Roundtable Discussion; The Future of Mineral Sands. Watch the video here.
That’s a really welcome RNS on IronRidge joining the EBA. A great strategic move.
HIGHLIGHTS:
Ø IronRidge accepted as a member of the European Battery Alliance ("EBA250").
Ø The EBA250 network brings together interested stakeholders, industry specialists and participants from both the public and private sectors; a collaboration of more than 400 participants across the European Union's ("EU") battery value chain.
Ø The unique network includes the European Commission, EU member states and the European Investment Bank, with the objective to build a strong pan-European battery industry that can help Europe capture a growing market expected to be worth €250 billion/year from 2025.
Ø Membership provides IronRidge with a unique insight into the ongoing activities of the rapidly developing EU battery sector including:
o Access to a network of potential industrial, academic and government partners throughout the battery value chain (from mining to recycling);
o Access to market research information and insights;
o Holistic and dynamic observatory on battery projects;
o Visibility and cooperation opportunities.
Ø Access to InnoEnergy Venture Capital Community and potential alternate funding sources.
Ø Credibility for funding requests and connection with the European Battery Alliance's ("EBA250") financial partners.
It would be helpful to get the views of a geologist on all this and how it all ties together.
I’m not a geologist so I might be barking up the wrong tree.
It’s a shame that Covid19 has cancelled out any potential shareholder meeting in the near term and the opportunity for open questions.
Maybe they’ll do something online.
Due to extensive cover by intracratonic basins and deep crustal reactivation during the Pan-African orogenic event, only segments of the original Archean-Lower Proterozoic cratons are recognisable today. The principal remaining segments of the West African craton are Reguibate in Mauritania, Kayes in Mali, Kedougou-Kenieba in Senegal and Mali and the vast Man-Leo terrains, which extend from Guinea in the west to Benin and Niger in the east. Parts of the Congo craton subcrop in the Congo Republic, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon and the Central African Republic. Segments of the ill-defined Nilotic craton are preserved in the northern part of the Central African Republic and in Chad.
The Archean-Lower Proterozoic cratons consist essentially of granitic-gneissic terrains and of volcano-sedimentary and sedimentary greenstone belts. The greenstone belts, which are of either Archean or Lower Proterozoic age, are host to significant precious metal, base
Imo That’s why Len ties in the Chad to the Birimian. The West African Craton was separated from the Nilotic Craton (in Chad) in the PreCambrian. After the Pan-African was constructed at the end of the PreCambrian, the sedimentation area was unified from Senegal to Arabia.
It’s important to remember that some of the large Craton basins overlie zones that are inherited from the previous history.
Please research this for yourselves. It’s fascinating.
Fair points Mike.
I think IRR have actually been unfortunate with what happened to the Iron Price but they BoD showed resilience and more importantly strategic vision to explore and discover new areas.
The excitement around Chad remains Mike. I heard a Victor and Len talk about the sampling they’d done. You can’t fake that response imo. I reckon I can spot a BS and phoney after 30 years dealing with people.
The potential of Chad is huge it’s just a difficult jurisdiction to work in which is why there’s only IRR and one other company there. Vince has pegged so much good terrain as a first mover.
I think we’ll get some sort of update soon but it could be further delays or we’re pressing on with this programme etc etc or even a JV. Who knows?
The Lithium is there and very exciting still but we need the mining licences to proceed. That should be the focus this year imo. Battery day is on Sept 22nd What will Elon Musk come out with. A Terafactory announcement can’t be far away. Whichever battery tech emerges going forward they’ll all need Lithium and BQ grade. We have that.
I’ve kept the faith and stuck with IRR not because of emotion but because of the geology. That’s what will provide the pay day.
Whoever asked about the difference between Chad and Zaranou. I think the Chad gold systems tie in with the Yukon and Alaskan Tintina gold belt and the intrusions but don’t know how that relates to the Birimian which Len indicated it did. Unless the Saharan Craton has moved in land over time away from the Birimian. I think it’s hypothermal veining again but would have to check.
Len is good at explaining all this on a technical level and it really helps to inform your understanding.
A really good discussion here folks. I understand the frustration people have around the warrants and current SP dip and or fluctuation. However, I’m focused more on the long term SP.
Bozi has made some good points and his balanced observations make sense about Chad under the current gold run.
