This is Coffee with Samso. Samso will have a coffee with someone about something that is interesting and from a different perspective in business. It is a simple coffee conversation with no formalisation of style.
Coffee with Samso Episode 204 is all about Lupins and Lupin Protein Isolate. Coupled with the favourable growing climate in Western Australia, Wide Open Agriculture Limited (ASX:WOA) could become a major player in a billion-dollar market. The Wide Open Agriculture came across my screen about two weeks ago, and it caught my attention because I was doing content on superfoods and came across the benefits of lupins in 2019. While I was doing research over time, the share price of the company started to move, and in fact, on the day I was talking to Yazi Zhan, the Non Executive Chair of WOA, about making an appearance on Coffee with Samso, she was in the middle of dealing with her company's share price going for a run to a high of AUD $0.029, from the previous trade of AUD $0.016. In today's episode of Coffee with Samso, we are talking to Yazi Zhan, who knows this business intimately and will give us a good insight into firstly the benefits of Lupin and Lupin Protein Isolate, followed by what I think could make WOA a global player in the highly sought-after plant-based nutrition business. The Business of Wide Open Agriculture Limited. Wide Open Agriculture Limited (ASX: WOA) is planning to be in the global plant-based protein sector, thanks to its proprietary technology that unlocks the full potential of lupins—a high-protein, regenerative legume native to Australia. As the exclusive holder of intellectual property for extracting lupin protein isolate, the company is positioning itself at the forefront of the clean-label, sustainable food movement. At the heart of this innovation is BUTINE PROTEIN, Wide Open Agriculture's signature lupin protein isolate. Clean, allergen-friendly, and remarkably versatile, BUTINE PROTEIN offers a powerful alternative to soy and pea proteins, catering to the fast-growing demand for ethical and environmentally responsible nutrition. With this cutting-edge IP and a focus on regenerative farming, Wide Open Agriculture is not just producing protein—it's pioneering a smarter, greener way to feed the world. Chapters: 00:00 Start 00:09 Introduction 03:30 Who is Yaxi Zhan? 05:18 History of WOA? 08:28 Discussion about Lupin 15:06 Lupin Isolate 17:20 Importance of the China Market Approval 20:47 How does WOA protect its Core Business? 25:36 Limitations of Growing Lupin Gives Australia a Natural Advantage. 26:42 Types of Lupin 28:30 Competitors? 30:52 Market size for Lupin 36:50 What are the business triggers for WOA? 38:50 Funding strategy 40:05 Takeaway 40:43 News flow 41:37 Conclusion About Yaxi Zhan Yaxi is Mongolian Chinese and has called Perth home since 2004. In under 12 years, she transformed her career from a finance professional into a mining executive. With a strong background in business development, mergers and acquisitions, and cross-border transactions, Yaxi founded Accelerate Resources—an ASX-listed resource company—and served as its Managing Director from 2017 to 2024. Most recently, she has taken on an exciting new challenge as Chairman of Wide Open Agriculture, where she is leading the company's growth strategy. About Wide Open Agriculture Limited At Wide Open Agriculture, our mission is to create a range of great-tasting and high-performing plant protein ingredients. We are focused on developing high-performance lupin proteins that improve outcomes for: Customers Food Manufacturers Farmers We see a global movement for greater inclusion of plant proteins in daily diets. We also see compromises in existing offerings and believe that there are better alternatives. By developing better end markets, we see plant proteins as a positive force for change in the agriculture industry, where lupins can play a key part in reducing emissions and improving agricultural systems.
Coffee with Samso Episode 203 may well be one of the best ASX small-cap resource business in 2025, that is largely unknown to the general investing community. The Cyclone Metals Limited (ASX:CLE) is about the pedigree of the Iron Bear magnetite project. In Australia, the general ASX punter thinks of iron ore as haematite are greater than 62% Fe, but there is a new sheriff in town and he is called Magnetite. Where can you find a mineral resource business that is owned by a small cap junior with a market capitalisation of less than AUD $50M that has funding all the way through to mining and processing the high-grade iron pellets. Just remember that Cyclone Metals was a AUD $10M market cap company when it started the journey. The transitioning from haematite to magnetite in the iron ore industry is happening and it is largely driven by the depleting of high-grade haematite iron ore. - Paul Berend In this episode of Coffee with Samso we are talking to Paul Berend, Executive Director and CEO of Cyclone Metals Limited (ASX:CLE). Cyclone is a fascinating story of a junior aspiring to be a producer with a major, VALE, partnering with funding. A space in which most juniors would be struggling to find funding, CLE has a big brother taking care of all the bills. The Business of Cyclone Metals Limited. The steel producing industry is transitioning to low emission and the process of Direct Reduction (DR) steel production is the solution to a global reduction in emission for the typically high carbon emission business. . Direct Reduction steel production requires iron pellets that are very low in impurities and this is directly controlled by the quality of the source material. As Paul Berend explains, ....not all magnetite deposits are suitable for Direct Reduction Pellets which is why the Iron Bear deposit is perfectly aligned to allow this process to be achieved. Recent work by Cyclone Metals Limited has shown that the use of Direct Reduction on iron ore from Iron Bear can create iron pellets above 71% Fe content. According to Paul Berend, this is a very unique feature of the ore body. A feature that is not seen in many other iron ore resources and that includes those at Champion Iron. One statement that Paul proudly points out in the Coffee with Samso, and that is, The quality and the size of the Iron Bear Deposit moved the needled for VALE to take a position with Cyclone Metals. This is a great conversation with Paul Berend as he explains the story of Cyclone Metals clearly and in great details. Chapters: 00:00 Start. 00:08 Introduction. 04:10 Who is Paul Berend? 05:24 The Magnetite Story - Why Have We Not Embraced it Yet? 08:44 Transition of Value from Haematite to Magnetite. 09:41 Carbon Footprint of Magnetite. 10:07 Rise of Magnetite Projects? 10:33 Depletion of Brazilian High-Grade Iron Ores -The Reason why VALE is in CLE. 10:51 Importance of Direct Reduction (DR) Steel Production. 11:57 Only Way to Make Direct Reduction Steel - Premium of DR Pellets. 13:05 DR Pellet Market Comparison. 13:48 How Do You Make Direct Reduction Pellets. 15:14 Reason Why DR Pellet Production is Rare. 15:47 Comparison of Low Impurity Iron Deposits. 16:30 DR Player requires an ABILLITY To Reduce Impurities. 18:01 How much of the Current Resource will transition to Reserve Status. 19:08 Iron bear is a Low Stripping Ration deposit. 19:30 Metallurgy Will Increase the Economics of Iron Bear. 21:30 What is the main Business of Cyclone Metals ? Is it DR Production? 22:26 Is Iron Bear DR Capabilities why Vale is interested? 23:18 Iron Bear can supply high-grade iron ore all the way to DR levels. 25:07 How Did the Agreement with Vale Evolve ? 26:55 How important was the 10M ? 28:30 Earning a Mandate to Operate Socially. 29:25 Importance of the First Nations Conversations. 32:12 How Important is the relationship with First Nation Groups. 33:42 The Reasons why Vale could be the Reason for Success for Iron Bear. 36:24 Potentially One Technical Challenge for Iron Bear - Dry Tailings. 37:34 The Importance of Earning a Mandate To Operate 39:07 Twitter Shareholder Questions 39:27 Will the Trump Tariffs affect the Iron bear Business? 40:48 The Vison of Iron Bear - It is a Bigger project than Champion Iron. 41:58 Reducing the Carbon Footprint of a Manufacturing Hub in Northern America. 43:25 How much is the resource expected to be built up to? 43:58 Iron Bear is a Premium Magnetite project. 45:15 What cost will the hydroelectric power cost us per kilowatt? 46:51 Green Energy Narration - Magnetite Naturally Reduces Carbon Emission. 49:48 Discussion on iron ore prices. 54:23 Why is CLE still at 50M? 55:21 Why is the a feeling of disbelief in the Cyclone story? 58:02 The misunderstanding of the Iron Ore industry. 01:00:54 Takeaway. 01:01:18 Conclusion. About Paul Berend Paul Berend brings over 25 years of leadership experience in the iron ore and steel industries, gained across blue-chip corporations and junior mining ventures. His corporate background includes senior roles such as GM Corporate Strategy at ArcelorMittal, GM Business Development at Rio Tinto Iron Ore and Director Australasia at Hatch. Paul is a passionate mining entrepreneur and was a founder and historic CEO of Trans-Tasman Resources Ltd (a titano-magnetite project in New Zealand ASX: MKR) and has played a key role in a number of private early-stage exploration ventures. In addition to his entrepreneurial work, Paul has a successful track record in turning around distressed producing mines and steel mills in difficult jurisdiction including Australia, PNG, Europe, GCC and Africa . He is a trusted advisor for Tier one natural resource companies, supporting operational, organisational and growth strategies. In this capacity, Paul's previous employers include McKinsey& Company and Partners in Performance. Paul has an MBA from HEC (Paris, France), a MSc and DEA (~PhD) in chemical process design and chemistry from ENSIC (Nancy, France), a bachelor's in applied mathematics and algebra from Harvard University (Cambridge, USA) and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. He speaks native and English and French as well as professional German. About Cyclone Metals Limited Cyclone Metals owns and operates the Iron Bear magnetite iron ore project, formerly known as the Block 103 Project. The Iron Bear Project consists of ten licenses totalling 7,275 ha on 291 graticular Mineral Claims under the applicable Labrador and Newfoundland mining regulation, located near the Provincial border of Newfoundland and Labrador (NL) and Quebec (QC), approximately 30 km northwest of the town of Schefferville, QC and 1,200 km by air northeast of Montréal, QC. The Iron Bear properties are located within 25 km of an open access heavy haul railway which is directly connected to the Sept Isles and Pointe Noire iron ore export ports. In addition, the Iron Bear has potential access to cheap renewable energy from the Menihek hydro-plant located 75km away. These two factors substantially improve the prospects for eventual economic extraction of the Iron Bear mineral resource. Notably, large scale iron ore export operations currently operate in the Labrador Trough; including IOC (Rio Tinto), Champion Iron and Tata Steel; all sharing the same rail and port infrastructure. Highlights: World Class Iron Ore Project: Mineral resource of 16.6 billion tonnes containing 29.3% total Fe and 18.2% magnetic Fe, cut-off grade 12.5% magnetic Fe. Low OPEX: Estimated OPEX of USD 35.6/t3 FOB Pointe Noire for blast furnace concentrate due to access to low-cost hydropower Strategic Tier 1 Asset: Iron ore asset with flexible development scenarios and the potential to ramp up production to over 100 Mta Mining Friendly Jurisdiction and Proximity to Infrastructure: Iron Bear located in Canada, less than 25km from an open access heavy haul railway with proximity to low cost to hydro-power High Quality Product: Production of high quality magnetite concentrate grading 71,3% Fe and 1.1% SiO2 in industrial pilot plant Fast Track Project Development: Underpinned by the supply of bulk samples of DR and BF concentrates to mill clients by Q2 2024
Coffee with Samso Episode 202 brings retail investors into an ASX company that may have the potential to become a multi-bagger investment. The LCL Resource Limited (ASX:LCL) story is one that will resonate with many retail small cap investors. A low market capitalisation of AUD $10M and an inferred gold resource of 831,000 ounces in a booming gold market where drilling results are being rewarded. LCL is not a stranger to the Samso platform, with "Los Cerros Limited (ASX: LCL) - A High-Grade Gold Porphyry Story in Colombia" published on 29th October 2021 and a Samso Insight written and published on 15th February 2022 entitled "Good Geology Never Disappoints - Los Cerros Limited (ASX: LCL) Colombian Style." The story changed to a Papua New Guinea focus recently, and on 25th November 2022, LCl released "Company acquires multiple PNG copper, nickel, gold targets" which was the entry into Papua New Guinea. Management Change Management and Board changes (Board Changes) within the company will bring much needed youth and energy into the LCL Resources, which, in my opinion, is why I am having a conversation on Coffee with Samso with Christopher Van Wijk, the Executive Chair of the company. LCL was in a transaction to sell the Columbian assets but as I have realised, that resolution was voted down by shareholders. Whether this decision in hindsight turns out to be the correct decision will be known soon. Could it be sold to a higher bidder as the gold sentiment rise will be something to ponder about at that time. What is more interesting for me is the current direction for the company with new management. The Project The Kusi project is a good start for the company with the inferred resource of 831,000 ounces of gold. The future of the project sounds like there are a lot of positives. Papua New Guinea is a haven for projects that are company makers. There are multi-million ounces of gold in the region that will be nectar to honey for LCL Resources. Coffee with Samso This is one of those conversations where I learnt a lot about my guest and the company story. Christopher Van Wijk gave me the impression that he has come into LCl with a mission to take this AUD $10M market cap to greater heights. His energy and the, as a matter of fact, tone of discussion give me confidence they have the right jockey. The next question is what the horse is like, and the rest of the team is able to do with the current project. As a matter of funding, I think that the fact that there are high-net-worth individuals backing this vehicle is a very good addition to the story. Chapters: 00:00 Start 00:08 Introduction 03:26 Who is Chris van Wijk? 04:18 Updates on the Columbian Project 06:18 The KUSI Project 07:39 Any jurisdiction issues? 09:25 Confidence in gold project 11:50 What can investors look forward to? 13:40 Discussion on funding 17:05 Takeaway 17:35 What can investors look forward to in terms of exploration activities? 20:11 Conclusion About Christopher Van Wijk Chris is a seasoned geologist with expertise in project evaluation and generation. He possesses extensive experience in base metal and gold exploration across Africa, Europe, the Americas, and Australia. Chris has also managed joint ventures and evaluated projects for leading mining companies such as BHP, IAMGOLD, First Quantum Minerals, and Fortescue Metals Group. He holds a Master of Science in Ore Deposit Geology from the University of Western Australia and is a member of the AUSIMM. About LCL Resources Limited LCL, incorporated in Australia, is an ASX listed exploration and mining company. The Company holds ~3890Km2 of exploration titles in 5 regions of Papua New Guinea, prospective for copper, gold and nickel. The Company also holds a dominant position within the Quinchia region of the Mid-Cauca Gold Belt of Colombia. The Company is actively exploring in PNG while the 100% owned, 10,500 ha Quinchia Gold Project (2.6Moz @ 1g/t) in Colombia progresses through early stage feasibility related studies..
