20 Mining Companies to follow for 2025 – Part 1 (A-E)
Readers need no reminding its been another indifferent year for UK markets, and another poor one for AIM.
Nearly 90 companies have left the exchange in the past year, leaving not much more than 700, the fewest since 2002: 1,694 companies were quoted at the market’s 2007 peak.
Such is the dark mood that a forecast by investment bank Peel Hunt that up to a third of small and mid-cap AIM businesses could be bought up next year, rendered vulnerable due to a lack of liquidity and depressed valuations, might be the best bet for many investors.
Issues include insufficient coverage by professional analysts (UK small and mid-caps attract a quarter as many as their US peers), a significant reduction over the past 15 years in British investment funds targeting small companies, ever tighter liquidity, and the tidal pull of investor money towards passive investment strategies focused on major indices.
A paper by Barclays highlights some common proposals to address one of the most vexatious issues, the path by which companies can transition from AIM to the LSE Main Market, including extending – for a limited period – the tax concessions enjoyed by AIM investors, such as relief from capital gains and inheritance tax, and the abolition of the 0.5% transaction tax currently levied on many LSE securities. Other proposals are more drastic: a report by the Onward and Tony Blair Institute think tanks argues AIM should simply be abolished, and merged with a beefed-up Main Market
That is perhaps rather too bleak. AIM head Marcus Stuttard, noting that so far this year 40pc of all capital raised across Europe’s growth markets has come from AIM, said that ‘Over almost 30 years, AIM has supported more than 4,000 companies to raise nearly £135bn in equity capital, enabling pioneering businesses to fund innovation, create jobs and drive growth.’
With appropriate reforms, and a more favourable low interest rate economic environment, things could be different. Of the more than 250 European start-ups generating $100m to $500m in revenue, almost half are based in the UK. Britain has a world class scientific research base, and a strong record of innovation in blooming sectors such as AI, fintech and biotech. Markets need to try harder to attract them.
In the meantime those companies that do list on AIM offer opportunities for the diligent researcher, many of them, as our roundup suggests, in the energy and resources sectors.
Here, we look how a cluster of mining small caps have fared, and how they are positioned moving into 2025. Look out for Part 2 shortly plus our specials on the small cap Oil & Gas sector and our alternative selections for 2025.
80 Mile
80 Mile (AIM:80M), formerly known as Bluejay Mining, an exploration company with projects in Greenland and Finland, spent this year rebuilding after a trouble 2023 riven with corporate and financial difficulties. With new management and an expanded strategy encompassing the exploration and development of helium, hydrogen, industrial gases and hydrocarbons, 80M is moving into 2025 with renewed confidence, with new interests including the acquisition earlier this month of a major stake in an Italian biofuels and chemical production complex.
The Dundas Ilmenite Project in Greenland, located on the northwest coast of Greenland, near Qaanaaq, once the company’s flagship asset, has been reinstated as a viable interest it was substantially written-off by the previous board. 80M says the company is ‘actively exploring legal avenues to address the decisions made, particularly concerning the significant write-off of Dundas’ after a 2022 drill programme downgraded the project.
In the meantime the 2019 Mineral Resource Estimate for Dundas has been reinstated, which reported 117 million tonnes at 6.1pc ilmenite, the highest-grade ilmenite project globally. 80M is now developing a global exploration target for the Dundas area, which the company ‘continues to view as a highly mineralised region with significant potential for both copper and titanium’.
An independent maiden JORC exploration target for ilmenite-bearing hard rock sills at the Dundas Ilmenite Project in Northwest Greenland published in September estimates a potential 170 to 540 million tonnes of ilmenite-bearing material with a titanium oxide grade range of 4.7pc to 5.5pc. The estimate provides ‘a strong foundation for further exploration efforts’.
A more immediate focus is developing the substantial potential in industrial gases, including helium, and naturally occurring hydrogen the company sees at its Outokumpu Copper Project, which covers the majority of the north-south trending Outokumpu Copper Belt, which has produced several high-grade copper mines.
Six drill ready targets have been identified to date, which the 80M views as having good potential for hosting high grade copper along strike from and immediately adjacent to the mine. The licence is now considered to have significant naturally occurring industrial gas potential, notably helium, hydrogen and argon.
80M is also pursuing the Disko-Nuussuaq Nickel-Copper-Cobalt-PGE Project, covering 3,015 km2 on the southwest coast of Greenland. The company believes previous studies and its own exploration has highlighted the areas with the potential to host mineralisation similar to the world’s largest nickel-copper sulphide mine Norilsk-Talnakh in Siberia. 30 years of exploration has identified several large nickel-copper-PGE conductor targets, the largest being 5.9 km long and 1. 1 km wide. Two primary areas are now being targeted with results from polished material returned values averaging between 4.6pc-9.3pc nickel and 1.5-2.8pc copper.