Mike29, my exit price continues to be well north of £1 and I think it’s very achievable. Rather than watching the SP I’ve been plotting out the Gold assets in Côte d’Ivoire on a map of CDI, looking at the infrastructure and matching the licences to the Birimian geology. It’s deadly boring work but it’s some of the best research I’ve done. My research around Lithium HR, Brines, batteries and processing is detailed and extensive so now I’m bringing my gold work up to standard.
The land package across CDI is huge but the licences are spread out. The initial excitement I had about the Kineta licences (3) has faded for now but the Zaranou project connected areas along the strike length are very exciting imo. That project alone would be enough for one company. Imo the current SP is justified by the Lithium Cape Coast 14.5Mt open resource alone. So everything else is free and not factored in yet. I know the market disagrees but maybe they haven’t looked at the detail yet or are waiting for another reason. I prefer to be speculative.
The CDI assets were valued at $19m before Zaranou was acquired. There’s a disconnect there imo.
Comparing Zaranou with other mines makes me think it will be a conventional open pit. But the unusual strike length of 47Km and gold at surface and down dip (depth) including large bulk at 0.5g/t up to those amazing grades and visible gold down drill holes with sweet spots, makes me think it will be 3/4 open pits feeding into a centralised plant. Len talked about operational synergies and I’m convinced that’s how it will pan out.
Red Back Mining discovered Chirano 5.5Moz and sold to Kinross for $7.1bn. There’s the value in the geology that doesn’t stop at the border. Bibiani too.
Imo the Zaranou project could match those discoveries.
There’s the exit price plus plus, right there.
But there’s more with Vavoua x4 licences and Bianouan. Now add in Chad and the gold pit around Dorothe which imo is delayed but will happen.
That’s why I’m focused longer term and studying the geology and logistics.
The Lithium btw is hotting up as OEMs need to secure supply of batteries and are losing confidence imo with battery makers. SQM supplying low grade and not battery quality lithium products is replicated elsewhere.
How about this?
Barrick CEO was also the founder and CEO of Randgold before the merger.
Now Barrick have a huge footprint in Côte d’Ivoire as do Newmont and indeed IronRidge.
So which majors did IRR beat to the post in the acquisition of Zaranou 2 years ago?
Mark Bristow & Barrick will know all about Zaranou but even they wouldn’t have expected the size of the resource or maybe they would.
Berkshire Hathaway moving into gold the way they have will draw attention to gold equities.
The Vavoua licences are next to Abujar. From what Charlie Stephenson said in interview there are not the same amount of artisanal miners there because there’s a deeper alluvial covering but it certainly looks interesting.
The licences around Zaranou link together well. I like the way they acquire the licences and build the land packages.
I agree with a tier 1 mine but think it will be a few pits feeding one plant. Zaranou is showing gold at surface and at depth down to 160m and is still open as stated in the latest RNS..
There’s references by Len to broader width at depth in a previous RNS.
The visible gold down hole and the outstanding grades indicate what’s coming imo.
The hypothermal quartz veins have excited me from the start with Zaranou. Right from when they used ‘intensity of veins’.
Wrt to Chad, there’s a super pit waiting to happen there imo around Dorothe.
There are huge Under-explored areas across the 5 licences there. I think that Operational synergies might apply there too but we’ll have to wait a while.
It’s a hedged PF but I bet they didn’t think that Lithium and Gold would be peaking at the same time.
There are several long term holders here but the board is quiet in general. IronRidge is under the radar still (or has been).
I’m on Twitter mostly.
There’s another group on Telegram with lots in apparently but I don’t really know what that is and I’m happy just on twitter. I’ve no idea if there’s a Facebook group. Research thoroughly to verify anything I’ve said. I’ve just tried to help.
Toro and Farq are extremely knowledgable about IRR, the licences and jurisdictions as are other holders.
Len Kolff tweets from time to time.
The leadership here is extremely strategic imo and they have progressed things well. Very rigorous and methodical around the technicals, they don’t waste money.
Watch the interviews of Vince with Andrew Scott of Proactive and with Charlie Stephenson of Si Capital. It’s about to be an exciting ride through to Indaba February, in Cape Town.
Good luck with researching further.
I’ll get back to batteries and cathode chemistry now.
Kingivor,
Vince Mascolo gave himself and IronRidge optionality last year around April 2019, when the BoD passed the motion enabling him to issue shares for different services.
