US$ 6,566/t vsUS$6,492/t yesterday
Aluminium US$ 2,164/t vsUS$2,145/t yesterday
Nickel US$ 10,675/t vsUS$10,665/t yesterday
• The election of the Philippine’s latest environmental secretary, Roy Cimatu, has the nickel market waiting in anticipation to discover production changes from the world’s top nickel ore supplier.
• The secretary’s predecessor pursued strict wide-scale mine shutdowns over environmental concerns, and future re-openings are under discussions.
Zinc US$ 3,292/t vsUS$3,275/t yesterday
• Base metal prices trader lower following Wednesday’s investor profit-taking, with zinc contracting from 10-year highs.
• Buoyant base metal trading has been strongly influenced by China’s domestic output cull resulting from ongoing stringent environmental legislations.
• The closure of ageing plants and mines is expected to boost the demand for more expensive imports. Chinese zinc imports throughout August, at 65,609 tonnes, represent a 160 percent increase from August 2017.
Lead US$ 2,560/t vsUS$2,575/t yesterday
Tin US$ 20,800/t vsUS$20,770/t yesterday
Energy:
Oil US$56.0/bbl vsUS$55.6/bbl yesterday
• Russian President Vladimir Putin announced ongoing discussions with OPEC and rival oil producers to combat global supply glut. The expiring pact, finishing in March, aims to extend the output restrictions by 1.8 million barrels per day into the end of 2018.
• U.S. crude oil stocks drastically fell on the back of unexpected Energy Information Administration record export figures of approximately 2 million barrels per day. Crude inventories fell almost 8x analyst expectations of 756,000 barrels in the week to Sept. 29.
Natural Gas US$2.947/mmbtu vsUS$2.913/mmbtu yesterday
Uranium US$20.45/lb vsUS$20.45/lb yesterday
Bulk:
Iron ore 62% Fe spot (cfr Tianjin) US$61.9/t vsUS$61.9/t
• Slowing momentum of China’s economy is expected to hamper steelmaking during the winter period. Despite pollution reducing initiatives, elevated port stocks and falling prices are continuing to disrupt the iron ore market.
Chinese steel rebar 25mm US$621.2/t vsUS$621.2/t
Thermal coal (1st year forward cif ARA) US$81.6/t vsUS$80.5/t
Premium hard coking coal Aus fob US$188.0/t vsUS$188.0/t
Other:
Tungsten APT European US$290-305/mtu vs US$310-335/mtu
Company News
Altus Strategies* (LON:ALS) 8.4p, Mkt Cap £9.0m – Multiple mineralised high grade gold veins discovered at Laboum
Target price 13.7p
• The field team discovered 995m of high grade bearing quartz veins across a part of the Landou target, Cameroon.
• Based on the ground magnetic data and reconnaissance mapping, the team mapped 24 veins cropping out along a discontinuous strike length of 2,800m within a 75m wide corridor.
• Separate veins extended for up to 250m in strike and 40m in width.
• 50 grab samples collected from the quartz veins returned high grades including three highest grade samples of 24.5g/t, 16.2g/t and 3.0g/t.
• The plan is to proceed with a systematic channel and grab sampling programme in 25-50m spaced intervals across mapped veins to identify gold distribution within individual veins and across the structure.
• Concurrently, the Company will continue further reconnaissance works across the target using the ground magnetic data looking for new veins.
Conclusion: Field works at Landou, part of the Laboum license in Northern Cameroon, return high grade grab samples results across a number of outcropping veins pointing to the prospectivity of the area. A follow up channel and grab sampling will help to continuity and distribution of the mineralisation ultimately allowing the team to identify exploration drilling targets.
*SP Angel acts as Nomad and Broker to Altus Strategies
Anglo Asian Mining* (LON:AAZ) 27p, Mkt Cap £30.7m – Site visit reveals fast pace of new mining activity
• Anglo Asian Mining surprised us this week with the level of new mining activity ongoing on site.
• The company reported the temporary cessation of the Gedabek open pit earlier this year to allow the plant to catch up with processing stockpiled ore and to enable machinery to focus on one new mine and tailings dam expansion project within the mining license.
• The new UGUR mine is working following the completion of a new 6km haul road to the mine. The new road was started in May and completed ahead of expectations enabling the rapid start of mining from this 200,000oz of gold orebody.
• UGUR H: around 1,000t of ore per day are being fed from the new open pit at UGUR H. This is being blended and fed into the plant raising our expectations for gold production. Grades in the pit run from 4-5g/t. Overmining is progressing for stockpile development.
• UGUR L: further ore is also being supplied to the plant from UGUR L. Grades here are lower at around 1.5-2g/t.
• The latest Ugur reserve statement assumed 145kt and 362kt mined at average grades of 2.44g/t and 2.08g/t and to be directed to the agitation leaching plant from Ugur in Sep-Dec/17 and 2018, respectively.
• Gadir: a further 500tpd of ore from underground development work is coming in from the new Gadir underground mine running at some 4g/t vs ~100tpd seen in Q2. The underground workings are now some 200m underneath and adjacent to the level of the Gedabek open pit workings and are close to preparation for ore mining, with the ongoing spiral ramp development.
• The exact mining method and drill patterns are still being evaluated despite development now at the orebody after three years of preparatory work though the company has previously reported its intention to fan drill from the underground workings. Sheeted veins containing gold and copper are clearly visible in the underground workings as they are in the open pit workings overhead.
• A proportion of the underground ore is unusually soft and friable but with competent hangingwall rocks making it ideal for blending and sweetening ores from other parts of the mining operation.
• Gadir-Gedabek mine extension: a new drive tunnel in the Gadir mine is currently being developed to test and rapidly develop a new extension to the Gedabek-Gadir mine. 2018 will see tunnelling and drilling work targeting the mineralisation below the open pit.
