Doornbos said. “Drilling a sec ond well will help increase geologic confidence in the Clearwater proj ect area and allow E3 to continue to advance its project towards prefea sibility, supporting the energy tran sition in Alberta.”
Calgary-based E3 Lithium (TSXV: ETL; US-OTC: EEMMF) recently an nounced the successful manufac ture of a small batch of sorbent, a critical chemical component of its plan to produce battery-grade lithium products at its Clearwater project from brines in the historic Leduc Formation in Alberta. The company, which has devel oped direct lithium extraction tech nology capable of generating more than 90% recovery from brines while increasing lithium concen tration and reducing impurities by more than 99%, is aiming to be the first to produce lithium in the prov ince.Other lithium explorers are also working on proprietary extraction technologies. Chris Doornbos, president and CEO of E3 said the company’s extraction technology is an ion exchange process that uses a proprietary sorbent. Sorbents are substances that collect molecules from other substances. E3’s chem ical processes are similar to water softeners, he said.
“Ion exchange itself is not com plicated,” said Doornbos, a geol ogist. “It’s used all over the world for all sorts of applications. We are trying to get a metal out of a liquid. So that’s what it is. The medium we developed has been demonstrated to have high selectivity for lith ium, which means we can generate a highly pure lithium concentrate.”
See GOODMAN / 5
HOW STRUGGLING JUNIOR PURE GOLD PLANS TO MOVE PAST A ‘TORTUROUS’ Q2 / 3 905 841 5004 | geotech.ca VTEM™ | ZTEM™ | Gravity | Geotech_Earlug_2016_Alt2.pdfMagnetics1 2016-06-24 4:27:20 PM WWW.SGS.COM/MINING MINERALS@SGS.COM DELIVERING QUALITY EXPERTISE GLOBALLY ACROSS THE ENTIRE MINING LIFE CYCLE expert advice from exploration to closure .com AUGUST 22 — SEPTEMBER 4, 2022 / VOL. 108 ISSUE 17 / GLOBAL MINING NEWS • SINCE 1915 / $5.25 / WWW.NORTHERNMINER.COM Can Alberta’s petrobrines help meet the ‘huge demand’ for lithium? BATTERY METALS | E3 Lithium advancing pilot project with Imperial Oil PM40069240 COMMENTARY: CANADIAN MINERS NEED TO SEIZE THEIR CHANCE TO LEAD / 5 Canadian miners mourn the passing of industry heavyweight Ned Goodman OBITUARY | Leader in mining and finance sectors remembered as optimistic ‘visionary’ BY HENRY LAZENBY
See LITHIUM / 6 SPECIAL FOCUS MEXICO Exploration for silver, gold and base metals | 10-12
E3 LITHIUM “IT WILL TAKE DECADES FOR CANADA’S LITHIUM SECTOR TO REACH THE MAGNITUDE OF OIL AND GAS, [BUT] THE WORKFORCE IS ALREADY THERE.”
In July, E3 completed drilling its first well into the Leduc Formation to verify lithium concentrations, flow rates and other reservoir char acteristics of its Clearwater project (now part of the Bashaw project), located east of Olds, Alta. The well is 2,670 metres deep — 36.9 metres of core were retrieved. The Leduc, a major source of oil and gas in Alberta, is of late Devonian age. The Leduc No. 1 well, completed in 1947 by Imperial Oil, produced over 300,000 barrels of oil, launch ing Alberta’s post-Second World War oil boom. “The progress we’ve made on our evaluation program is the result of significant effort from our geosci ences team and the importance Alberta has placed on exploring and producing critical minerals,”
E3 Lithium completed drilling its first brine test well in Alberta in July.
DAN ALESSI, GEOLOGIST Ned Goodman
Over more than 30 years, Ned Goodman made transformative and en during contributions to Cana da’s minerals industry and capital markets as a company-builder, merchant banker and investment advisor during a dynamic career spanning almost half a century. The Montreal-born mining luminary passed away on Aug. 7 at the age of 85. Over his career, Goodman applied his geological training and business acumen to help build several successful mining compa nies, perhaps most notably Inter national Corona and Kinross Gold (TSX: K; NYSE: KGC). He also nurtured many other miner al-producing companies through astute and timely investments. In addition to being an out standing member of the philan thropic community, Goodman was considered one of the leading architects of Canada’s investment management industry. He founded the first explora tion flow-through partnership with his partners, CMP Group, which has raised billions since the 1980s by funding exploration campaigns and developing min ing and petroleum companies. It led to job generation and benefits for rural and northern economies in Canada. He was also the driv ing force of the Dundee group of financial companies, which grew under his leadership from a $300 million base to a $50 billion mutual fund entity. An early interest in science prompted Goodman to obtain a B.Sc. degree in geology from McGill University. When geo logical employment was sparse, and Noranda laid off Goodman in 1960, the business world also caught his attention. It led to him achieving an MBA degree from the University of Toronto in 1962. His career path took a financial turn in 1967 when he earned the designation of Chartered Finan cial Analyst and co-founded Beu tel, Goodman & Company Ltd., which offered pension funds and private client investment advice. The firm also established a repu tation as a ‘go-to’ destination for mining and oil investment, with junior companies particularly
In June, E3 announced a collab oration with Imperial to advance a lithium brine pilot project in the Leduc. The company hopes for commercial production in 2026. The agreement included a $6.4-mil lion investment into E3, with Imperial offering technical and development support in areas such as water and reservoir management and access to freehold lands in the area managed by Imperial. E3 has outlined resources in its permit area in south-cen tral Alberta totalling 24.3 million inferred tonnes of lithium carbon ate equivalent (LCE). The Bashaw project (which com bines the former Clearwater and Exshaw West projects), hosts the majority of the resource, with 59 sq. km of brine formation averaging 74.5 mg/l of lithium for 23.4 million
BY JAMES SNELL
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ONTARIO | Prefeasibility study, new mine plan under way for Red Lake asset
BY HENRY LAZENBY Pure Gold Mining (TSXV: PGM; US-OTC: LRTNF) management was fielding un comfortable questions from con cerned shareholders during a con ference call Aug.16 following the company’s release of what investors termed a ‘torturous’ second-quar ter operations update and financial report.While the company cited an expected “significant improve ment in production” in the third quarter, it says it remains on track to complete an updated mine plan and prefeasibility study by yearend. However, the extreme focus on near-term production does little to ease shareholder appre hension over the asset’s muddled longer-term outlook.
This week’s best gold drill intercept comes from Tudor Gold’s (TSXV: TUD) Treaty Creek property in British Colum bia.On Aug. 11, Tudor announced it had re-entered hole GS-21113-W2 and extended it 280.1 metres deeper, recording a con tinuous intercept of 1,497.5 metres grading 0.76 grams gold per tonne from a depth of 255 metres, for grade x width of 1,138.1. The new, deeper portion of the hole averages 2.48 grams gold-equivalent per gram over 168 metres, with copper averaging 0.82%.The company also reports that silver mineralization is becoming stronger at depth within the CS600 domain.Further drilling targeting the DS5 domain intersected 428 metres grading 1.07 grams gold-equivalent per tonne, including an enriched upper portion averaging 1.36 grams per tonne over 172.4 metres, in hole GS-22-139.TheTreaty Creek exploration program includes an aggressive resource expansion and delinea tion plan for several areas, includ ing the Goldstorm deposit and the Eureka and Calm Before the Storm Zones.The Treaty Creek project is sit uated 12 km east of the past-pro ducing Eskay Creek gold mine in northwestern B.C. The property borders Seabridge Gold’s (TSX: SEA; NYSE: SA) KSM property to the southwest and Newcrest’s (ASX, TSX: NCM) Brucejack gold mine to the southeast. The week’s second-best inter cept was from New Pacific Metals’ (TSX: NUAG; NYSE American: NEWP) Carangas silver-gold proj ect, in Bolivia. The company said hole DCAr0044 returned an inter cept of 514.9 metres grading 1.1 grams gold per tonne and 6 grams silver per tonne for a gold-only grade x width of 566.34. According to the company, the assay results continue to expand silver and gold mineralization for the project, where near-surface silver horizons are stacked over a broad bulk gold mineralization. To date, in 2022, the company has completed 21,980 metres in 43 drill holes at Carangas. The com pany has released assay results for the 12 drill holes from the 2022 drilling program, with results for the remaining 31 holes pending. The 2022 drill program is advanc ing well, with five drill rigs active at the Makingsite. the cut in the third spot this week is Aurumin (ASX: AUN) which reported an intersec tion from the Central Sandstone gold project in Western Australia of 224 metres grading 1.48 grams gold per tonne, for a width x grade figure of 331.52. Hole SNTMRD220004 returned the intersect at a depth of 229.6 metres.Drilling is seeking to both extend and better define the com pany’s inferred underground resource of 14.2 million tonnes grading 1.1 grams gold per tonne for 500,000 oz. at Two Mile Hill. Aurumin’s managing direc tor, Brad Valiukas said in a press release that management was encouraged by the exploration result, adding to the likelihood that the Two Mile Hill under ground deposit will become a key part of the project going forward, with the scale to potentially under pin future production. TNM
The Vancouver-based miner poured its first gold at the end of 2020 and announced the start of commercial production in August 2021. Its PureGold mine, how ever, has struggled to consistently produce at its nameplate capacity of 800 tonnes a day, despite mill upgrades that intended to increase capacity to 1,000 tonnes a day. Construction delays, lousy scheduling, problems with equip ment, and “strategic misalign ments,” were cited by the miner to explain production shortfalls. The mounting issues triggered a change in leadership early this year. In July, the company kicked off a strategic review process that could involve a potential sale or merger. It also re-arranged financing in April with its lender Sprott Resource Lending Corp., which provided around $12 million of additional liquidity within the next 15 months. The two firms agreed on tempo rary reductions to the minimum cash and minimum working capi tal ratio covenants to US$5 million for the months ending June 30 and July 31, Production2022. at the mine has con tinued to fall, with head grades fall ing to 4.27 grams gold per tonne in the quarter ended Mar. 31. For the second quarter, the head grade had plunged to 2.4 grams gold. The company has suspended produc tion guidance in the interim. Another factor affecting second quarter production was significant
The headframe at the PureGold mine near Red Lake, Ontario. PUREGOLD MINING
Pure Gold said output fell during the second quarter due in part to cash-preservation measures taken by the company while negotiat ing financing agreements. For the three months, the PureGold under ground mine in Ontario’s famed Red Lake district saw a reduction in workforce, and the mill was operating at only 50% capacity. Main ramp development remained halted in favour of near-term pro duction.Mining totalled 40,551 tonnes of ore (an average of 445 tonnes per day) and 85,267 tonnes (an aver age of 471 tonnes per day) for the first half of 2022. Overall, Pure Gold produced 3,509 oz. during the period and 8,244 oz. for the first half of While2022.the company saw a 30% reduction in costs compared to the first quarter, it still booked an oper ating loss of $18.5 million and $41.9 million for the quarter and the half, respectively. The net and compre hensive losses totalled $20.8 million and $42.2 million. All figures were higher than their comparative peri ods in During2021.the analyst conference call, David Smith of the Morgan Report had some pointed questions for president and CEO Mark O’Dea, who runs the Oxygen Capital group of companies, and took over man agement from Troy Fierro in April. “Mark, you may remember about a year ago, you and I had tre mendous talks, and I listened to you as someone who has been able to pull off this concept successfully several times before,” he said in framing his question. “I’m just wondering how some one with your capability, who has done this before... is going to put out such a torturous circum stance?” the investor wanted to know. “It’s the most torturous thing I’ve read in 25 years.” Smith wanted to know what fundamental thing he was missing between months of little to no news flow from the company and basic things being overlooked — like drilling a stope that has low yield and paying too much for a camp. “This project has gone through several management teams, and Eric Sprott, a sharp cookie, is even involved. How can we all get so far off base on this? Am I missing something really, really fundamen tal and important?”
O’Dea responded by saying: “I guess the short answer is, Mother Nature surprised us in a lot of ways at the beginning of our mine life here,” O’Dea said. “We started life in the McVeigh deposit. It’s turned out to be geometrically more chal lenging than we’d anticipated and required a lot more drilling than we thought it needed. We paid the price for that, we all have. “It’s required a whole new assess ment in terms of how to approach this operation and has become a lot more drill intensive. We’ve had to retool our team and build a whole new operating system around suc cessWhilehere.”O’Dea said the process has “taken a lot more time than any of us feel comfortable about,” he said the team is optimistic that the deposit can and will be mined suc cessfully.
White-knuckle ride
Pure Gold management faces the music following ‘torturous’ Q2 report
GLOBAL MINING NEWS THE NORTHERN MINER / AUGUST 22 — SEPTEMBER 4, 2022 3 TNM DRILL DOWN: Top gold assays of the week Aug 8-12 See PURE GOLD / 8 BY HENRY LAZENBY Our weekly TNM Drill Down feature focuses on the top gold assays of the past week. Assays are ranked by gold grade x width, as identified by our sister company Mining Intelligence.
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BY DR CHRIS HINDE Special to The Northern Miner dian winning a stage of the Tour de France cycle race (Hugo Houle was the first to do so in 34 years). Also unexpected is the perfor mance of gold. It is supposed to be an easy beast to predict; gold likes a weak dollar, political and economic turmoil, and low rates of interest. The precious metal is denominated in U.S. dollars so inevitably appears stronger when that currency is weak, and is con sidered a safe haven in troubled times. Low interest rates reduce the cost of holding gold, which pays no dividends, and restrict the appeal of yield-producing sov ereign debt, which is gold’s most important competitor as a haven. Although the U.S. dollar has been strong in 2022, and interest rates are rising from a low base, we are experiencing the other gold-fa vourable conditions in spades and earlier this year precious metals analysts were queuing up to fore cast higher gold prices. Instead, money managers turned net short of gold in mid-July for only the fifth time since 2006. This is a properly rare position. Out of the 841 weeks, to the end of July, that the Chicago-traded gold futures and options series has been measured, managed money has been betting on gold weak ness for a total of only 37 weeks. Fortunately, the World Gold Council reminds us that this par ticular dark cloud has a silver lin ing; namely, that these unusual net short positions are histori cally associated with positive gold returns over the following three to 12 Formonths.miners, there are many potential surprises to be faced in addition to unexpected commod ity prices. These include the macro environment, which encompass swings in economic activity, infla tion, currency exchange rates and the related political implementa tion of new environmental, mon etary and fiscal policy. Colombia is the latest example of the latter with the announcement of export taxes on oil, coal and gold (10% above US$400 per ounce FOB). At the operating level, miners must plan for geological surprises and fluctuating stakeholder sen timent. As we saw at Diggers & Dealers, contingencies must also be made for adverse weather con ditions.Itseems, right now, to be an uphill battle for miners of almost any persuasion. Nevertheless, although we can’t see (or even properly predict) the future, always remember that uplift is greatest when the wind is against you. TNM — Dr. Chris Hinde is a mining engineer and the director of Pick and Pen Ltd., a U.K.-based consulting firm. He previously worked for S&P Global Market Intelligence’s Metals and Mining division.
DEPARTMENTS Special Focus 10 Professional Directory 17 Market News 18 Metal, Mining and Money 19 Stock Tables 20-23 COMPANY INDEX Altaley Mining 13 AngloGold Ashanti 7 Aurumin 3 B2Gold 7 Barrick Gold 8 Coeur Mining 15 Denison Mines 16 E3 Lithium 1 Equinox Gold 12 Excellon Resources 10 Fresnillo 10 Giga Metals 9 GR Silver Mining 13 Hecla Mining 15 Iamgold 7 K92 Mining 8 Kinross Gold 1 Mag Silver 10 Minaurum Gold 10, 12 Newcrest 3 New Pacific Metals 3 Oroco Resource 14 Osisko Development 14 Piedmont Lithium 6 Prime Mining 14 Prismo Metals 10 Pure Gold Mining 8 Rio Tinto 9 Sayona Mining 6 Seabridge Gold 3 Signal Gold 16 Silver Lake Resources 8 Southern Silver Exploration 15 Teck Resources 10 Tocvan Ventures 15 Torex Gold Resources 13 Tudor Gold 3 Turquoise Hill Resources 9 UEX Corporation 16 Uranium Energy 16 Vizsla Silver 10 Vortex Metals 10 Zacatecas Silver 15 BY ALISHA HIYATE
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Only newsletter writers and commodity analysts see the future with perfect clarity, the rest of us must muddle along with probabilities and best guesses.Astrategist was quoted recently in The Northern Miner as having a US$5,000 per oz. two-year out look on gold. He might be gifted with foresight but, for mere mor tals, Doris Day explained it per fectly in 1956 with what became her signature song, Qué será, será; “Whatever will be, will be, the future’s not ours to see.” Predicting the future is compli cated by the unknown unknowns. This phrase leapt into common usage after the U.S. Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, famously used it in 2002 when explaining the lack of weap ons of mass destruction in Iraq (although the concept of unknown unknowns was actually created in 1955 by two American psycholo gists, Joseph Luft and Harrington Ingham).Wemight not be able to actu ally see what is coming but, from what we can deduce, the immedi ate future doesn’t seem likely to be great. We are only halfway through the third quarter of 2022 and opti mism in the mining sector is fad ing. This follows two quarters of contraction in U.S. gross domestic product and falling global demand for raw Australianmaterials.bank ANZ has echoed the mining industry’s concern that slowing economic growth is “outweighing supply concerns and depleted invento ries.” In its latest Commodity Call newsletter, ANZ added that “Chi na’s demand was a drag for much of the second quarter, but now fears of a global recession have gripped the Althoughmarket.”ANZbelieves that increased spending on infrastruc ture in China will stabilize mar kets, the next few months look bumpy. Metals price conditions for 2023 are extremely difficult to predict despite the knowledge that many of our metals are ‘future proofed’ because they are in short supply for the necessary work to deliver net-zero carbon emissions and the mooted energy transition. We can, however, make plans for this uncertainty. In ‘An Ideal Husband’, Oscar Wilde told us as far back as 1894 that to “expect the unexpected shows a thoroughly modernRecentintellect.”national examples of the unexpected include water shortages and wildfires here in the U.K., wild winds at this year’s Diggers & Dealers conference in Western Australia, and a Cana
The EV incentive in the IRA has been criticized for being too ambitious with its sourcing targets — in particular with automakers who know how few vehicles will actually qualify for it. The bill stipulates that starting in 2023, at least 40% of the critical minerals contained in the vehicles’ bat teries must be sourced or refined in the U.S. or a free trade partner coun try, or else recycled in North America, with that proportion rising yearly until it reaches 80%. For battery components, the proportion of “local” or “friendly” content starts at an even higher (and unrealistic) 50% in 2023, rising to 100% by 2029. However, regardless of these “aggressive” targets, independent analyst Patricia Mohr believes these requirements will spark investments in Canada. “While it will take time for noticeable benefits to emerge, the provisions will likely spur stepped-up investor interest in the Canadian mining, pro cessing and auto sectors almost immediately (from foreign mining compa nies and private equity),” said Mohr in the August issue of the publication Critical Metals for a Sustainable World
THE VIEW FROM ENGLAND: COLUMN | Unsighted, so expect the unexpected EDITORIAL Canada poised to benefit as the elephant next door goes green
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However, given the polarized political environment in the U.S., John Kaiser, the California-based newsletter writer behind Kaiser Research Online, doesn’t attach much importance to the legislation. “The bills created by Congress are meaningless because in 2024 they could be ripped up just as Trump did with the Iran nuclear deal,” he told The Northern Miner in an email. That’s not necessarily as negative as it sounds. Kaiser, who has been call ing attention to the West’s reliance on China for critical minerals for well over a decade now, says that industry is intent on the electrification pathway and companies starting to recognize they need to do more to secure supply. “What really struck me in early 2021 was that despite four years of Trump doing his best to undermine the energy transition, the car sector utterly ignored him and accelerated deployment and financial commit ment to EVs far more than (previously) projected,” he said. Kaiser believes that the EV adoption trend will go exponential around 2030 — spurring a non-gold exploration and development boom in Canada. “Eastern Canada has the capacity to become a major source of lithium by 2030. And it doesn’t matter what rules the U.S. invents about where companies must procure their metals.”
