Categories
Base Metals Junior Mining Precious Metals Uncategorized

Your Crystal Ball for 2023

No one, has a crystal ball when it comes to the future. But, we wanted to share how you may want to position ourself for the future.

#1 PURCHASE PHYISCAL PRECIOUS METALS

  • Why: As a Savings/Financial Insurance/Protection from Government Stupidity.
  • Where to Buy: Maurice Jackson: https://www.milesfranklin.com/faq-maurice/
  • Frequency: Every 2 Weeks.
  • Percentage of Portfolio: Minimum 10%, but we hold approximately 35% in our portfolio.
Economics in One Lesson, Proven and Probable

GREAT FOUNDATIONAL READINGS:

  • Methodology: Using the Ratio’s.
  • Dow:Gold Ratio is indicating that Gold is on sale relative to the Dow. When the ratio is between 4-5, it is more favorable to be in general equities and real estate. At present the ratio is 1 share of the Dow = 18 oz of Gold.
  • Looking further, Silver and Platinum are on sale relative to Gold.
  • Gold:Silver Ratio At present 1 oz of Gold = 76.5 oz of Silver. When the ratio is between 45-54 trade your Silver in for Gold. Note: Silver Eagles have demanded a significant premium the past 8 months. Which actually reduced the Gold:Silver Ratio inside the 45-54 range.
  • Platinum:Gold Ratio: At present .59 oz of Platinum is = 1 oz of Gold. When the ratio is equal to and or greater than 1, trade your Platinum in for Gold.
  • A great resource on the power of Ratio’s and when to buy and sell is: Bob Moriarty’s: Nobody Knows Anything (Must Read)!
Nobody Knows Anything, Proven and Probable

#2 ROYALTY AND PROJECT GENERATORS

  • Royalty and Project Generators use a unique business model relative to their mining industry peers.
  • Why: They tend to outperform mining exploration companies accretively (Highlighted Below):

ROYALTY COMPANIES: https://www.visualcapitalist.com/sp/how-precious-metals-royalty-and-streaming-companies-create-value

PROJECT GENERATORS: https://www.visualcapitalist.com/project-generators-exploration-risk-lower-cost/

#3 JUNIOR MINING/EXPLORATION COMPANIES

  • These companies are most speculative and offer tremendous upside and conversely a lot of downside. We are biased and are active buyers of our partner/advertisers found (Here). For a deeper dive into the mining/exploration industry: (Must Reads):
  • What Became of the Crow by Bob Moriarty
  • Mineral Exploration and Mining Essentials by Robert Stevens
Mineral Exploration and Mining, Proven and Probable

EXPLORATION COMPANIES: https://www.visualcapitalist.com/mineral-exploration-roadmap/

#4 HOLD YOURSELF ACCOUNTABLE

  • Commit your future to paper. Not having a plan, is a plan. A foolish one, but is a plan. If you don’t have a plan for your savings and investments someone else does. SCHEDULE YOUR PATH.
  • Be willing to study each of the aforementioned. Don’t believe the hype! Don’t get mislead by fancy thumbnails, price predictions, and narratives on manipulation. Is there manipulation? Yes, in every market! Don’t complain about manipulation, learn to leverage manipulation in your favor by realizing you are being offered a discounted price!
  • Be pragmatic, and be patient. Your competition is never patient. They want to price to rise on their schedule, which was yesterday. They will be your best friends, because they have have fast hands and love to sell at the wrong time. If the price goes down, and nothing fundamental has changed with management, the project/s, and or results, there is your buying opportunity!!!
  • Very few investors/speculators are in this space, you don’t have much competition. The best way to beat your competition in this space, is not to follow the herd. Remember, no one get’s it right all the time, you just need to be better than your competition.
Categories
Base Metals Breaking Energy Junior Mining Nevada Copper

Copper Is Heading For New Highs- A Bullish Trend In Nevada Copper (NEVDF)

  • Copper corrected from the May record high and made higher lows
  • Four reasons the copper bull will take the price to new highs
  • Impressive price action in the face of Chinese selling
  • Nevada Copper- Three reasons why NEVDF is could outperform percentage gains in the nonferrous metal
  • Bull markets rarely move in straight lines- The next leg for the copper bull has begun

When Goldman Sachs called copper “the new oil” in April 2021, the price was on its way to a new record high at nearly $4.90 on the nearby COMEX futures contract. The world’s most active and liquid copper market on the London Metals Exchange reached a peak at over $10,700 per ton in May. Copper blew through the 2011 $4.6495 previous all-time peak as a hot knife goes through butter.

Even the most aggressive bull markets rarely move in straight lines. Corrections can be brutal when prices accelerate on the upside, reaching unsustainable short-term peaks.

Copper ran out of upside steam before touching the $4.90 per pound level on futures and $10,750 per ton level on LME forwards. The price fell just below the $4 level in August, three months after reaching the high. Copper was still “the new oil” when the price dropped, and the world’s leading copper consumer was hoping it would continue to fall. China has done everything to push copper’s price lower, but the red metal has exhibited remarkable resilience.

Meanwhile, Nevada Copper Corporation (NEVDF) has been working day and night to ramp up production and transform its balance sheet. The market has rewarded the company as the share price has been steadily increasing since the beginning of October.

Mining companies provide investors with leveraged exposure to a commodity as they tend to outperform the price action on the upside and underperform during corrections. Junior mining companies can magnify the leverage. Copper’s recent explosive move suggests that new highs are on the horizon. NEVDF has the potential to do even better on a percentage basis as the company ramps up its production of the red industrial metal.  

Copper corrected from the May record high and made higher lows Copper futures ran out of steam at just below the $4.90 level, with the LME forwards moving the $10,747.50 per ton level for the first time. The May highs led to a substantial correction that briefly took COMEX futures below $4 per pound in August.

Source: CQG The chart shows the decline from $4.8985 in May to a low of $3.9615 in mid-August, a 19.1% correction. COMEX futures made higher lows of $4.0220, $4.0545, and $4.1140 in late September and early October before blasting off on the upside to over the $4.70 level as of October 15.

Source: Barchart

The chart illustrates the decline from $10,747.50 on May 10 to a low of $ 8,740 per ton on August 19 as copper forwards corrected by 18.7%. Copper then made higher lows at $8,810 on September 21 and $8,876.50 on October 1 before exploding higher to the $10,281 level on October 15.

Four reasons the copper bull will take the price to new highs

The four leading factors supporting a continuation of new and higher highs in the copper market are:

  • Rising inflation– CPI rose by 5.4% in September, once again exceeding expectations. While the Fed will likely begin tapering quantitative easing, tapering is not tightening. Moreover, fiscal stimulus continues as the multi-trillion budget will pump more inflationary stimulus into the economy.
  • Building demand– The infrastructure rebuilding package in the US will increase copper requirements for construction projects to rebuild the crumbling roads, bridges, tunnels, airports, schools, and government buildings over the coming years. Moreover, China’s copper requirements will continue to increase as the world’s most populous country builds infrastructure.
  • Decarbonization– Addressing climate change boosts copper demand. As Goldman Sachs said in April, decarbonization does not occur without copper, making the metal “the new oil.” Copper requirements for EVs, wind turbines, and other clean energy projects is a multi-decade affair for the red metal.
  • Supply shortages– Copper mining companies are scrambling to find new supply sources. Production can’t keep pace with demand- It takes eight to ten years to bring new copper mining projects on stream. BHP, a leading global mining company, is in talks with Ivanhoe Mines for participation in the Western Foreland exploration area in the politically dicey Democratic Republic of the Congo.  

Bull markets tend to experience severe selloffs. China has attempted to cool off the bullish copper and other nonferrous metals markets. The world’s leading copper consumer has the most to lose from runaway prices on the upside.

Impressive price action in the face of Chinese selling

On September 1, China auctioned 150,000 tons of copper, aluminum, and zinc from strategic stockpiles, which was the third auction sale since early July, attempting to temper the market’s bullish price action. The market had expected the sales. Copper rallied to the highest level since early August on September 13, with many other base metals following the red metal higher. The price then retreated, but copper made a higher low on September 21. The Chinese auction to cool off the rally put 80,000 tons of copper, 210,00 tons of aluminum, and 130,000 tons of zinc into the market since early July. Since the day of the first auction, copper, aluminum, and zinc prices all posted gains. Imagine where prices might be if China did not sell from its strategic stocks.

In early October, China auctioned the fourth round of base metals, lifting the total sales to 570,000 metric tons. Copper and all the base metals posted explosive gains after the latest auction. China is selling copper, aluminum, and zinc from its strategic stockpiles. The attempt to stem price appreciation makes the Chinese a buyer of the metals on price weakness to replace its stocks. However, the auctions have not had the desired impact on price. The price action has been more than impressive in the face of the sales.

While BHP looks towards the DRC and other regions for new copper supplies, Nevada Copper is making significant headway on its production project in a highly stable political and economic environment in the United States. Moreover, Nevada is a state that continues to encourage mining activity and is rich in red metal reserves.

Nevada Copper- Three reasons why NEVDF has the potential to outperform percentage gains in the nonferrous metal

Nevada Copper (NEVDF) has made great strides over the past weeks and months. A successful junior mining company is positioned best to profit during a bull market in the commodity it extracts from the earth’s crust. Three factors support the price of NEVDF shares as copper has taken off on the upside again:

Factor one: Turing the corner on operations in Q3- On October 6, NEVDF provided an update on operational performance at the company’s underground mine at its Pumpkin Hollow project, noting:

  • Copper in concentrate produced during September increased by 265% compared to August, driven by higher stope production. Approximately 30,386 tons of ore processing yielded 682 tons of copper concentrate at an average grade of 22%, reflecting 150 tons of copper output.
  • Stoping is the process of extracting the desired ore or mineral from an underground mine, leaving open space called a stope. Stoping at Pumpkin Hollow significantly accelerated since mid-August, with the second and third stope panels fully mined and a fourth stope panel currently being mined. Further stopes are planned for October and November, and the high-grade Sugar Cube zone to be mined during the final months of 2021.
  • NEVDF experienced the highest monthly development footage achieved since April 2021 in September, with a 12% increase over August. Approximately 750 lateral equivalent feet were advanced in September.

Outgoing Interim CEO Mike Brown said, “I am very pleased to see the improved trajectory in our production ramp-up and a recovery in productivities. The increased ore production was a key objective for September, and together with the improving productivities on-site, along with the ongoing management strengthening, provide further confidence in the mine ramp-up.”

Randy Buffington, a veteran mining executive with previous management experience at Barrick, Placer Dome, and Cominco, is taking over as President and CEO at Nevada Copper.

Factor two: On October 12, NEVDF announced it had agreed with its senior project lender and concluded a non-binding term sheet with its largest shareholder to provide additional financing and a significant deferral and extension of its debt facilities. The move offers Nevada Copper greater balance sheet flexibility and support for the ramp-up of its underground mining operations and advancement of its open-pit project and broader property exploration targets. The highlights of the more flexible financing arrangement include:

  • Two-year deferral of first loan repayments scheduled to begin in July 2025.
  • Extension of loan amortization with the final maturity pushed to July 2029.
  • Deferral of the formal long stop date for the project as the completion test was deferred to June 2023.
  • All outstanding shareholder loans were consolidated under an amended existing shareholder credit facility.
  • A two-year extension to maturity data until 2026 with no scheduled payments before final maturity.
  • An increase of $41 million in additional liquidity under the amended credit facility.

Randy Buffington, NEVDF’s new CEO, said, “These combined balance sheet improvements provide significant additional runway for the Company as we move forward to complete the ramp-up of our underground operations. The ongoing support of two of our major stakeholders provides further validation of the significant inherent value of our copper operations in Nevada and allows us to continue to pursue the growth potential embedded within our asset base.”

Factor three: NEVDF’s value proposition is compelling when compared to peers. The chart shows NEVDF’s market cap versus its enterprise value compared to other diversified metals and mining companies with similar market caps:

Source: Seeking Alpha

As the chart highlights, the enterprise value is over 2.2 times the current $173.53 million market cap, leading to plenty of upside room for NEVDF shares. There is plenty of room for growth as the enterprise value will rise with output from the underground and open-pit mining operations over the coming months and years. According to data from Seeking Alpha, at 97 cents per share on October 15, NEVDF had a $173.53 million market cap. The average daily volume in the past 15 trading days from all exchanges stood at just over 2,500,000 shares.

Source: Barchart

The chart shows the rise from 38.78 cents on October 1 to a high of 99.2 cents per share on October 14. NEVDF shares closed not far from the high at 96.56 cents on Friday, October 15.

The trend in copper and NEVDF is bullish, and the trend is always your best friend in markets.

Bull markets rarely move in straight lines- The next leg for the copper bull has begun

Bull markets can be bucking broncos as corrections are often downdrafts in prices. Copper’s decline from nearly $4.90 to below $4 and recovery to over $4.70 on October 15 is a bullish sign for the red metal.

Copper’s strength, along with the other base metals in the face of Chinese stockpiling selling, has been more than impressive and is a testament to the bullish factors that are likely to push the price higher. Goldman Sachs expects LME copper forwards to reach the $15,000 per ton level by 2025, putting COMEX futures over $6.80 per pound. Other analysts see the price rising to as high as $20,000 per ton as decarbonization will keep demand outpacing supplies.

Bull markets often take prices far higher than analysts believe possible before they peak. As the world searches for more copper to meet the rising demand, Nevada Copper’s mines are in the most economically and politically stable region of the world. NEVDF shares may have just begun to rally as the price threatens to move over the $1 per share level.

Categories
Base Metals Blog Energy Junior Mining Top Bar

HOT CHILI | Releases Maiden Cortadera Resource Adds 451Mt grading 0.46%CuEq*


Mineral Resource


Corporate Presentation

 

Hot Chili Drilling

Building a copper super hub in Chile – ASX: HCH

Hot Chili is one of the top ASX listed copper developers with a Leading Global Copper Project with 2.9Mt copper, 2.7Moz gold, 9.9Moz Silver and 64kt molybdenum – Costa Fuego

Hot Chili Limited (ASX.: HCH) ACN 130 955 725
First Floor, 768 Canning Highway, Applecross, Western Australia 6153
PO Box 1725, Applecross, Western Australia 6953
P: +61 8 9315 9009 F: +61 8 9315 5004
www.hotchili.net.au

Categories
Base Metals Energy Exclusive Interviews Junior Mining Precious Metals Top Bar

Find Out Why Rio Tinto just entered into a $45,000,000 Earn-in Agreement with this Explorer

Calibre Mining (TSX: CXB | OTC: CXBMF)


Transcript

In this exclusive interview, Ryan King the VP for Corporate Development and Investor Relations for Calibre Mining shares the value proposition the company presents to the Market. Calibre Mining is a multi-asset gold producer focused on execution and building sustainable value for our shareholders, communities we operate in, and all stakeholders. The company has completed a series of successive accretive transactions for their shareholders which we will address throughout the interview.
First, we will discuss the $45 Million Dollar Earn-In Agreement with Rio Tinto on Calibre’s Borosi Projects which host both gold-silver and copper-gold resources in two areas as well as multiple lesser explored copper-gold skarns, low-sulphidation epithermal gold-silver vein systems and bulk tonnage copper-gold porphyry targets. Second, we will discuss B2Gold And Calibre Mining joininig forces in Nicaragua on the El Limon and La Libertad Gold Mines in addition to completed a CDN$100 Million Equity Financing. Finally, we discuss the expansive, ambitious 40,000 Metre diamond core drilling exploration program that Calibre will be embarking upon on the aforementioned El Limon and La Libertad gold mines. Discover why the value proposition of Calibre Mining is extremely compelling!


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Precious Metals Top Bar

Silver Canadian Maple Leaf Special


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Miles Franklin801 Twelve Oaks Center DriveSuite 834Wayzata, MN 553911-800-822-8080www.milesfranklin.com

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Junior Mining

Ethos Gold Corp. Announces Amended Terms & Increases Size of Flow-Through Financing to Raise $1.5 Million

Ethos Gold

(TSX.V: ECC | OTXQX: ETHOF)

*FOR ACCREDITED INVESTORS ONLY*

Vancouver, British Columbia–(Newsfile Corp. – October 28, 2019) – Ethos Gold Corp. (TSXV:ECC) (“Ethos” or the “Company“) announces that it has revised the terms and size of the non-brokered private placement announced September 20, 2019. Ethos is now proceeding with a flow-through offering to raise gross proceeds of up to $1,512,000 by the issuance of up to 5,600,000 units (each a “FT Unit”) at a price of $0.27 per FT Unit (the “FT Offering”). Each FT Unit will comprise one flow-through common share (a “FT Share”) and one half of one non flow-through common share purchase warrant (each whole warrant, a “Warrant”). Each Warrant will be exercisable at a price of $0.30 into one common share for a period of two years from the date of issuance. The FT Shares will qualify as “flow-through shares” within the meaning of subsection 66(15) of the Income Tax Act (Canada).

For more details click below. If you are qualified and want to participate please reference Proven & Probable and contact the following:

Sherman Dahl

Tel. 250.558.3340

dahl.sherman@pretiumgroup.ca 

Tom Martin
Corporate Communications
Tel: 1-250-516-2455
Email: tmartin@ethosgold.com


Finance Details


Categories
Base Metals Energy Exclusive Interviews Junior Mining

NEVADA COPPER Company on Target to U.S. Copper Production by Q4 2019

Matt Gili the CEO, President, and Director of Nevada Copper (TSX: NCU | OTC: NEVDF) sits down with Maurice Jackson of Proven and Probable to discuss the value proposition of Nevada Copper, which is on target for U.S. production in Q4 2019. Mr. Gili, provides updates on the flagship Pumpkin Hollow Project, which hosts both an underground and open-pit deposits. We provide an overview on the supply an demand fundamentals on Copper, where a prudent speculator may position themselves to take advantage of the copper supply deficit.

VIDEO

AUDIO

TRANSCRIPT

Source: Maurice Jackson for Streetwise Reports  (3/18/19)

Maurice JacksonMatt Gili, CEO of Nevada Copper, talks with Maurice Jackson of Proven and Probable about his company’s progress in beginning copper production by the end of the year.

Pumpkin Hollow

Pumpkin Hollow
Maurice Jackson: Joining us for a conversation is Matt Gili, president, CEO and director of Nevada Copper Corp. (NCU:TSX), which is on target to U.S. copper production by Q4 2019.
Nevada Copper has a number of successes to share with reader. But, before you share the unique value preposition of Nevada Copper, Mr. Gili, for readers who may not be familiar with the supply and demand fundamentals regarding copper, please provide us with a 10,000-foot overview.

