Diversification may be key to a worthwhile mining and exploration technique. Whereas there isn’t any scarcity of firms which have skilled nice success by specializing in a single commodity, there’s at all times a component of threat to that method. There’s at all times the chance that sure commodities will fall in worth while others rise. Augustus Minerals, a newly listed exploration firm on the ASX (AUG) is cognizant of this reality. An exploration firm primarily based in Western Australia, Augustus has acquired a 100-percent curiosity in a land package deal masking some 3,600 sq. kilometers in Western Australia’s Higher Gascoyne area. Though historically generally known as a supply of base metals, gold and uranium, the Gascoyne is quickly rising as a main goal for uncommon earths and lithium discoveries.
As an early mover to the area, Augustus’s huge landholding is extremely potential for lithium, uncommon earths, copper and gold. Its Ti-Tree venture incorporates 85 kilometers of the Ti Tree and Mingabar shear zones, with in depth, untested, multi-element mineralization and floor anomalies.
The Gascoyne area is a big rising important mineral province with a number of deposits having been found in the previous few years. These embrace a number of Ironstone REE discoveries by Dreadnought Sources (ASX:DRE), Hastings Know-how’s (ASX:HAS) Yangibana Ironstone REE venture and Lanthanein Sources’ (ASX:LNR) Lyons Ironstone REE venture, in addition to a big lithium discovery at Delta Lithium’s (ASX:DLT) Yinnetharra location.
Directed by a extremely skilled administration workforce with in depth data about mining and exploration within the Gascoyne, Augustus’s exploration program will give attention to greater than 50 precedence targets already recognized by the corporate. These embrace potential lithium bearing pegmatites, REE-rich ironstones and shear/porphyry-hosted copper techniques. To date, the corporate has accomplished a number of geophysical surveys and picked up greater than 15,000 soil samples.
Located within the Shire of Higher Gascoyne and the Shire of Carnarvon, the Ti Tree venture shows vital exploration potential for quite a lot of completely different mineralised types in addition to presumably, multi-commodity discoveries. Spanning a contiguous 3,600 sq. kilometers, it additionally has the excellence of being one of many largest properties within the area. Augustus Minerals maintains 100% possession over Ti-Tree, which intersects alongside the shear of the identical identify.
The corporate has recognized a number of high-priority drilling targets alongside the Ti-Tree and Mingabar constructions prepared for reverse circulation, diamond or air core drilling.
Highlights:
- Rising Geological Province: The Gascoyne area shows extremely potential geology and has been the location of a number of uncommon earth and lithium discoveries lately, however has skilled restricted historic exploration — making it a main alternative for Augustus Minerals.
- A number of Commodities: Augustus has recognized greater than 50 vital lithium, uncommon earth and copper targets. Many of those high-quality targets are prepared for drilling.
- Measurement and Velocity: The Ti Tree Venture consists of a single coherent block of tenements masking 3,600 sq. kilometers with 85 kilometers of strike alongside the Ti-Tree Shear. As an early mover within the area, Augustus was in a position to achieve a substantial benefit in securing this venture, into which it has up to now invested $5 million.
- Fertile Geology: Augustus’s funding shows the identical geology as a number of extremely profitable neighboring discoveries.
- Mineralization: Present mineral useful resource targets embrace:
- 27 uncommon earth targets throughout 65 kilometers of strike. All targets show sturdy thorium radiometric signatures.
- A number of mafic intrusions with copper-nickel-PGE (platinum group parts) mineralization. The copper useful resource is each shear-hosted and porphyry-related.
- Elevated lithium stream samples over 10 kilometers of strike size. The goal space shows the identical geological host rock because the Yinnetharra lithium discovery.
- A slender, shear vein-hosted gold incidence with anomalous mineralization displayed in a number of surrounding areas. The realm, generally known as the Bassit Bore, outcrops on the floor, the place seen gold is quickly identifiable in hand specimens. Samples collected over 600 meters returned very excessive gold values.
Administration Crew
Andrew Ford – Normal Supervisor, Exploration
Andrew’s profession spans 35 years of exploration and mine growth expertise in a number of commodities for each majors, together with Homestake and Barrick Gold, and junior ASX-listed firms. He has led technical groups all through Australia, Africa, USA, Europe and Asia, together with main the geology workforce on the Bawdwin base metals venture in Myanmar by way of the DFS course of.
In his most up-to-date position Andrew has led the geology workforce at Hastings Know-how Metals with a give attention to useful resource development and exploration on the Yangibana Uncommon Earths Venture, the place Mineral Sources have now grown to 29.93Mt of TREO.
Brian Rodan – Government Chairman
Brian Rodan is a fellow of the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy with 45 years’ expertise. Beforehand, he was the managing director and proprietor of Australian Contract Mining (ACM), a mid-tier mining contracting firm that efficiently accomplished $1.5 billion value of labor over a 20-year interval.
For 15 years, Rodan held numerous roles with Eltin Restricted (together with normal supervisor between 1993 and 1996 and govt director between 1996 and 1999), Australia’s largest full service ASX-listed contract mining firm with an annual turnover of $850 million. He was a founding director of Dacian Gold (2013) and Desert Metals (2020) and have become the biggest shareholder upon itemizing each firms on the ASX.
Rodan is presently govt chairman of Siren Gold and Iceni Gold Restricted, and is presently the biggest shareholder in each firms in addition to Augustus Minerals.
Graeme Smith – Non-Government Director
Graeme Smith is an skilled sources sector chief monetary officer, firm secretary and company govt who has labored with mining and exploration firms with operations in Australia (Croesus Mining NL, Genesis Minerals Restricted, Jabiru Metals Restricted, Breaker Sources NL, Pluton Sources Restricted) and abroad (Tanga Sources Restricted, Ikwezi Mining Restricted) for the previous 30 years.
He’s the principal of Wembley Company Companies, which supplies firm secretarial, CFO and company governance providers to public firms.
Smith is a fellow of the Australian Society of Licensed Practising Accountants, the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Directors, and the Governance Institute of Australia. He’s presently the corporate secretary for Alto Metals, Avenira, Renegade Exploration and Enterprise Metals, and was a director of ASX-listed Anglo Australian Sources.
Darren Holden – Non-Government Director
Dr. Darren Holden is a geologist with 28 years of business expertise in mineral exploration and exploration applied sciences. He has labored in North America, the Pacific and Australia, the place he has been concerned in discovery-stage copper, gold, silver, molybdenum and platinum group parts deposits. He focuses on regional to native scale focusing on utilizing the combination of geology, geophysics and geochemistry.
Holden is a previous vice-president of Geoinformatics/Fractal Geoscience and a former CEO of a publicly listed gold explorer. He presently runs exploration advisory enterprise GeoSpy, and is a co-founder of profitable personal venture era companies Marlee Minerals and Odette Geoscience. He’s additionally presently a director Aurumin (ASX:AUN) and chair of OD6 Metals (ASX:OD6), in addition to a number of personal firms.
Holden holds a BSc (hons) top notch (geology) from The College of Western Australia and a PhD (historical past) from The College of Notre Dame Australia. He’s a fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and a member of the Geological Society of Australia.
