Jim's Mining Letter - January 19, 2025

Thor Explorations (THX.V THX.L THXPF T2X.F) announced strong gold production for Q4 2024 and provided guidance for 2025. The company achieved production of 24,662 ounces of gold in Q4 2024, contributing to a total of 85,057 ounces for the year, and Thor has now fully repaid its senior debt facility with Africa Finance Corporation, achieving a net cash position. 2025 production guidance is set between 85,000 to 95,000 ounces of gold with an all in sustaining cost range of $800 to $1,000 per ounce, making for a highly profitable year ahead. An updated mineral resource estimate and preliminary feasibility study for the Douta project is expected in Q1 2025; exploration activities include underground drilling at Segilola and additional drilling in Nigeria, Senegal, and Cote D'Ivoire…more

Guardian Metal Resources (GMET.L GMTLF) announced significant findings from their industrial garnet processing study at the Pilot Mountain project in Nevada, showing potential for substantial resource development and cost-effective production. The initial characterisation of industrial garnet from a 300 kilogram bulk sample showed a 58.3% garnet content and 0.37% scheelite by mass, exceeding initial expectations. The results suggest a significant garnet resource could be established at Pilot Mountain, with an estimated mineral resource of 12.53 million tonnes. Garnet liberation at a coarse 425 µm grind size achieved 58.5% by mass, indicating potential downstream cost savings in grinding, flotation, and tailings management. The study revealed the possibility of using gravity and magnetic separation to efficiently separate garnet and other minerals, enhancing processing efficiency. The high domestic demand for industrial garnet in the U.S., with over 65% imported in 2023, highlights what the company describes as a lucrative market opportunity, with domestic garnet trading at a premium of $220 per tonne. The company has initiated further gravity and magnetic separation tests and is conducting marketing studies to determine the industrial applications and potential pricing for its Pilot Mountain garnets…more

Aura Minerals (ORA.TSX ORAAF A531.F) announced that it has completed the previously announced acquisition of Bluestone Resources (BSR.V BBSRF IX9D.F). Aura paid C$26,255,313 in cash, C$0.287 for each Bluestone share, and issued 1,007,186 Aura shares, 0.0183 shares of Aura for each Bluestone share held. Bluestone shareholders also received contingent consideration in the form of contingent value rights providing the holder with the potential to receive a cash payment of up to C$0.2120 for each Bluestone share, payable in three equal annual instalments, contingent upon the Cerro Blanco gold project achieving commercial production. Per Rodrigo Barbosa, CEO of Aura, Cerro Blanco is a world-class deposit with over 3 million ounces in measured and indicated resources. The geothermal energy project, with a capacity to reach 50MW, gives Cerro Blanco a unique angle to use renewable energy and potentially sell the surplus to Guatemala. Cerro Blanco is a near-surface gold deposit located in Jutiapa, Guatemala.

De Grey Mining (DEG.ASX DGMLF DGD.F) announced that it has completed infill grade control drilling at the Brolga deposit, revealing strong assay results (including 70 metres at 3.4 grams per tonnes gold from 36 metres) supporting the Hemi definitive feasibility study and the rapid capital payback from the Brolga Stage 1 pit. Drilling confirmed the consistency of mineralisation at the mineral resource cut-off grade of 0.3 grams per tonne gold and the Hemi definitive feasibility study ore reserve cut-off grade of 0.5 grams per tonne gold. The infill drilling has enabled the reporting of a maiden measured mineral resource estimate of 12.7 million tonnes at 1.4 grams per tonne gold for 0.6 million ounces within the Brolga Stage 1 starter pit. Year 1 ore production at Brolga comprises 9.9 million tonnes at 1.65 grams per tonne for 525,000 ounces of contained gold. The operating cost of the Brolga Stage 1 pit is estimated to be approximately A$865 per ounce, delivering substantial free cashflow at the DFS gold price of A$2,700 per ounce. Further drilling is ongoing at Scooby and other areas to support the Hemi underground conceptual study…more