Matt Gili: When you look at the copper fundamentals, we see a very steady and predictable increase in demand of copper, modest amount, 1.5% per year. We see the move towards electrification of vehicles consuming more copper. We see other things that are offsetting that, but overall, a steady predictable 1.5% increase in the global demand for copper. Where the story really gets exciting, from the Nevada Copper standpoint, is with regards to the supply for copper. What we’re seeing is a lot of restrictions in future supply. We’re seeing a lot of difficulties on bringing on a future supply and backed up by work done by Wood Mackenzie and others, we’re projecting that by 2025, the world will be in a supply deficit of upwards of 6 million tonnes of copper per year. This just really supports what we’re doing in Nevada Copper in setting up the next copper mine.
Maurice Jackson: Now that we have an overview of the supply and demand fundamentals for copper, Matt, let’s discuss how someone listening may position himself prudently as a beneficiary. For someone new to the story, can you give us a very quick overview of Nevada Copper?

Matt Gili: Certainly. Nevada Copper, who’s Nevada Copper? We have an asset in Nevada called Pumpkin Hollow. This is our chief asset. It consists of two deposits: an underground deposit and an open-pit deposit for copper. We’re currently in the construction phase for the underground project with production from that underground project coming online later this year. I think we’ll talk more about that later. Regarding the open pit, we’re currently in the process of wrapping up the prefeasibility study for the open pit. You’ll see that being published in April of this year. Then, we have a regional land package of well over 15,000 acres that we are looking at really understanding, really unlocking the full value from that land package. That’s really Nevada Copper, building a copper mine coming into production later this year, with a lot of expansion into an open-pit mine, as well as regional exploration.

Maurice Jackson: Let’s provide readers the latest updates on Nevada Copper, as the company has been very proactive on a number of fronts. Please provide us with an update on the construction progress. I would like to begin with the multi-million dollar question, are we on track to enter production in Q4 of this year?
Matt Gili: Yes, Maurice, we are on track to enter production in Q4 of this year. We are very proud of that. The team’s doing a fantastic job. We have construction activities both on surface with Sedgman building the process plants, as well as underground cementation, both sinking shaft and doing lateral development on our main shaft. All that’s coming together very nicely. We are absolutely on track for commissioning of the plant in the fourth quarter of this year.
Maurice Jackson: As Nevada Copper is preparing for production this year, have you increased your staffing to meet the growing demands?
Matt Gili: That’s a really good question and yes, we have. We’ve increased our staffing. It’s an operational readiness question that you’re asking. This is where I want to stress to you and readers that this concept of operational readiness is foremost in our thoughts and how we’re planning for really becoming, not just building a great mine, but operating a great mine. When you look at the staffing, so far, our staffing, by design, is quite modest. We’re looking at a total workforce of Nevada Copper employees of around 30. That is because this is our model, a very lean, efficient operation. We utilize high-quality, expert service providers as necessary, to make sure that we are operating very efficiently.
Maurice Jackson: Is Nevada Copper still actively recruiting and if so, what positions?
Matt Gili: Yes, we are actively recruiting. Most of our positions open are technical and specialist positions, and would be part of the management team. I absolutely encourage anyone interested in what we’re recruiting for to contact the Nevada Copper website. You’ll see the complete listing of opening jobs there, as well as information on how to apply for any of these positions if you’re interested.
Maurice Jackson: Pumpkin Hollow is unique in that you have both an underground and an open-pit mine. Let’s discuss exploration and expansion potential. What initiatives is Nevada Copper taking to optimize the full potential of the Pumpkin Hollow project?

Matt Gili: We are in the process of constructing the underground, which has a large amount of upside potential. We’ll really only explore that upside potential when we’re underground, after we’re in production. We really look forward to updates on that front in 2020, and the reason for that is very simple. It’s just much more efficient to drill out the prospective areas of the underground from the underground; the holes are shorter. It’s just much easier. That’s really where the underground sits right now, in a holding pattern as far as expansion potential. When you look at the open pit, that’s where a lot of great energy is going into expanding the open pit, understanding the open pit better, really getting that ore body knowledge to allow you to build a world-class operation. That is part of the PFS, which is coming out in April of this year.

That PFS will include the drilling campaign that we completed in 2018, the 26 hole drilling campaign. It will include those results in the resource model. That’s going to give you an even better idea of the full potential of the open pit. The real excitement that we have is with regards to the region itself, a large region, relatively unexplored, but with large amounts of historical copper production, as well as great physical outcroppings of copper mineralization. This is really where we’re going to focus our efforts during 2019, to really get a chance, now that we’ve tied up this land package, to understand what we have.
Maurice Jackson: Speaking of the region, there was a regional survey conducted that led you to staking more land. Can you share the results with us?

Matt Gili: We staked a section a land that we refer to as the Teddy Boy Claims. This is about 5,700 acres of land to our northeast. We are very glad to have this in our portfolio. The criteria for that selection was we brought together experts on this region and experts in copper mineralization. They identified that as a really prospective area and where we should be really focused on. We’ve staked that land, secured it for our ability to explore over the next several years.
Maurice Jackson: Does Nevada Copper plan to drill the new area at some point this year?
Matt Gili: We plan on drilling this year. I really haven’t put out the entire drill program for 2019. We’re still pulling that together and analyzing where to best spend the monies we have available for exploration. We would like to drill that this year. Some more prospective holes, really not an in-depth blanket campaign, but probe a few really interesting areas over there and get a better idea for the drill campaign.
Maurice Jackson: It’s one thing to have tonnage and grade, but you must equally have astute business acumen to make the numbers work. Now, Nevada Copper is in discussions regarding an ECA-backed project finance facility to further optimize the balance sheet, as well as lining up a working capital facility and further offtake agreements to improve the economics of Pumpkin Hollow. Please provide us with the details.
Matt Gili: You kind of said it all. I can’t really provide you with any more details, but I can surely stress what you’ve just said, Maurice. We are in discussions with this export, credit agency style backed project financing. This is going to provide us the opportunity to substantially reduce the cost of our debt service, as well as attract strong and robust financial partners for potential future open-pit developments. Something we’re very excited about and it’s part of really creating Nevada Copper as a world-class company.
Maurice Jackson: Let’s get into some numbers. Please share your capital structure.

Matt Gili: The capital structure is well defined. We have $8 million in long-term debt. We have $153 million of cash or cash equivalents. When you look at the financing package specifically for the underground, we’re fully financed, including the working capital facility to take us through operation ramp up. The inputs into that are an equity raise that we did in the middle of last year, as well as a streaming deposit with regards to a stream arrangement on the precious metals strictly from the underground deposit. We also have a $25-million subordinated debt package. Really a standby loan facility that we can use if necessary.
Maurice Jackson: In closing, I have a multilayered question. What is the next unanswered question for Nevada Copper? When can we expect a response? What determines success?
Matt Gili: I would not classify our successful completion of underground construction and bringing them in operation as an unanswered question. That is going to happen, and I’m very proud of the activities that have happened so far. The real unanswered question for the investors out there, is what is the true potential of the open pit? There’s been a lot of great work done, a lot of exploration done, last year. That’s all been incorporated. I’m really going to be excited when the PFS is released and we can share the details of the open pit potential with the public. They are going to be very impressed and they’re going to see the picture. They’re going to see what we see when we get so excited about Nevada Copper.
Maurice Jackson: Speaking of the prefeasibility study, give us a timeline on that, sir.
Matt Gili: We’ll release that in April. I’m being careful. I don’t want to be too specific. It will be in April of this year. Next month.
Maurice Jackson: Mr. Gili, last question. What did I forget to ask?
Matt Gili: Maurice, forget to ask? You’re always very thorough, so I wouldn’t say you forgot to ask anything. What I would say is I want to reiterate something that we at Nevada Copper have been thinking about over the last month. Unfortunately, for the world, the last month has been a month marred with tragedies, with risk and with unexpected events. What we’re really stressing, with Nevada Copper, is the risk management of Nevada Copper. We are an operation that is on private land. We’re not waiting for any permits. We’re not waiting for records of decision. We’re utilizing EPC contractors, who have that fixed price nature, reduced risks. We’re building a dry stack tailing facility. We’ll never have a wet tailing storage facility at Pumpkin Hollow.  We’re doing this all with a proven, experienced team of mine builders and operators. Really wrapping that up, that concept of low risk, risk mitigation. We are going to build and operate the next mine and there’s very little risk to that execution.
Maurice Jackson: Matt, if investors want to get more information about Nevada Copper, please share the website address.
Matt Gili: Absolutely, www.nevadacopper.com. We love to get your input. You’ll see our investor presentationsthere in our latest news. Let us know what you think.
Maurice Jackson: For our audience, we wish to remind you that Nevada Copper trades on the TSX symbol, NCU, and on the OTC symbol NEVDF. For additional inquiries, please contact Richard Matthews at (877) 648-8266 or you may email RMatthews@nevadacopper.com. Nevada Copper is a sponsor and we are proud shareholders for the virtues conveyed in today’s message.
Last but not least, please visit our website, provenandprobable.com, for mining insights and bullion sales. You may reach us at contact@provenandprobable.com.
Matt Gili of Nevada Copper, thank you for joining us today on Proven and Probable.
Maurice Jackson is the founder of Proven and Probable, a site that aims to enrich its subscribers through education in precious metals and junior mining companies that will enrich the world.
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Base Metals Energy Exclusive Interviews Junior Mining Project Generators

(VIDEO) FISSION 3.0 Prospect Generator in Position for Uranium Turnaround

Ross McElroy the COO and Chief Geologist for Fission 3.0 (TSX.V: FUU | OTCQB: FISOF) sits down with Maurice Jackson of Proven and Probable to discuss the value proposition of Fission 3.0 and their Property Bank. In this interview Mr. McElroy provides the macro economics for uranium and how one may allocate their uranium holdings in a Uranium Project Generator with a Property Bank with projects located in high-grade uranium districts, with proven management and technical team that has a 20 year history of delivering success to shareholders.

VIDEO

AUDIO

TRANSCRIPT


Original Source: https://www.streetwisereports.com/article/2019/03/16/prospect-generator-in-position-for-uranium-turnaround.html
Maurice Jackson: Joining us for a conversation is Ross McElroy, the COO and chief geologist for Fission 3.0 Corp. (FUU:TSX.V; FISOF:OTC.MKTS): A Uranium Project Generator and Property Bank. Ross McElroy, glad to have you back on the program to share the value proposition of Fission 3.0. Before we begin, Ross, I’d like to begin with some basic fundamentals regarding uranium. For someone new to the uranium sector, what is uranium, and where is it used?
Ross McElroy: Uranium is really all about energy. The way we use uranium is for nuclear fuel. That’s basically the fuel that runs reactors.
Globally nuclear power constitutes between 15% and 20% of the electrical requirements. That’s really where the majority of the uranium is used. There is some uranium that’s used for strategic purposes on a country by country basis, more for the Department of Defense reasons. But really, the vast, vast majority of uranium is used to fuel nuclear reactors.
Maurice Jackson: Provide us with some metrics on how abundant uranium is in the Earth’s crust, and correlate that to the average grade that is found versus the grade that is needed to define an ore deposit in a future mine?
Ross McElroy: Well, uranium is actually one of the most abundant elements in the Earth. It’s kind of ubiquitous. You’ll see it throughout the Earth’s crust; there is trace amounts of uranium present primarily in volcanic and igneous rocks and sedimentary rocks.
On a deposit level, there’s actually a number of uranium deposits around the world, in every continent on the planet and in many countries. On a global basis, the average grade of a uranium deposit worldwide is around 0.1 to 0.15% U308.
Now, if you compare that to say, the deposits in Canada, they’re orders of magnitude higher grade in Canada. We’re talking orders of magnitude that are 10 to 20 times that of the global grade.
Although I’ve given you the average grade, most of those deposits at those lower grades, the average grades are really uneconomic deposits. We need grades that are generally much higher than the 0.1%–0.15% if it’s going to be an economic deposit. And that’s what Canada has. Canada has very high-grade deposits, so the economic metrics are just that much more attractive in Canada.
Maurice Jackson: Now that we’ve identified uranium’s utility, what can you share with us from a supply and demand perspective?

Ross McElroy: Well, it’s fairly simple to understand what the demand for nuclear energy is, in other words, uranium. We can just multiply the number of reactors around the world that are currently operating, and the known fuel consumption rate for a 1000 megawatt reactor is just under 500,000 pounds of uranium a year. If we look at the global reactors, there are around 450 reactors around the world. You can see that the need for uranium on an annual basis is around the realm of almost 200 million pounds of uranium.
Maurice Jackson: How does the nuclear plant in Fukushima, Japan, fit into this narrative?
Ross McElroy: Japan historically, up until the Fukushima event in 2011, was one of the main users on a country basis worldwide. Japan I think consumed almost 20% of the world’s nuclear power, in other words, 20% of the world’s annual production of uranium was used to run the Japanese reactors.
In 2011, of course, we had the magnitude 9 earthquake followed by a tsunami, and that’s what damaged the Fukushima facility. Interestingly enough, even with that magnitude of an earthquake and the soon-to-follow tsunami, the reactor still did not breach. The housing that surrounded the reactor was damaged, and this is where some of the radiation leaks came from, but the reactor itself actually held, and so the damage was actually very, very limited and manageable.
What happened is overnight, Japan shut down all of its nuclear reactors, in other words, all 52 reactors I think they had working at that time, went offline. That caused disruption to the supply/demand situation globally.
What’s happened since then is Japan is slowly coming back on. Japan’s alternatives for power are pretty limited as the country doesn’t have very much of its own resources, if any at all. It imports whatever energy that it needs, be it in natural gas now, in nuclear.
It’s important for Japan to be able to operate these factories that they’re running. I mean, it’s an exporting country around the world, so it does have high energy requirements. It also has the requirements for inexpensive power.
Japan is coming back on to the scene as far as nuclear power. There are eight reactors that are currently back up and operating, and 17 reactors that are in the near-term licensing for approval to get them restarted again.
I think the bottom line is, prior to Fukushima, Japan depended on nuclear energy for at least 25% of its electricity demands. I think by the time 2030 approaches, Japan is supposed to be right back up to those same levels. The country is coming back on, it has always been an important major consumer of nuclear power. I think we’ll see it right back to the equation again in the very near future.
Maurice Jackson: Uranium, next to gold, is known as the other yellow metal, and here’s why. Ross, let’s step back to the bull market in uranium. If one was selective with the uranium holdings, they would’ve had generational changes in their portfolio. What was the spot price during the last bull market?

Ross McElroy: Well, in 2002, uranium was around, I don’t know, about $15 a pound. This is on the spot market. That’s what uranium was trading for.
In 2003–2004, we really saw the lift off of the price of uranium. In fact, it peaked at 2007 to around $140 a pound. It went almost a 10-fold increase in the price of the commodity between 2003 and 2007. The peak at 140 didn’t last particularly long, but it had a slower decline until about 2008—2009, it stabilized, and then it peaked back up again.
Really, it was holding steady. I guess this is the point I would want to make, is that we were starting to see a steady state price of between $50 to $70 a pound, and then the Fukushima event hit that we talked about in 2011, and that really threw the whole pricing structure right out the window. We’ve been working on our recovery ever since.
Maurice Jackson: What is the spot price for uranium today?
Ross McElroy: Currently we’re about $28 a pound for uranium. It has recovered; we’re off the bottoms of $17, $18 a pound just a couple of years ago. Uranium is making its way back.
Maybe the important point here to note is we’re still at prices that the majority of mines around the world are not profitable. Even the lowest cost producers are really not operating in an environment where they can make money with uranium prices what they’re at right now.
What we’ve seen is that the supply is starting to be restricted as the producers are taking a lot of that uranium off market; they’re not supplying it to the utilities at this cheap price, because it’s not a working business model to lose money in the long run on the mining of the commodity.
We are seeing an improvement in the price of uranium, and it’s been about a year and a half in the making. It’s gone up from the $18 that I mentioned to about $28 a pound, but it certainly has a lot more room to move upwards even before we can start to get production back online to meaningful levels.
Maurice Jackson: What is that spot price that companies right now, uranium companies I should say, for them to earn their cost of capital? Is the number around $60 for a spot price of uranium?

Ross McElroy: I believe you are correct. We’re seeing prices that globally, they have to be in the $60 to $70 a pound really to bring on any meaningful production.
One of the clues that I look at when we look at the best uranium mines out there, the lowest cost producers, those would be McArthur River deposit in Canada’s Athabasca Basin in Northern Saskatchewan. That is one of the best uranium mines in the world, certainly the largest highest-grade operating mine. Cameco took that offline because of the prices of uranium where they were at, they weren’t making any money on the mining of this deposit.
There are some indications that Cameco won’t turn that mine back on into being a producer until the price of uranium is somewhat north of $40, maybe $45. Something in that realm.
I don’t have an exact number there, but it does tell you that if you’re going to even bring back the best of those deposits, you really need prices that are something of $40 to $45. As we mentioned earlier, the price for many of the other deposits around the world are probably closer to $60 or $70. You can see, there’s still lots of room for improvement.
Maurice Jackson: The current price of uranium does not support the fundamentals. What correlations do you see today that may exceed the returns from the last bull market?
Ross McElroy: Well, it’s sort of an elastic situation. I think that the longer that we keep depressed prices, yet the demand is still there and growing, reactors are being built, the need to fuel these reactors, that’s not stopping.
In fact, it’s growing. You have the primary suppliers of uranium, i.e., the mines that are not supplying it, the longer that the prices are low, the more rapid that climb will be in the price of uranium when it does correct.
I think there’s a possibility, as I’ve heard some analysts call it, a violent reaction upwards to the price of uranium. I think we’re going to see some substantial price increases within some short vision of time, maybe a year or two or three. Something in that realm that I think will be quite meaningful.
We’ll see what happens, but the longer it stays depressed, the more likely and quicker the rise will be when it does come.
Maurice Jackson: Ross, you’ve provided a compelling case on the fundamentals for uranium. I know readers may be asking, how will all of this demand for uranium be met? Mr. McElroy, please introduce us to Fission 3.0.
Ross McElroy: Fission 3.0 is a uranium explorer. This is a company that we spun out of Fission Uranium Corp. (FCU:TSX; FCUUF:OTCQX; 2FU:FSE), our larger company, back in 2014 when we bought out our partner on the Patterson Lake project, and in so doing with that process from that arrangement, we spun out our non-core assets, the more grassroots exploration projects.
We’ve been able to build up an exploration portfolio, primarily focused in the Athabasca Basin. Remember, the Athabasca Basin is Canada’s only producing uranium field. That’s where the McArthur River deposit is, this is where Fission Uranium has the Triple R deposit. There’s some fantastic deposits out there.
That’s what we’re exploring for in Fission 3.0. We’re looking for the next high-grade uranium deposit in the Athabasca Basin.
Maurice Jackson: You referenced that you’re a project generator. There’s a lot of ambiguity regarding project generators. Please share the virtues and why Fission 3.0 took on the project generator business model?
Ross McElroy: Project generators are really all about sharing the risk. In our case, what we do very well is pick ground. We’ve been able to strategically stake ground in the Athabasca Basin, we’ve made discoveries on two of our properties, the first one in the company called Fission Energy that we made the discovery at our Waterbury Lake property, and later on in Fission Uranium Corp on our PLS property.
That have been situations where we’ve had joint-venture partners sharing the risks, sharing the costs with others. To use the model, what we do is we use our brands and other peoples’ money. That’s really what we’re good at, that’s basically the model that we have.
We have a very highly trained technical team that’s exceptional at picking out high-quality projects. We attract other people who are looking to get into the uranium business, looking to partner up with a team such as ours and join us for the ride to make a discovery.
It’s really all about sharing risk. That’s really what the project generator model does. It’s our land, and we partner with good quality people that can fund a project, and that’s how they earn into it as well.
Maurice Jackson: Do you currently have a joint-venture partner? If yes, who and what are the terms of the relationship?
Ross McElroy: We have had joint-venture partners in the past, and very successful ones. As I mentioned earlier on our Waterbury project, we had a partner with the Korean utility called KEPCO. It earned in by spending a certain amount of money on the property each year over the course of a three-year period.
What we did with that, we were able to make a discovery, using the money in that project, we made a discovery, built up the resource estimate on there, and eventually sold that asset. That was how our shareholders were able to take advantage of our monetizing on the property.
I guess we could say the same at the PLS project, which we now own 100% of it, but that was also a partnership. We shared in the risk early on and in the money early on with our partner. We eventually bought them out in 2014. That was another example of a successful joint venture partnership.
Each one of the deals would be a little bit different from each other. It is a model that we think works very well. I will note that in our property down in Peru as well, we have a partnership that we’re still looking to finalize the deal. This is one where another group has approached us, said it’s interested in the potential of a property down in Peru. It will spend a significant amount of money having us as the operator. Hopefully we’ll make a discovery down in Peru as well.
Maurice Jackson: Well, you’ve just alluded to my next question. Fission 3.0 has 18 projects in its project bank. Now, it is strategically located in premier, high-grade uranium districts in Canada and Peru. Mr. McElroy, introduce us to the Fission 3.0 Project Bank (click here).

