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(Sharecast News) - Fulcrum Metals reported an operating loss of £0.35m in its first half on Thursday, widening from £0.11m in the same period last year.
The AIM-traded firm, which is still pre-revenue, said it achieved several significant milestones in the six months ended 30 September.
Extensive exploration programmes were conducted across its Schreiber-Hemlo projects, including Big Bear and Jack Fish.
Notable high-grade rock samples with gold content of 45 grams of gold per tonne, 37.4 grams per tonne and 33.6 grams per tonne confirmed the prospectivity of the Big Bear project.
In April, Fulcrum extended its Winston Lake project by acquiring Carib Creek East, expanding its footprint in a highly prospective mining area.
Field operations also started at Schreiber-Hemlo, aiming to further refine and assess previously identified exploration targets.
The board said the completion of the second phase of exploration at the Big Bear project led to the discovery of a three kilometre mineralised corridor, with four drill prospects identified and five prospects requiring further investigation.
Additionally, Fulcrum acquired the Tully Gold project, a significant step forward, as it included an established mine camp, infrastructure, and a historic gold resource of 107,000 ounces of gold.
The project stood out as Fulcrum's most advanced endeavour to date, the directors explained.
To support the acquisition of the Tully Gold project, Fulcrum raised £0.52m through the issue of unsecured convertible loan notes.
Since the end of the period, Fulcrum significantly expanded its uranium footprint in Saskatchewan, increasing its land holdings by 221%, from 18,468 to 59,310 hectares.
The uranium projects now encompass Charlot-Neely Lake, Fontaine Lake, Snowbird, and South Pendleton.
Additionally, Fulcrum announced on 27 November that it was actively exploring various options with interested parties regarding its Saskatchewan uranium properties, which could include a potential spin-out of the uranium assets.
On 30 November, Fulcrum entered into an option agreement providing it with the opportunity to acquire 100% of the Teck-Hughes Gold Tailings Project in Ontario.
Notably, the project had historically milled 9,565,302 tons of ore and produced 3,700,007 ounces of gold.
Fulcrum Metals said it was also in advanced discussions with Extrakt Process Solutions regarding the licensing of its sustainable gold leaching technology for use at the Teck-Hughes Gold Tailings Project.
The project had the potential to become Fulcrum's first cash-generating endeavour.
"The company's objective when it listed on AIM was to provide shareholder value through the development of highly prospective mining projects alongside complementary acquisitions," said chief executive officer Ryan Mee.
"During the reporting period Fulcrum has moved at speed to discover and scale our exploration assets across Canada, in particular in Ontario, with extensive exploration programmes conducted at Big Bear and Jackfish.
"There have been some notable results including rock samples of up to 45 grams of gold per tonne and the identification of multiple structural targets in the Schreiber-Hemlo area."
Mee said the company had also strengthened its portfolio of assets with several acquisitions: the Tully Gold project, which has a historical resource of 107,000 ounces of gold, and Carib Creek East.
"Post period, and on the back of ongoing positive sentiment for uranium, we announced a 221% increase in our Saskatchewan footprint, and the option to acquire the Teck-Hughes Gold Tailings Project in Ontario.
"The latter is particularly exciting, with over six million tonnes of tailings ready to be processed and with the use of innovative technology, the board believes it has the potential to become a cash generative asset in a relatively short space of time."
Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.
