ARGONAUT RESOURCES NL
ABN 97 008 084 848
argonautresources.com
ASX: ARE
CAPITAL STRUCTURE: Issued shares: 3,619 million
onlyListed options: None
Unlisted options: 58 million
Cash on hand: $512,000
DIRECTORS:
Patrick Elliott, Non-Exec Chairman
Lindsay Owler, Director/CEO
Andrew Bursill, Non-Exec Director
Mick Billing, Non-Exec Director
COPPER PROJECTS: useMURDIE, SOUTH AUSTRALIA Copp r, gold (large IOCG)
Pha e: Exploration
Intere t: Argonaut 100%
TORRENS, SOUTH AUSTRALIA
Copper, gold (large IOCG)
Interest: Aeris Resources 70%, Argonaut 30%
Agreement Phase: Exploration
Operator: Aeris
personalGOLD, NICKEL LITHIUM PROJECT HIGGINSVILLE, WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Gold, nickel, lithium
Phase: Exploration
I terest: Argonaut 80%
Operator: Argonaut
URANIUM PROJECTS:
FROME, SOUTH AUSTRALIA
Uranium
Pha e: Exploration
Intere t: Orpheus 100%, Option to acqui e 100%
CUMMINS, SOUTH AUSTRALIA
Uranium
Phas : Exploration
Int r st: Option to acquire 100%
MOUNT DOUGLAS, NORTHERN TERRITORY
Uranium
Phase: Exploration
Interest: Orpheus 100%
ForRANGER NE, NORTHERN TERRITORY
Uranium
Phase: Exploration
Interest: Orpheus 100%
T-BONE, NORTHERN TERRITORY
Uranium
Phase: Exploration
Interest: Orpheus 100%
WOOLNER/MARRAKAI, NORTHERN TERRITORY
Uranium
Phase: Exploration
Interest: Orpheus 100%
Quarterly report
FOR THE PERIOD ENDING 30 JUNE 2022
Argonaut Resources NL (Argonaut or the Company) (ASX: ARE) presents the following report for the period to 30 June 2022 (the Quarter).
Highlights
Lumwana West, Zambia -
Copper-Cobalt
Argonaut is seeking the restoration of 22399-HQ-LEL, Lumwana West
- The Company is continuing to work cooperatively with the relevant Zambian authorities to achieve the reinstatement of exploration licence 22399-HQ-LEL, Lumwana West.
- Argonaut has assisted appropriately with investigations into shortcomings and illegalities in the Governmental processes that led to the purported licence cancellation.
- On 27 April 2022, the Minister of Mines and Mineral Development wrote to the Company's Zambian lawyers to advise that the Company's appeal of 3 January 2022 was currently under "active consideration".
- On 28 June 2022, the Office of the Attorney General within the Zambian Ministry of Justice wrote to Argonaut's lawyers to advise that instructions in relation to the Company's appeal had been sought.
- At the time of the purported cancellation, the Company's 90% held subsidiary, Mwombezhi Resources Ltd, was operating in full compliance with all licence conditions and other regulatory requirements.
- Argonaut's objective of completing a feasibility study into a two-phase copper/ cobalt mine and processing facility at Lumwana West complements the Zambian Government's stated objective of greatly increasing copper production.
Registered Office
Level 6, 100 Pirie Street
Adelaide, SA, 5000, Australia
T +61 8 8231 0381
- info@argonautresources.com
1
For personal use only
Higginsville, Western Australia - Lithium, Gold and Nickel
Lithium Targets
- Field mapping and sampling by Argonaut has defined an extensive swarm of lithium-caesium-tantalum pegmatite dykes (LCT Pegmatites).
- The prospectivity of these LCT pegmatites, known as the Darson Pegmatite Swarm, is confirmed by Caesium and Rubidium assays (see Table 1).
- Initial mapping has delineated five pegmatites up to 90m in thickness, located at the margin of the Pioneer Granite.
- This is a prime geological setting for the discovery of a lithium deposit and is located within four kilometres of the Dome North lithium pegmatite deposits (see Figure 2) and 12 kilometres of the Sinclair Caesium Mine (see Figure 1).
- Regionally, the Darson Pegmatite Swarm is located near the centre of a cluster of lithium Resources including: Bald Hill (Alliance), Mount Marion (Mineral Resources) and Buldania (Liontown). See Figure 1.
- Argonaut plans to:
- seek approvals for an RC drilling campaign targeting lithium;
- complete soil sampling, rock chip sampling and mapping to define possible extensions to the known pegmatites plus potential new pegmatites; and
- proceed to drill the lithium targets following receipt of approvals.