Coffee with Samso Episode 201 is all about looking at a mineral explorer to ride the current market excitement for mineral resource discoveries. There is a visible and coherent bullish shift with investors within the mineral exploration sector of the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX). The E79 Gold Mines Limited (AIM:E79) story is being reviewed as it is primed for potential discovery, and now cashed up. I have known about E79 and was reminded when they were the beneficiary of a nearology play with Kalgoorlie Gold Mining Limited announcing results from their Lighthorse project. E79 was the beneficiary as they share tenement boundaries (Figure 1). One of the most important aspects of trying to understand this industry is to know that as retail investors, we are never going to know the real ins and outs of the company. On most occasions, we are the last and the "insiders," or what I term the "Purple Circle", are always looking at the retail market as the driver of rising pricing and the bag to hold when they leave. Hence, to negate some of the heartache, I prescribe the need to know the two critical points: one is management and the viability of the projects being promoted, and the other is the potential economic discovery within the project. Let me try and break this down without writing a book about it. Management I cannot stress enough the need to know the style and content of management in place. For the majority of retail investors, who are not from the industry, it is hard to know who is who. What many people rely on is being told who they are, and not knowing the main players with some degree of intimacy. The problem with second-hand knowledge is that you don't know how far that knowledge came from by the time it got to your ears. I have compiled a small list of things to ask or to DYOR for readers to chew on: Ability to raise money: Are they connected and have the records to show this? This is a very important ability. Are they the type of management that wants to make an economic discovery? I stress the term economic, which indicates a real effort in terms of spending money and having the right team. Are management looking for an economic discovery, or are they looking for a discovery to create share price stimulation? This is not a bad thing, but knowing this will help you from rushing in and taking a wait-and-see approach. The person who is known for the "Midas Touch," now this is a no brainer and in some ways, this kind of management is the easiest. Put your money in and then go do your day job. The only drawback is that these guys can take a long time, and I mean multiple years as they normally work on their schedule and not yours :-) Similarly, they may have a stronger holding power than you and hence, if you are forced to hold longer than you can, you may miss out. I am sure there are many other characteristics to be aware of, but those are normally the ones I look for before jumping into any stocks. The Project It is sufficient to say that the promoters of these companies have the same motivation as all investors, and that is making money. Retail investors like me are all about making sure we are not taken in by the promotion, that we forget there is a need to sell, and making sure we have the holding power to stay in the game. In my opinion, when we look at the projects being promoted, we need to simply think of two parts. If the main story is about making an economic discovery, is the project, technically, able to give it a good go, or do I think that the chances are low and the risk great? This normally requires a higher level of research and at most times, it's difficult to have an absolute answer. Fortunately for me, with 3 decades of experience, it's a lot easier to break all those points down. For those not in the industry, I have to admit, it's not easy. If the project appears to be lacking in substance, then you would have to assume that management is looking for something else and this is a holding pattern. It's kind of what we call, "Let's Join The Club First.". Coffee with Samso Today, it's all about E79 Gold Mines Limited and Ned Summerhayes. As I have mentioned, I know the management relatively well, and I do believe that they are looking for an economic discovery, and I am pretty sure they are also looking for a better project to come along. They will take their time while they slowly work on their projects. Chapters: 00:00 Start 03:29 Who is Ned Summerhayes? 04:20 What it's like working with the board members? 05:50 The Neurology Factor factor? 08:19 Has the market changed to being a Bull? 10:46 E79 projects set up by Ramelius consolidation. 12:37 What is the strategy for E79 at the Lighthorse region? 17:27 The Mountain Home Project 26:02 How should corporate manage shareholder expectations? 29:01 Is the market still tight for funding? 34:10 Last comments 34:47 Conclusion About Ned Summerhayes Edward (Ned) Summerhayes has completed a Master's of Economic Geology from the University of Tasmania. Ned has more than 15 years' experience in Mineral Exploration, primarily in Western Australia. Ned's most recent role was with Black Cat Syndicate as Exploration Manager, having both corporate responsibilities and directing technical programmes. Ned was responsible for all site personnel, stakeholder management, reporting and compliance, as well as reviewing and recommending strategic acquisitions. About E79 Gold Mines Limited E79 Gold Mines Limited is an Australian gold and copper exploration company which has approximately 1,838km2 of highly prospective ground in two proven gold producing greenstone belts in the Western Australian Goldfields and a project within the McArthur Basin of the Northern Territory. Mission To discover gold and develop sustainable operations whilst acting responsibly towards the environment and all stakeholders Statement of Values E79's vision is to create significant value for Shareholders through good science and applied exploration with a strong culture of operating ethically and responsibly. To respect the cultures, customs, and values of all Stakeholders, including employees, contractors, suppliers, Traditional Owners, pastoralists, and the community. At all times conduct ourselves with integrity, honesty, and transparency. Encourage an enjoyable and safe workplace based on technical excellence, teamwork, collaboration, and diversity. Seek to protect the environment and enrich the communities in which we work.
Coffee with Samso Episode 200 is a David and Goliath story that could be a second chance for those investors who felt they missed out on past opportunities. The Greatland Gold Plc (AIM: GGP) is the classic case of the need to understand the content of management and the technical aspects of a mineral resource project. Like all investment partitioners, their main challenge is hearing fellow participants overlook the essential elements of comprehending and applying the principles of First Principal's business. I have been in the industry since 1992, and over the past three decades, I've learnt that understanding the sector requires insights from a geologist's perspective, an investor's viewpoint, and those who influence the markets, such as stakeholders (brokers, major investors, and vendors of the company and projects). It's crucial to gather wisdom from experienced individuals and recognise that no two operations, projects, mineral orebodies, or extraction methods are identical. This is evident in the many success stories that have emerged from so-called "unloved" and "impossible" projects that seemed doomed from the start. The list of companies that have been created from these unloved "investment concepts" or the "too Small for Majors" are clearly exemplified recently by the following list below; Northern Star Resources Limited (ASX: NST), Spartan Resources Limited (ASX: SPR), Genesis Minerals Limited (ASX: GMD), Westgold Resources Limited (ASX: WGX), Gold Road Resources Limited (ASX: GOR), There are numerous others to include on that list, and the surprising fact is that ASX retail investors are slow to invest in these stocks. The issue for these investors is that by the time these stocks gain attention, the capital appreciation for their type of portfolio has decreased, leaving opportunities to institutions and more "sophisticated" investors seeking consistent income generation. Why do I still see Greatland Gold Plc as a viable Proposition for the Retail Investor? Firstly, they are largely unknown to the sector. Currently, they have an AUD $2B market capitalisation hidden on the London Stock Exchange AIM Market platform. If you click on that link, you will see the unimpressive on the London Stock Exchange. What is an AUD billion dollar company hidden in this nature? The answer to that question is one of the first points I make in the Coffee with Samso with Shaun Day, the Managing Director of Greatland Gold. The company is an overnight success that has taken a decade of hard work and sweaty rattling of the tin to keep the doors from shutting. This episode of Coffee with Samso is a perfect companion to our first story on Greatland Gold we published on July 2, 2022, entitled "The Havieron Gold - Copper Discovery in Patterson Range, Western Australia". That was now almost 3 years ago, and today, they are a fully fledged miner with the words "Undervalued- Underrated" written all over the story. For those who felt that they have not caught a good investment in a raging bull gold market that seems to have no short-term end, especially in Australian dollars. This will have to be a must-see Coffee with Samso before you begin your process of DYOR. I cannot emphasise the need to spend good quality time to DYOR for Greatland Gold, which is still not listed on the ASX. That will come in June, so better get your knee pads from Bunnings and start resorting to begging, as I am 100 percent sure there will be limited shares available to the common man when their IPO comes around. Chapters: 01:28 Start 02:34 Who is Shaun Day? 03:45 How did Greatland buy back the assets? 05:39 Composition of the acquisition price paid by Greatland Gold. 07:34 Significance of Havieron being next to Telfer 09:04 Where is the uplift of Telfer and Havieron for Greatland Gold. 10:31 Reason for the cost of Telfer 13:14 An explanation to the concept of Vertical Ounce? 15:20 Breaking down the potential value of the Telfer Operations. 20:05 The size of the processing capabilities of the Telfer/Havieron Operations. 25:33 Thoughts on the future of mining costs 28:33 Hemi vs Havieron 31:17 What is the status of the ASX Listing ? 39:11 Tungsten deposit 46:57 Takeaway from the Greatland story 50:27 Closing remarks 52:15 Conclusion About Shaun Day Shaun is Managing Director of Greatland Gold plc. Shaun has over 25 years of experience in executive and commercial roles across mining, infrastructure and investment banking. Prior to joining the Company, Shaun was Chief Financial Officer of Northern Star Resources Limited, an ASX100 company and a global-scale Australian gold producer. Prior to this, Shaun was Chief Financial Officer of SGX-listed Sakari Resources Plc, which operated multiple mines ahead of its takeover. Shaun is a Non-executive Chairman of Blue Ocean Monitoring Limited and a member of the Senate of the University of Western Australia. About Greatland Gold Greatland's operating asset is its 100%-owned Telfer gold-copper mine, one of Australia's largest gold-copper mining complexes with significant established processing and infrastructure. Greatland's development asset is its 100% owned Havieron development project, a high-grade gold-copper deposit located 45km west of Telfer that will utilise the Telfer infrastructure to process Havieron ore. In addition to Telfer and Havieron, Greatland holds interests in a significant exploration portfolio, the focus of which is the relatively underexplored surrounding Paterson Province. Ownership of the Telfer infrastructure greatly enhances the potential value of exploration success in Greatland's Paterson exploration portfolio. Strategy of Greatland Gold Greatland aspires to become a profitable multi-mine resources company by focusing on the responsible and sustainable discovery, development, extraction, processing and sale of precious and base metals. Greatland's strategy to achieve this growth is built on four horizons: Profitable operation of the Telfer gold-copper mine and pursuit of Telfer mine life extension; Continued advancement of the world-class Havieron gold-copper project through to production; Exploration to identify new precious and base metals deposits, with a focus on the Paterson Province surrounding Telfer; and Disciplined assessment and, where compelling, pursuit of new investment and acquisition opportunities in the resources sector. Greatland has assembled a highly experienced team that is committed to delivering our growth strategy. The senior team is supported by a Board with extensive expertise and experience in the global resources sector. Greatland's leadership team has a track record of success and value creation for shareholders.
Coffee with Samso Episode 199 is all about the meaning of Critical Minerals for Australia. Are we spending the right amount of money? The low-emission world loves these two words and in resource-rich Australia where we are world leaders in supplying the feedstock for the world, are we sheep or should we start to be smarter with our fund allocation? Should we play our own game and be one controlling the weather and be smart with our resources? Should we be asking, are all metals critical and who are the beneficiaries of the critical nature of these metals? Should Australia be a more important part of the future Clean Energy Revolution? In today's episode, we talk to a man who gives us thoughts to ponder and maybe actions to take. Are all metals critical and what does critical mean? Should we look at the real meaning and outcome of the term Critical Metals? Tim Craske is here because I read his abstract for the recent AUSIMM Conference on Critical Minerals. Australia's list of critical minerals all occur in abundance. As a nation of suppliers of raw materials, are these metals critical at all for Australians? Or are they just critical for the commodity markets that we deliver into? As we have seen recently with external pressures on commodity prices, lithium and nickel can be critical EV battery components yet be subject to more cyclical price volatility than major metals. This makes Australian scoping and feasibility studies fragile, and investors nervous. According to Tim, by taking a complex-systems thinking approach to modelling these new resources, we can have better outcomes. However, a systems-thinking approach will only be truly transformational if we develop downstream processing and manufacturing industries here in Australia. This is described by CSIRO as a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” to reinvigorate our manufacturing and technology sectors. Get yourself a coffee or your favourite beverage and watch or listen and see if Tim Craske makes any sense: Chapters: 00:00 Start. 04:00 Introduction. 04:46 All about Tim Craske. 07:11 Did Western Mining influence your thinking today ? 09:38 What does Critical Metals mean to Tim Craske? 10:39 Australia List of Critical Metals is too long. 11:54 The problem with the Critical Metals List - Everything is not Critical. 12:27 The One and Only Critical Metal - Copper. 13:09 Is Coal a Critical Metal? 13:42 The UK Coking Coal Public Impression. 15:07 The Disconnect of the Carbon Footprint Discussion. 16:07 Changing Lithium Story. 16:42 Why Australia should recreate the Iluka Anomaly 17:10 Understanding the Long Term Marginal Lithium Market 18:55 Should Australia adopt an Indonesian model of investing a Downstream Process. 20:59 What is Australia willing to do to compete? 21:27 Do you think the recent discussion of banning "Dirty" nickel could happen? 22:40 An Example Why Banning "Dirty" Nickel will not work. 24:30 What should Australia be focusing on? 26:11 Understanding the China - Chinese Competitive Business Strategy. 27:24 Why does ASEAN embrace China and the West have an Anti-Chinese Perception? 29:48 Is there a colonisation concept being played out in the Critical Metals Story? 31:08 Where should Australia focus on with Critical Metals? 33:37 Mining of Copper is not that Green. 34:27 Nett Zero Emission. 35:30 Is Zero Emission a Fantasy. 36:48 The Indonesian Nickel Business 38:00 What would Nuclear Power do for the Australian Mining Industry. 38:35 Should Australia chase Tier 1 projects for sustainability of the industry? 40:53 The Power of Tier 1 deposits. 41:57 The Need for Governments to be more Understanding on Process of Mining. 42:35 Can Small Explorers explore for Tier 1 Deposits? 44:02 The lack of New Mines. 45:34 Raising money from the market to Test Geological Concepts is hard. 47:06 Can Australia develop a Downstream Resource Industry. 51:05 Difficulties of the REE Industry. 51:53 What could Spark a Mineral Exploration Bull run. 54:26 China needs the Critical Metals more than anyone else. 55:09 Understanding The Chinese Thinking. 55:40 The Government Loan is a Red Hearing. 56:30 The Dangers for the Mining Industry in regards to the way we treat Critical Metals. 57:12 Tim Last Words. 59:22 What Weather will do to Solar and Wind Farms. 59:54 The Nuclear Solution. 1:00:33 Conclusion. About Tim Craske Tim Craske is a skilled and successful mineral explorer and mentor with over 40 years' experience in project generation, exploration management and technical innovation gained in Australia, North and South America, Asia and East Africa. He spent his first 20 years with WMC Resources during which he discovered the Ernest Henry and E1 iron oxide copper-gold (IOCG) deposits in the Cloncurry district, northwest Queensland. He was also involved in the targeting of the West Musgraves province for copper and nickel pegging the core licences on which all the deposits (Nebo, Babel and Succoth) have been found. Since leaving WMC Tim has worked in both the junior and major company sectors including Exploration Manager for Sirius Resources up to the establishing of Nova as a prime prospect General Manager Exploration Consulting at Vale and Exploration Manager - New Commodities at Iluka Resources. Tim Craske is Managing Director and Chief Facilitator for Thinker.Events and also a director of Thinkercafé.org that specialises in developing innovative thinkers, thinking organisations, and disruptive technology solutions for industry, education and government sectors.