That option came into play with the agreement with Geodrill and the shares in IRR in return for drilling. 30,000 metres was the extent of drilling from memory but you’d need to look back at the RNS to check the detail.
I have to say I’ve lost track of how much drilling has been done and what’s still available under that deal.
Yes, it has added to the the overall amount of shares issued and diluted us but compared with several other companies IRR is still in a strong position with 404,510,000 plus recent added amount and 100% ownership still.
The small freefloat is the best bit though with 80% of shares being held by the BoD and cornerstone backers. (Again I’d have to check that percentage) .
It’s a compelling picture with the gold and Lithium double play at the moment.
All the best with your research of the company and the board.
I’d start with the Zaranou project and the targets along the 47km strike length, Côte d’Ivoire. Vavoua licences near Abujar are further down the pipeline but exciting some.
Look at the Birimian geology.
I think the Zaranou project will deliver 3/4 open pits with a centralised plant and a globally significant resource.
The Lithium is a beauty too and the narrative is changing now the elephant in the room has been called by Paul Graves, CEO of Livent.
The geology around these projects is fascinating. I know some people think Chad is not going to deliver and have discounted it but I think the opportunity there is incredible and it’s just going to take a bit longer than expected. (Zaranou has been a fantastic spot and acquisition in the meantime).
So I wait for an update with excitement. Yes it’s speculative but that’s why I’m here.
2020 production targets vs actually produced and in brackets is % of battery quality
Top 5 Producers
Albermarle 35% vs 11% (73%)
Ganfeng 50% vs 41% (61%)
Livent 11% vs 9% (75%)
SQM 35% vs 12% (51%)
Tianqi 71% vs 13% (54%)
As you can see there is a big shortfall on the amount of Lithium actually being produced and it’s becoming apparent that the percentage of battery quality coming through is also significantly reduced.
The qualification process to reach battery quality is exposing the lack of quality being produced and the amount of reagents and refining required.
Recovery rates have been poor imo. There now appears to be a shortage of BQ Lithium for battery makers in 12 months time. I believe battery supply chains are insecure and that will drive the price of BQ low impurities LCE and Hydroxide up.
Ironridge have high quality spodumene with a recovery rate of 99.92% (highly desirable by battery makers due to the low impurities). The type of dense Spodume is rare and puts IRR extremely well positioned to meet the demand shortage that’s coming at the same time as rising BQ prices. Tier 1 logistics and low Capex make Ewoyaa a quality resource that’s open and expandable.
Lithium figures sourced from Andy Miller at Benchmark
Cracking RNS #IRR #Zaranou #Gold project
Extremely high-grade results:
- 5m @ 270.5g/t gold from 4m in hole ZAAC0321
including
- 1m @ 1,075g/t (almost 35oz/t??) for 1m primary samples of previously announced 4m composite samples @ #Ebilassokro target
VERY encouraging 1st phase drilling results.
(Have to say that’s the RNS I was waiting for).
IMO it could be confirmation for all those on the side who didn't quite believe the potential.
Is anyone else thinking the average Gold grade across the Zaranou project will rise significantly now.
It’s time to run some new numbers.
#Tankwa Pit
#Tiemele Pit
Very significant high-grade intersections in ZARC0009; confirm the mineralisation now open from surface to vertical depth of 125m.
This is really pleasing as a LTH and shows that sometimes you don’t have to chase stocks but just research the hell out of the geology, the BoD and the strategic plan. Gold SP going above $2,000 is a real bonus as that’s another adjustment needed when calculating a potential resource size.
100% ownership is screaming out to me at the moment too.
I’ve shared my prediction for end of year elsewhere. The progression to a MRE across the Zaranou project at the EoY and before Indaba21 in February will be a great to story to follow.
Keep an eye on Vavoua folks because that has the potential to hit a few million ounces too, imo.
The BoD here have been knocked in the past for lack of updates but I tuning they’re playing a blinder and I love the slow methodical proving up of all the technicals and the robust & rigorous processes being employed to deliver a truly world class resource. Well done to all LTH and to all newer holders. There’s a long way to go to this family maker.
Mike was here in 2016 and bought in around the time I did. It was July I think and it went from about 6p up to 12-13p initially before dropping back and then going to 22p. May Queen was the focus at the time and Monogoriliby. How we’ve come a long way since then.
I remember buying SOLG at the time for 5p too.
I’ve also bought quite a few on the way up but I’m glad to say I bought a chunk on the recent drop to near 7p.