Another interest is the Hammaslahti Project in Finland, where surface sampling at two historical drill holes earlier this year has resulted in natural hydrogen concentrations reaching 1000 ppm. Helium was detected flowing at surface at one historical drill hole, with readings reaching up to 8.90pc and stabilising at 7.10pc. The findings mark the first documented occurrence of hydrogen and helium detected flowing to the surface in the Hammaslahti area.
80M has opened up another front with the £2.75m acquisition of White Flame Energy focused on the Jameson Land opportunity in Greenland. Jameson has been the focus of more than five decades of study worth more than $125m. Exploration has revealed anomalous helium and white hydrogen occurrences, as well as working liquid-rich hydrocarbon reservoirs with potential resources estimated to contain more than 2.4 to 8.1 billion barrels of liquid hydrocarbon equivalents in place. Regulatory approval has been received from the Greenland Government for 80M to begin essential work programmes required for exploratory drilling. Three exploration and exploitation licences covering 8,429 km2 have been grated adjacent to Pulsar Helium’s Tunu project.
Earlier this month 80M raised £1.5m to take a 49pc interest in Hydrogen Valley, owner of the the Greenswitch biofuels and chemical production complex in the Basilicata region of Italy, with facilities including fully permitted plants suitable for biodiesel, epoxidized soybean oil and glycerine, with a capacity of up to 140,000 tonnes per year. The investee is located in a free trade zone that would affording numerous economic incentives and subsidies. 80M said: ‘This transformative acquisition marks a significant step in 80 Mile’s strategy to become a vertically integrated exploration and production company for petrochemicals as well as industrial and natural gases. The intention is that 80 Mile will establish a new industrial gas and petrochemical business unit, which will work to diversify the Company’s portfolio to include biofuels, sustainable aviation fuels, glycerine and green hydrogen.’
80M currently trades at 0.26p with a market cap of £5.05m.
Altona Rare Earths
Altona Rare Earths (LSE:REE) is a resource exploration and development company focused on rare earths and critical raw materials in Africa. REE continues to define the potential of Monte Muambe, its flagship Magnet Rare Earths Project, in Mozambique, while building a portfolio of complementary projects.
The Magnet Rare Earths Project is prospective for neodymium and praseodymium, used to make permanent magnets for transition technologies like electric vehicles and wind turbines. REE has so far drilled over 7,800 metres, and defined a maiden JORC Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) of 13.6 million tonnes at 2.42pc Total Rare Earth Oxide (TREO) out of which almost 60pc is already in the Indicated category.
A Scoping Study published last year indicates the Project’s economic potential. The Study takes into consideration open-pit mining at a Life of Mine (LoM) strip ratio of 1.6, over a period of 18 years. An anticipated 750,000 tonnes of ore per annum would be extracted and processed through a beneficiation plant to produce a rare earths concentrate. The concentrate will then be processed through a hydrometallurgical plant to produce an average of about 15,000 tonnes of Mixed Rare Earth Carbonate (MREC) per annum. The MREC product will be packaged and transported via existing road infrastructure to the port of Beira, in Mozambique, for export. Base case technical and economic parameters include revenue per tonne MREC of $13,558, post tax NPV 10 of £207m, post tax NPV 8 (upside scenario) of $409.9m, net revenue LoM of $3,193m, and an operating margin of 42pc. Payback from first MREC would be 2.5 years.
Publication of the Study allowed the company to meet the requirements to take a majority holding in the Project, increasing its stake from 20pc to 51pc, and move to the Prefeasibility Study stage. The company is seeking a suitable strategic investor within the rare earths supply chain sector. A representative ore sample is currently undergoing metallurgical testing. Initial test results, received in September, were highly encouraging, showing a rare earth recovery of 69.3pc, and highlighting a good selectivity between rare earths and fluorspar.
While global demand for rare earths continues to rise, demand for particular elements such as neodymium and praseodymium has softened through the past year or two due to global economic uncertainty. Higher interest rates have made it harder for small cap natural resource ventures specialising in those elements to secure funding for exploration. REE has responded by diversifying the company’s mineral assets portfolio to mitigate exposure to short-term trends, and by identifying opportunities within its existing licences for near-term monetisation.
REE has identified opportunities for fluorspar production at Monte Muambe, opening the way for revenue generation while wider exploration continues. Fluorspar is used for many applications, including the manufacturing of electric vehicles batteries. A fluorspar scoping study, expected to be complete by Q1 2025, will consider the potential production of 15,000 to 20,000 tonnes of fluorspar per year over an initial period of five years. REE believes commercial fluorspar production could be up and running within 12 months of an investment decision.
REE has advanced the acquisition of two projects offering low-cost exploration opportunities. The company has entered into an agreement to acquire Kabompo South Copper Project in Zambia in March. The licence has a surface area of approximately 616 km2, and is valid for copper, cobalt, nickel, lead, zinc, gold and diamonds. The licence was held by copper major Freeport McMoRan until the company took a strategic decision to exit Zambia in April 2020.
