Standard Uranium Ltd. [STND-TSXV, STTDF-OTCQB, 9SU-FWB], is heading back to its flagship Davidson River project, targeting a high-grade uranium discovery in the southwest Athabasca Basin of Saskatchewan. The Company is launching the first ExoSphere Multiphysics survey ever to be conducted in the province’s southwest Athabasca region which ranks among the world’s leading uranium districts for exploration and mining.

The surveys will be completed in partnership with Fleet Space Technologies Canada Corp. across three prospective uranium exploration corridors at the company’s flagship Davidson River Project in May and June of 2025.

Standard said high-priority target areas across the three conductor corridors will be significantly derisked with high-resolution 3D imaging of basement structures and alteration zones, providing key targeting information for follow-up drilling that is expected to start this summer.

The company has a portfolio of 13 exploration projects across the Athabasca Basin region covering 94,475 hectares. But its main focus this year is on the flagship Davidson River project. The project is located in the southwestern Athabasca Basin and covers the inferred extension of the structural trend that hosts Paladin Energy Ltd.’s [PDN-ASX, PALAF-OTCQX] Patterson Lake South property, which contains the high-grade Triple R uranium deposit (102.4 million pounds of 2.10% U308, indicated), and NexGen Energy Ltd’s [NXE-TSX, NYSE, NXG-ASX] Rook 1 property, which hosts the Arrow Deposit (256.7 million pounds of 3.10% U308 measured and indicated).

Davidson River covers 30,737 hectares and lies 75 kilometers south of the past-producing Cluff Lake uranium mine and is also in the vicinity of F3 Uranium Corp.’s [FUU-TSXV] JR Zone uranium discovery.

The exploration effort is led by Standard CEO Jon Bey and Sean Hillacre, Standard’s President/Vice-President of Exploration. Hillacre was part of a technical team that progressed NexGen Energy’s Arrow uranium deposit towards production and completed his Master of Science research on the deposit. Arrow is located just 25 kilometers east of Davidson River project.

Davidson River is highly prospective for basement-hosted uranium deposits due to its location along trend from recent high-grade uranium discoveries. However, the project remains largely untested by drilling. Still recent intersections of wide, structurally deformed and strongly altered shear zones provide significant confidence in the exploration model and future success is expected, the company has said.

From the summer of 2020 to 2022, 16,561 metres of drilling were completed in 39 drill holes at Davidson River. That work targeted four main conductive corridors – the Warrior, Bronco, Thunderbird and Saint trends. All four geophysical corridors contain several target areas that are favourable for high-grade basement-hosted uranium mineralization.

In a press release on April 10, 2025, Standard said it has formed a strategic partnership with Fleet Space Technologies Canada to advance uranium exploration at Davidson River, using Fleet Space’s Exosphere Multiphysics surveys. Fleet Canada is a subsidiary of Fleet Space Technologies, Australia’s leading space exploration company.

Exosphere is transforming how exploration is conducted by reducing uncertainty in drill targets and enabling faster, smarter decision making across the exploration process. In keeping with that goal, the company plans to undertake three ExoSphere survey grids across the Warrior, Bronco and Thunderbird conductors on the project in the spring of 2025.

“We are extremely excited to get back on the ground at our crown jewel project, Davidson River,” said Hillacre. “Integrating the 3D density and velocity models to image alteration systems in the basement rock could provide the key data we’ve been looking for to vector into a discovery at Davidson River,” he said. “We have been hard at work developing targets across the project since 2022 and armed with the new datasets from the Multiphysics system, we aim to expedite discovery of new basement-hosted uranium system with drilling this year.”

The company and Axiom Exploration Group Ltd. mobilized to deploy the survey grids on May 26, and the survey is anticipated to take approximately 35 days to complete. These surveys will be the first of their kind in the southwest Athabasca Basin uranium district and mark a significant step towards discovery on the project, the company has said.

Following post-survey data analysis and integration, the company plans to execute a diamond drill program to begin testing the highest priority targets across all three conductor corridors surveyed. Drilling is planned to be completed this summer, marking the first drill program on the project since 2022. Positive results from previous drill campaigns will be integrated into drill targeting with the newly acquired Multiphysics data.

Meanwhile, the company said it has struck a deal with the underlying owners of the Davidson River project to amend the timeline for completion of the remaining payments owing for the company completing the acquisition of a 90% stake in the project. To exercise the option, the company is now required to complete four annual payments totaling $550,000 by July 2028. In consideration for the amendment, the company has agreed to issue 1.0 million common share purchase warrants to the optionors.

In an interview, Bey said “Armed with the Fleet Space exosphere data, the timing is perfect for drilling Davidson River. The global nuclear and uranium markets are on an upswing again and support is growing to build new large and small reactors which will all need more uranium.” However, as the company’s shares traded at $0.115 on May 30, 2025, in a 52-week range of 22 cents and $0.045, Standard Uranium offers investors a relatively low risk window on high-grade uranium exploration in this world class region.

Aside from exploration results at Davidson River, the company has said catalysts that could drive the stock may include further exploration programs at the Sun Dog, Corvo, and other Eastern Basin projects, which cover 42,384 hectares of prospective land holdings.

Standard Uranium has built a unique project generator business that drives exploration across several of their tier two projects. Standard typically stakes the project, spends time and capital advancing the project with early-stage exploration while completing Exploration Agreements with their First Nations partners and acquiring the exploration and drill permits from the Saskatchewan government. Once all permits and agreements are in place, Standard lines up expert vendors to drill the projects and they operate the projects with their own in-house team of uranium specific geologists. This model allows the team at Standard to advance multiple 100% owned projects forward while collecting cash, shares and operator fees from their JV partners.

Standard currently has JV agreements in place with Aero Energy Ltd. [AERO-TSX, AAUGF-OTCQB, UU3-FRA] on the Sun Dog project and with Aventis Energy Inc. [AVE-CSE, VBAMF-OTCQB, C0O0-FRA] on the Corvo project. With the uranium market gaining momentum again, Standard is in discussions on several of their other projects and they plan to announce further agreements in 2025. The Company encourages other exploration companies to reach out to Sean Hillacre to enquire about projects available for JV opportunities. Standard has five projects in the eastern Athabasca region, including Ascent, Canary, Atlantic, Corvo and Rocas which are all ready for exploration and drilling.

With the conference season in full swing, Bey and Hillacre can be found meeting new investors, current shareholders and potential JV partners across Canada and the USA prior to drilling Davidson River this summer. Watch for the STND team in Quebec City, Montreal, Toronto and New York this June.

The economic policies of the Trump Administration appear to be the gift that keeps on giving to the global gold market. Gold has recently been on a volatile run after hitting a record high above US$3,500 an ounce on April 22, 2025. Gold sector explorers and developers have reaped the benefits by announcing oversubscribed financings and impressive stock price gains.

The ride to record territory coincided with news that U.S. President Donald Trump had threatened to fire U.S Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell, a move that, analysts say, would send markets into a tailspin, further eroding confidence in U.S. government bonds, which are needed to fund U.S. debt. A reversal in the price of gold followed an about face from the President, who had previously called Powell “a loser,” saying he has been too slow to lower interest rates.

Aside from the Federal Reserve controversy, analyst say the yellow metal is benefitting from mounting confusion over the Trump tariffs, which have sparked a flight to safety assets amid mounting confusion over his tariff agenda. Gold has long been considered a safe haven in times of uncertainty.

Trump’s trade policies have sowed deep uncertainty, after he paused import levies on a suite of consumer electronics, including smart phones to memory chips, a move that delivered temporary respite for stock markets.

However, published reports say one corner of the market suggests that the gold rally is showing signs of exhaustion. It’s a reference to the fact that investors pulled US$1.27 billion from the SPDR Gold Shares ETF on April 22, 2025, its biggest one-day outflow since 2011. That came just as bullion touched an all-time high, signaling that some profit taking may have been at play. The SPDR Gold Shares ETF is one of the world’s largest physically backed gold ETFs and often serves as a proxy for institutional demand in U.S. markets. Sudden shifts in its assets tend to offer a reliable read on sentiment in the broader gold trade. A similar outflow in 2011 coincided with gold’s previous super-cycle peak, marking the start of a prolonged consolidation period that bullion only broke out of in 2020.

Still, the gold rally has undoubtedly been good for gold equities such as Freegold Ventures Ltd. [FVL-TSX], G2 Goldfields Inc. [GTWO-TSXV, GUYGF-OTCQX], Founders Metals Inc. [FDR-TSXV] and Skeena Resources Ltd. [SKE-TSXV, SKREF-OTCQX, RXFB-FRA]. Novagold Resources Inc. [NG-TSX, NYSE American] jumped 36% (April 22, 2025) on news that the company is teaming up with billionaire investor John Paulson to purchase partner Barrick Gold Corp.’s [ABX-TSX, GOLD-NYSE] 50% stake in the Donlin Creek Gold project in Alaska for US$1.0 billion in cash. Paulson is a renowned gold bull. Paulson & Co has interests in NovaGold, Seabridge Gold Inc. [SEA-TSX, SA-NYSE] and Equinox Gold Corp. [EQX-TSXV, EQXGF-OTC].

Juggernaut Exploration Ltd. [JUGR-TSXV, JUGRF-OTCQB, 4JE-FSE] CEO Dan Stuart sees more upside for gold. “We should see US$4,000 an ounce this year,” he said. Stuart believes gold will be driven higher by U.S. tariffs, lower interest rates and global instability. “The world is upside down four times over,” he said.