Zaranou just got a whole lot bigger today and the grades keep on coming. The VSA interview was good today too.
Happy days.
The Lithium at Ewoyaa and also in Africa in general has been overlooked by many imo including some noteworthy global observers.
However, the demand for ‘Battery Quality’ LCE continues and the prices for the good stuff are holding up nicely giving potential high margins for IRR.
Ewoyaa is quite different as a Spodumene deposit and Kathryn Goodenough, Senior Geologist at the BGS pointed out why recently.
The big question that needs answering is around the processing of the spodumene. Will it be carried out in China as it has been so far? Does Europe have the capacity or know how? Would it be commercially viable to set up a processing facility in Africa?
The demand squeeze for BQ will accelerate and it makes out 99.92% look rather attractive with those low impurities.
VW are aware of what’s happening as are several other auto companies imo. Get those mining licences agreed this year and the value goes up considerably.
Meanwhile, the gold just keeps on rising. The value in ground is also rising. Beautifully hedged as a company by Vince as he planned.
I think IRR is quite complex to get your head around it’s like 3 or 4 companies in one.
Once you look deeper you see what’s coming. Most people can’t be bothered to look deeper
Thanks Farq. I ran the numbers on 1000m SL first and then stopped at 9000m SL.
Bearing in mind the interview Vince gave when he mentioned if we get half way there then it gets rather interesting shall we say.
9k SL isn’t even half way there but will result in a number of open pits imo with a centralised plant. They need to work around logistics but the synergy is rather good.
Gold now $1,933 ?? $1,935
Based on current gold levels and a push to $2,000 much earlier than the expected end of year, it’s well worth running the numbers again on Zaranou.
(Try it)
Even looking at a very worst case scenario of xMoz & AISC of $850 ish (will it be less than that?)
Zaranou paints a compelling picture imo.
1-47K Strike Length
100-200m Depth
200-400m Width
2.5 Gravity
1.5-2.0 Grade (g/t) +
100% Ownership
Gold Price ($/Oz) $1,700, $1,800, $1,900+
So will it be 2, 3, 5 or 7Moz or a blow the effing doors off bigger again?
If you can’t read the RNS. Look on the actual IronRidge website. That’s where I read them. You get all the links in there and the pictures they use of the drill intersections. Under AIM announcements https://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/8656T_1-2020-7-23.pdf
RNS Visible gold.
Good points made by Charlie Stephenson on Twitter today. “Just so people can visualize what a @aim_irr Zaranou project could look like, here is the small-satellite Tabokoroni project, part of the Syama tenure @ResoluteMining (28,457oz at an AISC of US$840/oz). Currently IRR hold 3 targets with large exploration footprint over 47km”
(You’ll have to go to twitter to see the Resolute a Open Pit.
It’s a good observation and comparison to show what’s coming for #IRR imo.
@GeologyCharlie with local knowledge is good at explaining the geo too. Listen to his interview with F&R.
Zaranou scale is something else though. There’s one pit at Resolute?l I think.
@aim_irr 47KM SL looks like it has 3 open pit potential as they hit the greater intensity of veins in pockets. One centralised plant to ensure operational synergy and let the three pits feed into it. The question in my head is how big will those pits be.
What’s Will the AISC be then?
Artisanals - 20,000 artisanal miners on Zaranou. I was amazed by that. They come from across West Africa too.
Zaranou is going to be big Farq.
I’ve also been doing the research on Vavoua and that just keeps on giving too. Very interesting that there are few artisanal miners there though. That’s because of the sedimentary cover over the gold veining. Abujar just keeps on growing and Vavoua is right next door.
Add to that Vince Mascolo presenting today and it’s starting to feel like another big day is coming.
We’ve been here before. People wanting in before the drilling results. Are the mm short?
Farq, you’ve always made good calls on the way things move to be fair. It feels different and there’s certainly a lot of new interest.
I’m just doing my own thing but it’s good to be back in the range we are before the Zaranou realisation kicks in and everyone wants a piece of the action.
Entering Old Trafford through one turnstile. That’s exactly what it’s about to be like. Those who were here in 2017 know what’s coming.
There’s so much lined up over the next five months it’s going to get very interesting. I’ve taken the opportunity to buy chunks on the drop to 7p, 7.22p & 8p.
Always believed and Kept the Faith as Vince said.
3 RNS in 3 days. I think Vince is ready