A geophysical and geochemical data assessment was published last month, analysis of datasets – including a high-resolution ground magnetometer survey covering over 50pc of the licence – outlining a geological context favourable to Iron Ore Copper Gold (IOCG) mineralisation. REE is undertaking further exploration work, the initial phases encompassing magnetic forward and inversion modelling, and an extensive soil geochemical survey designed to clarify the geometry of the granite intrusions and associated structures, and to define initial drilling targets.
Another agreement is for the exploration of copper and silver at the Sesana Project, in the northwest district of Botswana, a jurisdiction widely regarded as the most mining-friendly in Africa. The Project is located in the heart of the emerging Kalahari Copper Belt, which covers a well identified geological feature, the D’Kar-Ngwako Pan formations contact, known to host copper mineralisation.
REE has strengthened its liquidity position with a new loan package of £0.9m from two investors with a fixed interest rate of 12pc and repayment date of October 2025. The company currently trades at 1.41p with a market cap of £2.93m.
Andrada mining
Namibia focused Andrada Mining (AIM:ATM) implemented efficiencies yielding higher production at its Uis tin mine through 2024, and highlighted the mine’s prospectivity for lithium.
ATM’s flagship Uis mine covers an area of some 19,700 hectares hosting numerous pegmatites with mineralisation including lithium, tin, tantalum and rubidium. The company wants to establish a tin production hub at Uis, where a ‘continuous improvement programme’ secured an increased recovery rate of 72pc through the period ended 31 August 2024 (H1 2024: 65pc), a 14pc increase in plant utilisation to 92pc (H1 2024: 81pc), and increase in contained tin metal to 462 tonnes (H1 2024: 454 tonnes). The company’s Q3 operations update stated a 5p year-on-year increase in ore processed to 239,240 tonnes (Q3 FY2024: 228, 234 tonnes), and a 15pc increase in contained tin production to 232 tonnes (Q3 FY2024: 202 tonnes).
ATM also believes Uis has the long-term potential to become a global lithium supplier. To date 180 pegmatites across 5pc of the licence have been identified, and a 138 million tonnes resource has been confirmed for just two of these. The company, which wants to define a 200 million tonnes resource, achieved the first commercial petalite sale from the mine earlier this year, demonstrating the suitability of its ore for the global technical grade market. Ongoing drilling will enhance the company’s understanding of the resource.
ATM’s Lithium Ridge licence, which covers an area of approximately 3,300 hectares located some 35 km from Uis, hosts pegmatites with mineralisation including lithium, tin and tantalum. It is situated within the NaiNais-Kohero pegmatite belt, the location of the former tin and tantalum producing TinTan Mine. An exploration programme has indicated extensive pegmatite-hosted lithium and tantalum with continuous mineralisation along a six kilometre strike. Drilling during the year indicated lithium oxide grades of up to 2.13pc and mineralisation extending at depth. In September ATM signed a three-stage earn-in agreement with SQM, a global leader in the lithium industry. Lithium Ridge is also prospective for tin.
Another interest, the Brandberg West exploration licence, covers an area of approximately 35 000 hectares about 110 km from Uis. The company believes the licence is unique in offering diversification potential through tungsten and copper in addition to tin. A planned exploration programme will investigate mineralisation in the asset’s historical pit and the northern extension. A former mine situated within the licence produced more than 12,000 tonnes of tin and tungsten concentrate.
Brandberg West’s maiden drilling results, reported earlier this year, indicated significant high grades across multiple drill holes, showing up to 10pc tin, 3.5pc tungsten and 2pc copper. This early success reinforces the company’s belief that the Erongo region of Namibia is well-endowed with critical metals and has the potential to yield substantial inventory.
ATM’s interim financial results for the six-months ended 31 August 2024 reported a 22pc increase in revenue to £10.8m (H1 2024: £8.9m), a 70pc increase in gross profit to £2.6m (H1 2024: profit of £1.5m), and a 60pc improvement in total comprehensive loss to £1.9m (H1 2024: loss of £4.9m). The company has concluded a £7.5m financing package from Bank Windhoek to support ongoing capital expansion programs related to tin and lithium development. ATM’s cash as at 31 August 2024 was £6.1m.
The company currently trades at 2.25p with a £37.2 market cap.
Aterian
Aterian (LON:ATN) continues to delineate the potential of three prospective critical metals projects in Rwanda, Morocco and Botswana.
The company’s current focus in Rwanda is the 70pc owned operational HCK Project, covering 2,750 hectares with excellent hard rock lithium potential. ATN has an earn-in Joint Venture Agreement with Rio Tinto according to which the major can earn up to a 75pc interest in the Project by funding a $7.5m exploration programme. Rio has so far collected 277 rock chip surface samples from several mapping campaigns over the licence and more than 3,000 geochemical soil samples, with full assay results pending. Planning for an initial drilling campaign is well underway.
