SP Angel . Morning View . Thursday 30 04 20
Risk sentiment improves on treatment hopes
MiFID II exempt information – see disclaimer in PDF
Aura Energy* - (LON:AURA) – Quarterly report highlights Tiris uranium and corporate developments
Conroy Gold & Natural Resources (AIM:CGNR) – Gold in outcrop at Glenish
European Metal Holdings (AIM:EMH) – Cinovec Preliminary Mining Permit
Glencore (LON:GLEN) –- Q1 production report highlights strength of trading operations and restoration of mining
Greatland Gold (AIM:GGP) – Havieron project drilling results
Vast Resources* (AIM:VAST) – Issue of shares to Atlas
Coronavirus vaccine developed in the UK could be ready by fall, if it works (LiveScience.com).
Rio Tinto – agrees earn-in on Midnight Sun licenses in Solwezi, Zambia
Rio Tinto is to pay $700,000 for the right to buy up to 75% of Midnight Sun’s licenses near Solweizi in Zambia
The licenses are near First Quantum’s Kansanshi mine.
Rio Tinto will spend $3m, of which $2m is a firm commitment, within the next two field seasons and has the right to pay $51m for the 75% interest.
Bank of China likely to absorb much of $1bn WTI ETF trading losses
While state banks are not allowed to take this sort of risk many traders reckon these losses are on the BoC book.
Stimulus funding
$2tn US fiscal package approved by Congress. US may add $0.6t state aid for mortgage markets and travel industries
US – The House passed a $484bn aid package to rescue small small businesses, hospitals ($75bn) and coronavirus testing ($25bn).
$2tn US – Trump looking at $2tn infrastructure fund
$700bn – US + Fed rate cut to 0-0.25% last night. The $700bn QE to buy Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities.
$963bn (€750bn) ECB scraps limits on sovereign bond purchases. ECB PEPP buying running at around €250bn
EU Finance Ministers have so far failed to agree on a strategy to mitigate the economic impact of the pandemic.
$825bn (€756bn) Germany – Bundestag approved €156bn in extra borrowing and ~€600bn in emergency funds
$909m $344bn of China stimulus + $565bn in special bonds for infrastructure by local authorities
$996bn (108.2tn yen) – Japan + BoJ pledge for unlimited quantitative easing
400bn (£330bn) UK + $242bn (£200bn) UK QE from BoE & no business rates plus £25,000 cash grants for hospitality sector
$387bn (€304bn) France, $200bn (€200bn) Spain, $214bn (A$320bn) Australia, $78bn (C$107bn) Canada, $32bn Saudi Arabia, US$43.7bn Singapore, $22.6bn India, $19.3bn HK, $13.7bn South Korea, $10bn Switzerland, $8.4bn Italy, $7bn NZ, $3.5bn Ireland, $2bn Taiwan, $0.75bn Indonesia,
Argentina to default on $10bn of dollar debt issued til the end of the year. Does no affect the $70bn that Argentina is currently in talks to restructure.
$1,000bn - IMF available + $12bn World Bank,
>12.4tn Total
South Africa - Eskom close power plant on dam safety concerns
The country's state-owned electricity utility has closed its Camden power plant for up to three months due to concerns that a dam storing ash could collapse.
The closure of the 1,600MW power plant further adds to Eskom's challenges, who are already struggling to meet the country's power needs.
Dow Jones Industrials
+2.21%
at
24,634
Nikkei 225
+2.14%
at
20,194
HK Hang Seng
+0.28%
at
24,644
Shanghai Composite
+1.33%
at
2,860
Economics
US – Fed left rates unchanged and decided not to take any further action yesterday while highlighting risks to a rapid recovery and suggesting implemented supportive measures will remain in place.
Commenting on outlook over the “next year or so”, there was significant uncertainty over the outcome of the pandemic and the risk of “damage to the productive capacity of the economy”.
Weak outlook suggested the Fed will remain in the accommodative mode for some time.