EV incentive
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Suddenly, the United States is getting serious about climate change, the green energy transi tion and the supply of critical minerals needed to make it happen.
The federal, Quebec and Ontario governments have already made a spate of investments into mining, processing and EV battery production, but the domestic battery supply chain is still in its early stages. Mohr noted that Canadian nickel projects — which are comparatively low-carbon emitters — are poised to become more valuable. “Canada is very prospective for nickel and the United States is not. At least five early-stage nickel deposits are currently available for develop ment in Canada; the U.S. tax credit, for which Indonesian nickel does not qualify, may be another factor spurring ultimate finance for them.”
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The Inflation Reduction Act, passed in early August, contains US$430 billion in spending — about US$280 billion of that focused on clean energy incentives intended to fight climate change and speed up adoption of EVs and renewable energy. This, from a country that only in 2017 – one year after becoming a sig natory to the Paris Climate agreement — did an about-face and applied (under former president Donald Trump) to formally withdraw from the deal. (It has since rejoined under current president Joe Biden.)
The Inflation Reduction Act, which came as a complete surprise, squeaked through 51-50 in the Senate, with vice-president Kamala Harris casting the tiebreaker vote. On Aug. 12, it was also approved in the House of Representatives in a 220-207 vote. While the bill alludes to reducing inflation, and contains major health policy measures, it also contained historic climate investments aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 40% below 2005 levels by 2030. Climate investments range from tax credits for electric vehicles at US$7,500 a pop over a 10-year period, support for nuclear energy and infrastructure (almost $30 billion in tax credits over 10 years) and tax cred its for investment in and production of clean energy in the form of solar panels, wind turbines, battery cells and more. As the United States’ close neighbour and ally, one that is “affected by every twitch and grunt” of the giant (as former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau phrased it), this puts Canada in an interesting position. Unlike Biden’s originally proposed Build Back Better Act, and thanks to intense lobbying from the Canadian government and automakers, the Infla tion Reduction Act (IRA) doesn’t shut out Canadian-assembled vehicles from eligibility for EV incentives. And the bill’s requirement that qualify ing EVs contain a proportion of critical minerals and battery components that are sourced domestically, from a country with a free-trade agreement with the U.S., or recycled in North America, could provide a major boost for Canadian mining projects. That is especially the case because there is no way the U.S. will be able to secure the minerals it needs domestically. The coun try has only one lithium mine, one nickel mine, and no graphite mines. A number of mining projects have also seen permitting delays and legal chal lenges that deter investment. Add to that recently passed or proposed laws by Democrats that would de-incentivize mining (a tax on lithium produc tion in California that will go into effect in early 2023; the proposed Clean Energy Minerals Reform Act, which would establish a 12.5% royalty on new mining operations and an 8% royalty on existing operations) or even ban mining (in Minnesota’s Boundary Waters region).
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Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has shone a spotlight on en ergy security throughout Europe and the Americas. World leaders are finally paying atten tion to their reliance on Russia for energy and critical minerals, and they don’t like what they see. Sanctions against Russia should continue and depending on how long and drawn out the invasion is, they may heighten. To date, Russian gold has been targeted but critical minerals have not. It’s obvious why: Russian metals are “critical,” and their supply can not be easily replaced. The world is looking to Canada to displace this supply, but we aren’t ready. Russia is the world’s number one exporter of oil and gas and the largest single provider of oil, gas, and coal to Europe. With a cold winter ahead, European coun tries may need to start choosing between running factories to keep the economy going, or warming homes. Further, Russia produces just 6% of the world’s uranium, yet claims over 40% of enrichment capacity. Russia is also the num ber one producer of battery-grade Class 1 nickel and palladium which is used in catalytic convert ers for cars. Need I go on? One thing is clear. The world is far too dependent upon Russia for oil, gas, and mineral supplies. Now is the time for Canadian miners to mobilize.Theindustry is facing an unprecedented demand oppor tunity not seen in decades since China began its mass scale devel opment. Policy makers are begin ning to understand that climate change solutions will require vast additional quantities of metals and it is encouraging that many are discussing critical minerals. With the transition to battery technol ogies and clean energy, demand for nickel, lithium, and cobalt what we need in return. We need to work closely with our govern ments. We need significant new strategic metals and resources to be discovered here in Canada and policies designed to expedite their exploration and development. And we need public support. My ask of you is simple. Mining executives and board members, geologists and engineers, rock truck operators, diamond drillers, and service providers — proudly tell your neighbours, friends, and elected officials that you work in mining and that the world needs Canada’s resources. Ensure that our children learn in school about Canada’s rich endowment of resources and that the indus try has learned from its past mis takes, becoming a leader in global ESG and supporting the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals. Loudly promote the change in public perception that we des perately need so that Canada will emerge a global leader once again in sustainable mining, innovation, and technical expertise. It’s our time. TNM Candace MacGibbon is a Canadian mining executive and former CEO of INV Metals. are each projected by the Inter national Energy Agency to more than double by 2030 from 2021 levels. Copper demand is expected to rise by over 50%. To put this into context given where we are today, just to meet this increase in demand, the industry will need to develop new mines capable of more than doubling nickel and cobalt production. We will need to increase copper production by more than half and lithium pro duction eightfold. All within eight years in a scenario where net zero targets are achieved by 2050, not accounting for the replacement of current reserves as they are mined out, or the displacement of Rus sianAsresources.weknow, it is not uncom mon for it to take 18 years for a new exploration discovery to be defined, engineered, evaluated for economic viability, financed, per mitted, and constructed. It’s safe to say, with a timeframe of 10-20 years from discovery to produc tion, that we should be out explor ing… like now. To attract the required capital, the government must set the tone for success and help reduce regulatory and per mitting delays. Now is the time for our industry to ensure that Cana
GOODMAN from 1 nized as a highly efficient, worldclass underground mine and Ada Tepe is a top-performing open-pit operation.“Onbehalf of our employees and board of directors, I’d like to express our deepest condolences to the Goodman family.” Industry veteran Ron Stewart noted on social media that Good man was recognized across Can ada as one of the visionary business leaders who helped develop Cana da’s standing as a world leader in the resource industry. “In 2016, he was appointed to the Order of Canada, one of only 113 Canadians to be recognized with the country’s highest civil ian honours. My heartfelt sym pathy goes to four sons Jonathan, David, Mark and Daniel and, of course, wife Anita,” wrote Stewart onAnLinkedIn.often-recounted quote attributed to Goodman is: “I am an optimist because I never met a rich pessimist. We try to avoid the things that make us pessimis tic and focus on those things that make us optimistic.”
TNM
MICHAEL FLIPPO /ADOBE STOCK
CANDACE MACGIBBON
GLOBAL MINING NEWS THE NORTHERN MINER / AUGUST 22 — SEPTEMBER 4, 2022 5
Ukraine war crisis offers Canada an opportunity to lead with responsible mining
Iain Fleming Downie, of Thunder Bay, Ont., passed away peacefully with his wife Anne and children Malcolm, Ewan and Andrea by his side on Aug. 5 at the age of 83. Iain was born in Scotland and attended the University of Toronto where he gradu ated as a PEng geologist. He had a successful career in mineral exploration across North America: a pioneer of diamond exploration in Canada, a recipient of the PDAC Bill Den nis Prospector of the Year Award (as part of the team at Wolfden Resources for their discovery of the West Zone massive sul phide deposit at High Lake, Nunavut, and the Northwestern Ontario Prospectors Association (NWOPA) Lifetime Achievement Award. A respected friend and colleague, Iain was involved in numerous min eral discoveries and was a founding director of Wolfden Resources (pre decessor to Premier Gold Mines and i-80 Gold).
OBITUARY Explorer Iain Downie passes away at 83
COMMENTARY | Miners must speak up to get the public support needed to meet net zero goals BY CANDACE MACGIBBON
Known for part in Wolfden’s West Zone discovery in Nunavut dian domestic policy will foster the necessary investment to meet the global demand growth required from our international climate pledges, with the federal govern ment seeking input into its criti cal minerals strategy now through Sept. 15, 2022. The mining sector must begin a massive growth phase so that we can lower our dependence on fos sil fuels and meet the lofty net zero targets by 2050. Our industry, gov ernments, and the communities in which we operate need a call to action to ensure that the indus try players who benefit from this monumental and seismic oppor tunity are those that have sustain ability, safety, human rights, and environmental protection within their DNA and corporate mis sions. In other words: us. Our Canadian miners and Canadian companies operating abroad. It’s time for our industry to ini tiate a robust outreach campaign to our friends, family, colleagues, and everyone who will listen. We have been quiet for too long, not boasting of our capabilities and quietly lamenting the challenges we face in private. But the world needs us now, perhaps more than ever, so we must get loud about
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benefiting from Goodman and his partner Seymour Schulich’s abil ity to recognize resource mineral projects of merit — as well as good management teams — and raise funds for their exploration and development.Goodman played a leadership role in the re-emergence of Can ada’s gold-mining industry in the 1980s, ultimately becoming the largest shareholder and chairman of International Corona, which held interests in world-class gold mines in Ontario’s Hemlo region. Aside from his early involve ment in Kinross, he also played critical roles in Repadre (later Iamgold) and Dundee Precious Metals and was an early backer of FNX Mining Company Inc. (later Quadra FNX Mining) and its dis covery and development of new nickel deposits in Ontario’s Sud buryGoodmancamp. brought attention to and helped develop Canada’s min ing industry into an international powerhouse. He understood risk, how best to manage it, and what it took to bring a project to fruition. Dundee served as a significant source of capital for early-stage exploration companies. Goodman became a major force in Canada’s mining industry, served on many company boards, and in 2012, was inducted into the Canadian Min ing Hall of Fame. David Rae, president and CEO of Dundee Precious Metals, sent an exclusive statement to The Northern Miner lauding Good man’s impact. “As co-founder of Dundee Pre cious Metals and a long-serving member of our board of direc tors, Ned Goodman created the foundation for DPM’s growth into an environmentally and socially responsible mid-tier producer. “Mr. Goodman was a vision ary who recognized the potential in mining assets much earlier than others, which was instrumen tal in the company’s acquisition of our Bulgarian assets in 2003. Considered by others at the time as troubled, underperforming assets, Chelopech today is recog
Sayona on track for first productionspodumeneinQ12023
CRITICAL MINERALS | Multi-fold ramp up in lithium, nickel, cobalt production needed BY HENRY LAZENBY Global battery and minerals supply chains need to ex pand ten-fold to meet pro jected critical minerals needs by 2030, a report published by the In ternational Energy Agency (IEA) hasInfound.short, the report concludes the industry needs to build 50 more lithium mines, 60 more nickel mines and 17 more cobalt mines by 2030 to meet global net carbon emissionsPressuregoals.onthe supply of criti cal materials will continue to mount as road transport electrification expands to meet net-zero ambitions. According to the IEA, demand for electric vehicle (EV) batter ies will increase from around 340 Gigawatt hours (GWh) today to over 3,500 GWh by 2030. “Additional investments are needed in the short-term, partic ularly in mining, where lead times are much longer than for other parts of the supply chain. In some cases requiring more than a decade from initial feasibility studies to production, and then several more years to reach nominal production capacity,” the report said. The projected mineral supply until the end of the 2020s is in line with the demand for EV batteries in the ‘stated policies scenario’ of the IEA’s world energy model. But the supply of some minerals, such as lithium, would need to rise by up to one-third by 2030 to satisfy the pledges and announcements for EV batteries in the ‘announced pledges scenario (APS)’ of the same energy model. “For example, demand for lith ium — the commodity with the largest projected demand-supply gap — is projected to increase six fold to 500 kilotonnes by 2030 in the APS, requiring the equivalent of 50 new average-sized mines,” according to the report. By 2030, nickel is facing the larg est absolute demand increase as high-nickel chemistries are the cur rent dominant cathode for EVs and are expected to remain so. For cobalt, the opposite is true as battery makers continue to thrift to lower cobalt content chemis tries (and even potentially cobaltfree chemistries by 2030) to reduce costs and due to environmental, social and governance concerns. Despite the trend, the report cau tions that the surge in global demand for EV batteries still increases total cobalt demand this decade. The IEA believes that to meet the projected demand in 2030 in the Stated Policies Scenario, 41 nickel and 11 additional cobalt mines are needed — a significant scaling up of the current project pipeline. “For the Announced Pledges Scenario, 60 nickel and 17 cobalt new mines are required in 2030, (assuming average annual mine production capacity of 38,000 tonnes for nickel and 7,000 tonnes forCoupledcobalt).” with this critical need for new mines is that mine develop ment timelines have telescoped to up to 16 years to undertake the nec essary feasibility studies, and engi neering and construction work. The IEA says it can take four to more than 20 years after an extract able resource is identified through exploration for a mine to begin commercial production. In addition to the time required to begin commercial production, mines often require around 10 years before they reach nameplate production capacity. The IEA says upstream mineral extraction can cause significant bottlenecks unless adequate invest ments are delivered well in advance.
Geologist Dan Alessi, a petro brine expert, says a profitable lith ium facility in Alberta is still five years away. And while he says it will take decades for Canada’s lith ium sector to reach the magnitude of oil and gas, the workforce is already there. “If you’re talking about rede ploying oil and gas workers, there’s a lot of transferable skills,” he said. Alessi and Safari launched lith ium company Recion Technolo gies in 2019. Recion is developing its own extraction technology with the aim of building a pilot proj ect that could be commercialized in partnership with Australia’s Morella“There’sCorporation.hugedemand for lith ium,” Alessi said. “There are pre dictions we’ll need three to four times the lithium we use now by the end of the decade. There’s a huge supply gap that must be filled by alternative resources.” With 11 years of research and development under its belt, Cal gary-based Conductive Energy is determined to help meet the demand for battery grade lithium products using its own top-secret formula and process. The com pany says its proprietary materials can recover at least 95% of brine lithium at 99.5% purity. Conductive is working with Berkshire Hathaway Energy Renewables at their geothermal facility in Southern California’s Salton Sea. The demonstration project would see a co-produc tion of lithium from brine along side renewable geothermal energy, a process that could enhance site economics.TheSalton Sea is shallow, con taminated with agricultural runoff,
LITHIUM | NAL plant could become only local supplier of spodumene in North America
6 AUGUST 22 — SEPTEMBER 4, 2022 / THE NORTHERN MINER WWW.NORTHERNMINER.COM
It would also not help if mid stream processing didn’t keep up with rapidly expanding supplies. “Also, in order to translate this into EV deployment, tens of cath ode and anode plants, gigafacto ries and EV production plants are required,” the report stated Innovative approaches The IEA suggests innovative new extraction and processing tech nologies such as direct lithium extraction (DLE), high-pressure acid leaching (HPAL), and re-min ing from mining waste could go a long way in bridging emerging sup ply gaps.
See / 16 Salt mining at Salinas Grandes in Argentina. FIZZL/ADOBE STOCK landlocked, and extremely saline. A California Energy Commission report says it could produce more than 600,000 tonnes of lithium car bonate per year. “We are probably one of the most advanced direct lith ium extraction companies in the world,” said Conductive CEO Haafiz Hasham, adding the com pany also has multiple projects in Alberta. “When you look at things on the world stage, the Salton Sea project starts to shine.”
REPORT
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Hundreds of new mines required to meet 2030 battery metals demand, finds IEA report
LITHIUM from 1 E3 Lithium CEO Chris Doornbos. E3 LITHIUM BY JACKSON CHEN
Sayona Mining (ASX: SYA; US-OTC: SYAXF) says about 30% of plant and equipment upgrades have been completed at its North American Lithium (NAL) spodumene project in Que bec. The plant remains on track to deliver first concentrates in the first quarter of 2023. The emerging lithium producer obtained formal approval in June for the restart of spodumene pro duction at NAL, which has an open-pit mine and concentrator that Sayona plans to integrate with its nearby Authier project to cre ate a world-scale lithium hub in the AbitibiNALregion.currently has about 50 con struction workers on‐site, with the number expected to double by Sep tember.“Itisextremely pleasing to see the rapid progress at NAL as we ramp up towards the recommencement of lithium production,” said Brett Lynch, Sayona’s managing director. Located about 560 km northwest of Montreal in La Corne, Que., the NAL project was originally devel oped by Quebec Lithium (later RB Energy) between 2012 and 2014. The deposit was last mined in 2017, but ran into trouble with its attempt at flotation of the ore. In August 2021, Sayona acquired a 75% interest in the NAL proj ect after its previous owner filed for creditor protection. Piedmont Lithium (NASDAQ: PLL; ASX: PLL) bought the remaining 25%. Sayona has committed about $100 million to the restart at NAL, including plant and infrastructure upgrades to improve product qual ity, recoveries, and plant availabil ity. Once it returns to production, NAL will be the only local sup plier of spodumene concentrates in North America, the company says. Lynch noted that with “virtually all” of the NAL operation powered by hydroelectricity, it is “truly one of the world’s most sustainable lith ium operations, an important ESG differentiator in an industry that aims to facilitate global decarbon ization.”Thelithium will be mined using conventional open pit mining methods at Authier, about 70 km from the Sayonaconcentrator.expectstoproduce about 115,000 tonnes of spodumene con centrate (6% lithium oxide) annu ally over a mine life of 27 years. A prefeasibility study released in May outlined an integrated proj ect with an after-tax net present value (NPV) of $751 million (8% discount rate) and an internal rate of return (IRR) of 139%. Its capital payback is about two years. The project economics were based on proven and probable ore reserves (JORC compliant) of 29.2 million tonnes averaging 0.96% lithium oxide. TNM
The advantages of being the potential technology provider at the Southern California site are many, Hasham said. Because it’s an existing geothermal facility, brines are already being delivered to surface, so there’s no need for expensive drilling programs. Also, the resource is proven and rela tively“Onlarge.abrownfield basis, if suc cessfully scaled, it’s capable of pro ducing about 90,000 (short) tons of lithium carbonate equivalent a year,” he said, adding the com pany doesn’t own the resource. “And what makes this one of the most exciting projects is we’re one of the only direct lithium extraction companies in the world to have partnered with a brown field resource. All our other com petitors are generally working with greenfield resources.”
“It appears that EV battery metals demand in the Stated Policies Sce nario will likely be met for all met als up to 2025 if announced new supply comes online as scheduled.”
tonnes of LCE. A 2020 preliminary economic assessment of Clearwa ter alone (with a resource of 2.2 million tonnes of LCE at a grade of 74.6 mg/l) estimated it could pro duce about 20,000 tonnes of lith ium hydroxide per year over 20 years. The initial capital cost was pegged at US$602 million, and at an 8% discount rate, the project’s after-tax net present value was estimated at US$820 million, with a 27% internal rate of return. ‘Huge demand’ Despite breakthroughs and opti mism, Canada’s nascent brine sec tor faces an uphill battle. It could take years for the company, and others in the lithium sector to achieve commercial production that rivals oil and gas in output, say“Iinsiders.don’t know when lithium will be produced commercially in Alberta,” said Salman Safari, a chemical engineer and an expert on lithium extraction technology. “I hope that very soon we will see a pilot plant here.” He added that a main barrier could be the economics of the pro cess.“Petrobrines... are very chal lenging to deal with because you need to treat them and clean them up. And the cost of producing and cleaning brines can be high and can outweigh the value of the lith ium that you’re going to extract, compared to shallow — cleaner — lithium brines in South America.”