Coffee with Samso, Episode 198, brings a new perspective to the Coffee with Samso conversations. In this first episode we bring a delve into the thoughts of Allan Kelly, Executive Chair of Miramar Resources Limited (ASX: M2R). The life of an executive in the small mineral exploration is busy and stressful. Those that are out there trying to make an economic discovery are constantly under the spotlight. . In my five years of establishing the Coffee with Samso series, Allan Kelly strikes to me a a true mineral explorationist. To those that have followed the Samso journey and have watched Allan share his projects in Miramar Resources Limited, you will know that he speaks with great sincerity. Our conversations on the Samso platform (see below for previous conversation) are always long form and it has always offered a great insight to the reasons why Alan is so passionate in the potential discovery. When you watch and listen to Allan talking about the projects, there is no doubt that he is enthusiastic nature is wanting the viewers to know what he is doing and why he is spending money into the project. The Insights to Allan Kelly In this first episode of Coffee with Samso - Insights, we learn about Allan Kelly, the person. In an industry that takes no prisoners, it is hard for investors to know who is actually really trying to make a discovery. It is difficult to know if the person who is telling you the story is actually telling the truth or the real facts. I have been an investor in this industry since my university days in 1987 and have been a willing participant in the mineral industry since 1992. Like everyone who is working in the mineral exploration industry, we are all trying to make that economic discovery. The rate of success is not very high and as Allan mentioned in the first minute of the introduction to this episode, that rate of success is very low. So what makes us continue to work in mineral exploration? Why are the likes of myself and Allan Kelly continuing to be in the lime light and the brunt of all criticism? The questions that are being asked is why the Coffee with Samso Insights is beginning its journey. Get yourself a coffee or your favourite beverage and watch or listen and get a better understanding of Allan Kelly: Chapters: 00:00: Introduction 05:13 How did Allan Kelly get into this industry? 09:04 Western Mining Interview 11:40 Work with Western Mining 13:18 Is the Development of Geological Skills still a common trait? 13:44 Western Mining was Unique for the time. 15:27 What traits do you need to stay in the mineral exploration industry? 17:05 The Keys to be a Mineral Explorationist. 17:35 Don't be afraid to say you don't know something. 18:22 What is the Core Asset required to do well in the industry? 19:03 Need to have Endurance, the "Non-Technical Asset" - "Non-Geological Assets" 21:18 The Andy Well Story 23:29 The many reasons why a project may not be discovered.? 24:30 How do you decide and manage which projects to leave behind. 29:56 The lack of Mineral Exploration and Mineral Discovery. 32:24 Does Criticism Ever Affect you Negatively? 34:26 The Gidgee Project and The Paleochannel Problem. 35:11 Is it Frustrating to be misunderstood about the Gidgee Project? 37:30 How do Investors understand Exploration Results? 41:23 How to understand lack of Mineralisation strike length 42:31 What is Allan's thoughts on the Mineral Exploration sector? 43:49 Lack of Patience from Brokers 45:03 Reasons why Allan is optimistic with Nickel and the Bangemall project. 50:57 Allan's last Words. 51:26 Conclusions Previous Conversations with Allan Kelly Mineral Exploration - Creating Value Organically Miramar Resources Limited (ASX: M2R) - Mineral Exploration Success - Discovery at Marylebone. Miramar Resources Limited (ASX: M2R) Discovery at Gidji, Bangemall and Whaleshark Miramar Resources Limited (ASX: M2R) Discovery at Gidji, Glandore and Whaleshark. Miramar Resources Limited (ASX: M2R) - Surprises in the Bangemall: Carbonatites and IOCG Project Updates at Miramar Resources Limited (ASX: M2R)
Coffee with Samso Episode 197 is with Sam Pazuki, the Managing Director and CEO of AuMega Metals Limited (ASX: AAM) The AuMega Metals Limited (previously known as Matador Mining Limited) story has come a long way since our first conversation in April 2020. The developing story is now moving into the next phase as the 2024 field season is beginning. In this episode of Coffee with Samso Episode 197, Sam share with us the philosophy of the company and the strategy for AuMega Metals and the reasoning behind the rebranding exercise. AuMega is well supported with an international miner, B2Gold Corp. as a major shareholder and that clearly show the confidence the shareholders have in the AuMega Metals Limited story. Samso's Conclusion For those readers who have been followers of the Coffee with Samso series, it is common knowledge that I am a big fan of the AuMega story (formerly Matador Mining Limited). I have always said that the biggest value adding process for shareholders is to look for your own discovery. Promoters in this space preach that the refurbishing of projects is more cost effective but in practice this is more of a myth that a reality. The strategy by the management of AuMega is disciplined and with the stewardship of Justin Osborne (ex- Gold Road Resources) leading the technical search and the corporate influenced Sam Pazuki, I am in no doubt that the mineral exploration will prove their strategy to be fruitful. The rebranding is clearly a means of aligning the company name with its purpose for finding large economical deposits. The projects that is in the portfolio is the reason why "Mega" projects will be discovered. This is what I call a mineral province play to ensure the largest probability to discover economical deposit. As the new drilling season starts to take shape, the next phase of the results will be highly anticipated from the company's shareholders. With B2 Gold as a shareholder, one has to recognised that B2Gold is not here for a slim chance of discovery. The positioning is well thought and the target company is selected for its vast portfolio. Tune in and start putting your thinking cap on and do some good old fashion DYOR. Chapters: 00:00 Start 00:20 Introduction 01:06 All About AuMega Metals Limited 02:48 Is Cape Ray still the Main Story? 04:26 Is there more love for companies like AuMega now? 07:01 Fair valuation due to a bearish equity market. 09:37 The need for District Scale Potential. 10:57 What have been the learnings from your exploration activities? 13:37 Long term exploration programs create the value for shareholders. 15:58 Short-Term and Long-Term Prize 18:14 Taking Risks and Exploration Success 20:40 What is the direction for Gold ? 23:09 Why is there a disconnect between gold equities and the gold price? 25:20 What are the Exit timing for potential investors? 27:48 News Flow for AuMega Metals 29:48 Why invest in AuMega ? 30:55 Big Brother Influence for Large Deposit Discoveries. 32:36 Conclusions
Samso Insight Episode 118 is with Justin Virgin, Executive Director of Terrain Minerals Limited (ASX: TMX) Commodity pricing has a history for being volatile and it is especially susceptible to sovereign risks. The ups and downs of the mineral resources sector on the ASX is a direct reflection of the volatile commodity chart. Pricing of commodities are constantly evolving and retreating which makes the fortunes of ASX companies in this sector exciting and depressing, depending on which the investor's circumstances. In this episode of Samso Insights, we look at Terrain Minerals Limited (ASX: TMX). We speak with Justin Virgin who is the Executive Director of the company. I came across Terrain Minerals at the 2024 RIU Conference in Sydney. What looked like a non-descript booth became an interesting proposition when we Justin explained to me the different views on their projects. Terrain Minerals main story is the potential for a Gallium player who has been flying under the radar. The Gallium sector is small but lucrative. Figure 1 below highlight the bullish nature of the pricing and it is forecast to continue on that trend in years to come. Figure 1: Gallium price chart. (Source: https://strategicmetalsinvest.com/gallium-prices/) From an exploration point of view, the projects that Terrain have a grassroots and there is no hiding form the fact that there is a lot of work to do and there are also a lot of room for error. Investors who look at Terrain from rom a valuation point of view and measuring risk as from that angle will like the market capitalisation of the company. Check out the Samso Insight conversation with Justin and make your own decision. Samso's Conclusion Terrain Minerals is one of those companies that you literally take a "punt". Personally, I like the Gallium but I don't know what is good and what is bad in terms of numbers. At the time of writing this blog, the company has released the results from their latest drilling. The numbers for the REE look ok but not mind blowing but I do not know how to comment on the Gallium numbers. This would be a great opportunity for readers to give Justin a call and get it from the man himself. Chapters: 00:00 Start 00:20 Introduction 00:50 Justin introduce Terrain 02:38 The Gallium Story 03:58 What Kind of results are expected? 05:10 Is Saltbush the main project? 06:48 The Terrain Minerals Projects 09:14 Why Terrain Minerals? 10:30 Conclusion
Samso Insight Episode 119 is with Andrew Sparke, Executive Chair of QMines Limited (ASX: QML) As the copper price continue to reach all time high status (Figure 1), compnaies such as QMines Limited suddenly comes as an interesting proposition. The resource is small but a recent Pre-Feasibility study is showing that the number could work. In this episode of Samso Insights, we have Andrew Sparke giving us a run down on what could be a copper producer in Queensland, Australia. Figure 1: Copper price chart. (Source: Trading Economics) The supply issue for copper has long been talked about and the market seem to have finally caught onto the nearing desperate nature of supply. The aging copper mines are facing rising cost and some of the major mines are also facing sovereign issues. To add to the supply issue, several developing mines are facing question on jurisdiction. I like companies like QMines as they are always undervalued and are constantly facing funding issues. As the market tightens, these stories begin to get noticed and their valuation begin to move. This is not an endorsement of QMines in any way, as there are still hurdles that could be deal breakers for the company. My comment is merely an observation that has stood the test of time historically. Check out the Samso Insight conversation with Andrew and make your own decision. Samso's Conclusion QMines is a company that may offer investors an opportunity to get in on the copper run. A rising commodity story that is still early in its journey with many unknowns of trivial hurdles or deal breaker hurdles. Andrew has explained how the story should work but as we know, he is the Executive Chair and his thoughts would deemed to be slightly biased. That being said, my view is that one has to look at the options out there in the market place for a story that will fit the current narrative of "Need More Copper". QMines, assuming that the numbers continue to stack up will be one of the ones on my watchlist. Fortunately for us punters, the low valuation of companies due to a bearish sentiment in commodities has somewhat naturally reduced our risk. As for the copper price, if it is to be believed, has a lot of legs to go. Some narratives have gone further and put the copper price at level much higher than Figure 1. I agree that it will go higher but I don't have an understanding on how high. There are no doubts that the old copper mines are facing rising costs and this is not a small margin. One must remember that if household living expenses are stated to have increased be in the 30% mark, the increase of 30% or more in a mine will make a big difference. I would say that the cost of mining any commodity at the depths that these old copper mines are at will be significant. At the end of the day, DYOR is the key to any decision making and one has to keep a keen eye on the copper space. When you think about what the implication will mean, the opportunity for shareholder value adding is enormous. Chapters: 00:00 Start 00:20 Introduction 00:57 Andrew introduce QMines 02:45 Going through the details of PFS 07:05 The upside of Mt Chalmers. 09:36 Any Metallurgical Issues? 11:25 The Products 11:37 The Pyrite Value Story 12:57 Where is the disconnect with value and share price? 15:19 The issue of using Copper Equivalent number. 17:30 The Pros and Cons of taking a position in QMines. 23:17 The Copper Market 26:06 Why QMines? 20:57 Timing for Investors Exit? 27:43 THE CAPEX Advantage 28:45 Conclusion
Multi-element anomalism coincident with geophysical targets supports the concept of a new Mineral System Province at the Highway Project in South Australia. ASX Release – 22nd May 2024 Highlights Multi-element anomalism coincident with geophysical targets indicate potential for different styles of mineralisation including epithermal gold, molybdenum porphyry and Iron-Oxide-Copper-Gold (IOCG). Taiton Resources Limited (“T88”, “Taiton” or “the Company”) is pleased to announce that all samples from the recently completed UltraFine (UF) soil sampling program in March have now been returned. The completed soil program was undertaken across three prospects; Garfield, Pluto and Snoopy, at the Highway project (Figure 1). The program consisted of a total of 1,197 samples (ex QAQC samples) and was Taiton's first pass field-based assessment of selected prospects identified primarily from geophysical datasets. A recent litho-structural interpretation of the Highway project highlighted the potential for multiple mineralisation styles derived from intrusive activity. These mineralisation styles include epithermal gold, molybdenum porphyry, and Iron-Oxide-Copper-Gold (IOCGs). Figure 1. Location of prospects within Highway Project. The UF program was successful in identifying multi-element anomalism across the three prospects and provide further support for the various mineralisation styles Taiton is pursuing within the Highway project. Due to the early stage of exploration Taiton is not limiting its search to one mineralisation style.
