Vision for the future
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VAN MIN
+1 million ounce mineral res Australia’s largest und
NGO NING
source and counting at one of developed gold assets
MINING | VANGO MINING
The old adage says that it takes a long time to become an overnight success. Australian gold exploration and development company Vango Mining is a classic case in point. Vango floated in 2004 (under the name Ord River Resources) with one gold asset in regional New South Wales, Australia. Over time it acquired copper tenements in Western Australia and also became involved in bauxite tenements in Laos. After a decade of juggling these disparate projects, the board of the company decided to set a more focused strategy on the gold sector, following the beginning of a resurgence in the gold price in 2013. At this time, Bruce McInnes was appointed to the company’s board, soon after becoming executive deputy chairman and finally executive chairman. An accountant by profession, McInnes tells RGN: “The idea was to try to locate a near-term gold production asset with a good resource base and then look to do a deal with the owner to combine the two companies and move forward as one entity.” When the company came across a major package of quality exploration leases in the Mid West region of Western Australia, it executed on the plan and entered into a farm-in agreement with the then owner.
Over the ensuing years
Vango’s targeted drill
the company expended
campaigns have culminated
considerable capital to earn
in the announcement of a +1
a 100% interest in the project
Moz resource at Marymia in
area – the Marymia Gold
May this year, which McInnes
Project. Vango is now the sole,
declares as the company’s
100% owner of the Marymia
biggest and most important
Project, which covers an
milestone to date.
extensive 40 km of strike in a major brownfields gold belt
“That was a critical milestone
that sits immediately Northeast
in terms of proving to the
of the 5.5 million ounce (Moz)
shareholders that we have
operating Plutonic Gold Mine.
invested their funds wisely in line with our exploration
“Once we started drilling in
model, and that our exploration
early 2017, we quickly found
has been validated. There was
that there was potentially six
a previous JORC 2004 resource
gold corridors similar to the
with a considerable amount
Plutonic Mine. When you look
of gold ounces, but part of
to the overall size of area,
our drilling programmes have
Plutonic covers about 20% of
been focused on bringing the
the brownstone belt and we
old resource into current, 2012
own the remaining 80%.”
JORC compliant status, as well as substantially expanding
The exploration programmes
the size of the resource, all of
to date have identified three of
which has been achieved.
the six mineralised corridors – PHB, Trident and Triple P - as
“Secondly, there has been
being near-term opportunities
recognition from the
to develop high-grade gold
marketplace that we have
mines, with the Trident
achieved that magical 1 Moz
Corridor the most defined by
milestone. Thirdly, it was a
drilling.
building block that we needed in order to complete a mine
MINING | VANGO MINING
application and mine planning
drilling programmes over the
Building blocks
to the WA Department of
past three years. These efforts
The building blocks of this
Mines and Petroleum [DMP],
have been rewarded with a
exploration success were put
to demonstrate the viability
1,002,000 oz mineral resource
in place by McInnes and co
and sustainability of what we
at 3.0 g/t gold, including
around four years ago upon
plan to be a significant long-
open pit and underground
the formation of a turnaround
term gold mining operation at
resources, which goes a
strategy focusing first and
Marymia.”
long way to establishing the
foremost on economic
project’s viability.
prudence.
formal mining approval
But, achieving the magical
“We are very careful about
process is extensive –
1 Moz mark is just a starting
how we spend shareholders’
significantly more so than
point, and Vango’s next drill
money. We want to know that
most people might appreciate
programmes will be designed
any project we get involved
- and so the company has
to further expand the resource
in has the potential to be
applied a highly rigorous
to 1.5 Moz and then to 2 Moz.
profitable and to deliver a
McInnes explains that the
and stringent approach to its
sustained life to the asset that
VA NG O M IN I N G
AT A G L A N C E
Vision for the future
STOCK TICKER ASX:VAN
MARKET CAPITALISATION
A$81.46 million (as of June 22, 2020)
j
you are pouring millions of
McInnes describes himself
dollars into.
as a ‘builder’ and has infused this spirit into the company’s
“Some companies prefer
thesis for the Marymia Gold
to drill out assets and hope
project. Part of this has been
that a major takes them out.
the building - or evolution - of
We’ve taken a different view
Vango’s board. Over time the
and want to unlock the full
company’s board has evolved
scope and size of the project
and now has a balanced mix
area, and to be in a position to
of skillsets, from commercial
potentially mine the area for
and corporate to mining and
20-30 years, not just for two or
technical expertise.
three.” says the chairman.