The prediction comes as glacial abatement, a phenomenon caused by global warming, is creating opportunities for Juggernaut, an explorer and generator of precious metals projects in the prolific Golden Triangle of northwestern British Columbia.

Due to strong demand from institutions and accredited investors, Juggernaut recently said it is aiming to raise over $9.5 million from an upsized financing that is backed by a strategic investment by Crescat Capital Funds LLC and technical support from Dr. Quinton Hennigh,

Proceeds of the financing will be used to fund exploration at Juggernaut’s Big One property where early-stage discoveries, including the “11-kilometre Highway of Gold,” have been uncovered in an area of glacial and snowpack abatement next door to gold-rich porphyry systems at Newmont Corp.’s [NGT-TSX, NEM-NYSE, ASX, PNGX] Galore Creek property.

The 33,693-hectare Big One property is getting attention for a number of key reasons. It is known to contain over 200 gold-silver copper-rich polymetallic veins measuring up to 8.0 metres wide and striking for up to 500 metres.

Rock samples extracted from some of the veins assayed up to 79.01 g/t gold, and 3,157.89 silver.

Secondly, exploration at the Big One is led by Project Manager Bill Chornobay and Chief Consulting Geologist Lele Lazzarotto. Both were instrumental in

Goliath Resources Ltd.’s [GOT-TSXV, GOTRF-OTCQB, B41F-FSE] Surebet gold discovery, which is also located in the Golden Triangle.

With Juggernaut shares trading at 76 cents (on April 25, 2025) in a 52-week range of $1.30 and 45 cents, investors are betting that as the glaciers melt, they are going to reveal some incredible mineral discoveries.

It is why the company is planning to spend about $6.0 million to drill high some of the high-grade veins located on the Big One property.

Exploring on a glacier is a tough and expensive proposition. But now that the glaciers are receding, vast new areas are opening up and exploration is becoming a lot more feasible.

One of the most exciting discoveries at Big One is the Highway of Gold, an 11-kilometre stretch of newly exposed rock on the edge of the Geology Ridge Ice Field and the Decker Creek Glacier. It is part of a larger system known as the Eldorado System, covering about 7.5 square kilometres. It is located an area that contains over 200 gold-silver-copper-rich polymetallic veins.

It is worth noting that the Big One property does not exist in isolation. it is part of the same forces that gave rise to large gold deposits at Galore Creek, KSM and Brucejack. In an interview, Stuart said the property is right beside an airstrip and the Federal Government is spending $45 million to build a road to the Galore Creek project. The road is located just 12 kilometres from the Big One property.

Meanwhile, Juggernaut said it welcomes strategic investment from Crescat Capital and technical support from Dr. Hennigh.

“The Big One gold-silver project has a very similar feel to Goliath Resources’ Surebet gold discovery,” Hennigh said. “Early indications suggest there is a genetic association of veins with late-stage magmatism in the area, an association seen at Surebet,” Hennigh said. “This season has a clear mandate to follow up on these results with detailed mapping and channel sampling, much like Goliath did during the early days of the Surebet discovery,” he said. “The company’s mission is to get as many targets as possible ready for drill testing either late season or for 2026,” he said. “I am very eager to see if a new “Surebet” type discovery is in hand.

Alaska is big and has enormous mineral potential. According to the Alaska Department of Natural Resources’ 2024 mining industry overview, 773,354 square kilometres of the U.S. state is open to mining (more than the mineral entry lands in British Columbia). There are seven lode mines currently in production, as well as the Usibelli Coal Mine, where mining activity dates back to 1943.

Alaska’s diverse geology with associated diverse mineral endowment means exploration for various minerals will likely create the opportunity to discover or leverage other mineral commodities, like critical minerals, hydrogen capture.

Mining in Alaska delivered significant economic benefits last year, including US$1.1 billion to at least 450 local businesses for goods and services. Other key benefits included US$50 million in local -tax and US$136 million in state government revenue for libraries, road repairs, airports, schools and public safety. It is also worth noting that in 2024, the mining industry in Alaska delivered US$235 million In royalty payments to Alaska Native Corporations. It also supported 11,400 direct, indirect and induced jobs, plus US$1 billion in wages state-wide.

Teck Resources Ltd.’s [TECK.B-TSX, TECK.A-TSX, TECK-NYSE] Red Dog operation is the largest critical minerals mine in the United States. In 2024, Red Dog was expected to produce between 520,000 and 570,000 tonnes of zinc, with 90,000 to 105,000 tonnes of lead. In 2023, Red Dog produced 6.5 million ounces of silver as well as by-product germanium.

Ore grade for the first three quarters of 2024 averaged 15.5% zinc and 4.8% lead. With 600 employees and 700 contractors on the payroll, the open pit mine has been in production since 1989.

Other major operations include Kinross Gold Corp.’s [K-TSX, KGC-NYSE] Fort Knox Mine. With 730 employees and 300 contractors on the payroll, Fort Knox was expected to produce between 320,000 and 350,000 ounces of gold in 2024. Northern Star Resources (Pogo) and Coeur Alaska (Kensington) also operate gold mines in Alaska.

Although based on a volcanogenic massive sulfide deposit in Southeast Alaska, Hecla Mining’s [HL-NYSE] Greens Creek Mine ranks as the largest silver producer in the United States. It was expected to produce 8.6-9.0 million ounces of silver and 46,000 to 51,000 ounces of gold last year.

Other notable projects include Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd.’s [NDM-TSX, NAK-NYSE] Pebble Partnership, which ranks as the first or second largest porphyry copper deposit in the world. Northern Dynasty has spent the last two decades trying to develop the Pebble Project, which is located on a contiguous block of 1,840 mineral claims in southwestern Alaska. The projected 20-year life-of-mine production is estimated at 6.4 billion pounds of copper, 7.3 million ounces of gold, 300 million pounds of molybdenum, 37 million ounces of silver, 254 short tons of rhenium and by-product palladium.

The 2024 Alaska mining industry overview estimates that US$205 million was spent on exploration in the state through the third quarter of 2004. That compares to US$230 million in the whole of 2023. The survey also estimates that 37% of exploration activity in 2024 was focused on gold (including 26% on intrusion-related gold). Volcanogenic Massive Sulphides (polymetallic) ranked second at 17% and graphite ranked third at 12%.

Names that featured in the report include Nova Minerals Ltd. [NVA-NASDAQ, ASX, QM3-FRA] (Estelle Project), U.S. GoldMining Co. [USGO-NASDAQ] (Whistler project), and American Pacific Mining Corp. [USGD-CSE, USGDF-OTCQX, 1QC1-FWB] (Dowa-Palmer).

Grande Portage Resources Ltd. [GPG-TSXV, GPTRF-OTCQB, GPB-FSE] is developing a high-grade gold project near the city of Juneau Alaska, that will feature a limited environmental footprint.

The company’s conceptual mining plan, designed by Kyle Mehalek, P.E., former Chief Mining Engineer at Hecla Mining’s Green’s Creek Mine in Alaska, envisions the future development of the New Amalga gold mine as a selective underground mining operation which would send ore off-site to be processed at a third-party facility, enabled by the project’s location near tidewater and an existing paved highway that is just 6.5 kilometres from the mine site.

The company says this would result in a dramatically reduced mine site environmental footprint due to the avoidance of chemical processing and tailings storage. It is expected that this conceptual mine plan will smooth New Amalga’s journey through the mine permitting process.

Grande Portage holds a 100% interest in New Amalga, (previously known as the Herbert gold project), which is known to host at least six main composite vein-fault structures that contain ribbon structure quartz sulfide veins. The project lies within the 160-kilometre-long Juneau Gold Belt, which has produced nearly eight million ounces of gold.

The project covers 91 unpatented lode claims and covers six parallel vein structures that are exposed on surface.

On June 12, 2024, the company announced an updated mineral resources estimate using a base case cut-off grade of 2.50 g/t gold capped at 181 g/t. It includes an indicated resource of 1.44 million ounces of gold at an average grade of 9.47 g/t gold in 4.72 million tonnes. On top of that is an inferred resource of 515,700 ounces at an average grade of 8.85 g/t gold in 1.8 million tonnes. The company has said gold and silver resources at New Amalga remain open and along strike.

In an interview, Grande Portage President Ian Klassen said the plan to limit the project’s environmental footprint by having the ore processed off-site, is driven by management’s practical desire to keep activity on site to a minimum and to potentially partner with one of the established mills within the State. It is worth noting that New Amalga is located south of Coeur Alaska’s profitable Kensington gold mine.

In a press release on April 8, 2025, Grande Portage announced the results from test work of a sensor-based ore sorting system, utilizing a composite core sample from the project.

The purpose of ore sorting is to quickly separate particles of waste dilution rock from the mined material.

“We are extremely pleased with the results from the test work with Steinert ore sorting equipment, which demonstrated excellent ability to identify and select the unmineralized particles within the sample of New Amalga material, resulting in a 120% increase in gold grade and a 57% reduction in mass with a very minimal gold loss,” Klassen said.

Klassen went on to say that these results are game changing for a host of reasons. “Integrating ore sorting into the conceptual mine production plan significantly reduces the amount of mined rock requiring transportation and processing at a third-party facility, lower the per-ounce cost and also providing useful sorter reject material for underground backfill, all without the use of chemical processing reagents,” Klassen said. “This further enhances the existing advantages of our proposed direct ship mine configuration which utilizes offsite processing,” he said. “As demonstrated by the test results, it may also create opportunities for inclusion of thinner veins into the mine plan – areas of the deposit which otherwise may not have been considered viable.”

