Australians in Canada Snapshot: Eight exploration companies to watch

Australia and Canada share a rich and storied mining tradition. Both are home to vast mineral resources, abundant infrastructure, effective regulatory regimes, and supportive legislation, and are considered tier-one mining jurisdictions. Here are eight Australian companies operating in Canada. 

92ENERGY 

92Energy (ASX: 92E) is a uranium explorer and holds a 100%-interest in five projects in Saskatchewan’s Athabasca Basin, including Gemini, Tower, Clover, Powerline, and Cypress River. 

Headquartered in Perth, Western Australia. the company’s focus is on its early-stage unconformity-associated Gemini exploration project. Gemini straddles the eastern margin of the Athabasca Basin, approximately 780 km northeast of Saskatoon and 27 km southeast of Cameco’s (TSX: CCO; NYSE: CCJ) McArthur River mine, one of the largest and highest-grade uranium mines in the world. 

In July, 92Energy received the finals assays results from its 2022 winter drill program at Gemini. Completed in April, the program comprised 12 holes drilled at the GMZ uranium discovery on the property, with nine of the holes intersecting mineralization. 

Highlights from the drilling included holes GEM22-006, which intersected 8 metres grading 0.25% uranium oxide (U3O8) starting from 229 metres, including a higher-grade core of 1 metre at 0.78% U3O8;and GEM22-013, which returned 2.5 metres grading 0.17% U3O8 from 106.5 metres. 

The company says a summer drill program is already underway with drilling focused to the southwest of GMZ, where it says uranium mineralization appears to be nearing the top of the bedrock and is increasing in thickness relative to the intercepts from the winter program.  

A total of six drill holes (2,038 metres) of an initial 6,000 metres have already been completed. Highlights include holes GEM22-025, which cut 41.8 metres at 0.5% U3O8 from 172.8 metres, including 6.4 metres at 2% U3O8 and 0.8 metre at 1.3% U3O8; and GEM22-027, which intersected 34.4 metres at 0.2% U3O8 from 158.6 metres, including 1.2 metres at 0.8% U3O8. 

Commenting in a July 18 press release, Siobhan Lancaster, 92Energy’s managing director and CEO, said “We continue to vector in on a significant new discovery at the GMZ, with results reported during the ongoing summer 2022 drill program returning thicker and higher-grade mineralization.”  

92Energy has a market cap of A$37.36 million ($33.34 million). 

ASTON MINERALS 

Aston Minerals (ASX: ASO) is a nickel-cobalt and gold explorer that is developing the Edleston project in the Abitibi greenstone belt of Ontario, approximately 60 km south of Timmins. 

The West Australia-based company is focused on the Boomerang nickel-cobalt sulphide target on the property. The target is defined over 6.5 km of strike, 500-1,500 metres wide, and extends to over 500 metres depth.  

In May, Aston reported initial results from the early-stage metallurgical testing of nickel-cobalt sulphide mineralization at the target. The company said that conventional flotation concentration of disseminated mineralization from diamond hole DDED21-076 drilled on the Bardwell prospect on the target resulted in a saleable nickel-cobalt concentrate. 

The concentrate graded 11.29% nickel, 0.37% cobalt, 24% sulphur, 38.2% iron, and 8.2% magnesium oxide with a 60% nickel recovery on an open circuit basis through rougher flotation and a three-stage cleaning circuit. 

Dale Ginn, Aston’s managing director, said in a May 23 press release that “the results from our initial testing are comparable to the metallurgical recoveries of existing substantial nickel sulphide operations globally. The testing methods we undertook are all first pass conventional methods of flotation and are by no means optimized.” 

He added that the company is “incredibly encouraged by the results and have identified multiple opportunities to improve upon the results including a combination of coarsening the grind size, grinding after flotation and utilization of magnetic separation of the slimes produced from primary crushing.” 

In April, Aston provided drill results from an ongoing drilling campaign consisting of three drill rigs on the Bardwell and Olecranon prospects. The drilling intercepted multiple zones of mineralization and extended the drill tested strike to 1 km. 