Coffee with Samso Episode 196 is with Matt Szwedzicki, Managing Director of West Cobar Metals Limited (ASX: WC1) In my first conversation in June 2023 with West Cobar Metals Limited, I noticed the amphibolite basement for the Salazar project and asked how this could affect the mineralogy of the project. With nearly 12 months of work since that time, the benefits of the Newmont deposit are now coming to light. In this episode of Coffee with Samso, Matt Szwedzicki shares with us the potential multi-commodity aspect of the Newmont deposit. The company has come a long way in substantiating its view on the new strategy in bringing light to the Titanium and Scandium part of the flow chart. This is an unfolding story and credit goes to the management for looking at the alternative value of the Newmont project. The increasing tenure of the project means that the protection of the potential value adding process is now in safekeeping. The potential extension of the amphibolite is now for West Cobar Metals to discover and if the Scandium and Titanium strategy holds ground, the shareholder value will be very interesting. Time will tell, but at least it is up to the company to find it. Samso's Conclusion I have been fascinated with the West Cobar story as it is the only Rare Earth project that I have come across that has a amphibolite basement, or rather, one that has a non-granitic basement. This stands out even more when you know that the Esperance region does not appear to have an equivalent. When I first talked to the company, I posed the question to management, what is the significance of the amphibolite? Does it come with other commodities (at that time they had a HPA resource sitting on top of the Newmont project)? There is now a pathway for the company and it will be interesting where this leads to in terms of shareholder value. The scandium story is very interesting as I have had some experience of that sector nearly a decade ago. If you watch the video and listen to Matt when he talks about the Scandium pricing mechanism, it is a revelation. For once, we have a market that is priced so high that it needs new supply to bring the pricing down so that it can create more supply and more use. It is not a matter of lack of demand, but that the sector needs supply. When you think about what the implication will mean, the opportunity for shareholder value adding is enormous. Chapters: 00:00 Start 00:20 Introduction 01:23 Update from Matt 01:43 More ground for Salazar 01:56 An updated exploration target 02:22 Realisation that Newmont is different 02:40 The Titanium Factor 02:59 Titanium Exploration Target 03:06 Presence of HPA 03:30 Flow Sheet 04:52 Titanium Mineral Study 06:05 What about this Scandium in Salazar? 07:32 Is Newmont more of a Critical Minerals project as opposed to a Rare Earth project? 09:02 Is there enough volume for the other commodities to be economical? 10:47 What triggers should investors look for to take a position in companies like WC1? 12:55 All about Scandium 14:40 Why is Scandium exciting? 15:43 The high pricing of Scandium. 16:41 Supply bottleneck may be changing 17:50 US Defense Department looking out for Scandium 18:24 Solid oxide fuel cell use of Scandium - green fuel transition 19:13 Where will the new mines come from - reasons why Newmont is the front runner 19:46 Newmont may have a potential positive metallurgical pathway 21:17 High grade vs. normal grade of Scandium 22:48 News Flow 24:43 A Natural pivot for WC1 25:49 Last words from Matt 26:57 Conclusion
Coffee with Samso 195 is all about the accessibility of the Jupiter Rare Earth project. This episode comes from the site of the project and lets audiences see why Jupiter is all about Location, Location, Location. Venture Minerals Limited (ASX: VMS) is now finalising a drilling program to infill the Jupiter project as they work to build a maiden JORC resource for the project. It is also now brining management to site to see for themselves the ease of having a potential mining proposition. Managing Director, Andrew Radonjic and the Chair, Mel Ashton is sharing with us their thought on this episode of Coffee with Samso. There are no revelations but a reinforcement to investors and shareholders that the potential for a mining operation will come with Tier 1 infrastructure and potential partners or off-takers. Remembering the Reasons to Focus on the Jupiter REE project. The fanfare on the Jupiter Rare Earth project is all about the ASX release by Venture Minerals on the 29th November 2023 (Jupiter Delivers over 7,000 ppm TREO assays from Maiden RC Drill Program) and the second round of results that was released on the 8th March 2024 (Jupiter Drilling Continues to Deliver Broad High-Grade REE Mineralisation including a Record NdPr Intersection of over 5,000 ppm). The investor interest that followed is now a The share price has been very buoyant and when taken into context of the Rare Earth sector in general, Venture Minerals is doing very well. There is a keen interest in the market to see where this story will end up. Check out the conversation with Andrew Radonjic below: Samso's Conclusion In the lead up to the trip to the project, Andrew Radonjic had been taking a position that the location of the project could be a game changer and I have to say that it does make sense. The highway is within 2km from the edge of the tenement boundary, there is a gas Chapters: 00:00 Start 00:55 Introduction to Mel Ashto3 00:53 Updates on Jupiter 04:34 The Potential Size of the Jupiter Resource 08:55 Potential Strategy for Jupiter Project 11:52 Could there be other High-Grade "Cores"? 17:54 Discussion on Metallurgy 20:52 Location, Location Location 23:56 How can Venture take advantage of the REE Market? 25:57 What would the Exit look like for potential investors? 26:58 View on the Rare Earth Market over the next 12 months? 34:41 News Flow 38:00 Tin 39:11 Conclusion
As we move into the generation of clean energy, the topic of uranium mining is brewing in Australia, especially in Western Australia. The only state and territory in Australia where uranium can be mined is South Australia and the Northern Territory. The Western Australian government took a stance a few years ago to ban the mining of uranium and this has taken its toll on the industry. However, it does seem that the sentiment to overturn that decision is now softening. The mining industry in Western Australia, by far the biggest player in Australia, is facing one of its biggest changes in 2024 and the change may only be starting. The nickel industry is hemorrhaging with the rise of the Indonesian nickel industry. The dominating nature of the nickel industry in Indonesia has taken the world by storm and the result for Western Australia and the rest of the world is that their own mines are now facing closure and a bleak future for those that are still in operation. The biggest player in the industry in Australia is BHP's Nickel West, which is certainly looking at closure and the loss of jobs and income for Australians. 2024 is absolutely turning out to be the year of changing fortunes for Australia in terms of being the commodity mecca of the world. There are real challenges that are not only restricted to nickel (almost a done deal), but there are also negative sentiments towards lithium, rare earths and finally iron ore. The misfortunes in turn could create the necessary heat to make the Western Australian and in large part the Federal government bodies look seriously at uranium as an alternative mining breadwinner. The World According to Jonathan Fisher Jonathan Fisher is the CEO of Cauldron Energy Limited (ASX: CXU) and this Samso Insight discussion is a good introduction to the challenges and the deep misunderstanding of the general population to uranium mining. Jonathan comes from a long history within the nuclear world and in this Samso Insight conversation, he is simply stating facts to explain the debate for the mining process and not about the building of nuclear power plants. Jonathan just wants the myths to be taken out of the discussion and I agree with him that the conversations out in the world have been wrong and largely made erroneously to be facts. Samso's Thoughts There is no doubt in my mind now that the mystery of Uranium Mining and the Nuclear Energy debate is shrouded by a lack of understanding and the perception created by the anti-mining fraternity (based on personal agendas). The narratives that Jonathan Fisher and all the other proponents for Uranium Mining are made simply to make right the wrongs of the loudest critic. One can argue based on personal preferences but the greater good for uranium mining and hence the use of nuclear energy cannot be made by the few, but it must be made for the greater good of the whole decarbonisation outcome for planet Earth. ------- Disclaimer The information or opinions provided herein do not constitute investment advice, an offer or solicitation to subscribe for, purchase or sell the investment product(s) mentioned herein. It does not take into consideration, nor have any regard to your specific investment objectives, financial situation, risk profile, tax position and particular, or unique needs and constraints. Read full Disclaimer. ------ About Samso Samso is a renowned platform that empowers dedicated investors to transform their investing journey. With privileged access to a wealth of up-to-date industry knowledge and advancements spanning various business sectors, you can stay informed and updated constantly. Engage actively with esteemed CEOs and influential thought leaders who are shaping industries, as they share valuable insights, unveil success strategies, demystify commodities, and predict market trends. Combined with your own due diligent Do Your Own Research (DYOR), this may guide you to make an impact on your financial future. Coffee with Samso Experience
Coffee with Samso 194 is all about the Jupiter Rare Earth project and what a way for Andrew Radonjic to start the year 2024. Venture Minerals Limited (ASX: VMS) has an extremely well-rounded portfolio of projects and the inception of the Rare Earth project a couple of years ago has worked extremely well for the company. The Rare Earth sector may have come and gone for the ASx but it is a breath of fresh air to see the technical success of the Jupiter REE project. Anyone who has been following the ASX REE sector recently will know very well the bearish tone but those who have been on the Venture Minerals wagon, will think differently. You could put Venture Minerals on the top of the list for generating the most interest in the small-cap mineral explorers list. The interest in Venture started with the ASX release on the 29th of November 2023 (Jupiter Delivers over 7,000 ppm TREO assays from Maiden RC Drill Program) and the much anticipated second round of results was released on the 8th of March 2024 (Jupiter Drilling Continues to Deliver Broad High-Grade REE Mineralisation including a Record NdPr Intersection of over 5,000 ppm) which generated another rush on the share price. Figure 1: The Venture Minerals Limited (ASX: VMS) share price. (Source: Commsec) In this episode, Andrew Radonjic gives us an update on the Jupiter Rare Earth project and we discuss why he feels the project stands out from the crowd. Samso's Conclusion The Samso platform has had the majority of the clay rare earth story on the ASX for the last couple of years. It has been a great journey from the beginning to now where I could effectively call a mature understanding of the industry. If we are all on the same page, the understanding now is all about the metallurgical results, and the chemistry of extraction. In some way, we all know that the range of results from all the other clay REE players has been pretty consistent. There have not been too many outliers on the good or the bad end of the spectrum. If we consider this thought, the metallurgical results for Jupiter will be within range and there are some similarities to Mt. Weld, then Venture may have found themselves a project that could be more than interesting. As Andrew pointed out in the end, it is all about the location. The drilling results are on the top end of the scale, the location is in proximity to Mt. Weld and the plant by Iluka, the metallurgical results which are still outstanding will most likely come within range or better and there are no logistical nor administrative obstacles in sight. With all that in mind, the Jupiter project must surely become a jewel in the DYOR category for ASX investors wanting an REE play in their portfolio. I encourage you to watch and take notes because as I have always mentioned on the Samso platform, the one economical project in many non-economical projects that are in the market comes once in a while and if you can take the risk, do big-time DYOR. Chapters: 00:00 Start 00:20 Introduction 00:53 Updates on Jupiter 02:46 Discussion about the next drilling phase 04:04 What makes Jupiter stand out? 09:25 VMS in the current market 15:44 About the metallurgy 21:06 What could lift the REE market? 23:53 For investors looking to position themselves in VMS 29:01 Other VMS projects 32:45 News flow 35:59 Conclusion
As we close off 2023, what a better way to end with Coffee with Samso Episode 193 is with Brett Hazelden, Managing Director and CEO of OD6 Metals Limited (ASX: OD6). The Rare Earth story is now reaching a stage where it is now all about the chemistry. Most followers of the sector are now assuming and accepting that companies will report minerals resources that will be large enough to sustain any operations. What is unknown is the cost of the chemistry that will bring in the revenue and profits at the end of the exercise. I think in this episode of Coffee with Samso, Brett Hazelden makes a very compelling case for the OD6 Metals story. There is a lot of confusion in the market in terms of what is the end game for these clay rare earth projects. Brett is a metallurgist and he comes from experience when he talks about the downstream process. For those viewers who are pondering about the Rare Earth sector, this is a must watch episode of Coffee with Samso. Samso Conclusion As many of you who have followed the Samso platform, you would have been watching a lot of Rare Earth stories lately. There is no doubt that the rare earth industry is very complicated and confusing which is primarily being fuelled by a cloud of uncertainty on the future. This is something that I had as well but you would have heard me mention this very often, recently, that the trip to the rare earth conference in Canberra has pretty much cleared it up for me. My optimism that was derived from the conference is not an indication that the sector is going on a bull run. My thoughts are that the reality of a strong future for the demand of rare earths will be very profitable for the companies that stick to their work and are able to sustain their path with funding. The ability to attract funding over the period is critical. In some ways, you could look at the this time of the market as a reset of the rare earth story, in terms of valuation. This is the time to do your DYOR. For all investors, if the commodity boom is around the corner and the rare earth metals are part of that run, then you would want to do some good research now. Chapters: 00:00 Start 00:20 Introduction 01:03 2023 recap 03:32 Understanding the chemistry 07:14 Lowering the costs of production 09:45 Discussion about ESG 11:27 What is driving the economics of these clay projects? 15:46 Difference between Australia and South America - grade and processing route? 19:38 Takeaways from the Canberra REECon 26:16 What's on the cards for 2024? 32:03 Discussion about the rare earth market price 35:14 News flow 36:04 Final thoughts 39:46 Conclusion
Coffee with Samso 192 has Andrew Radonjic talking Rare Earths at the Jupiter project. Venture Minerals Limited (ASX: VMS) is now at the crossroads of emerging as a Rare Earth player in what is a complex and ultimately future-proofing sector. I labeled Venture Minerals as a Targeted Diversified Mineral Explorer in my very first interview with Andrew Radonjic, the Managing Director way back in October 2020, and this is another prime example of that business approach. The rare earth sector has had a lot of attention in the last 24 months and like all commodities, it is going through turbulent times. Samso has had the greatest privilege to have interviewed many of these stories over time and I see Venture Minerals as an interesting change to the current scene On the back of the recent announcement by Venture Minerals on the 29th of November 2023, entitled Jupiter Delivers over 7,000 ppm TREO assays from Maiden RC Drill Program, the company has raised additional funding to work on the project. In the current market, this is a strong vote of confidence for the potential of the Brothers REE project. In this episode, Andrew Radonjic shares with us his thoughts on the project and a good insight into the facts of the recent drilling results. In combination with the historical exploration activities, the picture of why Venture Minerals feels this project will have a future is material for viewers. Check out the conversation with Andrew Radonjic below: Samso's Conclusion As I have mentioned, we have had a good amount of content that is related to the rare earth sector, and my thoughts, which are consistent with most commentators, is that every REE project is unique. The key is what is at the bottom line of the project. Does it make money when the cookie crumbles? The Jupiter target is a clay-hosted rare earth project and as Andrew mentioned, there has been little metallurgical work done but these days, we are very comfortable assuming that it is a typical clay-hosted ree system. I don't think that this is a unique clay-hosted system but what will make it different is the logistical and the potential grade and tonnage. The other point of difference is a different social license. Most of the other projects have to deal with private landowners and the existence of the population. It may not be obvious now but I think in the long run, the bottom line will be noted. This is not to say that the others will not make money. As I measure the landscape for this sector, the companies that are left standing in the long term will be big winners. Fresh investors with more money in the bank will go a long way to becoming a long-term player. Chapters: 00:00 Start 00:20 Introduction 00:54 What is happening with the Jupiter REE Target? 03:56 Does alkaline intrusion play a part in Jupiter? 06:50 Progress on the drilling at Jupiter 14:11 What sets VMS apart from the others? 25:17 Comments for existing shareholders 29:37 Why did the recent new investors buy into the VSM Story? 30:57 News flow 33:34 Conclusion
Richard Brescianini, is back with Coffee with Samso Episode 191 and sharing with us the path forward with Heavy Rare Earths Limited (ASX: HRE). I have always said that Richard Brescianini, the Executive Director of Heavy Rare Minerals Limited, is the best person when it comes to understanding how the Rare Earth sector functions. Richard has had decades of experience within the sector and in this Coffee with Samso, he shares with us what is happening with HRE and what is the path forward in 2024. The rare earth sector is undergoing some reality checks and as investors look around, there are only a real handful of companies left that can be considered as real contenders. There is a rush to go to Brazil to chase the so-called "ionic" projects but what everyone has to consider is what will be the economics of the business. In this episode, Richard and I discuss what makes the business work. The metal extraction is critical and we know the answer is acid. The more acid we use, the more metals we get out. The cost of the acid extraction is a big hurdle but don't forget all the other aspects of the business. Australian Clay Rare Earth projects may appear to be lacking in properties that are beneficial to having a good REE project, but they have lower jurisdiction risks, and hence the cost of having a sustainable infrastructure becomes challenging. Projects need to have consistency in all aspects of the deposit, such as metallurgical factors and grade. We also discussed the other projects such as Duke and Perinjori. There was some exploration news on Duke and we had a good discussion on the merits of the project. Samso's Conclusion This Rare Earth sector requires investors and companies to have a long-term view of commercialisation. We all know that the challenge in working on clay rare earth projects has been a long road and very challenging. There have been many comments that the outcome for the companies promoting these projects will end in tears. If you have been following the markets you will be swayed with the depressed equity market. I must admit that I had similar thoughts. My thoughts are whether the demand and the hype would be sustained. I recently attended a Rare Earth Conference in Canberra and I was surprised that I was super attentive over the 3 days. I think I may have only missed one talk. What I took away from that conference was a renewed enthusiasm for the sector. The main reason is that there appears to have been a lot of money already spent. Furthermore, there seems to be a lot more money that is in place to help create a new downstream chain that is outside China. Before going to the conference, I heard all the talk but one has to take all those noise with some caution. However, after the conference, I am convinced that the talk is real and the demand for more REE is believable. The establishment of the downstream process is in no way near being completed but the process is there. The amount of money that has been pledged to establish a non-China-aligned downstream chain is staggering. The projected demand for REE for our electrification journey appears to ensure the longevity of companies such as HRE. Hence, my opinion for those who are interested in this sector should DYOR and look into what is happening behind the noise you hear from the general stream of news. Spend some time and look into what is happening in the real REE world. Chapters: 00:00 Start 00:20 Introduction 01:10 Cowalinya Exploration Target 06:03 Could the geology create issues for your Exploration Target at Cowalinya? 09:05 All about the Duke Project. 14:03 Do you think Duke could have a different REE chemistry? 17:24 New Project - Perenjori 22:32 Discussion about the clay-hosted space 27:21 A second supply chain for the rare earths market? 37:58 What are the immediate goals for HRE to monetise the business? 44:17 What could disrupt the planning? 47:21 What should investors be looking out for? 52:05 Conclusion
Coffee with Samso Episode 189 is with Mike Haynes, Managing Director and CEO of New World Resources Limited (ASX:NWC). The last time we spoke to New World Resources Limited (ASX:NWC) the story was about getting mining happening. Today, we hear that the mining process is in place and while they are going through the paces, they are chasing very compelling exploration targets. There are very few to no stories on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) that is flavoured copper not to mention high-grade copper. The Antler project by all accounts in the copper mineral exploration industry is a technically strong project. It is probably better categorised as a near-producer story now as the company moves into the mine planning stage.