Ross McElroy: We have 18 properties in the Athabasca Basin. Our properties, we think that everywhere in the Athabasca Basin has the potential to host high-grade uranium projects.
One of the keys that we seek to identify are deposits that will be shallow. In other words, the closer a deposit is to surface, the easier it is to build a case that this could be a project that could go into production. It’s an easier mine to develop the closer it is to the surface.

Really deep deposits are challenging. They still exist, but they’re challenging. Eventually they cost more money to find and cost more money to get out of the ground. They’re just another level of challenge.
If you look at our 18 properties, they’re all in and around the edge of the Athabasca Basin, where we’ve had a great deal of success finding near-surface mineralization.
Our PLS project that hosts the Triple R deposit in Fission Uranium is a great example of a near-surface deposit. The mineralization starts at 50 meters below the surface, so 150 feet below the present-day surface is where the high-grade mineralization starts. That makes it a potentially open-pit deposit, which is generally low cost and gives you a lot of flexibility.
This is the sort of thing that we’re looking for in Fission 3.0. We’ve got very good properties that are in known mining districts, conversely, we have a good portfolio of ground around the southwest side of the basin where our PLS project in Fission Uranium is hosted, and also NexGen’s Arrow deposit, it’s all in that same area. We have the significant land package that surrounds that area.

We also have a good strategic land package in and around the Key Lake area on the southeast side of the basin. This has been, and still currently is the hot bed of uranium mining in Canada right now. This is the side of the basin where the McArthur River and Cigar Lake deposits are located.

McArthur shut down for economic reasons waiting for higher uranium prices. It was an operating mine up until about a year ago, and Cigar still is in operation. You’ve also got the Key Lake mine.
It’s a strategic area to have a good land package. We think there’s lots of opportunities in and around land in that area to make a new discovery.

And probably third for us is the land package that’s up in the northwest side of the basin, in the old uranium city Beaverlodge district where uranium mining in Saskatchewan first got started back in the 1950s and was the going concern back in the ’50s and the ’60s, I think there were about 52 operating mines up in that area, pretty small scale most of them, but still lots of high-grade uranium. That’s an area where we think that there’s still plenty of exploration potential.
Between all those areas, we’re going to be active and we’re going to be looking for the next high-grade uranium deposit in Saskatchewan.
Maurice Jackson: Speaking of being active, is there active drilling going on right now in these projects?
Ross McElroy: There is active drilling. We did drill in the southwest side of the basin. We were drilling in January on our PLN project. That project is just immediately north of Fission Uranium’s PLS project.
You’re really talking about the same area where the latest discoveries have been found, where you’ve got the Triple R deposit, you’ve got NexGen’s Arrow deposit. These are two of the best new deposits that have been found in the Athabasca Basin in the last 15 years.
We have a package around there called PLN, and we did drill six holes in there earlier this year. It has the potential to host another one of these fantastic deposits, so we are going to continue looking there. We see all the signs present that tell us that this is where we’ll make that discovery.
As we’re speaking right now, we’re drilling over in the Key Lake area that I described earlier. This is over on the southeast side of the basin, about 200 kilometers to the east of the PLS drilling. That is a program where we’ll drill probably eight or nine holes, just south of the Key Lake Mill and the old historical Key Lake deposits. There’s areas of activity there. We’ll continue drilling throughout the rest of 2019 on a number of our projects.
Fission 3.0 is active. We were able to raise some significant money early in the year, in late 2018. We’re going to be active. This is how we’ve been successful in the past, is by being aggressive, looking in places where people probably haven’t looked for a while or never even thought to look, and putting our technical team to work. Yes, you’ll see pretty good news flow out of Fission 3 this year.
Maurice Jackson: Ross, let’s expand the narrative on the project bank portfolio and go south into Peru. What can you share with us there?

Ross McElroy: Peru is a really interesting area. Where our projects are is called the Macusani Plateau, located in southern Peru, near the Bolivian border. The Macusani Plateau has shown at least over 100 million pounds in near-surface uranium deposits.

There’s a company down there that’s quite dominant called Plateau Energy. Plateau has been able to stake a lot and consolidate a land package in the area, and consolidated all these old deposits. It has amassed around 100 million pounds of uranium in these uranium deposits.

However, even more significant, Plateau made a discovery of high-grade lithium in the same area, and in fact, that’s within five kilometers of our southern property boundary on our Macusani plains. Not only do we have the potential now to host near-surface uranium deposits, and we have shown in fact that we do have mineralization on our property for uranium, we’ve mapped it, we’ve drilled, we’ve trenched and found high-grade uranium, but now the potential’s there for hosting high-grade lithium.
This is really a new dimension that we have down in that area, that we wouldn’t have had say, two or three years ago when we were last down drilling. You’ve got uranium, and now we have lithium. It’s a very interesting up-and-coming area as well.
Maurice Jackson: Switching gears, Fission 3.0 has the right projects in the right place at the right time. But that’s only part of the story. Equally important are the people that are responsible for increasing shareholder value. Mr. McElroy, please introduce us to your board of directors.
Ross McElroy: Thank you, and I appreciate that. We do have a very successful team. Our founder of Fission 3.0 is also the same CEO and founder of Fission Uranium, and previously Fission Energy before that, and Strathmore.
Dev Randhawa has been involved in this company right from the get-go in its first iteration back in 1996, and also heading up Fission 3.0. Dev is the longest running CEO in the uranium sector.
Myself, I’ve been involved with Dev 12, 13 years now. We’ve had a great successful relationship. We’re able to raise money, raise attention, put that money to work, make discoveries, and basically build shareholder value right from the bottom up.
This is the group that I think, we’ve been able to deliver in the past, and we’re going to be able to deliver shareholder value as we move forward in this much improving uranium sector.
A lot of the same players that we’ve had all the way along, still keep also in the Fission 3 group.
Maurice Jackson: Who is on your management team?

Ross McElroy: The management team is composed of our CEO Dev Randhawa and chairman. I am the chief operating officer, and also the chief geologist. We have maintained the same structure that we have in Fission Uranium, is the same that we have in Fission 3.0. It’s a fairly lean team. Phil Morehouse is president of Fission 3.0. We kept a pretty lean mean machine in Fission 3.
Don’t forget, we’ve had up until just recently in the last six months, it’s been a very quiet company, there hasn’t been a lot of exploration activities in the uranium sector. I think as we start to ramp up, with our level of activity increasing, we’ll start to draw more and more people into roles and developing roles within the company as we begin to be active, get out and start marketing the story more, get on the ground and back that up with real results, we’re going to continue to build our team.
Maurice Jackson: Before we move on to your impressive technical team, in the natural resource basis, why is it wise to follow proven winners? Ross, you alluded to it earlier, you and CEO Dev Randhawa have a proven pedigree of success. How were shareholders rewarded as far as returns for their loyalty to sticking with your team?
Ross McElroy: Well, if you owned the original company at the beginning, which would’ve been Strathmore Minerals, and you’d held on it to all the way throughout, over the last 20 years since about 1996, 97, you’d probably own about five different companies right now.
What’s happened is we’ve moved on to a new phase, we’ve made discoveries, advanced projects, sold different projects to different groups. What we’ve been able to do is form new companies, split off new companies in what they call a butterfly transaction.
You have shares in the new company, still maintain your shares in the old company, so you would’ve received essentially what would look like dividends in the way of different shares for five different companies since that time. The shareholders that have been loyal and sticking with us would’ve succeeded quite handsomely all the way along.
Maurice Jackson: Your technical team is exceptional. I had an opportunity to meet them in the summer of 2016 at the site visit there. Please, introduce us to them.
Ross McElroy: We’re very, very proud of this group. This has been the team we’ve had, the same core group of people with us since 2010. With that same group, we were able to make our discovery on the Waterbury Lake project, and then followed up in 2012 with the discovery of PLS. It’s the same group that is very core and important to us in Fission 3.0.
I do head up the team and the technical group, so I would be the team leader or chief geologist for the technical team. My right hand guy is Raymond Ashley, he’s the VP of exploration. Ray is an excellent geoscientist who I’ve had the pleasure to work with for over 30 years in this sector, so we’ve been working pretty close together. Definitely a proven mine finder.
We’ve basically held the same group of people together on the project managers, all the structural scientists, geochemists. We’ve kept the same core group together over the last almost 10 years or so.
To me, that’s really the key. You want a team that works together well, good chemistry with each other, the ability and the environment to think outside of the box. Really, the goal for each and every one of us is to responsibly make world-class discoveries. That’s what we’re all about.
We’ve got an excellent team. All the key people are listed on the website. You’ll be able to go there and see the roles of the various groups there in the technical team, but there’s about seven or eight of us that have been able to be what I consider the core team for the last decade or so.
Maurice Jackson: Let’s get into some numbers. Please share your capital structure.

Ross McElroy: In Fission 3.0, we have 142 million shares outstanding. We were able to raise a significant amount. We have just under $7 million in the treasury right now, that’ll allow us to be active over the next two years or so.
Maurice Jackson: What is your burn rate?
Ross McElroy: The burn rate, because it’s exploration, it’s pretty discretionary spending. We have $7 million that we have in the treasury right now, that’ll certainly carry us over the next two to three years of pretty aggressive exploration spending on our key projects. We can dial that kind of number up, and we can dial it back as conditions warrant. That’s the benefit of being in exploration.
The burn rate is actually pretty minimal. In other words, we run a pretty lean shop as far as the number of management and corporate costs. Really, the majority of the costs are exploration spending, which is really entirely discretionary.
Maurice Jackson: How much debt do you have?
Ross McElroy: We have no debt. We’ve not taken on any debt. Basically, the money that we raise have been through equity share offerings. No debt in Fission 3.0.
Maurice Jackson: Who are your major shareholders? What is their level of commitment?
Ross McElroy: When we spun off Fission 3.0 back in December of 2014, it was the same shareholders that were shareholders of Fission Uranium, were the same shareholders in Fission 3.0. We would’ve had a lot of the same loyal, large shareholders, including JP Morgan, even investment from others that we’ve had along the way. It’s been the same loyal group.
We have significant new shareholders now with the financing that we did back in 2018, which was led by the Sprott Global Resources Group out of California. I think we have some new players back to the game, but we have a lot of shareholders that have been with us over the long haul.
These are people that have a good vision of the uranium sector. They know that the good times are around the corner. It’s a point that we believe really strongly, and we think that the sector is improving a great deal.
This is how our loyal shareholders are going to be rewarded, by being a much better market with an aggressive team like Fission 3.0, and the new shareholders will probably be long term loyal shareholders too if we’re successful and able to build value for them as well.
Maurice Jackson: What is the float?
Ross McElroy: Fully diluted, we have 227 million shares. We’ve got shares outstanding, we’ve got options and warrants that we’re a part of financing as well, so 227 million shares out in total. We trade around 240,000 shares a day, I think that’s our average volume.
Maurice Jackson: Multi-layered question. What is the next unanswered question for Fission 3.0? When can we expect a response? What determines success?
Ross McElroy: Well, we are going to be successful through work. We know that a better market should buoy the price up of everybody involved in the nuclear sector. They’re starting to get some life back in the exploration world.
Really, we’ve always built value by our success. We’ve been successful with making discoveries. We now have the money, we have the team, we’re putting them to work. I would look to us as being one of the most dynamic uranium explorers out there. That’s something that I think people can follow, they can see our news release cycle, they’ll see how we’re marketing our story, and just look at the results. I think they’ll speak for themselves.
We’re looking at our projects, we’ll be active throughout the calendar year. I think the news flow will be very strong and steady. People that are interested in following the company will always see that there’s a continuing narrative out there. We want to take advantage of this and improve the uranium market, the fact that we are well financed, and we have the properties that we want to explore. I think there’s a very good opportunity for readers to look at Fission 3.0 as a sector leader in the uranium exploration business.
Maurice Jackson: Mr. McElroy, last question. What did I forget to ask?
Ross McElroy: I think we’ve covered a lot of ground here, and a lot of important ground. One of the takeaways that I want readers to know is we really do believe in the nuclear sector. We think that we have turned the corner and that conditions are improving.
If people are looking to invest in the uranium sector, I think it’s important for them to look at a group that has done it before. Your track record is very indicative of what your future has the potential to look like. I always find myself, when I’m investing, I like to back teams with a proven track record.
We have that in our group. We’ve got an exceptional management team. We’ve done it before. We’ve been able to capitalize on our discoveries by selling assets. We have a unique technical team that has the ability to make discoveries.
So better sector, very good team. Strong management. Those are the ingredients we need to be successful.
Maurice Jackson: Ross, for someone listening that wants to get more information about Fission 3.0, please share the website address.
Ross McElroy: Our website address is www.fission3corp.com.
Maurice Jackson: For direct queries email ir@fission3corp.com, or you may call (778) 484-8030. Fission 3.0 trades on the TSX:V, symbol FUU, and on the OTC, symbol FISOF.
For audience, we’ve been proud shareholders of Fission 3.0 since 2014. Last but not least, please visit our website, provenandprobable.com, for mining insights and bullion sales. You may reach us at contact@provenandprobable.com.
Ross McElroy of Fission 3.0, thank you for joining us today on Proven and Probable.
Maurice Jackson is the founder of Proven and Probable, a site that aims to enrich its subscribers through education in precious metals and junior mining companies that will enrich the world.
Disclosure: 
1) Maurice Jackson: I, or members of my immediate household or family, own shares of the following companies mentioned in this article: Fission 3.0. I personally am, or members of my immediate household or family are, paid by the following companies mentioned in this article: None. My company has a financial relationship with the following companies mentioned in this article: None. Proven and Probable disclosures are listed below.
2) The following companies mentioned in this article are billboard sponsors of Streetwise Reports: None. Click herefor important disclosures about sponsor fees.
3) Statements and opinions expressed are the opinions of the author and not of Streetwise Reports or its officers. The author is wholly responsible for the validity of the statements. The author was not paid by Streetwise Reports for this article. Streetwise Reports was not paid by the author to publish or syndicate this article. The information provided above is for informational purposes only and is not a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Streetwise Reports requires contributing authors to disclose any shareholdings in, or economic relationships with, companies that they write about. Streetwise Reports relies upon the authors to accurately provide this information and Streetwise Reports has no means of verifying its accuracy.
4) This article does not constitute investment advice. Each reader is encouraged to consult with his or her individual financial professional and any action a reader takes as a result of information presented here is his or her own responsibility. By opening this page, each reader accepts and agrees to Streetwise Reports’ terms of use and full legal disclaimer. This article is not a solicitation for investment. Streetwise Reports does not render general or specific investment advice and the information on Streetwise Reports should not be considered a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Streetwise Reports does not endorse or recommend the business, products, services or securities of any company mentioned on Streetwise Reports.
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Junior Mining Precious Metals

ROVER METALS | Firm Advancing Gold Exploration in the Northwest Territories

 

Judson Culter the CEO and Director of Rover Metals (TSX.V: ROVR | OTCQB: ROVMF) sits down with Maurice Jackson of Proven and Probable to discuss the value proposition of the Cabin Lake Property. In this interview Mr. Culter will provide important updates on the Uptown Gold Property, Cabin Lake Project, and Slemon Lake. Rover Metals is a natural resource exploration company specialized in Canadian precious metal resources (specifically gold). In this interview we will discuss the recent accomplishments of Rover Metals. Ranging from IPO and the implementation of a methodical process of building an exploration company that is positioning itself for success from land acquisitions, permit approval, OTC listing, option agreements and completed the first phase of the 2018 exploration program.

VIDEO

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TRANSCRIPT

Original Source: https://www.streetwisereports.com/article/2019/03/10/firm-advancing-gold-exploration-in-the-northwest-territories.html

Firm Advancing Gold Exploration in the Northwest Territories Contributed Opinion

Source: Maurice Jackson for Streetwise Reports  (3/10/19)

Maurice Jackson

Judson Culter, CEO of Rover Metals, speaks with Maurice Jackson of Proven and Probable about historical exploration on his company’s properties, as well as current exploration plans.

Gold exploration
Maurice Jackson: Welcome to Proven and Probable. I’m your host, Maurice Jackson, and joining us for our conversation is Judson Culter, the CEO and director of Rover Metals Corp. (ROVR:TSX.V; ROVMF:OTCQB). Mr. Culter, welcome to the show.
Judson Culter: Thanks for having me, Maurice.
Maurice Jackson: Glad to have you back on the program. We last spoke in January of 2018, and since then Rover Metals has completed its IPO and implemented a methodical process of building an exploration company that is positioning itself for success from land acquisitions, permit approval, OTC listing, option agreements and completed the first phase of the 2018 exploration program. But before we begin, Mr. Culter, for first time listeners, who is Rover Metals?
Judson Culter: Rover Metals, we are a precious metal exploration company, specifically gold is our focus currently. We’re co-listed in the United States OTCQB: ROVMF, as well as Canada on the TSX.V ROVR. Our project portfolio is concentrated in and around Yellowknife’s Northwest Territories, one of the most mining friendly jurisdictions in Canada and for North America for that matter. I say that just because that’s where our (Canada’s) diamond mines are. That’s historically where several of our gold mines have been. It’s really the primary employer in the Northwest Territories. Outside of government, mining is it.
Maurice Jackson: Why has Rover Metals received so much interest here of lately?
Judson Culter: I think that’s a two pronged answer. First is just credibility. Going back to 2017 on call with you, Maurice, if one listens to that interview, we talked about how we were going to go public, and how we were going to drill our resources, and how we were going to look to add new resources in the similar area code of Yellowknife.
We’ve successfully accomplished all those tasks. I believe we have strong foundational base in our existing shareholders. We’ve got a lot of credibility with them. We get a lot of word of mouth. I think that goes a long way in a market that can be a little bit over saturated in the junior mining space with which projects or which management teams do you back. I think really that we’ve gotten recognition for that now, which is really helping to drive our current success.