Highlights from the drilling included hole DDED22-082, which intersected 159.71 metres grading 0.36% nickel and 0.013% cobalt starting from 206.3 metres downhole, including 83 metres at 0.44% nickel and 0.016% cobalt. 

Drilled on Olecranon, DDED22-079 returned 205 metres at 0.27% nickel and 0.011% cobalt from 333 metres.  

Aston Minerals has a market cap of A$116.92 million ($104.36 million) 

AUTECO MINERALS 

Auteco Minerals (ASX: AUT) is a gold exploration company focused on advancing its 70%-owned flagship Pickle Crow project in northern Ontario, about 400 km north of Thunder Bay. 

In June, the Perth-headquartered company reported a significant regional discovery at a previously undrilled mineralized Banded Iron Formation at the Talia prospect, approximately 1 km from the current resource area. 

The discovery hole, RVDD0038, intersected 5.5 metres grading 18 grams gold per tonne from 44.9 metres downhole. Auteco said that the drill result demonstrates the considerable upside potential from early-stage exploration away from an area with a defined resource. 

The company says that multiple regional targets are now being drilled as part of a 50,000-metre diamond drill core program at the 500-sq.-km project. The targets, it says, are all located within 20 km of the historic Pickle Crow mine, which contains inferred resources of 8.9 million tonnes grading 7.8 grams gold per tonne for 2.2 million contained gold ounces. 

Auteco says the resource estimate includes drill results from 29,883 metres of the 50,000-metre drilling campaign that started last June and is focused on near-mine discovery, extension of the known mineralized veins, and infill drilling to better define the orebody. 

The regional targets are either conceptual in nature and being drilled for the first time or are targets that have had limited historic drilling, it says. 

Other drill results released in May include holes RVDD0017, which returned 5.4 metres grading 2.6 grams gold per tonne from 94.4 metres; RVDD0026, which cut 2.8 metres at 4.3 grams gold from 60 metres; and RVDD0051, which intersected 0.9 metre at 14.7 grams gold from 262.6 metres. 

Commenting in a June 23 press release, Ray Sharrocks, Auteco’s executive chairman, said the company “will continue the exploration and growth campaign and we expect to complete another 50,000 metres of drilling by early 2023.” 

Auteco Minerals has a market cap of A$93 million ($83.1 million). 

GREEN TECHNOLOGY METALS  

Green Technology Metals (ASX: GT1) is a North American-focused lithium exploration and development company. 

The company holds an 80% interest in a portfolio of three high-grade, hard rock spodumene assets (Seymour, Root, and Wisa) under a joint venture with Ardiden (ASX: ADV) and lithium exploration claims (Allison and Solstice) within the highly prospective Archean greenstone belt in northwestern Ontario. 

In July, Green Technology provided an update on a recommenced diamond drilling campaign at its flagship Seymour property near the township of Armstrong and approximately 250 km north of Thunder Bay. 

The drilling is on the North Aubry deposit, with the aim of further increasing a recently updated mineral resource estimate and is focused along strike to the north and further extensions to depth.  

To date, the company has completed two holes. The first, GTDD-22-0323, was drilled 60 metres northwest of the nearest previous hole and intersected 17.9 metres grading 15% spodumene from 218 metres downhole, including 6.7 metres at 25% spodumene, and 7.7 metres at 41% spodumene from 377.9 metres.  

Drilled down-dip of GTDD-22-0323, hole GTDD-22-0128 returned 6.4 metres at 10% spodumene from 252.3 metres and 18.6 metres at 4% spodumene from 312 metres.  

Following the drill results, the company now plans to conduct additional step-out holes at North Aubry targeting further a northerly strike extension, along with testing of accompanying down-dip extensional opportunities, with the next planned drill hole located approximately 100 metres further north-west of GTDD-22-0323. 

In June, the company released an updated JORC-compliant mineral resource estimate for Seymour. The project now contains 9.9 million tonnes grading 1.04% lithium oxide and 137 parts per million tantalum pentoxide with approximately 53% of the resource in the indicated category. 

The updated resource, it said, includes drill results from the first phase of drilling undertaken at North Aubry and comprises a total of 199 diamond holes for a total of 26,244 metres. 