Collective Mining (CNL CNL.TSX GG1.F) announced assay results for the second of a series of perpendicularly drilled directional holes, designed to test the potential of newly modelled broad and high-grade sub-zones within the Apollo system, located within the company's multi-target Guayabales project in Caldas, Colombia. Collective currently has five drill rigs operating as part of its fully funded 60,000-metre drill program for 2025. Two additional rigs have been contracted with drilling anticipated to ensue in late January and February, respectively. Per Ari Sussman, Executive Chairman, this is the first time the company has drilled a hole of over 400 metres in length at more than 3 grams per tonne gold equivalent: APC104-D2 was drilled from mother hole APC-104D in a west-southwest direction and expanded the newly modelled high-grade sub-zones within Apollo up to 50 meters to the north of previous drill-hole APC104-D1 with assay results of 402.60 metres at 3.06 grams per tonne gold equivalent from 5.15 metres including 181.35 metres at 5.38 grams per tonne gold equivalent from 7.85 metres. On a gram X metre basis, APC104-D2 is the fourth highest-grade intercept at Apollo yielding 1,232 grams per tonne gold equivalent. To date, the company has now drilled sixteen gold equivalent accumulation intercepts at over 1,000-grams x metres…more

Minerals 260 (MI6.ASX) announced that it has acquired the Bullabulling gold project, one of Australia's largest undeveloped gold reserves, for A$166.5 million, positioning the company to become a leading mid-tier gold producer in Western Australia. The Bullabulling gold project, located near Coolgardi, contains a mineral resource of 60 million tonnes at 1.2 grams per tonne for 2.3 million ounces. The acquisition from Norton Gold Fields includes extensive pre-existing work, with over 530,000 meters drilled across 12,000 holes, supporting an 87% gold recovery rate. MI6 plans a 80,000 metre drilling program to extend resources and commence large-scale open-pit mining operations. Acquisition completion is contingent upon regulatory and shareholder approvals, plus financing through an equity raise.

Mawson Finland (MFL.V) announced the mobilisation of four diamond drill rigs and a base-of-till drilling rig to site, commencing the 2025 drill program at the company's wholly-owned Rajapalot gold-cobalt project in Finland. Substantially all of the program (10,000 to 12,000 metres) is dedicated to drilling for potential extensions and step-outs to the existing inferred resource at Rajapalot in order to augment the current gold-cobalt mineral resource inventory. An additional 2,000 to 3,000 metres of diamond drilling is dedicated towards brown-fields target-test exploration on targets presently being developed from EM geophysical surveys and base-of-till geochemical drilling surveys. Base-of-till drilling is underway with 500+ holes planned focussing on follow-ups to Ionic-Leach soil anomalies and geophysical anomalies developed over the Rajapalot property in the previous 2024 exploration season. The existing inferred mineral resource is based on an underground only mining scenario containing 9.8 million tonnes at 2.8 grams per tonne gold and 441 parts per million cobalt, equating to 867 thousand ounces of gold and 4,311 tonnes of cobalt.

Valkea Resources (OZ.V OZBKF 4A7.F), also operating in Finland, announced that it has completed over 2,000 metres of core drilling at its 100% owned Paana project, located near the Kittila mine, which is said to be Europe's largest gold producer. The inaugural drill program at Paana was part of the company's Phase 1 exploration strategy designed to unlock the potential of the Aarnivalkea West target. The Paana project is located within Finland's highly-prospective Central Lapland Greenstone Belt. Drilling at Paana was focused on investigating the extent and structural controls on higher-grade and disseminated gold mineralization at the Aarnivalkea West target. Assay results are expected next month.

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• One of the largest gold plants in South America with a resource of 1.8 million ounces of gold

• Current low seed round valuation offers significant return potential for investors

• Highly experienced corporate management team who also own two other mines

• Public listing planned for 2025

• Full infrastructure in place which would cost over C$400 million to build today

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