BY CECILIA JAMASMIE
ONTARIO | Company continues search for new CEO BY BLAIR MCBRIDE Iamgold (TSX: IAG ; NYSE: IAG) an nounced another increased estimate of capital expenditures for its 70%-owned Côté gold joint venture in northern Ontar io that it holds with Sumitomo Metal Min ingThe(30%).Toronto-based miner said in a news release on Aug. 3 that the remaining costs to complete construction and bring Côté into production would come to more than US$1.3 billion as of the third quarter of 2022, up from US$1.2-$1.3 billion in its previous update in May. Total costs to complete construction (on a go forward basis and excluding sunk costs up to May 1, 2022) are estimated at US$1.9 billion.Estimated operating costs also went up to US$854 per oz. of gold sold, from US$802 per oz. in its 2021 technical report. In 2020, before construction began, Iam gold pegged its 70% of costs at US$875$925 million (which would put total costs at around US$1.3 billion). Côté’s mine life is estimated to be 18 years, with initial production now pushed ahead to early 2024 from the previous schedule of late 2023.Iamgold interim CEO Maryse Bélanger said the company is pursuing alternatives to increase liquidity to complete construction and start production in line with the updated schedule.“Weexpect to address these near-term challenges to advance Côté and better posi tion Iamgold as a more resilient, agile com pany for the current environment,” she said. The expenditure increase comes after the company’s previous assessment in January put construction costs at US$710 million to US$760 million for its share of the JV. BMO analyst Jackie Przybylowski noted the miner will need additional funds for the project.“We assume total spend (from Q3/20) of US$2.8 billion (100% basis) versus our pre vious estimate US$2.6 billion,” she said in a note on Aug. Przybylowski4. added that financing con tinues to be a “major overhang” for the proj ect and BMO believes borrowing on a credit facility will fill the funding gap at an estimated US$1.1 billion, plus extension of Iamgold’s 2022 gold prepay arrangement (which presold 150,000 oz. gold for US$236 million). “We note that equity or other funding sources would be dilutive to shareholders,” sheThewrote.cost increases also come as the miner continues to search for a new chief executive, following the resignation of Gordon Stothart in January. Bélanger was in May appointed interim president and CEO, taking over from CFO and executive VP of strategy and corporate development Daniella Dimitrov, who filled Stothart’s role after his departure. Côté is expected to produce 495,000 oz. per year in its first six years and 365,000 oz. per year over the life of the mine. It would be the company’s fourth mine. The project, about 125 km southwest of Timmins, is 92% owned and operated by the Iamgold-Sumitomo JV, with 7.5% held by a third party, Treelawn Investment Corp. Iamgold shares were trading at $1.84 as of press time in Toronto, following a drop in the first week of August when prices fell from $2.13 on Aug. 2 to $1.70 on Aug. 5. Its shares have traded in a 52-week window of $1.67 and $4.74 and it has a market cap of $881 million.
PRECIOUS METALS | Project previously paused in 2014 due to low commodity prices
Baffinland Iron Mines has sent termina tion notices to over 1,100 workers at its Mary River iron ore mine in Nunavut, as the company’s request to increase produc tion to 6 million tonnes through to the end of the year and an expansion application have yet to be answered. The operation on the northern tip of Baf fin Island suffered a major blow in May after a review board advised against an expansion on environmental grounds. After four years of consultations and deliberations, the Nunavut Impact Review Board (NIRB) rejected Baffinland’s applica tion to more than double output to 12 mil lion tonnes a year, to eventually reach 30 million tonnes annually. Unionized workers at the mine have asked the government to allow the expansion, which would be the only way to save the jobs of thou sands, many of whom are Inuit employees. “For a number of reasons, the regula tory process is moving more slowly than is necessary to meet Baffinland’s operational requirements,” CEO Brian Penney said in an update to staff in the first week of August. The company is preparing for two rounds of terminations to take effect on Sept. 25 and Oct. 11 if it is not successful in renewing its permit, he Baffinlandadded.spokesperson Peter Akman said the letters were sent to employees last week end “out of an abundance of caution” in the event that mine operations aren’t approved by the time it meets its current production limit. He added that if the company doesn’t hear from authorities soon, it would have to suspend operations for the rest of the year. Akman noted this would happen once the mine reaches its current 4.2-million-tonne limit on ore extraction, which is expected by mid-September.“Ifwereceiveapproval to continue mining at 6 million tonnes this year as we are hop ing, we will rescind the termination notices,” Akman said. The spokesperson noted it was Baffin land’s hope that a requested expedited NIRB process, (which the Minister of Northern Affairs has encouraged and asked to have wrapped up by Aug. 26), will result in a pos itive response to the company’s application and prevent planned layoffs. In total, Baffinland employs more than 2,500 people, including contractors. The Local 793 Union says the Mary River mine has long provided well-paying jobs to Canadian workers from across the country, including hundreds of workers from Nunavut who continue to be prioritized for training opportunities. The mine also provides royal ties and community benefits that directly help local Inuit communities, the union said. 23% of Nunavut’s GDP “We understand that the mine represents nearly 23% of the GDP for Nunavut and is a vital component for Nunavut’s future eco nomic growth,” the union added. The NIRB is currently assessing Baffin land’s request to carry on extracting ore at a similar rate as recent years. The federal min ister of Northern Affairs, Dan Vandal, is in turn mulling what to do with the NIRB’s rec ommendation to not allow the mine expan sion as Expansionplanned.detractors have argued for months that expanding the mine’s capac ity would affect the world’s densest narwhal population.Narwhals are a type of whale with a long, spear-like tusk that protrudes from its head. The marine mammal is an important preda tor in Eclipse Sound and other Arctic waters, as well a major food source for Inuit in the region.Last year, a group of hunters from Arc tic Bay and Pond Inlet blocked access to the mine in protest of the company’s ice break ing practices due to their negative impacts on narwhals.Thecompany agreed to avoid ice breaking in spring, based on “the precautionary prin ciple that is the foundation of our adaptive management plan,” Baffinland’s CEO said in a statement at the time. TNM
BY BLAIR MCBRIDE B2Gold (TSX: BTO; NYSEAM: BTG) and AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE: AU; JSE: ANG;) have put their Gramalote gold joint venture in Colombia on hold.In a news release on Aug. 3, B2Gold said that based on prelim inary results from their optimized feasibility study for Gramalote, the miners determined that Grama lote doesn’t meet their investment thresholds for developing the proj ect.“In conjunction with finaliz ing the Gramalote feasibility study by the end of the third quarter of 2022, B2Gold and AngloGold have jointly made the decision to review the alternatives for the Gramalote project over the coming months,” the release said. The Canadian and South Afri can miners each have a 50% inter est in the open pit project, located about 230 km northwest of Bogota. B2Gold is the operator. The project was previously put on hold in 2014 after softer gold prices discouraged the JV from proceeding with a feasibility study. In a posting on B2Gold’s website, the company said the decision to shelve the project followed a revisit of Gramalote’s original project design parameters and further opti mized design, a review of drilling of indicated and inferred sections of the mineral resource area, and updated capital and operating costs. “On a global scale, cost infla tion has resulted in estimated cap ital cost increases of approximately 12%, coupled with uncertain longterm operating costs,” B2Gold said. “More detailed resource model ling indicates that the grade-ton nage characteristics of the orebody resulted in lower than expected processing head grade and annual ounce production, specifically within the first five years of produc tion, including the payback period.”
B2Gold, AngloGold shelve Gramalote gold JV in Colombia
The updated information pushed the project’s net present value (NPV) and internal rate of return (IRR) below the companies’ invest ment thresholds, although specific figures were not released. The miner noted however, that Gramalote has positive attributes, including a low strip ratio, low processing costs and good rela tionships with local and regional stakeholders.Theannouncement came just days before Colombia’s new leftist president Gustavo Petro was sworn into office on Aug. 7. Petro, a for mer mayor of Bogota who was also a guerilla with the left-wing M-19 rebel group in the late 1970s and 1980s, beat conservative rivals in JuneHiselections.platform focused on reduc ing poverty, protecting the environ ment, leaving coal and oil reserves in the ground and building a decar bonized economy. He has pledged to ban large-scale open-pit mining. A Dec. 31, 2021 resource update pegged indicated resources at Gramalote at 173.4 million tonnes of gold at 0.73 gram gold per tonne for 4 million contained oz. of gold on a 100% basis. Inferred resources come to 58.2 million tonnes at 0.59 gram gold per tonne for 1.1 million contained oz. of gold. In a May 2021 update on Grama lote, the miner estimated Grama lote would have a mine life of 10.6 years and average annual produc tion of 281,000 oz. per year at oper ating costs of $514 per oz. and an all-in sustaining cost of $744 per ounce.Atthe time, capital costs were estimated at US$925 million (including US$160 for mining equipment), with the project’s posttax NPV (using a 5% discount rate) at $483 million, and its IRR at 15%. At press time, B2Gold shares were trading at $4.42. Its shares have traded in a 52-week window of $4.05 and $6.39. The company has a market cap of $4.7 billion. AngloGold Ashanti shares stood $15.73. Its shares have traded in a 52-week window of $13.47 and $26.96. It has a market cap of $6.5 billion. TNM The Gramalote gold project, located 230 km northwest of Colombia’s capital Bogota. B2GOLD
GLOBAL MINING NEWS THE NORTHERN MINER / AUGUST 22 — SEPTEMBER 4, 2022 7
The plant foundations at the Côté gold project in Ontario. IAMGOLD
Capex edges higher in latest update for Iamgold’s Côté JV
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Baffinland to terminate 1,100 workers at Mary River mine NUNAVUT | Layoffs to start in late September
BY JACKSON CHEN Australia’s Silver Lake Re sources (ASX: SLR), the new owner of the Sugar Zone mine in northern Ontario, is prepared to invest A$35-A$45 mil lion ($31.9-$40.9 million) over the next two years on operational im provements and cost reductions for the struggling asset, the company said in its quarterly report released on July Silver27.Lake acquired Sugar Zone in mid-February after acquiring the mine’s previous owner Harte Gold. That company had been in finan Twin incline development at Kainantu, near the Blue Lake porphyry project for which K92 Mining announced an initial resource.
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How much gold? Another private investor pressed management for more clarity around production guidance. O’Dea responded by pointing to the projections provided in the news release, which don’t give a clear picture of what to expect. “We provided some tonnage and grade ranges that get you to the end of the third quarter. And we’re looking to get that in our back pocket and then come back to everyone with some near-term pro duction guidance as the third quar ter wraps up,” said O’Dea. Pure Gold has guided for ore throughput for the third quar ter to average between 775 to 875 tonnes per day at 4 to 5 grams gold per tonne. The company has also guided for expected mill recovery of 95% and operating plus sustain ing capital costs of about $9.5 to $10.5IKNmillion.News sheds some more light on the math around the pro vided“Runprojections.themath on those crite ria and you’ll work out that at the minimum guided throughput and grade, the PureGold mine pro duces around 8,500 oz. in 3q22 and at US$1,800 per oz., that’s US$15 million or so,” said the daily news letter’s Otto Rock. “Or if your glass is half full and you assume 875 tonnes per day and 5 grams gold per tonne, the projected gold production would be around 12,000 oz. gold and the gross revenues would be U$21.65 million. So, if they guide costs at $10 million, they’ll make a margin and that’s a start.”
turnover and workforce shortages in key areas like long hole drilling, mobile mechanics, and technical staff.In a note to clients, Laurentian Bank Securities Equity Research analyst Barry Allan pointed out the company was in serious finan cial trouble. “As of June 30, 2022, PGM held only about $12.7 mil lion in cash following a $16.6 mil lion consumption in cash flow for the quarter. Additionally, PGM’s working capital came in at a deficit of about $24.5 million and its debtto-equity ratio in Q2 sat at 2:1 – all after a $31.1 million equity raise in May“PGM2022.continues to claim they are a quarter away from being cash flow neutral; however, it appears they are out of options as their cash reserves are depleted and difficult market conditions make an equity financing very dilutive. SRK is cur rently developing a new LOM plan for Q4/22, but Q4/22 may be too late given the poor state of the bal ance sheet,” wrote the analyst.
Silver Lake to invest more than $31M in Sugar Zone turnaround
8 AUGUST 22 — SEPTEMBER 4, 2022 / THE NORTHERN MINER WWW.NORTHERNMINER.COM
The changes are expected to increase mine capacity, improve operating efficiency, increase pro ductivity, and reduce unit mining costs.The company plans to replace the existing crushing circuit, which represents a high-cost bottleneck to increase processing throughput. The new crushing circuit will have a capacity of 125 tonnes per hour. Silver Lake also forecasts mining rates will increase through fiscal year 2023 from the current per mitted 800 tonnes per day to 1,000 tonnes per day, subject to receiving permit amendments and the deliv ery of the new replacement min ing fleet. (Mill throughput in fiscal 2023 is expected to average about 900 tonnes per day.) The Sugar Zone mine has also been redesigned to eliminate one of two declines leading into the mining areas. Level intervals will increase from 15 to 17 metres with the replacement of older generation pneumatic longhole drill rigs with modern electro-hydraulic, rigs. The Middle Zone will continue to be accessed via the single decline from the upper Sugar Zone decline. The See SUGAR ZONE
Resources cut As part of its turnaround strategy, Pure Gold has released an updated resource estimate for its namesake operation, reporting 20% fewer ounces in the resource categories. A new technical report completed by SRK sees the mine’s global resource base falling to 2 million oz. from 2.5 million oz. and the average grade reduced to 7.2 grams gold per tonne from 8.7 grams per tonne. Breaking that down by category, total indicated resources now stand at 6.9 million tonnes grading 7.4 grams gold for 1.7 million oz. gold and inferred resources measure 1.8 million tonnes grading 6.3 grams gold for 366,200 oz. gold. While the global resource decline is material, Laurentian ana lyst Allan had been concerned the actual drop would be worse, given SRK’s history of taking an overly conservative approach to revised resource estimates, he wrote a in a research note on Aug. 10. Although a revised mine plan for the ailing operation is yet to be completed, the bank’s internal model shows a reduction in recov erable gold to 1.3 million oz. from 1.9 million oz. previously. “In our opinion, PGM falls from being a 150,000 oz. per year pro ducer to a 120,000 oz. per year producer (in 2026 at an indicated capacity of 1,000 tonnes per day),” saidPureAllan.Gold’s COO, Terry Smith said the SRK resource model will “help light the way” to grow pro duction in the upcoming prefeasi bilityPurestudy.Gold is also spinning things more optimistically in terms of the third and fourth quarter outlook. It said it has just completed a record gold pour and was looking towards another record pour soon, capital izing on the new resource model for long-term planning; a revamped short-term planning process to drive execution; a lower operating cost base to generate cash flow; and an emerging culture of safety and performance, according to Smith. Going forward, Pure Gold will focus more on the higher-grade and less structurally complex Aus tin and South Austin Zones, as compared to McVeigh deposit. Both Austin and South Austin will contribute about 65% to overall third-quarter production, as com pared to about 30% since produc tion began. “We expect higher overall production levels as Austin and South Austin contribute still more and McVeigh contributes less,” said O’Dea. Pure Gold shares have lost 90% of their value over the past 12 months. At press time, the equity was trading at 12¢ per share, giving Pure Gold a market capitalization of $87.4 million. TNM tial at Kainantu,” he said. Andrew Mikitchook of BMO Capital Markets said the resource is large but low-grade and inves tors will be looking forward to the next phase of exploration when K92 might define highgrade areas inside the resource which could offer visibility into an initial mining target. “The Blue Lake resource has room to expand along strike and down-plunge, and regional exploration potential remains high,” Mikitchook wrote in a research note to clients on Aug. 10. “The deposit is near five other porphyry targets, the highest pri ority being the A1 target where exploration will commence soon. The company also flagged the area between Blue Lake and A1 as a prospective area that is essentially unexplored.” K92 bought the 860-sq.-km Kainantu mine from Barrick Gold (TSX: ABX; NYSE: GOLD) in K922014. shares were trading at $8.45 in Toronto at press time. Its shares have traded in a 52-week range of $5.75 and $10.52. It has a market cap of $1.9 billion. TNM
ONTARIO | Aussie miner acquired asset owner Harte Gold in February
BY BLAIR MCBRIDE K92 Mining (TSX: KNT; US-OTC: KNTNF) has released a first resource for its Blue Lake gold porphy ry project, 4 km southwest of its Kainantu mine in Papua New Guinea.Inferred resources total 10.8 million oz. of gold equivalent at 0.61 gram gold equivalent per tonne, or 4.7 billion lb. cop per equivalent at 0.38% copper equivalent, based on 549 mil lion tonnes at 0.21 gram gold per tonne, 0.23% copper and 2.42 grams silver per tonne at a 0.4 gram per tonne gold equivalent cut-off grade. The resource is based on 26 diamond-drill holes totalling 16,474.8 metres. Blue Lake is located in PNG’s Eastern Highlands province close to K92’s producing, highgrade gold-copper Kainantu mine, which is about 212 km northwest by road from the port city of Lae and 380 km north of the capital Port Moresby. The Kainantu region is known for Tier 1 deposits. Chris Muller, vice-president exploration said the company will continue exploration at Blue Lake, which K92 discovered in 2017.“[Gold and copper deposits] manifested as quartz stockwork veins and bornite mineralization will be the focus of ongoing drill targeting at Blue Lake. A very expansive silica-clay lithocap connecting Blue Lake with the A1 Prospect is virtually untested by drilling and has the potential to host multiple gold-copper miner alized porphyries,” he said. John Lewins, K92 CEO and a director, added that the com pany believes Blue Lake is “only the tip of the porphyry iceberg at Kainantu,” with the A1 por phyry the top priority. There are five other porphyry targets near site as “Soilwell.sampling at A1 is expected to commence immi nently, with diamond drilling planned afterwards. Between our intrusion-related gold/cop per exploration at Kora, Judd, Kora South and Judd South and our porphyry exploration, we are very excited about the poten cial turmoil after rushing the gold mine into production without a feasibility study and failing to over come a series of operational issues. It eventually sought creditor pro tection and was put up for sale. Located 30 km north of White River, the Sugar Zone underground mine has been in production since 2019 and is one of Ontario’s new est and highest grade gold mines. Proven and probable reserves at the end of 2020 were 797,000 oz. gold in 3.5 million tonnes grading 7.18 grams gold per tonne. In 2021, the Sugar Zone mine processed 257,281 tonnes of min eralized material at 6.5 grams gold for 51,453 oz., which was consistent with Harte Gold’s revised guidance range.Starting this year, Silver Lake is seeking to enhance the mine’s longterm performance and profitability through a series of investments, which will include the latest gen eration drilling and a loading and haulage fleet to replace the existing fleet, which, in many cases, exceeds 10 years of operational service. The new mining fleet investment will occur over a two-year period and is expected to cost about $14.3 mil lion to $16 million.