Grande Portage recently launched a series of baseline studies, an early critical step to advance the New Amalga project towards production The studies include wetlands delineation, surface water sampling, and archeological and cultural resources review, and collection of meteorological data.

On April 22, 2025, Grande Portage shares were trading at 20 cents in a 52-week range of 38 cents and 14 cents, leaving the company with a market cap of $26 million, based on 129 million shares outstanding.

The Toodoggone mineral district in north central British Columbia has emerged as an exploration hot spot, attracting both junior companies and major players in the mining industry. The Toodoggone District has a proven production history from both epithermal and porphyry systems. Early exploration was gold-focused, while later efforts shifted toward deeper Cu-Au porphyries. The area is now undergoing a renaissance driven by modern exploration and consolidated land packages. Focus is now on expanding known resources, discovering new high-grade epithermal and porphyry targets and establishing district-scale operations. The area benefits from existing infrastructure from the Kemess South Mine and improving access.

The region’s exploration potential was highlighted by Amarc Resources Ltd.’s [AHR-TSXV, AXREF-OTCQB] recent discovery of the new high-grade, gold-rich porphyry copper-gold-silver AuRORA deposit on its 100% owned JOY Copper-Gold District. The AuRora Deposit Discovery is located within an area of the 495-square kilometre JOY District that had not been previously drill tested.

The current program is fully-funded by Freeport McMoran Mineral Properties Canada Inc., a unit of U.S. mining giant Freeport-McMoran Inc. [FCX-NYSE], which can earn a 70% project interest by making up to $110 million in staged payments.

The Toodogone region’s potential is also underscored by Thesis Gold Inc. [TAU-TSXV]. which recently launched a pre-feasibility study (PFS) at its Lawyers-Ranch project, which is located about 450 kilometres northeast of Prince George.

The company has said the PFS will build upon the strong project economics outlined in the Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) which was filed in September 2024. The updated PEA envisages average annual production of 215,000 gold equivalent ounces (AuEq), including an annual average of 273,000 ounces during the first three years, and life-of-mine production of 3.0 million ounces over a mine lifespan of 14 years.

Lawyers-Ranch is estimated to host a total measured and indicated resource of 4.0 million ounces of AuEq, grading 1.51 g/t and an inferred resource of 727,000 ounces of AuEq at 1.82 g/t.

The Toodoggone Mining District, located in north-central British Columbia, Canada, is situated within a complex and geologically significant tectonic setting that has made it favorable for mineralization, particularly epithermal gold-silver and porphyry copper-gold deposits. The Toodoggone District lies within the Stikine Terrane, a volcanic arc terrane that accreted to the western margin of North America during the Mesozoic.

This terrane is part of the larger Intermontane Belt, a collage of accreted terranes formed along the margin of the North American Plate. The region experienced extensive volcanism and plutonism during the Late Triassic to Early Jurassic, forming the Toodoggone Formation, which hosts many of the mineral deposits.

The Toodoggone district contains several mineralization types including epithermal gold-silver, porphyry copper-gold-molybdenum and skarn. Exploration dates back to early 1920’s with the discovery of placer gold in several creeks which attracted exploration activity to the region. During the 1960s, regional government mapping and airborne geophysical surveys identified anomalous mineralization in the area which led to an initial wave of exploration and prospecting. Major companies like DuPont of Canada and Serem Ltd. began systematic exploration in the early 1970s which eventually led to the discovery of gold mineralization at Lawyers and Chappelle (now Baker) and Shasta. Later in the 1980’s copper mineralization identified at Kemess Creek led to the development of the large open-pit Kemess South copper-gold mine which operated from 1998 to 2011 and produced over 3 million oz of gold and over 700 million lbs of copper. Gold has been the focus of exploration in the central parts of the Toodoggone district with main prospects including Finn (JD), Silver Pond, Lawyers, Baker, and Alunite Ridge.

The region is host to many characteristics of a major epithermal-porphyry camp, including early Jurassic age intermediate volcanic host rocks, widespread epithermal-style gold and silver veining, large scale alteration footprints, and evidence of deeper porphyry and related hydrothermal activity.

Industry officials say the Toodoggone is a re-emerging district with a similar geological history and potential mineral endowment to the prolific Golden Triangle region to the west.

The potential to discover high-grade copper, gold, and silver deposits with characteristics sought by majors is attracting a growing number of junior exploration and development companies. That includes Skeena Resources Ltd.’s [SKE-TSXV, SKREF-OTCQX, RXFB-FRA], which recently acquired a 13% stake in TDG Gold Corp. [TDG-TSXV], a mineral exploration company with over 32,000 hectares of highly prospective ground in the Toodoggone Mining District.

Industry officials say interest in the region is driven in part by the fact that Toodoggone is located in British Columbia, a safe and historically pro-mining jurisdiction that has indicated it will speed up the mine permitting process in a bid to offset the economic impact of a trade war with the United States. The near record high gold price is also attracting investor interest.

Sun Summit Minerals [SMN-TSXV, SMREF-OTCQB] is focused on discovery and advancement of district-scale gold and copper assets in B.C. The company’s diverse portfolio includes the JD and Theory projects in the Toodoggone region and the Buck project in central B.C.

In a February 26, 2025, news release, the company announced an inaugural mineral resource estimate for the Buck Project. Including 19,100 gold equivalent ounces in the indicated category, and 820,400 AuEq in the inferred category. Sun Summit CEO Niel Marotta described the announcement as a major milestone for the company and a strong foundation for further exploration.

Marotta is former fund management with Fidelity. He was also vice-president at Orezone Resources, a company that was swallowed by Iamgold Corp [IMG-TSX, IAG-NYSE] in 2009 in a $350 million deal. He is currently an advisor to Cascade Copper Corp. [CASC-CSE].

However, in an interview with Resource World, Marotta said the company plans to focus its exploration efforts this year on the JD project, which covers an area of over 15,000 hectares and lies close to active exploration and development projects, including Thesis Gold’s Lawyers-Ranch project, as well as HDI Amarc’s JOY District.

In January, 2024, Sun Summit entered into a definitive option agreement to acquire a 100% interest in the JD project, which was known to contain numerous under-explored epithermal related gold and silver targets as well as porphyry-related copper-gold targets in an emerging mining district.

That move paid off in October 2024, when Sun Summit announced drill results from the fourth hole of its inaugural exploration program at the JD Project. It said hole CZ-24-004 returned one of the highest-grade intervals drilled to date at JD’s Creek Zone target. It intersected a broad zone of near surface, continuous gold mineralization punctuated with high-grade veins, including 122.53 metres of 2.11 g/t gold, including 20 metres of 10.01 g/t gold. Exploration results drove the share price up to 32 cents on October 11, 2024, from around 15 cents on October 1, 2024.

The company said results from the inaugural exploration program further confirms the potential for both high grade and bulk tonnage style gold mineralization, supporting the company’s initial thesis that selective sampling by previous operators missed the bulk tonnage gold potential.

The first five holes of the 2024 exploration program were drilled on the western extent of the 4.5 kilometre long, target rich Finn to Creek Corridor. Results from the first three holes were released back in September, 2024.

More recently, Sun Summit said it has defined a 12-kilometre trend of porphyry related copper gold targets at the JD Project. The company said it has started planning a significant exploration program that is expected to commence in early summer, 2025. It said the program will focus on evaluating the strongest porphyry targets as well as further investigating the high-grade and bulk tonnage gold potential along the Finn to Creek corridor.

“The northern extent of the Toodoggone district has long been known for its strong epithermal gold prospectivity, however, the recent discovery by Amarc and Freeport 14 kilometres south of our land position at JD confirmed our long-standing view that the northern parts of the district have exceptional porphyry potential,” the company has said.

Meanwhile, March 17, 2025, Sun Summit said it had expanded its land position in the Toodoggone area by entering into an option agreement with Eagle Plains Resources Ltd. [EPL-TSXV] to earn up to a 100% interest in the 10,000 hectares of mineral claims in the Toodoggone District, known as the Theory Project.

The company said the acquisition of the Theory Project will increase Sun Summit’s Toodoggone footprint by 10,000 hectares, creating a combined district-scale project of 25,000 hectares. Theory is located 10 kilometres from Sun Summit’s JD Project.

Marotta said the company currently has between $1.0 and $2.0 million in its treasury but hopes to spend $3.0 to $5.0 million on exploration in the Toodoggone region this year. He said the aim is to attract either a joint venture partner or a major mining company that is looking to gain a foothold in the Toodoggone area.

]]> https://resourceworld.com/toodoggone-mining-district-heats-up-as-juniors-and-majors-race-to-unlock-b-c-s-next-big-gold-copper-camp/feed/ 0 https://resourceworld.com/doubling-down-on-success-endeavour-silver-corp-sets-to-transform-silver-production-with-new-mine/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=doubling-down-on-success-endeavour-silver-corp-sets-to-transform-silver-production-with-new-mine https://resourceworld.com/doubling-down-on-success-endeavour-silver-corp-sets-to-transform-silver-production-with-new-mine/#respond Thu, 06 Jun 2024 17:50:16 +0000 https://resourceworld.com/?p=87307 By Peter Kennedy

Endeavour Silver Corp. [EDR-TSX, EXK-NYSE], a silver producer in Mexico for 20 years, is commissioning a new mine that is expected to transform the company by roughly doubling its production while cutting costs in half.