The company also has a metal concentrates off-take agreement with a significant international trading house, a partnership allowing for the sale and distribution of ATN’s tantalum-niobium and tin concentrate secured from Rwandan-based artisanal and small-scale mining companies and cooperatives. ATN’s trading business model is to partner with suppliers in Rwanda to support their mining operations by providing mining and processing equipment, capital investment, and training. The first partner projects have been identified.
ATN presently holds 897 km2 under licence in Morocco, most of the projects concentrated within the Anti-Atlas region known for its significant copper deposits, which have been mined since ancient times. The company is current prioritising four 100pc owned projects focused on copper and silver.
The Agdz Project covering 34.46 km2 lies approximately 14 km southwest of the Bou Skour copper-silver mine, with the world-class Imiter silver mine located 80 km to the northeast. The five primary prospects have returned grades of up to 26.5pc copper, 448 g/t silver, and 3.74 g/t gold. A scout drilling programme in the autumn demonstrated mineralisation across the target areas, reporting near-surface copper and silver reporting from three prospects including an intersection reporting a three metre interval containing 1.24pc copper and 101 g/t silver. Follow-up exploration to define prospect-scale drilling is planned.
Work at the Tata Project covering 154.4 km2 30 km south of the Azrar copper-silver project has indicated the presence of stratiform sedimentary copper along a strike length of 18 km. Exploration results from rock chip sampling have reported up to 7.02pc copper. A December update completed approximately 20-line km of traverse mapping and rock sampling, extending the cumulative strike length of mineralised target horizons to 32 km. Additional discoveries include copper mineralisation over apparent thicknesses of up to 8.5 and 6 metres in the south and north of the project, respectively.
The Azrar Project, comprising an area of 99.3 km2, is located 45 km southeast of the Tizert copper mine. Fieldwork has identified high-grade copper and silver from multiple locations, including 3.79pc copper and 23 g/t silver from a fault-related breccia cutting across the project’s central area. A November update reported additional copper, silver, and gold mineralisation discovered at priority targets, including 0.82 g/t gold and 0.63pc copper over 9 metres from surface chip channel targeting northerly strike quartz veins. The Jebilet Est Project, covering 73.6 km2, has yielded copper grades, including 4.43pc and 3.11pc, with an extensive vein system mapped in the western project area.
The Jafra Project covers 29 km2 35 km east of the historic Roc Blanc silver mine. Rock chip sampling has reported high-grade silver and lead values up to 170 g/t silver and 22.2pc lead, and 157 g/t silver and 21.2pc lead.
ATN also has a 90pc interest in Atlantis Metals, the holder of seven strategically located copper-silver licences in the Kalahari Copperbelt (KCB) and three lithium brine licences in the Makgadikgadi Pans, covering a total land area of 4,486.11 km2. The Kalahari Copperbelt is one of the world’s most prospective areas for yet-to-be-discovered sediment-hosted copper deposits and hosts several large stratabound, sediment-hosted copper-silver deposits. One of ATN’s licences is situated approximately 50 km east of Khoemacau Copper Mine Zone 5 deposit (92.9 million tonnes grading 2.0pc copper and 21 g/t silver), designed to produce 60,000 to 65,000 tonnes per annum of copper and two million ounces per annum of silver metal in concentrate.
The company currently trades at 44.9p with a market cap of £5.4m.
Capital Metals
Capital Metals (AIM:CMET) has worked through 2024 to get its high grade minerals sands project in Sri Lanka back on track after regulators suspended the company’s Industrial Mining Licenses last year.
CMET’s Eastern Minerals Project has a current JORC Resource of 17.2 Mt with an average grade of 17.6pc Total Heavy Minerals (THM), including ilmenite, rutile, zircon and garnet, making it one of the highest-grade deposits in its peer group. Less than 10pc of the Project area has been drilled to date and the current JORC Resource is from surface to a depth of three metres. Exploration work has shown continuation beyond three metres and returned grades of more than 26pc THM. Given the high grades and simplicity of processing no blasting or chemicals are required. Existing infrastructure includes a newly constructed port 32 km away which is expected to reduce development capital expenditure.
The Environmental Impact Assessment is complete and a 2022 third-party Preliminary Economic Assessment estimates a Project NPV of $155-235m based on existing resources, with further identified optimisation potential. CMET plans to finalise offtake arrangements in conjunction with the overall project funding task to bring the Project into production. The company expects the Project to generate more than 300 direct new jobs and be supported by $130m in direct government royalties and taxes.
Last year Sri Lankan regulators threw a spanner in CMET’s works, suspending the award of the company’s IMLs, thereby preventing it from commissioning the Project’s production plant. In CMET’s words, ‘significant legal and lobbying actions were undertaken to resolve the illegal suspension of the IMLs’ resulting in the successful reinstatement of the licences late last year. The company added that ‘following numerous senior management changes at the Geological Survey and Mines Bureau (GSMB) in particular, relations with the relevant authorities in Sri Lanka have since improved considerably’.
