Azure Minerals

TONY ROVIRA

MANAGING DIRECTOR

(ASX:AZS)

◾ Company Name: Azure Minerals ◾ Company ASX code: AZS ◾ Key commodities: Nickel, copper and cobalt ◾ Key Personnel: Tony Rovira, Managing Director | James Dornan, Project Development Manager | Graham Leaver, Exploration Manager ◾ Locations: Andover Project – Roeburne, West Pilbara ◾ Market Cap as of 15/07/22: $65.25M ◾ Share price range over 12 months as of 15/07/22: $0.470 - $0.180 ◾ Company Website: azureminerals.com.au

COMPANY PROFILE

Azure Minerals made a name for itself back in October 2020 when it hit paydirt in its first drillhole at the nickel-rich Andover Project in Western Australia’s Pilbara region.

The hit – 4m of massive nickel copper sulphide mineralisation at a depth of 94.5m, within a broader 40.7m zone of nickel copper bearing mineralisation, sent shares in the small cap flying some 50pc at the time.

Up until then, the company was predominantly focused on its Mexican assets, including the Alacrán silvergold-copper and Oposura zinc-leadsilver projects.

That all changed after COVID-19, when managing director Tony Rovira decided to switch course and take the company in a new direction due to how badly the pandemic affected the Latin American country.

After reaching out to the legendary prospector Mark Creasy, well regarded for his discoveries of the Bronzewing and Jundee gold mines, as well as the Nova nickel mine, Azure acquired and added a total of four new projects to its portfolio.

These included Andover and the Turner River, Meentheena and Coongan Gold Projects.

The move was a game changer for Azure, and although Creasy had been a shareholder in the company since its IPO in 2003, the deal made him one of its two biggest shareholders.

The Andover project, which is a joint venture between Azure (60%) and the Creasy Group (40%) is now the company’s flagship project and it is where exploration works have been aggressively progressing ever since its acquisition.

Only some 3.5km from Artemis Resources’ Carlow Castle gold-coppercobalt deposit, the project comprises a maiden mineral resource estimate of 4.6Mt at 1.11% nickel, 0.47% copper and 0.05% cobalt for 75,000t of combined contained metal.

While the resource estimate marked a key milestone in advancing the project and the beginning of a very exciting journey, exploration works including geological mapping, surface geochemical sampling and diamond drilling have identified other key targets along a 4km long fairway called the Southern Mineralised Corridor (SMC).

As well as hosting the Andover deposit, it also hosts the Ridgeline nickel-copper-cobalt deposit where mineral resource drilling is underway, and the Skyline and Seaview prospects in the east.

Currently, the SMC between Ridgeline and Seaview forms the highest priority horizon for exploration within the Andover complex, and Azure currently has two rigs drilling at Ridgeline and the Atrium prospect.

Down hole electromagnetic (DHEM) surveys will be undertaken in the recent Ridgeline drill holes, which will be followed by surveying of the holes at both Skyline and Atrium.

The company’s Barton Gold Project in WA’s Kookynie gold district is another exciting play.

Multiple drill holes have recently intersected gold mineralisation at Daisy Corner, which extends for 800m along strike to the northwest of Genesis Minerals’ Puzzle and Puzzle North gold deposits.

Follow-up work such as geological mapping and soil sampling is underway to assist in the next phase of drilling.

At the end of May, the company reached a binding agreement to sell its Mexican projects to Bendito Resources to allow Azure to focus on developing its Andover project.

It is the intention of Bendito to list on the Toronto Stock Exchange within 18 months of completion of the transaction with the Alacrán, Oposura and Promontorio projects forming the core assets of Bendito.

KEY INVESTMENT HIGHLIGHTS

MAY 30, 2022: Azure sells Mexican precious and base metal projects to Bendito Resources for A$20 million. MARCH 30, 2022: A maiden resource estimate at the Andover deposit delivers 4.6Mt at 1.11% nickel, 0.47% copper and 0.05% cobalt for 75,000t of contained metal. MARCH 16, 2022: Massive nickel sulphides up to 6.3m at 3.59% nickel, 0.21% copper and 0.17% cobalt from 459.2m are intersected at Ridgeline, forming part of the Andover Project.