“We’re going to not be in a hurry to withdraw these measures or lift off… we’re going to wait until we’re quite confidence that the economy is well on the road to recovery,” Fed Chairman Powell said in a post-meeting news conference.
Rates were held unchanged at the 0-0.25% range.
“It may well be the case that the economy will need more support from all of us if the recovery is to be a robust one.”
Democrats and Republicans are reported to be in discussions over potentially another big stimulus package to follow on roughly $3tn in fiscal spending rolled out over the past two months, according to FT.
GDP contracted 4.8%qoq (annualised) in Q1 amid a slump in private consumption and business activity setting the stage for an expected recession to be recorded this year.
Personal consumption fell 7.6%qoq during the quarter marking the sharpest decline since 1980.
Service consumption -10.2% worst on record.
Business investment dropped for the fourth consecutive quarter posting the weakest reading in 11 years (-8.6%qoq).
The economy is expected to post a 26.3%qoq drop in Q2 reflecting full effect of the government COVID-19 containment policy with lockdowns coming into force around mid-March.
Weekly jobless claims are due later today with estimates for another 3.5m people filing for unemployment benefits, bringing the six-week total close to 30m.
US, April Richmond Fed manufacturing index fell to -53 in March
US – Trump administration is planning ‘Operation Warp Speed’ to speed vaccine development by up to eight months
Taxpayers will bear most of the financial risk associated with failed vaccine candidates.
Gilead says remdesivir helps patients recover faster.
China – Official PMI data point to a continued recovery in manufacturing and services driven by local economy while export markets remain weak.
New export orders dropped to 33.5 while a separate indicator more focused on smaller export-oriented firms returned to contraction, Bloomberg reports.
Construction gauge climbed to the highest level since January reflective of the state efforts to revive growth with increased infrastructure spending.
Manufacturing PMI: 50.8 v 52.0 in March and 51.0 est.
Services PMI: 53.2 v 52.3 in March and 52.5 est.
Composite PMI: 53.4 v 53.0 in March.
Chinese state owned enterprises are almost fully operational, small private firm capacity back to 80%,
All business activity running at just over 80%,
Shanghai road congestion at around 85%
Coal consumption, the main driver in the electricity sector 80%.
Service sector activity remains slow, maybe due to job insecurity
Chinese finance ministry has allowed 3 provinces to issue special infrastructure bonds.
CCP National Peoples’ Congress is set for 22May.
ECB – The central bank will hold a monetary policy meeting today with a press conference to follow.
Christine Lagarde warned EU leaders last week the eurozone may drop 15% this year.
Expectations are for the central bank to expand its stimulus amid deteriorating growth outlook.
UK - Prime Minister to say it is too soon for major easing
Boris Johnson is to tell the nation that it is too early to change anything and not to expect major alterations to the Lockdown (The Telegraph).
Johnson has delayed his paternity leave to return to his post in Downing Street
The UK is now the World’s third worst in terms of mortality rate per head following the inclusion of Care Home and other mortality figures.
Germany – Coronavirus new cases rising again which may delay the reopening of parts of the economy
Retail sales plunged at the fastest pace since January 2007 last month as the nation went into a lockdown.
Sales kin supermarkets and chemists which remained open offset some of the losses elsewhere.
Retail Sales (%mom): -5.6 v 0.8 in February and -8.0 est.
Unemployment (%): 5.8 v 5.0 in March and 5.2 est.
Bosch expects global auto production to fall 20% this year.
German GDP likely to contract 2% in Q1, 10% Q2 and possibly 6% over the year, DIW Institute in Germany.
France – A drop in consumption and business investment see the economy posting a 5.8%qoq drop in Q1.
This drop was “primarily linked to the shutdown of ‘non-essential’ activites in the context of the implementation of the lockdown since mid-March”, said Insee.
Consumption was down 6.1%qoq and investment contracted 11.8%qoq.
With most of the lockdown falling on Q2, the economy is expected to post more severe declines this quarter.