In Episode 186 of Coffee with Samso, Dr Mike Jones, the Managing Director of Impact Minerals Limited (ASX: IPT), educates us on the ins and outs of the HPA business. The HPA (High Purity Alumina) story for Impact Minerals is now all about the economic process of making HPA. There are no longer any questions on the tonnage or the grade. In simple terms, the company is at the business end of the mineral resource sector. Impact Minerals to acquire advanced HPS project in Western Australia One of the key aspects of understanding Impact Minerals is to have a clear view of the company's business. Impact is in the business of HPA and what that means is that it needs to deliver High Purity Alumina in the 3N or 4N level (Figure 1). Figure 1: The HPA business detailing the different products and the potential income. (Source: Impact Minerals Limited). When considering companies like Impact Minerals, the initial association is often with mineral exploration. However, it is important to view Impact from a fresh perspective. In this episode, Dr. Mike Jones discusses the company's current focus on the Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS) phase, which aims to determine the profitability of the Lake Hope HPA project. This shift in focus highlights Impact's commitment to reaching a stage of financial success, distinguishing it from the negative reputation often associated with mineral exploration companies. Samso's Conclusion Impact Minerals is a company that often goes unnoticed despite its promising projects. Currently, they are actively promoting the Lake Hope project, which has been discussed extensively by Mike during the past two Coffee with Samso sessions. It is evident that the Lake Hope HPA project holds significant value for the company. Impact Minerals Limited (ASX: IPT) - A Low Cost HPA story in Western Australia. It is worth mentioning that Impact Minerals' Broken Hill project was among the six projects worldwide selected for the prestigious BHP Xplor program. On 17th of January 2023, the company issued a release providing further details about their participation in the BHP Xplor program. BHP Xplor, an accelerator program introduced by BHP in August 2022, is designed to help provide participants with the opportunity to accelerate their growth and the potential to establish a long-term partnership with BHP and its global network of partners. Impact received up to US$500,000 in cash payments from BHP over the next six months and gained access to a network of internal and external experts to help guide development in the technical, business, and operational aspects of the company. This means that the management of Impact demonstrated credibility by successfully participating in and gaining acceptance for the Broken Hill project. This is a significant achievement, as only six recipients were chosen for this program, indicating a high level of quality. While the market trader may perceive Impact Minerals' market capitalisation of 34.37M as high, there is an underlying value that will yield positive results in the future. The Arkun project, which we discussed in a recent episode of Coffee with Samso, is located in a jurisdiction occupied by Tier-1 resource companies like Anglo-American. This provides strong evidence of its prospectivity (Figure 2). Figure 2: The Arkun project and its neighbours. (Source: Impact Minerals Limited) The Lake Hope project is currently in the "Feasibility" stage, and the initial excitement surrounding it has diminished in the market. However, this does not undermine the value that Impact Minerals is creating for its shareholders. There are two aspects of Impact Minerals that I appreciate. Firstly, the Lake Hope project is undeniably the company's flagship at the moment. Secondly, there is potential for significant growth from the Arkun and Broken Hill projects. Tune in to Mike's thoughts here. Chapters: 00:00 Start 00:20 Introduction 01:20 Updates from IPT 02:16 Economical parameters that make an HPA project viable 05:56 All about High Purity Alumina 07:54 The Cost Curve Analysis 11:23 Discussion about entry into the HPA market 12:43 The HPA space after the commodity market softening 14:07 The market for HPA 16:04 The Arkun Project 20:51 The Forward Plan 24:52 Is Lake Hope is still the Perfect Orebody? 25:33 How should investors view Impact? 26:55 Why should investors believe that Impact will deliver the end story? 29:00 With the current interest rate trend, is it a good time for companies like Impact Minerals? 30:55 Why should investors invest in Impact Minerals? 31:48 Conclusion
Coffee with Samso Episode 184 is with Julian Ford, CEO of Riversgold Limited (ASX: RGL) updating us on Riversgold's exploration activities since the last conversation in March 2023. Jump straight to the interview In our previous conversation, we discussed Riversgold Limited as a lithium explorer that I found interesting. One of the reasons I liked them is because they were among the few companies actively engaged in genuine mineral exploration for lithium. It's important for people to understand that the recent discoveries in the lithium sector have largely come from reevaluating previous exploration efforts. Companies have revisited their drill cores and discovered that the historical drilling had indeed encountered pegmatites. Samso is not begruding of the success of these companies, such as the Mount Holland Lithium project, which is now privately owned and operated by Covalent Lithium. Riversgold, on the other hand, continues its exploration activities in search of valuable lithium-bearing pegmatite. What I find interesting about Riversgold is their Northern Zone project. When I was researching this topic, I initially found their release titled Farm-in to Significant Porphyry Hosted Gold Project a bit confusing because the project had yielded promising results. The company is proceeding cautiously to ensure the reliability of these results, which I believe demonstrates prudent management. Julian, in particular, discusses the project and takes a measured view of its potential. What does Porphyry mean? Here is a description of what a porphyry deposit means from Earth Science Australia: The major products from porphyry copper deposits are copper and molybdenum or copper and gold. The term porphyry copper now includes engineering as well as geological considerations; It refers to large, relatively low-grade, epigenetic, intrusion-related deposits that can be mined using mass mining techniques. Geologically, the deposits occur close to or in granitic intrusive rocks that are porphyritic in texture. There are usually several episodes of intrusive activity, so expect swarms of dykes and intrusive breccias. The country rocks can be any kind of rock, and often there are wide zones of closely fractured and altered rock surrounding the intrusions. As is described following, this country rock alteration is distinctive and changes as you approach mineralization. Where sulphide mineralization occurs, surface weathering often produces rusty-stained bleached zones from which the metals have been leached; if conditions are right, these may redeposit near the water table to form an enriched zone of secondary mineralization. Figure 1: A schematic diagram of the basic structure of a porphyritic profile. What is the significance of a Porphyry deposit? Based on my experience, it is quite rare to find a fertile porphyry that contains only gold. Most porphyry deposits are typically associated with copper. However, Julian informs us that their system at the Northern Zone is devoid of any other metals and is solely a gold system. When we examine the historical drilling results, we can observe significant depth of mineralization, and the grades fall within the range of atypical mineralised porphyry gold system. Julian has mentioned that they are currently awaiting the results from their recent drilling program. These results will help confirm the assay content and determine if there is any false enrichment present (see below). Completion of Diamond Drilling of Northern Zone 26km ESE of Kalgoorlie It will be fascinating to see the assay numbers and gain a better understanding of the potential of this project. The core samples from the drilling program appear to be in excellent condition, which further adds to the anticipation of the assay results. Listen to Julian Ford here: Chapters: 00:00 Start 00:20 Introduction 01:03 Updates from Riversgold 02:57 The Gold Porphyry story 11:22 Metallurgical Cyanide Bottle Roll Test Results 13:37 How did the Northern Zone Project fly under the radar for so long? 19:34 Mt Weld Project 20:54 How should shareholders look at Riversgold? 23:04 Newsflow 23:50 Is the Porphyry story the main focus of Riversgold? 25:26 Why Riversgold? 26:03 Conclusion Samso's Conclusion The Riversgold story is an evolving narrative, and I appreciate the adventurous spirit of their projects. Julian impresses me as a composed and strategic individual who possesses a deep understanding of his work. When examining the Northern Zone project, the drilling results are remarkable and align with the expectations for a sizable deposit with low-grade bulk tonnage. According to the Visual Capitalist, porphyry deposits are very large, polymetallic systems that typically contain copper along with other important metals. Much of today's mineral production depends on porphyries: 60% of copper, 95% of molybdenum, and 20% of gold comes from this deposit type. The Bingham Canyon Mine, located in Utah and owned by Rio Tinto and in production since 1906, annually produces approximately: 300,000 tons of copper 400,000 oz of gold 4,000,000 oz of silver 30,000,000 lbs of molybdenum The value of the resources extracted to date from the Bingham Canyon Mine is greater than the Comstock Lode, Klondike, and California gold rush mining regions combined. So as you can see above, the magnitude of finding a deposit of this nature in a Tier-1 jurisdiction like Western Australia is going to make Riversgold appreciate in market capitalisation.
Coffee with Samso Episode 183 is all the Brothers Rare Earth Discovery. The discovery of a high grade clay Rare Earth project by Venture Minerals Limited (ASX:VMS) in the Golden Grove district needs to be noticed. The depth of intercept and the high grade is up amongst the top tier projects in Western Australia. Venture's Maiden Drilling program confirms High Grade clay hosted REE Discovery at the Brothers Project The REE Journey begins for Venture Minerals Limited ? In April 2023, the Venture Minerals announced the introduction of the Iron Duke REE project into the Brothers project on a Rooster Talk - Venture Minerals Limited (ASX: VMS) - Building a Rare Earth Portfolio in Western Australia. The REE story for the company was a slow build up over the last 18 months. Venture set to commence drilling at the Iron Duke High Grade REE Project Chapters: 00:00 Start 00:20 Introduction 00:57 High Grade clay hosted REE discovery at the Brothers Project 02:00 Reason for high grade 07:01 Direction of the Big Brothers Project 09:46 Is the Big Brothers Project the focus for VMS? 11:02 Discussion on metallurgy 11:57 How should investors look at VMS? 15:38 News flow 18:17 Why VMS? 21:13 Conclusion Rare Earth Market Status One of the first indicator of the fortunes of the Rare Earth exploration sector is the rise or fall of the REE market pricing. As we all concurrently, the market is looking at a bearish price sentiment which has created anxiety for many investors. One cannot argue that the bear is out of hibernation. What many the supporters of the bear is forgetting is that this market has been created out of a geopolitical situation. The current changing focus of world politics, in my opinion has made metals such as REE attractive. The future needs of the REE components are going to add to the demand in the market. AS all investors know, the long term is where money is made. This is a well know fact and again, investors forget that the mining game is all about the long term. The mining sector is measure in decades and not months nor years. There are mines that have happened in years, such as Nova Bollinger (Ni) and DeGrussa (Copper), but they are few and very far in between. What makes Venture Minerals a good bet? What Venture Minerals does best is to create diversified projects which continue to create value when it seems insurmountable to find value. I have said this many times about when I first had a Coffee with Samso with Andrew Radonjic and finding the value in the numerous projects. Why and how can do continue to do this? This is where experienced management comes to the front of the game. The value in the Brothers project is prime example. How did they come up with a project that looked liked an outlier but with drilling, it is now possibly standing out to be a contender in the Rare Earth race. The Decarbonisation Problem. The world is intent on achieving a state where there is clean energy use but the journey is going to be long and hard. The whole concept of achieving that level is not being helped with the persistent sectors of the population believing that restricting mining is going to be the solution. There is no going back to the old ways of "Non-Decarbonisation" thinking. This is something that is established. I had a coffee with someone in South Australia and he was proudly telling me about the way the state has gone to renewable energy. The process of creating a world of less "dirty energy" is now no longer news. This is an expected path. Samso's Conclusion Andrew Radonjic has pulled another rabbit out of his hat. The Brothers project is one that I certainly did think had a great chance for some glory. In our last Coffee with Samso, we discussed that the historical drilling would make this project very interesting. Venture to JV into Neighbouring REE project hosting drill intersections up to 49 metres @ 1,313 ppm TREO The two drill holes that was announced was into bedrock which would have suggested that there could be more to come. The recent release has made that thought come true. Does this make the Brothers project a stand out? I dont think one can say that now as there is still the issue of the metallurgical question. What I have learnt is that they will come back and show that it will leach. How much acid.,...etc. will be the main topic of conversation. Is this something that will carry Venture Minerals back to its glory days when it was a darling for retail investors, I think not immediately. I like the numbers that have come up but I think the market is saturated with a lot of REE stories. The markets needs to understand what kind of project is going to make the grade and what will not. The initial Ionic vs. Non-Ionic debate is now a thing of the past as we have discussed many times, there is more to the discussion than the Acid content. What I know now is that there are several projects that have something different that I believe make them unique. For Venture Minerals, it is their location (proximity to the new Lynas story), the grade and the depth of mineralisation. They are not in the typical REE areas and there are no potential land issues. All these factors, in my opinion, makes Venture different.