Once up and running, the Terronera mine is expected to provide jobs for 550 in Jalisco State, Mexico and deliver US$170 million in tax payments over its lifespan.

Endeavour is a mid-tier precious metals mining company that operates two high-grade underground silver-gold mines in Mexico. They include the Guanacevi Mine in Durango and the Bolanitos Mine in Guanajuato.

In 2023 Endeavour produced 8.7 million ounces of silver equivalent (AgEq), in line with the company’s previous guidance, generating annual revenue of US$206 million.

Endeavour Silver CEO Dan Dickson described the new Terronera mine as “a very important strategic asset for our company and our stakeholders,” boasting an expected 10-year mine life and nearly 90 million silver equivalent ounces in reserves.

Located about 50 kilometres from the Mexican port city of Puerto Vallarta, it is expected to produce 4.0 million ounces of silver and 38,000 ounces of gold per year (7.0 million ounces of AgEq) over its lifespan.

With an updated initial capital cost of US$271 million, the new underground mine will become Endeavour Silver’s flagship operation and rank as one of the lowest cost silver mines in the world. Once in production, it will take the company one step closer to becoming a premier, senior silver producer

When the company released its first quarter results on May 9, 2024, the company said overall project progress had reached 53% and the project remains on track for commissioning in the fourth quarter of 2024.

As per requirements under a US$120 million senior secured debt facility, the company must self-fund development from cash on hand before drawing on the facility.

Bringing Terronera online is a key part of Endeavour’s plan to capitalize on an expected rise in the price of silver, which was trading at US$30.56 an ounce on June 3, 2024. In a recent interview with Resource World, Dickson said he believes the precious metal will soon push above the US$50 an ounce level. “It is just a matter of time,” he said.

His optimism is based on the crucial role that silver is expected to play as the world transitions to a more sustainable future via increased production of electric vehicles and renewable power sources, including solar panels.

It is worth noting that battery-powered electric vehicles require twice as much silver as internal combustion engines. It is one reason why Dickson said, “Supply and demand fundamentals look very frothy for silver.”

He also expects silver to play ΓÇÿcatch up’ with gold, which has been trading recent a record-highs. “We have seen all-time highs for gold, but we haven’t seen that yet for silver,” he said.

Dickson was promoted to the role of CEO in May, 2021. He was previously the company’s chief financial officer and has been with Endeavour since 2007.

This year, the company is highly focused on Terronera and getting that mine into production.

Pitarrilla is the next project in the pipeline and is expected to be another cornerstone asset in Endeavour’s growth plans. Located in Durango State, Mexico, it is one of the largest silver deposits, with nearly 600 million ounces of silver defined.

In January, 2022, the company said it had struck a deal to acquire the Pitarrilla project from SSR Mining Inc. [SSRM-TSX, NASDAQ, SSR-ASX] for US$70 million and a 1.25% net smelter returns royalty. Pitarrilla is a large undeveloped silver, lead and zinc project located 160 kilometres north of Durango City in northern Mexico.

The payable amount consisted of US$35 million in Endeavour shares and US$35 million in cash.

The property covers 4,950 hectares across five concessions and has significant infrastructure in place with direct access to utilities. The company says a 2012 technical report details a feasibility study outlining a large, mainly open pit operation and a mineral resource estimate which has been published by SSR.

The total indicated mineral resource (open pit and underground) at Pitarrilla stands at 158.6 million tonnes, containing 491.6 million ounces of silver, grading 96.4 g/t, 1.1 billion pounds of lead, grading 0.31%, 2.6 billion pounds of zinc grading 0.74% for a total of 693 million ounces of AgEq grading 136 g/t.

On top of that is an inferred resource (open pit and underground) totaling 35.4 million tonnes, containing 99.4 million ounces of silver, grading 87.2 g/y, 281 million pounds of lead, grading 0.36%, 661 million pounds of zinc grading 0.85% for a total of 151.2 million ounces of AgEq, grading 132.7 g/t.

However, due to the opposition to the development of open pit mines in Mexico, Endeavour is conceptualizing an underground operation at the site that would focus on the extraction of high-grade core of the deposit. The company is mindful of the fact that SSR Mining published two technical reports, consisting of a prefeasibility study in 2009 focused on a high-grade underground mine scenario and a feasibility study in 2012, which evaluated an open-pit concept.

The 2009 pre-feasibility study envisaged a 4,000 tonne-per-day operation with a 12-year lifespan that would target sulphides beyond the limits of a conceptual open pit mine.

It is worth noting that a number of key permits are already in place for underground mining and development, including permits for water use and discharge, general use of explosives, change of soil use and underground mining and development.

When it acquired the Pitarrilla project from SSR, Endeavour agreed to incur a minimum of US$10 million in exploration expenses on Pitarrilla over five years.

This year, the company said it will spend $5.1 million on drilling, development and fortification costs to advance a 1.0-kilometre-long tunnel that will be used as a drill platform. The company plans to drill 5,000 metres to better understand the geology surrounding the Underground manto zone and feeder structures.

On June 6, 2024, Endeavour Silver shares were trading at $5.38 in a 52-week range of $5.73 and $1.94.

The Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada annual conference, simply known as the PDAC, saw the who’s who of the mining and exploration sector converge on Toronto last week. The enthusiasm that is inherent to conferences was magnified this year as this was the first year that the PDAC coincided with value of gold hitting all time highs.

“2024 will be a transformative year for our company,” stated Roger Rasmus, CEO of Goliath Resources Ltd. (TSX-V: GOT, FSE: B4IF, OTC: GOTRF). The Investors Exchange was reverberating with similar sentiment where 450 companies were competing for attention. The Majors were there as were Juniors of every stripe – it seemed that every commodity and jurisdiction were represented. Each company was putting their best foot forward, whether they were boasting recent wins are promoting the potential for their projects.

And for those looking for an early-stage opportunity, there were 20 prospectors on hand to show their hard work. It is a pity that many may have overlooked them as some of the companies that were garnering a lot of attention actually got their projects in whole or in part from prospectors.

The convention was rounded out with 752 service providers exhibiting in the Trade Show. The PDAC has come a long way from the early 2000’s when the entire conference fit on the floor of the north hall; today just the Trade Show portion occupied half of the south and all of the north hall.

But the show floor wasn’t where all the action was; the social events continue to be an important aspect of the convention. These more casual gatherings were rife with not just schmoozing and networking but the occasional deal. “Things are happening behind the scenes,” teased Farshad Shirvani, president and CEO of Doubleview Gold Corp. (TSX-V: DBG, GER: A1WO38, OTC: DBLVF), which is set to announce its first resource that includes scandium.

Long gone are the days where the Royal York Hotel was the only site for hospitality suites as this year social functions took over downtown Toronto. It seemed that every bar and attraction was utilized on at least one evening with the popular large locations being the Hockey Hall of Fame and Ripley’s Aquarium. This was a by-product of the shear size of the convention. Even this year, a quieter year, attracted an impressive 26,926 attendees.

Drilling was a common theme that companies were touting. Not surprisingly, as without drilling there are no discoveries, deposits aren’t expanded, and economic studies aren’t possible.

Tudor Gold Corp. (TSX-V: TUD, FSE: H56, OTC: TDRRF) has set their next drill program at between 15 and 18,000 metres. The program will concentrate on their newly discovered high-grade gold breccia system at the Goldstorm deposit with the focus on delineating a sweetener for their recently increased resource.

Abitibi Metals Corp. (CSE: AMQ, FSE: FW0, OTC: AMQFF) has 30,000 metres of drilling planned for 2024 at their high-grade B26 polymetallic coper deposit. The objectives will be to determine the initial parameters and portion of the deposit that could fall within a conceptual open pit, confirm the nature of the high-grade zones, and to expand the deposit at depth.

Osisko Metals Inc. (TSX-V: OM, FSE: OB51, OTC: OMZNF) will be drilling a combined 25,000 metres at its projects. The company plans to have new resource estimates for both Pine point, which is moving into the feasibility stage, and Gaspe, which is at the PEA stage.

Snowline Gold Corp.’s (TSX-V: SGD, OTC: SNWGF) fourth drill season will be the company’s biggest program to date. They will be advancing the Valley Deposit as well as drilling additional exploration targets that have been prioritized from diligent off-season compilation.

But not to be outdone, New Found Gold Corp. (TSX-V: NFG, NYSE-A: NFGC) will have what is most probably the largest drill program in Canada with 125,000 metres of drilling planned. To date there has been little to no drilling below a depth of 250 metres and a recent geophysics study indicated that mineralization potentially continues to at least 400 m.

Other companies peppered throughout the Investor Exchange were touting the advancements on their projects, either with a new or updated resource estimation, a preliminary economic assessment (or ΓÇÿPEA’), or a prefeasibility study.

Blue Sky Uranium Corp. (TSX-V: BSK, FSE: MAL2, OTC: BKUCF) is taking advantage of a surge in enthusiasm for uranium. “Our new robust PEA is out, which is setting us up for the next phase where we advance to the pre-feasibility stage,” stated Niko Cacos, president and CEO.

Defense Metals Corp. (TSX-V: DEFN, FSE: 35D, OTC: DFMTF) stated that a pre-feasibility should be ready for the end of June and that they are working towards a non-dilutive financing that should be announced within the next 60 days.