The second prong answer speaks to the projects themselves. Rover has the Cabin Lake Project, which is really what the market is asking for, and that’s why we bought it. When we receive the results from our drilling, we believe we will a high-grade gold historical resource that will contain super high grades that the market wants to see as confirmation that this really could be the next gold mine in the Yellowknife, Northwest Territories.

Not to mention this project itself has all the merits a speculator wants. We have solid infrastructure, the Blue Fish Hydro Dam, roads, all the accessibility and proven area of past producers. The market is beginning to recognize the credibility of the management team and the assets. Also, the awareness that we are near drilling in the not-too-distant future has investors’ attention as well.
Maurice Jackson: Justin, what is the driving thesis for Rover Metals in regards to the Kevin Lake gold project?
Judson Culter: The driving thesis has not changed. It’s the same thesis as in the late 1980s. There’s a project called the Lupin Gold Mine that produced from 1983 to 2003 in the north, which is an iron formation, super high-grade gold. The thought at the time was to go and find another one, and that’s what they thought they had here. This is when Cominco and Freeport McMoRan and then Aber Resources, that’s what they thought they had here. They drove 7,500 meters of at or near-surface iron hosted high-grade gold. The only reason they stopped is because somebody found kimberlites a few years after, and the diamond boom in the Territories began.
This project just kind of sat on the back burner as a result of that. Aber Resources, the owner of the time, of course, went on to find the kimberlites. That’s some historical context on this project and why it’s just now coming back to life.
Maurice Jackson: Talk to us about the business acumen here. When and how was Rover Metals able to acquire the Cabin Lake gold project in such a highly contested and sought out district?
Judson Culter: It wasn’t easy; when we looked at the business case, we figured that with a little bit of just rolling up our sleeves, and getting up there, and meeting the right stakeholders, and just recognizing that this is an area that needs new mines and new projects.
I didn’t think it would be like other areas in British Columbia, for example where BC, trying to get First Nation endorsement can be very difficult. There’s so many competing industries that people can really make a way of life in a jurisdiction like British Columbia, whereas knowing a little bit about the Northwest Territories, mining is a big deal up there. People want to see projects succeed.
When we went into the Cabin Lake project, we knew we had to get a couple of things there to get permits. We knew we had to get our neighbors, Tlicho First Nations, on board. We also did our homework and knew that the Tlicho First Nations had previously worked with Fortune Minerals, as well as Nighthawk Gold. When we got to it, there was a framework in place. There was a government that had been formed.
The Tlicho government and the land use formal plan to work within, for application permits, and applications. So, once we got to it, it ended up only being four months to get it permitted. I think it seemed to keep getting easier for us, and it ended up being a decision that looks like it was the right one to make.
Maurice Jackson: Regarding mineral rights in your project portfolio, are there any reversionary interests?
Judson Culter: There’s a 1.5% NSR that we’ve got viable down to a half percentage point for CA$250,000 per quarter percentage.
Maurice Jackson: And does Rover Metals own the mineral rights outright 100%?
Judson Culter: That’s correct. Yes, not just at Cabin Lake, but at the Cabin Lake group of projects. The claims themselves are 10 kilometers apart; so there’s three of them. For the entire group of projects, yes, we have 100% mineral right interest.
Maurice Jackson: Let’s fast forward to 2018 and discuss your exploration program. What were the results from that program and how has that improved the confidence in the gold project?
Judson Culter: It helped us to better track the iron information. So what we did was we spent the six months from March, when we acquired the project, into October, really to digitize all the historical records. At the time in the 1980s, that was meticulously kept, and it was handwritten. We digitize seven banker boxes of data, as well as three map boxes. Then, we put that in a GPS, and tag the colors and everything else.
Then what we wanted to do to follow on with that data was to run a current, modern-day geophysical program. There were a lot of options to us to do it, but in a really economical manner, but also to do it in a very detailed type formation using a drone. Because the mineralization occurs at or near surface, as well as the iron information itself being at or near surface, it really showed up well on the magnetic survey that we flew over the property. So by interlaying the drill results, as well as the mag survey, our geologist was able to get a better interpretation of the iron formation throughout the project. Really, that really set the stage for where we are going to put the drill when we get to drilling this year in 2019.
Beyond just the iron information, what we also realized about the project is the outcropping on either side is quartz. Historically, the quartz had never been tested for mineralization. So we also did a geochemistry program in October. What that showed us is that the PPM and PPB reading of gold from the quartz outcrop area suggest that it’s also very likely to be a host for gold on this project. It’s never been tested historically. That’s the excitement of 2018 and what’s led into the 2019 drill program, which was always trying to be between March and the end of April. We’re still trying to hold on to that deadline.
We’ve got the collars is ready to go. Right now, we believe what we need to do to start drilling is conduct a small financing that we’ll probably release in the coming week or two here.
Maurice Jackson: So to review the value proposition we had before. This is potentially an open-pitable, early-stage brownfield exploration gold project with historical high-grade resource next to a new cobalt-gold mine, is that correct?
Judson Culter: Yes, and that’s one thing I didn’t touch on is the actual historical resource itself. That’s 85,000 ounces unconfirmed in terms of what our current standards allow us to document as a historical resource. What we’re allowed to document in press releases and everything else is 50,000 ounces of roughly 10 to 12 grams gold per ton. The rest of that 35,000 ounces was never signed off by a Qualified Person, but it is in the NORMIN database in the Northwest Territories. It’s in the areas of the Andrew zone, which we’ve documented. Rover will do the work we need to do under 43-101 standards to take that other 35,000 ounces and get it compliant.
From our side internally, we see it as an 85,000 ounce of resource of 12 grams per ton gold on average. When we talk about it publicly, we have to say, 50,000 from a historical resource perspective, but you’re absolutely right that we’re 20 kilometers away from what’s looking to be Canada’s first cobalt mine. The reason I say that is this project’s been 20 years in the making; it’s at the feasibility stage. I believe they’re really just looking to raise the capital to get to work. It’s an open-pitable cobalt mine. The good news is it’s actually a cobalt gold bismuth. So there is a gold processor that’s going to be built 20 kilometers from us. What better news can you possibly have when you’re developing an at-surface resource?
Maurice Jackson: The location in of itself makes the opportunity quite interesting, but to have open pit to me is icing on the cake. Is the goal to sell the project or develop into a commercial scale mine?
Judson Culter: Definitely the goal is to sell it within the next three years, and so I want to put $10 million in the ground, and let’s get this wrapped up and sold. End of story.
Maurice Jackson: What can you share with us regarding the infrastructure?
Judson Culter: So what you see in Yellowknife right now is what’s going to be coming in the pipeline in the next two to three years in the Pine Point Zinc mine is going back into production and that’s Osisko. Part of that is twining the costs in Taltson Hydro Dam and bringing that into Yellowknife itself, as well as Hay River. There’s going to be federal funding allocated, as well as territorial, to do an environmental study that should be announced through fairly short order this year.
After there is a federally funded environmental study to evaluate the twinning of the Taltson Hydro Dam, a successful outcome will lead into a hydro power upgrade to Yellowknife. When Yellowknife is upgraded, that will free up excess hydro power at the Snare and Strutt Lake hydro dams, located approximately 5km away from Camp Lake, one of our claims that’s part of the Cabin Lake group. That power becomes excess power. All of a sudden that frees up for the future the viability of really selling the project because now you’ve got excess power sitting right there, five kilometers away. How good is that?
Maurice Jackson: Switching gears. Rover Metals’ board of directors and advisors consists of the following people:

Maurice Jackson: Bios for the management time are below:

Maurice Jackson: Let’s discuss some numbers. Please share your capital structure.
Judson Culter: We’ve got 47 million shares out today. That’s our issued and outstanding common shares. There are warrants out there. We have 10 million warrants at $0.20 cents, and 10 million warrants at $0.25 cents.
Maurice Jackson: How much cash and cash equivalents do you have?
Judson Culter: Treasury is sitting today around CA$450,000. Then, there’s been some prepayments for upcoming work commitments regarding our exploration plans for this year, as well as I mentioned, we’re doing a lot of our growth in terms of our marketing and our shareholder base in the United States. I think our prepaid balance, if you were to look at that today, should be around CA$200,000, just in terms of for events, as well as I mentioned, exploration planning. If you add that back to our cash position, we’re around CA$650,000 in current assets.
Maurice Jackson: What is your burn rate?
Judson Culter: Our burn rate’s about CA$30,000 a month, and that just includes all in. We purposely don’t carry an office in this market. We’re a bootstrap company. We have home offices, and then we’re on the road a lot. We’ve got an exploration office that is free from our exploration partner, Aurora Geosciences. That’s really where a lot of the hard work gets done. Then, there’s just no corporate office. I don’t feel the need for that, so that helps.
Maurice Jackson: How much debt do you have?
Judson Culter: We have some trade payables of, I think it’s roughly CA$40,000 that we’re going to settle in shares. Outside of that, we’ve got CA$25,000 in payables on top of that, that we’re going to pay in cash. That’s just some exploration legacy from last year.
Maurice Jackson: Who is financing the project, and what is their level of commitment?
Judson Culter: Just sophisticated mining investors. It’s been high net worth, accredited investors to this point. That will continue until we become a $10 million market cap company plus, because we’re just still not able to access institutional funds, and that’s fine. If Rover does everything that we hope to accomplish in the next drilling phase, which we hope is in the next 60 to 90 day window here, we should be a $10 million market cap plus company; and well on our way to institutional money.
Maurice Jackson: Who are the major shareholders?
Judson Culter: I’m a major shareholder. I’ve been seeding Rover not just with time, but my own money; since really inception in 2014. Tookie Angus, who is an advisor, is currently our third largest shareholder. Then, it really starts to break down to smaller tranches, but there is a notable name on the list: Ashwath Mehra, the chairman of GT Gold; he’s a relatively large shareholder.
Management, including Ron Woo. Ron’s also seeded this company. I think Ron’s probably fourth largest shareholder. Keith Minty’s a large shareholder; 38% of our outstanding shares are owned by insiders, management, board. That’s a good thing because that means our shares are tied up for three years.
Maurice Jackson: Judson, based on the data available, what type of value proposition do we have in comparing?
Judson Culter: Well, the market price, let’s just say, I think it should be $8.5 million, just on what we set out today. That’s my personal opinion. I think later value that, that’s just the reality of reserve stocks in North America. We’re going to do what we need to do to take that historical resource and bring it up to current standards, as well as to just extend where they stopped drilling, and just show them this really is a multimillion ounce potential asset.
I think we can get there with the drill program that we’re planning. We’re planning roughly a thousand meter program. I think the value proposition is we’re in a $3.5 million market cap today. I think we’re going to take it to $10 to 15 million in the next six months. Hold me to that.
Maurice Jackson: I certainly will, sir. Multi-layered question here: what is the next unanswered question for Rover Metals? When can we expect the response? How much will the response cost? What determines success?
Judson Culter: That’s going to be our Q1 or Q2 exploration drill campaign. I was going to caveat that, that is subject to the future success of our financing effort (click here), which we hope to announce in roughly two weeks’ time.
That will lead into confirmation of the historical high-grade gold results, such as the open-pit economics, expand upon the known mineralization in the iron formation, as well as to prove up a larger area play and this is more Q2/Q3 work, for the Slemon Lake, and Camp Lake claims, which are located 10 kilometers northwest from Cabin Lake, and we’ll fly that with an aerial B10 survey. What that will show is that the drilling we’ve done at Cabin Lake in the iron formation really just, those other two claims, or districts, an extension of the same geology, which everything that we’ve read historically shows us it is.
Maurice Jackson: Mr. Culter, please share the contact details for Rover Metals.

Judson Culter: Please visit our website www.RoverMetals.com. On there, you’ll find our social media links, which are LinkedInTwitter, our Facebook page and CEO.ca.
Our social media channels really have daily content. We’re press releasing every couple of weeks, but a lot of our investors like really the daily updates on what’s going on in the Northwest Territory. That’s the best place to stay tuned.
You can also submit to our mailing list. We typically will do an email update every two weeks as well. If you go to the bottom of the homepage on the website, and just submit your email, that subscribes you to our email mailing list.
Maurice Jackson: And last but not least, please visit our website, provenandprobable.com, for mining insights and bullion sales. You may reach us at contact@provenandprobable.com.
Judson Culter of Rover Metals, thank you for joining us today on Proven and Probable.
Maurice Jackson is the founder of Proven and Probable, a site that aims to enrich its subscribers through education in precious metals and junior mining companies that will enrich the world.

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Disclosure: 
1) Maurice Jackson: I, or members of my immediate household or family, own shares of the following companies mentioned in this article: Rover Metals. I personally am, or members of my immediate household or family are, paid by the following companies mentioned in this article: None. My company has a financial relationship with the following companies mentioned in this article: None. Proven and Probable disclosures are listed below.
2) The following companies mentioned in this article are billboard sponsors of Streetwise Reports: None. Click herefor important disclosures about sponsor fees.
3) Statements and opinions expressed are the opinions of the author and not of Streetwise Reports or its officers. The author is wholly responsible for the validity of the statements. The author was not paid by Streetwise Reports for this article. Streetwise Reports was not paid by the author to publish or syndicate this article. The information provided above is for informational purposes only and is not a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Streetwise Reports requires contributing authors to disclose any shareholdings in, or economic relationships with, companies that they write about. Streetwise Reports relies upon the authors to accurately provide this information and Streetwise Reports has no means of verifying its accuracy.
4) This article does not constitute investment advice. Each reader is encouraged to consult with his or her individual financial professional and any action a reader takes as a result of information presented here is his or her own responsibility. By opening this page, each reader accepts and agrees to Streetwise Reports’ terms of use and full legal disclaimer. This article is not a solicitation for investment. Streetwise Reports does not render general or specific investment advice and the information on Streetwise Reports should not be considered a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Streetwise Reports does not endorse or recommend the business, products, services or securities of any company mentioned on Streetwise Reports.
5) From time to time, Streetwise Reports LLC and its directors, officers, employees or members of their families, as well as persons interviewed for articles and interviews on the site, may have a long or short position in securities mentioned. Directors, officers, employees or members of their immediate families are prohibited from making purchases and/or sales of those securities in the open market or otherwise from the time of the interview or the decision to write an article until three business days after the publication of the interview or article. The foregoing prohibition does not apply to articles that in substance only restate previously published company releases.
Proven and Probable LLC receives financial compensation from its sponsors. The compensation is used is to fund both sponsor-specific activities and general report activities, website, and general and administrative costs. Sponsor-specific activities may include aggregating content and publishing that content on the Proven and Probable website, creating and maintaining company landing pages, interviewing key management, posting a banner/billboard, and/or issuing press releases. The fees also cover the costs for Proven and Probable to publish sector-specific information on our site, and also to create content by interviewing experts in the sector. Monthly sponsorship fees range from $1,000 to $4,000 per month. Proven and Probable LLC does accept stock for payment of sponsorship fees. Sponsor pages may be considered advertising for the purposes of 18 U.S.C. 1734.
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Blog

ROVER METALS Announces Private Placement Financing

VANCOUVER , March 4, 2019 /CNW/ – Rover Metals Corp. (ROVR.V) (ROVMF(“Rover Metals” or the “Company“) is pleased to announce its intention to complete a non-brokered private placement of units (the “Units“) at a purchase price of $0.08 per Unit, for aggregate gross proceeds of up to CAD$1,250,000 (the “Offering“). Each Unit shall consist of one common share in the capital of the Company (a “Common Share“) and one Common Share purchase warrant (a “Warrant“).  Each Warrant shall entitle the holder to acquire an additional Common Share at a price of $0.15 per share for a period of 24 months following the date of issuance.

Rover Metals anticipates using 80% of the proceeds of the Offering to finance exploration activities at the Cabin Lake Gold Project and remaining use of proceeds for general and administrative expenses.

The Company may pay finder’s fees in accordance with the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange in connection with the Offering.

Rover Metals anticipates relying, in part, on the exemption from the prospectus requirements provided in BC Instrument 45-534 – Exemption From Prospectus Requirement For Certain Trades to Existing Security Holders (the “Existing Shareholder Exemption“).  The Company may also rely on other available prospectus exemptions.

Rover Metals has set March 1, 2019 as the record date for determining shareholders entitled to participate in the Offering in reliance on the Existing Shareholder Exemption. If the Offering is over-subscribed, Units will be allotted on a first come first served basis. Qualifying investors who wish to participate in the Offering should contact the Company using the contact information set forth below. It is anticipated that the Offering will close in one or more tranches commencing on or about March 15, 2019 .

All securities issued under the Offering will be subject to a hold period of four months and a day from the distribution date, in accordance with applicable securities laws.  Completion of the Offering is subject to the receipt of all applicable approvals, including the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange.

About Rover Metals
Rover Metals is a natural resource exploration company specialized in gold that is currently focused on the Northwest Territories of Canada , one of the most mining friendly jurisdictions in North America . The Cabin Lake Group of High Grade Gold Projects are located within 20km of Fortune Minerals’ (FT.TO) planned NICO Project gold processor.

You can follow Rover Metals on its social media channels Twitter: https://twitter.com/rovermetals, LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/rover-metals/, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RoverMetals/, and CEO.ca: https://ceo.ca/rovr for daily company updates and industry news.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF ROVER METALS
“Judson Culter”
Chief Executive Officer and Director

Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains statements that constitute “forward-looking statements.” Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause Rover’s actual results, performance or achievements, or developments in the industry to differ materially from the anticipated results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words “expects,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “intends,” “estimates,” “projects,” “potential” and similar expressions, or that events or conditions “will,” “would,” “may,” “could” or “should” occur.  Forward-looking statements in this document include statements regarding Rover’s expectations regarding the issuance of Units and receipt of regulatory approval therefor and the use of proceeds from the Offering. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate. Actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements, and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Any factor could cause actual results to differ materially from Rover’s expectations. Rover undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the event that management’s beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change.

THE FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS NEWS RELEASE REPRESENTS THE EXPECTATIONS OF THE COMPANY AS OF THE DATE OF THIS NEWS RELEASE AND, ACCORDINGLY, IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE AFTER SUCH DATE. READERS SHOULD NOT PLACE UNDUE IMPORTANCE ON FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION AND SHOULD NOT RELY UPON THIS INFORMATION AS OF ANY OTHER DATE.  WHILE THE COMPANY MAY ELECT TO, IT DOES NOT UNDERTAKE TO UPDATE THIS INFORMATION AT ANY PARTICULAR TIME EXCEPT AS REQUIRED IN ACCORDANCE WITH APPLICABLE LAWS.

NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OF THIS RELEASE

View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/rover-metals-corp-announces-non-brokered-private-placement-of-up-to-cad1-250-000–300805708.html

Categories
Base Metals Energy Junior Mining Precious Metals

Diamcor Announces Revised Term Loan Financing

KELOWNA, BC / ACCESSWIRE / December 31, 2024 / Diamcor Mining Inc. (TSX-V:DMI)(OTCQB:DMIFF)(FRA:DC3A) (“Diamcor” or the “Company”), a well-established Canadian diamond mining company with a proven history in the mining, exploration, and sale of rough diamonds, announces that the Company intends to complete a term loan financing (the “Financing”) of up to CAD$1,000,000. Term loans under the Financing will be unsecured, carry an annual interest rate of 15%, and the Company will issue a total of 400,000 common shares in its authorized share capital for every CAD$100,000 of principal advanced under the Financing by participants/lenders pursuant to policy 5.1 of the TSX Venture Exchange Corporate Finance Manual. There will be no warrant issued as part of the Financing. The principal and interest of the term loans will be due and payable on the 12-month anniversary of the closing date. As has been the case in other recent financings completed by the Company, Management and key shareholders are expected to participate in this Financing.

The proceeds of the Financing will be used to advance efforts aimed at processing material at significantly higher volumes in 2025 at the Company’s Krone-Endora at Venetia Project (the “Project”), the advancement of work programmes previously underway, expansion into the greater portions of the Project, and for general corporate purposes. The Company also notes that it is in advanced discussions with various larger industry groups and financiers on the provision of larger non-dilutive facilities to support future growth, and further details will be provided when available in the coming weeks. As a result of the above, the Company will not be proceeding with the financing previously announced on October 30, 2024.

The Financing is subject to regulatory approval of the TSX Venture Exchange along with completion of all definitive documentation and filings as required. All securities issued pursuant to the above will be subject to a hold period of four months plus one day following the closing.

About Diamcor Mining Inc.

Diamcor Mining Inc. is a fully reporting publicly traded Canadian diamond mining company with a well-established proven history in the mining, exploration, and sale of rough diamonds. The Company’s primary focus is on the development of its Krone-Endora at Venetia Project which is co-located and directly adjacent to De Beers’ Venetia Diamond Mine in South Africa. The Venetia diamond mine is recognized as one of the world’s top diamond-producing mines, and the deposits which occur on Krone-Endora have been identified as being the result of shift and subsequent erosion of an estimated 50M tonnes of material from the higher grounds of Venetia to the lower surrounding areas in the direction of Krone and Endora. The Company focuses on the acquisition and development of mid-tier projects with near-term production capabilities and growth potential and uses unique approaches to mining that involves the use of advanced technology and techniques to extract diamonds in a safe, efficient, and environmentally responsible manner. The Company has a strong commitment to social responsibility, including supporting local communities and protecting the environment.

About the Krone-Endora at Venetia Project

Diamcor acquired the Krone-Endora at Venetia Project from De Beers Consolidated Mines Limited, consisting of the prospecting rights over the farms Krone 104 and Endora 66, which represent a combined surface area of approximately 5,888 hectares directly adjacent to De Beers’ flagship Venetia Diamond Mine in South Africa. The Company subsequently announced that the South African Department of Mineral Resources had granted a Mining Right for the Krone-Endora at Venetia Project encompassing 657.71 hectares of the Project’s total area of 5,888 hectares. The Company has also submitted an application for a mining right over the remaining areas of the Project. The deposits which occur on the properties of Krone and Endora have been identified as a higher-grade “Alluvial” basal deposit which is covered by a lower-grade upper “Eluvial” deposit. These deposits are proposed to be the result of the direct-shift (in respect to the “Eluvial” deposit) and erosion (in respect to the “Alluvial” deposit) of an estimated 1,000 vertical meters of material from the higher grounds of the adjacent Venetia Kimberlite areas. The deposits on Krone-Endora occur with a maximum total depth of approximately 15.0 metres from surface to bedrock, allowing for a very low-cost mining operation to be employed with the potential for near-term diamond production from a known high-quality source. Krone-Endora also benefits from the significant development of infrastructure and services already in place due to its location directly adjacent to the De Beers Venetia Mine, which is widely recognised as one of the top producing diamond mines in the world.

Qualified Person Statement:

Mr. James P. Hawkins (B.Sc., P.Geo.) is Manager of Exploration & Special Projects for Diamcor Mining Inc., and the Qualified Person in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 responsible for overseeing the execution of Diamcor’s exploration programmes and a Member of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta (“APEGA”). Mr. Hawkins has reviewed this press release and approved of its contents.

On behalf of the Board of Directors:

Mr. Dean H. Taylor
President & CEO
Diamcor Mining Inc.
www.diamcormining.com

For further information contact:

Mr. Dean H. Taylor
Diamcor Mining Inc
DeanT@Diamcor.com
+1 250 862-3212

For Investor Relations contact:

Mr. Rich MatthewsMr. Neil Simon
Integrous CommunicationsInvestor Cubed Inc
rmatthews@integcom.usnsimon@investor3.ca
+1 (604) 355-7179+1 (647) 258-3310

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements. While these forward-looking statements represent our best current judgement, they are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties that are beyond the Company’s ability to control or predict and which could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements. Further, the Company expressly disclaims any obligation to update any forward looking statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

WE SEEK SAFE HARBOUR

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE: Diamcor Mining Inc.



View the original press release on accesswire.com

Categories
Base Metals Blog Energy Junior Mining

Special Report | The Uranium Miners Opportunity

For the latest standardized performance and holdings of Sprott Uranium ETFs, please visit the individual website pages:  URNM and URNJ. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Key Takeaways

  • Uranium Market Consolidation: Thus far in 2024, the uranium spot price has stabilized between $80 to $90 per pound after a significant 88.54% increase in 2023. This phase indicates a healthy correction within a bullish market cycle.
  • Miners’ Catch-Up: Uranium miners have shown improved performance, catching up to gains in the spot price. 
  • Long-Term Contracting Trends: Long-term uranium contract prices point to higher uranium prices as contract ceilings reach $130 per pound.
  • Geopolitical Impacts and Demand: Geopolitical tensions and supply uncertainties persist, influencing uranium supply dynamics. Despite these challenges, global demand remains robust, driven by nuclear reactor restarts and new builds, supporting a sustained bullish outlook for uranium.

Artificial Intelligence and the Need for Electricity

Global electricity demand is estimated to increase by 165% by 2050.2 Surging energy consumption in the East is driven by the urbanization and industrialization of developing countries, while the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), data centers, electrification and reshoring is driving demand in the West.

Figure 1. 

Figure 1. Data center electricity consumption in the US

Source: Boston Consulting Group, the Impact of Electricity. Data as of 12/31/2023.

Globally, data centers’ electricity demand is forecasted to grow 258% from 2023 to 2030.3 Growing demand from global data centers is expected to increase from 1.2% of global electricity supply to 4.1%.4 AI data centers require much more electricity for computing, cooling and other IT infrastructure compared to traditional data centers because of:

  • Higher computational demands from complex algorithms and large datasets
  • Increased workloads and demand for real-time data from continuous, intense computational workloads running 24/7
  • Densely packed servers requiring significant power for cooling requirements

To support the growth of AI, Silicon Valley is increasingly turning to nuclear energy. Firms like Google, Amazon and Microsoft have signed deals to purchase power from nuclear energy providers.5 The benefits of such arrangements are twofold. First, data centers will have access to the reliable baseload power provided by nuclear energy to run their energy-intensive operations. Second, nuclear energy is one of the cleanest forms of energy, and by going nuclear, tech companies can still progress toward their corporate net zero carbon emissions pledges, even as their energy footprints expand.

Why Uranium Miners?

We believe we are in the early stages of a sustained uranium bull market. An already positive outlook was given an additional boost at the COP28 conference in December 2023, where more than 20 nations agreed to triple nuclear energy capacity by 2050. The pledge grew to 31 countries after the COP29 conference in November 2024. Uranium miners stand to benefit from the growing acceptance of nuclear energy.

We anticipate that the uranium supply-demand imbalance will continue through at least 2040. Demand for uranium may outstrip supply and reach a cumulative deficit of 1 billion pounds by 2040. The uranium market may see a cumulative deficit of 2.1 billion pounds when factoring in global net zero pledges.

Figure 2. Uranium Supply and Demand Estimates (2008-2040E)

Source: UxC and Cameco Corp. Data as of 9/30/2024.

Higher uranium prices and more investment in uranium miners are needed to reduce the expected supply shortfall and meet current and future demand. Our focus is on uranium miners, which are upstream in the supply chain. Miners may be less susceptible to some geopolitical risks and may benefit as Western governments seek to secure critical supply chains by incentivizing domestic expansion for uranium miners.

In November 2024, Russia imposed restrictions on the export of enriched uranium to the U.S. This development has the potential to meaningfully impact downstream nuclear companies, such as utilities and enriched uranium importers, as Russia controls about 44% of global uranium enrichment capacity.6

Figure 3. Uranium Miners’ Market Capitalizations Have Grown with Increased Investment7 (2020-2024)

Source: Indxx and Bloomberg. Data as of 10/31/24.

2025 May Provide an Attractive Entry Point for Uranium Miners

After years of growth, uranium miners took a healthy pause amidst the broader uranium bull market. Off recent highs, spot uranium prices spent much of 2024 between $80 and $90 per pound before moving lower to $75 to $80 in Q4. Uranium miners tend to offer leverage to the price of uranium (see Figure 4), outperforming in rising markets while underperforming in falling markets. However, as a group, uranium miners showed resiliency in 2024, having outperformed the spot market as of the time of this writing.

Figure 4. Uranium Miners vs. Spot Uranium (2014-2024)

Source: Bloomberg and TradeTech LLC. Data from 9/30/2014 to 9/30/2024. World Uranium Equities measured by URAX Index, which tracks the performance of stocks globally that conduct business with uranium. URAX and Uranium Spot denominated in U.S. dollars.

Despite the bull market pause, the underlying fundamentals for uranium improved with positive support from technology companies, accelerating supply and demand constraints, and continued advancement on the political front. Among market developments in 2024 were:

  • The ban of importing Russian-enriched uranium by the United States by no later than 2027. This action was met with a preemptive Russian ban on exporting enriched uranium to the United States.
  • The announcement of plans to restart the Palisades Nuclear Plant in Michigan8 and Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania.9 
  • Talen Energy’s announcement of its sale of a nuclear-powered data center to Amazon.10
  • Meta’s requests for proposals to identify nuclear energy developers to help the company meet its AI innovation and sustainability objectives.11

We believe 2025 may represent an attractive buying opportunity for investors amid increasingly positive fundamentals.

Sprott Uranium Miners ETF (Ticker: URNM)

URNM provides focused pure-play12 exposure to uranium mining equities. Pure-play companies devote at least 50% of their assets to the uranium mining industry, including mining, exploration, development and production of uranium, holding physical uranium, owning uranium royalties or engaging in other non-mining activities supporting the uranium mining industry.

  • Only13 U.S.-listed ETF to provide targeted pure-play exposure to senior and junior uranium miners and physical uranium
    • Aggregate weight of 82.5% of the index is assigned to uranium miners, explorers, developers and producers
    • An aggregate weight of 17.5% of the index is allocated to entities that hold physical uranium, uranium royalties or other non-mining assets
  • Traditional market portfolios may provide very little, if any, exposure to uranium miners. Investors may consider adding URNM to existing portfolios to:
    • Diversify energy exposure traditionally allocated to the oil and gas sector
    • Provide growth potential as part of a thematic or growth allocation

URNM Is Part of the Sprott Critical Materials Suite of ETFs

Sprott Critical Materials ETFs

Footnotes

1Source: Boston Consulting Group, the Impact of Electricity.
2Source: IEA World Energy Outlook 2023 Net Zero Emissions Scenario.
3Source: International Energy Agency, World Energy Outlook 2023.
4Source: International Energy Agency, World Energy Outlook 2023.
5Source: Reuters, Microsoft deal propels Three Mile Island restart, with key permits still needed.
6Source: Reuters, Russia restricts enriched uranium exports to the United States.
7Source: Indxx and Bloomberg, as of 10/31/24.
8Source: The New York Times, U.S. Approves Billions in Aid to Restart Michigan Nuclear Plant.
9Source: Reuters, US nuclear regulator kicks off review on Three Mile Island restart.
10Source: NuclearNewswire, Amazon buys nuclear-powered data center from Talen.
11Source: Meta, Accelerating the Next Wave of Nuclear to Power AI Innovation.
12The term “pure-play” relates directly to the exposure that the Fund has to the total universe of investable, publicly listed securities in the investment strategy.
13Based on Morningstar’s universe of Natural Resources Sector Equity ETFs as of 9/30/2024.
Categories
Base Metals Breaking Energy Junior Mining Precious Metals

Franco-Nevada Announces $500 Million Precious Metals Stream with Sibanye-Stillwater

(in U.S. dollars unless otherwise noted)

TORONTO, Dec. 19, 2024 /CNW/ – Franco-Nevada Corporation (“Franco-Nevada” or the “Company“) (TSX: FNV) (NYSE: FNV) is pleased to announce that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Franco-Nevada (Barbados) Corporation (“FNB“), has entered into a precious metals stream (the “Stream“) with reference to specific production from Sibanye-Stillwater Limited’s (“Sibanye-Stillwater“) Marikana, Rustenburg and Kroondal mining operations (the “Stream Area“) located on the Western Limb of the Bushveld Complex in South Africa. The Stream is primarily comprised of a gold component for the life of mine (“LOM“) and a platinum component for approximately 25 years supporting a more stable gold equivalent ounce (“GEO“) delivery profile to FNB over this period.

“We are excited to partner with Sibanye-Stillwater and gain exposure to production from this fully integrated, long life, platinum group metal (“PGM“) complex,” said Paul Brink, President & CEO of Franco-Nevada. “The Bushveld complex represents a unique and essential source of PGMs, with Sibanye-Stillwater’s Western Limb operations currently providing approximately 15% of global platinum supply. The combination of extensive resources, established infrastructure, and a large pipeline of extension projects, operated by a leading global PGM producer, makes for a high-quality stream with very long-life potential. This immediately cash flowing transaction, along with our recent Cascabel and Yanacocha deals, provide both meaningful medium and long-term growth.”

Neal Froneman, CEO of Sibanye-Stillwater said, “We are pleased to have concluded this US$500 million (R8.8bn) Stream with Franco-Nevada which unlocks further value from our SA PGM operations, a core part of our business, bolstering our balance sheet. By primarily streaming gold, which is a single component of the diverse production mix at our SA PGM operations, we retain significant leverage to higher PGM prices, which we anticipate.  The support from Franco-Nevada underscores the quality and long-term viability of our PGM assets. We welcome this opportunity to continue to build our relationship with Franco-Nevada.”

Transaction Highlights:

  • Immediate Precious Metals Growth: The Stream will deliver immediate cash flow from a diversified production base in South Africa, a seasoned mining jurisdiction. The Stream is expected to generate a stable GEO profile over the next 20 years based off the platinum, palladium, rhodium and gold (“4E PGM“) production profile shown in the chart below. This profile is based on Sibanye-Stillwater’s board-approved ore reserve LOM as at December 31, 2023 for its existing operations and includes certain pre-feasibility and feasibility stage projects being studied, which leverage existing infrastructure (the “Replacement Projects“). The Stream GEO profile is comprised of approximately 70% gold and 30% platinum deliveries1 at consensus commodity prices with a 45+ year LOM.
  • Proven Operator and Significant Invested Capital in an Integrated Complex: Sibanye-Stillwater’s Western Limb operations benefit from extensive existing infrastructure consolidated through the merger of three prior operators, which has unlocked numerous synergies. The complex is expected to operate at the lower half of the PGM cost curve2. These operations consist of the Marikana, Rustenburg, and Kroondal operations and a total of 13 underground mines. The mines are supported by Sibanye-Stillwater’s concentrators and smelter and refining complex. Sibanye-Stillwater is a leader in South African mine safety and has committed to continuous safety improvements. The operations have strong relationships with their Black Economic Empowerment (“BEE“) partners and local communities.
  • Long Reserve Lives with Extensive Resources: The Stream is referenced to production from the Stream Area, which extends over 500 kmof Sibanye-Stillwater’s Western Limb operations in South Africa. The Stream Area assets have a mine life up to 2070 including ore Reserves and Replacement Projects, based on current projections. Sibanye-Stillwater has the potential to sustain higher production levels for longer, with 4E PGM Measured and Indicated (“M&I“) Resources of 182 Moz inclusive of the 34 Moz of 4E PGM Reserves3, providing extensive long-term optionality.
  • Operations Benefit from a Unique and Diversified Basket of Metals: Sibanye-Stillwater’s Western Limb operations currently produce approximately 15% of the world’s platinum supply4. In addition, they produce palladium, rhodium and gold as primary 4E PGM components and a significant amount of chrome and other by-products, including approximately 28% of current global iridium and ruthenium supply4. The latter are both important to data storage and chip manufacturing and with platinum to a potential future hydrogen economy. By-products provide a more diversified basket price to the operations compared to many other global PGM producers. By-products contributed approximately 18% of Sibanye-Stillwater’s SA PGM revenue basket in H1 2024 with potential to expand this component of the business.
  • Gold Deliveries linked to PGM Production: For approximately the first 25 years5, gold deliveries are linked to the volume of 4E PGM ounces produced. This reference to the overall production of these key metals helps ensure that gold deliveries are aligned with Sibanye-Stillwater’s PGM production, mitigating variations in gold grade between deposits.

Key Transaction Terms:

Gold Stream Parameters

  • Stream deliveries to FNB are based on production from the Steam Area, according to the following schedule:
    • Gold ounces equal to 1.1% of 4E PGM ounces contained in concentrate until delivery of 87.5 koz of gold, then
    • Gold ounces equal to 0.75% of 4E PGM ounces contained in concentrate until total delivery of 237 koz of gold, then
    • 80% of gold contained in concentrate for the remaining LOM.

Platinum Stream Parameters     

  • Stream deliveries to FNB are based on platinum production from the Stream Area, according to the following schedule:
    • 1.0% of platinum contained in concentrate until the delivery of 48 koz of platinum, then
    • Step-up to 2.1% of platinum contained in concentrate until total delivery of 294 koz of platinum, then
    • No further platinum deliveries.

