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MINING | IronRidge Resources
IRONRIDGE RESOURCES Creating value through discovery
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MINING | IronRidge Resources
IronRidge Resources is an AIM-listed junior exploration company that thinks like a major. The Australia-based firm is focused on building a diversified portfolio of mineral assets with large scale tenure positions in African frontier jurisdictions, and to a lesser extent in Australia. “We adhere to this strategy to immunise ourselves against a one project, one company strategy, which is not conducive to multiple wealth accretive discoveries,” says IronRidge CEO Vincent Mascolo. IronRidge’s focus on lithium and gold gives investors exposure to rapidly growing lithium technology markets while hedging prominent global economic uncertainty via a large gold exploration portfolio. “Our business model is designed for multiple discoveries of globally demanded commodities, that’s where we see the first wave of value accretion for shareholders; in the discovery process and the development to decision to mine. “Our strategy to concurrently diversify commodities and jurisdictions means that we always have something moving along; advancing projects, adding value and delivering positive news flow is paramount.”
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MINING | IronRidge Resources
Resource Global Network Over the last three years, IronRidge has
But if a project does not deliver, we will let it
methodically built its tenure portfolios in
go,” says Mascolo.
three African jurisdictions - Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire and Chad. During this period, the
“Today, we have nine province scale projects
company has also established exploration
at various stages of development with
teams in each jurisdiction.
significant discoveries in Ghana and Chad to date and we expect multiple discoveries in
Teams are comprised of accomplished
the pro-mining jurisdiction of Côte d’Ivoire in
geoscientists and mining professionals with
the next 12 months.”
extensive in-country expertise, whilst the board has significant experience in project
Multiple discoveries
discovery, mine development and operations,
IronRidge has made three discoveries in
debt financing and delivering shareholder
three jurisdictions over the last three years
value.
– a record which very few junior explorers can make claim to. The first discovery was a
The board and management team also have
bauxite deposit back home in Australia, but
significant vested interests in the form of a
deemed not to be a company maker, the
combined 9.3% shareholding to complement
project has effectively been placed on care
a strong institutional shareholder base.
and maintenance.
IronRidge is backed by DGR Global Ltd, Assore Ltd and Sumitomo Corporation –
However, Mascolo calls IronRidge’s second
three global corporates who will support the
recent discovery a ‘spectacular’ lithium
company at each phase of the commodity
project in Ghana, with world class drill
cycle, from discovery and development
intersections from surface, first quartile
through to production and sales.
grades and in close proximity to operational infrastructure.
“We have a strong shareholder base that continues to support the business model
The Cape Coast Lithium Project contains
and we have new investors coming in to
proven high grade spodumene pegmatites
further support the company. They actually
and is significant given the fact that it is
see that the business model is designed for
the first lithium discovery made in Ghana,
exploration success.”
opening up the possibility to establish a new lithium frontier in West Africa.
Shareholders have also been struck by the agility that IronRidge demonstrates when it
“The project has been very well received in
comes to portfolio building. “The idea is to
Ghana, they are calling lithium the new white
spread our wings far and wide, capturing as
gold. We see huge potential for new industry
many highly prospective projects as we can.
there and that’s why the project is supported from the highest levels of office in Ghana.”
MINING | IronRidge Resources
IronRidge’s third discovery was a large gold
With investor markets still warming to Chad,
mineralised structure in Chad, where there
IronRidge recently made the decision to
has been little or no modern day exploration
acquire the Zaranou Gold Project in Côte
due to a historical focus on oil. Therefore, as
d’Ivoire, further expanding the company’s
the only active minerals explorer in Chad, the
portfolio in the jurisdiction, which is well
company holds first mover advantage with
understood by the investment community.
multiple advanced gold projects and multiple
In addition, the project has the potential to
targets across a 40 km strike
mimic and potentially dwarf what has been discovered in Chad, according to Mascolo.