In March CMET received a formal letter confirming the GSMB’s intention to process the company’s nine outstanding IML applications. CMET believes that although the ‘suspension of the IMLs was costly, both in terms of time and shareholder dilution … We have … emerged with greater security over our project, a supportive host government and regulatory framework’.
Another significant development was the decision to forego plans to find a farm-out partner in favour of a self-funded strategy, ‘a staged approach with alternate financing structures including vendor and offtake financing’. CMET says ‘the Board has determined that Capital Metals is more than capable of advancing its Project independently, with the benefit of a larger resource being targeted through the forthcoming drilling programme.’
Earlier this month the company detailed a revised development plan that significantly reduces the $30m stage 1 capital expenditure set out in the 2022 Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA), whilst expediting cashflow. Leveraging updated knowledge and implementing numerous process improvements since the PEA, CMET has reduced estimated CAPEX to $20.9m. Targeted initial production of Heavy Mineral Concentrate (HMC), based on the same projected throughput rate in the PEA of 550,000 tpa, is now forecast to be 125,000 tpa, with upside based on expected higher grades in the chosen initial mining area.
CMET said: ‘The result of this work is that the Company now has an approach that fast-tracks production, significantly reduces initial capex, and enables the Project to become self-funding as quickly as practicable.’ The company is targeting a Final Investment Decision in Q2 2025 in order to commence construction, with an expected 9 to 12 month construction period until first production. The company is mobilising for drilling that will target resource extension by exploring outside the current Mineral Resource Estimate. It hopes to progressively increase the resource to at least twice its current volume.
CMET’s most recent results, to 30 September 2024, stated cash of $2,427,569 following the raising of gross proceeds of £3.4m through the year, including a £1.25m strategic investment by Sheffield Resources Limited (ASX:SFX)for 10pc of the company.
CMET’s current price is 1.7p and its market cap £5.93m.
Contango Holdings
Zimbabwe-focused Contango Holdings (LON:CGO) has taken a new direction this year, transitioning from an exploration and development company seeking off-take agreements to a royalty company free of operating and capital costs.
Entering the year CGO had a 70pc interest in the Muchesu Project in Zimbabwe (previously known as the Lubu Coal Project) focused on the Muchesu Coal Mine covering 19,236 hectares of the highly prospective Karroo Mid Zambezi coal basin, located in the established Hwange mining district. Previous owners had spent more than $20m on Muchesu, which has enabled a sizeable resource in excess of two billion tonnes to be identified under the NI 43-101 standard. CGO has invested another $10m on mine construction and development. The fully commissioned mine was opened last August.
CGO’s long-time strategy was to advance off-take discussions with the intention of securing at least one sizeable contract to cornerstone the mine’s development generate funds for further reinvestment. But the company changed course this summer, entering into an agreement with the investment vehicle of a prominent Zimbabwe-based Chinese national with extensive mining and business investments across the Southern African region, according to which the investor would take a 51pc stake in Muchesu and an associated subscription for a 20pc holding in CGO.
The arrangement entitles CGO to a life of mine royalty, including a guaranteed royalty of no less than $2m per year, and will support the rapid expansion of the Muchesu Project through investment of at least $20m. CGO will transition into a cash generative royalty company with no direct exposure to the mine’s operating and capital costs. The partners are working towards first commercial production early next year.
Since the deal the investor has expanded the mine’s pit, opening access to significantly more coking coal for extraction and the prospect of increased steady state production, and has acquired and delivered a Dense Media Separation (DMS) Plant to site, which has an estimated production capacity of 3,000 tonnes of washed coal per day. Under terms of subscription agreement with the investor CGO has received two payments of $1m. CGO believes that – assuming the DMS plant operates as expected – the royalty payments going forward are expected to be materially higher than the yearly minimum of $2m.
An update last month reported that CGO was in a position to finalise the Short Form Prospectus for the Project and seek approval from regulators for its publication and the consequent closing of the subscription. The DMS installation is now complete and a second has been ordered, due for delivery in Q1 2025. Testing and calibration has been underway since mid-November with company expecting production and processing ‘to commence imminently’. A payment of $8 per tonne is payable to CGO under the terms of the Mineral Rights Agreement (MRA). The company will receive a further $1m this month under the terms of the minimum annual royalty payment specified in the MRA. CGO will use the receipts to fund the company’s general working capital and repay loans outstanding.
Although the company’s focus has very much been on Muchescu CGO has an interest in another venture, the Garalo-Ntiela Project occupying 161.5 km2, in the Sikasso region of southern Mali. The permit is surrounded by a number of multi-million ounce gold deposits in a region home to some of the world’s leading gold miners, including AngloGold Ashanti, IAMGOLD, Barrick, B2 Gold, Endeavour Mining and Hummingbird Resources, which have together helped to establish Mali as the third largest gold producer in Africa.
CGO currently trades at 1.3p with a market cap of £7m.