GDP (%qoq): -5.8 v -0.1 in Q4 and -4.0 est.
CPI (%yoy, EU harmonised): 0.5 v 0.8 in March and 0.1 est.
Spain – The economy contracted 5.2%qoq in Q1 in what is the sharpest decline since the data series began in 1995.
GDP (%qoq): -5.2 v 0.4 in Q4 and -4.3 est.
CPI (%yoy, EU harmonised): -0.6 v 0.1 in March and -0.8 est.
Norway – The government will order producers to curtail production by 250,000b/d in June, equivalent to more than 13% of its output, amid a slump in demand and low prices.
Additionally, the nation will maintain cuts of 134,000b/d for the rest of the year leaving the forecast production 300,000b/d short compared to previous plans by the end of 2020.
The cut would be the first one in 18 years.
“We are currently facing an unprecedented situation in the oil market… we have previously stated that we will consider a cut in Norwegian production if several big producing countries implement significant cuts,” Norway’s minister of petroleum and energy said.
Norway produces roughly 2% of the global supply.
Air cargo activity fell 15% in March on a t/km basis Air Transport Association (IATA)
Boeing to cut 10%, 14k employees and that’s after the 737Max debacle
Airbus cut output by 30% to 40 planes per month
Nearly 50% of global workforce or 1.6bn workers at risk of losing livelihood (UN International Labour Organisation)
Currencies
US$1.0888/eur vs 1.0865/eur yesterday. Yen 106.59/$ vs 106.53/$. SAr 18.128/$ vs 18.480/$. $1.248/gbp vs $1.247/gbp. 0.656/aud vs 0.654/aud. CNY 7.048/$ vs 7.076/$.
Commodity News
Precious metals:
Gold US$1,720/oz vs US$1,710/oz yesterday - South Africa - WGC - India scrap gold supplies at record highs
According to the World Gold Council, scrap gold supplies are going to continue to rise in 2020 and hit all-time highs, as consumers sells jewellery due to record high gold prices.
Scrap supplies jumped 37% compared to the year before in 2019 to a record 119.5 tonnes, driven by rising local prices.
Indians could be more inclined to sell their gold for scrap to cope with the financial crunch as a result of the coronavirus lockdown, as millions of Indians have lost their jobs or taken pay cuts after the country extended its lockdown to at least the 3rd of May.
India's gold consumption in Q1 2020 fell 36% to 101.9 tonnes due to a sharp drop in jewellery and investment demand and the lowest since the first quarter of 2009
Gold ETFs 95.6moz vs US$95.2moz yesterday
Platinum US$788/oz vs US$778/oz yesterday
Palladium US$1,972/oz vs US$1,980/oz yesterday
Silver US$15.46/oz vs US$15.25/oz yesterday
Base metals:
Copper US$ 5,293/t vs US$5,229/t yesterday - LME copper prices set for biggest monthly gain since December 2017
Copper prices have risen this month as demand from top consumer China recovers as the country emerges from the Covid-29 crisis.
Three-month copper on the LME rose 0.3% to $5,277/t in early morning trading, and is up 6.6% so far in April (Reuters).
Factory activity in China has improved as more businesses resumed work, however China's export market looks bleak as major economies across the world are still under lockdown.
Copper – premiums rise to $90/t as warehouse stocks fall to 305,800t in Shanghai
Copper production fell 1% last month in Chile
China copper imports rose 7% to 895,000t in Q1 while copper concentrate imports fell by 1%
Copper scrap imports fell 39% in Q1 to 210,000t as scrap generation was disrupted by lockdowns and logistics
Aluminium US$ 1,503/t vs US$1,504/t yesterday
Nickel US$ 12,275/t vs US$12,260/t yesterday - Chinese nickel inventories fall sharply this week
Nickel ore inventories across all ports fell 347,000t to 8.85mt this week.
The drop of 3.8% comes after a decline of 302,200t in the week ended the 24th of April (SMM).