Samso Insight Episode 112 is with Anna Petts, Program Coordinator - Characterising South Australia's Cover at Geological Survey of South Australia. To many people the Gawler Craton is famous for IOCG deposits (Iron Oxide Copper Gold). The most famous mine, Olympic Dam started the rush for these giant deposits. When it was announced that there was this monster of a drill intercept, RD10 with 145m at 2.2% copper together with uranium and gold. This news created a rush like the wild west where everyone flocked to the region. Subsequent to the rush, two other famous discoveries was made and they are Prominent Hill and Carrapateena. However, it was not until 2001 when Prominent Hill was discovered and in 2005 that Carrapateena was discovered. All this action was in the eastern region of the Gawler Craton and this region was named the Olympic Metallogenic Belt or the IOCG Belt. Figure 1: The Olympic Cu-Au Province in the context of the geology of southern Australia. The main lithotectonic units of the Gawler Craton and Curnamona Province are shown and are interpreted from surface observation and geophysical data. The Olympic Cu-Au Province occurs in the eastern Gawler Craton and also indicated is the Central Gawler Gold Province, a gold-dominated metallogenic province formed during the same early Mesoproterozoic tectonic event that formed the Olympic Cu-Au Province. Inset shows the location of the Gawler Craton and Curnamona Province in the context of major Archean and Proterozoic terranes of Australia. (Source: Reid, Anthony. (2019). The Olympic Cu-Au Province, Gawler Craton: A Review of the Lithospheric Architecture, Geodynamic Setting, Alteration Systems, Cover Successions and Prospectivity. Minerals. 9. 371. 10.3390/min9060371. The complexity of the surrounding area is not for the faint hearted as they are still arguing about the origins and formation of Olympic Dam. Figure 1 gives a high level summary of the Gawler Craton and its different geological events. There is no doubt that there is no simple answer but what the mineral explorers do know very well, is that their Return On Investment (ROI) here is not high. For this reason, the Gawler remains one of the least explored regions on the Australian continent. Hence, this discussion with Anna Petts is all about the prospectivity of the Gawler and what the Geological Survey of South Australia is doing to help explorers have the edge and the resources to understand and explore the region. Gold Discovery in the Gawler Craton In 1995, there was the discovery of a gold mine in the other half of the Gawler Craton. The more "boring" part which birth the Challenger Gold Mine. This set up a rush to the area, however, till today, there is no Challenger replica. To me, this has got to be one of the mysteries of Australian mineral exploration. If you draw a radius of 100km from the Challenger Gold Mine, there is nothing that is better than a prospect to be found (Figure 2). It will be pretty safe to say that the lack of discoveries is probably due to the fact that the last 20 years of exploration has been few and far in between due to a lack of exploration funding and the historical low ROI in looking for minerals in the Gawler Craton. Figure 2: The spatial emptiness of big discoveries within the Gawler Craton. The comparison to a typical mining town like Kalgoorlie, there is too many producing assets to count.(Source: Taiton Resource Limited) Why I like the Gawler Craton My first introduction to the Gawler Craton was way back in 2019 when I looked over the Jumbuck project. Figure 2 was the result of that exercise when I was involved in trying to list a company with the project. I could see that there had not been any serious exploration in the region. The conversation that I had with people was that it is hard to make discoveries. The geophysics were not picking anything up. There were not enough data out publicly that companies could use to make discoveries. The lack of success was biting into exploration funding. Imagine a province like the Gawler Craton that still hides major discoveries. Look at the statistical probability of not finding another Challenger. This has to be a great place for the average mineral explorer who has the courage to test their exploration skill. Looking at the western province of the Gawler, the western part of the Stuart Highway, there are no producing mines currently. There are three deposits (Challenger is closed) that exist and two are currently being drilled out to see if they make the cut to become producing gold mines. In one conversation, I was told that while drilling for iron ore, they came across a Gossan. This shows the variability of the area. It was only two to three years ago that the south-western part of the Gawler was identified as a new nickel sulphide area. Samso's Conclusion So what do I make out of this conversation with Anna. What I got out of it is that there is now a flow of fata that is being made public for explorers. The understanding of the Gawler is going to take a magnitude step forward in the near future, if not already. The testing of theories are now being played out with companies such as, Indiana Resources Limited (ASX: IDA), Cobra Resources Limited PLC, Investigator Resources Limited (ASX: IVR), Petratherm Limited (ASX: PTR), Barton Gold Holdings Limited (ASX: BGD), Marmota Limited (ASX: MEU) Taiton Resources Limited (ASX: T88) The company that I am involved with is testing the concept that there is a unloved and unrecognised mineral system in between the Olympic Dam Belt and the Gawler Craton gold province, see Figure 3. The concept of a theory like this can be easily considered to be shooting with a long bow, but the recent announcement has made good evidence that there could be some truth to the madness. Figure 3: The region that Taiton Resources Limited is testing its theory that there is a mineral system in the region (Red) which is now proven to be tapping the same source as the Olympic IOCG Belt (Green). The zircon test has come back with age of 1597.8 Ma, which is atypical of Olympic Dam. (source: Taiton Resources Limited). The concept is that the red region (Figure 3) has been misinterpreted in the past and there lies a mineral system that may be fertile and endowed with mineralisation. This is the postulation and as mineral explorers, we are supposed to be testing the boundaries of believe. The role of the explorer is to come up with the ideas and the concept and of finding minerals when others have missed. The role of the Geological Survey is to provide the tools and the solutions to aid discovery. After speaking with Anna, I feel that the Geological Survey is contributing a lot at the moment. The theory for Taiton Resources came about due to the data release in around 2020. The idea was born and the money was raised to test the theory. As a director of the company and as the person who spoke to the vendor of the Highway project, David McSkimming, I will say that the theory for Highway is the best I have heard. I like the idea that there is a different thinking to understanding the mineral system in this region. What the company has done to date has proven that this theory is still valid. Not only have we proven our original story is valid, we think that we could be on the edge of two tectonic event and that would make us siting on the margin of a major structural feature. We all know that major structural features are the blessing for an exploration project. None of what I had described would not have been possible without the work generated by the Geological Survey of South Australia. Anna has clearly described what the Survey is doing and what datasets are now available. The new datasets will allow future explorers to take on what is potentially the last mineral province that has not been searched with intent for the last twenty years. Chapters: 00:00 Start 00:20 Introduction 01:51 About Anna Petts 02:24 Disclaimer 03:04 The potential at Gawler Craton 06:07 The cover at Gawler Craton 10:39 Uncovering the lack of recent significant exploration stories 16:52 The exploration government initiatives 20:05 Potential mining hotspots 25:17 Understanding the overall complex of the big discoveries 29:01 Prospectively at Gawler Craton 32:31 All about the Ultrafine+ project 44:39 Potential mining location worth looking at 46:10 Conclusion
Coffee with Samso Episode 178 is with Kevin Das, Executive Director of West Cobar Metals Limited (ASX: WC1) The REE story is maturing for investors as the complexity of what is a good REE project is has moved several levels. What is still lagging is still a sound grounding on what is exactly an economic REE. There has been several stories on Samso but I have to admit that the jury is still a long away from a decision. When Kevin Das, the Executive Director, of West Cobar Metals approached me to engage a Coffee with Samso, we spoke deeply on what make West Cobar different to other REE stories. The first major difference is the existence of a JORC resource for the Salazar REE project. This resource does give WC1 a first mover advantage but the competition is fast catching up. The details of the resource may ultimately be the difference but we will need to wait for some critical steps such as the metallurgical results. The other factor which would drive this story far is that the deposit sits on top of an ultramafic base. What this means is unknown for now. There is evidence of other deposits that the enrichment of the REE is related to the base. Salazar is the only REE deposit that I know of that is not on a granitic base. To add to the story, there is a HPA story here. There is a aluminium inferred resource on part of the Salazar resource. This may become a credit to the mining process and hence benefit the overall feasibility of the deposit. The West Cobar Story West Cobar is a minerals exploration and development company focused on rare earths and battery minerals within Australia and the US. The Salazar REE Project The Salazar Rare Earths Clay Project is located on non-agricultural undeveloped state land approximately 120km north-east of the township and deep-water port of Esperance in Western Australia. The Newmont deposit, located on the easternmost tenement at Salazar, contains an estimated JORC Inferred Mineral Resource of 43.5Mt at 1192ppm TREO + Y2O3 (500ppm cut-off). The O'Connor prospect to the west of Newmont has potential to host further significant high-grade rare earths mineralization. Figure 1: Location of the Salazar Project. (Source West Cobar Metals Limited) Nevada Lithium Project The Montezuma Well and Big Smoky Valley claims are considered prospective for large-scale sedimentary-hosted lithium claystone deposits. The claims are located within the world class mining-friendly jurisdiction of the Nevada lithium district and host similar geology to known major lithium deposits in the region – including American Lithium (TLC deposit), American Battery Technology Company (Tonopah Flats deposit), Ioneer (Rhyolite Ridge deposit) and Century Lithium (Clayton Valley deposit). Figure 2: Location of the Nevada Lithium projects. (Source West Cobar Metals Limited) Hermit Hill Lithium Project The Hermit Hill project area is located in the Litchfield Province in the Northern Territory, roughly 100km south-southwest of Core Lithium's Finniss Lithium Project and Lithium Plus Minerals' Lei lithium prospect, and 30km west of Ragusa Minerals' Tank Hill lithium discovery. The project is prospective for pegmatite-hosted lithium mineralisation. Figure 3: Location of the Hermit Hill project. (Source West Cobar Metals Limited) The West Cobar Difference Currently, on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX), there seem to be an overflow of REE stories. Every week there are companies announcing the presence of REE and one could be forgiven to felling a sense of boredom. When the REE story emerge nearly 2 years ago, there was excitement and a bullish feel to this sector. However, as investors start to get a flood of news, this excitement starts to turn into confusion. What I can say about the Salazar REE deposit is that it holds a few point of difference. It is still a clay hosted deposit as opposed to the ionic versions but the high grade nature of the resource - 43.5Mt @ 1192 TREO, makes this one of the deposits to take note. On top of the REE resource, there is a HPA n inferred JORC Resource of 28.3 Mt at 23.4% Al2O3 (at 10% cut off). How this adds to the economics of the minnig of the Salazar REE story is yet to be played out. The positive would be that it adds credit to the process and lowers the overall feasibility and the downside is that it is mined and put aside. As the HPA content is part of the overall Salazar deposit means that there is no extra cost in mining it or isolating it. The clay mineralisation at Newmont has a relatively high magnet rare earth oxide content comprising about 25% of the basket. In particular the Newmont deposit is relatively high in high value, heavy magnet REE content, comprising 3% dysprosium and 0.5% terbium content. Praseodymium makes up 4.2% and neodymium 16.8% of TREO (See Figure 4). Figure 4: REE distribution within the Salazar deposit. (Source: West Cobar Metals Limited). The other factor which may eventually affect the leachability of the deposit may lie in the fact that this deposit is overlaying a ultramafic (Amphibolite) basement. Like many of the REE story, the outright understanding of the flow chart of processing is still work in progress. This ultramafic basement is the key difference as all the other known Australian clay hosted deposit sits over granitic source. Samso's Conclusion These days, there is a large volume of REE deposits being marketed. We know that there is a Clay hosted and a Ionic hosted REE deposit. The difference is in the ability to easily extract the REE in the downstream process. I have spoken to people who tell me that the difference is not a physical or grade factor, but it in the test of whether they are easily leached out. The host of ionic deposits are not restricted to the Chinese version as they are also granitic base. I know of an Australian ionic style being hosted over a limestone which is totally different. I am told that research has shown that the enrichment may be helped by the limestone interface. If this is true, will the fact that the West Cobar deposit being overlaying an ultramafic source lead to a different leaching style? Management seems optimistic but lets wait for the facts. If we want to look at which of the REE stories are going to have the legs to be at the mining and processing stage, then the odd balls like the Salazar REE project should be on our watch screens. Remember that there is also the potential for the mining of the HPA which is again something that is not present in all the other stories presently being sold in the ASX. Chapters: 00:00 Start 00:20 Introduction 01:29 About Kevin Das 02:01 Kevin's experience at Northern Minerals 03:44 All about the Salazar Rare Earth Project 04:21 The unique aspect of the Newmont deposit 05:37 The drill results at Salazar 06:29 The resource in Esperance 07:09 Understanding the drill results 10:34 West Cobar Metals being a first mover 12:14 The Alumina resource in Newmont 16:31 Projects in the US 17:21 Discussion about the journey of rare earths 21:52 The rare earths capital market 23:49 News flow 26:54 Challenges faced by West Cobar Metals 29:01 Why West Cobar Metals? 30:02 Conclusion
Dr Mike Jones, the Managing Director of Impact Minerals Limited (ASX: IPT), is talking about a Western Australian High Purity Alumina project in a Coffee with Samso 175. The HPA (High Purity Alumina) story has so far eluded the Samso journey. but now Impact Minerals Limited (ASX: IPT) is sharing. The HPA story require an understanding of a whole different pool of facts. Although the HPA story is not something new, it does bring a whole different complexion to Impact Minerals. If you hear Dr Mike Jones describing the story, you may feel that this is a simple project. You are not wrong, but to me, it is far from simple but this is one of those projects that is niche enough to make it work. Impact Minerals to acquire advanced HPS project in Western Australia. Impact Minerals is now embarking on a different journey. This new project is almost ready for the production story. They are finalising the drilling to produce the all important JORC Mineral Resource which will be the first step in cultivating a production story. Get to know Impact Minerals Limited (ASX: IPT) Impact Minerals have been around for a long time. Impact is a company that has projects that would a major project in any other ASX companies. The Broken Hill and the Arkun project especially. The Broken Hill project is a Ni-Cu-PGE project (Figure 1 and Figure 2) is located with 20km from the world class Broken Hill silver-lead-zinc mine in New South Wales. The geology at the Broken Hill project is one that has a lot of possibilities which is what you want from a project. I have looked at their projects from afar for a while. Figure 1. Location of the Broken Hill Ni-Cu-PGE Project. (Source: Impact Minerals Limited) Impact has shown that the very high grade palladium and platinum mineralisation at the Red Hill, Platinum Springs and Moorkaie Prospects and the Iron Oxide Copper Gold (IOCG) mineralisation at the Copper Blow Prospect (ASX:SCI) are hosted by and related to alkaline magmatic rocks (Figure 2), (ASX Announcement 13th December 2018). Figure 2: Location of alkaline magma trends in the Broken Hill area. The Little Broken Hill to Moorkaie Trend contains rocks of potassic ultramafic to alkaline gabbro composition. The Copper Flat to Staurolite Ridge Trend contains rocks of alkaline gabbro to carbonatite composition. An offset of the Copper Blow Trend is interpreted to the south of the Thackeringa Fault Zone. (Source: Impact Minerals Limited) The Arkun project (Figure 3) which covers about 850 square kilometres is between York and Corrigin, which is approximately 100 km east of Perth. The project was first identified as an area of anomalous nickel-copper-gold anomalies in publicly available regional geochemistry data sets. What I like about this project is that it is now considered to be in a mobile belt that is prospective for "Julimar" type mineralisation. The discovery of Julimar has now opened up this whole region. Figure 3: Location and Regional Geology of the Arkun Project and showing key nickel-copper-PGE deposits and recent discoveries. (Source: Impact Minerals Limited). A subsequent interpretation of regional magnetic data by Impact has identified the area as lying within a major deformation zone or mobile belt that trends NW-SE from