Vizsla Silver Corp. (TSX-V: VZLA, NYSE: VZLA) promoted that their 325 million combined ounces of silver is contained within only 10% of the project. They have brought on a proven mine builder as their new COO. Plans for 2024 include a 25,000 tonne bulk sample as well as a PEA.

For Argentina Lithium & Energy Corp. (TSX-V: LIT, FSE: OAY3, OTC: LILIF) the recent pull back in the lithium sector has allowed them to assess and readdress a number of potential opportunities. They plan to announce a maiden resource on their wholly Rincon Project later this year. And they won’t stop there as they were recently cashed up to the tune of US $90 million with an investment by Peugeot Citroen Argentina S.A., a subsidiary of Stellantis N.V.

Nouveau Monde Graphite Inc. (TSX-V: NOU, NYSE: NMG) with a pair of recently signed multiyear offtake agreements in hand is holding to their motto of working towards a sustainable future. In the coming year they will be finishing engineering and planning for construction with the objective of a formal decision formal production decision in early 2025.

On the deal front, I-80 Gold Corp. (TSX: IAU, NYSE: IAUX) was garnering attention for another reason. Recently the company had announced a pending joint venture agreement for their Ruby Hill project. They were fending off questions regarding which company that deal had been inked with and the terms of the deal. They plan to announce the details in early May when the other company has completed its due diligence and signed the definitive agreement.

As a company that fits into a unique category due to them having a fully carried 20 percent interest until notice of production in the Treaty Creek project, American Creek Resources Ltd. (TSX-V: AMK, OTC: ACKRF) is thrilled that their project has new access and dramatically improved infrastructure due to Seabridge Gold’s (TSX: SEA, NYSE: SA) $300 million investment in their neighbouring KSM Project.

And, trying to not be outshone by the big boys, several small mining companies were in attendance and pleased to show off their advancements.

Steppe Gold Ltd. (TSX: STGO, OTC: STPGF), which is currently completing $150 million of financing in trenches, has acquiring a second producing gold mine in Mongolia. The combined production is set to expand to between 60 and 90,000 ounces per year with ultimate goal being 160,000 ounces per year as a target.

Luca Mining Corp. (TSX-V: LUCA, OTC: LUCMF), also with two mines in its portfolio, was proudly stating that they had turned things around as they had improved operations and doubled recoveries as a result. Their goal is to be cash flow positive in the next six months and produce 70,000 gold equivalent ounces from both projects in 2024.

All told, it was a successful show. Each company there was eager to elaborate on their accomplishments of 2023 and keen for what 2024 holds. All indications are that 2024 is going to be a significant year in the mining and exploration sector. If that is the case, then it will be a fast twelve months until PDAC 2025.

Victoria Gold Corp. [VGCX-TSX] President and CEO John McConnell says he is “feeling pretty good,” about his company’s flagship Yukon gold mine.

After some recent challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic, and summer wildfires, Victoria’s flagship Eagle mine delivered a 17% year over year increase in gold production during the first nine months of 2023.

After a first gold pour in September, 2019, the Eagle mine is expected to produce approximately 180,000 of gold annually from an open pit heap leach operation that ranks as the Yukon’s largest private sector employer, with about 500 on the payroll.

McConnell describes Eagle as a long-life modern gold mine that could run for +20 years, and potentially longer if other deposits in the area can be developed. It is an asset that is highly levered to the price of gold, which has climbed by about US$200 an ounce since the start of the Israel-Hamas war.

“It was a struggle to run the operation during COVID, but now it’s running very well,” said McConnell during an interview with Resource World. He said the biggest challenge was maintaining the work force. This was because the pandemic required some employees to spend a lot of time in self-isolation. This year, wildfire activity in the area prompted an approximate two-week evacuation in early August. Even now, with roughly six mines being built in Canada recruitment is difficult, especially in the Yukon where miners work in an Arctic climate.

Shutting down operations at Eagle during the COVID pandemic wasn’t an option because Victoria Gold had to service debts of about $200 million.

In spite of recent setbacks, gold production in the first nine months of 2023 was 124,749, an increase of 17% compared to the same period in 2022.

When Victoria Gold reported its second quarter financial results in early August, 2023, all-in-sustaining costs (AISC) were running at US$1,466 an ounce. By comparison, spot gold was trading at US$1,995 an ounce on October 30, 2023.

The Eagle gold mine is situated on the Dublin Gulch gold property in the central Yukon Territory, about 375 kilometres north of Whitehorse and approximately 85 kilometres from the town of Mayo.

The mine site is eight hours by road to the port of Skagway, Alaska.

Covering 555 square kilometers, Dublin Gulch hosts the Eagle and Olive gold deposits, which as at December 31, 2022, contains proven and probable reserves of 2.6 million ounces of gold, with a grade of 0.65 g/t.

Already poised to benefit from the higher bullion price, Victoria Gold is eyeing future production from other deposits in the area, including the nearby Raven zone (at Dublin Gulch).

The company can also look to additional potential production from the Brewery Creek gold project which it recently acquired along with other mineral assets from Sable Gold Mines Corp. [SGLD-TSX] for $13.5 million.

Brewery Creek is a formerly-producing heap leach project, covering 181 square kilometres and located in the northwestern Yukon, about 55 kilometres east of Dawson City. It is situated 120 kilometres west of the Eagle gold mine.

According to a NI 43-101 technical report, Brewery Creek hosts a measured and indicated resource of 34.5 million tonnes of grade 1.03 g/t gold, containing 1.14 million ounces of gold. On top of that is an inferred resource of 36 million tonnes of grade 0.88 g/t gold, or 1.02 million ounces. Brewery Creek is also the subject of a preliminary economic assessment.

McConnell noted that Brewery Creek could be a stand-alone heap leach operation, producing 50,000 to 60,000 ounces of gold annually for roughly 10 years.

Victoria Gold currently owns roughly 12% of Banyan Gold. Victoria is happy to let Banyan develop the AurMac project on its own, McConnell said,

Meanwhile, the Raven deposit has been the primary focus of exploration at Dublin Gulch as Victoria aims to add more gold to its existing inventory.

Raven is one of several priority on/near-surface gold targets that could help the company achieve that goal. The current Raven Resource estimate includes 1.1 million ounces at 1.7 g/t gold.

Raven is located within 15 kilometres of the Eagle mine. While exploration is still in the early stages, it could emerge as a separate mining operation.

In a press release on October 25, 2023, the company announced new results from a 13,200-metre diamond drilling program (39 holes at Raven where mineralization has been confirmed over a strike length of 1.7 kilometres). The program consisted of systematic fence drilling to the east of the current deposit bounds coupled with exploratory drill holes around the promising high-grade mineralization identified last season in drill hole NG22-155C which returned 20.24 g/t gold over 14.5 metres.

Drilling has also provided further confirmation of the Raven mineralization and resource model, with long intervals of gold mineralization (such as 240.2 metres of 0.96 g/t gold) hosted within granodiorite lithologies punctuated by intervals of high-grade massive sulphide veins (such as 1.0 metre of 49.10 g/t gold and 0.5 metres of 24.20 g/t gold).

“Work on an updated Raven Resource is now underway and we look forward to seeing two full seasons of drilling added to the maiden resource estimate,” McConnell said. An updated Raven resource estimate will likely be announced following a compilation and analysis of the 2023 drill results.

Meanwhile, in spite of the focus on exploration, McConnell says 95% of his time is spent running the mine. A 68-year-old mining engineer from the British Columbia Kootenays, he has had a long association with the Eagle mine, an asset that his company acquired at the height of the global financial crisis in 2009.

“The resource was of a size that a junior could develop and operate,” McConnell said.

Victoria raised about $60 million by selling its assets. It used that money to fund exploration and development of the Eagle mine. McConnell, who now lives in Vancouver, has spent much of his career working “north of the 60^th parallel.” Previous roles included spells with De Beers Canada, when it was developing the Snap Lake diamond mine in the Northwest Territories and Breakwater Resources, a company that owned the Nanisivik zinc-lead mine on Baffin Island, Nunavut.

“I don’t like minus 50 (Celsius) anymore,” McConnell said. But he has no plans to retire. Instead, he remains focused on overseeing an operating mine that boasts a diverse set of employees. He is proud of the fact that 20% are women, a figure that he has described as a very high number for a mining operation.

Roughly 40% of the mine work force are Yukoners, while 20% are members of First Nations.

The Company’s overall goal is to increase production at Eagle to about 200,000 ounces per year, a target it expects to reach without any significant capital spend. With potential production from Raven and Brewery Creek in the future, Victoria could raise production to over 300,000 ounces annually. “It will be a few years before we work through the technical studies looking at that,” McConnell said.

On November 16, 2023, Victoria Gold shares were trading at $6.15 in a 52-week range of $11.16 and $5.36, leaving the company with a market cap of $409 million based on 66.5 million shares outstanding.

THIS IS NOT A RECOMMENDATION TO BUY OR SELL ANY SECURITY.

The management team behind Grid Battery Metals [TSXV: CELL; OTCQB: EVKRF] is leveraging its knowledge of the battery metals sector to create their next winner. As a group, they have been successfully exploring for metals used in the production of electric vehicles for over a decade. They have had a number of successful exits from companies that they have created – the most recent of which was Surge Battery Metals [TSXV-NILI; OTCQX-NILIF] where they were responsible for the discovery of the Nevada North Lithium Project which Surge recently announced results of up to 8,070 parts per million lithium.

