Welcome to a roundup of some of our financing, exploration, and development stories on Theassay.com over the last week. To keep up to date with all the latest headlines, subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Financing and M&A
During the last week, Marvel Discovery Corp. (TSXV: MARV | Frankfurt: O4T | OTCQB: MARVF) closed the first tranche of its non-brokered private placement, previously announced on 17 November 2023. In connection with the first tranche, the company raised total gross proceeds of C$650K by issuing 12M flow-through (FT) units and 1.25M non-flow-through (NFT) units.
Each FT unit was priced at C$0.05 and consisted of one flow-through share and half of one share purchase warrant; each whole warrant entitling the holder to purchase one non-flow-through share at C$0.10 each for a period of two years from the closing date.
Each NFT unit was priced at C$0.04 and consisted of one non-flow through share and one share purchase warrant; each warrant entitling the holder to purchase one non-flow-through share at C$0.075 each for a period of five years from the closing date.
The gross proceeds from the FT unit sale will be used for exploration and development of Marvel’s projects in Quebec. The gross proceeds from the NFT unit sale will be used for general working capital purposes. None of the proceeds from the sale of the NFT units will be used for payments to non-arm’s length parties or persons conducting investor relations activities.
New exploration and development
Kuniko Limited (ASX: KNI) has announced that an independent expert assessment of the Ertelien Nickel Project and Ringerike licence area, within Kuniko’s Norwegian exploration portfolio, has been completed by mining advisors, SLR Consulting, UK.
SLR’s evaluation supports the significant potential of high-grade nickel-copper-cobalt mineralization at Ertelien, confirmed by Kuniko’s 2023 drilling and exploration results which yielded a significant intercept of 28.1m, grading 1.34% Ni, 1.19% Cu, and 0.07% Co. The company believes that this endorsement solidifies Ertelien as Kuniko’s primary focus for further advancement.
CEO, Antony Beckmand, commented, “Confirmation of Ertelien Nickel Project’s potential and endorsement of the broader opportunities in the Ringerike region marks a significant milestone. With a maiden mineral resource estimate underway, leveraging robust data, our focus is firmly on exploring untapped extensions at Ertelien with a drill programme in early 2024. This targeted approach sets the stage for unlocking substantial value, aligning with our clear priorities for the future.”
Also, Centaurus Metals (ASX: CTM | OTCQX: CTTZF) has announced the discovery of multiple iron-oxide copper-gold (IOCG) targets at its 100% owned Boi Novo Copper-Gold Project in Brazil. The project, part of Centaurus’ Horizon II business development and growth strategy, covers 35km2 of highly prospective ground in the world-renowned Carajás Mineral Province.
The Boi Novo Project is strategically located just 30km from Parauapebas, the regional centre of the Carajás, and less than 20km from BHP’s Antas Norte copper flotation plant. The Carajás hosts the world’s largest known concentration of large-tonnage IOCG deposits, almost all of which are found in the Itacaiúnas Supergroup.
Initial exploration fieldwork has identified four distinct prospect areas with +500ppm copper-in-soil anomalies along 12km of discontinuous strike, coincident with Drone Magnetics (DMAG) anomalies.
Drilling results
Aston Bay Holdings Ltd. (TSXV: BAY | OTCQB: ATBHF) this week announced the results of its latest assays and geophysical surveys from the Tempest Prospect, part of the Storm Copper Project on Somerset Island, Nunavut. The project is operated by American West Metals Limited.
The assays revealed copper levels of up to 38.2% and zinc levels of up to 30.8% in select grab samples of surface gossan rocks at the Tempest Prospect. This underexplored site, located 40km south of the Storm Copper targets drilled in 2023, has shown promising potential for base metals.
Thomas Ullrich, CEO of Aston Bay, expressed his optimism about the findings. “It is encouraging to confirm copper and zinc mineralization from surface samples at Tempest, as this opens a new area for further exploration at Storm,” he said.
He further explained that the gossans, zones of surface-weathered metal mineralization, and the associated EM geophysical anomalies over a 4km long trend suggest a favourable zone of permeability to potentially host mineralization.
Other company news
Finally, Ionic Rare Earths Limited (ASX: IXR) has welcomed developments from the European Union last week, where the European parliament and the council, the grouping of EU governments, agreed on common text for the Critical Raw Materials Act to encourage recycling of magnet rare earths, now classified as strategic raw materials.
Managing director, Tim Harrison, said the wholly-owned Ionic Technologies facility in Belfast, UK, was progressing key discussions with magnet manufacturers on swarf (metal and magnet making waste) recycling, plus exploring opportunities to access a steady supply in magnets to be recycled from sources such as end-of-life turbines from grid scale wind farms and components from used electric vehicles (EVs).
“Our proprietary magnet recycling technology will help the EU meet these targets to develop domestic, secure, and sustainable supply chains to address strategic supply and sovereign security.” Mr. Harrison said.