Ecora Resources
Royalty company Ecora Resources (LON:ECOR) has continued its increase its stake in sustainable commodities: over the past decade the company has transitioned from a coal orientated royalty business to one that by 2026 will be materially coal free with 90pc exposure to copper, nickel, cobalt, uranium and other green metals.
ECOR seeks to acquire royalties and streams over low-cost operations and projects with strong management teams, in well-established mining jurisdictions. The company has compiled an extensive portfolio of producing and advanced development stage royalties.
ECOR’s half year results for the six months ended 30 June 2024 reported a 15pc year-on-year increase in portfolio contribution, up to $51.3m from $44.5m for H1 2023. Adjusted earnings in the period increased to $26.6m (H1 2023: $23.4m) generating adjusted earnings per share of 10.38c (H1 2023: 9.06c). Average free cash flow was $12.7m.
The increase was driven by a strong performance from steelmaker Kestrel, which produced 2.0 Mt of saleable production volumes, at the top end of ECOR’s FY 2024 guidance. ECOR expects volumes to continue to increase in 2025.
Other significant producing interests include the Voisey’s Bay cobalt stream, which produced 56 tonnes, realising an average sales price of approximately $16.00/lb. ECOR expects the stream’s portfolio contribution to ramp up next year: the Bay’s underground mine expansion was 96pc complete as of the end of Q2 2024.
Mantos Blancos, another significant interest, produced 21.0 Kt copper (H1 2023: 25.8kt): operator Capstone Copper expects higher throughput rates in H2 following the final installation, commissioning and tie in of new tailings pumping infrastructure. Mill ore throughput averaged 17 Ktpd in June, a monthly record: a ramp up to 20 Ktpd is expected.
ECOR’s advanced development stage royalties include an interest in the Santo Domingo copper project, also operated by Capstone, where annual production, for the project’s initial six to seven years, is expected to be 106 Ktpa of copper and 4.7 Mtpa of by products (including gold and iron). Capstone’s Feasibility Study reiterated the project’s robust economics and potential to operate within the lowest cost quartile of global copper mines.
ECOR has a stake in the Nifty copper mine operated by Cyprium Metals, where a scoping study shows an expected average annual production of 36,000 tonnes of copper. It also has interests in a nickel project at Piauí, and NexGen Energy’s uranium discovery.
H2 portfolio contribution is expected to be principally weighted to the company’s other producing royalties including production volume growth at the Voisey’s Bay and Mantos Blancos mines. ECOR said that ‘based on H1 operating partner production levels, we continue to expect year-on-year underlying production volume growth across our royalty portfolio in 2024 and as well as 2025.’
The company has amended and extended its $150m revolving credit facility, which includes an uncommitted accordion feature of up to $75m. ECOR ended H1 with a net debt of $86m, which it expects ‘to reduce meaningfully in the next 18 months’ as the company has few firm spending commitments. Leverage at the end of June was 1.43x, well below the 3.5x permitted under the facility.
An October trading update for the period 1 July to 30 September 2024 reported $5.2m of portfolio contribution. With cobalt deliveries anticipated to continue to increase throughout 2025 ahead of full steady state production being achieved during 2026 Voisey’s Bay is expected to become ‘a cornerstone asset for the Group, offering leverage to a recovery in cobalt prices from current cyclical lows.’
ECOR currently trades at 61p with a market cap of £159m.
ECR Minerals
ECR Minerals (AIM:ECR) has pressed ahead on many fronts this year, pursuing a fast evolving cluster of prospects across Australia.
The company has full ownership of the Bailieston and Creswick gold projects in central Victoria, and six outstanding licence applications. It also has three approved exploration permits covering 946 km2 over a relatively unexplored area in Lolworth Range, Queensland, some 120 km west of the well known Charters Towers gold district. ECR has submitted a license application at Kondaparinga which is approximately 120 km2 in area and located within the Hodgkinson Gold Province, in North Queensland.
The company continues to offload non-core assets. Following the sale of its Avoca, Moormbool and Timor gold projects in Victoria, and the subsequent spin-out of the Avoca and Timor projects, ECR has the right to receive up to AUD$2m in payments subject to future resource estimation or production from the new owners. The company is also seeking to realise the value of AUD$75m of tax losses carried by the certain assets in Victoria.
But another project, Blue Mountain, in Queensland, moved up the company’s priority list this year, after it had become ‘increasingly evident that the historical work conducted by the previous owner holds significantly more interest than previously thought.’ Blue Mountain currently encompasses ‘a relatively straightforward alluvial gold system’ reported to contain at least 100,000 ounces.
Results from trenching and bulk concentrate sampling programme undertaken during the summer included 192.15 g/t and 97.40 g/t gold, and further ‘highly encouraging’ results were published in October, test work on ore samples demonstrating a recovery rate of 91.7pc gold into 0.40pc of the mass. Commenting, ECR said that if ‘these results are repeatable across the Blue Mountain Project area, then the Company may have a commercial project suitable for a production plant on site’.