Additional Considerations

  • Effective start date of the Stream is September 1, 2024 with funding of the $500 million deposit anticipated in the next few weeks and first delivery approximately 45 days after closing of the transaction
  • Gold and platinum ounces delivered will be subject to an ongoing payment of 5% of spot prices respectively to Sibanye-Stillwater. In the case of gold, the ongoing payment will increase to 10% following completion of the 4E PGM link (after the delivery of 237 koz of gold to FNB)6
  • Deliveries will be based on production from the mining operations from the Stream Area and exclude surface tailings retreatment, except in certain circumstances
  • Corporate guarantees will be provided to FNB by Sibanye-Stillwater and the Marikana, Rustenburg and Kroondal operations’ operating companies, amongst others
  • FNB will maintain a right of first refusal on future streams and royalties related to the Stream Area
  • The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including the approval from the South African Reserve Bank

Medium-Term Production Profile

Figure 1.: Sibanye-Stillwater’s Western Limb Production (Metal in Concentrate) details a 20-year production profile from Sibanye-Stillwater’s Western Limb PGM operations based on reserve LOM declared at the end of 2023 and in addition, includes the Replacement Projects (including the Kroondal depth extension projects, E3, E4, and Saffy projects)7. Sibanye-Stillwater’s total reserve LOM plan based on 34 Moz of 4E PGM Mineral Reserves (100% basis) extends production beyond this period to 2070 at a reduced rate due to its long life K4 project at the Marikana operation.

Sibanye-Stillwater’s Western Limb Production (Metal in Concentrate)

Figure 1. (CNW Group/Franco-Nevada Corporation)
Figure 1. (CNW Group/Franco-Nevada Corporation)
Source: Sibanye-Stillwater  
Note: Production profiles of the first three data sets (in blue shade) are based on Mineral reserves declared as at December 31, 2023 on a 100% basis and excludes existing tailings reprocessing. Projects included represent E4, E3 deepening, Saffy Deeps and Kroondal depth extension (Siphumelele UG2). Price assumptions to support the attached profile are US$923/oz pt, US$1,055/oz pd, US$4,350/oz rh US$1,925/oz gold. The approved total Mineral reserve LOM 4E prill split has been disclosed in the Reserve and resources supplement available at https://www.sibanyestillwater.com/news-investors/reports/annual/2023/. Platinum ranges from a prill split of approximately 58.1% – 63.6% and gold ranges from approximately 0.6% – 7.1% depending on MER versus UG2 and varies by SA PGM operation.

Pandora Royalty

Franco-Nevada and Sibanye-Stillwater have agreed to convert the 5% net profit interest that Franco-Nevada holds on the Pandora property to a 1% net smelter return royalty. Sibanye-Stillwater’s Pandora property forms a portion of its Marikana operations and includes the currently operating E3 decline. Three of the Replacement Projects being studied fall on a portion of the Pandora royalty ground.

Financing the Transactions

Franco-Nevada intends to finance the Stream from cash on hand, with approximately $1.3 billion in cash and cash equivalents and $2.3 billion in available capital as at September 30, 2024.

Franco-Nevada Corporate Summary

Franco-Nevada Corporation is the leading gold-focused royalty and streaming company with the most diversified portfolio of cash-flow producing assets. Its business model provides investors with gold price and exploration optionality while limiting exposure to cost inflation. Franco-Nevada is debt-free and uses its free cash flow to expand its portfolio and pay dividends. It trades under the symbol FNV on both the Toronto and New York stock exchanges.

About Sibanye-Stillwater

Sibanye-Stillwater is a multinational mining and metals processing group with a diverse portfolio of operations, projects and investments across five continents. The Group is also one of the foremost global recyclers of PGM autocatalysts and has interests in leading mine tailings retreatment operations.

Sibanye-Stillwater is one of the world’s largest primary producers of platinum, palladium, and rhodium and is a top tier gold producer. It also produces and refines iridium, ruthenium, nickel, chrome, copper and cobalt. The Group has recently begun to diversify its asset portfolio into battery metals mining and processing and increase its presence in the circular economy by growing its recycling and tailings reprocessing exposure globally. For more information refer to www.sibanyestillwater.com.

Sibanye-Stillwater Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves

Sibanye-Stillwater’s Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves are estimates at a particular date (as at December 31, 2023), and are affected by fluctuations in mineral prices, the exchange rates, operating costs, mining permits, changes in legislation and operating factors. Sibanye-Stillwater reports its Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves in accordance with the rules and regulations promulgated by each of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the JSE at all managed operations, development, and exploration properties.

Additional Information

Information relating to the Sibanye-Stillwater PGM assets contained in this news release has been provided by Sibanye-Stillwater.

Scientific and technical information included in this news release has been reviewed by Gregory Snow, P Eng, Senior Manager, Geology of Franco-Nevada, a non-independent qualified person under National Instrument 43-101.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains “forward-looking information” and “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws and the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, respectively, which may include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to future events or future performance, including the expected timing of closing the transaction, the expected future performance of Sibanye-Stillwater’s South African PGM assets and the Stream, and production and mine life estimates relating to Sibanye-Stillwater’s South African PGM assets. In addition, statements relating to reserves and resources, gold equivalent ounces (“GEOs”) and mine life are forward-looking statements, as they involve implied assessment, based on certain estimates and assumptions, and no assurance can be given that the estimates and assumptions are accurate and that such reserves and resources, GEOs or mine life will be realized. Such forward-looking statements reflect management’s current beliefs and are based on information currently available to management. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as “plans”, “expects”, “is expected”, “budgets”, “potential for”, “scheduled”, “estimates”, “forecasts”, “predicts”, “projects”, “intends”, “targets”, “aims”, “anticipates” or “believes” or variations (including negative variations) of such words and phrases or may be identified by statements to the effect that certain actions “may”, “could”, “should”, “would”, “might” or “will” be taken, occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Franco-Nevada to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. A number of factors could cause actual events or results to differ materially from any forward-looking statement, including, without limitation: fluctuations in the prices of the primary commodities that drive royalty and stream revenue (gold, platinum group metals, copper, nickel, uranium, silver, iron ore and oil and gas); fluctuations in the value of the Canadian and Australian dollar, Mexican peso, and any other currency in which revenue is generated, relative to the U.S. dollar; changes in national and local government legislation, including permitting and licensing regimes and taxation policies and the enforcement thereof; the adoption of a global minimum tax on corporations; regulatory, political or economic developments in any of the countries where properties in which Franco-Nevada holds a royalty, stream or other interest are located or through which they are held; risks related to the operators of the properties in which Franco-Nevada holds a royalty, stream or other interest, including changes in the ownership and control of such operators; relinquishment or sale of mineral properties; influence of macroeconomic developments; business opportunities that become available to, or are pursued by Franco-Nevada; reduced access to debt and equity capital; litigation; title, permit or license disputes related to interests on any of the properties in which Franco-Nevada holds a royalty, stream or other interest; whether or not the Company is determined to have “passive foreign investment company” (“PFIC”) status as defined in Section 1297 of the United States Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended; potential changes in Canadian tax treatment of offshore streams; excessive cost escalation as well as development, permitting, infrastructure, operating or technical difficulties on any of the properties in which Franco-Nevada holds a royalty, stream or other interest; access to sufficient pipeline capacity; actual mineral content may differ from the reserves and resources contained in technical reports; rate and timing of production differences from resource estimates, other technical reports and mine plans; risks and hazards associated with the business of development and mining on any of the properties in which Franco-Nevada holds a royalty, stream or other interest, including, but not limited to unusual or unexpected geological and metallurgical conditions, slope failures or cave-ins, flooding and other natural disasters, terrorism, civil unrest or an outbreak of contagious disease; the impact of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic; and the integration of acquired assets. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based upon assumptions management believes to be reasonable, including, without limitation: the ongoing operation of the properties in which Franco-Nevada holds a royalty, stream or other interest by the owners or operators of such properties in a manner consistent with past practice; the accuracy of public statements and disclosures made by the owners or operators of such underlying properties; no material adverse change in the market price of the commodities that underlie the asset portfolio; the Company’s ongoing income and assets relating to determination of its PFIC status; no material changes to existing tax treatment; the expected application of tax laws and regulations by taxation authorities; the expected assessment and outcome of any audit by any taxation authority; no adverse development in respect of any significant property in which Franco-Nevada holds a royalty, stream or other interest; the accuracy of publicly disclosed expectations for the development of underlying properties that are not yet in production; integration of acquired assets; and the absence of any other factors that could cause actions, events or results to differ from those anticipated, estimated or intended. However, there can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. In addition, there can be no assurance as to the outcome of the ongoing audit by the CRA or the Company’s exposure as a result thereof. Franco-Nevada cannot assure investors that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. Accordingly, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements due to the inherent uncertainty therein.

For additional information with respect to risks, uncertainties and assumptions, please refer to Franco-Nevada’s most recent Annual Information Form filed with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities on www.sedar.com and Franco-Nevada’s most recent Annual Report filed on Form 40-F filed with the SEC on www.sec.gov. The forward-looking statements herein are made as of the date of this press release only and Franco-Nevada does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new information, estimates or opinions, future events or results or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.

______________________________________
1 Assuming current projections of 4E PGM production based on Reserves and Replacement Projects at consensus commodity prices
2 Combined costs (excluding by-products) following the Marikana K4 mine ramp-up
3 Attributable M&I Resource of 1.0 Bt at 4.3 g/t 4E PGM grade for 142 Moz 4E PGM (182 Moz 4E PGM on a 100% basis) and attributable Inferred Resources of 227.5 Mt at 4.6 g/t 4E PGM grade for 33.7 Moz 4E PGM (41.7 Moz on a 100% basis) as at December 31, 2023. Attributable Reserves of 231 Mt at 3.6 g/t 4E PGM grade for 26.5 Moz 4E PGM (33.9 Moz 4E PGM on a 100% basis) as at December 31, 2023. M&I Resources are inclusive of Reserves.  
4 Based on 2023 production per Sibanye-Stillwater’s public disclosure and total 2023 supply per Johnson Matthey PGM market report (May 2024)
5 Assuming current projections of 4E PGM production based on Reserves and Replacement Projects currently being studied by Sibanye-Stillwater
6 The ongoing payments are subject to reduction in certain circumstances
7 The development and timing of these replacement projects is subject to achieving positive commercial and economic outcomes from the feasibility studies underway.
Cision
Cision

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SOURCE Franco-Nevada Corporation

Cision
Cision

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Categories
Junior Mining Precious Metals

DSI says Gold and Silver going higher. Tax Loss Silly Season ends shortly

Bob Moriarty
Archives
Dec 19, 2024

As of December 18th, 2024 the DSI for gold is 48, for silver 21. The highest value for gold based on the DSI showed 89 back in May of this year. On the same day silver reached a peak DSI of 90. Those numbers are not good enough to make a major top in either gold or silver. For example, it took a DSI of 96 to mark the top for silver in April of 2011 and a DSI of 95 on January 21, 1980 to mark the all-time high for silver. In my view gold and silver are going to go a lot higher not far off. I expect silver to break its all time high of $50.75 in the next six months or so. Once silver makes a new all-time high I think it will be off to the races.

Tax Loss Silly Season is that six week or so period starting in November and running into just before Christmas when investors clean out the stocks they own that have gone down the most to be able to write off the losses for the current year. It’s the worst time of the year to sell and the best time of the year to buy. Since so many junior lottery tickets have been hammered this year there has been a lot of carnage in the space due to the lack of liquidity and the sheer number of punters willing to take anything on offer for their shares.

But all things change.

The ten-week period from the middle of December each year into the end of February is seasonally the best time of the year for gold and silver. In the past five days, gold has gone down about $130 or over 5%. Now looks to be a good buying opportunity if Trump isn’t whacked between now and a month from now. If he gets whacked, it would be an extraordinary opportunity as the US moves into a civil war.

http://www.321gold.com/editorials/moriarty/moriarty121924/1.jpg(Click on image to enlarge)

###

Bob Moriarty
President: 321gold
Archives

321gold Ltd

Categories
Base Metals Energy Junior Mining Precious Metals

Diamcor and Tiffany & Co. Canada Sign Agreement to Amend Outstanding Loans

KELOWNA, BC / ACCESSWIRE / December 18, 2024 / Diamcor Mining Inc. (TSXV:DMI)(OTCQB:DMIFF)(FRA:DC3A), (“Diamcor” or the “Company”), a well-established Canadian diamond mining company with a proven history in the mining, exploration, and sale of rough diamonds announces that the Company and Tiffany & Co. Canada (“Tiffany” or “The Lender”) have entered into an agreement (the “Agreement”) to amend the total balance of the outstanding loans between the companies. Under the terms of the Agreement, Diamcor will pay Tiffany CAD $2,000,000 (the “Initial Payment”) 90 days from signing of the Agreement, followed by a second and final payment of CAD $1,505,256 on the one-year anniversary of the Initial Payment to retire all remaining principal and accrued interest associated with the outstanding loans. As a result of this agreement, the total current carrying balance currently recorded in the Company’s financials for these loans of CAD $6,753,045 will be adjusted to reflect a new amount of CAD $3,505,256 as outstanding for these loans.

About Diamcor Mining Inc.

Diamcor Mining Inc. is a fully reporting publicly traded Canadian diamond mining company with a well-established proven history in the mining, exploration, and sale of rough diamonds. The Company’s primary focus is on the mining and development of its Krone-Endora at Venetia Project which is co-located and directly adjacent to De Beers’ Venetia Diamond Mine in South Africa. The Venetia diamond mine is recognized as one of the world’s top diamond-producing mines, and the deposits which occur on Krone-Endora have been identified as being the result of shift and subsequent erosion of an estimated 50M tonnes of material from the higher grounds of Venetia to the lower surrounding areas in the direction of Krone and Endora.

Diamcor also focuses on the acquisition and development of mid-tier projects with near-term production capabilities and growth potential and uses unique approaches to mining that involves the use of advanced technology and techniques to extract diamonds in a safe, efficient, and environmentally responsible manner. The Company has a strong commitment to social responsibility, including the support of local people, communities, and the environment.

About the Krone-Endora at Venetia Project

Diamcor acquired the Krone-Endora at Venetia Project from De Beers Consolidated Mines Limited, consisting of the prospecting rights over the farms Krone 104 and Endora 66, which represent a combined surface area of approximately 5,888 hectares directly adjacent to De Beers’ flagship Venetia Diamond Mine in South Africa. The Company subsequently announced that the South African Department of Mineral Resources had granted a Mining Right for the Krone-Endora at Venetia Project encompassing 657.71 hectares of the Project’s total area of 5,888 hectares. The Company has also submitted an application for a mining right over the remaining areas of the Project. The deposits which occur on the properties of Krone and Endora have been identified as a higher-grade “Alluvial” basal deposit which is covered by a lower-grade upper “Eluvial” deposit. These deposits are proposed to be the result of the direct-shift (in respect to the “Eluvial” deposit) and erosion (in respect to the “Alluvial” deposit) of an estimated 1,000 vertical meters of material from the higher grounds of the adjacent Venetia Kimberlite areas. The deposits on Krone-Endora occur with a maximum total depth of approximately 15.0 metres from surface to bedrock, allowing for a very low-cost mining operation to be employed with the potential for near-term diamond production from a known high-quality source. Krone-Endora also benefits from the significant development of infrastructure and services already in place due to its location directly adjacent to the Venetia Mine, which is widely recognised as the largest diamond mine in South Africa, and one of the most prolific diamond mines in the world.

Qualified Person Statement:

Mr. James P. Hawkins (B.Sc., P.Geo.), is Manager of Exploration & Special Projects for Diamcor Mining Inc., and the Qualified Person in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 responsible for overseeing the execution of Diamcor’s exploration programmes and a Member of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta (“APEGA”). Mr. Hawkins has reviewed this press release and approved of its contents.

On behalf of the Board of Directors:

Mr. Dean H. Taylor
President & CEO
Diamcor Mining Inc.
www.diamcormining.com

For further information contact:

Mr. Dean H. Taylor
Diamcor Mining Inc
DeanT@Diamcor.com
+1 250 862-3212

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements. While these forward-looking statements represent our best current judgement, they are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties that are beyond the Company’s ability to control or predict and which could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements. Further, the Company expressly disclaims any obligation to update any forward looking statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

WE SEEK SAFE HARBOUR

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE: Diamcor Mining Inc.



View the original press release on accesswire.com

Categories
Junior Mining Lion One Metals Precious Metals

Lion One Drills 1517.79 g/t Gold over 0.3 M at Tuvatu Gold Mine in Fiji

North Vancouver, British Columbia–(Newsfile Corp. – December 17, 2024) – Lion One Metals Limited (TSXV: LIO) (OTCQX: LOMLF) (“Lion One” or the “Company”) is pleased to report significant new high-grade gold results from Zone 5 infill and grade control drilling at its 100% owned Tuvatu Alkaline Gold Project in Fiji.

Assay results are presented here for infill and grade control drilling in the Zone 5 area of Tuvatu. Drill results include multiple bonanza grade gold assays such as 1517.79 g/t, 513.50 g/t, 113.76 g/t, 137.50 g/t, and 115.25 g/t (see Table 1 below). These results are all located proximal to underground development in the near-surface portion of the mine. Drilling was focused on the up-dip and down-dip areas of the UR2 and URW3 lodes. Previous drill results from the Zone 5 area are available in the June 12, 2024June 5, 2024, and December 13, 2023 news releases.

Top New Drill Results:

  • 1517.79 g/t Au over 0.3 m (TGC-0237, from 42.6 m depth)
  • 513.50 g/t Au over 0.3 m (TGC-0263, from 60.47 m depth)
  • 67.45 g/t Au over 0.75 m (TGC-0254, from 90.75 m depth)
  • 17.89 g/t Au over 2.7 m (including 113.76 g/t Au over 0.3 m) (TGC-0225, from 94.6 m depth)
  • 25.73 g/t Au over 1.8 m (including 96.78 g/t Au over 0.4 m) (TGC-0251, from 46.9 m depth)
  • 18.42 g/t Au over 2.5 m (including 62.83 g/t Au over 0.4 m) (TGC-0240, from 44.0 m depth)
  • 30.99 g/t Au over 1.4 m (including 137.50 g/t Au over 0.3 m) (TGC-0239, from 97.8 m depth)
  • 64.25 g/t Au over 0.6 m (TGC-0256, from 98.11 m depth)
  • 72.55 g/t Au over 0.5 m (TGC-0245, from 91.0 m depth)
  • 115.25 g/t Au over 0.3 m (TGC-0250, from 52.7 m depth)

*All drill intersects are downhole lengths, 3.0 g/t cutoff. See Table 1 for additional data.

Figure 1. Location of the Zone 5 drilling reported in this news release. Left image: Plan view of Tuvatu showing Zone 5 drillholes in relation to the mineralized lodes at Tuvatu, shown in grey. Yellow dashed square represents the area shown in the right image. Right image: Oblique view of Zone 5 drilling looking approximately east-northeast. Zone 5 drilling is targeting the up-dip and down-dip extensions of the mineralized lodes above and below current underground developments, shown in red.

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:
https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/2178/234067_b75a094e047079b4_001full.jpg

Table 1. Highlights of composited grade control and infill drill results in the Zone 5 area. Composites are calculated using a 3 g/t Au cutoff with maximum internal dilution intervals of 1 m at <3 g/t Au. For full results see Table 3 in the appendix.