K92 MINING
K92 reports initial 10.8M oz goldequivalent resource for Blue Lake PAPUA NEW GUINEA | Deposit is ‘tip of the porphyry iceberg’ at site, says CEO PURE GOLD from 3
tion. Taking a big stake in the Oyu Tolgoi mine, Rio Tinto’s main cop per growth project, would have helped the mining giant to achieve thatThegoal.world’s second largest miner, which controls and oper ates Oyu Tolgoi through its 51% stake in Turquoise Hill, offered in March $34 per share to the miner’s minority shareholders, a 32% pre mium to the closing price the day before the offer was put forward. The offer came only two months after Rio and the government of Mongolia reached an agreement to complete the long-delayed US$6.9-billion underground devel opment of the Oyu Tolgoi project in the Gobi Desert. That deal saw the Mel bourne-based miner agree to write off US$2.4 billion of loans and interest owed by the Mongolian government to fund its share of the development costs. Rio Tinto said it was “disap pointed” by the rejection, adding it still believes the deal would deliver compelling value for Turquoise Hill’s minority shareholders. Interim chief executive Steve Thi beault said the funding agreement with Rio Tinto remained in effect and that the company expected it to provide sufficient liquidity to meet fundingThibeaultrequirements.wasreferring to an agreement reached in May in which Rio Tinto committed to pro vide interim debt funding of up to US$400Turquoisemillion.Hill recently raised the cost estimate to develop the underground section of Oyu Tol goi by about $200 million. The project’s total cost has climbed to nearly US$7.1 billion, almost US$1.8 billion higher than the original estimate in 2015. Three-year delay and counting The ongoing expansion of Oyu Tol goi, located 550 km south of Mon golia’s capital Ulaanbaatar, has been plagued by delays and cost overruns.Thesituation has triggered the Mongolian government’s ire to the point of threatening to revoke the 2009 investment agreement, which underpins the mine development. First production, initially expected in late 2020, was resched uled for October 2022 and later to the first half of 2023.
Once completed, the under ground section will lift produc tion from 125,000–150,000 tonnes in 2019 to 560,000 tonnes at peak output, which is now expected by 2025 at the earliest. Rio Tinto says this would make it the biggest new copper mine to come on stream in several years and, by 2030, the operation would be the world’s fourth largest copper mine. Oyu Tolgoi is expected to pro duce 110,000-150,000 tonnes of copper and 150,000-170,000 oz. of gold in concentrates in 2022 from processing ore from the open pit, underground and stockpiles. Rio Tinto controls and operates the Oyu Tolgoi mine via Turquoise Hill’s 66% stake in the operation. The government of Mongolia owns the remaining 34%. TNM
The sequestration technique converts silicate tailings minerals to carbonate minerals, a process the company has been testing for almost one year. A preliminary economic assess ment (PEA) in 2020 for Turnagain estimated a surface mining oper ation with a carbon footprint of 2.24 tonnes of CO2-equivalent per tonne of nickel produced in concentrate, which according to Giga CEO Mark Jarvis, is an order of magnitude lower than the global average of 25.6 tonnes of CO2-equivalent per tonne of nickel.The PEA envisaged an openpit mine producing an average of 33,000 tonnes of nickel in concen trate and 1,962 tonnes of cobalt in concentrate every year for a total output of 1.2 million tonnes of nickel in concentrate and 72,592 tonnes of cobalt in concentrate over a 37-year mine life. Initial capital costs were pegged at US$1.4 billion, with US$2 bil lion budgeted for sustaining capi tal over the life of the mine. Based on prices of US$7.50 per lb nickel and $22.30 per lb. of cobalt, the study outlined an after-tax inter nal rate of return of 4.9%. Initial capex could be paid back in just under 15 years. TNM
BRITISH COLUMBIA | Mitsubishi invests $8M for 15% interest in new JV
BY CECILIA JAMASMIE Junior Giga Metals (TSXV: GIGA) and global trading and investment firm Mitsub ishi Corp. have agreed to form a joint-venture company, Hard Creek Nickel Corp., to develop the Turnagain nickel-cobalt deposit in northern British Columbia. As part of the deal reached on Aug. 15, Mitsubishi will acquire a 15% equity interest in the joint venture firm for $8 million in cash. Giga will receive an 85% equity interest in Hard Creek in exchange for contributing all related assets for the Turnagain project, its core asset. It will also be the project administrator.Turnagain is located about 65 km east of the community of DeaseGigaLake.Metals will work on a pre feasibility study for the project with completion expected in the first half of 2023. The deposit is described as one of the world’s largest undevel oped sulphide nickel and cobalt resources. The company is focused on metals critical to modern batter ies, especially those used in electric vehicles and energy storage. Giga and Mitsubishi said they intend to make Turnagain one of Giga Metals’ Turnagain camp in British Columbia. ZACHARY MOXLEY
The concentrator at Rio Tinto and Turquoise Hill Resources’ Oyu Tolgoi mine in Mongolia. RIO TINTO
GLOBAL MINING NEWS THE NORTHERN MINER / AUGUST 22 — SEPTEMBER 4, 2022 9
BY CECILIA JAMASMIE
the greenest and most environ mentally friendly nickel projects globally. Hard Creek will continue the work of the Canadian com pany to explore the viability of the tailings to sequester CO₂ from the atmosphere to achieve a carbon neutral project.
Turquoise Hill rejects Rio Tinto’s US$2.7B takeover offer
MONGOLIA | Bid would consolidate miner’s ownership of Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold mine
Turquoise Hill Resources (TSX: TRQ; NYSE: TRQ) has rejected majority sharehold er Rio Tinto’s (NYSE: RIO; LSE: RIO; ASX: RIO) bid to buy the 49% stake it doesn’t already own in the company for US$2.7 billion, saying it did not reflect the stake’s full and fairThevalue.decision by the special com mittee appointed by Turquoise Hill blocks Rio Tinto’s efforts to gain greater control of the giant Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold mine in Mon golia.Itis also a setback to Rio’s plans to increase its exposure to so-called future-facing commodities such as copper and nickel, which are key for the global green energy transi Giga Metals, Mitsubishi to jointly develop Turnagain nickel deposit
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Mexico sees renewed interest in VMS deposits
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Volcanogenic massive sul phide (VMS) deposits have been a core source of cop per, zinc and sometimes gold min eralization for over 150 years and remain the mainstay of some major mining camps worldwide. However, the three historically identified VMS camps in Mex ico are seeing renewed exploration interest following decades of rela tive disinterest by miners. In Mexico, three VMS districts have been identified to date. “These have not been a major focus for exploration because the other asso ciated elements, particularly zinc, have not got the profile copper has,” says VMS expert James Franklin. The geologist, who in 2019 was inducted into the Canadian Min ing Hall of Fame for his pioneer ing work in developing models and techniques to guide explora tion for VMS deposits, particularly in Canada, is currently an advisor to Mexico-focused explorer Vortex Metals (TSXV: VMS). VMS mineralized structures were formed on or very near the ocean floor throughout geological history. “In Canada, for example, there are the major districts in Timmins, with Kidd Creek, which develop ment companies such as Noranda became famous for, Mattagami Lake, Sturgeon Lake [and] quite a large number in British Columbia,” Franklin said in an interview. While these deposits have been significant producers of zinc and copper worldwide, more recently, a subset of VMS deposits have been found to contain substantial amounts of gold. Franklin explains that VMS deposits occur in somewhat geo logically similar districts in relation to each other, mainly owing to their formation when the ocean floor collides with continents in what is called a ‘back-arc volcanic system’ that forms at varying water depths. They also tend to form on exten sional ridges on the ocean floor. “And they’re currently forming today. I’ve had extreme good luck in my career to spend ten years or so doing deep submergence diving and discovered some of these and then had an opportunity to drill what turned out to be the largest deposit ever discovered on the sea floor. That’s interesting academi cally, but economically, no chance,” saidTheFranklin.largest VMS deposit in Mexico is Teck Resources’ (TSX: TECK.A/TECK.B) San Nicolas, in the central state of Zacatecas. According to Franklin, San Nicolas, along with every other district that contains VMS structures, usually entails a deposit in a set of depos its. And the deposits in any partic ular camp tend to be log-normally distributed. “So, you get one maybe supergiant deposit, and a bunch of medium-sized to small ones,” said Franklin.
Geologist and VMS expert James Franklin discusses their zinc-copper-gold potential, work with Vortex Metals
BY HENRY LAZENBY
An outcrop at Vortex Metals’ Riqueza Marina copper-gold project in Oaxaca state. VORTEX METALS BY HENRY LAZENBY Prismo Metals (CSE: PRIZ) is preparing to drill-test an im portant near-surface target at its flagship Palos Verdes gold project in Sinaloa state, Mexico, after receiving an extension to its environmental permit in late July. The drill program is designed to test the Palos Verdes vein and a structural intersection with a second vein at depths where the company believes it can test a prominent, higher-grade ore shoot that holds resource potential. That exploration would be similar to the drilling accomplished by Vizsla Silver (TSXV: VZLA) on its adja cent land package, president and CEO Craig Gibson tells The North ern Miner in an interview. Drilling at Vizsla’s Panuco project yielded high grades over broad intervals near the surface, with intercepts grading over 1,000 grams silver-equivalent per tonne. Heartened by the exploration momentum next door, Prismo plans to undertake at least 2,000 metres of drilling this summer to follow up on previous shallow drill results that had intersected highgrade mineralization. The best intercept returned 2,336 grams sil ver per tonne and 8.42 grams gold over an actual width estimated at 0.8 metre within a larger 2.3-metre interval grading 1,098 grams silver per tonne and 3.75 grams gold. Special advisor to the com pany is globally acclaimed geolo gist Peter Megaw, best known as co-founder of MAG Silver Corp. (TSX: MAG) and Minaurum Gold Inc. (TSXV: MGG). Megaw and his team are credited with MAG Silver’s Juanicipio discovery in the famous Fresnillo district, and Excellon Resources’ (TSX: EXN) Platosa mine, Mexico’s highest-grade primary silver mine. Megaw received his doctorate from the University of Arizona and has more than 35 years of experience exploring for silver and gold in Mexico. “It is an important distinction to make that Palos Verdes is not a ‘close-ology’ play to Vizsla, but we were in the area first,” Megaw noted.“The Palos Verdes discovery was made after our geologists dis covered artisanal miners were pulling native gold from an area in the middle of the company’s landholdings. Here, an erosional window into older rocks is expos ing high-grade mineralization,” he explained.According to Megaw, the team has uncovered three main struc tural directions, peering into this ‘window’ down into the older rocks. “It entails a significant por tion of the larger-scale concept that has evolved here because they’re mineralized quartz veins, but we don’t think they’re just sort of classic Sierra Madre-style epi thermal veins. We think they’re related to a larger style of a gold system more characteristic of northwestern Sonora,” he said. Sonora is important because this is where key mines such as Fresnillo’s (LSE: FRES) Herra dura and Noche Buena mines are located — big dispersed, struc turally controlled gold systems hosted in lower Paleozoic and Pre cambrian rocks. Megaw explained that these rocks form a powerful struc tural trend that continues south east towards Hermosillo and then disappears under younger rocks. “Our geologist Jorge Rafael Gallar do-Romero, who has a lot of expe rience in northwestern Sonora, recognized the same rocks coming back to surface in the Los Pavitos area.”Megaw noted that rocks where artisanal miners were find ing native gold in northwestern Sinaloa had the same structural
project See VORTEX / 12 SGS IS THE
Prismo prepares to drill-test Palos Verdes gold project in Sinaloa Vizsla Silver’s Panuco WORLD’S
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Prismo Metals is preparing to undertake at least 2,000 metres of drilling at its Palos Verdes project in Mexico.
EXPLORATION
PRISMO METALS
BY NORTHERN MINER STAFF
The preceding Joint-Venture Article is PROMOTED CONTENT sponsored by GR SILVER MINING and produced in cooperation with The Northern Miner. Visit www.grsilvermining.com for more information.
An aerial view of GR Silver Mining’s San Marcial property in Sinaloa state. GR SILVER MINING
The celebrations follow a new silver discovery in the first drill hole 250 metres to the southeast of the San Marcial resource area on its 100%-owned Plomosas project in the Rosario mining district of Sinaloa state, about 1,000 km northeast of Mexico City. The discovery hole, SMS22-10, intersected 101.6 metres grading 308 grams silver per tonne from 98.5 metres starting downhole, including 0.8 metres at 7,139 grams silver, 0.3 metres at 3,065 grams silver, 0.2 metres at 1,774 grams silver, and 1,508 grams silver. The assay results from SMS22-10 “provide proof-of-concept for the exploration potential in a new area immediately to the southeast of the existing San Marcial mineral resource,” says Zaunscherb. “The broader Rosario mining district has been mined for over 250 years, and we have now added data from modern exploration and drilling to the trove of historical data to create a geological and exploration model focused on targeting highgrade silver mineralization and resource expansion.”
Miners work on a drill program at San Marcial, on the eastern edge of the Rosario mining district. GR SILVER MINING JOINT VENTURE ARTICLE
The district hosts several worldclass precious metals mines, most notably the historic multi-millionounce Rosario gold-silver mine, currently operated by Santacruz Silver Mining (TSXV: SCZ; US-OTC: SZSMF).InJuly, GR Silver reported assays from 23 holes completed so far as part of its ongoing 2022 resource expansion drill program at San Marcial. Highlights from the drilling included SMSP22-003, which intersected 15.4 metres grading 547 grams per tonne silver starting from surface, including 2 metres at 1,179 grams silver; SMSP22-012, which returned 15 metres at 324 grams silver from surface, including 1 metre at 1,541 grams silver; and SMS22-02, which cut 2.8 metres grading 455 grams silver from 285.9 metres, including 0.3 metres at 3,854 grams silver.Zaunscherb says that the drill results “demonstrate the potential for significant resource expansion both near-surface and at depth at SanSinceMarcial.”itsfounding in 2017, GR Silver now controls a district-scale land package covering over 430 sq. km within the expanded Plomosas property. The property includes two past-producing precious metal underground and open pit mines — Plomosas and La Trinidad — and the integrated San Marcial and La Trinidad properties. Collectively, the project features several mineralized structural corridors totalling over 75 km in strike length. The 12.5-sq.-km San Marcial property is located on the eastern edge of the Rosario mining district in the Sierra Madre Occidental of Sinaloa, approximately 98 km southeast of Mazatlán and 5 km south of Plomosas.
Mexico-focused GR Silver Mining (TSXV: GRSL; US-OTC: GRSLF) is “celebrating the success of our exploration model after the culmination of many years of hard work,” says Eric Zaunscherb, the company’s chairman and CEO.
“We also recognized an opportunity to increase near surface grades of the silver-rich hydrothermal breccia, which had not previously been drilled and was not included in the current resource estimate.” A 2019 pit-constrained resource estimate for San Marcial outlined 7.6 million indicated tonnes grading 117 grams silver per tonne, 0.3% lead, and 0.5% zinc (147 grams silverequivalent per tonne) for 29 million oz. contained silver, 53 million lb. lead, and 86 million lb. zinc (36 million oz. silver-equivalent). Inferred resources add 3.4 million tonnes at 91 grams silver, 0.1% lead, and 0.35% zinc (108 grams silverequivalent) for 10 million oz. silver, 8 million lb. lead, and 26 million lb. zinc (12 million oz. silver-equivalent). Zaunscherb says that the ongoing drill program is designed to delineate near-surface high-grade zones of silver mineralization and the lateral continuation of mineralization along the prospective contact between the upper andesitic “block and ash unit” and lower volcanosedimentary units. It is this contact, he says, that hosts the mineralization at San Marcial. The drilling, he adds, is testing extensions of the mineralization along the target contact zone, where previous exploration had confirmed the geological contact along a 1.5-km mineralized trend, and geochemical sampling had identified several silver mineralization targets. “The recent discovery by SMS22-10 suggests that we are on the right track.”
According to Fonseca, the initial drilling success led GR Silver to extend the drilling down-dip in the resource area and further to the southeast of the southern limit of the current resource area, delineating a large, silver-rich epithermal system for the first time in the Rosario mining district’s history. “The additional drilling will continue to target new discoveries along strike following the wellmineralized contact zone between upper and lower volcanics, which hosts high-grade silver breccias and related silver-gold mineralization, and is open along strike towards the recently discovered southeast zone,” he Thesays.drill results “will help with further modelling of the structural controls of the high-grade and wide mineralization in the sizeable hydrothermal zones at San Marcial,” explains Fonseca, and will be incorporated into a “significantly updated resource, which is slated for release in the first quarter of 2023.”
GR Silver Mining hits new high-grade silver mineralization at San Marcial in Mexico
According to Zaunscherb, both San Marcial and Plomosas appear to share similar geological settings along the same precious metals structural corridors. “San Marcial contains a high-grade silver epithermal deposit hosting a near-surface, relatively high-grade silver resource that GR Silver says may be amenable to bulk tonnage-open pit mining.”
GLOBAL MINING NEWS THE NORTHERN MINER / AUGUST 22—SEPTEMBER 4, 2022 11SPECIAL FOCUS MEXICO
“From an exploration perspective, there is also significant upside potential for resource expansion to depth that may be amenable to an underground mining operation,” he says.The resource area is situated in the centre of the property and is defined by outcropping mineralization along a 500-metre long by 100-metre wide mineralized hydrothermal breccia. “Associated high-grade silver-gold mineralization is currently being tested by a step out drilling program along strike, guided by new silver anomalies identified in 2021,” says Marcio Fonseca, the company’s founder, president, and chief operating officer.
Following the successful completion of a $7.3 million private placement offering in March, the company “is well-positioned to advance exploration of Plomosas,” saysSignificantZaunscherb.shareholders in GR Silver include First Majestic Silver (TSX: FR; NYSE: AG), which holds an 11% interest in the company. Management and insiders own a 7.2% stake, while institutional ownership is 25%.
• Silver leverage attracting a new investor base
• Longevity – 54 Year history
• Strengthened balance sheet and strong trading liquidity
• Increased CSR/ESG initiatives playing a key role in the community
Vortex’s late chief geologist David Jones, a renowned profes sional, is credited with spearhead ing the discovery of 4 million oz. of gold in what became the Los Filos gold deposit in Mexico, now owned by Equinox Gold (TSX: EQX; ASE: EQX). Jones was a recognized skarn expert and created the geological model responsible for multiple discoveries in what is now known as the 20-million-ounce Guerrero gold belt in Mexico, earning him the moniker “mine finder.” Jones believed that both of the RQMZ projects would be signif icant discoveries, and he worked over the past 10 years to get the properties to their current stage. The RQMZ projects comprise four exploration concessions in two blocks, Riqueza Marina and Zaachila, within an underexplored VMS district in southern Oaxaca.