Green Technology Metals has a market cap of A$177.73 million ($158.8 million). 

MATADOR MINING 

Newfoundland-focused Matador Mining (ASX: MZZ; US-OTC: MZZMF) is a gold exploration company with landholdings totaling 1,033 sq. km that include the Cape Ray and Hermitage projects. 

Headquartered in Perth, the company is focused on advancing Cape Ray, which covers approximately 120 km of strike along the highly prospective and underexplored Cape Ray shear zone.  

The project currently hosts a resource of 3.5 million indicated tonnes grading 3.15 grams gold per tonne for 356,000 oz. contained gold and 918,000 oz. silver and inferred resources of 9.4 million tonnes grading 1.6 grams gold and 7 grams silver for 481,000 oz. gold and 2.1 million silver ounces. The resource includes four deposits, all of which are within 15 km of strike.  

In June, Matador released the final batch of results from an extensive till sampling program completed near Cape Ray in late 2021.  

The sampling led to an additional eight high-tenor gold anomalies identified in the western side of a 15- by 4-km malachite structural target area in the centre of the property. The company reported that 336 gold grains were recovered from one till sample collected 470 metres south of the Cape Ray shear zone and contained 76 pristine gold grains, which it said indicates the sample lies close to the gold source. 

Matador says that a total of 17 high-tenor gold grain anomalies have now been identified at Malachite, including 716 gold grain samples previously reported in April. 

Commenting in a June 8 press release, Sam Pazuki, the company’s chief executive officer, said the final batch of till samples from Malachite “have further confirmed how prospective we believe this new area to be,” adding that “finding gold grains in these numbers, and with so many in pristine condition, is highly encouraging and suggests we could have gold-bearing structures in bedrock very close to the sample location.” 

Matador Mining has a market cap of A$26.1 million ($23.36 million). 

MONT ROYAL RESOURCES 

Mont Royal Resources (ASX: MRZ) is focused on advancing the Wapatik gold-copper project in Quebec. 

In September 2020, the Sydney-headquartered explorer entered a joint venture agreement with Canadian junior Azimut Exploration (TSXV: AZM; US-OTC: AZMTF) to earn-in up to a 70% interest in Wapatik. 

The property encompasses 220 claims totaling 115 sq. km located on the lower Eastmain greenstone belt in the James Bay area and is approximately 13 km east of Azimut’s Patwon gold discovery/Elmer gold-polymetallic property and 58 km southwest of Newmont’s (TSX: NGT; NYSE: NEM) Éléonore gold mine. 

In June, Mont Royal announced the discovery of nickel-copper massive sulphide mineralization at Wapatik during an initial 1,000-metre diamond drill program. 

The discovery hole, WAP22-023, intersected 3.3 metres grading 2.68% nickel, 1.3% copper, and 0.09% cobalt starting from 143.4 metres downhole, including 1 metre of 3.63% nickel, 0.48% nickel, and 0.12% nickel; and 1.1 metres at 3.04% nickel, 0.75% copper, and 0.1% cobalt. 

“The discovery of this massive sulphide mineralization is a major step in advancing our exploration plans at the project,” said Peter Ruse, the company’s executive director, in a June 30 press release announcing the discovery.  

“Given the results from this initial discovery hole, we’ve immediately moved to follow up with a Phase 2 drill program to further delineate sulphide accumulation both along strike and down dip confirmed by downhole electromagnetic survey,” he added. 

Follow-up drilling comprising six diamond drill holes is underway on the property. 

In December, Mont Royal acquired a 75% interest in Northern Lights Minerals Pty Ltd., which has the rights to acquire a 536-sq.-km land package across the upper Eastmain greenstone belt, approximately 300 km northeast of the town of Chibougamau.

The land package hosts the 100%-owned Tarku, RHR-Extension, and CR properties, with Northern Lights also having the option to acquire a 70% interest in Dios Exploration Inc.’s assets and the rights to acquire 100% of Focus Graphite’s (TSXV: FMS; US-OTC: FCSMF) assets. 

Mont Royal Resources has a market cap of A$21.5 million ($19.2 million). 