New JVA
- Under the JVA, Argonaut holds an 80% interest in exploration licence E15/1489 which hosts:
- the Darson Pegmatite Swarm;
- the Amorphous gold deposit; and
- the Footes Find gold prospect (Figure 2).
- E15/1489 is located adjacent to the Higginsville gold mine (see Figures 1 and 2).
- Under the JVA, Argonaut paid Loded Dog $75,000 and issued $50,000 of ordinary Argonaut shares at 0.39c/share.
Murdie, South Australia - Copper
- Argonaut has partnered with SensOre Limited, a mineral exploration artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning leader to generate copper-gold probability targets at the Murdie project using SensOre's proprietary AI and machine learning.
- Initial copper-gold probability mapping by SensOre was completed during the Quarter. This exercise generated a major new copper-gold target within the Murdie licences that is subject to further consideration by the Argonaut team.
- Argonaut continues to engage with relevant contractors in relation to further drilling at Murdie.
- On 16 March 2021, the Barngarla Determination Aboriginal Corporation filed an application in the South Australian Supreme Court for a review of the authorisation announced to the ASX by Argonaut on 4 January 2021.
- The review was heard in July 2021. The parties are awaiting judgement.
Torrens, South Australia - Copper
- The Torrens Joint Venture is currently reviewing appropriate remote sensing techniques to assist with refining of geophysical drill targets.
- A magnetotelluric survey to identify deep-crustal structures feeding potential mineralisation, and an ambient noise tomography survey to improve the resolution of gravity modelling are both under consideration.
2 | Argonaut Resources NL | QUARTERLY REPORT | For the period ending 30 June 2022 |
For personal use only
Uranium Exploration Assets and IPO Plans
- Argonaut has acquired a substantial package of prospective uranium exploration licences in South Australia and the Northern Territory via a 67% held, unlisted public company, Orpheus Minerals Ltd (Orpheus).
- Argonaut has decided that specialised uranium exploration work and the funding of these works is better undertaken through a separate listed entity.
- Argonaut is planning for Orpheus to list on the Australian Securities Exchange (when prevailing market conditions are suitable).
- Orpheus undertook a seed capital raising to unrelated parties of $370,000 to fund its activities.
- Prospectus preparations are well advanced.
- The Argonaut board is considering:
- an entitlement offer of Orpheus shares to Argonaut shareholders as part of the IPO process; and
- a potential in-specie distribution of Orpheus shares to Argonaut shareholders (subject to statutory escrow provisions).
- Details of Orpheus exploration assets have been outlined in ASX releases dated 9 September 2021 and 20 September 2021.
Outlook
- The copper price dropped considerably during the Quarter on the back of global macro-economic concerns. The current copper price of US$3.30/lb appears to Argonaut to be a sentiment-driven overcorrection that is unsustainable in the medium-term due to supply and demand fundamentals.
- There have been relatively few significant copper discoveries over the last 10 years and consequentially there is a scarcity of new copper mines in the development pipeline. Copper remains a prudent target for junior exploration companies.
- The planned IPO of Orpheus Minerals comes at an appropriate time in the uranium price cycle with uranium demand expected to grow as a result of increased nuclear power generation.
Argonaut Resources NL | QUARTERLY REPORT | For the period ending 30 June 2022 | 3 |
For personal use only
Lumwana West, Zambia
(Copper-Cobalt)
Purported cancellation of exploration licence 22399-HQ-LEL
Argonaut became aware that Large-scale Exploration Licence 22399-HQ-LEL, Lumwana West, was not renewed by the Zambian Government on 28 December 2021 as expected. This licence area contains the Nyungu deposit.
At the time of the purported cancellation, the Company's 90% held subsidiary, Mwombezhi Resources Ltd, was operating in full compliance with all licence conditions and other regulatory requirements.
Argonaut's Zambian lawyers have identified substantive procedural errors in both the non-renewal of 22399-HQ-LEL and the hurried and potentially corrupt grant of a new licence over the Lumwana West area to a recently registered company with no apparent financial or technical capacity.
Argonaut had a history of raising and investing significant amounts of money in the rigorous technical investigation of the Lumwana West licence area, particularly the Nyungu deposit. The Company had commenced the fast-tracking of a feasibility study into a commercial mining operation at the site via a team of internationally known experts. It would appear to be against the national interests of Zambia to stop this process.
Recovery action by Argonaut
The Company is continuing to work cooperatively with the relevant Zambian authorities to achieve the reinstatement of 22399-HQ-LEL. The Company has assisted appropriately with investigations into shortcomings and illegalities in the Governmental processes that led to the purported licence cancellation.