• Gedabek: the Gedabek copper, gold mine is being prepared for reopening with blast holes being prepared for ore extraction towards the base of the pit. Further work is ongoing to plan the extraction of the push back of the high-wall to allow mining to continue in the pit for around another seven years in addition to the two or three which are currently accessible.
• Mining in the Gedabek open pit mine will run alongside mining from the Gadir underground which is some 200m below the current open pit.
• Plant expansion: Gedabek has one of the world's most versatile and flexible gold plants in operation with capacity to process more ore through the addition of a second front-end crusher. The new crusher project sounds well advanced and may be up and running within 4-5 months of its order being placed enabling appreciable expansion of plant capacity.
• We expect Anglo Asian to continue reducing outstanding debt levels (H1/17: $29.5m in net debt) with strong operating cash flows more than covering ongoing investments
• CAPEX: Anglo Asian are developing new resources at an exceptional rate and at competitive cost. The Ugur mine is thought to have cost just $2m to explore and develop, partly due to its proximity to the Gedabek plant and its open cast operation. The Gadir underground mine which now extends to 2km of near 4m x 4m tunnels may have cost less than it would to employ a couple of Australian truck drivers in the Pilbara through the same period.
• Workforce: the mine now employs nearly a 1,000 staff and contractors working at the Gedabek area highlighting its criticality to the local economy.
• Gedabek Town: There is so much more going on in Gedabek than there was. The town is totally transformed from the desperate poverty-stricken village it was when we first visited in 2004. Hundreds of new houses, offices and shops opening in the area highlight the multiplier effect of wages of the mine combined with contracting businesses and the entrepreneurship of the local people. Gedabek can be held up as a leading example of how mining can reinvigorate the most depressed of local economies.
Conclusion: Anglo Asian Mining is transforming its mining operation. A new mine is feeding the plant, supplementing ore from stockpiles and its other mines. Another new underground mine may start shortly and the original Gedabek open pit may restart mining shortly. Further plant expansion should enable gold production to ramp-up again to new levels, enable standalone copper concentrate production and for costs to fall as blended grades rise with the higher grade ores being fed. If anyone doubted the resourceful ambition of Anglo Asian they should think again.
*SP Angel acts as nomad and broker to Anglo Asian Mining
Caledonia Mining (LON:CMCL) 465p, Mkt Cap £49.2m – Record quarterly production
• The Blanket operation production climbed to 14.4koz in Q3/17, up 15%qoq/7%yoy and marking a new quarterly record production.
• Stronger production is expected to continue through the remainder of the year with the management narrowing 2017 output range guidance to 54-56koz from 52-57koz.
• Infrastructure bottlenecks are expected to ease with the commissioning of the new Central Shaft in H2/18.
• The Company remains on track for 80koz target by 2021.
• The update follows the Tuesday announcement of a third quarterly dividend of 6.875USc declared this year taking the current dividend yield to 4.5%.
Ortac Resources* (LON:OTC) 2.9p, £4.3m Mkt Cap – First assay results from the drill programme at Akyanga
• The Company completed over 1,100m of diamond core drilling in six holes at the 1.5moz Akyanga gold deposit targeting both step out and infill mineralisation.
• Assay results from two infill drill holes included:
• MSDD0108 drill hole returned 8.1m at 4.82g/t from 53.5m;
• MSDD0109 drill hole returned 4.9m at 1.40g/t from 120.4m.
• The MSDD0108 drill hole was positioned in between two existing holes 120m apart testing the continuation of previously identified high grade intersections in the southern part of the Akyanga deposit including MSDD0050, which reported 4.53 g/t Au over 21.9 metres from 58.2 metres down the hole and hole MSDD0001, which reported 4.20 g/t Au over 8m from 13 metres down the hole.
• “Ortac is extremely pleased with these initial and exciting results, in particular hole MSDD0108 which demonstrates that there is a high grade zone grading over 4 g/t Au in the southern part of the deposit, which at the moment has a potential strike length of over 120m,” Vassilios Carellas commented on results of the drilling at Akyanga.
• The results from the remainder of the first drilling phase for 2,200m which is part of a wider 5,000m programme designed to expand the resource to in excess of 2.0moz of gold.
Conclusion: First drilling results returned good high-grade intersections in MSDD0108 improving confidence in the resource with further assays from infill and expansion drill holes due shortly.
*SP Angel acts as nomad and broker to Ortac Resources
SolGold* (LON:SOGL) 38p, Mkt Cap £576.2m - SolGold sweep up awards at Toronto’s Mines and Money Americas Conference
• SolGold cemented the filing of its prospectus to move its listing from the AIM Board to the main market of the London Stock Exchange, effective 6 Oct. 2017, with a round of prestigious awards at yesterday’s Mines and Money Conference.
• Nicholas Mather won the award for the CEO of the Year – Latin America
• Ecuador, the location for the flagship Cascabel Copper-Gold Porphyry Project, won the Country Award for Latin America, with SolGold receiving the award for Exploration efforts across the region.
*SP Angel acts as Nomad and broker to SolGold.
W Resources (LON:WRES) 0.4p, Mkt Cap £19.3m - £1m equity raise
• The Company closed a £900,000 fund raising at 0.375p with further £100,000 expected to come from a party connected with one of the Company’s directors.
• Funds will help to continue development of the La Parilla project including advancing crusher construction and civil works, progressing with long lea items and covering general working capital requirements.
• The team is also moving forward with negotiations on potential offtakes covering future T2 project production.
• The Company secured a Letter of Intent with one party and expected to have another LOI with the second potential customer shortly.
• Two parties are estimated to cover 80% of planned output with the Company expecting to convert LOIs into formal contracts in Q4 that should help discussions on the proposed $30m project financing package.