Grid’s new president and CEO, Tim Fernback told Resource World “Grid’s management and geological team has been actively exploring for EV battery metals in Nevada for over a decade, and we have been very successful in finding and funding new lithium discoveries. Our team has been very adept at finding great properties in great locations.”.

Under Mr. Fernback’s guidance Grid has shifted its focus to Nevada. “It is safe to say that we know Nevada and we know Lithium”, continued Mr. Fernback.

Grid now has three highly prospective lithium properties in Nevada: Texas Springs, Clayton Valley, and Volt Canyon.

The Texas Spring Property, located in Elko County, covers approximately 2,500 hectares and is contiguous with and immediately south of Surge’s Nevada North Lithium Project property.

The company has recently completed the first phase of its initial exploration program at Texas Springs. A detailed 50 by 100 metre spaced soil sampling program was undertaken with the goal of determining if the favourable volcanic tuff and tuffaceous sediments of the Humbolt Formation contain significant lithium concentrations at surface. In addition, a controlled-source audio-frequency magnetotellurics (or ΓÇÿCSAMT’) geophysical survey was conducted in order to identify geological features at depth that could be favourable for the accumulation of lithium.

Grid’s second prospective property, the 2,300 acre Clayton Valley Property, is immediately north of the Silver Peak Lithium Project that belongs to Albemarle Corporation (NYSE: ALB) and home to North America’s only producing lithium mine.

Lithium within the Clayton Valley occurs both as brines contained within underground reservoirs, or aquifers and as clay hosted deposits. Exploration with the company’s Clayton Valley Property has focused on both. Work competed within the property has inferred the existence of a graben that may be a sub-basin of the larger Clayton Valley basin and, in turn, may represent a secondary trap for lithium brines.

The company’s newest project, the Volt Canyon Lithium Property, has a unique exploration target. Grid has staked 80 placer claims covering approximately 635 hectares of alluvial sediments that are believed to have been sourced from claystone deposits.

This property features sediment-hosted lithium clay targets and has excellent accessibility, enabling exploration and exploitation throughout the year. Although limited exploration has been conducted in the immediate area, regional sediment samples in the region taken by the US government returned up to 108 parts per million lithium near the property.

Future exploration programs on these projects are fully funded through to the end of 2024 as Grid is sitting on an enviable treasury of $9 million. The treasury is made up of a combination of cash and shares in other public companies. These include a sizeable position in Surge, which recently traded as high as $1.55 per share.

Shareholders will soon benefit from another transaction that the Company is completing. Grid is planning a new SpinCo that will own its British Columbia nickel properties that are in close proximity to FPX Nickel’s Decar Nickel District, which contains the Baptiste deposit. The transaction will be for 9,339,040 common shares of SpinCo and Grid will dividend those shares out to its shareholders.

Tim Fernback commented, “In order to continue to create additional shareholder value, we are separating our Nevada-based lithium properties from our British Columbia-based nickel property, and plan on separately financing and taking the B.C. nickel property public on the CSE… We believe this is a win for our shareholders, giving each shareholder an equity interest in a new public company at no additional cost to them.”

“As a management team, we are singularly focused on creating shareholder value. Every move we make takes shareholder value into account. The recent CSE listing announcement for our subsidiary is a case in point. It is a big win for the shareholders as we focus these companies on our world-class exploration assets.”

With the spin out underway, the management of Grid is now able to give its undivided attention to following up on their recent success exploring for lithium in Nevada.

“We have been together as a group for a long time. We have been exploring for lithium and battery metals for over a decade. We know the battery metals space and know how to explore for battery metals and that is what we are going to concentrate on with Grid”, concluded Tim Fernback.

Grid Battery Metals shares closed at $0.095 on October 17, 2023, leaving the company with a market cap of $10.3 million, based on 108,713,650 million shares outstanding (157,824770 fully diluted). The shares are trading in a 52-week range of 0.215 cents and $0.04.

There is much at stake – and some controversy – as the Alberta government studies how oilsands companies can best clean up after their work in the field.

For a year, after two highly critical reports from the Alberta auditor general, the government has held consultations on potential reforms to the Mine Financial Security Program (MFSP), which is designed to protect Albertans from oilsands closure costs while maximizing the industry’s opportunities for resource development. The MFSP manages liabilities by collecting financial security from project owners and protects the public from paying for project closure costs instead of the companies that own them.

The MFSP dictates that, at the end of a project’s life, the company that owns the operation must remove all infrastructure and return the land to how it looked and how it was used before development took place. Companies must provide a full security deposit based on the estimated liabilities at the beginning of the project that guarantees that this work will be done.

The Alberta government began considering implementing some reforms in January 2022, after the auditor general’s reports, and held a series of meetings with industry representatives and area First Nations, but no public hearings were held, and no public input was sought. Government has said it expects to complete the program review in 2023 and any changes deemed necessary would be implemented starting in 2024.

“The Pathways Alliance appreciates the opportunities provided by Alberta Environment and Protected Areas (AEPA) to participate in the Mine Financial Security Program review and to hear from indigenous communities as part of that engagement,” Mark Cameron, vice-president of external relations at Pathways Alliance, told Resource World Magazine. “We understand that AEPA is currently finalizing reporting relative to the MFSP review, and we are awaiting that information.”

Oilsands cleanup costs have long been a concern. Official estimates say current cleanup costs would total $33 billion, while estimates from the Alberta Energy Regulator suggest it could be as much as $130 billion. Thus far, industry has reportedly only put up 4% of the lower figure, and that percentage is shrinking as the liability grows. Recently the Alberta Energy Regulator began accepting a type of demand bond issued by an insurance company instead of cash reserves or a line of credit, although it’s not clear how many companies are using such bonds. But some experts say that only allows producers to delay reserving the billions of dollars required for oilsands cleanup, and others say it mars the integrity of the entire review process.

The question of reforming the MFSP has sparked controversy from various sectors in the province who feel the effort will not result in meaningful reform. Some have said the program is not designed for an increasingly low-carbon world and that assumptions used in the government’s modelling of the industry’s future were unconvincing and simplistic. After government held a series of meetings with industry and area First Nations, four First Nations submitted their concerns to government in a document.

“There’s no signal to me from this government that they are going to hold industry accountable for cleanup costs,” said Mikisew Cree First Nation’s Melody Lepine. She said the stakes could not be higher, with taxpayers having billions of dollars on the line and First Nations even more.

“We’ve got nowhere else to go, it’s been our home for thousands of years,” she said. “But if it becomes a toxic wasteland, will we be forced to leave? I don’t know.”

The cost of cleanup isn’t the only problem facing the oil patch. The oil and gas sector is experiencing a skills shortage, with the current workforce now 18% smaller than it was at its peak of 225,900 in 2014. But think tank Clean Energy Canada estimates there could be 200,000 clean energy jobs created by 2030. The federal government, meanwhile, is expected to table a ΓÇÿworkforce transition’ bill in the spring which Ottawa says is meant to deal with economic changes expected on the heels of their ambitious goals to slash climate-warming emissions. That doesn’t sit well with the Alberta government, which says the legislation, if approved, will dismantle the oil and gas industry.

But amid those concerns, others welcome the Alberta government’s efforts to at least provide some certainty around the issue of oilsands cleanup.

“There has been a dramatic acceleration in retiring inactive oil and gas infrastructure in Western Canada,” Brad Herald, senior special advisor for the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, told Resource World.

“Industry, orphan well funds, the federal government and provincial governments have all played key roles in updating liability management policies and policy supports to make this happen. We look forward to the consultation process with the Alberta government on their proposed Liability Management Incentive Program and will work to ensure the momentum built in the reclamation of legacy sites in Alberta continues.”

Meanwhile, the industry must wait and see.

I recently had a conversation with Niko Cacos, the President and CEO of Blue Sky Uranium Corp. [TSXV-BSK, OTC-BKUCF, FSE-MAL2], to learn more about the company and what their plans are for 2023.

I had to admit to Niko that I recognized Argentina as having world class copper, silver and gold deposits but not uranium. As it turns out, uranium exploration in Argentina dates back to the early 20^th Century with the first uranium deposits being discovered in the 1920’s, but it wasn’t until the 1950’s that large-scale exploration and mining efforts began.

Argentina is the largest generator of electricity from nuclear energy in South America. “The country is working to further expand their nuclear energy sector with additional power plants, but currently lacks domestic uranium production. Argentina’s desire for security of supply could provide a “guaranteed” first customer for a new domestic supplier, which, if we are successful, could be Blue Sky Uranium”, added Niko.

Blue Sky’s flagship Amarillo Grande Project is located in the centre of Rio Negro province, in the Patagonia region of southern Argentina. The project is composed of four main sectors: Santa Barbara, Anit, Ivana and Bajo Valcheta that in summary cover approximately 300,000 hectares or 3,000 square kilometres.

Although the initial discovery was in 2007 it wasn’t until 2016 that Blue Sky started working the project in earnest. Since 2016 more than 16,600 metres of drilling has been completed on the project at 5 different targets. This extensive work allowed the company to announce its first inferred resource estimate for the Ivana deposit totalling 28.0 million tonnes averaging 0.037% U₃0₈ and 0.019% V₂O₅.