On 27 April 2022 the Minister of Mines and Mineral Development wrote to the Company's Zambian lawyers to advise that the Company's appeal of 3 January 2022 was currently under "active consideration".
The Company and its lawyers met with the Minister of Mines during April specifically to put forward the particulars of the Company's complaints regarding procedural errors by the Mining Cadastre Department in relation to Lumwana West. Argonaut is pleased and encouraged by the Minister's attention to the details of our matter.
The Company has also made presentations on the extent and quality of exploration and feasibility work completed on the project to date, as well as the Company's investment track-record in Zambia.
Argonaut's objective of completing a feasibility study into a two-phase copper/cobalt mine and processing facility at Lumwana West compliments the Zambian Government's stated objective of greatly increasing copper production.
Higginsville, Western Australia
(Gold, Lithium and Nickel - Argonaut 80%)
During the Quarter, Argonaut executed a new Joint Venture Agreement (JVA) with Loded Dog Prospecting Pty Ltd (Loded Dog) in relation to the Higginsville project in Western Australia. This JVA allows Argonaut to proceed with planned exploration of a swarm of potentially lithium-bearing pegmatites at E15/1489, within 4km of Essential Metals' Dome North lithium Resource.
Field mapping and sampling by Argonaut in the previous Quarter, has defined an extensive swarm of lithium-caesium- tantalum pegmatite dykes (LCT Pegmatites) within E15/1489. The prospectivity of these LCT pegmatites, known as the Darson Pegmatite Swarm, is confirmed by Caesium and Rubidium assays (see Table 1).
E15/1489 is located adjacent to the Higginsville gold mine (see Figures 1 and 2).
Under the JVA, Argonaut holds an 80% interest in exploration licence E15/1489 which hosts:
- the Darson Pegmatite Swarm;
- the Amorphous gold deposit; and
- the Footes Find gold prospect.
4 | Argonaut Resources NL | QUARTERLY REPORT | For the period ending 30 June 2022 |
350,000 mE | Clianthus Flat | 400,000mE | Emu Flat | |||||
Hampton | Caralyaine | |||||||
Highway | ||||||||
Saddle Hills | ||||||||
Road | ||||||||
White Hope | ||||||||
only | ||||||||
Mount Marion | Wollubar | Track | ||||||
Mineral Resources | Railway | |||||||
Town | ||||||||
Homestead | ||||||||
6,550,000 mN | Lithium deposit | |||||||
Kambalda | Pegmatite occurrence | |||||||
Gold occurrence | ||||||||
Higginsville ProjectTenements | ||||||||
Connolly | ||||||||
use | ||||||||
Parker Hills | ||||||||
Emu Rocks | ||||||||
Roysalt | ||||||||
Lefroy | ||||||||
Larkinville | ||||||||
Widgiemooltha | ||||||||
personal | ||||||||
Bald Hill | ||||||||
Alliance Mineral Assets | ||||||||
Binneringie | ||||||||
Dordie Rocks | ||||||||
6,500,000mN | ||||||||
Yardina Rock | ||||||||
Binaronca Rock | ||||||||
Dome North | Higginsville | |||||||
Essential Metals | ||||||||
Darson | ||||||||
Argonaut | ||||||||
Wingarnie | ||||||||
Fifty Mile Rocks | ||||||||
Sinclair Caesium Mine | ||||||||
For | ||||||||
Pioneer Resources | ||||||||
Twenty Five Mile Rocks | ||||||||
Pioneer | ||||||||
Buldania | ||||||||
Lointown Resources | ||||||||
6,450,000 mN | Princess Royal Peninsula | Buldania Rocks | ||||||
Columbium Creek | ||||||||
Tjirnta Para Para | Dundas Hills | |||||||
Princess Royal | WESTERN AUSTRALIA | |||||||
TheatreRock | ||||||||
HIGGINSVILLE PROJECT | ||||||||
Bronzite Ridge | 0 | 10 | 20 | Norseman | Regional lithium occurrences | |||
kilometres | 8 June 2022 | |||||||
Higginsville 21 | Cowan | |||||||
Figure 1 Regional lithium pegmatite deposits in the area of the Darson Pegmatite Swarm, Higgginsville, WA. |
Argonaut Resources NL | QUARTERLY REPORT | For the period ending 30 June 2022 | 5 |
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Argonaut Resources NL published this content on 29 July 2022 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 29 July 2022 07:44:10 UTC.