Supply of nickel ore remains uncertain; the government of Indonesia have rejected a proposal by nickel miners to allow the export of ore again (Reuters).
Nickel - Philippines NPI mines to restart activity on 1 May,
China's imports of nickel ore and concentrates fell by 19% in Q1
Zinc US$ 1,954/t vs US$1,947/t yesterday
Lead US$ 1,650/t vs US$1,655/t yesterday
Tin US$ 15,300/t vs US$15,340/t yesterday - China imported 1,900t of tin in Q1 as imports of concentrates were disrupted
Energy:
Oil US$24.1/bbl vs US$21.2/bbl yesterday
Natural Gas US$1.856/mmbtu vs US$1.946/mmbtu yesterday
Uranium US$32.35/lb vs US$32.15/lb yesterday
Bulk:
Iron ore 62% Fe spot (cfr Tianjin) US$80.8/t vs US$80.8/t
Chinese steel rebar 25mm US$525.3/t vs US$525.0/t - Steel output fell 1.7% yoy in March compared to 20% in Europe,
Thermal coal (1st year forward cif ARA) US$52.7/t vs US$52.1/t - Seaborne thermal coal prices fall on low Asian demand
Seaborne thermal coal prices have fallen to multi-year lows as demand falls in China and India (Hellenic Shipping News).
The price of low-energy coal from world's top exporter Indonesia has fallen to its lowest level since Argus began reporting prices in 2008 at $26.03/t - 29% lower than the price on the 16th of February.
The Indian government is actively discouraging imports at present as India, along with China, have significant domestic thermal coal industries which the governments of both countries wish to protect.
India imported about 16.5mt in April, down from 17.6mt in March and 20.3mt in April last year (Refinitiv).
As prices fall due to subdued demand in the thermal coal market, exporters will be worried that the normal mechanism of lower prices spurring demand may not work due to fragmented supply chains and preference for domestic suppliers.
Coking coal swap Australia FOB US$109.0/t vs US$116.0/t
Other:
Cobalt LME 3m US$30,000/t vs US$30,000/t
NdPr Rare Earth Oxide (China) US$37,191/t vs US$37,191/t
Lithium carbonate 99% (China) US$5,293/t vs US$5,293/t
Ferro Vanadium 80% FOB (China) US$27.5/kg vs US$27.5/kg
Antimony Trioxide 99.5% EU (China) US$5.0/kg vs US$4.9/kg
Tungsten APT European US$215-225/mtu vs US$240-245/mtu
Graphite flake 94% C, -100 mesh, fob China US$530/t vs US$540/t
Graphite spherical 99.95% C, 15 microns, fob China US$2,450/t vs US$2,550/t
Battery News
Nio receives buoyancy aid
Chinese EV start up Nio has received a cash injection of $989m from Chinese investment funds. (Reuters)
The funds will be flow into Nio China, a new entity controlled by the Nio Inc. and will be used to smooth cash flow and guarantee future product development.
Investors include Hefei Construction Investment Holding, CMG-SDIC Capital Management and Anhui High and New Technology Industrial Investment.
As part of the investment Nio will establish its headquarters in Hefei and give up a stake in one of its business units. (Techcrunch)
CEO Li said in a statement that the coronavirus epidemic had an impact on the Company’s supply chain and sales, but that cloud had now passed.
The Company has indicated that the investment will not impact existing partnerships nor its listing on the New York Stock Exchange. (Cnet)
Nio expects the deal to close in Q2’20.
Hitachi Capital provide loan facility to Gridserve
Gridserve has secured a loan facility from Hitachi Capital provided to finance the roll out of its 100 EV charging stations across the UK, a £1bn scheme. (Business Green)
The electric forecourts are powered by two battery-integrated solar plants located in Gloucestershire and Lincolnshire.
The loan facility will be used to development two solar-plus-storage plants and to help launch the forecourts.