Hole IDFrom (m)To (m)Width (m)Au (g/t)
TGC-023742.642.90.31517.79
TGC-026360.560.80.3513.50
TGC-025490.891.50.867.45
TGC-022594.697.32.717.89
including95.897.01.237.40
which includes96.196.40.3113.76
TGC-025146.948.71.825.73
including46.947.60.759.42
which includes47.247.60.496.78
TGC-024044.046.52.518.42
including46.146.50.462.83
TGC-023997.899.21.430.99
including97.898.10.3137.50
TGC-025698.198.70.664.25
TGC-024591.091.50.572.55
TGC-025052.753.00.3115.25
TGC-024761.162.61.519.11
TGC-021269.569.80.390.50
TGC-022425.828.52.79.85
including25.826.40.627.65
TGC-025957.457.70.386.50
TGC-023192.896.03.27.59
including95.095.60.626.34
TGC-021061.262.71.515.70
including62.162.40.357.08
TGC-022890.891.10.377.50
TGC-024789.189.40.375.86
TGC-026197.1100.23.27.00
including97.898.10.326.35
and98.198.40.415.55
TGC-026363.265.62.48.98
including63.564.10.626.30
TGC-021290.390.90.633.92
including90.390.60.358.64
TGC-022628.528.80.363.72


*All drill intersects are downhole lengths

Zone 5 Drilling

The Zone 5 area of Tuvatu is located along the main decline and includes the principal north-south oriented lodes (UR1 to UR3), the principal northeast-southwest oriented lodes (UR4 to UR8), and several of the western lodes (URW2, URW2A, URW3). These lodes are steeply dipping structures that converge at approximately 500 m depth to form Zone 500, which is the highest-grade part of the deposit and is interpreted to be the feeder zone at Tuvatu. The system remains open at depth with the deepest high-grade intersections occurring below 1000 m depth.

The drilling reported in this news release targeted the near-surface portions of the UR2 and URW3 lodes. Drilling was focused on the up-dip and down-dip areas of the UR2 and URW3 lodes, directly above and below current underground developments. The drilling targeted a 320 m strike length of the UR2 and URW3 lodes. The current total strike length of the UR2 lode is approximately 620 m, while that of the URW3 lode is approximately 330 m. Both lodes remain open along strike and at depth.

Zone 5 grade control drilling is being conducted from three underground locations: the 1130 drill cuddy, the 1135 drill cuddy, and the 1090 drill cuddy. These drillholes are designed to intersect the mineralized lodes in a perpendicular to sub-perpendicular orientation such that the mineralized intervals approximate the true width of the lodes. Grade control drilling is being conducted on 10 m centers to provide a detailed understanding of the geometry and mineralization of the Zone 5 lodes. The purpose of the current Zone 5 grade control drill program is to enhance the mine model and inform stope design in advance of mining in the target areas. Highlights of the Zone 5 drilling reported here are shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2. Zone infill and grade control drilling with high-grade intersects highlighted, 3.0 g/t gold cutoff. View is looking down with north to the left. The primary areas targeted by the Zone 5 drilling are the up-dip and down-dip areas of the UR2 and URW3 lodes above and below current underground developments. These areas are scheduled for near-term mining. Drill holes are oriented perpendicular to sub-perpendicular to the mineralized lodes.

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:
https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/2178/234067_b75a094e047079b4_002full.jpg

Competent Persons Statement

The information in this report that relates to mineral exploration at the Tuvatu Gold Project is based on information compiled by the Lion One team and reviewed by Melvyn Levrel, who is the company’s Senior Geologist. Mr Levrel is a Member of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists and has sufficient experience that is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration, and to the activity being undertaken, to qualify as a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (“NI 43- 101”). Mr Levrel consents to the inclusion in this report of the matters based on the information in the form and context in which it appears.

Lion One Laboratories / QAQC

Lion One adheres to rigorous QAQC procedures above and beyond basic regulatory guidelines in conducting its drilling, sampling, testing, and analyses. The Company operates its own geochemical assay laboratory and its own fleet of diamond drill rigs using PQ, HQ and NQ sized drill rods.

Diamond drill core samples are logged by Lion One personnel on site. Exploration diamond drill core is split by Lion One personnel on site, with half core samples sent for analysis and the other half core remaining on site. Grade control diamond drill core is whole core assayed. Core samples are delivered to the Lion One Laboratory for preparation and analysis. All samples are pulverized at the Lion One lab to 85% passing through 75 microns and gold analysis is carried out using fire assay with an AA finish. Samples that return grades greater than 10.00 g/t Au are re-analyzed by gravimetric method, which is considered more accurate for very high-grade samples.

Duplicates of 5% of samples with grades above 0.5 g/t Au are delivered to ALS Global Laboratories in Australia for check assay determinations using the same methods (Au-AA26 and Au-GRA22 where applicable). ALS also analyses 33 pathfinder elements by HF-HNO3-HClO4 acid digestion, HCl leach and ICP-AES (method ME-ICP61). The Lion One lab can test a range of up to 71 elements through Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES), but currently focuses on a suite of 23 important pathfinder elements with an aqua regia digest and ICP-OES finish.

About Lion One Metals Limited

Lion One Metals is an emerging Canadian gold producer headquartered in North Vancouver BC, with new operations established in late 2023 at its 100% owned Tuvatu Alkaline Gold Project in Fiji. The Tuvatu project comprises the high-grade Tuvatu Alkaline Gold Deposit, the Underground Gold Mine, the Pilot Plant, and the Assay Lab. The Company also has an extensive exploration license covering the entire Navilawa Caldera, which is host to multiple mineralized zones and highly prospective exploration targets.

On behalf of the Board of Directors,
Walter Berukoff, Chairman & CEO

Contact Information
Email: info@liononemetals.com
Phone: 1-855-805-1250 (toll free North America)
Website: www.liononemetals.com

Neither the TSX-V nor its Regulation Service Provider accepts responsibility or the adequacy or accuracy of this release

This press release may contain statements that may be deemed to be “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein are forward-looking information. Generally, forward-looking information may be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “plans”, “expects” or “does not expect”, “proposed”, “is expected”, “budget”, “scheduled”, “estimates”, “forecasts”, “intends”, “anticipates” or “does not anticipate”, or “believes”, or variations of such words and phrases, or by the use of words or phrases which state that certain actions, events or results may, could, would, or might occur or be achieved. This forward-looking information reflects Lion One Metals Limited’s current beliefs and is based on information currently available to Lion One Metals Limited and on assumptions Lion One Metals Limited believes are reasonable. These assumptions include, but are not limited to, the actual results of exploration projects being equivalent to or better than estimated results in technical reports, assessment reports, and other geological reports or prior exploration results. Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance, or achievements of Lion One Metals Limited or its subsidiaries to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Such risks and other factors may include, but are not limited to: the stage development of Lion One Metals Limited, general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; the actual results of current research and development or operational activities; competition; uncertainty as to patent applications and intellectual property rights; product liability and lack of insurance; delay or failure to receive board or regulatory approvals; changes in legislation, including environmental legislation, affecting mining, timing and availability of external financing on acceptable terms; not realizing on the potential benefits of technology; conclusions of economic evaluations; and lack of qualified, skilled labor or loss of key individuals. Although Lion One Metals Limited has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated, or intended. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Lion One Metals Limited does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

Appendix 1: Full Drill Results and Collar Information

Table 2. Collar coordinates for drillholes reported in this release. Coordinates are in Fiji map grid.

Hole IDEastingNorthingElevationAzimuthDipDepth
TGC-02101876384392043096114.620.985.8
TGC-02111876384392042996140.521.685.6
TGC-02121876381392053213180.514.3115.3
TGC-02131876383392062812965.012.5125.0
TGC-02141876384392043296106.722.170.8
TGC-021518763803920529130134.26.3150.0
TGC-02161876384392043195127.714.581.2
TGC-02171876383392062812960.716.4135.0
TGC-02181876384392043195117.214.781.0
TGC-021918763803920529130129.28.6140.3
TGC-02201876383392062713080.521.811.2
TGC-02211876384392043096105.922.268.1
TGC-02221876384392042996115.820.511.0
TGC-02231876384392042496154.822.9180.0
TGC-022418763803920530130124.94.8140.0
TGC-02251876382392062712976.422.4115.0
TGC-022618763803920529130125.611.1140.2
TGC-02271876384392042594155.6-1.8181.1
TGC-022818763803920530130120.88.5140.0
TGC-02291876383392062712975.915.311.2
TGC-02301876383392042496170.722.4268.4
TGC-02311876383392062712977.315.4115.1
TGC-02321876383392062712776.2-49.211.2
TGC-02331876384392062712778.0-48.5166.4
TGC-02341876381392053112998.3-19.199.8
TGC-02351876384392062712780.0-36.511.1
TGC-02361876383392062712879.8-36.1146.0
TGC-02371876384392042895108.113.782.5
TGC-02381876381392053112990.7-13.710.7
TGC-02391876381392053112990.7-19.4130.8
TGC-0240187638439204289599.913.0122.2
TGC-02411876383392062712982.819.2110.0
TGC-0242187638439204289592.013.295.4
TGC-02431876384392062612795.7-37.1140.1
TGC-0244187638439204299584.813.7100.7
TGC-02451876381392053212988.0-13.6130.8
TGC-024618763843920625127114.9-28.7140.0
TGC-0247187638439204309483.7-4.0110.3
TGC-02481876378392053212982.4-15.3130.9
TGC-024918763843920626127103.4-31.1140.1
TGC-0250187638439204299497.3-3.8110.0
TGC-02511876384392042994105.1-4.486.0
TGC-02521876381392053212976.0-18.324.6
TGC-02541876380392053212975.9-15.1130.0
TGC-02551876384392042894114.5-4.180.0
TGC-02561876381392053112892.7-22.1136.9
TGC-02571876384392042894123.3-4.480.2
TGC-02591876384392042794131.0-4.783.1
TGC-026118763803920530129115.1-11.2140.0
TGC-0263187638439204299482.2-7.8120.8

Table 3. Composite results from drillholes reported in this news release (composite grade >3.0 g/t Au)

Hole IDFrom (m)To (m)Width (m)Au (g/t)
TGC-021040.540.80.36.12
TGC-021045.046.21.26.36
TGC-021047.447.70.35.45
TGC-021061.262.71.515.70
including61.262.10.94.08
and62.162.40.357.08
and62.462.70.39.20
TGC-021065.465.70.326.66
TGC-021078.679.81.27.59
including78.678.90.34.46
and78.979.20.30.82
and79.279.80.612.54
TGC-021163.663.90.39.60
TGC-021166.366.90.621.85
including66.366.60.339.97
and66.666.90.33.72
TGC-021237.139.82.74.56
including37.137.40.315.20
and37.437.70.32.58
and37.738.00.31.89
and38.038.30.35.06
and38.338.90.60.13
and38.939.20.30.24
and39.239.50.35.90
and39.539.80.39.87
TGC-021241.041.60.63.63
TGC-021243.144.61.59.17
including43.144.00.913.38
and44.044.30.3<0.01
and44.344.60.35.71
TGC-021269.569.80.390.50
TGC-021274.775.60.94.69
including74.775.00.33.65
and75.075.30.36.36
and75.375.60.34.06
TGC-021286.186.70.611.45
including86.186.40.37.81
and86.486.70.315.09
TGC-021290.390.90.633.92
including90.390.60.358.64
and90.690.90.39.19
TGC-021398.098.30.338.50
TGC-021445.348.02.74.22
including45.345.60.33.75
and45.645.90.35.00
and45.946.20.30.96
and46.246.50.31.95
and46.546.80.315.32
and46.847.10.32.40
and47.147.40.31.66
and47.447.70.33.33
and47.748.00.33.62
TGC-021515.615.90.310.00
TGC-021537.838.40.66.20
TGC-021597.597.80.310.02
TGC-0215103.8104.10.33.62
TGC-0215106.5107.40.95.97
including106.5106.80.35.02
and106.8107.10.31.55
and107.1107.40.311.35
TGC-0215109.8111.01.213.19
including109.8110.10.315.89
and110.1110.40.322.48
and110.4110.70.36.27
and110.7111.00.38.11
TGC-0215126.9127.50.619.12
including126.9127.20.314.40
and127.2127.50.323.83
TGC-0217112.7114.51.86.14
including112.7113.00.33.02
and113.0113.30.310.87
and113.3113.90.67.23
and113.9114.50.64.24
TGC-021843.844.40.69.60
TGC-021861.562.71.29.29
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TGC-021866.366.90.63.50
TGC-021931.531.80.34.30
TGC-021947.447.70.35.45
TGC-021954.355.51.23.55
TGC-021958.558.80.35.22
TGC-021997.898.10.39.99
TGC-0219111.9112.20.36.35
TGC-0219126.0126.30.311.82
TGC-022144.747.42.74.03
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TGC-022375.676.20.67.46
TGC-022378.679.20.64.90
TGC-022391.492.00.67.78
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TGC-022457.257.50.348.09
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TGC-0224116.0116.60.65.83
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TGC-022619.820.40.610.58
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TGC-022628.528.80.363.72
TGC-022641.041.30.39.70
TGC-022655.456.00.63.10
TGC-022656.356.60.34.68
TGC-022658.158.40.318.52
TGC-022688.488.70.33.97
TGC-022691.792.91.25.75
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TGC-0226104.3104.60.35.89
TGC-0226110.6110.90.37.13
TGC-0226111.8112.10.34.46
TGC-0227100.7101.00.336.04
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TGC-022814.915.60.83.39
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TGC-022832.833.40.629.89
TGC-022854.755.30.616.78
TGC-022857.858.50.712.64
TGC-022887.389.32.09.20
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TGC-023424.524.80.318.69
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TGC-023450.751.00.35.70
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TGC-023490.692.01.43.62
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TGC-0236116.5117.10.64.41
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TGC-023745.046.51.511.79
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TGC-023762.362.60.34.70
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TGC-024044.046.52.518.42
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TGC-024066.767.00.36.15
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TGC-0240117.8118.40.614.67
TGC-024192.294.22.04.91
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TGC-024261.661.90.311.58
TGC-024271.671.90.33.70
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TGC-024455.456.30.94.97
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TGC-024476.278.52.38.37
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TGC-024484.185.00.94.37
TGC-024582.682.90.33.76
TGC-024591.091.50.572.55
TGC-0245103.9104.20.38.42
TGC-0246131.7132.00.34.01
TGC-0246134.0134.90.915.07
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TGC-0246136.4137.30.95.62
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TGC-024743.543.80.320.55
TGC-024751.051.60.67.11
TGC-024761.162.61.519.11
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TGC-024781.982.20.316.11
TGC-024784.985.20.312.24
TGC-024786.487.30.910.89
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TGC-024789.189.40.375.86
TGC-024853.353.60.34.22
TGC-024855.155.60.44.48
TGC-024859.159.50.43.54
TGC-024861.261.60.43.96
TGC-024867.567.80.34.96
TGC-024888.088.50.524.99
TGC-024892.092.60.611.13
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TGC-024899.399.60.36.21
TGC-0248103.2103.50.34.44
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TGC-025052.753.00.3115.25
TGC-025057.358.91.67.13
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TGC-025068.168.50.45.28
TGC-025069.569.90.43.13
TGC-025146.948.71.825.73
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TGC-025163.864.50.85.56
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TGC-025454.254.50.39.48
TGC-025458.358.90.612.55
TGC-025490.891.50.867.45
TGC-0254101.9102.20.317.89
TGC-0254106.1106.40.34.02
TGC-025549.950.20.39.89
TGC-025561.561.80.36.67
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TGC-025698.198.70.664.25
TGC-0256108.3108.90.63.46
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TGC-025957.457.70.386.50
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TGC-026161.661.90.45.34
TGC-026163.564.30.84.93
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TGC-0261130.6130.90.36.02
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TGC-026378.679.50.95.99
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TGC-026383.684.20.65.08
TGC-026385.485.70.33.66
TGC-026391.892.10.322.76
TGC-026397.898.10.39.45

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/234067

Categories
Base Metals Energy Junior Mining

Peabody Announces First Coal Shipment from Centurion Mine

Marks another major milestone in the redevelopment of the premium steelmaking coal mine

ST. LOUIS, Dec. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Peabody (NYSE: BTU) today announced that it has successfully shipped the first product from its Centurion Mine in Queensland’s Bowen Basin, marking another major milestone in the redevelopment of the premium hard coking coal mine.

The inaugural shipment was delivered to the Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal and loaded for export to a customer in Asia last week. This achievement highlights Centurion’s ongoing ramp up toward higher-volume longwall production that is targeted to begin in March 2026.

“Two years ago, we announced the redevelopment of this mine with a plan to transform it into a world-class operation supplying premium hard coking coal to global markets, and this week we’re delivering on that plan,” Jim Grech, Peabody President and Chief Executive Officer, said. “This is the first strategic step in transforming Peabody into a primarily metallurgical coal producer, and we are proud of the strong progress being made.”

With a planned annual production averaging 4.7 million tons and approximately 140 million tons of reserves, the operation has a mine life of more than 25 years. The premium hard coking coal supplied from Centurion is essential to making original steel, a foundation material for hospitals, schools and bridges as well as renewable energy infrastructure like wind turbines. Centurion coal is sought after for its high coke strength and low impurities, qualities that enhance steel production efficiency and support decarbonisation in the steelmaking process.

Centurion is also advancing Peabody’s commitment to sustainability with predevelopment works underway for 5 megawatt (MW) power station at the mine supporting the project’s emission abatement goals by reusing waste gas from the coal seams.

In November, the company announced an agreement to acquire four Tier 1 steelmaking coal mines from Anglo American. The completion of that acquisition, intended for mid-2025, combined with the redevelopment of Centurion, accelerates Peabody’s strategy to reweight its global coal portfolio and cash flows to metallurgical coal.

Peabody is a leading coal producer, providing essential products for the production of affordable, reliable energy and steel. Our commitment to sustainability underpins everything we do and shapes our strategy for the future. For further information, visit PeabodyEnergy.com.

Please find interviews and background video here and photos here.

CONTACT:
Vic Svec
+1.314.342.7890

Peabody. (PRNewsFoto/Peabody Energy)
Peabody. (PRNewsFoto/Peabody Energy)
Cision
Cision

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/peabody-announces-first-coal-shipment-from-centurion-mine-302332826.html

SOURCE Peabody

Categories
Base Metals Energy Junior Mining Project Generators

Uranium Markets Impacted by Market Signals and Uncertainty

Key Takeaways

  • Uranium Market Steadies: While the spot price declined in November, the overall price environment for the year has strengthened. Additionally, uranium miners gained for the month while remaining flat year-to-date.
  • Nuclear Energy Continues to Gain Momentum: Global support continues to grow as more countries pledged to triple global nuclear capacity by 2050 at COP29.
  • Implications After U.S. Election: The Trump presidency is likely to continue with a pro-nuclear stance, focusing on nuclear energy’s contributions to energy independence, national security and economic competitiveness.
  • Energy Strategy Remains Critical: With Trump’s plan likely to prioritize domestic energy production, the stance on international uranium imports, mainly from Russia and China, will be a critical area to watch.
  • Russian Ban Disrupts Supply Chain: Uranium supply faces pressure as Russia accounts for approximately 44% of global uranium enrichment capacity and 35% of U.S. enrichment imports. In sharp contrast, Russia only accounts for 5% of the global U3O8 supply.