• Undervalued relative to our silver peers on P/NAV and EV/oz by many multiples
• Cash-flowing operations
• Dozens of exploration targets at the Avino Mine, exploration program continues
• Re-rating expected as growth strategy & integration of La Preciosa develops • 290 million AgEq resource ounces
• 5 YEAR GOAL – ACHIEVE INTERMEDIATE PRODUCER STATUS avino.com
Why Invest:
According to Gibson, drilling in the Palos Verdes vein has been very shallow. Using results received to date, combined with older data, Prismo has revealed the variability of width and grade expected in this district’s top veins. “This supports our interpretation that we are well above any coherent bonanza-grade zones in the system, and we are very eager to trace the Palos Verdes vein to greater depths and along strike,” Gibson said. “We are also pleased to have confirmed the suspected Northwest vein and look forward to including it in our next campaign as we trace both veins to depth, hopefully into more consistent widths and grades.” Drilling this summer involves eight to 10 HQ-diameter core holes over a minimum of 2,000 metres to test the veins below the previ ous drilling. The drill program will also test the vein along strike and, importantly, explore the emerging Northwest vein, which intersects with the Palos Verdes vein on the concession. Los Pavitos Prismo also has an earlier-stage exploration project called Los Pav itos in the Álamos area of Sonora state.The project consists of one con cession, Los Pavitos Reducción, that covers 52.9 sq. kilometres. The con cession is located on the paved high way between Navajoa and Álamos at about the 17-km marker, and the main mineralized area is about 6 km north of the highway accessible by unmaintained dirt roads. Mineralization at Los Pavitos comprises quartz veins and stock works hosted in metasediments, in shear zones and parallel to folia tion and crossing foliation, Megaw says.To date, the company has traced three mineralized trends despite the limited exploration carried out. Two trends, the NE Santa Cruz trend and the NW Las Auras trend, intersect in an area of small mines and prospects on the internal con cessions and extend onto the Los PavitosPrismoconcession.hasjust completed a LiDAR scan on the property and is collating and analyzing the data, with a view to drill-testing priority targets stemming from this work by thePreviousfall. work has returned rock samples with as much as 40.9 grams gold per tonne and 99 grams silver per tonne over 0.3 metre. Many samples have returned between 1 and 6 grams gold per tonne and between 3 and 60 grams silver per tonne.Prismo is tightly held by insiders, with about 32.4 million shares out standing on a fully diluted basis. Its shares have gained more than 70% over the past three months, but at 23.5¢ apiece, it still is trend ing 14.5% below its year-earlier level. The company has a market capitalization of $5 million. TNM PRISMO from 10 A view of andesitic rocks hosting a sulphide-rich vein near the portal of the Palos Verdes adit at Prismo Metals’ Palos Verdes project in Sinaloa state.
PRISMO METALS
VORTEX from 10
Location of VMS deposits in Mexico (from Vortex Metals’ investor presentation).
New understanding Vortex Metals is exploring south ern Oaxaca state for what now forms the basis of its Riqueza Marina and Zaachila (RQMZ) copper-gold projects.
VORTEX METALS
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Avino is a primary silver producer and explorer in Mexico, now in its 54th year, and trades on the NYSE and TSX under the symbol ASM. The Avino mine is only a 1-hour drive from Durango and boasts a 100% Mexican labour force. Avino recently closed the transaction to acquire La Preciosa, adding to its resource base which is now 290 million silver equivalent ounces. Assessment is ongoing on how to optimally integrate La Preciosa into the mine plan, leveraging the existing processing facilities and infrastructure. In 2022, we estimate 2.2M to 2.4M silver equivalent ounces to be produced from the Avino mine. The exploration program continues at key areas on the property and the construction of the new dry stack tailings facility is nearing completion. This method was chosen for its environmental, strategy and economic advantages.
The RQMZ concessions cover a cumulative area totalling 153 sq. km. within a geological prov ince covering about 375 sq. km. Geology, geochemistry, and geo physics have identified five high potential target areas. According to Franklin, who was also a former head of the Geological Survey of Canada, copper-gold mineralization con tained within the RQMZ proj ects area and Minaurum Gold’s (TSXV: MGG) Santa Marta proj ect to the east represent oxidized portions of VMS mineralization. The Riqueza Marina project and the Santa Marta deposit to the east are hosted by the Upper Juras sic-Lower Cretaceous package of metasediments and metavolca nics representing a back-arc sys tem. They can be traced for over 200 km, says Franklin, who also compares the geological setting to that of the world-class Noranda VMS camp in Quebec. Vortex has recently appointed a new social outreach representa tive on the ground who is engag ing with local communities, a critical step before the company’s first drilling campaign can begin. Following a $4.5 million cap ital raising in 2021, the company is fully funded for a $1.5 million drill campaign targeted for the lat ter part of 2022 and early 2023. Vortex Metals’ Toron to-quoted equity last traded at 14¢ per share, down 30% over the past 12 months. It has a market capi talization of $8.4 million. TNM environment and alteration, sug gesting a continuation of that gold belt.“So, the target style here is not simply a narrow epithermal gold vein. It is a gold vein associated with one of these big structurally con trolled northwestern Sonora-style deposits,” Megaw says. “It’s an oro genic gold belt that appears to return to the surface.”
Summer exploration Palos Verdes is an intermedi ate-stage exploration project located about 65 km northeast of the tourist destination Mazatlán. It has access to high-quality infra structure via the interstate highway from Mazatlán to Durango, near the village of Santa Lucía. The property comprises 22.7 hectares over one concession within the Pánuco-Copala mining district, a historically significant mining area. The district is known for precious and base-metal-bear ing epithermal veins. Gibson says Prismo leverages decades of Mexico exploration experience from two of the coun try’s successful geological explora tion groups, including ProDeMin (Newstrike Capital and the Ana Paula discovery) and Minera Cas cabel (MAG Silver and the Juanic ipioFiveproject).holes completed by ProDe Min in 2018 cut mineralized veins ranging from weakly anomalous to the best hole (PV-06), which cut vein breccia and stockwork over 3.2 metres (estimated true width) grading 69 grams silver per tonne and 0.13 gram gold. The hole also returned a 0.5-metre sulphide-rich zone grading 315 grams gold per tonne silver and 0.46 gram gold.
12 AUGUST 22—SEPTEMBER 4, 2022 / THE NORTHERN MINER WWW.NORTHERNMINER.COMSPECIAL FOCUS MEXICO
In spite of continued inflation ary pressures, Torex reported cash costs of US$703 per oz. — within its guidance of US$695-US$735 per oz. — while all-in sustaining costs of US$911 per oz. were lower than its guidance of US$980-US$1,030 per“Despiteounce. challenging headwinds with the current inflationary envi ronment and the persistence of COVID-19, we delivered a very solid first half of 2022, and we are well on track to deliver on pro duction and cost guidance for the fourth year in a row,” said Torex president and CEO Jody Kuzenko in a Therelease.company reported head line earnings of U$57 million or 66¢ per share (which beat a con sensus estimate among analysts of 50¢ per share), compared with US$47.4 million of 55¢ per share in the same period of 2021. Torex recorded revenues of US$235 mil lion (123,363 oz. of gold sold at an average price of US$1,864 per oz.), up from US$205.9 million last year. Higher grades from the open pits at ELG and record production from the underground mine drove the positive performance. “Our excellent operational per formance this quarter was primar ily driven by higher grades from the ELG open pits as well as record mining rates in the ELG Under ground. Underground mining rates averaged 1,582 tonnes per day in Q2, well surpassing the prior Torex continues to deliver on production, cost guidance with strong Q2
Setting up a drill pad at Altaley Mining’s Tahuehueto property in Durango state. ALTALEY MINING
n ALTALEY MINING Altaley Mining (TSXV: ATLY) is a Vancouver-based junior with two 100%-owned gold, silver, and base metals projects — Tahuehu eto and Campo Morado. The company’s flagship 74.9-sq.-km Tahuehueto prop erty in Mexico’s northwestern Durango state, about 250 km northwest of the capital city of Durango, encompasses at least 12 mineralized zones hosted within a structurally controlled epithermal system that has been traced for more than 6 kilometres. A 1,000-tonne-per-day process and using a 5% discount rate, with a 65.5% internal rate of return and a two-year Tahuehuetopayback.contains 6.3 mil lion measured and indicated tonnes grading 2.11 grams gold per tonne, 46.97 grams silver per tonne, 0.27% copper, 0.9% lead, and 1.98% zinc for 425,000 con tained oz. gold, 9.5 million oz. sil ver, 36.6 million lb. copper, 123.9 million lb. lead, and 273.4 million lb. zinc. Inferred resources add 918,000 tonnes grading 1.02 grams gold, 28.86 grams silver, 0.15% copper, 1.16% lead, and 1.96% zinc for 30,000 oz. gold, 840,000 oz. silver, 3.1 million lb. copper, 23.6 million lb. lead, and 39.8 mil lion lb. Campozinc.Morado in the state of Guerrero, about 360 km south west by road from Mexico City, is an underground polymetallic mine capable of processing 2,500 tonnes of mineralized material per day. The mine resumed commer cial production in 2017 after being placed on care and maintenance by the previous owners in 2015. Altaley Mining has a market cap of $54.4 million n GR SILVER MINING GR Silver Mining (TSXV: GRSL; US-OTC: GRSLF) controls over 430 sq. km of land within its expanded Plomosas silver-gold project in the Rosario mining dis trict of Sinaloa state, about 98 km southeast of Mazatlán. The prop erty includes two past-producing precious metals underground and open pit mines — Plomosas and La Trinidad — and the integrated San Marcial and La Trinidad prop erty.The Vancouver-headquartered junior’s portfolio also includes early to advanced stage exploration targets that increase its landhold ings to 778 sq. km of concessions containing several structural cor ridors that total more than 75 km
GOLD | Miner to add copper production when Media Luna comes online in early 2025 record of 1,429 tonnes per day achieved in the same quarter last year,” Kuzenko said. The company says it’s mak ing progress towards its long-term target for underground mining at ELG of 2,000 tonnes per day, with a third portal that is expected to be completed later this year. ELG is located in the Guerrero gold belt, 180 km southwest of Mex ico City, and includes three open pits and an underground mine. Media Luna Torex approved construction at the end of March of its Media Luna underground project, part of the 290-sq.-km Morelos property that also hosts ELG. The currently debt-free company is working towards signing a US$250-mil lion credit facility to finance the build (about 5% complete) in the third quarter. Capital costs for the project are estimated at US$848 million, with life-of-mining sus taining capital at US$545 mil lion. Commercial production is expected in early 2025. Media Luna holds proven and probable reserves of 23 million tonnes grading 2.81 grams gold per tonne, 25.6 grams silver, and 0.88% copper for 2.1 million oz. gold, 18.9 million oz. silver and 444 million lb. Atcopper. The Northern Miner’s Q2 Global Mining Symposium in June, Kuzenko noted that with about 30% of the value in the deposit coming from copper, Torex will become a significant producer of the red metal when Media Luna comes online. Kuzenko also noted that the copper component could play into the company’s M&A strategy as it keeps an eye on poten tial prospects in its region of inter est – the Americas. “As we bring Media Luna online at 45 million pounds of copper a year, about 30% of the value of that deposit sits in copper,” she said. “That opens up prospects for us for (M&A with) either a gold-copper producer, or a copper producer... where the combined value of the company and the combined oper ation of the company is synergistic and creates value for our share holders.”Atpress time, Torex shares were trading at $11.25, up 19.7% from $9.38 before reporting its second quarter results. The shares have traded in a 52-week range of $8.54 and $17.43. Torex has a market capitalization of $965 million. TNM ing plant is nearing completion on the property that will allow the project to start commercial pro duction in 2023. In April, an updated prefeasi bility study for Tahuehueto envi sioned an underground mining operation with an average annual production of 25,987 oz. of gold, 453,952 oz. of silver, 827 tonnes of copper, 3,155 tonnes of lead, and 6.1 million lb. of zinc over a nineyear mine life. All-in sustaining costs (AISC) were estimated at US$844 per gold-equivalent oz. over the life of the mine. Total life-of-mine capi tal costs are estimated at US$56.9 million, with US$33.7 million budgeted for sustaining capi tal over the mine life. The result ing after-tax net present value was estimated at US$161.3 million, based on US$1,650 per oz. gold
Torex Gold Resources’ El Limon Guajes gold complex in Guerrero state, Mexico. TOREX GOLD RESOURCES
SNAPSHOT: EIGHT COMPANIES TO WATCH SNAPSHOT BY CARL A. WILLIAMS With its mining friendly policies, highly projectsproduction-stagedevelopment,withareofminingjurisdictionMexicoregulatoryinfrastructurewell-developedmineralprospectivebelts,andandregimes,isanattractiveforcompaniesallsizes.Beloweightcompaniesexploration,andinthecountry.
GLOBAL MINING NEWS THE NORTHERN MINER / AUGUST 22–SEPTEMBER 4, 2022 13SPECIAL FOCUS MEXICO CANADIAN MINERS IN MEXICO
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BY ALISHA HIYATE Torex Gold Resources (TSX: TXG) shares saw a nearly 15% bounce in trading after the Mexico-focused miner posted second quarter results that beat an alysts’ expectations on Aug. 4. The company produced a total of 123,185 oz. gold at its El Limon Guajes mine (ELG), in Guerrero state, putting it on track to meet its full year production guidance of 430,000 to 470,000 ounces.
Verde trend. In June, Osisko released an ini tial open pit resource estimate for San Antonio. The estimate out lined 14.9 million indicated tonnes grading 1.2 grams gold per tonne and 2.9 grams silver per tonne for 576,000 oz. of gold and 1.4 million oz. of silver. Inferred resources add 16.6 million tonnes grading 1 gram gold and 3.3 grams silver for 544,000 oz. of gold and 1.8 million oz. of Thesilver.company said the estimate was based on 84,454 metres of current and verified historic drill ing in 579 holes, of which 27,870 metres in 177 holes were drilled in 2021.Commenting in a June 30 press release, Chris Lodder, Osisko’s president, said the new resource strengthened the company’s port folio for near term advancement and towards possible produc tion. “Osisko Development has made considerable progress at San Antonio in the past year with the construction of the leach pad, near-term processing of the stock pile and completion of a drill program to generate this initial resource,” he said. Since acquiring the property in November 2020, the company said it has been focused on amending existing permits to transition the mine production to a gold heapleach operation. To date, it has constructed a leach pad and car bon-in-column plant to process stockpiled mineralized material, which totalled 1.1 million tonnes with an average grade of 0.57 gram gold per tonne. Processing of the stockpile began in late 2021, and currently, 680,000 tonnes of min eralized material has been pro cessed.Osisko Development has a mar ket cap of $533.1 million.
Inferred resources add 3.4 million tonnes at 91 grams silver, 0.1% lead, and 0.35% zinc (108 grams silver equivalent) for 10 million oz. sil ver, 8 million lb. lead, and 26 mil lion lb. zinc (12 million oz. silver equivalent).GRSilver Mining has a market cap of $38.1 million. n OROCO RESOURCE Vancouver-based Oroco Resource (TSXV: OCO; US-OTC: ORRCF) is an exploration company focused on advancing its Santo Tomás porphyry copper project, which borders the states of Sinaloa and Chihuahua, roughly 175 km northeast of the deep-water port of TheTopolobampo.juniorcontrols 89.1 sq. km of contiguous mineral concessions that include the Santo Tomás North and South copper deposits. In mid-July, Oroco released two additional assay results from its drilling campaign on the prop erty. Hole N013, drilled to the northwest and down-dip of hole N011, intersected a broad 450metre interval of altered, miner alized andesite and monzonite intrusion at the northern extrem ity of the company’s current North zone drill program. That inter val included 128 metres grading 0.32% copper-equivalent from 247 metres downhole, 95 metres of 0.45% copper-equivalent from 439 metres, and 126 metres of 0.29% copper-equivalent from 547 metres.Hole N014 cut 330 metres of altered, mineralized andesite and monzonite intrusion down dip from intervals at holes N012 and N007 drilled on the North zone, returning 126 metres grading 0.23% copper-equivalent within thatOrocointerval.says it has now com pleted 20 holes on the zone and has received drill results from 14 of these holes covering 10,293 metres. The drilling is part of its 2021-2022 campaign that has spanned 1.1 km of strike length along the core of the North zone deposit.Thecompany said it plans to complete a preliminary economic assessment on Santo Tomás in the first or second quarter of 2023. Oroco’s other Mexican asset is its 100%-owned Xochipala project, which covers two mineral conces sions — Celia Generosa and Celia Gene — totaling 1.9 sq. km in the state of OrocoGuerrero.Resource has a market cap of $173 million. n OSISKO DEVELOPMENT Osisko Development (TSXV: ODV; NYSE: ODV) has projects in Canada and Mexico. The Montreal-headquartered junior is focused on advancing its 113.4-sq.-km development-stage San Antonio project in Sonora state, roughly 160 km from the towns of Hermosillo and Obre gon. The property has five depos its, Sapuchi, California, Golfo de Oro, High Life, and Calvario over 2.8 km within the Sapuchi-Cero
Ranchland near Tocvan Ventures’ Picacho project in Sonora state. TOCVAN VENTURES
GR SILVER MINING
Processing facilities at Altaley’s Campo Morado project in northwestern Durango state. ALTALEY MINING A geologist studies GR Silver’s Plomosas project in Mexico’s Sinaloa state.
n PRIME MINING Vancouver-headquartered Prime Mining (TSXV: PRYM; US-OTC: PRMNF) is focused on developing its high-grade Los Reyes gold-sil ver project in Sinaloa, 43 km southeast of Cosalá. In July, the junior reported additional assays from its second phase step-out and infill drill pro gram on the property. The drill results are from eight holes on the San Miguel East deposit (one of eight known deposits on the land package) in the western part of Los Reyes and targeted mineralization is below the current resource, the companyHighlightssaid. from the drilling included holes 22SME-11, which intersected 3 metres grading 1.24 grams gold per tonne and 14 grams silver per tonne starting from 12 metres downhole; 18 metres at 2.72 grams gold and 129.8 grams silver from 223.5 metres; and 3 metres at 1.12 grams gold and 4.15 grams silver from 303 metres. In addition, hole 22SME-10 returned 2.9 metres at 1.88 grams gold and 283.72 grams silver from 253.5 metres; and hole 22SME-14 cut 6 metres at 1.25 grams gold and
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14 AUGUST 22–SEPTEMBER 4, 2022 / THE NORTHERN MINER WWW.NORTHERNMINER.COMSPECIAL FOCUS MEXICO SNAPSHOT from 13 in strike length. In August, GR Silver announced a new silver discovery in the first drill hole 250 metres to the south east of the San Marcial resource area on Plomosas. The discov ery hole, SMS22-10, intersected 101.6 metres grading 308 grams silver per tonne from 98.5 metres downhole, including 0.8 metre at 7,139 grams silver, 0.3 metre at 3,065 grams silver, and 0.2 metre at 1,774 grams silver. In July, the company reported high-grade silver mineralization from the ongoing 2022 resource expansion drill program at its 12.5-sq.-km San Marcial project, located on the eastern edge of the Rosario mining district, about 5 km south of HighlightsPlomosas.fromthe first 23 holes included SMSP22-003, which intersected 15.4 metres grading 547 grams silver per tonne starting from 16 metres down hole, including 2 metres at 1,179 grams silver; SMSP22-012, which returned 15 metres at 324 grams silver from surface, including 1 metre at 1,541 grams silver; and SMS22-02, which cut 2.8 metres grading 455 grams silver from 285.9 metres, including 0.3 metre at 3,854 grams silver. The company says the results demonstrate the potential for resource expansion both near-sur face and at depth. Pit-constrained mineral resources at San Mar cial stand at 7.6 million indicated tonnes grading 117 grams silver per tonne, 0.3% lead, and 0.5% zinc (147 grams silver equivalent per tonne) for 29 million oz. con tained silver, 53 million lb. lead, and 86 million lb. zinc (36 million oz. silver-equivalent).
TNM
Zacatecas Silver has a market cap of $38 million.