The first site near Braintree, Essex will have facilities to charge 24 vehicles simultaneously in less than 30 mins at a rate of 350KW. (Auto car)
Hitachi and Gridserve are also working together on the electrification of the UK bus network. To date Hitachi has invested £5.6m into Gridserve projects.
Company News
Aura Energy* - (AURA LN) 0.17p, Mkt cap £3.3m – Quarterly report highlights Tiris uranium and corporate developments
Aura Energy’s report on the 3 months ending 31st March 2020 highlights the progress made on the Tiris uranium project in Mauritania, where the DFS was published in July 2019 as well as the continuing moves by a group of shareholders led by director John Bennett and the i8% shareholder, ASEAN Deep Value Fund, ʺto seek control of the Company without making an offer … [which, the company says] … has negatively impacted the Companyʺ.
The Tiris uranium project is described as a low-cost and low capital cost project capable of producing 12.4mlbs of U3O8 over a 15 years mine life.
During the quarter the focus was ʺon financing activities for the Tiris Uranium project via the Export Credit Agency financing process, which was buoyed, subsequent to the quarter end, by the significant rise in the uranium price to over US$33/lb U₃O₈.ʺ The C1 cash cost for U3O8 production reported in the DFS was US$25.43/lb.
In Sweden, the compensation claim for recompense for expenditure on evaluation of the uranium potential of the Haagen project following the governmental decision not to allow uranium mining is continuing. The vanadium potential of Haagen was demonstrated in testwork and additional studies last year and ʺ Aura continues to seek interest for either transactions or separate listings for both its gold assets and the Häggån asset. There has been a positive response which will be pursued in the next quarter.ʺ
The company also describes the ʺconcerted shareholder action by a minority group of shareholders to seek control of the Company without making an offer has negatively impacted the Company The activities of this group of minority shareholders is undermining discussions with mining authorities in Mauritania and Sweden and compliance with new ASX Listing Rules to secure funding in extraordinarily difficult times.ʺ
Aura Energy says that this shareholder group proposed ʺto extract a royalty from Aura's Tiris Uranium Project for US$17 million (A$27m) for a financing of only A$3 million. … [and explains that] …The Board could not countenance such an offer on behalf of shareholders.ʺ Aura Energy clarifies that ʺThis royalty proposal also demanded buy back terms of up to 200%, or US$9 million, should the Company find itself in a position to unwind the facilityʺ.
The company questions the appropriateness of the six directors proposed to join the Board saying that they are ʺfrom Panama, Indonesia, and Hong Kong, the Company, and therefore shareholders, have still not been furnished with details of these Directors' experience or backgrounds. This shows the utmost disregard for shareholders and for good governance given this information is required for Aura to comply with ASX and AIM governance recommendations.ʺ
ʺThe Board remains concerned that the actions of this group could negatively impact both Aura's AIM and ASX listings and seriously damage the Company by being potentially suspendedʺ.
As a result of the restrictions imposed by measures to curb the spread of the Covid19 virus, the EGM called to consider the election of the new directors has been deferred until 21st May, subject to the lifting of these measures. Aura Energy explains that it ʺdoes not accept the criticism by this group regarding the meeting deferral as given the importance of the meeting the Company wishes to conduct a fully convened meeting with Directors and shareholders able to attendʺ.
Conclusion: Covid19 containment measures have deferred the EGM at which Aura Energy’s shareholders will have the opportunity to consider the proposed Board restructuring until 21st May. In the meantime, important progress with the company’s projects is overshadowed by the struggle for board control.
*SP Angel are Nomad and Joint-Broker to Aura Energy
Conroy Gold & Natural Resources (CGNR LN) 12.5p, Mkt Cap £2.5m – Gold in outcrop at Glenish
Conroy Gold reports that an outcrop channel sample on its Glenish licence area in Ireland has assayed 0.4g/t gold over a width of 1m.