“The first mover advantage provides the company with the potential to make
Two hot commodities
globally recognised discoveries in largely
Considering its most recent discoveries and
underexplored frontier regions. However,
acquisitions, it becomes clear that gold and
it does take more time to develop these
lithium will be IronRidge’s focus commodities
assets in the first instance and time for the
going forward, with both favoured by the
investment communities to appreciate the
company and the investment community for
opportunity.
different reasons.
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“Gold is a universal currency and it’s the
a lithium concentrate from the spodumene
staple form of traditional currency, which
dominant pegmatite ore at the Cape Coast
we particularly like. In addition, physical
project in Ghana, which would then be fed
gold is a reliable and trustworthy asset and
into the growing battery market worldwide.
is therefore an insurance against economic uncertainty.”
“With the support of the government and the influx of major European car manufacturers
The CEO also recognises the vast exponential
coming into Ghana, we can see there is the
growth story attached to lithium, which
potential to build an industry focus around
is derived from the global process of
a battery grade product, lithium hydroxide
electrification taking place across several
being preferred for the fast-growing electric
industries, most noticeably in the automobile
vehicle industry.”
sector with the rise of electric vehicles and stored energy.
However, this remains a long-term horizon for IronRidge and right now the company
IronRidge is currently investigating small,
is focused on testing several targets at the
medium and large scale methods to produce
project. Around 14,000 metres of drilling
MINING | IronRidge Resources
has already taken place across the project,
deep sea port of Takoradi and adjacent to
with recent results delivering multiple high
grid power.
grade lithium pegmatite intersections at the flagship Ewoyaa project and new Abonko
“When you are this close to operational
discovery.
infrastructure, it implies low capital intensity and low operational costs. In summary, the
The results to date and ongoing exploration
lithium project in Ghana has the potential
has identified additional pegmatite
to deliver first quartile lithium grades, first
mineralisation around the peripheries of
quartile capex and first quartile operating
both projects and surrounding projects
costs.”
areas, including the historical Egyasimanku Hill deposit. The company plans to continue
Striking gold
drilling until the end of the year, at which
While the Ghana lithium project is IronRidge’s
point it will produce a maiden resource.
most advanced, the company is also advancing its 900 km² gold portfolio in Chad;
IronRidge is also fortunate enough to be
a potential analogue of the intrusion related
operating within close proximity to world
gold systems in the prolific Yukon-Alaska
class infrastructure. The project is located 1
Tintina Gold Belt.
km from a major highway, 100 km from the
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“Today, we have nine province scale projects across multiple jurisdictions in Africa and have already made significant discoveries in Ghana and Chad” Vincent Mascolo, CEO IronRidge Resources The main focus across the portfolio in Chad has fallen on the Dorothe Gold discovery, which has extensive artisanal workings with visible gold nuggets at surface, over a 3 km x 1 km footprint. So far, IronRidge has completed 14,564 metres of trenching at Dorothe, plus regional air magnetics and soil sampling. “When we drill some holes and get proof
Vincent Mascolo, IronRidge Resources CEO
of concept in the anomalous footprint, we believe it could rival some of the largest
will provide the pipeline of future discoveries
open pit gold mines in the world today,” says
over the next 12 months.”
a confident Mascolo. To conclude, IronRidge’s African In Côte d’Ivoire, IronRidge has plenty of
diversification strategy has served it well thus
exploration activities to get busy with in the
far, as the company closes in on significant
coming months, including at the Zaranou
lithium and gold discoveries in Ghana, Chad
project after the company’s venture partner
and Côte d’Ivoire. IronRidge’s business model
had the exploration licence granted covering
is designed to return shareholder value
397 km².
through the discovery and development of multiple projects across a diverse commodity
“Côte d’Ivoire is our early stage, greenfields
and jurisdictional portfolio.
exploration jurisdiction, which we believe
AIM:IRR
a j
Published by Anderson Murray Media Ltd
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