Shortly thereafter the company announced their first Preliminary Economic Assessment (or ΓÇÿPEA’) for the Ivana deposit in early 2019. The PEA describes the potential viability of the mineral resources to support a surficial mining operation at the Ivana deposit to mine 22.7 million pounds of U₃0₈ and 11.5 million pounds of V₂O₅ over a period of 13 years with a short payback period of only 2.4 years.

Niko made sure to add that the Ivana deposit remains open for expansion and exploration continues to identify new mineralization.

“I am very proud of the work that the Blue Sky team has accomplished. Amarillo Grande is now one of the most advanced uranium and vanadium projects in Argentina. It has the potential to be a low-cost mining and processing project in a regulatory environment that supports resource development.”, stated Niko. “But we aren’t going to rest on our laurels. We are going to continue to aggressively explore the district.

I was curious as to the history of the project and asked Niko to elaborate on its origins. “Our original work in the area dates back some 15 years, under the guidance of Dr. Jorge Berizzo, we selected Rio Negro province as a high-potential location for new uranium deposits.” explained Niko, “Although Ivana is our main target, it was actually our third discovery in the district.”

Niko further explained the history of the grassroots in-house discovery as follows: “In 2007 the first airborne radiometric survey led to discovery of zones of uranium mineralization at the Anit and Santa Barbara properties. In 2010, Blue Sky completed a large-scale airborne radiometric survey that led to the acquisition of the Ivana property. Initial ground surveys and field work lead to the confirmation of a +25 kilometre-long target area and the Ivana deposit.”

“In 2016 Blue Sky launched an aggressive exploration program to delineate resources and outline economics at Amarillo Grande, in order to capitalize on its early-mover advantage”, added Niko. “The geological model is maturing as exploration of the deposit progresses.”

The known uranium and vanadium mineralization that has been found within the project area to date occurs near, or at, surface and is hosted in poorly consolidated sandstones, minor conglomerates, and mudstones. In addition, uranium and vanadium mineralization also has been found in fractures and zones of secondary porosity within the weathered basement rocks as well as in the regolith debris at the basement unconformity.

“The majority of the near surface mineralization found to date is in the form of the leach-amenable mineral carnotite. Carnotite is a bright greenish-yellow mineral that is an important source of uranium and vanadium. It is classified as a secondary mineral, which means that it is reconstituted from other minerals that have broken down,” explained Niko.

Most of the mineralization found to date in the project area has many characteristics of surficial uranium deposits – where uranium occurs in relatively young sediments or soils adjacent to uranium source rocks or primary uranium deposits. They are typically located in semi-arid to arid regions where transportation is limited and there is a higher potential for concentration of the mineralization.

However, at Ivana a lower, thicker, zone of mineralization was discovered. The uranium mineralization of the lower zone has many characteristics of primary-style uranium mineralization. There are some oxide minerals, but mineralization is predominately coffinite, a uranium bearing silicate mineral. As such, Ivana may be a hybrid of both surficial and sandstone-type uranium and vanadium deposits.

In addition to the excitement for the potential for additional discoveries, the prospect of an improved resource, and an updated PEA, there has been a new found groundswell in interest in the uranium sector. As per Niko, “There has been a significant move in the forecast for the price of uranium – from south of $50 to about $65 today. There are many more people interested in what we have in Argentina.” And, as if that weren’t enough, a recent surge in global interest in vanadium further broadened the potential target markets for material from Amarillo Grande. And that is reflected in Blue Sky’s ability to raise a total of $3.92 million dollars in 2022.

And Niko considers the exploration potential within the district-scale trend to be high. “It feels like we have only scratched the surface. The area is so large, we will be exploring for seasons to come and with luck we will have several additional discoveries in our future, which is the case in more mature uranium districts in similar geological environments elsewhere in the world”, he stated enthusiastically. “The drills will be turning again shortly. The coming drill program is planned for 25 drill holes that will test two new targets: the Ivana East target, which is 10 kilometres east of the Ivana deposit; and the Cateo Cuatro target, which is located 32 kilometres to the southwest.”

So, the future looks bright for Blue Sky Uranium. They are fully financed for their busiest year to date with the goal of improving the calibre of their resource, updating the PEA to incorporate the new resource, and, with luck, new discoveries. I, for one, will be anxiously awaiting the results.

By Bruce Lantz

The jury is still out on whether an agreement between the British Columbia government and several First Nations on resource management is a positive step or just politicking.

Recently the B.C. Government signed deals with the Fort Nelson, Saulteau, Halfway River and Doig River First Nations that are expected to restart stalled oil and gas development in the Montney shale gas play in northeastern B.C. Those agreements follow on the heels of a similar agreement inked with the Blueberry River First Nation. The agreements offer a consensus on the management of land, wildlife and restoration in the area, along with a revenue-sharing deal which will support First Nations communities. The Blueberry River agreement goes even further, placing an annual cap on land that can be used for oil and gas development. The negotiations started in 2021 when the B.C. Supreme Court ruled that decades of natural resources extraction and industrial development had infringed on indigenous rights.

“Doig River First Nation has been advocating for a meaningful role in decision-making in natural resource development in our territory for many years and we are looking forward to working with the province in the months ahead to make this a reality,” said Doig River Chief Trevor Makadahay in a statement.

The Montney is a 38,000-kilometre (23,612 square miles) stretch of land that lies in the heart of Canada’s top gas-producing play. Part of the new deal exclusive to the Blueberry River First Nation puts an annual cap of 750 hectares (1853 acres) on new land that can be disturbed by oil and gas activity and protects from resource development 650,000 hectares of land that is highly valued by Blueberry River.

The agreement stipulates that Blueberry River First Nation will receive a C$87.5 million financial package over three years, with the opportunity to receive increased benefits from oil and gas revenue sharing and provincial royalty revenues in the next two fiscal years.

The province also agreed to reduce timber harvesting, put C$200 million into a land restoration fund by 2025, and work with First Nations on wildlife protection.

There is no limit on production or other activity on land that has been already disturbed by the approximately 25 companies that operate in the Montney area. And while the industry is seeking more clarity on how the land deemed available for new activity will be allocated, most leaders are cautiously optimistic.

“Anytime you change the rules there’s always some concern, but I think it’s possible to adapt,” said Tristan Goodman, president of the Explorers and Producers Association of Canada. He said he expects the B.C. Energy regulator now will be able to approve the 150-200 new oil and gas permits companies are waiting for this year.

The oil and gas industry will need to innovate to find ways to work with less land, said B.C. Premier David Eby in a statement. “It’s not a cap on production, it’s a cap on land disturbance,” he said.

The agreement has the support of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP), which sees it as a joint effort by industry, the federal and B.C. governments who are aligned on key issues such as indigenous reconciliation, economic prosperity for Canadians and the need to address climate change.

“This interim agreement is a welcome step to chart a path which enables the responsible development of B.C.’s rich natural resources in a way that ensures mutual benefits for industry, indigenous nations and British Columbians across the province,” CAPP president and CEO Lisa Baiton told Resource World Magazine.

Baiton said the agreement “could provide a solution that creates certainty for companies to make their investment decisions, which would bring economic growth to the province and provide responsibly produced energy to meet a growing demand in the longer term.”

Petronas Energy Canada [PECL:TSX] CEO Izwan Ismail told a news conference, the agreement would help secure a gas supply to Canada’s first liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal being built on B.C.’s Pacific coast.

“It is our expectation that the necessary work can now proceed to ensure that the gas Petronas Canada delivers to the LNG Canada project is responsibly produced right here in B.C., benefiting the entire province and country,” said Ismail, whose company holds a stake in the LNG export terminal being built at Kitimat, B.C.

CAPP’s Baiton said they expect investments in natural gas and LNG to grow through 2023 as LNG construction continues towards completion, along with other projects which are progressing. One of the fastest ways Canada can contribute to significantly lowering global greenhouse gas emissions is by exporting lower emission liquefied natural gas to countries who are looking to reduce their reliance on coal or Russian natural gas.

“Global demand for energy will remain strong for decades and Canada has a role to play in providing safer and lower emission resources to the world’s energy mix,” Baiton said. “Working collaboratively with government and indigenous peoples, the oil and natural gas industry can be a significant part of the solution to many of the challenges we are facing today.”

Over the last 30 years, lithium-ion batteries revolutionized the energy industry due to their lighter weight, longer charges, and ability to perform better under extreme conditions compared to the nickel-cadmium batteries of the past.

A key component of lithium-ion batteries is graphite, the primary material used for one of the electrodes named cathode and anode.

When a battery is charging, lithium ions flow from the cathode to the anode, and this process reverses when the battery is discharges energy.

While various materials can be used for the cathode, graphite is the go-to for anodes because of its lower cost and longer life cycles.

Picture a world without lithium-ion batteries. Mobile devices wouldn’t look the way they do now. Picture huge, heavy cell phones and laptops. Also picture that both are so expensive only the very rich can afford them. What you are seeing is the 1980s.

Today’s graphite represents 48 percent of the overall weight of a lithium-ion battery. These batteries contain both natural and synthetic graphite, and one of the challenges in transitioning to a clean energy economy will be to increase both natural and synthetic sources of graphite.

In 2022, graphite accounted for around 90 percent of all anode materials in batteries, including batteries used in electric vehicles.

According to Andy Miller, COO of Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, “both the mined and synthetic graphite market is at a turning point.”