Glenish is identified by a gold in soil geochemical anomaly located ʺon the intersection of two major geological faults: the Orlock Bridge Fault and the Glenish Faultʺ and is approximately 7km southwest of the company’s Clontibret licence where the company has previously reported an indicated resource of 4.9m tonnes at an average grade of 1.64g/t gold (260,000 oz of contained gold) and an additional inferred resource of 6.8mt at a grade of 1.6g/t gold (341,000 oz).
The company says that the ʺnewly discovered gold outcrop is located over 500m northeast from the gold-in-bedrock previously intersected by drilling enhancing the overall prospectivity of the Glenish gold target.ʺ
The company alludes to work completed in the area by the Geological Survey of Ireland during the late 1980s and says that ʺWhile the samples collected were not assayed for gold they were assayed for an associated element and the results suggest the possibility for further gold mineralisation 1km to the northeast and over 1.5km southwest of the currently known Glenish gold targetʺ.
Conclusion: The identification of gold in outcrop at Glenish feeds continuing interest in the general prospectivity of the area however, apart from at Clontibret it has, so far, proved hard to identify a coherent body of mineralisation which could offer a mine development opportunity.
European Metal Holdings (EMH LN) 12.75p, Mkt Cap £18.9m – Cinovec Preliminary Mining Permit
European Metals Holdings reports that its local subsidiary in the Czech Republic, Geomet, has received a Preliminary Mining Permit (PMP) for the north-western part of the Cinovec deposit meaning that it now holds PMPs over the entire deposit .
The grant of the PMP ensures that Geomet has ʺthe priority right to apply for and obtain a Final Mining Area and a Final Mining Permit [and] significantly strengthens Geomet's position as the only possible miner and paves the way for obtaining the remaining permits to start construction, mining, and processing activities.ʺ
The €29.1m investment, also announced this week, by one of Central and Eastern Europe’s largest power utilities, CEZ, to acquire a 51% interest in Geomet provides the financial resources to ensure that further project evaluation, feasibility and permitting work is able to advance as rapidly as possible without funding constraints.
Conclusion: The award of Preliminary Mining Permits covering the entire Cinovec lithium project in conjunction with the €29.1m investment received this week gives European Metals the security of tenure and financial resources to press ahead with feasibility and permitting work for the Cinovec lithium deposit.
Glencore (GLEN LN) – 154p, Mkt cap £21bn - Q1 production report highlights strength of trading operations and restoration of mining
Glencore’s production results and guidance are interesting reading.
Production of copper -9%, cobalt -44% (DRC), coking coal -31% suffered significantly.
Copper production has performed relatively well with a bigger fall in the African mines under development -29%.
The statement gives a list of assets and the expected impact from COVID-19.
Many operations are being restarted in Canada and elsewhere after relatively short shutdowns though some production may be affected by social distancing and other logistical issues.
Q2 production is likely to bear similar hits to output as many mines closed in late March and are only reopening in the next few weeks.
Further business lockdowns may impact demand and logistics though governments now seem keen to enable manufacturing and mining to restart under social distancing protocols.
Production Guidance has been cut to reflect temporary suspension of mining assets in line with national and regional lockdowns.
The expected impact is not a severe as might have been expected and looks most severe in Ferrochrome and oil.
Management state they are working to preserve solid levels of free cash flow generation from Glencore mines
Costs: The team continue to focussed on costs helped by lower oil and energy prices and depreciating local currencies.
Higher gold, sliver and PGM by-product credits also help and the cost forecasts are impressive given the current environment
Copper unit costs forecast 105c/lb,
zinc unit costs 39% lower at 14c/lb and
thermal coal guided unit cash costs are $3/t lower at $42/t.
Capex cut by $1.0-1.5bn to $5.5 billion for 2020.
Trading: is performing well in the current, volatile environment demonstrating the robustness of Glencore’s business model in hugely difficult market environments.
Annualised earnings to date for the trading division are reported to be within management’s $2.2 to $3.2bn long-term guidance range.