the Moora-Julimar-Yarawindah area through Arkun and which may contain deformed and metamorphosed equivalents of those rocks . This belt is generally not recognised in many regional geology maps and yet is self-evident in the magnetic data. This is a significant breakthrough in understanding for Impact. The BHP Xplore Program Impact Minerals was recently chosen to participate in the BHP Xplore program with their Broken Hill project. The participation is a recognition of the quality of the project and the amount of good work completed by the company. Think about the amount of projects that would have been submitted and to be selected is a testament of something positive. Impact Selected to Participate in BHP Xplor Program The Lake Hope HPA Project will change the future of Impact Minerals Limited. The Lake Hope Project covers numerous prospective salt lakes between Hyden and Norseman in southern Western Australia ,a Tier One jurisdiction (Figure 4). The project covers about 238 sqkm and are all owned by the vendor, Playa One. Figure 4: Location of the lake Hope project. The Lake Hope area has unique climatic and geological characteristics that have resulted in the formation of what is probably a globally unique deposit of aluminium-rich material within the surficial clay layers of two small salt lakes, or “pans”, in the Lake Hope playa system. The lake clays, which are only up to a few metres thick, have unique chemical and physical properties and consist almost entirely of aluminium-bearing minerals that are plasticine-like in consistency and can be easily sampled with hand-held augers and push tubes (Figure 5). Figure 5: Lake Hope showing the push tube sampling method (!) and an example of the lake clay from the push tube. (Source: Impact Minerals Limited) In addition, particle size distribution analysis demonstrates that virtually all the minerals are less than 16 microns and 60% to 80% occur at grain sizes of less than 5 microns (Figure 6). Figure 6: Particle size distribution analysis for four samples. Sample LP0040 contains sandy particles at the base of the deposit. (Source: Impact Minerals Limited) These unique characteristics have produced a near-perfect mineral deposit: a very high-value end product whose parent ore is: Very soft and shallow, allowing for extremely cheap free-digging with limited infrastructure requirements, no pre-stripping, no selective mining, a tiny environmental footprint, and limited rehabilitation requirements. Naturally fine-grained with no need for crushing and grinding, allowing for transport to an offsite processing facility that can be built on existing industrial sites (Figure 4). In essence, this is Direct Shipping Ore (DSO). Comprised of a few minerals that require only simple washing before acid leaching, thus allowing for low-cost straightforward metallurgical processing. Samso's Conclusion The change in business for Impact makes a lot of sense. The introduction of the Lake Hope project will move Impact Minerals into the production part of the industry very quickly. As we all know, in the exploration game, discovery of an economical resource is very difficult. The path to production is another hurdle many small juniors will never cross. What I like with Impact are their "Other" projects. There is a lot I like about the new HPA label. However, one cannot discard the potential of the Broken Hill and also the Arkun project. There is hard to measure value in the potential of these projects. I have always considered the HPA as too hard. However, now listening to Mike sharing his thought and strategy with the Lake Hope project, I am changing my narrative. To be honest, I have not really looked into the details but I have got some idea now. Simplistically, the HPA story appear to be about processing. The mining part seem to be easy. This is what I take away from listening to Mike and his confidence, I feel, comes from the fact that Lake Hope is a unique deposit. It is one of those projects that tick the boxes that we all dream about. When you look at this project, Lake Hope, what I see is that, at this stage of the game, Impact has been lucky. They got this project which appears to have all the hallmarks of a "Perfect Project". Yes, we all know about the things that can and will go wrong with the path to production, but I think when you listen to Mike speak about the ups and downs, you will come to the same thought Could this be true? When the time comes where we get the answer to that question, I would rather be the group that have the position to lose than the group that is fighting for a position. My philosophy has always been that I rather lose something than regret not being able to win. Welcome to the Mineral exploration game..... DYOR. Tune in to Mike's thoughts here. Chapters: 00:00 Start 00:20 Introduction 01:37 The Impact Minerals Limited story 06:28 HPA - Potential big player in the industrial minerals market 09:19 The deposit and metallurgical process of extracting HPA 12:13 What is special about the Lake Hope Project? 18:49 The assay results in Lake Hope 21:15 What is 4N high purity alumina? 23:50 Advantages and challenges of the alumina deposit 28:07 The chemistry consistency of alumina grades 31:27 The competitive advantage of Lake Hope area 32:45 The challenges of being in the HPA space 35:06 A low cost producer of HPA 37:29 News flow 40:29 The advantage of leapfrogging the discovery phase 44:32 Why Impact Minerals Limited? 47:26 Conclusion
Rooster Talk 73 has Andrew Radonjic talking about the recent JV with SensOre Limited with the Golden Grove North Project. Venture Minerals Limited (ASX:VMS) which I have always referred to as a Targeted Diversified Mineral Explorer (a term I coined) has done it again. They have found a great partner like SensOre Limited to share in the potential proceeds of a very prospective project. Venture and SensOre Agree to Farm-In Agreement on Golden Grove North Project. The Golden Grove North Project When I first looked at Venture Minerals, I immediately took a liking to the Golden Grove North project. The Golden Grove Mine lies about 10km south of Venture's tenement package. In 2022, Golden Grove has a Mineral Resource of 61.4Mt at 1.7% Cu, 4.0% Zn, 0.7g/t Au and 28 g/t Ag (Source: 29 Metals Limited). The mine is now in a company called 29 Metals Limited which is copper focused. In my opinion, the region has another Golden Grove hidden. Since the discovery of Golden Grove, there has been a lack of real exploration for the last two decades. Venture has explored and there has been some great results but the company has not expanded their exploration program. The Vulcan REE Story in Golden Grove The discovery of the Vulcan REE project has stirred some renewed interest in the Golden Grove area. Venture announced that they had some surface REE numbers late in 2022. What the future holds for the REE potential will now depend on whether Venture sees a need to continue after SensOre drills the initial hole. I am sure Venture will be looking at the outcome with interest. Venture discovers 12.5% REE mineralisation at Golden Grove North SensOre Potential SensOre has been a new revelation recently and I am keen to see what the company comes up with in this region. I have to admit that I don't know much about the company and what they have been doing, but I have heard that they were collaborating with Great Boulder Resources Limited. They had an adjacent project but I am not sure if that is still in the portfolio. The use of AI is long overdue in this industry. We have come a long way with mineral exploration techniques making some great discoveries recently. With the conversations from Coffee with Samso, I have had the privilege of listening to the changing face of science-enhancing discoveries. I don't think that it will speed up the development of mining but it will definitely help the targeting and hence the vectoring of targets. My experience in this field has been the use of GIS since the 1990s where we tried to manually layer information to define targets. Interestingly, I found that the adoption of that was also slow and in the early days, it was the case of the lack of information and more imprtantly the lack of good information. With the recent release of free data acquired by government agencies, I think this has helped companies like SensOre use their technology to splice through the information and generate good exploration targets. Samso's Conclusion The concept of using AI, I believe, is going to play a big role in mineral exploration. The early users of this technology are going to generate targets that have been overlooked in the past. When you look at the myriad of projects that are coming up, those projects that are not a rehash of the past should be the most interesting. If you look at the recent discoveries such as Hemi, which was discovered by De Grey Mining Limited (ASX: DEG), is a classic. Hidden in between the line of old pits is an elephant of a gold deposit. There is also the discovery of a nearly 1M ounce deposit in Kundana (I forget the name) within an area that was drilled intensely. There are many but I think my point is that with carefully manicured data input, something like SensOre will probably do a better job than human means. This is not to say that the previous people who discovered these deposits were not good, but imagine if they had the technology at that time to help. The farm-in agreement between Venture Minerals and SensOre, to me, is a great partnership. As we all know, this game is all about having the properties. One of the assets I love about Andrew Radonjic and the team is to come up with great projects. The project generation in Venture is old school and they come up with great ones. The term I have used to describe Venture Minerals, Targeted Diversified Mineral Explorer, is coined such because all the projects they have are well placed for discovery. As we know, not all projects will have major discoveries but every project has the potential to have a discovery. To conclude my thoughts, this is a great path forward for both companies and I am looking forward to hearing about discoveries. The AI path of SensOre will give Venture a crack at owning a major discovery without spending additional funds. The Venture proejcts will give SensOre an opportunity to use their technology on grounds that would not have been available for a crack at discovery. Tune in to Andrew's thoughts here. Chapters: 00:00 Start 00:20 Introduction 01:21 Joint venture with SensOre. 03:29 How should investors look at the JV with SensOre? 06:23 SensOre to drill the High Grade Vulcan Rare Earth target. 09:45 Utilising SensOre's AI and machine learning technologies. 15:05 Conclusion
Coffee with Samso 174 with Andrew Radonjic is all about Venture Minerals building a Rare Earth Portfolio of projects in Western Australia. It is no surprise that Venture Minerals Limited (ASX:VMS) is now adding Rare Earths to the portfolio. The creation of a Decarbonisation Mineral Exploration Portfolio makes complete sense. Venture enters into a REE JV in Western Australia. Venture Minerals Limited For those readers who have just come across Venture Minerals Limited, the best way to conceptualise the company is to see it as a Targeted Diversified Mineral Explorer with a very experienced Managing Director. Andrew Radonjic has the silver hair happening coupled with a very smart strategy. I remind many readers that when I first interviewed Venture, I coined the term Targeted Diversified Mineral Explorer. There are many diversified companies but if you have been in this industry for a long time, you start to understand those that are real and those that are there for filling up space. A Targeted Diversified Mineral Explorer - Venture Minerals Limited (ASX: VMS) - Episode 49 In that first interview, I started to realise that the diversified portfolio in their own right were good projects. Over the years and many conversations, in my opinion, are starting to create their own personality. The limiting factor is the fund allocation. In every business there are always budgets and Venture is no different. The Building of a Western Australia REE project. In the last Coffee with Samso, Andrew Radonjic, Managing Director of Venture Minerals mentioned, point out that the company has been looking at Rare Earth projects for a while now. The creation of a Western Australian based REE project does not surprise me at all (Figure 1). What makes this portfolio different is the location. The nearest focus on the REE news has been in the wheatbelt which is still a distance away. I cannot think of anyone that is building a project near the Venture ground. The rising trend has been in the wheatbelt region of Western Australia which about 50km to 100km south of the current project. Recap: As we previously mentioned, the first mention was the discovery of REE within the Mount Lindsay project. This was first released on 20th September 2022. All the news releases are listed below. Venture unearths REE mineralisation immediately adjacent to Tin Zones at Mount Lindsay Venture discovers 12.5% REE mineralisation at Golden Grove North Venture commences drilling at new, high priority REE-Tin target at Mount Lindsay Venture expands REE strategy with new priority targets in Western Australia Figure 1: Location of the new REE project for Venture Minerals Limited. (Source: Venture Minerals Limited). Samso's Conclusion It is no big secret that there is a REE bandwagon going around the Australian Stock Exchange, (ASX) at the moment. I have just been at the RIU Conference in Sydney and had a chance to talk and look at some of these projects. The common theme is that the majority of projects have come about from resampling of previous holes. There have been little understanding of the quality of the projects other than the assays. As I have mentioned many times, my go to person for REE information has been Brett Hazelden from OD6 Metals Limited (ASX: OD6). In his latest video, he talks about the refractory nature of some deposits. When the company completed their latest metallurgical work, it became apparent that there is a distinction between deposit types. The distinction is based how easy it is to extract the REE. In a simplistic explanation, the OD6 commentary is that the deposits which are highly weathered are more easy to extract. In the video he talks about how the deposits further away from the granitic source are more weathered. Hence, when I look at the Venture annoucnement, what strikes me immediately is that there are two deep holes which ended in mineralisation. Could these drill holes have gone deeper? The grades look interesting as it is nearly 50m. There are resources out there being funded with grades around less than the historical intercepts announced by Venture Minerals. The next point that strikes my interest is that the project is located in traditionally deeply weathered terrains. Some of the terrains are weathered in excess of 80 to 100m. If that is so, would the mineralisation had gone that deep? Are the troughs that span a distance which would act as a trap for the REE? These are hypothetical observations and I am highlighting it because this is where I feel the project may have some good differences to the other REE projects in the market. For this reason, I encourage readers seek more information and if possible, seek out Andrew to get more information. Tune in to Andrew's thoughts here. Chapters: 00:00 Start 00:20 Introduction 01:10 The VMS Rare Earth story 04:25 The significance of the historical drill holes. 07:33 Venture Projects Potentially in New REE Province? 08:27 What makes the VMS REE story different? 14:41 Is VMS stretching resources to fund all the projects? 19:41 Thoughts on the geopolitical issue surrounding rare earths 22:56 News flow 26:49 Conclusion
Rooster Talk 72 is all about Venture Minerals building a Rare Earth project portfolio. It is no surprise that Venture Minerals Limited (ASX:VMS) is now adding Rare Earths to the portfolio. The creation of a Decarbonisation Mineral Exploration Portfolio makes complete sense. Venture expands REE strategy with new priority targets in Western Australia The Rare Earth Bandwagon? The phrase "Rare Earths are Not Very Rare" is now way too over used. The REE scene has kind of matured in an accelerated way. One of the best Samso conversations is with Brett Hazelden, the Managing Director of OD6 Metals Limited. Check out the first Coffee with Samso that Brett did with Samso. It is a great start to understanding what it takes to develop a Rare Earth project. OD6 Metals Limited (ASX: OD6) - The Rare Earth Elements Story. The New Projects As Andrew mentioned, Venture Minerals have been looking at Rare Earth projects for a while now. Their first mention was the discovery of REE within the Mount Lindsay project. This was first released on 20th September 2022. All the news releases are listed below. Venture unearths REE mineralisation immediately adjacent to Tin Zones at Mount Lindsay Venture discovers 12.5% REE mineralisation at Golden Grove North Venture commences drilling at new, high priority REE-Tin target at Mount Lindsay Venture expands REE strategy with new priority targets in Western Australia Another Bow to War Chest. To me, this is part of the reasons why I like Venture. Dont get me wrong, I am not saying that Venture is travelling well now. The market sentiment for the company has not been kind. To add more issues, the general equity market is also poor. The share price is an indication of the company's position with the market. I see Venture creating value with the introduction of the Rare Earth story. The market is running hot on Rare Earths. The long term narrative for the permanent magnet story is strong. It is not going to happen in 5 years but if the geopolitical situation keeps going, then this is going to be a major story. Samso's Conclusion History tells us that there is never certainty. History also tells us that when bullies get together, it never ends well. China is now a bona fide player in world politics and there will be a shifting of participants on the world stage. The US and the West will begin to react or have reacted and this will lead to a shift of how natural resources are sourced. We all know that for the world economy to function, there has to be a balanced sharing of wealth. In this case, the wealth is where you source minerals. We are already seeing changes in geopolitical commentary of who should be and should not be dominating resources. Hence, the path forward will be positive for resource nations like Australia. Venture, like all the other companies will reap the rewards of the changing geopolitical game. The introduction of REE into the portfolio will do not harm. What they will find eventually is the question but Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained. Chapters: 00:00 Start 00:20 Introduction 00:52 The REE path. 02:34 The New REE projects. 06:52 Can EM help define targets at Bandy and Brothers project? 09:10 Clay REE vs. Hard Rock REE - Discussion 11:25 How to manage the large Venture portfolio? 17:09 The Path Towards Decarbonisation. 23:00 The importance of being Polymetallic 27:00 Market narrative is All about Market Demand. 28:19 Demand for Commodities are Known to be driven by World Current Affairs. 33:10 Conclusion