GLOBAL MINING NEWS THE NORTHERN MINER / AUGUST 22–SEPTEMBER 4, 2022 15SPECIAL FOCUS MEXICO
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TOCVAN VENTURES Tocvan Ventures (CSE: TOC: US-OTC: TCVNF) is a Vancou ver-based precious metals explora tion company with two properties in the Mexican state of Sonora — its flagship Pilar gold project in the Sonora gold district and El Pica cho project in the Caborca oro genic gold belt. In July, Tocvan announced the completion of its latest drill ing campaign at Pilar. The drilling comprised seven reverse-circu lation drill holes totaling 1,382 metres and focused on step-out targets along the 4-T zone and a newly discovered trend between the Main zone and 4-T. At press time, assay results were pending for all seven holes. The company said that drilling will resume in mid-September to follow up and expand on the tar getEarlierareas. that month, Tocvan also reported results from surface sam pling on El Picacho. To date, the company has collected 65 samples from the Murcielago prospect, which it says has defined a new targetHighlightsarea. from the sampling along a 450-metre trend at the pros pect included rock samples that returned 7.2 grams gold per tonne, 36 grams silver per tonne, and 4.4% lead; 4.5 grams gold, 197 grams sil ver, 4.8% lead, and 7.1% zinc; 3.3 grams gold, 67 grams silver, and 1.6% lead; and 2.7 grams gold, 25 grams silver, and 1.9% zinc. The Murcielago prospect “is one of six key target areas at El Picacho that has seen little to no drilling,” said Brodie Sutherland, Tocvan’s chief executive officer, in a July 6 press release. “The consistent min eralization seen across a 450-metre trend coupled with high-grade his toric results along old shafts, makes Murcielago an additional compel ling drill target as we look to unlock the potential of the project.” “Sonora is well known for cost-effective mines that can oper ate open pits with grades below 0.5 gram gold per tonne with very favourable production costs,” he added. “Seeing this broad lowgrade mineralization and high er-grade within gives us a lot of confidence in the potential we haveTocvanhere.”Ventures has a market cap of $25.4 million.
n ZACATECAS SILVER Vancouver-headquartered Zacate cas Silver (TSXV: ZAC; US-OTC: ZCTSF) is advancing its Esperanza gold and Zacatecas silver projects in InMexico.July, the junior reported assay results from an ongoing initial diamond drill program on the El Cristo vein system, a northwest strike extension of the Veta Grande vein system onto its ZacatecasHighlightsproperty.from the drilling included holes CRI-2022-001, which intersected 9.5 metres grad ing 167 grams silver per tonne, 0.12% zinc, and 0.04% lead (175 grams silver-equivalent per tonne) starting from 40 metres downhole; CRI-2022-02, a step-down hole from CRI-2022-001, that returned 1.5 metres grading 11.3 grams sil ver, 0.18 gram gold, 1.6% zinc, and 0.48% lead (121 grams sil ver-equivalent) from 109.5 metres; and CRI-2022-005, which cut 0.65 metre grading 565 grams silver, 1.2 grams gold, 2.7% zinc, and 1.3% lead (829 grams silver-equiv alent) from 55.2 metres. Zacatecas said that all the holes targeted the shallow depth exten sion of intermediate sulphidation veins below near-surface histori cal workings or areas close to shal low historical shafts. To date, it has received assays from 13 of 28 holes drilled at El Cristo. “Several holes hit historical mining voids or zones of back fill material over widths of up to 5 metres, suggesting that a high er-grade part of the near surface vein had already been mined,” said Chris Wilson, the company’s chief operating officer, in a July 7 press release.“That there are at least 20 shal low historical shafts at El Cristo, strongly suggests that the system is mineralized,” he added, noting that the drilling had only tested small areas of the overall vein sys tem to very shallow depths and that “the first 13 holes intersected a robust silver-equivalent grades over down-hole intercept of up to 9.6 metres is very encouraging. The system is open in all directions across multiple veins.”
SNAPSHOT from 14 Prime Mining’s flagship Los Reyes gold and silver project, 43 km southeast of Cosala in Mexico’s Sinaloa state. PRIME MINING
An outcrop showing copper mineralization at Oroco Resource’s Santo Tomás project in Mexico. OROCO RESOURCE CORP Southern Silver’s Cerro Las Minitas project in Mexico. SOUTHERN SILVER EXPLORATION
SOUTHERN EXPLORATIONSILVER Southern Silver Exploration (TSXV: SSV: US-OTC: SSVFF) is focused on developing high-grade precious and base metal properties in North America.
The Vancouver-headquartered junior is advancing its 100%owned Cerro Las Minitas silverlead-zinc project in Mexico, about 70 km northeast of the city of Durango.The344.5-sq.-km property lies within the prolific Faja de Plata region of northern Mexico, one of the world’s most significant sil ver-producing regions. The area hosts Hecla Mining’s (NYSE: HL) San Sebastian silver-gold mine, about 30 km east of Cerro Las Minitas, and the La Preciosa sil ver-gold project, about 30 km to the west, operated by Coeur Min ing (NYSE: CDE). In July, Southern Silver released assay results from drilling on the property’s North Felsite zone. The zone is located on the eastern side of the property and wraps around the northern edge of the Central intrusion where it transitions into the North Skarn target area. Highlights from the drilling included hole 22CLM-187, which intersected 2.2 metres grading 162 grams silver per tonne, 0.6 gram gold per tonne, 0.3% copper, 1.5% lead, and 0.6% zinc (314 grams sil ver-equivalent per tonne) from 489.8 metres downhole, includ ing 0.7 metre at 499 grams silver, 0.1 gram gold, 0.4% copper, 4.6% lead, and 1.5% zinc (759 grams sil ver-equivalent).RobMacdonald, the company’s vice-president of exploration, said in a July 25 press release that the latest drill results “have now con firmed the continuity of new min eralization over an approximate 400 metre strike length extending laterally from the Mina La Bocona to the Skarn Front deposits.” He added that mineralization remains open at depth in both the North Felsite and the North Skarn targets. “Continuous to semi-con tinuous mineralization has now been identified around the circum ference of the Central intrusion with the exception of the south west quadrant which remains to be explored by diamond drilling.” Southern Silver has completed a total of 196 holes (84,872 metres) on Cerro Las Minitas. Southern Silver Exploration has a market cap of $71.4 million.
67.15 grams silver from 39 metres. Prime said that all eight holes encountered mineralization, with seven of them extending mineral ization beyond the current historic resource area, which currently contains 19.8 million measured and indicated tonnes grading 1 gram gold per tonne and 26.1 grams silver per tonne for 633,034 oz. contained gold and 16.6 mil lion oz. silver. Inferred resources add 7.1 million tonnes at 0.78 gram gold, 29.9 grams silver for 178,837 oz. gold and 6.8 million silver ounces. The estimate was based on a cut-off grade of 0.22 gram gold per tonne. “Our ongoing Phase 2 drilling of step-out holes at San Miguel East has made discoveries of both mill and heap-leach grade miner alization that are expanding the potential resource at this deposit,” Daniel Knuz, the company’s chief executive officer, said in a July 18 press“Oncerelease.again, our drilling con tinues to intersect multiple veins down-hole that increase the resource potential,” he added. “We also expect that the deposit will grow along strike to the south east eventually connecting with the nearby Noche Buena deposit.”
To date, the company has com pleted 201 holes (57,585 metres) of its Phase 2 drilling campaign, and currently has six drills turning on the property. It said that drill ing will continue until the end of October.Prime Mining has a market cap of $196.1 million.
REPORT from 6 Signal Gold shares rise on government green light for Nova Scotia project MARITIMES | Goldboro mine to produce more than 1.1M oz gold over 11-year life
UEX Corp. (TSX: UEX) shareholders have ap proved a sweetened take over offer from U.S.-based Ura nium Energy Corp. (NYSE-AM: UEC), with the merger expected to be approved by the end of August. The deal will see UEX shareholders receive 0.09 of a Uranium Ener gy share for each share held, end ing a takeover battle with Denison Mines (TSX: DML; NYSE: AM) for the Saskatchewan-based ura nium junior. The share exchange ratio implies a value of 49.7¢ per share for the company. Uranium Energy made its ini tial friendly offer for the company in June. It was followed by a rival all-share offer from Denison in late July.
Workers at Signal Gold’s Goldboro gold property in Nova Scotia. SIGNAL GOLD
“Direct lithium extraction can increase production from exist ing mines. It bypasses the time-in tensive need to evaporate the unconcentrated brine water and chemical removal of impurities,” the IEA explains. “As well as offering cost and lead time advantages, DLE has sustain ability advantages and widens the pool of economically extractable lithiumHowever,supply.”the technology is not yet economically proven and is yet to be applied commercially in the field.HPAL offers a solution for increased nickel production. The process uses acid separation under high temperature and pressure to produce nickel at Class 1 grade for battery applications using laterite resources.However, the technology is not a panacea. “Capital costs for HPAL projects typically are dou ble that of conventional smelters for oxide ore and take about four to five years to reach capacity,” according to the IEA. “There are also concerns with the environmental impact of HPAL as it often uses coal or oil-fired boilers for heat, thus emitting up to three times more greenhouse-gas emissions than production from sulphide depos its.”The IEA also highlighted the mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP) process, an intermediate product produced from laterite that can be refined into nickel and cobalt sulphates needed for batter ies at a low cost. MHP can be processed into nickel and cobalt products from selective acid leaching, a process with a lower environmental foot print.
Uranium Energy fends off Denison with higher bid for UEX M&A | All-share deal set to close in late August
UEX’s board recommended the latest offer from Uranium Energy over Denison’s most recent bid of 0.32 of a share for each UEX share held, which represented an implied purchase price of 51¢ per UEX share at the time on a spot basis.Under their original agreement, Uranium Energy had the right to match any superior offer for the company.Denison wanted UEX in order to consolidate ownership of its 95%held Wheeler River project, which is host to the high-grade Phoe nix and Gryphon uranium deposits and represents the largest unde veloped uranium project in the Athabasca Basin region of north ernBothSaskatchewan.Denison and UEX hold 50% of JCU Canada Exploration, which in turn, owns a 10% stake in WheelerDenisonRiver.isworking on a fea sibility study on the Phoe nix deposit, which is proposed as a low-cost ISR (in situ recovery) mining operation, and advanc ing it through the environmental assessment process. UEX holds a portfolio of ura nium projects in Saskatchewan’s Athabasca Basin. In a previous joint statement, UEX and Tex as-based Uranium Energy said their merger would result in a “unique” company, with nearterm production capacity at the Wyoming and Texas hubs, a solid long-term uranium production pipeline and the ability to continue to grow its resource base through continued exploration in the Atha basca Basin and in the U.S..TNM
16 AUGUST 22 — SEPTEMBER 4, 2022 / THE NORTHERN MINER WWW.NORTHERNMINER.COM
SUGAR ZONE from 8 By acquiring UEX, Denison Mines would have consolidated a 100% ownership of its flagship Wheeler River project (pictured here), of which it currently owns 95%. UEX CORPORATION
NORTHERN MINER STAFF
TNM BY BLAIR MCBRIDE
Shares of East Coast-focused Signal Gold (TSX: SGNL) rose 17% on Aug. 3 on news that its Goldboro gold project has been ap proved by the Nova Scotia govern ment.The environmental assessment approval, announced by the provin cial Minister of Environment and Climate Change Timothy Halman, will allow the Toronto-headquar tered miner to start applications for its industrial approval and Crown Land and mining leases for Gold boro, Signal said in a news release. Kevin Bullock, Signal Gold’s president and CEO, said that the company is grateful for the support from Halman and others and that receiving environmental approval for Goldboro is an important mile stone and the result of five years of baseline monitoring and analysis. “Goldboro…will have a signifi cant socio-economic impact on the region and the province,” he said. “We recognize that a mining project is a temporary use of land, and we are committed to sustainably devel oping a project that mitigates envi ronmental impact at every phase, including construction, operations, reclamation and “Importantly,closure.weremain com mitted to working with Mi’kmaq, community members, regulators, and other stakeholders, as we progress towards the next steps to developing Nova Scotia’s next gold mine, the largest private sec tor development project in the province,” he added. According to a January 2022 fea sibility study, Goldboro will pro duce more than 1.1 million oz. of gold over an 11-year open pit mine life. The mine, located about 175 km northeast of Halifax near Issac’s Harbour, would produce roughly 100,000 oz. per year at an average diluted grade of 2.26 grams gold perInitialtonne.capital costs are estimated at $271 million, with average all-in sustaining costs forecast at $1,062 per ounce. At a gold price of $2,200 per oz., the mine could produce after-tax net cash flows of about $684 mil lion, an after-tax net present value (at a 5% discount rate) of more than $442 million and an internal rate of return of 31.7%. Signal estimates construction would start in late 2023 and com missioning in 2025. Initiation of closure would begin in 2036. In a letter posted on a provin cial government portal on Aug. 2, Halman said he approved the Goldboro project subject to the conditions laid out in the Environ mental Assessment Approval. “I am satisfied that any adverse effects or significant environmen tal effects of the undertaking can be adequately mitigated through compliance with the attached terms and conditions as well as through compliance to the other licences, certificates, permits and approvals that will be required for operation,” he said. The company said it was review ing those conditions and all com ments provided by rights holders and community stakeholders through the environmental assess ment process. In addition to Goldboro, the miner operates its producing Point Rousse gold mine in north-central Newfoundland and is exploring at the Tilt Cove gold-copper project about 45 km north of Point Rousse. The company changed its name from Anaconda Mining to Signal Gold in SignalMay.Gold shares were trading at 51¢ at press time in a 52-week window of 32¢ and 94¢. Signal has a market cap of $98.8 million. TNM redesign helps to reduce develop ment metres over the life of mine, increase operating efficiency and decrease costs. In terms of surface infrastruc ture, the existing enclosed crush ing facility will be converted to a fit for purpose mobile maintenance workshop, with an associated ware house and a secure enclosure for site critical spares. Silver Lake is also assessing the opportunity to relocate the White River camp, eliminating the roughly 50-min ute travel time between Sugar Zone and White River. On the exploration front, invest ment will prioritize in-mine, near-mine and district-scale oppor tunities to target growth. The main Sugar Zone deposits remain open laterally and at depth along a 3 km trend. According to Silver Lake, limited drill coverage and inad equate exploration work beyond current resource limits provides the potential for new discoveries. Plans are in motion to enhance the geological model with an A$7 million ($6.4 million), 67,000metre grade control and resource definition drilling program. Mine production in fiscal 2023 will be predominantly sourced from the Sugar Zone mining area as the Middle Zone mining area is “progressively established” through the year with an increasing contri bution in fiscal 2024, Silver Lake says.The company said its sales guid ance for Sugar Zone in the fiscal year 2023 is for 50,000 to 60,000 oz. of gold at an all-in sustaining cost of A$2,250 to A$2,550 per ounce. Fiscal year 2022 attributable pro duction and sales post acquisition were 14,901 oz. gold and 14,712 oz. gold, respectively. In addition to the Sugar Zone mine in Canada, Silver Lake Resources operates the Mount Monger, Rothsay and Deflector mines in Australia. TNM
GLOBAL MINING NEWS THE NORTHERN MINER / AUGUST 22 — SEPTEMBER 4, 2022 17 CONCRETE SOLUTIONS Shotcrete - Concrete Paste www.sika.com/miningBackfill Offering the industry leading precision, absolute accuracy and sensitivity for Optically Pumped Potassium Overhauser and Proton Precession Magnetometers/Gradiometers with new add-on or standalone VLF-EM systems for resistivity depth sections. UAV - Airborne – Ground Solutions Visit the website or call for a QUOTE today Highest Precision Magnetometers in the World • info@gemsystems.ca • Tel: +1.905.752.2202 • +1.888.635.1829 www.gemsystems.ca Leading the World of Magnetics since 1980DRONEMag™ INSTRUMENTATION GEOPHYSICS MAKE Mining oftheBasicthe inAvailableNowSpanish Published by: PROFESSIONAL DIRECTORY MAKE SENSE OF THE MINING INDUSTRY Mining Explained is a 164-page reference manual (written in layman’s language) that includes the following chapters: Basic Geology • Ore Deposits • High-Tech Prospecting Sampling & Drilling • Mining Methods • Processing Ore • Mining & the Environment • The Mining Team • The Business of Mining • Feasibility: Does it Pay? • Metal Markets • Making Sense of the Numbers • Investing in Mining • Glossary of Mining Terms Call 1-888-502-3456 or email info@northernminer.com Order Your Copy Today! Spanish WEEKLY REPORT Email Newsletter for Mining Professionals Join thousands of high-performing mining professionals already receiving The Northern Miner’s free Weekly Report update. SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE www.canadianminingjournal.com SUBSCRIBE MININGCANADA’STO:FIRSTPUBLICATION Mining and Mineral Processing news Since 1882. Print edition is FREE for Canadians involved in mining. Digital Edition and Daily News is FREE. For more information about reserving space in our Professional Directory, please contact: ROBERT HERTZMAN 416-898-6654 | Toll free from North America: rhertzman@northernminer.com1-888-502-3456 CONSULTANTS 1,800+ CLIENTS | 8,000+ PROJECTS 38+ YEARS’ EXPERIENCE Corporate GeotechnicalConsultancyEngineering MiningGeologyEngineering amcconsultants.com Specialists in mining and exploration projects across all commodities and all stages of project development. csaglobal.com info@csaglobal.com CORPORATE I MINING RESOURCES EXPLORATION I TECHNOLOGY I WATER