The global graphite market was estimated to be $16.4 billion in 2021, growing slightly to $17.5 billion in 2022. The growth through 2027 is projected to be at a CAGR of 7.3%, with the market reaching $25.0 billion by the end of the forecast period.

Reserves of graphite worldwide in 2021, by country
(in 1,000 metric tons)

Chart Courtesy of © Statista

By 2025, batteries will overtake the steel industry as the number one source of demand for graphite, consuming two-thirds of the world’s flake graphite, increasing to almost 80 percent in 2030.

The graphite segment for batteries and other conductive materials has the highest growth rate of 14.2% over the forecast period. The demand for these batteries is primarily witnessed in electric vehicles (EVs). By 2030, the electric vehicles market will need 2,700 GWh worth of lithium-ion batteries annually.

Benchmark sees demand for graphite over the next decade rising at an annual compound rate of 10.5%, however supply will lag at only 5.7%.

Since 2019, the buildout of lithium-ion battery capability has entered a new gear, with the number of mega factories worldwide rising from 17 to 225 and counting.

“Through the mid-2020s we see an increasingly finely balanced graphite market, but if you look towards the end of the decade both synthetic and natural graphite face serious structural issues and significant supply deficitΓǪAt the average size of graphite mines of 56,000 tonnes per annum, the industry needs some 97 new mines and 52 new synthetic plants (average 57ktpa) to meet 2035 demand,” according to Benchmark’s Natural Flake Graphite Forecast.

Against sharply rising demand, the accelerated use of lithium-ion batteries and the broader green energy transition will require 4.5 million metric tons of graphite by 2050, according to World Bank data released in 2020 – a nearly 500% increase over 2018 levels.

Demand for natural graphite is set to overtake synthetic by the end of the decade because of worries about synthetic’s environmental impact.

On a carbon dioxide per kilogram of graphite anode basis, natural graphite production is half that of synthetic production. And when compared to synthetic graphite production that relies almost exclusively on coal-fired power plants, the emissions rise to more than three times as much as natural graphite.

Benchmark forecasts natural graphite anode demand to grow by more than 400% by the end of the decade versus 170% for synthetic.

China has a stronghold on global graphite supply. Synthetic graphite output is 68 percent while the country supplies 90 percent of the graphite used in anodes.

In 2018, the U.S. Government included graphite on a list of 35 minerals or mineral materials that are essential to the economic and national security of the United States, that have a supply chain vulnerable to disruption, and that serve an essential function in the manufacturing of a product, the absence of which would have significant consequences for the economy or national security.

In the race to build an American supply chain to support the electric vehicle battery and energy storage market, and challenge China’s dominance, one company is charging ahead.

Graphite One Inc‘s [TSX-V: GPH; OTCQX: GPHOF] plans to build a vertically integrated, U.S. based supply chain capable of delivering battery-grade graphite to support critical metal supply chains and help the United States make up lost ground in the global lithium battery and energy storage race.

The Company’s plan is for graphite from the company’s Graphite Creek Property situated on the Seward Peninsula, 60 kilometres north of Nome, Alaska, to be mined, then crushed, ground, and concentrated in a processing plant on site to enrich the graphite concentrate for shipment. The bagged concentrate would then be loaded onto 20-foot shipping containers and barged to Washington State, where the Company plans an advanced manufacturing facility for lithium battery anode materials.

The October 2022 Pre-Feasibility Study envisions a mine at Graphite Creek that would produce an average of 51,813 tonnes of graphite concentrate at 95 percent per year for 23 years. The product processing plant would pelletize and thermally purify the graphite concentrate to 99.95 percent pure and deliver 41,859 tonnes of battery-grade graphite anode material for electric vehicle lithium-ion batteries and energy storage systems. The remaining graphite material-projected at 7,354 tonnes of purified graphite and 18,057 tonnes of unpurified graphite per year, would be sold for other industrial and techno advanced 1099 uses.

Over its 23-year mine life, the mine would produce 22.5 million tonnes of ore with an average grade of 5.6% Cg (total carbon in graphite form) with peak mine production expected to be about 11,000 tonnes per day.

Graphite Creek, considered by the US Geological Society as the largest graphite deposit in the U.S, currently hosts 32.54 million tonnes of measured and indicated resources averaging 5.25 percent graphite carbon for 1.7 million tonnes, plus 254.67 million tonnes of inferred resource averaging 5.11 percent graphite carbon for 13 million tonnes.

“We are excited with the exploration results to date, especially because we’ve assessed just seven percent of our graphite mineralization, and the current resource estimates could represent a small portion of Graphite Creek’s potential. So far, the prefeasibility plan is based on one kilometre of what we think could be 16-kilometre deposit,” says Anthony Huston, Founder, CEO and Director of Graphite One.

Graphite One is moving the project closer to production over the next few years at a time when there is a significant increase in domestically supplied graphite for lithium-ion batteries and energy storage systems necessary for the rapid transition to a global renewable-energy-economy.

According to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, a battery mega factory capable of producing 30 gigawatt-hours of annual capacity, roughly the size of Tesla’s Gigafactory in Nevada, requires about 33,000 tonnes of graphite anode material per year.

Recently the U.S Department of Energy said 13 new battery mega factories are expected to come online in the US in the next five years, and the number of mega factories worldwide rising from 17 to 225 and counting.

The World Bank projects that annual graphite demand will increase by 490 percent by 2050.

The global shortfall initially predicted for 2024 and 2025 has now increased with an estimated deficiency of 20,000 tonnes of lithium-ion battery grade graphite in 2022.

“We have seen an increase in interest in our project from both US government policymakers and EV automakers across the board,” says Huston.

Part of the reason for this interest is to secure domestic supply. Currently, China has dominance in the graphite industry, producing 820,000 metric tons in 2021 which accounted for 79% of the world’s graphite mining.

After China, Brazil and Mozambique are the next largest graphite producers. Brazil produced 68,000 MT last year, while Mozambique’s output was 30,000 MT. Russia, Madagascar, Ukraine, Norway, Canada, India, and Sri Lanka round out the remaining Top 10 countries that produce graphite.

Meeting growing graphite demand will be a major challenge for automakers seeking to launch their products in the United States over the next few years. To spur production, the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act included EV tax credits that could go as high as $7,500 for automakers that adhere to a few specific requirements.

One of the requirements to qualify for the EV tax credit is related to batteries and the minerals used to make them. According to the Inflation Reduction Act, at least 40% of the critical minerals used to make US-made EV batteries must also come from US miners or recycling plants. Automakers can also qualify for the tax credit if the minerals used in their US-made batteries come from countries with free trade deals with the United States.

Given graphite makes up 48 percent of the material that goes into lithium-ion batteries powering electric vehicles, American automakers will be seeking American supply, and the anode graphite supply from Graphite One would qualify for the tax credits.

In 2021, natural graphite was not produced in the United States, while U.S. companies consumed 45,000 tons of the mineral, estimated to be worth $41 million. The United States imported about 53,000 tons of graphite last year, mainly from China. It also imported graphite from Mexico, Canada, India, and other sources.

“Driven by US domestic demand and supply, Graphite One is working on a feasibility study which will solidify the engineering, permitting and construction details of the Graphite Creek Mine in Alaska and the advanced processing facility in Washington state, where there is a readily available supply of clean hydroelectricity – a green power supply to produce a green energy material.” says Huston.

The PFS estimated an initial capex of $571 million to build the manufacturing plant and $499 million to construct the mine for a total of $1.07 billion. Factoring in a contingency of $90 million for the plant and $80 million for the mine would bring the initial capex to $1.24 billion.

As is, the (pre-tax) net present value of the project is US$1.93 billion with an internal rate of return of 26 percent pre-tax and a payback period of 4.6 years. The life of mine life of 26 years and the capex could be repaid in 5.1 years.

Graphite One has caught the attention of institutional and retail investors alike. The Company recently closed a C$10.7 million capital raise issuing 9,322,987 units at a price of C$1.15 PER unit, which includes one share and one warrant priced at 1.50.

Over the past year, Graphite One has traded in the range from a high of C$2.00 and a low C0.90 cents and has 87.8 million shares outstanding with a market cap of C$104 million.

In April 2022, Graphite One signed a memorandum of understanding with Sunrise New Energy Material Co. Ltd., a Chinese lithium-ion battery anode producer. The MOU is designed to develop an agreement to share expertise and technology for the design, construction, and operation of its GI’s facility in Washington state.

The Company signed a non-binding initial MOU the same month with Lab 4 Inc., of Nova Scotia, to work together to design, develop and build a recycling facility for end-of-life electric vehicle and lithium-ion batteries, co-located at the Washington state site, completing a fall circular recovery approach – from mining to recycling.

In terms of the project’s ESG profile – its Environment and Social impacts and Governance policies – “we are consulting with local tribes and business development organizations to investigate opportunities to work together so everyone benefits from this project,” says Huston. “I want to close on this point, because sometimes the numbers, the dollars and NPV, get all the focus. Everyone at G1 strongly believes in our commitment to be a good neighbor in the communities in which we operate, in both Alaska and Washington State. I never mention the jobs we will create without underscoring our local preference for hiring and G1’s commitment to training, so our people can build new skill-sets and move up to new opportunities as we operate our project. That’s why I say that G1 has great ΓÇÿopportunity impact.”

Huston underscores that, a projected 26-year project life based on exploration of just 7% of our total deposit, G1 “is going to be around for a long time. As a good neighbor in the communities in which we operate, we want local people who join G1 to know they can grow with us.”