The Boron Story - Samso is Excited. The Boron story is going to be a big asset for Venture. For those taht are new to the Boron game, you will quickly find that Venture is in the big leagues. Granted that there is still a lot of questions, such as, is there an economic volume, is there an economic recoverable process...etc. For Samso, the input credit and the potential ability to recover more tin in the process is the game changer. When you look at the major mining projects, it is very often the input m credits of other products in the mine that makes the profitability of the mine. If you look at Olympic Dam, by far the biggest single mine in the world, it is the myriad of other metals that have extended the life of the mine. Samso's Conclusion Venture Minerals have been through a wild ride over the two years. There is no denying that there are shareholders who are disappointed with the journey lately but there are also shareholders that have bought at the lows and exited with a handsome loot. The introduction of the Boron story is exciting. This could be the game changer for Venture. This will create a new dimension for the company as when you look at the market for Boron, it will be an eye opener. If the oncoming data about what Venture have in terms of the Boron is positive, we will be in for another ride. Whichever shareholder you are, there is also some realities that make VMS a well balanced investment. When you look at the portfolio of projects, they are placed in every stage of the exploration game. You have early stage greenfield exploration such as Kulin and Golden Grove North. Thor which is in a joint venture with Chalice Mining is being explored but is free carried as Chalice is earning into the project. Mt Lindsay and the Riley iron ore project is the next step up. Mount Lindsay has greenfield to "development". Riley is at mining stage. Riley is waiting for the right market timing and can be turned on when the time arrives. So my thoughts on a company like this is, its hedged at all ends. There are not too many companies in the sector with this kind of portfolio. I have spoken to many and I will be surprised that there is more than a handful with the well spread of projects like Venture Minerals. When you have been in the sector for a long time, you appreciate these kind of odds. For this reason, I think that at at market cap of 40M, Venture is definitely worth doing some lengthy research. Andrew Radonjic has been in this game for a long time and when you look at the price chart in Figure 1, the risk of investing in the company is not ambiguous. One may say you can go to the casino and have the same odds, but as all investors in this sector, we beg to differ. Research and understanding your risk management is the key. Understand the geology, understand the upside and downside and understand your own risk capability. For these reasons, I strongly recommend reaching out to Andrew and getting him to give you the low down on the company. Chapters: 00:00 Start 00:20 Introduction 01:20 About Venture Minerals and boron 04:14 Tin-rich borates in Mount Lindsay 12:02 Any potential metallurgical issues? 14:57 How much can be recovered from the cassiterite? 19:56 Uses of boron 23:18 Market shifts? 28:57 News flow 30:22 Why VMS? 31:56 Conclusion
Samso Insight Episode 111 is with Mimmo who is the Founder of Mimmo's Gourmet Gelato. This Samso Insight is all about the inner passion of business. Samso Insight 111 is all about the Passion and Perseverance that is in build into those that pursue the life of an entrepreneur. It is not so much to seek glory but it is the fulfilment of the passion that dwells deep. Tony Goode brings to us a riveting story, that on the surface, perhaps bears no interest to the business community, apart from the delicious thought of Gelato, but when you sit back and listen, one will feel all the essence of what it takes to follow your passion. The story of Mimmo's Gourmet Gelato is more than the sweet taste of Gelato. It is about the realisation of one mans dream. The understanding of what drives a person to showcase his dream and the confidence to share that dream. As Tony drives into the conversation, we see the light that is burning bright in Mimmo. Many have tasted the products and I have seen with my own eyes, the genuine appreciation of his art. I have personally tasted Mimmo's gelato and I will say that the taste is good as it is, but when you know the hard work that had gone into it with his passion, it taste even better. Mimmo talks about wanting to bring his passion to the general public and sharing what he loves with the new generation. He wants his legacy to be loved and then carried on for those that have not experienced. When you listen and watch Mimmo, there is no doubt left as to his sincerity in wanting the new generation to carry the tradition of making and appreciating gelato in its original form. What is the difference between Gelato and Ice Cream? The word “gelato” is simply the Italian word for ice cream, derived from the Latin word “gelātus” (meaning frozen). Gelato Vs Ice Cream Gelato contains less ‘air' than ice cream giving it a much richer flavour, whilst making it dense, fluid and creamy. BUT, gelato is actually different from the traditional recipe of ice cream because it is lighter, having a lower butterfat content than traditional ice cream. Generally, gelato uses more milk rather than cream. Ice cream often uses egg yolks, whereas gelato does not. To put some percentages on it, gelato typically contains 4-8% fat, versus the 14-16% found in ice cream. Finally, Gelato is stored and then served at a higher temperature compared to ice cream. Chapters 00:00 Start 00:20 Introduction 02:03 Mimmo shares the Journey 05:39 The Second Run to Realise the Mimmo Dream. 06:04 Difference in the Mimmo Recipe. 07:05 How does Mimmo Gourmet Gelato business work? 08:08 Why Mimmo is in Schools. 09:30 The story of the Special Client. 10:59 The Celebrity that touched Mimmo. 14:00 The rising popularity of Mimmo Gelato. 15:27 What advice would Mimmo give to New Entrepreneurs? 16:45 Mimmo Wisdom 19:01 Mimmo's Gourmet Gelato 19:35 Conclusion
Rooster Talk Episode 71 is with Brett Hazelden, Managing Director and CEO of OD6 Metals Limited (ASX: OD6). The OD6 story is now one step closer to its Holy Grail with the latest annoucnement. This latest Rooster Talk is a discussion on what the news mean for the company. Could this be an endorsement of the entire Clay Rare Earth sector. The latest News - Hot of The Press. The first conversation with Brett Hazelden on the first Coffee with Samso (OD6 Metals Limited (ASX: OD6) - The Rare Earth Elements Story.), my understanding for this Clay Rare Earth sector was initiated. I had to admit that what I had learnt before was scarce and had little foundation. now that we have had four lessons, I am starting to believe that I know this sector. The two projects, Splinter Rock and Grass Patch makes OD6 Metals Limited. The latest announcement is critical as it puts the question of " Can they get the REE out? " I feel that this question would have been on many lips and now it is confirmed. As Brett explains, the process is now pretty much a step at a time but one has to feel that things are gearing towards the positive rather than not. As Explained by Brett Hazelden What it boils down to now is using the announced results and moving into the refinement of the process. When Brett talks about the path forward, it feels like there is a fair amount of confidence. It almost feels like they know what they are expecting. An interesting comment that I remember was that the current drilling is no longer a guessing game. They are expecting results to be much about the same. The geology, which is a common feature in all these type of deposits, are consistent and there are not much variability. This is what Brett has been told by his competent person, who knows the deposit style. What that means is that there will be no surprises from the current drilling program. What are the Key Points of the Annoucnement? All system is a go. That is the take away point of the Rooster Talk. The much anticipated metallurgical results have come and the results are consistent with the company's expectations. The company now understands the geology and the mineralisation better. The resource building exercise appears to be simpler as management now knowing where the better grades and recoveries are located. The potential future resource is going to be big. The scale is not what investors may be used to as the number is going to be big. The simplistic nature of the geology will also mean that the resource definition process will be easier. Samso Conclusion Having the fortune to have followed the OD6 journey for a while has been one of the best feelings of doing this job. I have always said that the business will be on its way forward once some results on the chemistry is known. Although, this is still very early stage, the results from the latest test have given news that are consistent with moving forward. The recovery rates in the 70% range appears to be what management was looking for as a start. The segregation of the impurities in the coarser fragments is fortuitous. The physical separation of the coarser materials form the fines will simplify the quality control process. I was once told that OD6 had a good project. When I first looked at the company and after doing a few Coffee with Samso and Rooster Talk, I agreed. However, the burning question was still about whether they can process the end product. As I understand from Brett, this is the first step to answering that question with conviction. I think when viewers watch the Rooster Talk, you will feel that there is some level of confidence in his voice. The resource is going to be big and he says, we only need 5% of that. Chapters: 00:00 Start 00:26 Introduction 00:59 Brett introduces the Findings from the annoucnement. 01:47 The details of the annoucnement. 06:12 Process of Defining the Quality of the REE End Product. 09:00 The Acid usage Discussion 11:12 Investors Expectations - Comparisons to Peers 14:56 Resource potential of OD6 4 projects. 16:04 Prop Prospect 18:28 It is all about the Stripping Ratio. 18:58 The "Good" Areas. 19:50 The perfect place for a project. 21:43 Market Sentiment - Critical Minerals Demand 23:53 News Flow 25:06 Drilling results should be consistent with previous drilling. 26:42 Easy to resource Clay REE Geology. 27:58 The Results Confirm that OD6 will Work. 28:51 Conclusion
Coffee with Samso Episode 172 is with Julian Ford, CEO of Riversgold Limited (ASX: RGL). Riversgold is blessed with good fortune, finding a Lithium deposit in an old fashioned way of mineral exploration. Riversgold has been pursuing their Tambourah Lithium project earnestly. Investors need to understand why there is a need to pay attention to this minnow in an exciting sector of the EV market. What may differentiate Riversgold from their peers is kind of complex. The Riversgold Story Why do I like the Riversgold story? It is one of the few exploration companies that are actually doing some real exploration. When you look at the companies that are out there exploring for lithium, you will be very surprised to find one that is actually exploring. What I mean is that the majority, if not all, of the stories out there are ones where they have found a pegmatite on the surface and then drilled with discovery almost handed to them. These are the benefits of having low hanging fruits. I am not saying that this is a liability. What I am implying is that not everyone is blessed with such good fortunes. Figure 1: Riversgold Bengal Prospect within the Tambourah Project in the Pilbara Region of Western Australia. Riversgold seems to have gone that extra step to explore for the economic grades of spodumene. During the interview, Julian talks about how they are realising that they may be too close to the granite source. The mineralisation may be more fruitful further. The drilling intercept from TMBRC003 (listed below) is what lays hidden below the surface. TMBRC003 (See Figure 1) intersected: 14m @ 0.50% Li2O from 15m to 29m downhole including 1m @ 1% Li2O from 18m down hole Applying a 0.5% Li2O assay threshold cut-off within the 14m downhole intersection, two smaller intersections of 4m @ 0.9% Li2O from 17m to 21m and 3m @ 0.6% Li2O from 25m to 28m downhole were identified reflecting zonation of Li2O grade within the pegmatite unit. When you watch today's Coffee with Samso, you will hear Julian Ford talking about a systematic process in trying to find an economic deposit. Readers must remember that the easy pegmatites have now all been discovered. What lies underneath in the depths of these projects will be the next prize. The lithium industry in Australia, the real spodumene discovery is still young. The Riversgold's story is one that has developed from concept to what is now creating some credibility. This is the virtue of mineral exploration. The more you drill, the more confident you become in creating a dream into reality. I think Riversgold has come a long way since our first Coffee with Samso in October 2022. Riversgold Limited (ASX: RGL) - Vectoring into the next Lithium Discovery. Chapters: 00:00 Start 00:20 Introduction 01:05 What is Riversgold about? 02:59 Updates on Riversgold projects: Mt Holland. 04:27 Mt Weld. 06:45 Tambourah Lithium Project. 11:09 Hypothesis for finding lithium. 14:06 What should investors look out for as a parameter for grade and size? 15:16 Thoughts on the current lithium market. 18:50 How should investors look at Riversgold? 22:25 How is Riversgold spending resources on their projects? 25:22 Comments on doubts about the demand of lithium. 27:21 News flow. 28:26 Why RGL? 31:16 Conclusion
The path to production is now gathering pace and this Rooster Talk Episode 70 with Peter Harold, Managing Director and CEO of Poseidon Nickel Limited (ASX: POS).
Coffee with Samso Episode 170 is with Brett Hazelden, Managing Director and CEO of OD6 Metals Limited (ASX: OD6). The space in the Rare Earth sector is maturing fast and the understanding of the sector is highly sought after by investors and companies. Brett Hazelden has again, given us a masterclass on all aspects of the Rare Earth Industry. The Story of OD6 Metals Limited (ASX: OD6) OD6 Metals is all about Rare Earths Elements (REE) in the southern region of Western Australia. It is located just north of the town of Esperance. As we were doing this Coffee with Samso, the market capitalisation of the company was around AUD26M and the share price was sitting around AUD 0.25. The company is focusing on both the Grass Patch and Splinter Rock project which have both undergone drilling campaigns defining potential resources. The most recent announcements have highlighted the recent activities at both projects. Figure 1: Project locations for OD6 Metals Limited. (source: OD6 Metals) The Word According To Brett Hazelden For those readers that have been following the Samso platform, you will know that the last two Coffee with Samso has been in this commodity space. The general specifications of the Rare Earth sector is fundamentally the same. We all know what the metals do and why they are important. As I have said many times, the key to the Clay Rare Earth sector is all about how to solve the downstream processing. The unlocking of this will open a floodgate of opportunities for both investors and companies. What are the Key Points of the Unlocking of the Downstream Process? One of the benefits of talking to so many industry leaders is that I am learning all the recent technologies and thinking processes. What the small cap industry excels in is the ability to think fast and nimble to get the story on track. In the world of Rare Earth, Clay Rare Earth deposits, there is such a thing called "Refractory" and "Free Leaching" deposits. When I heard that, I had a light bulb moment. My first thought was that companies with free leaching clay deposits will be first cap of the "unlocking" process. As everything is so new, this is one way of prioritising which company or what to look for in "stories". There are many other factors but I guess this is a great way to understand what companies have in respect to the geology and the potential of future deposits. Samso Conclusion There is nothing new for OD6 Metals Limited. The path forward is to generate tonnage and grade while they are looking for the answer to the processing part of the equation. The unknown part of the equation is not about the ability to extract the Rare Earths from the clays, as Brett mentioned. The question is what is the process to do this with best practice environmental process that will pass the test of time and the ESG signoff. The biggest asset that OD6 Metals (apart from the obvious) is that the adjacent assets owned by other companies in the region are also facing the same issue and have similar resources. The collective group is making this region a Rare Earth province. I have mentioned previously that my thoughts are that the government conversations indicate to me, that there is a potential of creating a Rare Earth downstream industry in Australia. The current political rhetoric with the rising China Cold War stance may indeed force the Australian government to react and this would be a great occasion for all those involved in the Southern Region of Western Australia. Chapters: 00:00 Start 00:20 Introduction 01:13 Who is OD6? 01:54 How has the Airborne Electromagnetic Survey (AEM) worked for OD6. 03:40 OD6 is more about Size rather than Depth. 04:36 How has your understanding changed? 07:41 Differences between Grass Patch and Splinter Rock. 10:50 Differentiating Refractory styles to Free Leaching Styles of the REE Clays. 14:25 Are the Chinese more Clay or Ionic styles? 19:00 Can Ionic clay be a major commodity Industry? 20:23 How much has the rare earth market changed? 22:15 How does the rare earth market situation translate to the equity market? 23:45 Why OD6? 26:39 Current market 27:53 Conclusion
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