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MLM 1846 370.10 + 14.17 Nutrien* NTR 11934 92.38 + 8.58 CONSOL Energy* CEIX 4485 69.35 + 7.47 Chevron Corp* CVX 32957 159.85 + 6.21 NACCO Ind* NC
Over the Aug. 8-12 trading period, the S&P/ TSX Composite Index gained 559.68 points or 2.85%, to 20,179.81. The S&P/TSX Global Mining Index added 2.33 points or 2.51% to 95.05, and the S&P/TSX Global Base Met als Index advanced by 9.13 points or 5.86% to 164.92. The S&P/TSX Global Gold Index gained 6.94 points or 2.89% to 247.11, and spot gold ended the week at US$18.85 per oz. higher, or 1.06%, at US$1,792.10 per ounce. The top gainer by value for a second con secutive week was fertilizer giant Nutrien, gaining $9.52 to close at $117. The company has recently reported record interim profits, underpinned by a supply squeeze brought on by Russia’s war in Ukraine. Prices for pot ash, an essential crop input, have recovered to multi-year highs pushing up Nutrien’s net profit for the June quarter by 224% year-onyear to US$3.6 billion. The company said its earnings for the second quarter were affected by a non-cash impairment reversal related to its phosphate operations of US$450 million. CEO Ken Seitz told an analyst conference call the ripple effects of the conflict in east ern Europe will continue to drive demand for Nutrien products for many years. Teck Resources’ class A and B shares also posted substantial gains during the trad
18 AUGUST 22 — SEPTEMBER 4, 2022 / THE NORTHERN MINER WWW.NORTHERNMINER.COM MARKET NEWS TORONTO STOCK EXCHANGE / AUGUST 8 – 12, 2022
placement financing of common shares priced at $4.10 each to $12 million from $8.2 mil lion. In early August, the company reported results from four holes drilled at the Water pump Creek carbonate replacement deposit at its Illinois Creek project in Western Alaska. Highlights included 11.5 metres (11.3 metres estimated true width) grading 337 grams silver per tonne, 16.7% zinc, and 10% lead (or 1,340 silver-equivalent grams per tonne) from 139.1 metres depth. The com pany says that assays for two other holes (17 and 18) that have thicker sulphide intercepts (based on visually identification) are pending. “Those holes, along with the newly announced visual intercept in WPC22-20, further define an emerging mineralization trend now over 300 metres long,” said presi dent and CEO Kit Marrs in a release. Shares in Houston-based phosphate and fertilizer producer Itafos ended the week up 52¢ at $2.23 per share. The company has oper ations in Idaho, Brazil and Guinea-Bissau. On Aug. 11, it announced its second quar ter results, reporting a net income of $44.3 million on revenues of $155 million, up from US$9.1 million in net income on revenues of US$103.3 million in the same period of 2021. Achieved prices for its DAP (diammonium phosphate) production are up 51% year over year to US$860 per short ton. The price rise was driven by factors that included limited new supply in the market, continued draw down of inventories, continued market dis ruption from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and increased restrictions and controls on exports from China. TNM
Gld* SA 1027 14.38 13.53 14.02 + 0.4 VOLUME WEEK (OOOs) HIGH LOW CLOSE CHANGE U.S. GREATEST VALUE CHANGE Arch Resources* ARCH 3631 151.70 + 26.87
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TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE / AUGUST 8 – 12, 2022
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TSX MOST ACTIVE ISSUES Suncor Energy SU 60725 41.82 38.45 41.80 + 2.61 Barrick Gold ABX 55108 21.51 20.50 21.37 + 1.20 Lundin Mng LUN 25079 7.38 6.77 7.35 + 0.50 UEX Corp UEX 21334 0.51 0.46 0.50 + 0.02 Argonaut Gold AR 12735 0.61 0.53 0.56 unch 0.00 Capstone Mng CS 12099 3.47 2.72 3.41 + 0.73 Kinross Gold K 12077 4.67 4.35 4.59 + 0.26 First Quantum FM 11716 25.23 22.37 25.01 + 2.50 Teck Res TECK.B 10251 44.17 39.35 43.86 + 4.89 B2Gold Corp BTO 10157 4.60 4.39 4.52 + 0.04 VOLUME WEEK (OOOs) HIGH LOW CLOSE CHANGE TSX GREATEST PERCENTAGE CHANGE Capstone Mng CS 12099 3.47 2.72 3.41 + 27.2 Xanadu Mines XAM 987 0.03 0.02 0.03 + 25.0 Mawson Res MAW 2164 0.17 0.12 0.16 + 23.1 HudBay Min HBM 8542 6.15 4.76 5.83 + 21.7 Serabi Gold SBI 8 0.70 0.00 0.67 + 19.6 Talon Metals TLO 4621 0.66 0.51 0.59 + 18.0 Titan Mining TI 253 0.54 0.00 0.54 + 17.4 Teck Res TECK.A 10 46.40 39.61 46.21 + 16.8 Aura Minerals ORA 74 8.50 7.07 8.28 + 16.5 Gold Std Vents GSV 2509 0.56 0.49 0.56 + 14.3 Northcliff Res NCF 502 0.05 0.00 0.04 30.0 Centerra Gold CG 9673 8.23 6.11 6.62 17.1 Karnalyte Res KRN 278 0.45 0.40 0.40 16.7 Nevada Copper NCU 1072 0.33 0.25 0.28 16.4 Freegold Vent FVL 767 0.54 0.44 0.45 15.1 Monarch Mining GBAR 428 0.54 0.41 0.43 14.0 Silver Eleph ELEF 194 0.65 0.52 0.56 13.8 Belo Sun Mng BSX 417 0.38 0.33 0.33 13.3 Pan Am Silver PAAS 3060 27.45 22.52 23.17 12.3 Canagold Res CCM 131 0.30 0.00 0.26 11.9 VOLUME WEEK (OOOs) HIGH LOW CLOSE CHANGE TSX GREATEST VALUE CHANGE Nutrien NTR 6618 117.91 + 9.52 Teck Res TECK.A 10 46.21 + 6.65 Teck Res TECK.B 10251 43.86 + 4.89 Franco-Nevada FNV 1565 170.28 + 4.56 Lithium Amer LAC 3342 39.76 + 4.35 Agnico Eagle AEM 8232 59.05 + 2.84 Suncor Energy SU 60725 41.80 + 2.61 First Quantum FM 11716 25.01 + 2.50 Labrador IOR LIF 920 29.76 + 1.97 Ero Copper ERO 1380 13.85 + 1.64 Pan Am Silver PAAS 3060 23.17 3.26 Centerra Gold CG 9673 6.62 1.37 Wesdome Gold WDO 3349 9.70 1.12 Cameco Corp CCO 4640 32.51 0.82 Atalaya Mining AYM 57 4.10 0.49 Verde Potash NPK 791 8.77 0.37 SSR Mining SSRM 1307 20.00 0.31 Maverix Metals MMX 242 5.05 0.25 OceanaGold OGC 6477 2.21 0.25 Fortuna Silvr FVI 3796 3.44 0.24 VOLUME WEEK (OOOs) HIGH CHANGE TSX-V MOST ACTIVE ISSUES Gabriel Res GBU 31020 0.24 0.00 0.23 + 0.01 Aurcana Silver AUN 26022 0.02 0.01 0.01 0.01 Pure Gold Mg PGM 9061 0.13 0.10 0.12 + 0.02 GR Silver GRSL 7460 0.21 0.14 0.15 + 0.02 Vertical Expl VERT 5344 0.18 0.11 0.17 + 0.05 Maritime Res MAE 5213 0.06 0.05 0.05 unch 0.00 Nexus Gold NXS 4625 0.02 0.01 0.02 unch 0.00 C3 Metals CCCM 3981 0.07 0.05 0.06 + 0.01 MacDonald Mns BMK 3744 0.02 0.01 0.02 unch 0.00 AbraSilver Res ABRA 3577 0.43 0.38 0.40 + 0.02 VOLUME WEEK (OOOs) HIGH LOW CLOSE CHANGE TSX-V GREATEST PERCENTAGE CHANGE Encanto Potash EPO.H 3027 0.07 0.00 0.07 +180.0 Western Troy C LILI 54 0.16 0.00 0.12 +140.0 Gratomic GRAT 3256 0.68 0.27 0.60 +122.2 Zincore Mtls ZNC.H 20 0.03 0.00 0.03 +100.0 Tymbal Res TYMB 1 0.01 0.00 0.01 +100.0 Silver Predatr SPD 10 0.13 0.00 0.13 + 85.7 CaNickel Mng CML 6 0.12 0.00 0.12 + 71.4 North Peak Res NPR 108 0.88 0.43 0.80 + 70.2 Saville Res SRE 109 0.03 0.00 0.03 + 66.7 Valterra Res VQA 95 0.03 0.00 0.03 + 66.7 Millbank Mg MILL 133 0.22 0.00 0.15 71.2 Rathdowney Res RTH 962 0.02 0.00 0.02 40.0 District Mines DIG.H 50 0.06 0.00 0.06 35.3 Paleo Resource EFV 22 0.02 0.00 0.01 33.3 Aurcana Silver AUN 26022 0.02 0.01 0.01 33.3 Nippon Dragon GETT 158 0.02 0.00 0.01 33.3 Kingman Min KGS 108 0.01 0.00 0.01 33.3 Blue River Res BXR 173 0.02 0.00 0.01 33.3 Petrolympic PCQ 16 0.08 0.00 0.06 31.3 Remington Res RGM.H 1 0.11 0.00 0.11 31.3 VOLUME WEEK (OOOs) HIGH LOW CLOSE CHANGE TSX-V GREATEST VALUE CHANGE Sigma Lithium SGML 314 29.95 + 3.95 Leeta Gold HIVE 2538 9.15 + 2.65 Tanqueray Expl IPA 89 7.00 + 1.76 Western Alaska WAM 216 5.60 + 0.90 Nouveau Monde NOU 332 7.10 + 0.76 Arizona Metals AMC 741 4.99 + 0.59 Itafos IFOS 538 2.23 + 0.52 Prime Mining PRYM 1824 2.15 + 0.45 NGEx Minerals NGEX 234 2.18 + 0.45 Desert Mtn Egy DME 249 3.00 + 0.44 Rock Tech Lith RCK 2068 3.69 1.25 Chesapeake Gld CKG 37 2.24 0.44 Universal Vent MCLD 60 3.23 0.38 Millbank Mg MILL 133 0.15 0.37 Artemis Gold ARTG 152 4.67 0.32 Uranium Roylty URC 297 3.51 0.28 First Cobalt ELBM 380 4.81 0.25 Colonial Coal CAD 473 1.79 0.24 Atlas Salt SALT 1215 3.71 0.23 Cerrado Gold CERT 69 1.40 0.17 VOLUME WEEK (OOOs) HIGH CHANGE U.S. MOST ACTIVE ISSUES Vale* VALE 149062 14.32 13.18 13.60 + 0.40 Barrick Gold* GOLD 103821 16.84 15.95 16.74 + 1.14 Yamana Gold* AUY 81989 5.20 4.90 5.10 + 0.13 Freeport McMoR* FCX 70808 32.83 29.75 31.62 + 1.35 Kinross Gold* KGC 70099 3.65 3.37 3.60 + 0.25 Cleveland-Clif* CLF 55646 20.37 18.35 19.67 + 1.36 United States S* X 43762 25.76 23.43 25.25 + 1.93 Newmont Corp* NEM 42462 46.60 44.21 46.55 + 1.78 Chevron Corp* CVX 32957 161.16 152.93 159.85 + 6.21 Gold Fields* GFI 32900 9.75 9.23 9.41 + 0.12 VOLUME WEEK (OOOs) HIGH LOW CLOSE CHANGE U.S. GREATEST PERCENTAGE CHANGE HudBay Min* HBM 10205 4.82 3.71 4.56 + 23.9 Arch Resources* ARCH 3631 155.81 124.50 151.70 + 21.5 Peabody Enrgy* BTU 23335 23.41 19.01 23.40 + 21.2 Nouveau Monde* NMG 295 5.72 4.84 5.53 + 15.2 Ero Copper* ERO 531 11.46 9.57 10.84 + 14.8 NACCO Ind* NC 69 46.41 39.62 46.09 + 14.3 Teck Res* TECK 24618 34.57 30.62 34.35
The top gainer in percentage terms was Capstone Copper, which rose 27.2% during the week to close at $3.41 per share. The company reported its second quarter finan cial results at the start of the trading week, outlining a net income of $92 million, or 11¢ per share, compared with $49.4 mil lion or 12¢ per share a year earlier. On an adjusted basis, the company reported a loss attributable to shareholders of $4.5 million or 1¢ per share. Capstone, which has oper ations in Arizona, Mexico and Chile, said it saw declining sulphuric acid and diesel prices and benefited from a weaker Chilean peso. However, the company cautioned that it was initiating operating cost reduction reviews at all mine sites. TNM
The S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index edged up 2.5% or 16.32 points higher over the Aug. 8-12 trading session to end the week at 680.49.Toronto-based graphite junior Gratomic gained 122.2%, or 27¢, to end at 60¢ per share. The company holds the Aukum vein graph ite project in southern Namibia, which was mined periodically between 1940 and the mid-1970s. On Aug. 9, Gratomic announced the start of a six-month bench-excavation program at Aukum, which is expected to move around 20,000 tonnes of material to be stockpiled at the run-of-mine pad at its 20,000-tonne-per-year Aukam processing facility. In addition to unveiling additional mineralization, the program is expected to provide drilling surfaces in upper areas of the mountain. In June, the company completed a 16-hole, 1,218.9-metre diamond drill pro gram at the project (assays are pending). Although the company has not yet delin eated resources or reserves at the project, and has not completed any economic studies, it is working on a feasibility study to scale up the Aukum facility to commercial-scale produc tion. It plans to release an NI 43-101 report on Aukum in the third quarter. Shares in Western Alaska Minerals gained 90¢ to end the week $5.60 apiece. On Aug. 8, the junior announced it was upsizing a private + 14.0 Lithium Amer* LAC 16645 31.81 27.57 31.15 + 13.8 IAMGOLD* IAG 24191 1.49 1.31 1.46 + 12.3 CONSOL Energy* CEIX 4485 70.43 59.40 69.35 + 12.1 Fortuna Silvr* FSM 24767 3.01 2.60 2.70 5.3 Endeavr Silver* EXK 11515 3.85 3.40 3.53 4.3 McEwen Mng* MUX 996 3.68 3.25 3.37 3.4 Nexgen Energy* NXE 6255 4.43 4.02 4.10 3.1 Natural Res Pt* NRP 78 44.90 42.11 43.95 1.5 Cameco Corp* CCJ 17866 26.60 24.71 25.46 1.2 Rio Tinto* RIO 20539 62.36 59.18 60.20 0.8 Hecla Mining* HL 28247 4.79 4.50 4.62 0.6 DRDGOLD* DRD 557 6.79 6.33 6.52 0.6 Seabridge MartinMarietta* 69 46.09 5.75 Franco-Nevada* FNV 3820 133.34 5.10 Teck TECK 24618 34.35 4.23 Peabody Enrgy* BTU 23335 23.40 4.10 Lithium LAC 16645 31.15 3.78 43.95 0.69 Rio RIO 20539 60.20 0.49 Cameco Corp* CCJ 17866 25.46 0.31 Endeavr Silver* EXK 11515 3.53 0.16 Fortuna Silvr* FSM 24767 2.70 0.15 Nexgen Energy* NXE 6255 4.10 0.13 McEwen Mng* MUX 996 3.37 0.12 DRDGOLD* DRD 557 6.52 0.04 Hecla Mining* HL 28247 4.62 0.03 Gatos Silver* GATO 1701 4.28 + 0.03 VOLUME WEEK (OOOs) HIGH CHANGE
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 957.58 points or 2.92%, to 33,761.05, and the S&P 500 climbed 134.96 points or 0.77% over the week to 4,280.15. The trading week’s top gainer in value was Arch Resources, whose shares are in high demand as the global energy crisis deep ens on the back of Russia’s war on Ukraine. Late last month, the miner reported record net income, leading to the declaration of massive dividends on top of a healthy share repurchase program. The war in Ukraine threatens to trim Russian coking coal export levels, particularly once the EU’s ban on Rus sian coal imports takes effect in a few weeks. Elsewhere, U.S. and Canadian export levels are up only modestly year-to-date, despite extreme pricing levels through the year’s first half. The company said another poten tial support mechanism for the global cok ing coal market is a still strong international thermal market. Hudbay Minerals was the week’s top percentage gainer, adding 23.9% to close at US$4.56 per share. The company reported a second-quarter net income of US$32.1 mil lion, or US12¢ per share, after posting a loss in the same period a year earlier. The base met als minerreported portfolio-wide operating success, reporting higher production than in the first quarter at significantly reduced cash costs. The company has recently released the results of the preliminary economic assess ment of the Copper World complex in Ari zona, which entails a two-phase mine plan with an after-tax net present value (10%) of US$1.3 billion and would generate an 18% internal rate of return at US$3.50 per lb. cop per. It is also advancing a prefeasibility study for the first phase of development at Copper World, which will focus on upgrading the remaining inferred resources and evaluat ing several of the project optimization and upsideAnotheropportunities.coalcompany counted among the top value gainers during the trading week was CONSOL Energy, which added US$7.47 to close at US$69.35 per share. CONSOL is in an excellent spot to benefit as it produces both metallurgical and util ity coal for domestic and international cus tomers. The global coal bull market remains in a good spot as prices and demand are expected to remain high with more upside risks tied to geopolitical developments. The company recorded an exceptional quarter, prompting it to roll out an enhanced share holder return program, which will become effective in the third quarter and initially return about 35% of free cash flow genera tion to shareholders via dividends and/or share repurchases. To jump-start the pro gram, CONSOL announced on Aug. 8 that it would pay a US$1 per share special dividend on Aug. 24. TNM ing week with TECK.A adding $6.65 to close at $46.21 and TECK.B adding $4.89 to close the week at $43.86. Teck recently announced a succession plan for its CEO Don Lindsay, who will step down in late September after 17 years in the role. Lind say leaves on a high note as the diversified miner benefits from the current commod ity boom and posts record earnings. Teck reported net income climbing 546% for the three months through June to $1.7 billion, or $3.07 per share, compared with $260 mil lion, or 48¢ per share, a year earlier. Reve nue for the period totalled $5.8 billion, up 126% from $2.6 billion a year ago.
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U.S. MARKETS / AUGUST 8 – 12, 2022
- One Warrant to purchase one common share of the Issuer at $0.50 until expiry. Liberty Gold Corp. Wt (LGD.WT) - One War rant to purchase one common share of the Issuer at $0.90 until expiry may 16, 2019 Lithium Americas Corp (LAC.WT) - One Warrant to purchase one common share of the Issuer at $0.90 until expiry Lydian International Limited (LYD.WT)One Warrant to purchase one additional or dinary share of the Issuer at $0.36 per share until expiry Nevada Copper Corp. (NCU.WT) - One War rant to purchase one common share of the Issuer at $0.20 until expiry Nevada Copper Corp. (NCU.WT.A) - One Warrant to purchase one common share of the Issuer at $0.22 until expiry Nomad Royalty Company Ltd. (NSR.WT) - One Warrant to purchase one common share of the Issuer at $1.71 until expiry. Novo Resources Corp. (NOVO.WT.A) - One Warrant to purchase one common share of the Issuer at $3.00 until expiry. Novo Resources Corp. (NVO.WT.A) - One Warrant to purchase one common share of the Issuer at $3.00 until expiry. Platinum Group Metals Ltd. (PTM.WT.U) - One Warrant to purchase one common share of the Issuer at US$0.17 until expiry Royal Nickel Corporation (RNX.WT) - One Warrant to purchase one common share of the Issuer at $0.50 until expiry. Sandstorm Gold (SSL.WT.B) - One Warrant to purchase one common share of the Issu er at US $14.00 until expiry. Sherritt International Corporation (S.WT) - Each whole Warrant entitles the holder to acquire between 1.00 and 1.25 addition al common shares (as bulletin 2018-0062 table ) determined based on the Applicable Reference Cobalt Price at an exercise price of $1.95 per Warrant at any time prior to the Expiry Date Treasury Metals Inc. Wt (TML.WT) - One Warrant to purchase one common share of the Issuer at $1.50 until expiry. Trevali Mining Corporation (TV.WT) - One Warrant to purchase one common share of the Issuer at $0.23 until expiry.