ECR has also recorded encouraging results at its Bailieston prospect, analysis from the testing of 44 samples from previous diamond drilling including 0.3 metres grading 32pc antimony and 0.1 metre grading 1.20pc, with 12 samples returning traces of more than 0.1pc.
Drilling at Creswick’s Kuboid Hill prospect, has reported quartz/gold mineralisation continuity with ‘the hallmarks of a potential future small scale operation.’ A second phase of high grade results included 8.87 g/t and 8.06 g/t gold over one metre, but ‘far more significant’ was the extensive broad mineralisation demonstrated in several holes where contiguous gold is present at 3.05 g/t over three metres, 2.25 g/t over four metres and 1 g/t Au over five metres. Further data on Kuboid Hill’s bulk samples revealed new mineralised zones, consistent with earlier updates, including sampling results of 3.05g/t and 2.53 g/t gold over one metre upgraded from 0.76 and 0.37 g/t respectively.
Earlier this month ECR reported results from a maiden diamond drilling campaign at the Tambo Gold Project, targeted beneath historic workings of the prospect’s Duke of Cornwall Mine. Best results from the campaign, consisting of five diamond core drill holes include 0.4 metres @ 8.51 g/t gold from drill hole DOCD002 and 0.15 metres at 10.6 g/t gold from hole DOC004, highlighting ‘the potential for high-grade zones at depth, making it a key target for follow-up drilling.’
Rock chip sampling and trenching activities at Lolworth, published in October, uncovered both gold and ‘significant traces of silver’. The highest-grade gold results included 11.05, 14.15 and 14.7 g/t gold, and 23 rock chips returned silver grades greater than 10 g/t silver with six samples exceeding 50 g/t silver. Trenching at the Project’s Gorge Creek West Prospect has identified broader zones of gold mineralisation, including best grades of 11.05, 3.72 and 4.82 g/t gold within a quartz shear zone. Lolworth has also exciting possibilities for rare earths and other critical minerals. Last month ECR entered into a collaboration agreement with James Cook University to further explore the prospect’s potential for rare earth elements.
Earlier this month ECR opened up revenues to allow it to focus on its key Australian operations by agreeing Heads of Terms for the sale of its non-core assets in the country for AUD$4.5m. The deal excludes the Creswick and Tambo projects, which the company is still pursuing, but will include the Bailieston gold and antimony exploration project. The sale will also include AUD$75m of tax losses. ECR said: ‘ These Heads of Terms represent a significant milestone in our strategy to unlock value from our Australian assets … Once completed, the Proposed Disposal will provide significant cash proceeds to strengthen our balance sheet and the simultaneous restructuring has been designed to preserve the core value within ECR without interruption to our ongoing key operations at Creswick and Tambo. Once the Proposed Disposal has been completed, ECR will be fully funded for all of its currently planned activities for the medium-term future.’
ECR has just also raised £950,000 by subscription. The company trades at 0.3p at the time of writing, up 17pc this year with a market cap of £5.5m.
Empire Metals
Empire Metals (AIM:EEE) has continued to elaborate the potential of an Australian project highly prospective for the critical mineral titanium dioxide.
EEE holds a 70pc interest in flagship venture Pitfield, an emerging titanium project contained within a giant, sediment-hosted, hydrothermal mineral system in Western Australia. The company believes the high-grade titanium discovery is of ‘unprecedented scale’, airborne surveys having identified a massive, coincident gravity and magnetics anomaly extending over 40 km by 8 km by 5 km deep. A JORC Exploration target of 26-32 billion tonnes has been set, indicating 4.5 to 5.5pc titanium dioxide. The total Exploration Target covers less than 20pc of the overall system. The company is focused on two key prospects, Cosgrove and Thomas, which have been identified as having thick, high-grade, near-surface, bedded titanium dioxide mineralisation, each being over 7 km in strike length.
EEE’s primary objectives at the start of the year were to expand and characterise the Pitfield discovery through additional exploration and begin the mineralogical studies and metallurgical test work required to accelerate its economic development. Early in the year the company released lab results confirming the presence of titanium dioxide mineralisation in virtually every drilled metre, starting from or near surface, in all of the 40 holes drilled. Mineralisation was identified in the sandstone-rich beds, which consistently return higher-grade titanium dioxide results than the adjacent conglomerate or siltstone-rich beds.
In March EEE demonstrated the favourable mineralogy and metallurgy in high-grade samples drilled at Pitfield, indicating potential for a relatively simple processing flowsheet and a highly concentrated, high-value commercial end product. Importantly titanite, a calcium titanium silicate, was confirmed as the most abundant titanium-bearing mineral in the unweathered sandstone host rock, accounting for approximately 67pc of the total contained titanium dioxide and approximately 20pc of the potential Pitfield ore by mass.