Performance as of November 30, 2024

Asset1 MO*3 MO*YTD*1 YR3 YR5 YR
U3O8 Uranium Spot Price 1-3.61%-2.39%-15.38%-4.53%18.79%24.24%
Uranium Mining Equities
(Northshore Global Uranium Mining Index) 2
1.18%15.38%0.13%2.89%9.15%34.74%
Uranium Junior Mining Equities
(Nasdaq Sprott Junior Uranium Miners Index TR) 3
0.00%19.37%0.60%-0.05%1.74%34.47%
Broad Commodities (BCOM Index) 40.05%2.14%-0.51%-3.60%0.81%4.94%
U.S. Equities (S&P 500 TR Index) 55.87%7.15%28.07%33.89%11.44%15.76%

*Performance for periods under one year is not annualized.
Sources: Bloomberg and Sprott Asset Management LP. Data as of 11/30/2024. You cannot invest directly in an index. Included for illustrative purposes only. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Year-End Overhang on Uranium Spot Market 

The uranium spot price retraced to support at $77.08 per pound at the end of November, which resulted in a 3.61% loss.1 The loss disguises a stronger price environment in the spot market for the year, with the minimum, average and maximum spot prices year-to-date at the highest levels compared to recent years (Figure 1). Given the growing sensitivity to geopolitical factors, we believe the uranium price will continue to behave in this staircase-like pattern over the intermediate term with short-term bouts of volatility. By contrast, uranium miners gained 1.18% in November and are flat year-to-date.

Uranium’s stairstep rally continues: spot prices soften, but term prices surge to 16-year highs.

Uranium miners have played catchup to the physical commodity and outperformed in 2024, a reversal of last year’s trend. Notably, uranium miners predominantly contract in the term market instead of the spot market and are therefore supported by term prices hitting 16-year highs. These term contracts also contain floors and ceilings, which continue to rise and are reported to be increasing with floor prices in the $70s and ceilings in the $130s (before escalation), indicating a midpoint of a triple-digit uranium price. Similarly, conversion and enrichment prices are at all-time highs, underscoring the strength of uranium’s current market dynamics.

The spot market is dealing with an overhang of supply as some traders look to clear their positions before the year’s end. Further pressuring the spot market are rampant rumors the Kazakh ANU physical uranium fund may be liquidating its 2+ million-pound inventory. While Russia’s retaliatory export ban on enriched uranium to the U.S. pushes utilities’ focus to the nuclear fuel cycle’s conversion and enrichment segments, we believe this attention will eventually cascade down to uranium oxide (U3O8). This year’s muted term contracting activity, at 100.7 million pounds of U3O8e, was heavily skewed by Chinese contracts with Kazatomprom and increases the likelihood of future contracting, as deferred purchases will eventually need to be addressed. Delaying these purchases risks depleting existing stockpiles, which is an unsustainable scenario from a risk management perspective.

Figure 1. Historical Physical Uranium Spot Prices

Figure 1. Historical Physical Uranium Spot Prices

Source: UxC LLC. As of 11/30/2024. 

Global Support for Nuclear Energy Continues to Grow

Meanwhile, global support for nuclear energy continues to gain momentum. At COP29, six additional countries pledged to triple global nuclear capacity by 2050, bringing the total to 31 nations committed to this ambitious goal.6 COP conferences and global forums for climate action highlight nuclear energy’s role in achieving net-zero emissions and meeting growing electricity demand.

On a regional level, positive news flows further bolster the case for nuclear power. Taiwan’s premier recently announced consideration of nuclear power to address energy needs tied to AI-driven electricity demand.7 Taiwan’s significance in this context is amplified by its position as a global leader in semiconductor manufacturing, in which advanced chips are critical for AI development, making a reliable and scalable electricity supply essential to maintain its competitive edge in this high-demand industry. Vietnam, too, is signaling a nuclear pivot, revising its national power development plan to incorporate nuclear options alongside renewables.8 The goal is to expand power generation capacity by 12-15% annually and support annual economic growth of 7%. As global electricity demand intensifies, we believe nuclear power and, by extension, uranium stand poised to be key enablers of this next growth phase, particularly in emerging markets.

On an individual level, sentiment toward nuclear energy continues to improve, with a study finding that 1.5X more people support nuclear energy’s use than oppose it. Commissioned and analyzed by the Radiant Energy Group, the Public Attitudes Toward Clean Energy (PACE) index is the “world’s largest publicly released international study on what people think about nuclear energy.” Figure 2 shows that across the 20 countries surveyed, 28% of respondents oppose nuclear energy, while 46% support it, and 17 of the 20 countries had net support for nuclear energy. Further, the results found that nuclear energy was the second most preferred clean energy electricity source, after solar.

Figure 2. Public Attitudes Toward Nuclear Energy in 2023 

Figure 2. Public Attitudes Toward Nuclear Energy 2023

Source: Radiant Energy Group https://www.radiantenergygroup.com/reports/public-attitudes-toward-clean-energy-2023-nuclear

U.S. Election and Potential Implications for the Nuclear Sector

The recent U.S. presidential election, which saw Donald Trump win the presidency along with Republican control of the Senate and the House of Representatives, will likely impact some elements of U.S. energy policy. It is important to note the Biden administration has been incredibly pro-nuclear for a Democratic government.

A second Trump administration is anticipated to maintain a pro-nuclear stance, though with motivations distinct from those of the Biden administration. While Democrats have emphasized nuclear energy as a cornerstone of their climate change strategy, Republicans are expected to champion it for its role in bolstering energy independence, enhancing national security, and driving economic competitiveness. Key industry initiatives that align with these priorities include expanding domestic uranium mining, simplifying nuclear permitting processes, and advancing innovative technologies like Small Modular Reactors (SMRs).

Bipartisan backing keeps U.S. nuclear strong, but policy shifts under Trump could reshape priorities.

Significant legislation, such as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), and the Accelerating Deployment of Versatile, Advanced Nuclear for Clean Energy Act (ADVANCE Act), has provided substantial financial backing for nuclear projects, receiving broad bipartisan support. While some aspects of this legislation may undergo revision, we believe nuclear energy will continue to garner strong support. Notably, the fact that many IRA-driven projects are located in Republican-led states suggests that key components of these policies are likely to remain intact (Figure 3).

Trump’s energy strategy is expected to prioritize domestic energy production, including oil, gas and nuclear power, while potentially pulling back on climate-focused policies such as the Paris Agreement and offshore wind development. At the same time, the administration’s stance on international enriched uranium imports, mainly from Russia and China, will be a critical area to watch. Recent bipartisan legislation banning Russian enriched uranium imports, the Prohibiting Russian Uranium Imports Act (PRUIA), and calls for increased tariffs signal ongoing efforts to strengthen the U.S. domestic fuel cycle.

We believe the nuclear sector will continue to benefit from ongoing bipartisan support; however, potential shifts in policy priorities under a new Trump administration introduce uncertainty regarding the scale and direction of federal support. This uncertainty has contributed to the recent weakness in some clean energy sectors like renewables and electric vehicles.

Figure 3. 

Figure 3. GOP state dominate cleantech investments under Inflation Reduction Act

Source: https://www.ciphernews.com/articles/why-cleantech-is-booming-in-gop-led-states/. Clean Investment Monitor, Rhodium Group and MIT CEEPR. • Total announced investments range from Q3 2022 through Q2 2024. States are grouped as Republican, Democrat or Swing based on how they voted in the 2020 general election. Energy and Industry category includes the deployment of wind, solar, battery, geothermal, clean hydrogen, carbon management, sustainable aviation fuels and other electricity technologies. Manufacturing category refers to the production of these clean technologies.

Russia’s Retaliatory Restrictions on Enriched Uranium Exports 

In November, Russia imposed restrictions on its enriched uranium exports to the U.S.9 The ban is seen as a “tit-for-tat” response to the U.S.’s Prohibiting Russian Uranium Imports Act, which came into effect in August. The PRUIA banned Russian-enriched uranium imports to the U.S. However, utilities may apply for waivers that authorize the importation of uranium to certain aggregate limits and up until the end of 2027 if the Secretary of Energy determines that there is no alternative viable source of uranium to sustain the continued operation of a U.S. nuclear reactor or if the importation of Russian-produced uranium is in the national interest.

Russia’s retaliation has imposed a more immediate threat to the industry as uncertainty on the timing and scale of escalatory actions grows. At the same time, the West is working on expanding enrichment capacity. Russia’s restrictions have already created ripple effects, with uranium stocks climbing given concerns about supply disruptions. Russia accounts for approximately 44% of global uranium enrichment capacity and 35% of U.S. enrichment imports. In sharp contrast, Russia only accounts for 5% of the global U3O8 supply (Figure 4).

The timing of Russia’s restrictions poses a critical challenge. Western countries are still in the process of expanding their enrichment capacities, and these facilities will not be fully operational for several years. This leaves the nuclear fuel supply chain vulnerable to further disruptions, as Russia’s decision to withhold enriched uranium could potentially outpace Western efforts to establish an alternative supply.

This urgency has also accelerated shifts in enrichment practices. Western utilities are moving from underfeeding to overfeeding, requiring more raw uranium to compensate for reduced enrichment capacity. We believe this shift is expected to support uranium prices and increase demand in the coming years. Whether these measures can bridge the gap before Russia’s actions exert broader impacts remains a pivotal question for the nuclear energy sector.

Figure 4. Russia’s (Rosatom) Market Shares in Enrichment and Conversion

Figure 4. Russia’s (Rosatom) Market Shares in Enrichment and Conversion

Source: WNA Nuclear Fuel Report 2023.

Kazakhstan and Niger Add to Supply Uncertainty

Kazatomprom, the world’s largest uranium supplier, has finalized a major agreement with China’s CNNC and China National Uranium Corporation for the sale of uranium concentrates. Combined with previous transactions involving these entities, the deal represents over 50% of Kazatomprom’s total book value, highlighting Kazakhstan’s deepening ties with Eastern markets. This agreement builds on a similar large-scale transaction with a Chinese utility in late 2023 and aligns with broader regional developments, including the construction of a massive trading hub and storage facility (with a capacity of approximately 60 million pounds) near the Kazakh-China border.

For Western utilities, this shift raises significant concerns. With an increasing portion of Kazatomprom’s supply being directed to China and Russia, Western buyers are under growing pressure to secure alternative uranium sources. These challenges are further exacerbated by Kazatomprom’s ongoing production difficulties, including weaker-than-expected output reported in Q3 2024. The combination of production constraints and shifting supply priorities underscores the urgent need for Western utilities to diversify their supply chains and mitigate potential risks to their energy security.

Niger, previously the seventh largest producer of uranium, has seen its production capabilities and stability unravel following a military coup in July 2023. The military junta has distanced itself from traditional Western allies like France and the U.S., forging closer ties with Russia and China. The political upheaval has severely impacted uranium operations in Niger. Most recently, on December 4, the French nuclear firm Orano confirmed the loss of operational control of SOMAÏR in Niger.10 This follows the previous announcement on October 23 that Niger’s growing financial difficulties forced it to suspend operations at the mine.11

As a result of the coup, Orano has been unable to export uranium, and a total of 1,150 tonnes of uranium concentrate from 2023 and 2024 stocks haven’t been exported, according to Orano.12 This is worth about $210 million. Additionally, Niger has revoked mining licenses for key projects, such as Orano’s Imouraren and Canada-based GoviEx’s Madaouela, signaling a shift in the country’s resource management strategy.

Despite these setbacks, some projects remain. Two uranium projects, the SOMINA Azelik project and Global Atomic’s Dasa project, are slated to commence production in the coming years. However, the nationalization of key assets and closer ties with Russia suggest that future uranium output may be increasingly directed away from Western markets.

Junior Uranium Miners Helping to Address Supply Shortfalls

The shifting and uncertain dynamics of the global uranium supply underscore the urgent need to boost production through mine restarts and new developments. Junior uranium miners are playing a pivotal role in addressing this supply gap, with many resuming operations at previously idled mines to bring production back online (Figure 5). These projects are crucial for maintaining a stable uranium supply to Western utilities amid escalating geopolitical risks and dwindling access to traditional sources. By leveraging existing infrastructure, mine restarts can deliver uranium more quickly and cost-effectively than greenfield developments. Their success is essential to mitigating supply chain vulnerabilities and ensuring the long-term sustainability of the nuclear fuel cycle.

Junior uranium miners drive supply security, with quick restarts and new landmark projects like NexGen’s Rook I.

New uranium mines are poised to be vital in ensuring longer-term supply security. NexGen Energy Ltd. (NexGen) is a prominent junior uranium mining company developing the world’s largest single-source deposit of high-grade, low-cost uranium. Its renowned Rook 1 Project is situated in the Athabasca Basin in Saskatchewan, Canada. This location places it within one of the world’s top mining jurisdictions, known for its prolific uranium resources. The company boasts substantial uranium resources, totaling 337 million pounds. When NexGen had previously achieved provincial environmental approval, it marked the first uranium mine in Saskatchewan to reach this stage in over 20 years. The company projects a potential production output of up to 28.8 million pounds by 2030 and beyond. 

NexGen’s recent progress with its flagship Rook I Project in Saskatchewan highlights the potential of junior uranium miners. The company recently reached a significant Rook I milestone, with the successful completion of the final federal technical review.13  This paves the way for the final steps of the approval process, including a Commission Hearing that could lead to a project approval decision.

NexGen has also taken significant strides toward commercializing its project by securing its first uranium sales contracts with leading U.S. utilities. These agreements cover the delivery of 5 million pounds of U3O8 over five years (2029–2033), with pricing mechanisms tied to market conditions. Notably, the contracts feature floor and ceiling prices of approximately $79 and $150 per pound, respectively, reflecting robust demand and favorable market conditions.14  It is important to highlight the contract ceiling price is notably higher than levels recently quoted by Cameco, which we believe reflects the strong market appetite for new sources of Western supply. 

Figure 5. Uranium Supply Pipeline

Figure 5. Uranium Supply Pipeline

Source: Mike Kozak, Uranium Analyst, Cantor Fitzgerald, September 2024. Company websites and UxC LLC. Assumes certain mines will be restarted that have yet to be announced. 2024-2027 is forecasted information from Cantor Fitzgerald’s report. 

What to Make of Market Signals? 

We believe the recent correction in the spot uranium price and the miners may represent an attractive entry point in the ongoing bull market. While the softness in the spot market over the past few months has been frustrating and confusing to watch, we believe it is sending a false signal given that the long-term fundamentals have only improved. Operational challenges appear to be getting worse, which will keep supply conditions tight, while the nuclear fuel supply chain remains highly susceptible to disruptions. Key producers remain steadfast in their supply discipline strategy and there appears to be a market standoff. Utilities are balking at the significant move in uranium prices over the past year, which will impact their future operating budgets, while producers are capitalizing on their long-awaited market leverage over utilities. As Cameco often repeats, utilities can “delay and defer,” but they will eventually be forced to buy.

Uranium supply deficits, tight market conditions and rising demand signal long-term strength.

A longstanding primary supply deficit and renewed interest in nuclear energy highlight the real challenges to bring the market back into balance. We believe this bull market has further room to run with no meaningful new supply on the horizon for three to five years. While last year’s multi-year record in long-term uranium contracting was celebrated, the overall numbers disguise a bifurcated market. Some utilities are well covered, while others have ignored the powerful market signals and failed to adapt their procurement strategies to the new market realities.

With global uranium mine production well short of the world’s uranium reactor requirements, the supply deficit building over the next decade, and near-term supply inhibited by long lead times and capital intensity, we believe that restarts and new mines in development are critical. The uranium price target as an incentive level for further restarts and greenfield development is a moving target, and we believe that we will need higher uranium prices to incentivize enough production to meet forecasted deficits. Over the long term, increased demand in the face of an uncertain uranium supply may continue supporting a sustained bull market (Figure 6).

Figure 6. Uranium Bull Market Continues (1968-2024)

Click here to enlarge this chart.

Figure 6. Uranium Bull Market Continues (1968-2024)

Note: A “bull market” refers to a condition of financial markets in which prices are generally rising. A “bear market” refers to a condition of financial markets in which prices are generally falling.
Source: TradeTech Data as of 11/30/2024. TradeTech is the leading independent provider of uranium prices and nuclear fuel market information. The uranium prices in this chart dating back to 1968 is sourced exclusively from TradeTech; visit https://www.uranium.info/.

Footnotes

1The U3O8 uranium spot price is measured by a proprietary composite of U3O8 spot prices from UxC, S&P Platts and Numerco.
2The North Shore Global Uranium Mining Index (URNMX) was created by North Shore Indices, Inc. (the “Index Provider”). The Index Provider developed the methodology for determining the securities to be included in the Index and is responsible for the ongoing maintenance of the Index. The Index is calculated by Indxx, LLC, which is not affiliated with the North Shore Global Uranium Miners Fund (“Existing Fund”), ALPS Advisors, Inc. (the “Sub-Adviser”) or Sprott Asset Management LP (the “Adviser”).
3The Nasdaq Sprott Junior Uranium Miners™ Index (NSURNJ™) was co-developed by Nasdaq® (the “Index Provider”) and Sprott Asset Management LP (the “Adviser”). The Index Provider and Adviser co-developed the methodology for determining the securities to be included in the Index and the Index Provider is responsible for the ongoing maintenance of the Index.
4The Bloomberg Commodity Index (BCOM) is a broadly diversified commodity price index that tracks prices of futures contracts on physical commodities, and is designed to minimize concentration in any one commodity or sector. It currently has 23 commodity futures in six sectors.
5The S&P 500 or Standard & Poor’s 500 Index is a market-capitalization-weighted index of the 500 largest U.S. publicly traded companies.
6Source: World Nuclear Association. Six More Countries Endorse the Declaration to Triple Nuclear Energy by 2050 at COP29.
7Source: BNN Bloomberg. Taiwan Signals Openness to Nuclear Power Amid Surging AI Demand.
8Source: Reuters. Vietnam to amend national power plan to include nuclear energy.
9Source: World Nuclear News. Russia places ‘tit-for-tat’ ban on US uranium exports.
10Source: Orano. Orano confirms the loss of operational control of SOMAÏR in Niger.
11Source: Orano. Niger: growing financial difficulties will force SOMAÏR to suspend operations.
12Source: BBC. Niger junta takes control of French uranium mine.
13Source: Mining.com. NexGen Energy nears Rook I uranium project approval following final federal review.
14Source: NexGen Energy Ltd. NexGen Announces First Uranium Sales Contracts for 5 Million Pounds with Major US Utilities.