IndexNameAug 12 Aug 11 Aug 10 Aug 09 Aug 08 High Low S&P/TSX Composite 20179.81 19991.88 19885.94 19578.30 19669.17 22213.07 18169.86 S&P/TSXV Composite 680.49 673.02 669.72 663.83 668.28 1025.77 582.37 S&P/TSX 601217.99 1206.65 1200.24 1181.76 1186.11 1344.63 1104.88 S&P/TSX Global Gold 247.11 241.65 245.69 245.68 244.63 379.45 223.94 DJ Precious Metals 215.89 215.89 215.89 213.65 213.14 338.35 195.02 52 weeks NORTH AMERICAN STOCKEXCHANGE INDICES NEW 52-WEEK HIGHS AND LOWS AUGUST 8–12, 2022 24 New Highs Alliance Res* Atlas Salt Atlas BrunswickSalt* Expl Collective Mg CONSOL Energy* Decade Res EEE SigmaMetalexLeetaGrizzlyGreatGreatFocusExplorGraphite*PantherPanther*DiscvrGoldVentLithium Sigma Lithium* Sitka Gold Sitka VulcanVulcanUbiqueTrinitySnowlineGold*GoldRes*MineralMnrlsMnrls* Whitehaven Coa* 22 New Lows Aurcana KombatGlobalCenterraBlackrockBlackrockSilver*SilvSilv*GoldBattery*Copper Kore Mining * Nickel 28 Nrthn Superior* Pan Am RockPurePerpetuaPerpetuaSilverResRes*GoldMg*TechLith Sierra Metals Sierra WesternWesternTocvanSunSpearmintSignatureMetals*Res*Res*SummitVentureMagMag* Financial information provided by Fundata Canada Inc. ©Fundata Canada Inc. All rights reserved LEGEND A Australian Securities Exchange C Canadian Stock Exchange L London Stock Exchange N New York Stock Exchange O U.S. over-the-counter Q NASDAQ or U.S. OTC T Toronto Stock Exchange V TSX Venture Exchange X NYSE American * Denotes price in U.S.$ STAFF INVESTMENT POLICY The Northern Miner does not permit any editorial employee to file stories about companies in which the writer owns shares. Editorial employees are also not permitted to take part in initial public offerings or to engage in short selling. CONVERSIONS OF WEIGHTS & MEASURES 1 troy ounce = 31.1 grams 1 kilogram = 32.15 troy ounces 1 kilogram = 2.2046 pounds 1 (metric) tonne = 1,000 kilograms 1
GLOBAL MINING NEWS THE NORTHERN MINER / AUGUST 22 — SEPTEMBER 4, 2022 19
TSX WARRANTS Alio Gold Inc. (ALO.WT) - 10 Warrants to purchase one common share of the Issuer at $7.00 until expiry Alio Gold Inc. J (ALO.WT.A) - One Warrant to purchase one common share of the Issu er at $8.00 until expiry Aris Gold Corporation (ARIS.WT) - One Warrant to purchase one Common Share of the Issuer at $2.75 until expiry. eCobalt Solutions Inc. J (ECS.WT) - One Warrant to purchase one common share of the Issuer at US$1.95 per share until expiry Excellon Resources Inc (EXN.WT.A) - One warrant to purchase one common share of the Issuer at $2.80 until expiry Excellon Resources Inc. (EXN.WT) - One Warrant to purchase one common share of the issuer at $1.40 per share until expiry Excelsior Mining Corp. (MIN.WT) - One Warrant to purchase one Common Share of the Issuer at $1.25 until expiry. Gran Colombia Gold (GCM.WT.B) - One warrant to purchase one common share of the Issuer at $2.21 until expiry. Karora Resources Inc. (KRR.WT)
TSX VENTURE WARRANTS
ABE Resources Inc. (ABE.WT) - One war rant to purchase one common share at $0.15 per share. Alpha Lithium Corporation (ALLI.WT) - One warrant to purchase one common share at $1.10 per share. Alpha Lithium Corporation (ALLI.WT) - One warrant to purchase one common share at $1.10 per share. American Cumo Mining Corp. (MLY.RT)2 rights and $0.07 are required to purchase one share American Lithium Corp. (LI.WT) - One warrant to purchase one common share at $0.30 per share. Antioquia Gold Inc. (AGD.RT) - One (1) Right and $0.042 are required to purchase one share. Aurania Resources Ltd. (ARU.RT) - Four teen (14) Rights exercisable for one com mon share at $2.70 per common share. Aurania Resources Ltd. (ARU.WT) - One warrant to purchase one common share at $5.50 per share. Aurania Resources Ltd. (ARU.WT.A) - One warrant to purchase one common share at $4.25 per share. Aurania Resources Ltd. (ARU.WT.B) - One warrant to purchase one common share at $2.20 per share. Avidian Gold Corp. (AVG.RT) - Three rights and $0.11 are required to purchase one Share. Boreal Metals Corp. (BMX.WT) - One war rant to purchase one common share at $0.50 per share. Boreal Metals Corp. (BMX.WT) - One war rant to purchase one common share at $0.30 per share. Cabral Gold Inc. (CBR.WT) - One warrant to purchase one common share at $0.80 per share. Caldas Gold Corp. (CGC.WT) - One warrant to purchase one common share at $2.75 per share. Cascadero Copper Corporation (CCD.RT) - One right and $0.015 are required to pur chase one Share. Cordoba Minerals Corp (CDB.WT) - One warrant to purchase one common share at $1.08 per share. Cordoba Minerals Corp (CDB.WT) - One warrant to purchase one common share at $1.08 per share. Cordoba Minerals Corp. (CDB.RT) - One (1) Right exercisable for One (1) Rights Share at $0.05 per Share. Cordoba Minerals Corp. (CDB.RT) - One right to purchase one common share at $0.54 per share. Denarius Silver Corp. (DSLV.WT) - One warrant to purchase one common share at $0.80 per share. Elevation Gold Mining Corporation (ELVT. WT) - One warrant to purchase one common share at $4.80 per share. Empress Royalty Corp. (EMPR.WT) - One warrant to purchase one common share at $0.75 per share. Equinox Gold Corp (EQX.WT) - One warrant to purchase one common share at $3.00 per share. Eros Resources Corp. (ERC.WT) - One (1) Right exercisable for (1) Unit at $0.05 per Unit. Falco Resources Ltd. (FPC.WT) - One war rant to purchase one common share at $1.70 per share. Firefox Gold Corp. (FFOX.WT) - One war rant to purchase one common share at $0.60 per share. Firefox Gold Corp. (FFOX.WT) - One war rant to purchase one common share at $3.00 per share. Freeman Gold Corp (FMAN.WT.U) - One warrant to purchase one common share at US$0.65 per share. Giga Metals Corporation (GIGA.WT) - One warrant to purchase one common share at $0.60 per share. Giga Metals Corporation (GIGA.WT.A)One warrant to purchase one common share at $0.45 per share. Giyani Metals Corp. (EMM.WT) - One war rant to purchase one common share at $0.60 per share. Goldstar Minerals (GDM.RT) - One Right to purchase one common share at $0.03 per share. Goldstar Minerals Inc. (GDM.RT) - One (1) Right and $0.05 are required to purchase one common share. Hot Chili Limited (HCH.WT) - One warrant to purchase one common share at $2.50 per share. Kaizen Discovery Inc. (KZD.RT) - One war rant to purchase one common share at $0.51 per share. LaSalle Exploration Corp. (LSX.WT) - One warrant to purchase one common share at $0.15 per share. Lion One Metals Limited (LIO.WT) - One warrant to purchase one common share at $2.75 per share. LithiumBank Resources Corp. (LBNK.WT) - One warrant to purchase one common share at $2.00 per share. LSC Lithium Corporation (LSC.RT) - One (1) right exercisable for One (1) Unit at $0.40 per Unit. Mako Mining Corp. (MKO.RT) - Rights ex ercisable for One (1) share at $0.10 per share. Mako Mining Corp. (MKO.WT.A) - One warrant to purchase one common share at $0.60 per share. Manganese X Energy Corp. (MN.WT) - One warrant to purchase one common share at $0.15 per share. Maple Gold Mines Ltd. (MGM.WT) - One warrant to purchase one common share at $0.40 per share Maple Gold Mines Ltd. (MGM.WT) - One warrant to purchase one common share at $0.40 per share Mexican Gold Corp. (MEX.WT) - One war rant to purchase one common share at $0.12 per share. Millennial Lithium Corp. (ML.WT) - One warrant to purchase one common share at $4.25 per share. Millennial Lithium Corp. (ML.WT) - One right to purchase one common share at $4.80 per share. Millennial Precious Metals Corp. (MPM. WT) - One warrant to purchase one common share at $0.50 per share. Mineworx Technologies Ltd. (MWX.RT)For every one (1) Share held, Shareholders will receive one (1) Right exercisable for One (1) Share at $0.015 per Share. Mineworx Technologies Ltd. (MWX.RT)One right to purchase one common share at $0.015 per share. Northern Vertex Mining Corp. (NEE.WT)One warrant to purchase one common share at $0.80 per share. Novo Resources Corp. (NVO.WT) - One warrant to purchase one common share at $4.40 per share. Orezone Gold Corporation (ORE.WT) - One warrant to purchase one common share at $0.80 per share. Orezone Gold Corporation (ORE.WT) - One warrant to purchase one common share at $0.80 per share. Osisko Development Corp. (ODV.WT) - One warrant to purchase one common share at $10.00 per share. Sandfire Resources America Inc. (SFR.RT) - Forty one (41) Rights exercisable for One (1) Share at $0.15 per Share. Sandfire Resources America Inc. (SFR. RT) - Eight (8) Rights exercisable for One (1) share at $0.06 per unit. Silver Mountain Resources Inc. (AGMR. WT) - One warrant to purchase one common share at $0.70 per share. Star Royalties Ltd. (STRR.WT) - One war rant to purchase one common share at $1.00 per share. Three Valley Copper Corp. (TVC.WT) - 20 warrants to purchase one Class A common share at $6.66 per share. Tintina Resources Inc. (TAU.RT) - Nine(9) Rights exercisable for one share at $0.06 per share. Ucore Rare Metals Inc. (UCU.RT) - One (1) right exercisable for one share at $4.00 per share. Vision Lithium Inc. (VLI.WT) - One warrant to purchase one common share at $0.15 per share. Vizsla Silver Corp. (VZLA.WT) - One war rant to purchase one common share at $3.25 per share. Westhaven Gold Corp. (WHN.WT) - One warrant to purchase one common share at $1.00 per share. Yellowhead Mining Inc. (YMI.RT) - One (1) Right and $0.12 are required to prchase one Share (metric) tonne = 2,204.6 pounds 1 (short) ton = 2,000 pounds 1 (metric) tonne = 1.1023 (short) tons 1 gram per (metric) tonne = 0.02917 troy ounces per (short) ton = 0.03215 troy ounces per (metric) tonne 1 kilometre = 0.6214 miles 1 hectare 2.47 Northern Re-Publishing License cost: $525 Contact: moliveira@northernminer.com OR 416-510-6768 LME WAREHOUSE LEVELS Metal stocks (in tonnes) held in London Metal Exchange warehouses at opening on July 28 2022 (change from July 21 2022 in Aluminiumbrackets):Alloy 2120 (0) Aluminium 295325 (-17850) Copper 131700 (-2225) Lead 39550 (375) Nickel 57990 (-2772) Tin 3825 (335) Zinc 70800 (-1675)
Coal: Central Appalachia, 12,500 Btu, 1.2 S02-R,W: US$181.55 Coal: Powder River Basin, 8,800 Btu, 0.8 S02-R, W: US$16.30 Cobalt: US$21.21/lb. Copper: US$3.66/lb. Copper: CME Group Futures September 2022: US$3.61/lb.; October 2022: US$3.61/lb. Iridium: NY Dealer Mid-mkt US$6,100/tr oz. Iron Ore 62% Fe CFR China-S: US$108.9 Lead: US$0.99/lb. Rhodium: Mid-mkt US$20,250/tr. oz. Ruthenium: Mid-mkt US$750 per oz. Silver: Handy & Harman Base: US$20.56 per oz.; Handy & Harman Fabricated: US$25.69 per oz. Tin: US$11.34/lb. Uranium: U3O8, Trading Economics spot price: US$48.70 per lb. U308 Zinc: US$1.67 per lb. Prices current Aug. 15, 2022 2.17 -20.00 2.58 14.14 CI Pre Met Fd A 45.66 0.22 0.47 -18.93 2.31 266.09 CIBC Prec Metal Fd A 12.24 -0.04 -0.29 -14.89 2.27 47.79 Dyn Prec Metls Fd A 10.81 0.00 -0.03 -22.19 2.67 464.63 Harvest HGGG 21.68 -0.08 -0.38 -19.07 0.68 14.58 Horizons GLCC 22.12 0.05 0.21 -17.38 0.81 IG MacGbPreMetCl A 12.82 12.55 0.28 2.19 -19.54 2.63 15.08 iShares XGD 15.01 0.08 0.55 -17.61 0.61 918.61 NBI PrecMetFd Invt 15.51 0.00 0.00 -17.09 2.47 22.01 NP Silver Equ A 6.62 6.53 0.09 1.39 -26.85 3.24 NPT Go&PrMinFd A 44.39
TSX SHORT POSITIONS Short positions outstanding as of Jul 31, 2022 (with changes from Jul 15, 2022) Largest short positions Ivanhoe Mines IVN 19200285 162311 7/15/2022 Barrick Gold ABX 14854516 78631 7/15/2022 Suncor Energy SU 14017898 1340282 7/15/2022 Kinross Gold K 11665102 -1666628 7/15/2022 New Gold NGD 11347460 1081492 7/15/2022 Lundin Mng LUN 11297517 -995710 7/15/2022 IAMGOLD IMG 10951048 3265147 7/15/2022 Fortuna Silvr FVI 10819760 274140 7/15/2022 Denison Mines DML 10019740 776622 7/15/2022 Copper Mtn Mng CMMC 9288884 2844302 7/15/2022 First Quantum FM 8610357 809406 7/15/2022 Taseko Mines TKO 8184847 1350878 7/15/2022 Nexgen Energy NXE 7991134 -393075 7/15/2022 Equinox Gold EQX 7393181 1356546 7/15/2022 Sabina Gd&Slvr SBB 7220343 976070 7/15/2022 Largest increase in short position IAMGOLD IMG 10951048 3265147 7/15/2022 Copper Mtn Mng CMMC 9288884 2844302 7/15/2022 Nutrien NTR 6408009 1768553 7/15/2022 Equinox Gold EQX 7393181 1356546 7/15/2022 Taseko Mines TKO 8184847 1350878 7/15/2022 Largest decrease in short position McEwen Mng MUX 2193469 -14989459 7/15/2022 Kinross Gold K 11665102 -1666628 7/15/2022 Great Panther GPR 185387 -1317258 7/15/2022 Argonaut Gold AR 5419537 -1000025 7/15/2022 Lundin Mng LUN 11297517 -995710 7/15/2022 TSX VENTURE SHORT POSITIONS Short positions outstanding as of Jul 31, 2022 (with changes from Jul 15, 2022) Largest short positions Strikepoint Gd SKP 2832466 814464 7/15/2022 Purepoint Uran PTU 2590799 14733 7/15/2022 Pure Gold Mg PGM 2219607 459999 7/15/2022 Blue Sky Uran BSK 1808175 103525 7/15/2022 Canada Silver CCW 1734577 17847 7/15/2022 GoviEx Uranium GXU 1704488 -460452 7/15/2022 Lion One Mtls LIO 1612828 -15319 7/15/2022 Dolly Vard Sil DV 1567189 127421 7/15/2022 Artemis Gold ARTG 1452090 348255 7/15/2022 Blackrock Silv BRC 1264963 955330 7/15/2022 New Found Gold NFG 1223636 122794 7/15/2022 Prime Mining PRYM 1212747 872172 7/15/2022 Guanajuato Sil GSVR 1191932 336700 7/15/2022 Giga Metals GIGA 1184696 -37470 7/15/2022 Uragold Bay Rs HPQ 1066832 40566 7/15/2022 Largest increase in short position Blackrock Silv BRC 1264963 955330 7/15/2022 Prime Mining PRYM 1212747 872172 7/15/2022 Defiance Silvr DEF 963696 837254 7/15/2022 Strikepoint Gd SKP 2832466 814464 7/15/2022 Metallis Res MTS 596582 594463 7/15/2022 Largest decrease in short position Oroco Res OCO 272984 -2310778 7/15/2022 Brixton Metals BBB 21783 -2064288 7/15/2022 Search Mnls SMY 14355 -1012430 7/15/2022 E2Gold Inc ETU 12951 -952794 7/15/2022 Azincourt Ener AAZ 422159 -611115 7/15/2022 DAILY METAL PRICES EXCHANGE RATES Date Aug 12 Aug 11 Aug 10 Aug 09 Aug 08 US$ in C$ 1.2764 1.2764 1.2775 1.2886 1.2855 C$ in US$ 0.7835 0.7835 0.7828 0.7760 0.7779 Exchange rates (Quote Media, August 12, 2022) C$ to AUS C$ to EURO C$ to YEN C$ to Mex Peso C$ to SA Rand 1.1032 0.7591 104.1950 15.6304 12.7322 C$ to UK Pound C$ to China Yuan C$ to India Rupee C$ to Swiss Franc C$ to S. Korea Won 0.6424 5.2831 62.3729 0.7377 1024.1229 US to AUS US to EURO US to YEN US to Mex Peso US to SA Rand 1.4081 0.9690 132.9945 19.9500 16.2529 US to UK Pound US to China Yuan US to India Rupee US to Swiss Franc US to S. Korea Won 0.8200 6.7446 79.6142 0.9415 1307.6000 CANADIAN GOLD MUTUAL FUNDS FundName Aug 12 ($) Aug 05 ($) Change ($) Change (%) YTDChange (%) MER (%) TotalAssets (M$) BMO Prec Mtls Fd A 20.62 20.30 0.33 1.61 -16.57 2.41 BMO ZGD 59.50 58.51 0.98 1.68 -16.97 0.60 40.53 BMO ZJG 56.66 56.16 0.50 0.88 -13.62 0.61 62.57 CANL Prec Mtl Fd A 15.20 14.87 0.32
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44.18 0.21 0.48 -20.53 3.19 RBC GblPreMetFd A 45.84 44.62 1.22 2.73 -20.42 2.09 257.42 TD Prec Mtl Fd Inv 41.16 40.11 1.05 2.62 -15.17 2.26 102.97 Date AUGUST 8 AUGUST 9 AUGUST 10 AUGUST 11 AUGUST 12 BASE METALS (London Metal Exchange — Midday official cash/3-month prices, US$ per tonne) Al Alloy 1750/1750 1750/1750 1750/1750 1750/1750 1750/1750 Aluminum 2435/2432 2487/2473 2462/2448 2496/2491 2468/2465.5 Copper 7834/7850 7971/7975 7975/7983.5 8138/8145 8060/8071 Lead 2140/2120 2182/2161 2173/2158.5 2185/2177.5 2174/2167 Nickel 21700/21800 21350/21450 21325/21400 23105/23200 23200/23450 Tin 23075/23000 24490/24150 23800/23700 24825/24745 25000/24805 Zinc 3505/3419 3575/3465 3631/3521 3725/3611 3670/3579 PRECIOUS METAL PRICES (London fix, LBMA silver price, US$ per troy oz.) Gold AM 1775.70 1790.60 1793.50 1789.70 1788.45 Gold PM 1784.05 1795.25 1795.05 1796.70 1792.10 Silver 20.19 20.60 20.43 20.54 20.26 Platinum 938 940 942 967 957 Palladium 2221 2236 2230 2278 2260
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24 AUGUST 22 — SEPTEMBER 4, 2022 / THE NORTHERN MINER WWW.NORTHERNMINER.COM SEPTEMBER 8, 2022 | 10:30AM PT FAIRMONT PACIFIC RIM VANCOUVER, BC YOURRESERVETICKETSONLY100TICKETSAVAILABLE EVENTS.NORTHERNMINER.COM/SPEAKER-SERIES The Northern Miner, The Canadian Mining Hall of Fame and Young Mining Professionals, have come together to organize the Mining Legends Speaker Series. Taking place in Vancouver, BC on September 8th, 2022, this luncheon event will bring together select professionals from across the industry to share knowledge, network, and discuss the future of mining. ROBERT QUARTERMAIN Former Chairman/Founder Pretivm Resources Inc. GUEST SPEAKERS ANDREE ST-GERMAIN Chief Financial Officer Integra Resources Corp. SPONSORS