TEMPUS RESOURCES 

Tempus Resources (ASX: TMR: TSXV: TMRR; US-OTC: TMRFF) is a gold, silver, and copper exploration and development company with properties in Canada and Ecuador. 

Headquartered in Perth, the junior explorer is focused on advancing its flagship Blackdome-Elizabeth gold project in southern British Columbia, approximately 200 km north of Vancouver. The property comprises two zones of mineralization — Elizabeth and Blackdome.  

The Elizabeth zone hosts auriferous quartz vein mineralization and is approximately 35 km east of the past-producing Bralorne gold mine owned by Talisker Resources (TSX: TSK; US-OTC: TSKFF), which produced 4.2 million oz. of gold at a grade of 17.7 grams gold per tonne between 1928 and 1971.  

About 30 km north of Elizabeth, Blackdome hosts low-sulphidation, structurally controlled, epithermal gold mineralization and previously produced 225,000 oz. of gold grading 20 grams gold per tonne.  

In July, Tempus announced that visible mineralization had been observed in drillhole DDHEZ-22-09 at Elizabeth. Drilled on the Blue Vein structure, that hole intersected 1 metre of mineralization from 105.2 metres downhole and showed the presence of visible gold in a 0.03-metre quartz stringer within the vein, with grains of visible gold also observed in the uncut core at the hanging wall side of the vein structure plus an additional grain of visible gold observed at 106 metres. 

The company said that this was the second drill hole to encounter visible gold during its summer 2022 drill program, with previously reported DDHEZ-22-03 intersecting quartz veining at a downhole depth of 96.9-97.3 metres and 124-124.1 metres. 

Commenting in a July 7 press release, Jason Bahnsen, Tempus’s president and CEO, said the company “has completed the first nine holes of the program that have been focused on extending the Blue Vein gold mineralization,” adding that “the repeated observation of visible gold in drill-holes bodes well for assays, which are expected to be received within the next few weeks for the first few drill-holes.” 

Tempus Resources has a market cap of A$8.8 million ($7.9 million). 

WINSOME RESOURCES 

Winsome Resources (ASX: WR1) is a lithium exploration and development company with a portfolio of assets in Quebec. These include three 100%-owned projects — Cancet, Adina, and Clappier — in the James Bay region, and has the option to acquire the Decelles and Mazerac projects near Val-d’Ór, approximately 600 km northwest of Montreal. 

In July, Winsome released the final drill results from its 2022 winter drill program on its flagship Cancet property, the most advanced of its lithium projects, which comprises 395 claims encompassing over 200 sq. km, approximately 155 km east of Radisson. 

The company said the drilling added significant areas of high-grade lithium mineralization to the known orebody at the project, with two of seven holes in the final batch of results intersecting high-grade zones of mineralization. 

Hole WC-22-01 intersected 26 metres grading 1.55% lithium oxide (LiO2) starting from 5.7 metres downhole, including 11.3 metres at 2.45% LiO2 and 4 metres at 3.89% LiO2. Hole WC-22-18 returned 12 metres grading 1.16% LiO2 from 3 metres, including 6 metres at 1.55% LiO2. 

“These high-grade results prove Cancet contains world class levels of lithium mineralization close to surface,” said Chris Evans, Winsome’s managing director, in July 14 press release. 

The latest drill results “give us further confidence to continue the resource development and exploration work across the significant landholding the Company has at Cancet. We remain focused on declaring a maiden resource in the near term,” he added. 

In June, the company reported metallurgical test results on composite samples from Cancet and Adina. Heavy liquid separation (HLS), with batch flotation tests, performed on three lithium-bearing composite samples (two from Cancet, one from Adina) prepared from split drill core, achieved recoveries ranging from 68% to 83% (equating to a spodumene concentrate grade of 6% Li2O). 

When combining results obtained from HLS and batch flotation testing, overall lithium recoveries ranged from 85% to 94%, with spodumene concentrate grades ranging from 5.96% to 6.27% Li2O, it said. 

Winsome Resources has a market cap of A$27.2 million ($24.4 million).

This article was first published by The Northern Miner. Read the original story here.