Subsequent work confirmed extensive weathering of the uppermost 40 metres of mineralised bedded sandstones, coincident with high titanium dioxide grades, forming a ‘weathered cap’ covering the extent of the 40 km long titanium-rich mineral system. Lab results confirmed the weathered cap contains an abundance of high-purity anatase, containing up to 98.5pc titanium dioxide and accounting for more than 5pc of the mass of the near-surface weathered bedrock, being four to five times higher titanium dioxide concentration than that typically found in mineral sand deposits.
Diamond drilling recommenced in the autumn targeting the shallow, near-surface, weathered sandstone-hosted, high-purity anatase-rich mineralisation in order to further define the geological characteristics of this weathered cap titanium dioxide deposit, including thickness, grade and shape, as well obtaining important drill core samples for metallurgical test work.
Earlier this month EEE published ‘exceptional results’ from the hydrometallurgical test work carried out on heavy mineral concentrates from the Project. Acid leaching of the anatase-rich heavy mineral concentrate from gravity test work resulted in almost complete extraction of the titanium from the anatase. The company said the ‘result is major step forward in achieving a key objective of the Company to developing a process that will produce a high value +95pc titanium dioxide product.’ Further testing is underway.
EEE’s most recent results for the six-month period ended 30 June 2024 reported cash of £3.14m, subsequently boosted by a September raise of £2.5m. EEE currently trades at 6.5p with a market cap of £41.25m.
European Green Transition
European Green Transition (AIM:EGT) listed in April, raising a gross £6.46m to pursue projects ranging from critical materials, solar, wind, rehabilitation and processing.
The company seeks to acquire and de-risk distressed assets through cost-effective, capital-light operations laying the foundations for profitable, sustainable businesses to be sold to or cultivated by partners with the expertise necessary for further development.
EGT’s flagship venture, the Olserum Rare Earth Element (REE) Project in southern Sweden, has been designated a project of national interest by the Swedish Geological Survey. With an Indicated Resource of 4.5 Mt grading 0.6pc Total Rare Earth Oxides (TREO) and an Inferred Resource of 3.3 Mt grading 0.63pc TREO (using a 0.4pc cut-off), Olserum has the potential to become Europe’s first operating rare earths mine. In keeping with the company’s capital-light philosophy, EGT intends to find a suitable partner or buyer to develop Olserum once its potential has been established.
The first metallurgical test work results from Olserum, published in July, confirmed the Project’s mineralisation style is capable of producing a REE-rich concentrate from conventional and relatively simple processing techniques, demonstrating its appeal to REE producers across Europe seeking suitable feedstocks.
The mineralogy of the final concentrate was dominated by the targeted minerals, comprising 40.25pc monazite and 24.25pc xenotime, indicating the Project’s capacity to produce a high-grade concentrate with a significant proportion of high-value and critical heavy rare earths. The tests also showed the concentrate could be produced using conventional and relatively simple processing techniques at a third party facility, without the requirement for a costly bespoke processing solution.
Results from a maiden drilling programme have confirmed the district scale potential of the project. Findings from four holes published in November reported that the Olserum West prospect is mineralised at depth with assay values of up to 8.83pc TREO over 0.5 metres. Results for all 13 holes were announced earlier this month, reporting that mineralisation had been intersected in every hole. Several mineralised structures were encountered at Djupedal and Olserum West, drilling demonstrating vertical continuity from surface mineralised outcrops of up to 150 metres vertical depth.
While forging ahead at Olserum EGT has secured exclusive rights for option agreements focused on copper tailings recycling and peatland regeneration.
The company has an option to acquire a Copper Tailings Recycling Project in Cyprus which, subject to due diligence, presents an ideal opportunity to generate near term cash flow in keeping with the company’s green commitments. The Project, focused on the Limni copper mine, near Polis in western Cyprus, which produced more than 8.1 Mt at 1.11pc copper between 1937 and 1978, proposes a recovery circuit to extract copper from existing pit waters.
The Project envisages a low-cost water treatment plan, copper tailings production, and – in time – a solar power facility. EGT wants to secure long-term revenue from Limni by partnering with a proven solar power operator once the site’s copper tailings have been recycled. Sampling, the first stage of the due diligence process, delivered encouraging results across 68 samples, grades of acid soluble copper ranging from 0.41pc to 0.92pc, with an average of 0.756pc. Results also indicated potential upside for gold, with samples of up to 1.48 g/t (grades per tonne) recorded from waste near the edge of the pit.
EGT’s second option agreement gives the company exclusive rights to investigate the potential for a peatland carbon sink programme capable of generating carbon credits at the Altan farm in Donegal, Ireland, a 1,370 acre site primarily comprised of blanket peatland. EGT envisages the project, which would be commercialised through a carbon credits revenue sharing agreement with the landowner, as the first in a portfolio of peatland sinks across Ireland, following a proven project model successfully implemented in Scotland. The market for voluntary carbon credits is forecast to grow by a factor of 15 or more by 2030 as companies and governments race to meet net-zero goals. EGT is targeting corporates and technology companies looking to support Irish nature-based projects.
EGT currently trades at 9.5p with a market cap of £13.7m.