In many respects the disruption to global trade and logistics makes Glencore all the more important to its customers and the industry in general.
Opportunities: the current environment will bring many interesting mining opportunities to the market for distressed sales in emerging markets.
Glencore is well placed to step in to help many businesses recover and to participate in this recovery as global demand is restored.
Glencore: All things considered this looks to be a relatively positive production report given the current environment. We suspect the Q2 may be a bit worse but can see Glencore is well positioned to reopen its mines and manage its business. The trading division is particularly helpful in this environment and its ongoing service to thousands of customers will be critical for the restoration of growth in the global environment.
Greatland Gold (GGP LN) 8.88p, Mkt Cap £326m – Havieron project drilling results
Greatland Gold draws attention to new drilling results from the company’s Havieron project in the Paterson region of Western Australia announced today by Newcrest Mining which recently earned a 40% interest in the project and is earning a 70% interest by funding exploration and pre-feasibility work.
There are currently 9 drilling rigs operating at Havieron with Newcrest planning to complete a further 80,000m over the twelve months from 1st July 2020 and deliver an initial resource estimate during the second half of 2020.
In addition to the drilling, Newcrest is progressing a conceptual mining study ʺwith targeted completion in the second half of calendar year 2020, investigating the potential to develop the orebody under both underground selective mining and bulk mining alternativesʺ and is ʺInvestigating potential to achieve commercial production within two to three years from commencement of declineʺ.
The results are disclosed in Newcrest Mining’s Quarterly Exploration Report to the ASX and report on a further 17,231m of drilling completed in the three-months to 31st March and include:
An 86.6m wide intersection averaging 2.8g/t gold and 0.37% copper from a depth of 693m in hole HAD039 including a higher grade zone of 27.1m averaging 4.4g/t gold and 0.74% copper from a depth of 710.9m: and
A 148m wide intersection averaging 2.7g/t gold and 0.45% copper from a depth of 668m in hole HAD039W2, which appears to be a daughter hole deflected from the main hole. The intersection includes a higher grade zone of 53m averaging 6.2g/t gold and 0.70% copper from a depth of 700m: and
A 167.4m wide intersection averaging 2.4g/t gold and 0.66% copper from a depth of 608m in hole HAD043, including 22.8m averaging 9.3g/t gold and 0.96% copper from a depth of 712.3m: and
A 234m wide intersection averaging 1.7g/t gold and 0.29% copper from a depth of 563m in hole HAD052 including a higher grade zone of 62m averaging 3.8g/t gold and 0.50% copper from a depth of 614.2m.
The results ʺdemonstrate the continuity of the higher grade mineralisation within an arcuate sulphide zone and expand the footprint of the mineralisation within this zone and the surrounding proximal breccia.ʺ
Commenting on the latest drilling, Greatland Gold’s CEO, Gervaise Heddle, said that the results demonstrate ʺthe robustness and continuity of high-grade mineralisation at Havieron, which remains open to the north west and at depth. These results represent another important step towards our near-term objective of a maiden resource at Havieron, and further reinforce the potential to accelerate the timetable for commercial production.ʺ
He also said that ʺWe expect step out drilling along strike and at depth to commence in the near term, which will begin to provide us with a clearer picture of the potential to further extend the zone of high-grade mineralisation at Havieronʺ.
Conclusion: Drilling at Havieron is moving towards the preparation of an initial mineral resources estimate during the second half of 2020 and Newcrest Mining is examining mining options to fast track development of a large scale underground mine located some 45km east of its operating mine at Telfer.
Vast Resources* (VAST LN) 0.17p, Mkt Cap £17m – Issue of shares to Atlas
The Company issued 15.6m shares at 0.15p in respect of the $30k interest payment due on the $7.1m bond issued to Atlas on 31 Jan/20.
*SP Angel acts as Broker to Vast Resources
Analysts
John Meyer – 0203 470 0490
Simon Beardsmore – 0203 470 0484
Sergey Raevskiy – 0203 470 0474