MINING | VANGO MINING
A key piece of the puzzle was
“Andrew has really been
Raising the roof
the appointment of highly
an important find and
In mid-June, Vango
skilled mining engineer
compliments the other
successfully raised A$15
Andrew Stocks as managing
members of the board
million on the ASX in an
director of Vango in November
immensely. I’ve learned a lot
oversubscribed capital raising
2019. Stocks stood out from
working with him over the
that will allow the company to
all other applicants due to his
last four to five months and he
aggressively pursue the next
unmatched understanding
has a major task now to bring
phase of drill programmes
of the geology of the
this company to its productive
at Marymia, which include
Marymia region, having been
capability – a task that I have
high-grade resource expansion
instrumental in the build of
utmost confidence in him to
targets and larger scale
the nearby Plutonic mine
deliver.”
Plutonic-style analogue
under the auspices of Barrick Gold in the 1990s.
targets.
Bruce McInnes, Vango Mining executive chairman
The company was also able to
in parallel, to focus on
previous campaigns, and has
convert $2.4 million of debt
development plans for the two
delivered significant time and
into equity in the raise through
areas which will potentially be
cost savings to the company’s
the issue of 30.3 million
the initial mine targets: PHB
exploration programmes.
new shares. These incoming
and Trident.”
institutional and professional
“We’ve been able to rely on
investors attest to the strength
Vango has been fortunate in
that database to be quite
of the financial building blocks
that it inherited a large amount precise about where we drill.
put in place over the past four
of historical data relating to
The design of our next drilling
years, according to McInnes.
the Marymia Gold project
programme is being finalised
when it took full control of
and these next rounds of
“Now it is with Andrew to
the project. While the data
drilling will be designed to
provide the company with
doesn’t extend to depth, it has
expand the resource toward
a further upscaling of the
allowed Vango to locate and
our next target of 1.5 Moz and
resource base and also,
test specific targets throughout
then to 2 Moz.
MINING | VANGO MINING
“But equally as important is
becoming a shareholder in
viability of Vango’s proposed
the ability then to provide
Vango. The company will
mining operation at
evidence to the DMP that this
continue to use Westdrill for
Maryima, as well as deal
is not a company that will
future campaigns, along with
go to mining then fold for a
other outfits for additional rigs
lack of resources,” McInnes
where required.
highlights. “This programme is extremely important going forward.”
Flying towards feasibilities The company has also
Vango’s primary drilling
commenced work towards
partner has been Westdrill,
feasibility studies for the
who are not only a great
Marymia Gold project.
drilling company but have also
These studies are designed
been immensely supportive
to establish the economic
of the Marymia project, even
“Some companies prefer to drill out assets and hope that a major takes them out. We’ve taken a different view and want to mine the area for 20-30 years, not just for two or three” Bruce McInnes, Vango Mining executive chairman
with other core issues such as the environment and sustainability. “We’ve done a lot of work in terms of the hydrology and environmental studies. Blueprint [Environmental Strategies] has completed the majority of the environmental studies required to be submitted in our mining plan. “The water studies have been completed by specialist consultancy group, Rockwater. Those studies include the flow rate and quality of water in the area. Surprisingly, given the project is located in a very dry BRUCE MCINNES, VANGO MINING EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN
“The design of our next drilling programme is being finalised and these next rounds of drilling will be designed to expand the resource toward our next target of 1.5 Moz and then to 2 Moz.”
area, it has an abundant supply me what I’ve been saying for of high-quality underground
some time in my chairman’s
water.
letters, and that is that we believe we have one of the
Following the capital raise
largest and best undeveloped
in June, McInnes reflects on
gold assets in Australia.
a well-deserved celebratory drink shared with a mining analyst. “He actually said to
“He went on to say that Vango
MINING | VANGO MINING
“But I will always admit that I know what I don’t know. This has helped us bring in the right people for the right positions and I know that our current team will carry this company through to mining. And within the next three or four months I expect to see quite a massive upgrade in our market capitalisation.” With uncertainty set to reign supreme over capital markets throughout the rest of the year, and the Australian gold price likely to hold steady in the $2,550 per ounce range, Vango is extremely well placed to deliver value for its ANDREW STOCKS, VANGO MINING MANAGING DIRECTOR
shareholders as it undertakes its next round of resource expansion drilling and
having one of the largest
“I came in as a complete
progresses towards feasibility
undeveloped gold assets in the
unknown in the mining
studies at one of Australia’s
country is only complimented
industry, so I think there was a
largest undeveloped gold
by the fact that you are the
lot of doubt in the marketplace
projects.
most undervalued explorer out
that we could actually achieve
there. So, it’s come with a two-
something that even people
edged sword; we’ve got a great
with a long history in the
asset and we are also the most
sector find difficult to do.
undervalued in terms of our peers.
Published by Anderson Murray Media Ltd
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